LAUSD Reached A Deal With Support Staff Following Strike – What’s In The Agreement?
The union that represents school support staff in the Los Angeles Unified has reached a tentative agreement with the school district to increase salaries by 30% and provide health care to more members. The deal comes after a three-day strike by bus drivers, cafeteria workers, classroom assistants and other Service Employees International Local 99 members that shut down district schools. The teachers' union, United Teachers Los Angeles, stayed out of classrooms in solidarity with the SEIU staff. L.A. Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias announced the agreement Friday evening at Los Angeles City Hall. Mayor Karen Bass stepped in Wednesday to break a months-long impasse in negotiations between the district and the union.
Mariana Dale, early childhood reporter for LAist 89.3 who’s been covering this, joins AirTalk to discuss what’s in the agreement.
With files from LAist. Read the full story here.
New Research Shows DDT Off SoCal’s Coast Remain Dangerously High and Potent
In 2012, marine scientists from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography found what they believe to be more than 25,000 barrels that possibly contained the toxic chemical DDT. The dump site, which researchers believe dates back to World War II, sits between Santa Catalina Island and Southern California’s mainland. Last week, new revelations about harmful chemical remains came to light when scientists discovered that the chemical never broke down and remains in its most potent and toxic form. What kind of risk does the current levels of DDT pose to humans? Is it possible that the toxic waste could be whipped up in a storm? And what’s the impact on the food chain? Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss the most recent reports on DDT is David Valentine, professor of earth science and biology at UC Santa Barbara.
‘Everybody Looks What’s Going Down’: What’s Your Favorite Protest Song?
In the forefront of many protests has been making sure to get your point across to as many folks as possible, which makes music such a significant part of this process, making messages digestible and also having the ability to amp people up. Protest music has taken lots of forms, during the war in Vietnam you saw folk music as an avenue to share anti-war sentiments, punk rock would eventually serve as a counterculture movement to fight against ‘the establishment,’ and the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising brought rap into more homes as it pushed against police brutality.
Airtalk listeners tell us what their favorite protest music are.
Walking On (LA) Sunshine: What’s Your Favorite Street To Walk In LA?
Los Angeles is known for many things – Hollywood, sunshine, and bumper to bumper traffic, to name a few. Being a walkable city? Not so much. Still, there’s something uniquely beautiful about LA’s streets, set to a soundtrack of blaring traffic and aroma of bacon wrapped street dogs. If you get the chance, you might try exploring LA and its neighborhoods by foot – you’re almost guaranteed to find treasures among the tourist traps. With thousands of hidden gems across the Greater Los Angeles area, there’s magnificence in the quirks of this chaotic, crowded place we all call home.
We hear from listeners about their favorite street to walk on.
We're Burnt Out And Bad At Leisure -- Here's How To Create Fun Habits And Make Them Stick
Are you having enough fun in your life? Americans are not great when it comes to leisure time and experts say we're more burnt out than ever. While some may be vacillating over whether they're happy in life, it might be better to ask yourself if you're doing things that are fun and invigorating. If not, consider making it a priority. Joining to discuss the challenges of simply having fun and how to get better at creating fun habits is Mike Rucker, Ph.D., organizational psychologist, behavioral scientist and author of "The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life" (Atria Books, 2023).