LA Unified School Board president Steve Zimmer responds to the closing of all school campuses, the economic impact of the shut down and Star Wars fashion.
LAUSD school board president defends decision to close LA schools
Los Angeles students are back in school today after all 900 plus campuses were closed yesterday. That decision came after an anonymous email threat was sent to the school board late Monday night.
"I think it's important to take this precaution based on what has happened recently and what has happened in the past," interim LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said at a press conference yesterday.
But we know now that the threat was not credible, which raises the question: Did the school district do the right thing in keeping hundreds of thousands of kids home?
LAUSD school board president Steve Zimmer said today, "The decision that was made yesterday wasn't made lightly. But I really appreciate that we're facing criticism of how much we erred on the side of safety of kids."
If the question is "what was the level of error of how much the district should have been focused on safety," Zimmer said, "I'm comfortable with that. I would be very uncomfortable if we hadn't gone far enough."
And if the same threat came in today, Zimmer added, "I would do exactly what I did when the threat came in in the middle of the night. And that is, evaluate it step by step, get it to the right folks to analyze it and get the best possible analytics in real time... to get us the best information possible to make the best decision on behalf of kids that we can make."
To hear the full interview with Steve Zimmer, click the player above.
Did LA Unified really need to close schools Tuesday?
The LAUSD's response to yesterday's perceived threat might best be summed up in four words: better safe than sorry.
New York City schools received an almost identical threat, but officials there went with another four words: not a credible threat.
Why the different response to the same message?
Jonathan Tal is the president and CEO at the security and risk assessment firm Tal Global. He says law enforcement and LAUSD officials made the right call.
Press the blue play button above to hear why.
LA school closings upend routines for parents, kids
Yesterday's school closing left lots of families scrambling here in Los Angeles. Parents had to figure out how to find childcare, and kids were left with questions about what a day off from school meant for the finals they had scheduled this week.
As things get back normal today, we reached Maryam Zar, a parent of three kids in LAUSD schools, and her daughter Lilliana Zar, a 9th grader at Palisades Charter High School.
How do you calculate the economic cost of the LAUSD shutdown?
The closure of Los Angeles schools yesterday could cost millions, according to Los Angeles city councilman Paul Krekorian. That includes the law enforcement brought in, the businesses affected, the parents who couldn't work themselves because of they had to take care of their children and other factors.
We're joined by LA City Councilman Mitchell Englander and USC professor Ron Astor, an expert in terrorism and school violence.
LA and NYC responded to yesterday's threat in much different ways
The threat received by official of LA schools was virtually identical to one sent to school officials in New York. Both had been routed through a server in Frankfurt... apparently by the same person, but the response couldn't have been more different.
New York police commissioner Bill Bratton deemed the message a hoax, and schools there were kept open yesterday, while here in Los Angeles, the threat was considered credible and schools were shut down.
What, if anything, do these decisions say about the differences in law enforcement on both coasts?
Alex Cohen poses that question to Joe Domanick, author of the book Blue: The LAPD and the Battle to Redeem American Policing.
To hear the entire conversation click on the audio embedded at the top of this post.
Sports roundup: Serena Williams is sportsperson of the year, Pete Rose still banned
Serena Williams is the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, winning three major titles in 2015 and spending her third straight year as the top-ranked athlete in her sport. So what's the fuss about the SI cover photo and what issues does it raise for women in sports? Plus, Major League Baseball has upheld Pete Rose's lifetime ban.
It's time for sports with
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Young Republicans on the future of the party
Another Republican presidential debate is behind us.
Many observers were expecting to see some sparring between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump when the GOP hopefuls convened last night in Las Vegas. Instead, candidates took aim at Marco Rubio.
The Florida senator was the target of more criticism than anyone else on stage, including Donald Trump.
What does last night's debate say about the state of the GOP campaign heading into 2016? Take Two put the question to two Republican millennials.
Press the blue play button above to hear the interview.
Click the link below that to hear debate analysis from UC Berkeley's Lisa Garcia Bedolla.
Guests:
Mary Perez, member of the USC College Republicans
Leesa Danzek, LA regional director of the California College Republicans
Bonus Audio:
Lisa Garcia Bedolla, professor of political science and Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley
LAUSD teacher issues final exam, despite school closures
A terror threat that closed down over 900 schools across Los Angeles Unified School District, Tuesday didn't stop one high school teacher from moving ahead with her planned class.
Cassandra McGrath, an English and drama teacher at Theodore Roosevelt High in Boyle Heights, asked students to complete a writing test as part of a final exam, even though the school was closed. The reason? She didn't want terrorism to claim any part of her students' education.
Not everyone was happy to do the work, with some pupils turning to Twitter to describe McGrath as a "savage" teacher for making such a request.
For more on the story, Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with Cassandra McGrath.
Listen to the interview by clicking on the blue bar above
The Styled Side: Star Wars storms the fashion world
Yes, these are the Chewie t-shirts you're looking for.
J. Crew and an armada of more retailers are cashing in by creating Star Wars-branded merchandise.
"First year merchandise sales for are estimated to reach $3 to $5 billion," says Michelle Dalton Tyree of Fashion Trends Daily.
It's not just Star Wars action figures and bedsheets, either. "It's not a question of who is making or selling this. It's who isn't," she says.
"Footwear brand Irregular Choice has done a collaboration with Disney with a whole line of cheeky footwear," says Tyree. "How would you feel about sporting some high-heeled sneakers with a Storm Trooper or Darth Vader as the heel?"
She also says there are Havaianas has flip-flops with Yoda, New Era has a gold C3PO trucker hat and much, much more.
Some of the biggest names in fashion are also taking part such as Diane von Furstenburg, Rag & Bone and Cynthia Rowley through the charity Star Wars: Force for Change.
Tyree has one piece of advice for when you dress up and head to the theatres to catch the new film: "May the fashion force be with you."
New music from Freedom Fry, Dego, the Dears and King
If you love new music, but you don't have the time we have the solution. Every week our music experts bring in their top picks, which we promise, will keep you and your musical tastes relevant. This week music journalist Nic Harcourt and music supervisor Morgan Rhodes join host Alex Cohen to talk about their selections.
Morgan's first choice was the new trio, King. The band is comprised of twins Paris and Amber Strother and Anita Bias. They burst onto the scene in 2011, a testament to the power of social media who touted their 3-track EP "The Story." Here's the video for their song, "Hey."
Nic brought in a selection from the band, Freedom Fry - a French/American duo, whose stage name is a play on the troubled US & French relations during the Iraq war. One of the unique things about their new album is they incorporate audio from live concerts, including the audience participating. Here's a video for their song, "21."
Nic's other selections:
The Dears - Times Infinity Volume 1
Song: We lost Everything and Onward and Downward
Morgan's other choice
Dego & The 2000 Black Family - Don't Stop - (Let It Go)/Save It Til Later
Don't Stop