A foreign exchange student at La Mirada High School in L.A. is one of the most talked about high school football athletes in the state.; Think your academic career hinges on junior year? Think again. New research may prove that it’s actually the third grade that is the most critical pivot point for students.; Prop 31 is an initiative that claims it will improve government efficiency and accountability, which sounds good, but does this claim hold water?; Rich business people from Mainland China are snapping up high-end real estate in California. Their location of choice: San Marino.; A new movement in medicine embraces the parallels between human and animal physiology.; We’ll speak to Brian Taylor, the co-author of a UCLA study titled "Why It Wasn't Carmageddon."; Governor Jerry Brown has until Sept 30 to sign AB 889, which seeks to provide domestic workers with many new workplace benefits.; LA-based band Ozomatli joins the show to talk about their new album, Ozokidz.'; and the Dinner Party joins the show.
Anti-Islam filmmaker arrested in LA for unrelated charges
Nakoula Bassely Nakoula, the man allegedly behind the film "Innocence of Muslims," was arrested yesterday in Los Angeles.
The charges were unrelated to the film, however. Authorities say he violated his probation from a check fraud conviction in 2010.
KPCC's Erika Aguilar has more
Study claims 3rd grade is a critical pivot point for students
The third grade may be more important than you think Think your academic career hinges on junior year? Think again.
New research may prove that it’s actually the third grade that is the most critical pivot point for students.
Alex Cohen talks with one researcher about this new thinking, and also about the possibility for intervention after the pivot point.
Do animals enjoy drugs and suffer diseases and disorders like humans? 'Zoobiquity' suggests they do
On a recent morning at the Los Angeles Zoo, head veterinarian Dr. Curtis Eng points out to a visitor a pair of hairy teenage brothers who are two of the zoo’s seven gorilla stars.
“We actually have this bachelor group here," Eng said as he pointed through a glass barrier that separates zoo visitors from the giant apes.
One of the apes makes his way toward the humans staring at him. "That’s Hasani. He’s about two-and-a-half years older than his younger brother."
The zoo primates are treated to top-notch health care, including preventive heart screenings from UCLA cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz. She's among the physicians calling for more communication between human doctors and veterinarians.
Natterson-Horowitz said a research visit to a zoo forever changed the way she practices medicine.
“We were going to do at the zoo what we do with human patients, which is screen them with an ultrasound of the heart,” she said. "As one of the animals was being sedated, I was making a lot of eye contact because in a human patient that's what you'd do to create trust and connection."
But the veterinarian prepping the primate cautioned Natterson-Horowitz against close-up eye contact with the squirrel-sized Tamarin monkey, telling her that it might trigger “capture myopathy.”
Unfamiliar with the term, Natterson-Horowitz later looked it up. It described an often deadly syndrome in restrained wild animals. But she realized it was almost identical to something researchers had just reported in humans who suffer extreme stress, such as that caused by witnessing the death of a loved one.
“It occurred to me these were probably the same disorders with different names, or they were very connected," said Natterson-Horowitz. "But the piece of it that was just startling was that in veterinary literature and wildlife biology literature, this has been written about for decades, literally decades.”
She said the journal "Nature" had reported it more than 30 years ago.
"So that gulf raised the possibility that there were many other gulfs like that," she said. "And I'm just one cardiologist having this one 'aha' moment and I realized we needed to amplify that."
So Natterson-Horowitz set out to research the wealth of medical information that’s long been hiding in plain sight in the journals of veterinary medicine and wildlife biology. Scientific literature, she said, that few human doctors take the time to read.
"When you know that breast cancer doesn’t just affect human patients, that breast cancer affects big cats like jaguars and tigers and lions and also affects Beluga whales and also affects certain dog breeds, I believe it will improve and expand investigation which could benefit animals and human patients with the same problem.”
Natterson-Horowitz and journalist Kathryn Bowers gathered hundreds of these findings in a book they co-authored called “Zoobiquity." It offers insight into hundreds of human-animal health overlaps that include even harmful psychological behaviors considered uniquely human.
