Patt Morrison for Friday, July 1, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, July 1, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

DAVID LAZARUS FILLS IN FOR PATT MORRISON

 

1:06 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

 

1:30 - 1:58:30

Theater texter tossed out: how strictly should cell phone rules in movies be enforced?

Over the years, movie theater announcements have evolved from polite requests for verbal silence to firm recommendations for turning off cell phones, but like all rules, they are not always observed or enforced. However, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a movie chain based in Austin, Texas, recently kicked a customer out of one of their theaters for texting, a behavior prohibited by the theater owners and communicated to the audience with a short video prior to each film. After the customer left a furious message on the company voicemail, Alamo Drafthouse used the irate recording in an advertisement on Youtube, which drew 4.4 million views and attention from many talk shows and websites. The use of a customer’s voice without his or her permission is perfectly legal, so long as the recording is accurate, but the incident raises questions about the potential impact of what we say or do publicly. Is it important to observe a certain etiquette with cell phones in movie theaters and other places? And do people feel entitled to talk or text on their cell phones, wherever they feel like it? Put down that phone and weigh in!

 

Guest:

Tim League, owner, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

CALL HIM:

 

Patrick Corcoran, California operations chief, National Association of Theater Owners

CALL HIM:

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:19

Yet another case of molestation & obfuscation by the Los Angeles Archdiocese

 

Guest:

Dan Rather, host of “Dan Rather Reports” on HDNet; he broke the story of Father Fernando Lopez-Lopez in the L.A. Archdiocese

HE CALLS US:

 

TBD representative of the L.A. Archdiocese

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Are tax increases job killers? The complicated answer to a loaded question

 

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Plastic bag ban goes into effect in LA today, first zero-packaging grocery store gears up to open in Austin, TX

A ban on plastic bags goes into effect throughout unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County today. Paper bags will still be available for 10 cents-a-bag, but county supervisors hope the ban encourages shoppers to bring their own reusable bags. Meanwhile, over in Austin, Texas, a grocery store called in.gredients is going several steps further. They’re aiming to be the first zero-waste, package-free supermarket in the nation. That means shoppers will have to think ahead and bring their own containers for grains, seasonal produce, spices, meat, beer, wine and cleaning materials. What does an aisle in a grocery store without packages look like and would you shop there? Patt talks with the in.gredients cofounder and his revolutionary or old-school idea, depending on how you look at it.

 

Guest:

Christian Lane, co-founder of in.gredients grocery stores, opening soon in Austin, Texas

CALL HIM @

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org

 

Patt Morrison for Thursday, 6/30/2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 30, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

FROM THE MOHN BROADCAST CENTER, I’M PATT MORRISON

 

1:00 – 1:20

OPEN

 

1:20– 1:40

Is the American dream still housed within four walls surrounded by a mortgage?

Even in the face of recession, nine out of ten Americans believe that owning a home is integral to the American dream, according to a new poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS News. Perhaps that isn’t so surprising—we’re all familiar with the house-and-white-picket-fence meme—but other findings of the survey are: for example, that respondents markedly supported government help for people with housing troubles over assistance for those who had been unemployed for many months due to recession.

 Additionally, many respondents said the government should be improving its support of the housing market and homeowners struggling with their mortgages, and they lambasted President Obama for his handling of housing issues so far. Blame for the housing crash was directed at financial institutions, lenders and regulators. Many also said that the bleak state of the market had affected their plans for the future and are very concerned about taking a risk in the housing market just now. Is the widespread pessimism unearthed by this survey warranted? What governmental measures can decrease foreclosures and brighten homeowner prospects for the future?

