Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen
Podcasts Take Two
Ask an Expert: Reopening California, Will CA's Online College Calbright Close Down?, Protest Songs
solid orange rectangular banner
()
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

Jun 11, 2020
Listen 52:02
Ask an Expert: Reopening California, Will CA's Online College Calbright Close Down?, Protest Songs

LA County is set to reopen gyms, day camps and more this Friday, online college Calbright faces a massive budget shortfall and more on the protest songs of our time.

Protesters march through Hollywood after curfew during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis Police custody, in Los Angeles, California, June 2, 2020. - Anti-racism protests have put several US cities under curfew to suppress rioting, following the death of George Floyd in police custody. (Photo by Kyle Grillot / AFP) (Photo by KYLE GRILLOT/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters march through Hollywood after curfew during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis Police custody, in Los Angeles, California, June 2, 2020. - Anti-racism protests have put several US cities under curfew to suppress rioting, following the death of George Floyd in police custody. (Photo by Kyle Grillot / AFP) (Photo by KYLE GRILLOT/AFP via Getty Images)
(
KYLE GRILLOT/AFP via Getty Images
)

Ask an Expert: Reopening the State

Los Angeles County is set to reopen gyms, day camps, museums, campgrounds, outdoor recreational areas and hotels for leisure travel this Friday...just to name a few. Still closed with no open date announced? Just a sampling here: Nail salons, tattoo shops, movie theaters and bars. A lot of it is confusing, but we’re here to help you try and make sense of it.

Guest:

  • Professor Anne Rimoin, Professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

CA's Budget for Calbright College

As California faces a massive budget shortfall, some legislators are calling to cut funding to CalBright College, the state's online-only community college that started up two years ago. Critics says that money could be put toward expanding online classes at other community college campuses around the state. 

Guest:

  • Dustin Gardiner, San Francisco Chronicle Reporter

How to Reform the Police

After the death of George Floyd by a white officer in Minnesota and the ensuing unrest, there have been countless calls for police reform. We’ve been here before in Los Angeles and change HAS happened over the years...but as the many protests have shown us...it’s clearly not been enough.  So what now? Today we continue our series of conversations about reform and how the LAPD and other law enforcement can build trust with the community.

Guest:

  • Greg Meyer, retired captain with the LAPD

Coronavirus: Letter Grades

As the state - and really the country- pushes to reopen just about everything, despite continued increases in COVID-19 cases, some policy watchers are calling for restaurant-style letter grades to be given to businesses based on how well they are adhering to safety guidelines.

Guest:

  • Archon Fung, co-Director of the Transparency Policy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School

Protest Songs

Protest songs in America go all the way back to the Revolutionary War, but picked up steam through the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Today, protesters taking to the street to demonstrate against police violence have embraced a few key pieces of music to help express themselves. 

Guests:

  • Morgan Rhodes, Music Supervisor
  • Oliver Wang, Cal State Long Beach Sociology Professor