Take anorexia nervosa. Think it's just a problem for teenage girls and young women? Think again: some farm pigs are known to self-starve, said Natterson-Horowitz.
There are documented cases of obesity in dragonflies and bulimia – or self-induced vomiting - in marine mammals. There’s even drug addiction among many species: birds that get buzzed on fermented berries; cows that get high off loco weed; even Tasmanian wallabies that can’t keep their paws out of medical opium fields.
"They’re known to jump over fences and grab the poppies and ingest the poppy sap and the poppy straw until they’re intoxicated," Natterson-Horowitz said. "We learned about big horn sheep attracted to hallucinogenic lichen that grows on the tops of cliffs and they will actually scale cliffs to access this lichen."
It doesn't stop there. Self-injury, also long-believed to be a uniquely human behavior, is shared by some animals. Natterson-Horowitz said veterinarians have long identified and successfully treated it in many of their patients - from caged birds that pluck out all their feathers or peck themselves bloody to stallions that bite serious injuries into their own flanks.
"I think the human psychiatrist, psycyotherapists even a parent dealing with the challenging issue of self-injury in a patient child could look to the success that animals experts have in treating self-injury," she said.
And Dr. Eng agrees. "That’s really what our goal is with this whole 'Zoobiquity' thing," he said. "To have the conversation between human physicians and DVMs talking about the various things they have in common and then what they don’t have in common and how to make things better for both sides."
Props To You: Would Prop 31 improve government efficiency?
Prop 31 is an initiative that claims it will improve government efficiency and accountability, which sounds good, but does this claim hold water?
KPCC's Kevin Ferguson gets to the bottom of it.
Note: In the interview, the producer said he couldn't find an official website representing the opposition to prop 31. A representative from the campaign wrote in with a link to Prop 31 Facts.
Swedish-born Southern California high schooler dreams of a future in the NFL (PHOTOS)
Could the next football phenom be from Sweden? Kevin Dillman, 16, is a foreign exchange student from Sweden currently attending La Mirada High School in Los Angeles. He’s also one of the most talked-about high school football athletes in the state.
Kevin Dillman stands 6-foot-4, weighs about 210 pounds and he's just 16 years old. Decked out in his La Mirada High School football uniform he stands out on the field.
Off the field, he stands out among his fellow classmates for another reason.
Dillman is a foreign exchange student from Sweden. He moved to La Mirada, California, a sleepy suburb full of tract homes on cul-de-sacs, specifically to play football for the Matadores. It was a plan that took years to realize, but has paid off now that Dillman, a sophomore, is projected to be one of the premiere Division 1 recruits in the class of 2015.
"I always knew I wanted to play football in the U.S., but I didn’t know if it was going to be possible for me to play high school all four years," said Dillman.
The story of how he ended up here goes back a generation. His father, who was born in the U.S. but raised in Sweden, was a foreign exchange student at La Mirada High School more than 30 years ago. He kept in touch with former classmates and brought Kevin out for a visit when he was just 13. That’s when varsity head coach, Mike Moschetti, first got a look at his arm.
"I believe he was in eighth grade," said Moschetti. "We were practicing and he was on the sidelines throwing with his dad, and I remember looking over saying, 'Who’s the 23-year-old standing over there on the sidelines?'"
A year later Dillman enrolled in the high school with a tourist visa, but that expired after only a few months, so he packed up and headed home to southern Sweden.
"We knew Kevin was going to be a highly recruited football player, so we didn’t want him to stay here on an expired visa," said Moschetti. "That would make him an illegal citizen — then the government could make it hard for him down the road."
So Dillman filed more paperwork, lifted weights and waited for seven months before he was granted his American citizenship. Almost immediately he was back in his #10 jersey.
Coach Moschetti put together a highlight reel, and within days there was a flurry of college offers. The first one came from UCLA coach Jim Mora.