 

Guests:

David Streitfeld, reporter with The New York Times

CALL HIM:

 

Additional guest on home buying:  TBD

 

 

1:40 – 2:00

Demise of “Mystery Shoppers” Program Remains a Mystery

The Obama Administration’s not-so-secret plan to deploy thousands of “mystery shoppers” to evaluate appointment wait time for primary care physicians has been cancelled, but the reason for its demise is still unclear. Though the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources said that “politics did not play a role in the decision,” the influence of the fierce backlash from doctors who characterized the program’s approach as relying on “Big Brother tactics” cannot be discounted. Opponents of the program argued that fake patients could worsen wait times and use up valuable resources for real patients in need of care, but supporters maintained that mystery shoppers could identify nascent problems in the health care system that could later be addressed with federal money, guidelines and resources. Though the situation of primary care physicians is delicate in many states, it is particularly bad in California; the California Medical Association recently acknowledged that 74% of the state’s counties have shortages of primary care physicians, and the provider reimbursement rate, already considered too low by many doctors, may face a 10% cut by the legislature next week. Now that the mystery shopper plan is off the table, where do we go from here? What can we do to address ridiculously long wait times and the growing shortage of doctors?

 

Guests:

TBD

 

 

2:00 – 2:30

July 4^th, fireworks, BBQ’s and the flag!  What does the red white, and blue mean to you?

Ah, it's that time of year again--time to celebrate our nation's birthday and take pride in the principles for which we stand, or just appreciate the extra day off and the exploding blasts of twinkles in the sky. There is nothing that symbolizes our nation more than the American flag, but do we know as much about it as we should?  It's time to test our knowledge: true or false did Betsy Ross sew the first American flag? Is it illegal to burn the flag? Do the colors represent anything?

 

Guest:

Marc Leepson, journalist, historian and the author of seven books, including Flag: An American Biography

CALL HIM

 

 

2:30 – 2:40

OPEN

 

 

2:40 – 3:00

David Mamet, the reformed “brain-dead liberal,” on how the Left is dismantling American culture

David Mamet, the famous playwriter and director, whose works include films The Untouchables, The Verdict, and Wag the Dog and plays American Buffalo and Pulitzer-prize winning Glengarry Glen Ross, is a self-proclaimed “reformed liberal.” For the past thirty years, Mamet depicted the rationale behind liberal thought in his plays and movies as his underdog characters battled against the ruthless forces of a free market economy. But in 2008, he shocked his fans with his hugely controversial op-ed in the Village Voice titled “Why I am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead’ Liberal.” In this article and now in his new book, The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture, Mamet says he was living in a bubble in which he allowed the biased media sources he followed to keep him from seeing reason. He claims that Leftist thought is a “devolution from reason to belief”—a belief, that is, in government. He goes as far as to say, “The Left, in addition to its embrace of the false (higher taxes mean increased prosperity for all), and its acceptance of the moot as incontrovertible (global warming), must account for the incidental effect of the sum of these decisions. This effect is the destruction of our culture.” Mamet is here with Patt to take her questions and yours.

 

Guest:
David Mamet, playwriter and director, whose works include films The Untouchables, The Verdict, and Wag the Dog and plays American Buffalo and Pulitzer-prize winning Glengarry Glen Ross; recent author of The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture

CALL HIM:

 

 

Patt Morrison for Wednesday, June 29, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:58:30

OPEN

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:39

Who are the richest Americans? As the gap grows between richest & poorest, a look at the wealthy elite

With the top 1% of earners raking in more than 20% of personal income in the United States, income inequality has been on the rise for decades, but until recently, no one knew why. A new study of tax returns, however, reveals that historical increases in corporate executive pay have largely contributed to the widening gap, and that nearly 60% of the current top 0.1% are CEOs, managers, supervisors, or financial professionals. It’s common knowledge that capitalistic theory requires basic economic inequality, but how great is the trade-off between equity and growth, or is there a trade-off at all?

 

It hasn’t always been this way:  the share of total income going to the top 1 percent of earners, which stood at 8.9 percent in 1976, rose to 23.5 percent in 2007.  That traces the historic rise in power and wealth of corporate executives.  During that same period of time the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage declined by more than 7 percent.  Why has corporate pay at some of the largest firms quadrupled since the 1970s, and how has this affected the rest of Americans, whose paychecks haven’t increased? And in terms of inequality, has the U.S. now joined the ranks of struggling countries and banana republics?

