John Deasy will stay on as LAUSD Superintendent through June 2016. Do you think his contract should have been extended? Next, a proposal could change the carpool lanes on I-405 into pay-as-you-go toll lanes. Is this a good idea? Then, we feature our OC Roundtable to talk about issues facing residents in Orange County. Next, are police policies endangering the public? And what do you call your significant other who you're not married to? Lastly, we'll talk about Halloween costumes. Just how politically correct must we be?
LAUSD's fuss over Deasy's future - too much bad blood or just enough?
After a tense few days, yesterday the L.A. Unified school board emerged from a closed-door session with the announcement that Dr. John Deasy will stay on as superintendent. The votes of the seven-person board are unknown still, but it gave Deasy satisfactory approval- an annual condition of continuing his contract.
"I thank the board for a good and robust evaluation, and I particularly thank you for a really excellent and honest conversation, building the rapport to work together to continue to lift students out of poverty," Deasy told reporters yesterday evening. How everyone will work together going forward is an open question.
Today, the teachers union issued a statement from UTLA President Warren Fletcher: “It is unbelievable that the Board of Education has given John Deasy a ‘satisfactory’ evaluation and rewarded him by extending his contract through June, 2016, despite a clear message from LA’s teachers and health and human services professionals that Deasy’s leadership is anything but satisfactory.”
After both sides flexed their muscles over these last few days - sparked by rumors and reports over Deasy's departure - can they reach a productive, peaceful standoff?
Guests:
Warren Fletcher, President, UTLA (United Teachers Los Angeles)
Evelyn Larrubia, Education Editor, KPCC
Raphael Sonenshein, Executive Director of The Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs, California State University at Los Angeles
Proposed toll lanes on I-405 met with strong opposition
Orange County residents got a chance to speak out against proposed toll roads on I-405 last night at a forum at Westminster’s Civic Center. Residents and a panel of city council members from Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and a few other cities attended to voice their opposition to the $1.5 billion project. Representatives from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) also attended but didn’t speak.
Residents argued that they already pay taxes on Orange County highways and shouldn’t have to pay to use them as well. If the project is approved, the toll lanes would stretch between Costa Mesa and the Los Angeles County border and construction would begin in 2015 and continue for up to 5 years. The OCTA’s board of directors is scheduled to vote November 8 on whether to go forward with the project.
Guests:
Ed Joyce, KPCC’s Orange County reporter
Nick Gerda, Voice of OC reporter
OC Journalists Roundtable: Kelly Thomas trial, desalination plant in Huntington Beach, etc
Orange County has been in the news lately with the sacking of Orange County Fire Marshal Laura Blaul, the postponing of the trial of the cops who allegedly killed Kelly Thomas, a proposed desalination plant in Huntington Beach, the district attorney’s investigation of a firm accused of trying to change police pensions by targeting city officials, and a debate over whether surfers should get more water time at the iconic Newport Beach surf spot the Wedge.
Guests:
Ed Joyce, KPCC’s Orange County reporter
Nick Gerda, Voice of OC reporter
Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times Orange County reporter
Do use-of-force policies put public safety at risk?
In Santa Rosa, Calif., sheriff deputies shot and killed a 13-year old boy who was carrying a toy assault rifle. The police believed the replica was the real thing. The officers saw the young boy with the gun and repeatedly ordered him to put it down. Several rounds were fired at the teenager and it was only after the victim fell to the ground did the officers realize it was a fake weapon.
An investigation is ongoing, but an officer does have the right to use deadly force if he feels there is a threat. This is just one tragic example of many police shootings recently that are endangering the public rather than protecting it. When police agencies were searching for Christopher Dorner in Southern California earlier this year, some officers fired upon innocent bystanders who were not even close to fitting Dorner’s profile.
Do police policies sometimes endanger the public? Do police safety policies need to change? What can be done to curb this?
Guests:
David Klinger, former LAPD officer; author of Into the Kill Zone: A Cop's Eye View of Deadly Force (Jossey-Bass); Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis
Chuck Drago, former police chief with over 30 years experience in law enforcement with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department; police practices consultant for police departments across the country
“Person of opposite sex sharing living quarters” and other terrible terms for unmarried spouses
Now that same-sex couples can legally take on the terms “husband” and “wife,” at least in some states, there’s another conundrum left to solve. What should unmarried couples, in long-term relationships (LTR) call each other?
To the uninitiated, it might seem like a trivial question. But for those in the know, it’s actually quite complicated. “Boyfriend” and “girlfriend” just don’t carry the right gravitas for most LTR couples. “Partner” works for some, but can be misconstrued as a business thing or a gay thing (not that there’s anything wrong with that, if it’s accurate). “Lover” and “lady friend” are just plain embarrassing. “Soul mate” is the term of choice for the romantics among us, but cynics recoil. “Significant other” is old fashioned and “better half” is way too self-deprecating.
On the more modern front, there’s “baby mama,” “my boo,” and “fusband,” which is a cross between fake or future husband – but those will clearly only work for a fraction of the seven million Americans living with but not marrying their main squeezes. Despite the myriad options, there really isn’t a perfect choice.
So why don’t these strange creatures just marry each other and get it over with? What’s your word of choice for your hombre or mujeres?
Are we too easily offended by Halloween costumes?
It’s not uncommon during Halloween for people to dress up like a Geisha, a Mexican in a mariachi suit, or like a redneck. But for some people, these costumes are just promoting stereotypes and are offensive.
Students from the Ohio University have started a campaign: “We’re a culture, not a costume.” This campaign is aimed at promoting awareness against racial stereotypes, and instead promoting dialogue. In the ad campaign different students hold a photo of an ethnic stereotype costume.
For example, a Muslim student holds a photo of a white person dressed up in a traditional ghutra with bombs strapped to his chest. The images from the campaign have been making their rounds online igniting the ongoing debate of how far is too far with Halloween costumes.
It is offensive to wear a costume from a different race or culture? How do you draw the line?
Guests:
John Lin, senior contributor for 8Asians.com, an online publication focusing on issues that affect the Asian American and Asian Canadian communities
Ruth Hopkins, founding writer of LastRealIndians.com, columnist for Indian Country Today Media Network. She is also chief judge for Spirit Lake Tribal Court in North Dakota