Is the U.S. headed in the right direction or on the wrong track? Retrying Brandon McInerney. Bad customer service costs company LAUSD contract. Thriving in the new digital age. Covering disasters in the Southland: A KPCC’s open newsroom event.
Is the U.S. headed in the right direction or on the wrong track?
Perhaps the silver lining of a new poll by The University of Southern California and Los Angeles Times is that Californians are unified in some of their thinking. When asked if the country is heading in the right direction, nearly three out of four said No, we're on the wrong track. Same for the state of the state -- 71% said California is heading in the wrong direction. As to what will get the country back on track, the divisions of poll respondents start to show. While 49% said the best thing for the economy is cutting taxes and spending -- 37% said cuts will make things worse and stimulus is what's needed. Where the divisions get more stark is how leaders in Washington should get things back on track. Both Republican and Democratic respondents said they favor a hard-line approach in pushing their respective party's agenda. Pollster Drew Lieberman who co-directed the bipartisan survey said, "People are essentially putting their priorities above compromise." The survey also rated the President's job approval; popularity of Republican presidential contenders and honed in closely on issues such as Medicare, Social Security, job creation and more. What would your answers have been? If you think we're on the wrong track, what do you think could steer us back? If you think we're headed in the right direction, why is that? What about compromising some of your wants and needs?
Guests:
David Kanevsky, Research Director, American Viewpoint, the Republican firm that co-directed the bipartisan poll
Drew Lieberman, pollster with Greenberg Quinlan Rosher Research, the Democratic firm that co-directed the survey
Retrying Brandon McInerney
After six days of deliberations, with seven jurors in favor of voluntary manslaughter and five jurors supporting either first-degree or second-degree murder in the case against Brandon McInerney, Judge Charles Campbell declared a mistrial. On Friday Ventura County Chief Assistant District Attorney James Ellison asked Campbell to pick a date for a new trial of the teen accused of killing a gay classmate, Larry King, three years ago. Prosecutors must now decide whether to re-file murder and hate crime charges against McInerney who was tried as an adult. The defendant is now 17 but was 14 at the time of the killing. One juror told the Associated Press that some members of the jury panel thought McInerney should never have been tried as an adult. What should prosecutors do? Is a 14 year old able to assess the seriousness of murder? Should Brandon McInerney be re-tried and if so should he be re-tried as an adult or as a juvenile and on what charges?
Guest:
Laurie Levenson, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School and criminal law expert.
Bad customer service costs company LAUSD contract
One of the more outspoken members of the Los Angeles School Board has turned his wrath on the district’s dental insurance provider. Dr. Richard Vladovic has been on the board for two terms and recently pushed for a vote to kill the district’s multi-million dollar contract with MetLife insurance. The problem started when Vladovic was being fitted for a mouth guard because he’d been grinding his teeth. MetLife initially paid the claim, then, months later, sent a letter saying they’d overpaid and would be taking the balance out of his deductible. Vladovic, understandably upset, called customer service and was poorly treated in his view. So, when the company’s contract came up for approval (something that’s normally done without board discussion) Vladovic convinced three other board members to vote to kill it. The company provides insurance for about a hundred thousand LAUSD employees, and the vote means their coverage could be affected. Did Vladovic overstep here? Is this a case of governing by personal anecdote? Or is his story indicative of the company as a whole? If their customer service is rotten, should the company stand to lose a major contract? We’ve all been in mad enough at a frustratingly inept or unhelpful customer service agent. If you hade the power, would you do what Vladovic did?
Thriving in the new digital age
When Duke University decided to give free iPods to its 2003 incoming freshmen class, a whole slew of critics reproached the university asking why give students an unneeded source of distraction? The results of this experiment were surprisingly positive. By the year’s end, students found very creative ways to use the iPods in their respective disciplines. Environmental science majors used the sound-collecting device to edit interviews for documentaries, while medical students recorded heart beats and detected arrhythmia in some of their patients. In her new book, “Now You See It,” author Cathy Davidson explores the effects of digital tools on our lives. She argues that despite great changes in digital technology, most of us still toil in schools and workplaces designed for the last century. Davidson believes we must adopt groundbreaking innovations like using curriculums built around video games or training workers with virtual environments to open doors to new ways of learning and working. She is optimistic about the future if only we can boldly embrace our ability to use cutting edge technology to connect and collaborate with each other. How do you think digital technology could transform your workplace and do you think these technological innovations can really change the way work and learn?
Guest:
Cathy Davidson, author of Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn, Professor of English at Duke University since 1996 and Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute since 2006
Covering disasters in the Southland: A KPCC open newsroom event
KPCC wrestles with news decisions every day that affect what you hear on air and read about online. In an effort to continue our transparent news process, the KPCC newsroom opens its doors to the public in our “Open Newsroom” series. Tonight at 7pm in The Crawford Family Forum, KPCC’s Washington, D.C. Correspondent Kitty Felde will be joined by colleagues Nick Roman, Managing Editor, and Cheryl Devall, Senior News Editor, to kick off the series with a conversation about covering disasters in the Southland. The event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required. The Forum audience will have the opportunity to contribute to the conversation and your input, thoughts, and advice are welcome so we can improve our coverage of the topics that matter most to you.
Guests:
Nick Roman, KPCC Managing Editor
Kitty Felde, KPCC Washington Correspondent