 

Guests:

Jon Bakija, professor of economics at Williams College and coauthor of a recent study of tax returns that concluded executive and other firm managers account for the single biggest chunk of high income earners in the U.S.

CALL HIM @

 

Carola Frydman, assistant professor of finances at the Sloan School of Management at MIT; author of various studies on executive compensation

CALL HER @

 

Emmanuel Saez, professor economics & director of the Center for Equitable Growth at the University of California, Berkeley

CALL HIM:

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Should we give corporations a tax holiday?

Some of the biggest U.S. companies operating overseas, including Cisco, Google Inc, Apple, Pfizer Inc., and Microsoft Corp. want to come back home and bring their money and jobs with them.  The only problem is repatriation comes at a price—they get hit with a 35 percent tax on profits when they return.  So now some of these companies are banning together (and spending millions) to pressure Congress to give them a one-time tax holiday.  If they get their wish, the tax rate would be reduced to 5.25 percent. The nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that a tax holiday will cost the U.S. Treasury $78.7 billion over the next decade. Is this a fair trade off for job creation and domestic investment? And will enough jobs be created to justify the tax relief?

 

Guest:

Jesse Drucker, writer, Bloomberg News

CALL HIM @

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org

 

Patt Morrison for Tuesday, June 28, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Put on your tinfoil helmets, the smart meters are coming!

“Smart meters” have already been installed by utilities across the country, but Pacific Gas & Electric Company is meeting fierce opposition from homeowners, politicians, city officials and environmentalists who don’t want their old meters replaced in some areas of California. This unlikely coalition is vociferously rejecting the installation of automated metering devices, saying that they violate property rights and emit unhealthy pulses of electromagnetic radiation. But according to the California Council on Science and Technology, the nonprofit and nonpartisan group that advises our state government on technology, smart meters emit radio signals that meet the federal government’s safety criteria for cell phones and microwaves.

 

PG&E is standing firm in its decision to continue smart meter installation and refuses to honor the moratoriums on meters that have been imposed by several cities, saying that the smart meter program is under the authority of the California Public Utilities Commission, not local governments. The company is, however, offering an alternative meter plan that allows customers to keep their old meters, if they pay a monthly fee for visits from a technician.

 

8 million of the low-power smart meters have been put in service since last summer, but it is unclear how long the rest will take. Are these claims against smart meters well-founded? And will the current opposition pose a threat to nation-wide efforts to create an electrical smart grid for more efficient energy use? 

 

Guests:

Molly Peterson, KPCC environment reporter

 

 

Patt: We’re finished here, but the conversation continues on the Patt Morrison page at KPCC-dot-org and on our Facebook page. You’re listening to 89.3 KPCC – Southern California Public Radio. When we come back …

 

2:00 – 2:01 – billboard

BILLBOARD CUT

 

 

[NPR NEWS]

 

2:06 – 2:19

EMBARGOED UNTIL 6AM PACIFIC, TUES, 6/28 – DO NOT PROMO UNTIL THAT TIME

Bad science, ill-prepared forensic pathologists contribute to mishandling of child death investigations with devastating results for the innocent

We’ve all seen the cool assurance, brilliant expertise and cutting-edge technological methods of the forensic scientists on any given episode of C.S.I., but real-life autopsies, especially those performed on children, are far less glamorous. Mounting evidence compiled by several journalistic agencies suggests that many forensic pathologists are misdiagnosing the causes of death for infants they receive at the morgue, and providing testimony that largely contributes to the convictions of innocent people. Oftentimes, medical examiners who perform post-mortem examinations on young children do not have a solid enough understanding of child anatomy or disorders to accurately distinguish between bodily injuries caused by abuse versus those caused by natural conditions. And often they do not consult patient medical records or pediatric specialists before determining the official cause of death. Such malpractice played a prominent role in more than two dozen cases of wrongful conviction, which are now coming to light, but for many who were put behind bars, exoneration cannot repair the damage done to their families and personal lives. Should evidence from medical examiners weigh so heavily in Can our deeply-rooted desire to hold someone accountable for a child’s death sometimes make us too eager to find a defendant guilty?  

