Thursday, May 10, 2012 - Evening Edition

>> >>JOANNE: Tonight on KPBS Evening Edition, a federal agency weighs in against the positive
Panama project. >> >>DWANE: What happens now that president
Obama declared his support for same sex marriage. >> >>JOANNE: We'll talk to people on both
sides of the issue, KPBS Evening Edition starts now.
>> >>JOANNE: Hello, thanks for joining us, I'm Joanne Faryon.
>> >>DWANE: And I'm Dwane Brown the national park service is rejecting a proposal to remove
cars from the heart of Balboa park. The plan calls for building an axis road and
a parking garage behind the organ pavillion. The project will have a permanent major and
adverse affect on the Balboa park national monument and will physically destroy a part
of the property. You can see and comment on the letter at KPBS.org.
>> >>JOANNE: Two San Diego school trustees are at odds about solutions for the district's
financial troubles. KPBS education reporter Kyla Calvert is in
the news center with the story. Who are the trustees and what are they saying?
>> >>ALISON: Board member Scott bar net said he believes the district insolvency is inevitable.
They have a plan to balance next year's budget by layling off more than 2500 employees.
That doesn't do anything to stave off a 100Êmillion short fall for the following year.
What he wants board members to do is rescind all of those lay off notice.
He says it would mean another year of more fully staffed schools for students and the
board president John Lee Evans held a press conference this morning to still committed
to solving the financial problems and maintaining control of the school district.
>> >>JOANNE: We've got u a number of other trustees on the board.
What are the chances that some of them may back BARNETT's proposal?
>> >>KYLA: They take away the board governing ability to govern, and that trustee has unilateral
decision making power to do things like lay off employees and close schools and that's
something the board members said just a few months ago they were committed to avoiding.
>> >>JOANNE: Education reporter Kyla Calvert. The ACLU is calling for an investigation into
claims of abuse by customs and border protection agents along the board with mexico. ACLU attorneys
say legal border crossers are being harassed, interrogated, and strip searched, CBP says
it doesn't tolerate abuse within its ranks. >> >>DWANE: Campaign mailers also include
lists of fact. Flooded with fliers in Oceanside for and against
proposition E. It would phase out rent control in the city's
17 mobile home parks. KPBS reporter joins us by phone.
What's the problem with the facts in this case?
>> >>KYLA: The latest is the city has lost 7 and a half million dollars due to rent control
in the last decade and it will spend and lose eight billion over the next decade.
This is from a report commissioned by the north county association of realtors.
And done by Scott Barnett. It's based on certain assumption.
>> >>DWANE: What are these assumptions or facts based on?
>> >>ALISON: A couple of troublesome, but perhaps the main one is the property taxes
would be much higher without rent control. He says property values have been decreased
by rent control. The only trouble is with this that the county assessor points out,
you cannot increase property taxes because of prop 13 unless property is sold.
This is one of the things the park owners have insisted they're not planning on doing.
The other thing is that rent could increase three or four times if rent control's abolished.
Scott Barnett's report suggests the value of the land would increase 10 fold, which
seems unlikely, unless the whole use of the land was changed to something quite different.
>> >>DWANE: What about the people on the other sited opposing prop E.
Are they touting questionable facts too? >> >>ALISON: They do say affordable housing
is provided by rent control. There may be some costs, possibly those might
be caused by the legal fees of the park owners suing the city to over turn rent control.
It ignores several complex aspects of the cost benefit analysis, people with lower rent
have more to spend in Oceanside and that would add to their sales tax revenue.
>> >>DWANE: Reporter Alison St. John. President Obama's support for same sex marriage
was a defining moment. Joanne speaks to San Diegans on both sides
of the debate. >> >>JOANNE: It was a direct statement that
made clear the president's position on an issue that divides many Americans.
>> >>: At a certain point, I just concluded that for me personally, it sim port nt for
me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.
>> >>JOANNE: Joining me are Matt Stephens partner with progressive law group and instructor
of constitutional law at UCSD. He's been working on LGBT civil rights. And
Jennifer roback Morse. Thank you for being here.
Jennifer, let's begin with you. Your organization believes marriage should
be between a man and a woman. Now the president has affirmed this position
how will this affect your position? >> >>JENNIFER MORSE: To tell you the truth,
he has energized our base. I was doing some conservative radio yesterday,
the people calling me in were people who were luke warm about Mitt Romney because he's kind
of they perceive him as gushy on these issues. With Barack Obama making such a strong statement
on the other side, many people on the social conservative base are going to be very motivate
motivated and passionate. I feel like he's thrown us an interception
and team Romney has to not fumble the ball. I think he's actually helped us.
