Today, we'll look at the U.S. Postal Service's decision to end Saturday delivery. Can this move help the struggling agency? Then, Corey Moore reports on a two-mom family hoping that the Boy Scouts' the no-gays policy will end, Gov. Rick Perry urges California businesses to consider the Lone Star state, behind-the-scenes with Executive Chef at the Staples Center, and much more.
Obama to nominate REI chief Sally Jewell for Interior Secretary post
Today President Obama is expected to nominate Sally Jewell for the post of Interior Secretary.
Jewell is currently the president and CEO of the outdoor and recreational retailer REI. Unlike her predecessor, former Colorado Senator Ken Salazar, Jewell has no political experience.
For more on this pick and what it might signal, we're joined by Coral Davenport, energy and environment correspondent for the National Journal.
US Postal Service to end Saturday delivery by August
Well, starting this August the postman only rings five times a week.
The struggling U.S. Postal Servive has announced it is cutting Saturday mail delivery. It's a move that has been anticipated for some time as the agency has sunk deeper into financial instability.
It's been estimated the post office loses millions of dollars a day as consumers have moved away from physical mail to paying bills and communicating online.
We're joined now by Heidi Moore, who's been reporting on the Post Office for the Guardian.
Two-mom family hopes for a change on the Boy Scouts 'no gays' policy
It’s a quiet Tuesday night at the Woodman Avenue home where Cynthia Sanchez lives. In the living room, her teenage son Parker – a Boy Scout — is tackling some homework.
Helping Parker through it is his other parent, Alice.
“Cindy and I are the same sex," says Alice Engelmann, who's Parker's biological mother. "We have been together 20 years.”
Engelmann says she and her partner Sanchez knew early on they wanted to make a family.
"Not ashamed"
“We were together for three years and then decided that we were pretty committed and solid and we would be together and we decided to have a child," Engelmann recalls.
Parker says he's, "Very comfortable with that and not ashamed at all and I feel like they’re shaping me into a good man that has a bright future ahead. I’d hope so.” If Parker sounds older than his 17 years, there’s a good reason why.
“When my mom got breast cancer, I had step up and be the man of the house and I had to take on many of the things that she would usually do, I had to do," Parker remembers.
Sanchez has battled Stage 3 breast cancer for more than two years. Her illness meant Parker had to pick some home duties, like cooking. Parker says he learned to cook during scout camping trips and competitions.
"I’ve learned to do other household things that need to be done," he adds.
The family's good times with scouting
Parker started as a Cub Scout with Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village when he was in the first grade. For years, that troop has bucked the “no gays” policy of the Boy Scouts of America national board. It welcomes everyone, as it did when Alice served as a den mother for several years.
The national board of the Boy Scouts of America was supposed to meet this week in Dallas to discuss, among other things, whether to end the long standing ban on openly gay Boy Scouts or scout leaders. Now that vote has been delayed until the group's annual meeting in May.
Alice, Cindy and son Parker are hoping the board will drop the ban, as scouting is a huge part of their family’s life. Alice’s brother and father were scouts, which for her was reason enough to have Parker in scouting, even with the "no gays" policy in place.
“I hope that Parker will look back and remember the good, fun times we had with scouting," says Engelmann.
The fun times included campouts, hikes, rafting, sleepovers at the Natural History Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits, a trip to the Grand Canyon, and the list goes on and on.
"The testosterone blend"
Like any other family, there have been growing pains, too.
“Raising a child is not easy," says Engelmann.
Sanchez explains that the couple chose to enter Parker into scouting, "because we wanted to give him the focus of the testosterone blend."
Parker says he gets all that from football, soccer, T-ball and Boy Scouts. He's had plenty of male mentors and recalls when the leaders and scouts in his Cahuenga district troop brought meals over when his mom Cindy was at a low point during her cancer fight.
This family has been through a lot, like Alice’s legal struggle to make spouse Cindy Parker’s second parent. It took almost two years but it got worked out, just not as well as she hoped.
“It’s lovely that they want me to file my taxes and declare that we are a domestic partnership but I cannot marry," says Engelmann. "I don’t get a lot of tax benefits.”
The couple says that’s why the push to have the Boy Scouts open to everyone, straight or gay, resonates on a deep and personal level. Parker says he’s all for doing away with the Boy Scout policy that keeps out gay scouts and scout leaders.
“Recently in the news there’s been some bad stories about scout leaders but that should not reflect the integrity of the whole," Parker emphasizes.