"Literally, the next day my phone rang, I answered, it was Coach Mora. He said, 'I just watched that film and wanted to let you know we’re going to offer Kevin a scholarship,'" said Moschetti.
Now, with five games under his belt, there are eight other offers on the table. But Dillman seems nonplussed.
"OK: UCLA, Louisville, Arkansas, Old Miss, Utah, Cal Berkeley, Colorado. I have two more. I don’t know," said Dillman.
Those last two? Florida State and Nebraska. And word is the head coach from the University of Washington came out to see him play last week.
The funny thing is, for all of his talent as a quarterback, that’s not what he’s playing this year. There’s a senior on the team who’s filling the position.
"He’s playing in a lot of different positions. He’s playing free safety, wide receiver, defensive end," said Jim Phillips, the team's social media director.
As we speak on the sidelines, Phillips sits tweeting during a game against Bishop Amat two weeks ago.
At this point, La Mirada is down by 14 points and Phillips is waiting for Dillman to do something “impressive," like what he did in the first game of the season against St. Paul High School.
"The very first play, kickoff, the play of the season for us, he returned the kickoff 97 yards for the touchdown," said Phillips.
The father of another boy out on the field leans over and says, “When God made quarterbacks, he thought of Kevin.”
Still, the team isn’t able to build up enough momentum for a win. It’s their only loss so far.
Home Away From Home
Nancy Meyers is the fill-in mom in Dillman’s new life in the states. It’s Meyers, her husband Kenny and their kids — all diehard Green Bay Packers and Notre Dame fans — who’ve taken in the teenager who moved here on his own.
Meyers said her husband had worked it all out with Coach Moschetti and somehow forgot to mention it to her — until she ran into a friend.
"Well, it’s kind of a funny story, because no one ever told me," said Meyers. "I kept picturing a big Swede, like a big lineman type of guy, and when I answered the door it was Kevin. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh!' I go, 'You need to be a model.'"
Nancy and Kenny, who coaches the freshman team at La Mirada, said Dillman is an easy and extremely focused kid, who happens to plow through boxes and boxes of cereal. He has a 3.8 GPA and keeps his room relatively clean, which is the only condition his mom posed to let him move to another continent.
Dillman texts his parents at the beginning and end of every day, and his dad follows all of his games in real time on Twitter. Meyers said Dillman is usually so poised that it’s easy to overlook how intimidating it is to be in the spotlight.
She recently told him: "'You have to learn to give interviews,' and then he said, 'but I’m only 15,'" said Meyers. "I think a lot of times, we all forget that. He’s just a boy, away from his family and having to rise up to the occasion."
The day I showed up for a practice, Nick Kramer was there to shoot an interview with Dillman for a Swedish news website. Kramer said it’s possible Dillman could be a gateway athlete for American football in Sweden.
"There’s been a couple of television stations is Sweden that have done a thing on, you know, he might be the next Peyton Manning," said Kramer. "It’s a big deal 'cause it’s a small sport getting bigger, and he is a potential big star in a big position. Like being the Reynaldo of soccer… if you make it."
The other boys on the team seem unfazed by the crew and the attention that’s been thrown on Dillman. Yes, they’ve read the "Sports Illustrated" profile. Yes, they know about the multiple offers. No, they have no idea what public radio is.
Nobody is jealous, said Tristan Tristao.
"We have a lot of good players, so they’re not even coming for Kevin," said Tristao. "They’re coming to look at a lot of the players, and while they’re looking at those players, they see even other players that they’re interested in, so it kind of works out for the whole team."
In fact, Coach Moschetti said about six players on the team have offers from Division 1 schools. Tyler Luatua, a junior, has already racked up 19 football scholarship offers.
Dillman said being around such great players is what drives him. Still, he’s not one to brag.
"Well I would see it as… I have potential," said Dillman.
He said he doesn’t really have a favorite school yet, but wherever he goes, he hopes it’ll lead to the NFL — with regular visits to Sweden.