 

 

Guests:

A.C. Thompson, reporter at ProPublica

CALL HIM:

 

Eddie Lopez, younger brother of Ernie Lopez, who was found guilty of killing an infant under his care. His case is under appeal because of fault found in the forensic investigation.

CALL HIM:

 

 

 

2:21:30 – 2:39

Is blowing a whistle a noble cause? Not if you ask Obama.

Who is a whistleblower? In the past that was a pretty straight forward question--an individual who put their job on the line to release insider information about corporate wrong doing or government malfeasance.  They served the greater good and the country validated their efforts by creating legislation to protect them. What would have happened in Vietnam if Daniel Ellsberg hadn’t released the “Pentagon Papers” to the New York Times or if Jeffrey Wigand hadn’t exposed Brown &Williamson’s manipulation of nicotine in cigarettes to 60 minutes, or if Bunnatine Greenhouse hadn’t spoken out against Halliburton and the company’s no-bid contracts, waste, fraud and other abuses in Iraq? But today the question of how we define what a whistleblower is and how much protection they should receive is a much more complicated one.  Should army private Bradley E. Manning receive protection for releasing sensitive military information to WikiLeaks? What about Thomas A. Drake who felt the government’s eavesdropping program was unproductive and a waste of money? He was indicted in April. Then there’s the Army intelligence analyst who was arrested for allegedly handing over a classified video of an American military helicopter firing on civilians in Baghdad. The Obama administration has racked up more prosecutions for people who have leaked classified information than any other president in our country’s history. Is President Obama justified? Are these cases jeopardizing American security, or revealing a little more than the government than would like us to know? Do we need to reassess who a whistleblower is and how much protection should they receive?

 

Guest:

Stephen M. Kohn, executive director, the National Whistleblowers Center and author of the recently released book The Whistleblower's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What's Right and Protecting Yourself.

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

A bright idea? Republicans attempt repeal of pending incandescent light bulb ban

Come New Year’s Day 2012, you won’t be able to buy your standard 100-Watt incandescent bulb anywhere in the country. That is, unless the current chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee can convince Congress to repeal the ban. The original Energy Independence and Security Act, or CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 was intended to jumpstart the market for the energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and to move the U.S. towards greater energy independence. Critics complain CFLs are up to ten times as expensive, take 3 minutes to warm up, contain mercury, have limited versatility and produce a colder, flatter light than their warm predecessor. Tune in to find out if repeal stands a chance and why the chairman who originally backed the 2007 bill changed his mind.

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Representative Joe Barton

 

Representative Michael Burgess

 

Representative Fred Upton

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org

 

Patt Morrison for Monday, June 27, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, June 27, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

 

1:06 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

The 411 on 401(k)s: why auto-enroll programs weren’t a quick fix

Five years after the federal government altered the retirement savings landscape, are workers better prepared for retirement? Critics of the retirement and 401 (k) plan reform say no. A controversial provision in the 2006 Pension Protection Act sought to use employees’ inertia to their advantage and “auto-enroll” them in 401 (k) retirement plans to get them to start saving early unless they actively opted out. 82% of employees at companies with auto-enroll programs are enrolled and yet, most people are still woefully behind when it comes to retirement savings. The problem is multi-pronged—auto-enroll programs usually leave out large parts of the existing workforce because they only enlist new workers; and most auto-enroll plans begin with a savings rate of 3%—far too low for most people to reach their retirement goals in time. So how much money should you be aiming to sock away? Whether you’re just starting out on a road to financial independence, saddled with debt or getting ready to retire, Patt and her guest field all your financial questions about saving, or trying to save money.

