With unprecedented budget woes, the state broke, and the city broke-- what can the new superintendent do to fix Oakland public schools?
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On Forum, a look at the upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor with guest, Vikram Amar, professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs at the UC Davis School of Law. Also, an interview with American Bar Association president H. Thomas Wells to discuss Sotomayor and other legal news. The ABA ranks all nominees for federal judgeships. They unanimously awarded Sotomayor the highest ranking of "well-qualified". The evaluation includes interviews with lawyers who have worked with Sotomayor as well as a thorough reading of her case writings. The three factors the ranking is based on are: integrity, judicial temperment, and professional comptenence. At YMI, we've been following the politics surrounding Sotomayor's nomination as the first Latina to the Supreme Court. YMI commentators have been inspired by the nomination and have written about the general feeling that change has come to America. The confirmation hearings will be aired live on KQED staring Monday. We'll be listening...
On California Money, a new poll finds that 73% of likely voters would support a tobacco increase to address the state's budget crisis. The polling found that support was strong across party lines. However, Gov. Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto any piece of legislation that includes a tax increase. Democrats in the state legislature also don't seem that interested in this particular tax. They've recently dropped their push for a tobacco tax increase.
At YMI, Jennifer Obakhume discusses her own first smoke and the recent bill Obama signed into law. The bill cracks down on the marketing of cigarettes to youth. As he signed the measure into law in a Rose Garden, Obama said it would help stem the “constant and insidious barrage of advertising” that each year draws millions of teenagers into a lifelong struggle to quit. “I know,” Obama said. “I was one of those teenagers. I know how difficult it is.”
As Obama calls for limiting youth marketing of cigarettes, the military is raising questions about its own smoking culture. Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Sec. Robert Gates to call for a ban on the use of tobacco products by troops and an end to its sale on military property. While many soldiers cite smoking as a stress reliever, proponents of the ban say that tobacco use is extremely costly for both the Pentagon and the Department of Veteran Affairs.
On Forum, guests discuss the state of foreclosures in California and pending legislation in Sacramento. With foreclosures on the rise in California, the number of loan "rescue" scams is increasing throughout the state. Desperate homeowners trying to stay in their homes are increasingly being ripped off by companies promising - and then failing to provide - loan modification help. YMI's Denise Tejada reports on mayors discussing foreclosure solutions. Mayors from New York City, Los Angeles, and St. Louis praise one strategy that has been helping people stay in their homes in Philadelphia. Read more...
In 2003, the Oakland public schools were taken over by the state. Last week, they were given back. On KQED, we hear from Tony Smith, Oakland's new superintendent. Smith, 42, was an administrator in San Francisco and previously ran schools in Emeryville. Smith has a daughter currently enrolled in an Oakland public school. Smith plans on rebuilding the school system and has been praised for reaching out and connecting to different groups. YMI will be following this story in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
The idea is, if you knew how many calories were in a venti Frappucino, then maybe you wouldn't buy one. Starting today, California is requiring that fast food and restaurant chains list how many calories are in each item. The eventual idea is that those numbers will be right on the menu you order from.
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Can you imagine not having a computer or no high-speed internet? It's 2009—a year where people are geared up with the hottest gadgets, but despite that there are those who still live in the shadow of technology. A recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that more than half of Latino households have no computer and more than half have no high-speed internet. Read more...
Michael Jackson continues to dominate headlines. On the California Report and on Forum, music columnist Steve Hochman talks about the enduring legacy of pop star Michael Jackson. Hochman says that while Jackson isn't linked to one era like The Beatles were, people still feel a personal connection to his music. According to Hochman, Jackson forced MTV be more open to African-American viewers interested in R&B and soul and to cultivate a more multicultural audience as a whole. Listeners share their own memories of listening to Michael Jackson.
Here at YMI, staff and students reminisced as well through audio, video, and personal commentary.
