Southern California News Podcast

Molly Peterson: Two scientists who study human effects on the environment will receive a prestigious prize from the University of Southern California this weekend. KPCC's Molly Peterson has the story.

Molly Peterson: Two scientists who study human effects on the environment will receive a prestigious prize from the University of Southern California this weekend. KPCC's Molly Peterson has the story.

Brian Watt: American Airlines plans to ground hundreds of flights for inspection. It's the fourth day in a row of safety inspections and passenger headaches. KPCC's Brian Watt has more on the 15 departures scratched Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport.

Kitty Felde: On Sunday, 1,500 people will try to persuade their neighbors that they should be a Democratic delegate. The party holds its annual convention this summer in August and 241 delegates will represent California. But several hundred other Democrats have been barred from Sunday's delegate elections by the very candidates they want to support. KPCC's Special Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.

Steve Julian: Los Angeles County's health services director surprised county supervisors yesterday by quitting. Dr. Bruce Chernof will lead a new private foundation focusing on health care issues for seniors. He denied his departure had anything to do with the crisis surrounding King-Harbor Hospital. Long Beach's Pacific Hospital backed out of negotiations to run the South L.A. hospital. KPCC's Morning Edition host Steve Julian spoke to L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Burke and asked her whether she was surprised by Chernof's decision to leave.

Shirley Jahad: KPCC's Shirley Jahad talks with Marc Haefele about veteran educator Ramon Cortines, who is returning to the LAUSD to be Superintendent David Brewer's right-hand man.

Julie Small: Most Californians have noticed that their healthcare insurance premiums keep going up and up. What Californians might not know is that insurance company profits have jumped even more. KPCC's Julie Small reports on a bill that would force companies to invest that money back into medical care.

Steven Cuevas: A new study finds that despite persistent housing and economic woes, the Inland Empire will continue to lead the state in population growth and job creation. The region is expected to add around one million residents in less than a decade. KPCC's Steve Cuevas has that.

The dogfighting case that sent football star Michael Vick to prison raised awareness of the problem. It also provided some momentum to lawmakers trying to curb dogfighting in California. Once considered a crime restricted to the South, some say dog fighting is on the rise here. KPCC's Julie Small reports on a bill that would give law enforcement one more way to stop it.

Brooke Binkowski: Friends and family of a teenager shot and killed last month are urging the L.A. City Council to support a new policy for the LAPD they're calling "Jamiel's Law." KPCC's Brooke Binkowski has more.

Steven Cuevas: Hundreds of people crowded into the Ontario convention center for a big economic summit Tuesday. They were there mainly to hear the prognostications of the Inland Empire's leading economic guru. KPCC's Steve Cuevas says the view into the future isn't pretty, but at least there's some light.

Molly Peterson: A three-way deal approved Tuesday by the L.A. City Council will bring a wetlands park to south Los Angeles -- and billboards to the 10 Freeway south of downtown. KPCC's Molly Peterson explains the unusual tradeoff.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: For almost a year, an Orange County criminal grand jury's been investigating the brutal murder of an inmate at the hands of other inmates. The grand jury's findings are out, and the information reveals widespread negligence by sheriff's deputies at the county's largest detention facility. KPCC's Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has more.

Steven Cuevas: A yellow school bus packed with California teachers rolled across the Southland Monday. The field trip is sponsored by the California Teachers Association -- the state's biggest teachers union. It's highlighting teacher layoffs that might come if the state cuts the money it spends on education. The last bus stop was in a school district that could really feel the pain of those cuts. KPCC's Inland Empire reporter Steven Cuevas has that.

Julie Small: A few hundred people rallied on the steps of the state capitol Monday to protest Governor Schwarzenegger's plan to close 48 state parks and reduce lifeguards at 16 state beaches. The governor says the closures would cut $13 million from the state's $16 billion deficit. KPCC's Julie Small says that's not sitting well with California's nature lovers.