 

Guest:

Beth Kobliner, member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability and author of the bestselling book Get a Financial Life

SHE CALLS US

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:39

Attacked on the left flank, Barack Obama finds himself fighting his own liberal base

Liberals had high hopes for Barack Obama—portrayed by his Republican opponents as an ultra liberal socialist during the 2008 campaign and after his victory, those on the political left were hoping that at least the liberal slander would come true.  Latinos were hoping for comprehensive immigration reform, but while the president has made some noise on the issue recently he’s also overseen a dramatic surge in deportations. Anti-war activists were hoping that President Obama’s opposition to the war in Iraq would carry over to Afghanistan, but they were disappointed in the troop surge last year and further upset that the president isn’t bringing home more soldiers in quicker fashion from the 10-year old Afghan conflict.  Gays and lesbians were hopeful that President Obama would come around on gay marriage—which he hasn’t—but were mildly pleased that he pushed through the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” although it still wasn’t quick enough for their liking.  Perhaps most disappointed of all, environmentalists were hoping that President Obama would push through a cap-and-trade bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions and that his administration would get behind a strong EPA; he has failed on both accounts.

 

So for this allegedly bleeding heart socialist of a president, he certainly is having a difficult time pleasing his fellow liberals.  There’s a lot of grumbling ahead of 2012 and predictions that the overwhelming wave of enthusiasm that lead President Obama to such a decisive victory in 2008 might not be there for him this time, chiefly because he’s paid so little attention to his base.  Are liberals right to feel let down by their president or has Barack Obama always been a centrist at heart?  Can President Obama count on his left flank during next year’s election or has he sold them out one too many times?

 

Guests:

ALL UNCONFIRMED…FOR NOW

John Nichols, Washington Correspondent, The Nation

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio’s 10^th District; author of a resolution that called for the end of U.S. hostilities in Libya

 

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men

In nature, there’s a rigid human sex ratio of 105 boys for every 100 girls, but the invention of amniocentesis and the ultrasound in the 1970s led to massive skewing of these normal proportions, as couples around the world decided to abort their female fetuses. These sex-specific abortions—an estimated 163 million in the last 40 years—have trickled down from societal elites in such places as China and India to the middle and lower classes, creating a nation-wide dearth of girls over time. Though originally seen as a way to obtain more “desirable” offspring, scientists predict the long-term effect of female abortions will cause or exacerbate serious problems: crime rates in areas with “surplus males,” the spread of prostitution and mail-order bride services, as well as the creation of a female underclass. Are efforts to change such birth preferences, which are often deeply ingrained in many cultures, likely to meet with success? And does criticism of parents’ choices to abort their female offspring bolster women’s rights and conditions, or actually run contrary to the pro-choice movement?

 

Guests:

Mara Hvistendahl, a Beijing-based correspondent for Science and the author of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org

 

Patt Morrison for Friday, June 23, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, June 24, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

 

1:21:30 – 1:39

Dwell conference opens, highlights Cradle-to-Cradle living. What exactly does that mean?

Much of city planning is about thinking of how to minimize bad things—traffic, pollution, noise—but instead of minimizing the bad, what about maximizing the good? It sounds like a simple euphemism on the surface, but it’s fueling a revolution in architectural design. American architect William McDonough is leading the way with a philosophy of “green architecture” that he’s calling Cradle-to-Cradle design. The model focuses on designing to promote the good rather than to minimize the bad and seeks to design massive buildings with systems for collecting storm runoff, housing birds, using daylight for internal lighting and harnessing natural ventilation. He’s convinced the Chinese government to contract him for the construction of 7 new green cities and Pakistan has turned to him for tips on how to build for a world of 10 billion people. How can we increase the sustainability of our infrastructure and how much will it cost? And where does the new revolution fall in the traditional conflict between environment and industry? Patt talks with the father of the movement, which is being heavily featured at this year’s Dwell conference in Los Angeles this weekend.

