AirTalk debates an amendment proposed yesterday to diminish the UC system's autonomy, with changes that would allow the Legislature to fund the UC Office of the President and take away the UC president's voting rights. We also discuss new technology being used to test drivers for marijuana use across the state, the uptick in Americans working over 65, and more.
After a controversial audit, a new proposal suggests limiting UC autonomy
A new proposed amendment could change the way the University of California has operated for nearly 140 years.
In response to the UC’s audit, which exposed an undisclosed $175 million surplus, state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa) introduced a constitutional amendment proposal Tuesday, limiting the UC’s budgetary autonomy. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, that means the UC Office of the President would be directly funded by the Legislature.
Presently, the office receives funds from campus fees. The amendment would also give membership and voting rights to additional parties including the California Community Colleges chancellor, and cut UC Regents’ terms from 12 years to four. But is this the right move for students?
Guests:
Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), California Assemblyman representing the 53rd Assembly District, which includes the Boyle Heights and Downtown LA areas; he tweets
Monica Lozano, chair of the University of California Board of Regents
Could we better handle catastrophes if we knew they were coming?
Cassandra is the character in Greek mythology that correctly predicted future calamities but was condemned to being ignored by all.
In their new book, “Warnings,” national security experts Richard A. Clarke and R.P. Eddy argue that catastrophic events from Hurricane Katrina to the rise of ISIS were all forewarned and could have been prevented, and they set out to answer how we could better go about to preempt the next, big disaster from taking place.
Guest:
R.P. Eddy, CEO of the New York-based intelligence firm Ergo; former director at the White House National Security Council, as well as a former U.S. and U.N. senior diplomat; he is the co-author of the book, “Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes” (Ecco, 2017) and tweets
Updating the state debate over how to quantify how high is too high to drive under the influence of marijuana
As the state of California works to implement the regulatory framework for its nascent recreational marijuana industry following voters’ approval of Proposition 64, which legalized pot for recreational use statewide, the debate over how exactly to quantify driver impairment from cannabis use continues among law enforcement, legal professionals, marijuana policy experts and academics.
Recently, the California Highway Patrol demoed a new device called the DDS2 that’s being tested in several counties, including Los Angeles.
As part of a broad look at the state’s attempts to find the right way to quantify impairment of drivers under the influence of cannabis, we’ll look at some new tech that’s being tested in several CA law enforcement agencies.
Guests:
Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), California Assemblyman representing the 36th Assembly District and a 28 year veteran of the California Highway Patrol
Ignacio Hernandez, legislative director for California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a criminal defense advocacy group based in Sacramento
Fred Delfino, product manager for Alere Toxicology, the company that developed the DDS2 device
Why more retirement-age people are still punching the clock, plus a look at the benefits and challenges to changing careers at 50
According to latest figures, 19 percent of Americans over 65 years old are still punching the clock.
Not since 1962 have so many workers past retirement age still been part of the labor force.
It could be that some workers are choosing to continue working because they enjoy their jobs, and they happen to be getting older as life expectancy in the country stretches longer.
But many older Americans are working because they can't afford not to. More than a quarter of workers aged 55 or older say they have less than $10,000 dollars in savings and investments. A third of these workers say they expect to work until they're at least 70, if they retire at all. Some even have to change careers as they approach retirement age because they can’t afford not to work and the field they spent their career working in is no longer lucrative enough.
Why are older workers getting farther and farther away from retirement? What age do you plan to retire? What factors do you consider when thinking about retirement? Do you think private companies, state governments, or individuals take care of retirement plans?
Guest:
Lori Shreve Blake, senior director of Alumni and Student Career Services at USC