Brooke Binkowski: If you gravitate to the same taco truck for lunch every day, you may want to take note of a measure the Los Angeles County Supervisors are weighing tomorrow. KPCC's Brooke Binkowski has the story.

Steven Cuevas: On Tuesday, President Bush will award the Medal of Honor to a Navy SEAL from Orange County. The commendation is being given posthumously. Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor was killed in Iraq in September of 2006 while shielding his comrades from enemy fire. KPCC's Steven Cuevas has his story.

Patricia Nazario, Brian Watt: A spectacle was in order for the first firefighter Los Angeles has lost on the job in almost four years. Flags flew at half mast in downtown this morning, and dozens of polished fire trucks lined city streets near the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Friends, relatives, and city officials joined hundreds of firefighters from across the country who paid their last respects to fallen firefighter Brent Lovrien. KPCC's Patricia Nazario and Brian Watt observed the memorial.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: A large exhibition of Chicano art opens at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this Sunday. The show explores how a branch of art produced by Mexican-American activists 40 years ago has blossomed and inspired a slew of young Latino artists today.

Julie Small: State Republican lawmakers have introduced bills to loosen up school spending. Republicans boast their legislation would help California's public schools cope with big budget cuts. KPCC's Julie Small has the story.

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: Los Angeles County's second-largest school district is in the final days of a bare-knuckled school board campaign. The race for two school board seats in Long Beach Unified pits two incumbents against candidates backed by the teachers' union. The candidates have been crisscrossing the school district's neighborhoods and speaking at forums organized by civic groups. KPCC's Adolfo Guzman Lopez attended one of those forums.

Julie Small: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are tinkering with tools to stop the nation's economic engine from sputtering to a halt. Senators yesterday agreed on a package of tax breaks and housing bonds to help slow down a nationwide wave of foreclosures. KPCC's Julie Small says state lawmakers are doing some economic tinkering of their own. They're working on a number of lending reforms.

Brooke Binkowski: The Los Angeles City Council wants the federal government to steer clear from local medical marijuana dispensaries. KPCC's Brooke Binkowski has details on a resolution the council approved Wednesday.

Patricia Nazario: All nine community colleges in Los Angeles County are going green. It will be one of the largest environmentally-friendly public sector construction projects in the country. But some people who live near one of those campuses describe the multi-billion dollar construction process as anything but friendly to them. KPCC's Patricia Nazario has the story.

Julie Small: California's Senate Health Committee takes up a bill today that would require labels for food containing products from cloned animals. Earlier this year, the federal Food and Drug Administration declared meat and dairy products from cloned animals safe to eat. KPCC's Julie Small reports that raises the prospects for cloned products on store shelves and for consumer pushback.

Brian Watt: The two major actors' unions, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, have gone their separate ways after 27 years. KPCC's Brian Watt says AFTRA will negotiate its own contract with studios.

Steven Cuevas: People who live in Temecula may be tuning to a new radio station soon. It would broadcast emergency information over an AM frequency. But KPCC's Steven Cuevas says the station might expand into more ambitious programming.

Karen Fritsche: If you're one of those people with a habit - we won't succumb to calling it a "bad" habit, but a habit you want to break - maybe you have a better chance if you bet on it. A couple of Yale professors say if you want to succeed, you should bet a lot. Contributor Karen Fritsche put their theory to the test.

Kitty Felde: The California Democratic party held its convention in San Jose over the weekend and both Democratic presidential candidates sent surrogates to court the superdelegates in attendance. With two candidates still in the race, it could have been a contentious atmosphere. But KPCC's Special Correspondent Kitty Felde reports the mood in San Jose was like that old Beach Boys' song, "Don't Worry, Baby."

Steve Julian: Jack Shaw of Marketnews International says House Oversight and Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman wants to know more about the government backed deal that saved Bear Stearns from bankruptcy; the situation in Tibet gets the attention of both of California's senators; Van Nuys Rep. Howard Berman adds another title.