 

Guest:

Bill McDonough, designer, architect and Cradle to Cradle thought leader; he’ll be delivering the key note address at the DWELL conference in downtown this weekend

CALL HIM @

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

OPEN

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:25

Drink this up: progress in managing the “global water crisis” is possible

Concern over water’s increasing scarcity in heavily-populated parts of the world has led environmentalists to announce a “global water crisis,” and there’s little doubt that massive resource mismanagement by humans has contributed to the problem, but journalist Charles Fishman swims against the current in his new and surprising study of our most precious resource. In The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, he takes an engaging, optimistic and unconventional look at the ramifications of wasteful water use, as well as the effective solutions that can be reached with modern resources and the cooperation of business and government. The “golden age” of cheap, safe and plentiful water is over, and the liquid is vital to industry and normal life—consider the typical American’s use of 90 gallons a day for cooking and cleaning—but big companies’ conscious efforts to cut back on water use and the myriad of technological advances are signaling the emergence of a new era of “smart water” use. How can we counteract the world-wide scarcity of water, and what can we do on an every-day basis to conserve it?

 

Guest:

Charles Fishman, journalist and author of “The Big Thirst” and the best seller “The Wal-Mart Effect”

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

2:25 – 2:45

Checking the Pulse of Journalism: Not Dead Yet…At Least in Rural America

The “demise of journalism” has become a common professional forecast in light of recent budget slashes by major urban media outlets and the Internet’s continued expansion, but award-winning journalist Judy Muller’s new book claims that at least in small towns, reporting is alive and well. In Emus Loose in Egnar: Big Stories from Small Towns she paints a vibrant picture of life and journalism in rural America, where “big news” can range from birth announcements to emus running amok in the locality. Muller’s compilation of stories and characters details the coverage “quaint” events in such remote places as the Alaskan tundra, but also portrays the financial troubles and social difficulties that small-town reporters face as a result of their newspaper’s resources or personal adherence to their First Amendment rights. Join Patt for a discussion of journalism’s fate and what big-city reporters could learn from these stories of struggle and success.

 

PATT: On Wednesday, June 29^th at 7:30pm, Judy will be signing her book at Village Books in Pacific Palisades.

 

Guest:

Judy Muller, professor at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism and Communication; winner of the Peabody Award; former NPR and ABC News correspondent.  Judy is also host of Town Hall Journal, which airs on KPCC each Sunday night at 9 pm.

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

2:45:30 – 2:58:30

To grunt or not to grunt, that may be the question at Wimbledon this year

The majority of Wimbledon’s fan mail is about it; there’s even a Wikipedia page dedicated to it, although no one can agree on how to characterize it. Grunts? Shrieks? Mating calls? Ian Ritchie, the head of the tennis tournament, has made his wishes clear: he’d like to hear less grunting on the court, particularly from the female contestants. Some have made charges of sexism; others point to a generational divide, claiming it’s only the younger players who do it. Is there a psychological component to it meant to psyche out one’s opponent? Does it actually enhance a player’s performance? Is it distracting? Is it cheating? Patt digs deep in the controversy over…well, we’ll call it grunting.

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Bill Dwyre, sports reporter with the Los Angeles Times

 

John Murray, a West Palm Beach Florida-based sports performance psychologist and the author of Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org

 

Patt Morrison for Thursday, June 23, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 23, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30
Make the U.S. competitive or protect jobs for Americans? Bill to increase visas to foreign workers in U.S.
The first “brain drain” we heard about was the most intelligent, skilled individuals of other countries leaving and coming to the United States. Foreign students would come to the U.S. for higher education and then stay (or try to) and use their degree to get a job here. This left developing countries, in particular, struggling to further develop and become competitive without their best and brightest. Now, we’re seeing a brain drain out of the U.S., leaving the U.S. in the same predicament, particularly in science and engineering. Foreign students—many from China and India—come to the U.S. for higher education and, now, take the degree to work back at home. U.S. policy has been: “get an education here and then leave.” So, because they don’t have visas and because China and India now have just as many—if not more—science and engineering jobs, the graduates take their talent to our competitors.