>> >>JOANNE: Matt, we know that prop 8 has been tied up in the courts for awhile now.
That is a ban on same sex marriage here in California.
Do you think this could have an impact now? >> >>MATT STEPHENS: That's an interesting
question, and I do think that some of what the courts have done actually helped president
Obama evolve in his thinking because he understands the legal ramifications and implications.
So I think there's a two way street f you will.
There are many Republicans appointees on the bench who understand that prop 8 is in fact
unconstitutional. So I think that the prez dpt coming out and
voicing that position will lend support to any judge who might be on the fence for personal
reasons about that. >> >>JOANNE: Do you think Jennifer, this could
lead to federal law that says same sex marriage is legal everywhere?
>> >>JENNIFER MORSE: Well, that's the high stakes game we've been playing.
Certainly with the defense of marriage act, and also with the federal court case surrounding
proposition 8. The whole idea is to say there's a federal
right to genderless marriage and we're going to find at the federal level.
All of those different things going on at the state level doesn't matter anymore.
So I think that it's clear that as president, as chief executive officer of the United States
of America, Barack Obama has a law lot of power to move things in that direction.
He refused to defend the defense of marriage act, which was his responsibility as the chief
executive officer of the united states. It's their responsibility to enforce the laws.
So he's already done things to push things along in the direction of federal recognizing
some kind of federal right. >> >>JOANNE: I don'tÊ I want to talk about
the law a little bit. What I found interesting in a lot of the commentary
is some of the discussion is the marriage laws have changed when we look at marriage.
Originally in the U.S., marriage was defined by British rule and women were property.
I came across a report from a section from a report from a committee in New York referring
to marriage it says: This comes from the New York legislative committee
back in 1854 and this is a committee that said we ought to make womenÊ give p women
some rights. It's acknowledge that society has changed
so let's change our laws regarding marriage. Aren't we at that point today?
>> >>JENNIFER MORSE: It depends on what you think the public purpose of marriage is.
What is the essential public purpose of marriage? I think the essential public purpose of marriage,
as opposed to all the private purposes, the public purpose of marriage is to attach mothers
and fathers to their children and to one another. If you didn't need to get that purpose done,
I don't think anybody would ever have thought of lifelong sexual exclusivity or recognizing
certain relationships as being special and different from the from others.
I think it's essential in exactly that sense, if not for that purpose, you wouldn't have
marriage at all. >> >>JOANNE: I want to go to you Matt, because
we're running out of time y.do want to show an excerpt from your website because I believe
also the definition of marriage as defined by your group is more than just having children,
it's about lifelong. >> >>JENNIFER MORSE: Married love.
>> >>JOANNE: And also sexual relationship. We've got it online in terms of how your organization
defines marriage. I want to go to Matt in terms of the law across
the country what kind of impact this might have?
>> >>MATT STEPHENS: I think it's really important and the president has left room for the state
to define marriage as traditionally been the case.
I think part of the reason he said that is to give people room to evolve, like that did
in 1854. The conversation will continue but there has
to be a federal base line of rights and you can't distinguish a class of people and make
them less valued at the hands of their state. That's what we're really talking about.
>> >>JOANNE: We're out of time but I want to give you 10 seconds to have the last word.
>> >>JENNIFER MORSE: We think attaching mothers and fathers to their children is a purpose
that isn't going to go away and it is an essential public purpose that needs to get done.
Kids still need a mom and a dad and have a right to know who they are.
>> >>MATT STEPHENS: That's not achieved by discrimination.
>> >>JOANNE: We have more on our website KPBS.org. >> >>DWANE: Some San Diego students are getting
hands on lessons about healthy eating. We'll serve that story up in just
a moment. This is
KPBS Evening Edition. Captions provided by ecaptions.
>> >>DWANE: 60,000 people are expected to honor former charger j r Junior Seau tomorrow
night at Qualcomm stadium. It's put a new focus on brain injuries in
professional sports and those serving in combat. Joanne is talking about that.
>> >>JOANNE: Junior Seau played professional football for 20 years.
