Southern California Wildfire; Justice Robert’s Confirmation/Roy Blunt Temporarily Assumes Delay’s Position; Government’s Role In Disaster Relief; UC Irvine To Participate In National Childrens Study; Cronyism In The Government; Architecture And Early Childhood Education
Southern California Wildfire
A wind-whipped brush fire in the West San Fernando Valley has burned at least 7,000 acres, destroying at least one home and prompting evacuations and school closures. Helicopters began dropping water on the flames at daybreak as the fire crept west toward Thousand Oaks. According to the L.A. County Fire more than 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze. Larry gets the latest on the status of the wildfire from the L.A. County Fire Department, Frank Stoltze, KPCC reporter covering the Chatsworth fire,and Bill Patzert, Climatologist and research oceanographer at JPL.
Justice Robert’s Confirmation/Roy Blunt Temporarily Assumes Delay’s Position
John Glover Roberts Jr. has been confirmed as the 17th chief justice of the United States. The Senate voted 78-22 to confirm Roberts, as the successor to the late William H. Rehnquist, who died earlier this month. All of the Senate's Republicans and about half of the Democrats voted for Roberts. Following Tom DeLay’s indictment, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt has temporarily assumed DeLay’s role as House Majority leader. Rep. David Dreier will handle the committee chairmen, and Rep. Eric Cantor, the chief deputy whip, will assist Blunt in shepherding legislation through the House and counting votes. Larry talks with NPR’s Political Editor, Ken Rudin, about the latest changes in Washington’s political structure.
Government’s Role In Disaster Relief
Testifying yesterday before Congress, former FEMA director, Michael Brown blamed Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and even the White House for the response to Hurricane Katrina. Larry Mantle speaks with Dennis Mileti, author of Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States, about government’s responsibility in a disaster.
UC Irvine To Participate In National Childrens Study
The University of California Irvine, in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Orange County has been chosen to participate in the National Children’s Study, the largest and most comprehensive long-term study of environmental effects on childhood health and development. Sponsored by the federal government, researchers will follow more than 100,000 children and their mothers across the U.S. from before conception to age 21, studying genetic, environmental and social factors in order to better prevent, diagnose and treat childhood diseases. Larry talks with Alison Clarke-Stewart, Professor of Psychiatry and Social Behavior at UC Irvine.
Cronyism In The Government
A new TIME magazine probe indicates that the Bush Administration has put connections ahead of experience when filling some vital positions. Larry talks about the history of cronyism in government with Karen Tumulty TIME magazine’s National Political Correspondent.
Architecture And Early Childhood Education
Larry Mantle explores the historical and contemporary relationships between architectural space and early childhood education with Barbara Lamprecht, Richard Neutra Scholar and Architectural Journalist, Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne of Morphosis, and Kevin Daly of Daly/Genik Architects. The event, “Space & Learning,” lecture, tour and discussion takes place Saturday, October 1st from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets are $89, go to the web www.sahscc.org