To prevent this, CA Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren has introduced a bill to keep foreign-born workers in the country by increasing the number of H1B visas granted. Lofgren argues that the measure will bring money into the U.S. and make the country more competitive. Lofgren is responding to American companies, like Intel, Google, and Oracle, who say they face a serious shortage of talent and need to hire the very best to be competitive. The bill has been met by large resistance from Republicans and others who point to statistics that the U.S. is producing more than enough American science and engineering grads, and we should be protecting jobs for American. In response, Lofgren and proponents say that even if we don’t increase the number of visas granted, American jobs will not be protected because the U.S. companies are following the U.S.-educated best and the brightest back to their home countries to set up shop. Should we increase the number of visas allowing foreigners to work here? Will such a measure make U.S. companies and/or the U.S. more competitive? Or, during this post-recession period of high unemployment, should we be protecting jobs for Americans?

Guests:
Vivek Wadhwa, director of research, Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization, & exec in residence, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; senior research associate, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School; visiting scholar, School of Information, UC Berkeley
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Paul Kostek, independent consultant in engineering; past president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers USA; past chair of the American Association of Engineering Societies

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2:06 – 2:30

Here’s why your DWP bill is about to go up

Everybody loves renewable energy, who wouldn’t unless you’re an oil or coal executive?  But green power comes with a price tag, and as had been promised for the past few years, customers of the Department of Water & Power are about to pay it.  DWP’s new general manager is proposing annual rate increases of 5% for water and power services over the next three years, money they claim is needed to comply with new environmental regulations and protect its credit rating.  While the additional revenue will cover mandates to move L.A.’s municipal power provider away from coal and deliver 33% clean energy by 2020, there is yet more money that needs to be spent in the next few years to upgrade aging utility infrastructure.  More green—green in terms of the environment and in terms of the great expense—programs will also be implemented in the near future, such as moving away from the use of ocean water to cool power plants (resulting in big “dead zones” off the Southern California coast).

 

All of which means that the 5% annual rate hike might just be the beginning.  Debates over rate increases have proved contentious and this round might not be any different, with the unfilled job of ratepayer advocate looming over both the DWP and the L.A. City Council.  Councilwoman Jan Perry said she would not approve rate hikes until the city hires the voter-mandated position of ratepayer advocate.  DWP claims that its customers have had it good over the past 10 years, averaging much smaller rate increases as compared to other California utilities.  We bring the general manager of the DWP to talk about the future of water and power in Los Angeles, and the future of your bill.

 

Guest:

Ron Nichols, general manager of the Department of Water & Power

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2:30 – 2:39

OPEN

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

Govan’s LACMA will rock you…this November

Michael Govan has been called a visionary, an advocate for artists and is credited with transforming the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).  LA County supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says Govan is to LACMA what Dudamel is to the Philharmonic. He has boosted attendance by 40%, expanded the museum’s collection and completed two new exhibition halls.  But to Govan, it’s not just about art hanging on a wall.  He considers LACMA to be “multidisciplinary” and “multicultural” and capable of “encompass[ing] almost everything cultural.  He is building bridges and has recruited dozens of new trustees including some of Hollywood’s biggest heavy weights.  He has started a new weekly film series with Film Independent and is currently featuring an exhibition by Tim Burton (next year there are plans for a Stanley Kubrick exhibition). LACMA is helping to restore the Watts Towers and is working with the J. Paul Getty Trust to acquire the estate of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.  What’s next?  There is a whole lot of noise about “The Rock”, but you’ll have to listen to Patt to hear more about Govan’s rock art. 

 

Guest:

Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

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Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
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