U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is in Southern California as part of a trip aimed at strengthening the partnership between the federal government and district leaders. Also, one or more shooters entered the Parliament building in Ottawa, Wednesday morning. Then, in his new book, “The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution," Walter Isaacson explores the past 150 years of technological advancements.
Education Secretary spotlights SoCal schools
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is in Southern California as part of a trip aimed at strengthening the partnership between the federal government and district leaders. In a one-on-one chat with Airtalk, Duncan will outline his goals for California schools and share his thoughts on the recent resignation of superintendent John Deasy. The Education Secretary’s visit comes on the heels of a tumultuous chapter for LAUSD, which includes a failed iPad rollout, faulty software and allegations of under-the-table dealings that have cost the district millions.
The Education Secretary will also share his views on the recently passed Assembly Bill 420, which made California the first state in the nation to limit the number of times that young students can be suspended and older students can be be expelled for disruptive behavior. Prior to the passing of the law, over 750,000 suspensions were happening annually.
Also topping the Education Secretary’s agenda: the Common Core rollout in California, Universal Pre-K, and potential changes to the Head Start Program, an educational assistance plan that extends educational opportunities to students from lower income families.
Duncan was appointed to the position of Education Secretary by President Obama in January of 2009. Prior to this role, he served as CEO of the Chicago Public School system.
Guest:
Arne Duncan, U.S. Education Secretary
Attack on Ottawa: shots fired at Canadian Parliament
One or more shooters entered the Parliament building in Ottawa, Wednesday morning. A soldier who responded was shot and later died. Gunfire broke out at two other locations nearby, Rideau Centre and a war memorial. Schools and daycares are on lockdown, as is the US Embassy. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper cancelled a planned visit in Toronto with Malala Yousefzai, the recent Nobel Laureate who is in Canada to receive honorary citizenship in recognition of her bravery and advocacy for women and girls worldwide.
Guest:
Laurie Fagan, CBC reporter in Ottawa
NRDC report shows more than 5 million Californians live near an oil or gas well
A report this morning from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) claims California’s poorest population (about 2 million people) are living in communities dangerously polluted by the effects of oil and gas drilling. The report, “Drilling in California: Who’s at Risk,” explores the effects of oil and gas drilling in the State of California. Among the report’s most concerning claims: More than 5 million Californians live within one mile of a gas or oil well, which may raise the risk of asthma, cancer and birth defects for nearby residents.
Today’s report also looks at the ethnicity of the affected population, stating that 69 percent of people living near these wells are classified as “people of color.” That number jumps to 92 percent when surveying communities surrounding major processing facilities designed to handle hazardous waste. In the report, senior scientist Miriam Rotkin-Ellman writes, “California’s communities of color have long been dumping grounds for industrial pollution—and our analysis shows that fracking is poised to pile on more if the oil and gas industry has its way. Fracking is moving next door to more and more California homes, schools and neighborhoods. From Los Angeles to the state’s farms and ranches, this industry must not be allowed to poison our people’s health.” Oil industry trade group The Western States Petroleum Association has been quick to reject the report’s findings. Spokesman Tupper Hull tells The Los Angeles Times, “We don’t believe that the policy objectives that NRDC is pursuing with this kind of advocacy are in the best interest of California and its consumers.”
Oil and gas companies have now set their sights on the Monterey Shale formation, which would affect the communities of Ventura, Monterey, Fresno and Santa Barbara. The NRDC’s report, however, urges prospectors to take a step back to assess the effects of drilling on local communities before potentially contaminating others. The report’s senior scientist Miriam Rotkin-Ellman explains, “We have communities already overburdened, and they could really get the short end of the stick if we allow this technology to continue without the proper evaluations of the health and environmental risks.”
Are you worried about your home’s proximity to an oil well? Have you or a family member experienced medical complications that can be attributed to pumping or drilling?
Guests:
Miriam Rotkin-Ellman, Senior Scientist at the NRDC, lead for report “Drilling in California: Who’s at Risk?”
Tupper Hull, VP for Strategic Communications at Western States Petroleum Association
Nielsen Announces New Ratings System For Everything On the Web
YouTube videos, Buzzfeed articles, podcasts, and more will soon be rated the same way as your favorite sitcom.
Nielsen announced Tuesday that it will be expanding its ratings system to cover digital content. The aim is to give people content generators and advertisers a tool to measure just how popular different kinds of content on the web actually are.