Parker is working on becoming an Eagle Scout, the highest honor there is in scouting. He says thanks to the leadership he’s shown and received in working towards that goal, he’ll get there, he hopes, by summer. His mothers are very proud.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry urges California businesses to consider the Lone Star State
Heads Up California, Texas is coming for your businesses. This week, Texas Governor Rick Perry released this radio ad aimed at California business owners:
The radio spot ran in San Francisco, Sacramento and a handful of other media markets. Yesterday, Governor Brown responded by calling the $26,000 ad campaign, "Barely a fart."
This is just the latest in the long running feud between Texas and California over who is better for businesses. Here to shed some light on the subject it KPCC's business blogger Matt DeBoard.
The pathway to US citizenship begins in the back of a long, growing line
Both the Senate and President Obama's proposals for immigration reform are clear on one thing: For the estimated 11-million undocumented workers living in the U.S., the pathway to citizenship begins in the "back of the line," behind everyone who's legally waiting.
But, it turns out there isn't one line, there are many. From the Fronteras Desk in San Diego, John Rosman explains.
Moving from Presidential speechwriter to Hollywood screenwriter
President Obama's favorite speechwriter, Jon Favreau, is leaving the White House on March 1. Some speculate that the 31-year-old will head to Hollywood to try his hand at writing for the movies.
There's a long tradition of political types becoming entertainment types. We talk to Marty Kaplan, who worked as a speechwriter for Walter Mondale before moving West, where he had a successful run as a writer and producer.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said Favreau was heading to Hollywood to try his hand at screenwriting. He has not formally announced his career plans after leaving the White House.
Great White sharks may be swimming onto California's endangered species list
The great white shark may not just be threatening, but threatened, itself.
California could take the first steps, today, in placing the fearsome predator on the state's endangered species list. The federal government is currently reviewing whether to give the shark the "endangered" status, as well.
But the California move would mean several restrictions would go into effect immediately. Fishers, for example, would have to change when and how they fish.
Chris Lowe at CSU-Long Beach's Shark Lab explains that the current health of the great white shark population is unknown, and what the listing would mean for his own research.
US debates immigration reform, but Mexico stays silent
Mexico has a lot riding on the outcome of immigration reform in the U.S. Out of the 11 percent of Mexicans who live aboard, most reside in America. Also, remittances from the U.S. to the country accounts for about 2-3 percent of its GDP.
But while it has a lot invested in the immigration debate, Mexico has remained mostly silent.
LA Times reporter Richard Fausset explains that it's politically advantageous for government leaders in Mexico to stay under the radar.
Signing Day: High school football players begin committing to universities
The pressure of picking a college can be tough, especially if you're a top high school football player.
Where these budding new player land can either make or break a college's football program, so the competition to recruit players is fierce. For months, sometimes even years, reporters, coaches and college boosters will hound a player for a decision.
Today, they'll get some answers. It's National Signing Day, the first day these kids can sign a letter of intent to commit their to a university.
For more, we're joined by Adam Kramer, lead college football writer for Bleacher Report.
Does the 'All Natural' approach really have an impact in our health and happiness?
Imagine you're at the grocery store. The organic bananas are so much more expensive, and you wonder if you should really spend the extra dough. Or maybe you're getting ready to have a baby, and can't sleep at night because you're unsure if you should head to the hospital or try for a homebirth. Western medicine leaves you feeling cold, but you find it hard to believe in acupuncture and herbal medicine. Does this sound familiar?
Journalist Nathanael Johnson understands your dilemmas all too well. He's spent several years fact-checking alternative approaches to living for his new book, "All Natural: A Skeptics Quest to Discover if the Natural Approach to Diet, Childbirth, Healing and the Environment Really Keeps Us Healthier and Happier."
Warm weather threatens Alaska's Iditarod race
Alaska is less than a month away from its famous Iditarod sled dog competition. The 1,000-mile trek attracts dog mushers from around the world and is known as "the last great race on earth"
But this year, unseasonable weather has created serious training obstacles for mushers in parts of the state. Here with more is Greg Sellentin, publisher of Mushing magazine.
Fan Dining: The chef behind Staples Center concessions (Photos)
Popcorn, hot dogs and pizza are just part of the game-day scene at Downtown's Staples Center, but orchestrating concessions for 18,000 is no simple feat. Executive Chef Joseph Martin oversees two restaurants, three kitchens, hundreds of employees and multiple menus of food for Staples Center sports games and special events. Hayley Fox reports.