The Dinner Party: Worst hotel, Khrushchev & corn, and statue to failure
Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam, the hosts of the Dinner Party radio show and podcast stop by for your weekend conversation starters.
On tap this week: Probably the worst hotel ever built, Nikita Khrushchev's friendship with an American corn farmer, and a statue devoted to failure.
Wealthy Chinese citizens buying up California real estate
Rich business people from Mainland China are snapping up high-end real estate in California. Their location of choice: San Marino.
Real estate agents there say perhaps 90 percent of all sales are now going to Chinese buyers.
We talk to the BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani, who says these buyers almost always pay in cash, and some worry their driving up real estate prices and changing the nature of the community.
Studying the effect of Carmageddon on pollution in LA
This weekend, L.A. drivers are preparing the 405 Freeway closure, dubbed Carmageddon part 2.
Public health and atmospheric scientists at UCLA studied the skies during Carmageddon as a way to see what an alternative fuel future could look like. They're just beginning to share those studies
KPCC's Molly Peterson joins the show to talk about what these studies show.
FDA warns consumers of illegitimate online drug retailers
Buying stuff online has become routine for many Americans. It's easy: No parking problems, no waiting in line, and it's usually cheaper, too.
But the FDA now says people looking online for cheaper and easier access to prescription drugs are likely being sold dangerous fakes.
The agency has issued a warning that many Internet pharmacies are unlicensed and unregulated, and they may be selling drugs that are contaminated, expired or inactive.
The FDA says that only 3 percent of online pharmacies follow state and federal laws. They've launched a campaign to help consumer identify legitimate online pharmacies, and spot illicit ones.
We're joined by Paul Doering (rhymes with boring), a professor of pharmacy at the University of Florida.
He recommends checking out the legitimacy of your pharmacy using this website.
Domestic workers in California ramp up their case for labor protection rights
Across California domestic workers and their supporters are ramping up pressure on Governor Brown to sign Assembly Bill 889 by Sunday.
The bill would grant paid rest periods, payment for overtime hours, and guaranteed uninterrupted sleep if the worker lives with her employer. The governor's signature on AB 889 would make California the second state in the country to enact labor protections for nannies, caregivers and housekeepers.
Andrea Wadarama, a veteran nanny and house cleaner, joined with the organizing group CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrants Rights Los Angeles) to rally for the bill. She says employers have violated her rights many times over the years.
But she adds,"When you have few options and are very much in need of work, there are times when you will work for very little money."
Rosa Maria Segura, an organizer with CHIRLA, admits that all the protections the workers want are not in this bill. Yet she describes AB 889 as a "stepping stone to recognize that domestic workers need to be protected as any other worker."
Opponents of the bill include the California Chamber of Commerce and agencies that hire domestic workers. Robert Nuddleman is a San Jose-based employment lawyer. He says that this bill would add a tremendous bureaucratic burden to employers.
Furthermore, the bill is unnecessary, Nuddleman contends, because domestic workers "already have these rights."
Katie Joaquin of the California Domestic Workers Coalition disagrees.
"While there is a wage order that exists for housekeepers, gardeners and cooks, many personal attendants who are nannies and caregivers doing 80 percent or more of their time on personal attendant duties are excluded from the protections," she said.
The domestic work industry is unusual because the employers outnumber the employees.
Seth Lennon Weiner of Culver City employs a house cleaner. "I do not think that domestic worker employers as a group are cognizant of the power that we hold," says Weiner. He believes AB 889 is a step toward helping individuals and families who hire domestic workers do right by them.
Ozomatli makes music to appeal to kids and parents
When you're a parent, finding the right music to share with your kids can be tricky.
Your music may be a little too adult, and there are only so many times you can hear the wheels on the bus before your head explodes.
Which is why the LA-based band Ozomatli may be a welcome sight. They have a new album out called Ozokidz. It's music for kids and adults. It's fast, fun and educational.
Take a listen below: