Tom Delay Indicted; Is California Headed for a Recession?; Making Ends Meet in California; New Land Management Plan for SoCal National Forests; The Science of Finding True Fulfillment
Tom Delay Indicted
A Texas grand jury today has charged House Speaker Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme. GOP congressional officials said the plan was for DeLay to temporarily relinquish his leadership post as House Majority leader. Speaker Dennis Hastert reportedly will recommend that San Gabriel Valley congressman David Dreier to step into those duties. Larry Mantle talks with Los Angeles Times congress and politics editor Don Frederick, Pomona College political science professor David Menefee-Libey, and conservative political strategist Arnold Steinberg.
Is California Headed for a Recession?
Larry Mantle talks with economist Michael Bazdarich about the just-released UCLA Anderson School Forecast. The news is not good.
Making Ends Meet in California
The California Budget Project (CBP) has issued a new report titled Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California? The study estimates what it costs to live in 10 regions of California, either as a single adult or to support a family with two children, allowing only for the basic necessities. Larry speaks with Jean Ross, Executive Director of the California Budget Project; Jack Kyser of Chief Economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation; and George Passantino, Senior Fellow at the Reason Foundation, about the results of the new study.
New Land Management Plan for SoCal National Forests
The National Forest Service has released a new land management plan for Southern California’s four national forests. The plan zones the forests for preservation and recreational uses for the next ten to fifteen years. Larry Mantle talks with Cleveland National Forest Supervisor Tina Terrell, UCLA Environmental Law Center Executive Director Sean Hecht, Sierra Club Regional Director Bill Corcoran and CORVA President Ed Waldheim. For more information about the plan and for a schedule of upcoming public information meetings, go to http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/
The Science of Finding True Fulfillment
In his new book Satisfaction, author Dr. Gregory Berns, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory, challenges the belief that we are driven mainly by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. With a series of experiments using cutting-edge MRI scanning technology, he examines how the interaction between dopamine, the hormone secreted in the brain in anticipation of pleasure, and cortisol, the chemical released when we are under stress, produces the feelings people associate with satisfaction. His conclusion is that we are wired for novel experience, and when we seek it out, we are satisfied. Dr. Berns joins Larry to discuss the science of finding fulfillment.