Patt Morrison for Tuesday, December 6, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Tuesday, December 6, 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

 

 

1:06-1:40: OPEN

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

Tree expert explains why some trees fell, others survived

The most recent Santa Ana winds took down trees that were hundreds of years old and had previously withstood devastating earthquakes and winds. What made certain trees more vulnerable or durable than others? Is there anything you should know when replanting downed trees in your neighborhood? Patt checks in with a local tree specialist who’s been surveying the damage around town.

 

Guests:

Frank McDonough, botanical information consultant, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens

 

2:06 – 2:40

Should we ban email in the workplace?

How much of your day gets eaten up by email? And how much of it is to or from someone who’s just a few yards away? In a recent article in the Atlantic, CEO Thierry Breton estimated that managers at his company, Atos, spend up to 25 hours a week looking at email. Breton plans to get that time back by instituting a company-wide ban on intra-office email.  It may sound like a solution for Luddites, but Atos, an international information technology company, might just be ahead of the trend, pushing for its employees to communicate using chat or instant messaging internally and reserve email for external interactions.  According to some, this fits with predictions of an incoming workforce who already communicate via instant messaging, which could explain why your inbox has been a little lonely as of late—minus the newsletters and sales announcements, of course.

 

Have you or your company taken any steps towards cutting down on inbox clutter? Have they worked? Would you be more productive if you IM’d your fellow employees instead of emailing? 

 

Guest:

Karen North, director of the online communities program at USC's Annenberg school of Communications and Journalism

 

Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees business coverage for the website

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

What the upcoming Medicare deadline means for you
Seniors who want to join Medicare or change their plan for 2012 have an important deadline this week. Those who qualify for Medicare benefits will need to opt in or make any changes to their plan for 2012 by 12:01am Thursday, when open enrollment ends. Seniors who are already enrolled and wish to remain in their current plan don’t have to take any action, but there are significant changes to some existing plans. If the rules seem like a moving target, it’s because the open enrollment for 2012 began and ends earlier than previous years as the Medicare officials hope to have Medicare processing completed by January 1, 2012. Help is available at 1-800-MEDICARE or online at medicare.gov. Is Medicare working for you? How do seniors keep up with the new plans and options?

 

Guest:

TBA

 

 

 

Lauren Osen

Southern California Public Radio - 89.3 KPCC

626-583-5173 / 626-483-5278

losen@scpr.org @Patt_Morrison