The $2.5 billion plan to offer free preschool to all 4-year-olds in California has been drastically changed to cover only those children whose families make less than twice the federal poverty level. Also, Clippers owner Donald Sterling has reportedly authorized his wife Shelly to sell the team, in an attempt to get the best possible deal out of the sale. Then, California beaches get their Heal the Bay report card, where should you swim?
Would Steinberg’s scaled back universal pre-K plan get the funding it needs?
The $2.5 billion plan to offer free preschool to all 4-year-olds in California has been drastically changed to cover only those children whose families make less than twice the federal poverty level, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Senator Darrell Steinberg, who is leaving office at the end of this year, has been at the forefront of this bill in California. If implemented, the program will cost the state $1.3 billion in comparison to the original plan of $2.5 billion.
The idea of a universal pre-k is becoming popular in other states in the country. Originally, the bill called for preschool education for children of all ages, but was changed due to the negotiations of the state budget.
Is a scaled-back plan a good idea for California? Should the plan be inclusive of all children, regardless of income? Will Steinberg’s plan be approved by the governor?
Guest:
Chris Megerian, Sacramento reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He covers state politics and the budget.
AP report: Donald Sterling surrendering control of Clippers to Shelly Sterling
Clippers owner Donald Sterling has reportedly authorized his wife Shelly to sell the team, in an attempt to get the best possible deal out of the sale.
Shelly Sterling, who previously argued that she should be allowed to keep the Clippers, agreed to sell the team voluntarily -- her husband has been banned from the NBA, and is in the process of terminating his ownership in the team.
Potential buyers have vocalized interest in the team. In response to reports about Donald Sterling surrendering controlling ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, NBA spokesman Mike Bass stated: “We continue to follow the process set forth in the NBA Constitution regarding termination of the current ownership interests in the Los Angeles Clippers and are proceeding toward a hearing on this matter on June 3.”
Who should sell the Clippers, and what kinds of logistical planning should precede a sale? What’s next for the team and for the Sterlings?
Guest:
Arash Markazi, Sports Columnist, ESPNLA.com
California beaches get their Heal the Bay report card, where should you swim?
Heal the Bay released its report on water quality at California beaches, and though things are improving, a handful of Southern California beaches still landed on the “Beach Bummers” list.
Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey, harborside Cabrillo Beach, and Santa Monica Pier Beach all fall into the worst-water quality category. The Wedge in Newport Beach, oceanside Cabrillo Beach, and Venice Beach at the Windward Avenue drain all rank as top California beaches.
The report also highlighted one upside to the California drought: cleaner water across the board. The drought may have helped improve water quality, but the beaches won’t be impervious to some of the storms predicted to hit this summer.
What influences water quality? Which local beaches are the safest for swimming? Which are your favorites to visit in the summer?
Guest:
Kirsten James, Science and Policy Director for Water Quality at Heal the Bay
Is fracking worth the risk in light of dismal forecasts for Monterey Shale oil yields?
Oil industry experts estimate that deep within the Monterey Shale, a land mass in California, there exists gargantuan amounts of oil.
But, how to access it, is what’s tough. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released a report slashing the amount of “technically recoverable” oil by 96%.
This is the result of tectonic plate movement within the shale, leaving it in a jumble -- making it practically impossible to get at the oil with the kind of technology that exists today, like fracking, drilling, and hydraulic fracturing.
But, environmentalists say these oil extraction techniques can lead to health and environmental problems. In fact, State Senators Holly Mitchell (D) and Mark Leno (D) have introduced legislation that would impose a moratorium on fracking and well stimulation in California.
Is there good reason to innovate technology in order to access this unreachable oil? Or, might energies be better spent innovating ways to stop the US dependency on fossil fuels? Can anyone really know how much oil is in the Monterey anyway, accessibility aside?
Guests:
Damon Nagami, Senior Attorney and Director of the Southern California Ecosystems Project, Land & Wildlife Program, Natural Resources Defense Council.
Tupper Hull, Vice President of Strategic Communications at Western States Petroleum Association
FilmWeek: X-Men: Days of Future Past, Blended, The Love Punch and more
Larry and KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan and Wade Major review this week’s releases including “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Blended,” “The Love Punch,” and more. TGI-Filmweek!
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Blended
The Love Punch
Guest:
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and CriticsAGoGo.com
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and producer and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
Justin Chang, film critic for Variety
How Hollywood handled Nazism in the lead up to World War II
Depictions of Nazis and Nazism are rampant in today’s Hollywood. Think “Schindler’s List” and “Inglourious Basterds,” to name just two films. But that wasn’t always the case. Between 1933 and 1939, representations of the Nazis were few and far between in Hollywood, growing only as the decade wore on.
In the book, “Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939,” cultural historian and author Thomas Doherty looks back at the films that Americans saw on the silver screen during that period of time.
Guest:
Thomas Doherty, author of “Hollywood and Hitler: 1933 - 1939” (Columbia University Press, 2013); Professor, American Studies, Brandeis University