California Department of Education
PROFILE
Tom Torlakson
Guest
FROM Tom Torlakson
Olney in L.A.
Prop 55: Tax extension to fund education and healthcare Proposition 55 would extend a temporary personal income tax on those making $250,000 per year. The money would be slated for education and healthcare. We consider the pros and cons of the measure with an educator and a representative of a taxpayers' rights group.
Which Way, L.A.?
California Democrats Duke It Out for Schools Chief The Governor of California appoints the State Board of Education, which sets policy. The job of implementation goes to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, a nonpartisan officer who’s elected statewide. Former Democratic Assemblyman Tom Torlakson is the incumbent, running for a second 4-year term. Challenger Marshall Tuck left the financial sector to become head of the Green Dot Charter Schools in Los Angles and then lead Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Partnership for Education.
Which Way, L.A.?
Jerry Brown: The Budget and Education Public schools, colleges and universities are already reeling after years of multi-billion dollar reductions. But the over-all budget gap will soon be $28 billion. At Jerry Brown's budget forum yesterday at UCLA, the Governor-elect discussed the dilemma with David Sanchez, President of the California Teachers' Association. The CTA President lamented that after all the budget cuts to K-12, "no more meat on this bone to carve, all that is left is amputation." Brown agreed that one wants to close schools, but reminded that no one wants to raise taxes either, and said it falls to him to bring people together to ensure the future of California.
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To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.