Unlike television or radio, which funnel one type of content to audiences, the content on the web comes in many different formats. Adobe's new ratings system allows things like videos, articles, podcasts, games to be rated on the same scale. The system will use Nielsen formulas along with data from Adobe's software that measures online traffic and internet television. Major networks that have already signed on include ESPN, Univision, Sony, Viacom, and Turner Broadcasting.
The concern surrounding the new ratings system is how to compare the popularity of different kinds of content. A video may go viral for different reasons than a web article or a subreddit does. The ratings system expansion's goal is to gather data from all types of content on the web to create a clearer picture of what people are reading, watching, and listening to on the web.
Guest:
Melissa Webster, VP of content and digital media technologies at IDC, a market research firm for the information technology, telecom and consumer tech markets. She tweets at
Prop. P debate: Is it really what it's made out to be?
Billed as the "Safe Neighborhood Parks, Gang Prevention, Youth/Senior Recreation, Beaches and Wildlife Protection Measure," Proposition P is widely seen as the extension of a tax approved in 1992 that is set to expire next June. Packaged as a $23 dollar parcel tax, the estimated $54 million in funds the tax could generate would be used to maintain parks and beaches frequented by more than 70 million people annually.
While the proposition's intent seems innocuous enough, opponents argue that it’s designed to provide the supervisors with their own chunk of funds, which they would be allowed to spend without oversight. In addition, adversaries claim that a parks tax nicknamed "Baby A," passed in 1996, will provide the funds necessary to maintain parks for the next 4 1/2 years, and that any additional tax money might better serve the community if it were apportioned elsewhere.
What are your thoughts on Proposition P?
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor representing the Third District, which comprises much of the City of Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Los Feliz. He's the author of Prop. P
Mike Spence, City of West Covina council member
Could America and Saudi Arabia be in a silent oil pumping war with Russia and Iran?
It’s no secret that the relationship between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the Obama Administration has cooled considerably since the former Soviet nation began military maneuvers in Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula. Similarly, U.S. relations with Iran have been virtually nonexistent until yesterday’s announcement that an ease to sanctions may be ahead. Just as tensions and rhetoric seem to have relaxed, however, New York Times Columnist Thomas L Friedman introduces a new political theory on the world oil supply: that America and ally Saudi Arabia may be silently ‘pumping’ Russia and Iran to the edge of economic ruin.
Citing the current market rate for a barrel of oil ($83), Friedman suggests nations who can’t pump as cheaply are being stuck with barrels of oil they can’t sell--for example Iran won’t turn a profit if barrel prices are less than $100. This forces them to either take a loss, or simply not sell.
But Los Angeles Times reporter Paul Richter contends that while the U.S. may be out-pumping the two nations, the objective probably isn’t Putin’s total collapse:
“The economic pressure isn't expected to change Putin's aggressive efforts to retain strong influence over Ukraine, which he considers non-negotiable. But they are causing strains in his relations with the Russian elite and business establishment, two pillars of his political support.”
Why do you think the U.S. and Saudi Arabia continue to keep oil prices so low? Do you think this is an effective means to achieve a political end?
Guests:
Michael Ross, Professor of Political Science at UCLA, and the author of: 'The Oil Curse: how petroleum wealth shapes the development of nations'
Phil Flynn, Senior Analyst, The Price Futures Group, Contributor to the Fox Business Network
Backpage.com: ad printer or pimp?
Open up an alt weekly, flip to the classifieds and you’ll likely find images of scantily clad women, mostly, advertising an array of adult activities. Online, there are similar services, like Backpage.com, second to Craigslist in popularity for posting ads. The Washington Supreme Court is hearing arguments today about whether the company is responsible for content posted there: including escort services and thinly-veiled prostitution. At issue, the site provides advice and some copy-editing, to ensure that advertisers get the most bang for their buck. Backpage insists it’s merely a platform. Not having written the ads, it should not be liable for their content. The plaintiffs are three women who say they were raped multiple times, and Backpage is partly to blame. Pimps forced the women, victims of human trafficking still in their teens, to post ads on the site. The plaintiffs argue that the site looked the other way: never verifying their ages and suggesting ways to craft the ads to avoid scrutiny.
Would a ruling against Backpage chill free speech online? Should the company be liable for the criminal behavior of its users? And how do we protect children who may fall victim to predators?
Jim Camden, the Legislative and state government reporter, political columnist for the Spokeman-Review, a newspaper covering Spokane and Northwest Washginton. He’s been covering the case for the paper.
Jeffrey D Neuburger, partner, at the law firm, Proskauer based in New York. He focuses on tech, media and communications laws.