The world is still reeling from the death of Michael Jackson. Leaders including Hugo Chavez, Imelda Marcos, Nelson Mandela, and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy have all weighed in. Programming from The Newshour with Jim Lehrer to So You Think You Can Dance? dedicated portions of air time to tribute the star last night.
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On Forum today, guests commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots -- a turning point in the LGBT struggle for recognition and justice. We look back at this historical uprising and examine how the current landscape has been transformed by the work of LGBT activists nationwide. On YMI, Rachel Krantz focuses on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy through the lens of one young man who experienced it.
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In Other Words is a new joint endeavor between Youth Media International and KQED. How do people who grow up in the digital era encounter news differently? See the collaboration unfold right here.
Did you hear the one about?
By: Emily Beaver
Maybe you've heard President Obama talking about reforming health care or seen TV news reports about people protesting recent town hall meetings. But if you think health care reform doesn't impact you, it's time to tune into the debate.
One goal of health care reform is making sure that everyone can get health insurance, including young people. About 30% of Americans ages 19-24 don't have insurance, and one in seven teens doesn't have insurance, says Claire Brindis, Director of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco.
Many young people aren't covered by their parents' health plans, don't get insurance at work, can't afford to buy insurance or simply don't think they'll get sick. But if you get sick or injured when you're uninsured, you might not get the medical care you need or you may go into debt because of medical bills.
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This week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that under a health reform bill in the House of Representatives, young adults could stay insured under their parents' plans through age 26.
Members of Y.I. Want Change, a coalition of youth organizations formed by the Young Invincibles health reform advocacy group, and their supporters stood with Pelosi when she made the announcement at a press conference. The reform could be an important victory for young people.
"It's important because as young people graduate from college and are struggling to find jobs in this economy, they need to have coverage and this provides them with an option," said Chrissy Faessen, vice president of communications and marketing for Rock the Vote. The organization is a member of the Y.I. Want Change coalition.
Right now, about 25 states allow young people to stay on their parents' plans into their 20s. But in other states, young adults get dropped from their parents' private health insurance plans, usually between ages 19 and 22. At age 19, most young people no longer qualify for Medicaid, a government health insurance program that provides coverage for very low-income children and parents.
Read more...By Prairie Park
September 24, 2009 seemed like a normal first day of school: students were filled with anticipation and excitement for the school year. Even while I walked along Ring Road at 9:30 a.m.(a.k.a. "the crack of dawn" for many college students), there was an array of tables set up to snatch any and every student’s attention. As I wandered through the seemingly never-ending rows of fraternity and club members inviting me to their Welcome Week events, I thought to myself, “Ah, the sweet smell of cardstock in the morning.”
However, as I walked through the less crowded paths to my morning class, I heard small clusters of groups here and there discussing the walkout that was scheduled to take place. Students were deciding whether or not they would attend the rally at noon.
When I got to class, more of my classmates were talking about the walkout. Glad to eavesdrop, I heard one student explaining the effects of the budget cuts and why the walkout was so important. In another conversation, I heard a student talking about how his class was canceled because of the walkout. The professor had written them an email saying, “No class today. UCI under siege.” Even my professor decided to make his opening statement for the year about the positive aspects of the walkout and went on to explain to us why he had decided to continue on with class as scheduled rather than participate in the walkout for the whole day.
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When Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a North Korean prison camp we asked Josh Wolf- who holds the record in the U.S. for the longest stay in prison for a reporter protecting his source material- about why reporters take risks.
In the wake of the release of Ling and Lee, and the capture of journalist Shane Bauer by Iran, KQED-FM in San Francisco had writer and editor Andrew Lam on as a guest to talk about the subject. In that conversation Mr. Lam- who works for New American Media- talked about how young freelance journalists are putting themselves into dangerous situations without the same training and resources that reporters who work for the big news organizations have.
We followed up with Mr. Lam today on that topic, and on how the rise of citizen journalism is affecting the quality of information in the media today.
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As someone who has been a target of racial profiling several times, and was even arrested in front of my home and held in jail over the weekend for fitting the description of a burglar, I'm paying close attention to the White House hops invitational.
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