While we don't know if repeated blows to the head contributed to his death, there is evidence
that repeated concussions over time can cause what's known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy
or CTE. Joining me to discuss CTE, how it's affecting
those playing contact sports is our guest Michael Lobatz.
Thank you for being here. We hear a lot about traumatic brain injury,
what's the difference between TBI and now CTE?
>> >>MICHAEL LOBATZ: TBI presupposes there's a single injury to the brain and that may
be something that you recover from or it might be something that has lingering affects.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy presupposes multiple injuries to the brain and a degenerative
process that begins later in life, similar to something like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's
where people progress and worse en over time. That's very different from a brain injury
where we expect patients to have their symptoms initially and get better over time.
>> >>JOANNE: How did experts begin to see the CTE?
>> >>MICHAEL LOBATZ: The first time we recognized it was in boxing and what we used to call
punch drunk, now also known in medicine as dementia pugilistica.
People that have had repeated blows to the brain in that boxing profession can develop
memory loss that worse ns over time and we know that their brains are abnormal in comparison
to others in a normal population. Later, it became obvious that this might also
occur in other groups such as people in professional sports which is what one of the focuses is
today in terms of the national football league. We have a center in Boston where they're studying
CTE in professional football players. We are very interested now in the affects
of the concussions that are occurring in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan from blast
injuries that might also put soldiers at eventual risk for the development of the same thing.
>> >>JOANNE: With regard to the military, how are you seeing this manifest itself? In
terms of the men and women returning home. >> >>MICHAEL LOBATZ: Right now the soldiers
are all very young, and they're in there late teens or 20s or early 30s.
We're noticing those that have had concussive injuries from blast injuries may have difficulties
with things like memory and concentration, personality change, headaches, dizziness and
lightheadedness, those kinds of symptoms have been reported by that group and as time has
gone by, many of them have gotten better. But it's that group that we're very concerned
about in the future. Those that have had persistent symptoms, that
might be at risk to develop this in the later years of their life.
>> >>JOANNE: So does that mean this will just keep getting worse as you grow older or can
you stop the progression of this disease or even treat it?
>> >>MICHAEL LOBATZ: Right now we don't know the answer to those questions, we do know
that people with repeated brain injuries are at particular tbr risk for this. If you've
had multiple concussions has a boxer or football player, or been in multiple accidents with
concussions, you may find you have trouble in difficulty with processing and memory.
Those kinds of things are of particular concern to us, that's where the research is focused.
>> >>JOANNE: Are you seeing a link between CTE, and suicide and even or depression and
even suicide? >> >>MICHAEL LOBATZ: There certainly is a
link between CTE in behavioral changes. To take the leap from CTE all the way to suicide
is a very big leap because suicidal ideation is a very complex phenomenon, one in which
many different things are involved other than just brain function itself.
It might have to do with life circumstances, financial circumstances, and changes in your
own psycho social issues. So we do know that people that are depressed
have a higher incidence of the development of suicidal ideation and may go on to develop
a plan and actually carry out suicide. Fortunately that's in a very small percent.
You know, five percent of the population have depression in the United States.
But people with brain injuries, that depression incidence may be as high as 40Êpercent.
One things that there could be a link between all of those things.
>> >>JOANNE: We have to leave it there doctor, but we have more information including links
to other resources about this on our website kPBS.org.
Thank you so much for being here. >> >>MICHAEL LOBATZ: Thank you.
>> >>DWANE: Healthy eating and obesity prevention programs are becoming more more common in
schools across the country. Kyla Calvert tells us about a San Diego chef
who wants to reconnect student with the fun of cooking and sharing it with friends and
family. >> >>: Who knows where peep pizza comes from.
>> >>KYLA: Mckinly elementary with the same question.
>> >>: Let's start reading and then we'll go down the line like we do and read the method.
>> >>KYLA: The cooking classes take place in the school's kitchen, but today rolled
grim grills into the school's garden for a pizza making class.
After picking a few toppings from the garden to add to their pizzas, the students circle
up to learn the basics of pizza dough making. >> >>: Your going to want to keep doing this.
>> >>KYLA: These kids aren't happy to just sit back and watch how things are done.
But the school has more things on his mind when he plans the classes.
