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Reforming Juvenile Justice Laws

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Reforming Juvenile Justice Laws

Recently, Diane Rehm devoted an hour of her show to discussing efforts to reform juvenile justice and penal system. It is worth a download for anyone interested in juvenile justice. 

Here is a description of the podcast: 

Over the last decade, 23 states have enacted laws that aim to keep juveniles out of adult prisons and court systems. The shift is a reversal of the tough-on-crime legislation of the 1980s and 1990s. The new laws stem from concerns about teenage suicides in adult jails and new research showing that young people held in adult courts are more likely to be repeat offenders than juveniles not held in adult jails. But some state attorneys are against the change. They say the legislation adds unnecessary delays to prosecution and are an insult to victims. Join Diane and a panel of guests for a discussion on these new laws that aim to keep youths out of adult prisons and courts.

 

Guests 

John Schwartz,  national correspondent, The New York Times.

Liz Ryan, president, Campaign for Youth Justice.

Dan May, district attorney, Colorado Springs, Colo.

 

Reforming Juvenile Justice Laws

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Reforming Juvenile Justice Laws

Recently, Diane Rehm devoted an hour of her show to discussing efforts to reform juvenile justice and penal system. It is worth a download for anyone interested in juvenile justice. 

Here is a description of the podcast: 

Over the last decade, 23 states have enacted laws that aim to keep juveniles out of adult prisons and court systems. The shift is a reversal of the tough-on-crime legislation of the 1980s and 1990s. The new laws stem from concerns about teenage suicides in adult jails and new research showing that young people held in adult courts are more likely to be repeat offenders than juveniles not held in adult jails. But some state attorneys are against the change. They say the legislation adds unnecessary delays to prosecution and are an insult to victims. Join Diane and a panel of guests for a discussion on these new laws that aim to keep youths out of adult prisons and courts.

 

Guests 

John Schwartz,  national correspondent, The New York Times.

Liz Ryan, president, Campaign for Youth Justice.

Dan May, district attorney, Colorado Springs, Colo.

 

Sunday Funday: Teaching Scientists Social Skills

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Sunday Funday: Teaching Scientists Social Skills

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday!

This edition of Sunday Funday is features a short segment from NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday about BioToasters–a public speaking organization for scientists.

Here is how the story began:

About 20 scientists are clustered in a cramped conference room in San Diego, one of the country’s science hubs, but they aren’t there to pore over their latest research. Instead, this is a meeting of BioToasters — a chapter of the public speaking organization Toastmasters, geared specifically toward scientists.

“For a typical scientist, they will spend a lot of time at the bench, so they’re doing a lot of maybe calculations or lab work where they’re not interacting directly from person to person,” says BioToasters President Zackary Prag, a lab equipment sales rep.

But scientists still often need to be able to speak to a crowd: Academics give seminars; pharmaceutical researchers present results; and graduate students defend their work in front of their professors and peers. Prag says it’s important to learn to speak clearly and make small talk.

At a recent meeting, two other Biotoasters were doing just that. New member Gina Salazar gave a presentation on “meeting girls and guys — pickup for smart people.”

Salazar practiced with member Greg Mrachko. “You’re adorable! You really look like Michael J. Fox,” she said to him, as the rest of the club laughed. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Michael J. Fox?” he responded. “Probably because of my new haircut.”

Practicing these social graces leads to better public speaking, and that’s important for a scientist’s career, says Union College physics professor Chad Orzel.

“Part of the way you make a reputation within the field is by giving talks at meetings, and then people see you give the talk and say, ‘Oh, that person gave a really good talk. They must be really smart,’ ” he says.

Orzel says part of a science professor’s job interview is giving an hour-long seminar. “In academia, we’re hiring people who are going to be expected to teach classes as well, so it’s absolutely critical that you be able to give a good talk,” he says

For more public policy related video/audio, be sure to check out the SLACE Archive.

The Fair Housing Act: Then and Now

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The Fair Housing Act: Then and Now

Last weekend, This American Life ran a fascinating episode on housing discrimination and the history of the Fair Housing Act. 

The “Prologue” talks about the impact where children lives on their education. Here is a description: 

Ira talks to 15 year old Jada who, when she was in third grade, moved from Akron Public Schools in Ohio, to the nearby Copley-Fairlawn schools in the suburbs. After two years, Jada was kicked out by administrators who discovered that her mother was using Jada’s grandfather’s address in Copley, instead of her own in Akron. Jada says that while the schools are only a few miles apart, the difference in education was astounding.
For more information about Jada and her mother, Kelley Williams Bolar, who spent 10 days in jail because she falsified documents so she could enroll Jada and her sister in the Copley-Fairlawn schools, you can go here. (5 minutes)

Both Acts One and Two discuss the history of the Fair Housing Act and housing discrimination in New York City today. 

Act One, “Rental Gymnastics” is described as follows: 

Reporter Nancy Updike talks to a group of New York City residents about their frustrating attempts to rent an apartment. With hidden microphones, we hear landlords and supers tell the apartment hunters that there’s nothing available. But that’s not necessarily true. Forty-five years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, ProPublica reporter Nikole Hannah-Jonestalks to Nancy about the history of racial housing discrimination in the United States and what has been done — and hasn’t been done — to rectify it. (31 minutes)

Here is a description of Act II, “The Missionary“:

Once the Fair Housing Act became law in 1968, there was some question about how to implement it and enforce it. George Romney, the former Republican Governor of Michigan and newly-appointed Secretary of HUD, was a true believer in the need to make the Fair Housing Law a powerful one — a robust attempt to change the course of the nation’s racial segregation. Only problem was: President Richard Nixon didn’t necessarily see it that way. With Nikole Hannah-Jones, Nancy Updike continues the story. (16 minutes)

Nikole Hannah-Jones’s investigative series on the history and enforcement of the Fair Housing laws — with more stories, research and interviews —is here.

 

Colorado Community Pushes Back Against Fracking

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Colorado Community Pushes Back Against Fracking

A short segment (4 min.) on NPR’s All Things Considered discussed the ballot initiatives in few Colorado communities that would put limits on fracking, or hydraulic fracturing.

Here is how the story began:

The 2013 election marked a victory for foes of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in Colorado. Voters in three Front Range communities decided to put limits on the practice.

Next week, the north Denver suburb of Broomfield will launch a closely watched vote recount on a proposed moratorium there.

Oil and gas companies say the measures create an uncertain business environment.

During its original vote count, Broomfield felt more like Miami-Dade County circa 2000 than a sleepy Denver suburb. About two dozen lawyers and other observers invested in the outcome of the proposed five-year fracking moratorium crowded into a windowless room.