Larry Mantle finds out about UC students and faculty protesting state budget cuts, gets an overview of the gubernatorial candidates vying for California's Republican nomination, and discusses the latest OC news with the OC Journalists Roundtable. Later, Larry looks at the real estate trend of strategic defaults, and talks to filmmaker Ken Burns about his new series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea".
UC students and faculty protest budget cuts
Thousands of UCLA students and faculty are planning to take part today in a system-wide University of California walkout. They’ll be protesting furloughs, layoffs and a 30% tuition hike resulting from state budget cuts. The demonstrations are planned at all 10 UC campuses. Given California’s desperate budget situation, will this help?
Guests:
Lawrence Pitts, Interim Provost, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs for the University of California System
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC reporter, reporting from UC Irvine
Susan Straight, 21-year veteran teacher at UC Riverside and author of seven novels
Republican gubernatorial candidates
Three candidates vying for California's GOP nomination for governor will appear this weekend at the state party convention. Former Congressman Tom Campbell, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman will each present their case to be next year's Republican candidate. Larry Mantle gets an overview of the race.
Guests:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter
Keith Carlson, Treasurer, California Republican Party
Orange County journalists roundtable
Larry talks with Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly staff writer, and Orange County Register senior editorial writer and columnist, Steven Greenhut, and OC journalist William Lobdell about the latest news events and developments in Orange County.
Guests:
Steve Greenhut, Orange County Register senior editorial writer and columnist
Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for the OC Weekly and author of "Ask A Mexican"
William Lobdell, co-publisher of the Newport-Mesa Daily Voice an online local paper, and author of "Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America - and Found Unexpected Peace"
Real estate: is it coming back or are we in for a new round of trouble?
A new study from the national credit bureau Experian and consulting company Oliver Wyman looked at loan defaults and found a growing number of homeowners bail on their mortgages not out of necessity, but because it makes strategic sense. That seems to contradict the conventional wisdom that the real estate market has hit bottom. Other experts worry that there's a backlog of foreclosed homes waiting to hit the market that could cause a second precipitous drop. What's it all mean for the future of Southern California's real estate market?
Guests:
Peter Hong, LA Times Business Reporter
Amy Bohutinsky, Vice President of Communications for Zillow.com
Richard Green, Director, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate
The National Parks: America's Best Idea
Filmmaker Ken Burns is well known for his TV documentaries like “The Civil War,” “Baseball” and “Jazz.” This Sunday, PBS will air his latest project, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Burns talks with Larry about the visually stunning 6-part series and the “American” concept of protecting our greatest natural treasures.
Guest:
Ken Burns, Producer, "The National Parks: America’s Best Idea", a new 6-part PBS series
David Barna, Chief of Public Affairs, National Parks Service