>> >>: What I want kids to get out of it is a basic knowledge of where your food comes
from, why it's healthy, why peopleÊ why farmers are important, how to use a knife properly,
and to cook with their family. I think that's something that us as Americans
are losing. >> >>KYLA: Eight week classes at Albert Einstein
charter school for three years. This is the first class they've offered at
Mckinly. They hope the growing program can fit as a
model too for other schools. >> >>: There's a field trip and the education
aspect of it, that relates to the gardens they have growing typically, and it can also
relate to the programs in the classroom with San Diego unified and other districts are
working hard to develop a system around healthy eating.
>> >>KYLA: Parents pay 35 dollars for 8 after school classes and for the chef jackets and
hats each sheef gets. Any additional costs are absorbed by the restaurant,
an arrangement hoping to change with grant funding.
The students, though, are more interested in cooking, than how the classes came to their
campus. >> >>: My mom would get mad at me because
I used to try to do things in the kitchen. She would say no, go away, let me cook.
So I just wanted to cook by myself, so this is the only place I can do it.
She thinks I'm going to ruin the food. >> >>: I want to kind of learn how to do more
than just scrambled eggs. >> >>KYLA: The idea that kids aren't interested
in new and different food doesn't hold for this group.
Their favorite part of the classes? >> >>: Getting to make new foods that I have
never made before, the egg plants, the tortillas, the pizza.
>> >>: A little bitterÊ >> >>KYLA: Shows up in a sophistication about
food. >> >>: I have them describe flavor profiles
and it it's amazing. I get a little bitterness from this, so that's
very smooth and buttery, so their descriptive terms and seeing them think on that level
is surprising. >> >>: You want to make your dough into a
ballÊ >> >>KYLA: The students wear their mastery
of basic cooking skills un subconsciously. Many like July are happy to tout their creations.
>> >>: I found some basal and mozzarella, and carrot slices, and a bit of lettuce.
>> >>: How does it taste? >> >>: It's delicious y.especially love the
sauce. >> >>KYLA: Faculty adviser guy.
So does seeing the garden they have science lessons in producing food.
>> >>: There's a big focus in the classes on green and not wasting things, and the kids
are seeing with a garden that things are going right into something they can consume.
That's been exciting for them. >> >>KYLA: Students easily make connections
between the work they do in the kitchen and their other classes.
One example comes up again and again. >> >>: Fractions I've been learning in class,
but we kind of did it in the cooking class too.
>> >>KYLA: In their last class, they will make a three course meal for two friends.
While not all kids headed for a career in the kitchen, they know they can carry out
a complex project and make a delicious dinner. >> >>DWANE: That was education reporter Kyla
Calvert. This is KPBS Evening Edition.
>> >>JOANNE: Welcome back to public square on KPBS Evening Edition.
Twit fer, face book and our website buzzed about our story yesterday to Mayor Jerry sander's
response to president Obama's same sex marriage. Sanders had a similar change in thought a few years ago:
>> >>JOANNE: You can lay in on the conversation by following us on Twitter, liking us on face
book, and of course you can e mail me jfaryon@kpbs.org. >> >>DWANE: The federal department of agriculture
says about 75,000 dogs are used every year in research labs, the vast majority are beagles.
A non profit facility in El Cajon showed off 20 of the dogs recently released from a testing
lab in San Diego. Let's just say there was a lot of humping
going on where 20 male beagles were exercising their freedom.
They range in age from four to seven, they've been neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.
Rebecca Stephens loves animals and runs a doggy day care center in El Cajon.
>> >>: These guys have never seen the light of day or touched grass.
This is their first time. >> >>DWANE: Stephens also start ad non profit
rescue called four paws about 10 years ago, after realizing so many beagles are.
She's conflicted with testing on animals that can save peoples lives.
>> >>: I had chemo 20 years ago, and then we rescued 20 beagles.
>> >>DWANE: Stephens joined a network of people who rescue and find homes for these dogs.
Shannon Keith is one of them is and says these dogs are used because of their forgiving and
docile nature. >> >>: They test animals for cause met cosmetics,
products, and pharmaceuticals. >> >>DWANE: All these dogs are up for adoption
and four paws says most of that is done through the pet finders website where you can also
fill out an application. >> >>: They love playing with each other.
>> >>DWANE: Debbie rigs lives in city height and has adopted six of these rabbit chasers.
>> >>: You can't just have one of these dogs. >> >>DWANE: Four paws coonhound rescue and
friends is located in el El Cajon. TheÊ you can find tonight's stories on our
website kpbs.org/eveningedition. Thank you so much for joining, you have a
great night: Captions provided by ecaptions.