The original cast of The Cosby Show. ; Credit: Frank Carroll/Associated Press

Thirty years ago, on September 20,"The Cosby Show" debuted on NBC and went on to dominate our screens for almost a decade.

The award-winning sitcom introduced us to the Huxtables, an upper-middle class black family  made up of Heathcliff, Clair and their five children. Plus a cast of ugly sweaters.

"The Cosby Show" covered familiar territory; from children getting body piercings, bad boyfriends and maintaining a long term relationship as parents with professional lives.

Speaking to Take Two's Alex Cohen, Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African and African American Studies at Duke University said "The Cosby Show" broke down racial stereotypes.

"It  really was the first program to present not just a middle class, or upper-middle class black family, but a professional family. Clair and Heathcliff Huxtable were educated, they had advanced degrees. It was an image we hadn't seen before."

From 1985 to 1990, "The Cosby Show" held the number one spot in the TV ratings war, appealing to audiences across color lines. Black viewers in particular welcomed a broader representation of African American life on screen, building on the success of shows such as "The Jeffersons", "Sanford and Son" and "Good Times". 

"Bill Cosby was very honest about the fact that when he conceived the character of Heathcliff Huxtable, he was looking for images that countered, say, Fred Sanford who was a junk dealer, or James Evans, Jr. in 'Good Times' who was always struggling to find a job. Bill Cosby wanted to bring a different view of the black family into the mix."

Despite its popularity, some people took issue with how "The Cosby Show" tackled race issues.

"It's not that black Americans didn't enjoy the show, but there were criticisms because it didn't explore the broader world of African Americans." says Professor Neal. "The Huxtable family became a stand in for the successes of the civil rights movement. It became the rationale that if the Huxtables can do it, why can't other African Americans do it?"

Today's media landscape is very different to the one "The Cosby Show" existed in. For this reason, says Professor Neal, its success has been difficult to replicate.

"Right after it went off the air, cable TV takes hold and we get this niche programming.  Many African American programs ended up on Fox, UPN and the WB, so there was no incentive for the major networks to do any Cosby-like programming with a black family at the center."

With the debut of ABC's "Blackish" on September 24, it's hoped this will go some way to fill the Cosby-shaped void. In the meantime there's always YouTube and re-runs. Just be thankful Heathcliff's ugly sweaters are a thing of the past.

Off-Ramp producer Queena Kim acts on behalf of millions of Angelenos. The meter didn't stand a chance.

; Credit: John Rabe/KPCC

Off-Ramp began eleven years ago, just as digital technology was beginning to overtake radio. No more cassette tape or mini-discs; host John and producer Queena Kim thought they could take on all of Los Angeles with two digital audio recorders and a different approach to public radio.

Short-handed as they were, John and Queena had to adopt slash-and-burn tactics to get each show produced on time. The majority of interviews were conducted in the field; at the homes, workplaces, and favorite hang-outs of their subjects (instead of waiting for guests to come to the station) and many of the stories were edited as simple two-way interviews with life in Southern California picked up as ambient, background noise. After all, a show called Off-Ramp had better be ready to brave some LA traffic.

At this juncture, John feels free to say what he has always wanted to, but hasn't for fear of self-aggrandizement: "I think we were trendsetters. I think Marketplace and NPR heard the stuff we were doing, and started doing stuff like it." Once again, Kim chalks it up to being in the right place at the right time technologically, and the two person team's willingness to break out of the old-school, public radio way writing a story: with a very clear sonic difference between studio narration and field audio.

Of course, it wasn't just Marantz recorders and minimal rewriting that gave Off-Ramp its flavor. There was a whole lot of weird spewing up out of Los Angeles during the show's formative years and Kim's tenure (2006-2010). She recalls covering a ten-theremin orchestra at Disney Hall, and the excitement of working on a show that let her (and the listeners, vicariously) do things she always wanted to do. "It was almost like having a free pass to the city."

In order to capture what was new and exciting, John and Queena both agree that it was absolutely vital to abandon the reporter's instinct for safely packaging the story ahead of time. John cites his editor at Minnesota Public Radio's philosophy, Mike Edgerly; "Go find what the story is, go out and explore and figure out what the story is. Don't figure it out at your desk first." The collaboration between John's ideas and Kim's sense of logistics formed a dialectic relationship, valuing the "third, better idea" over either of their original perspectives. In light of that, John says Queena Kim was the perfect person with whom to start Off-Ramp. 

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Moderna says recently completed studies have found its vaccine to have a neutralizing effect against all COVID-19 variants tested, including the delta variant.; Credit: Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images

Studies have found that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is effective against several variants of concern, including the delta variant, the biotech company announced.

Moderna said Tuesday that recently completed studies have found the vaccine to have a neutralizing effect against all COVID-19 variants tested, including the beta, delta, eta and kappa variants.

While still highly effective against the delta variant, the study showed the vaccine was less effective against it and certain other variants than against the original strain of the virus.

The antibody response against the delta variant was about two times weaker than against the ancestral strain of the virus.

The news echoes other findings that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are highly effective against the delta variant. A study published this month in Nature found that Pfizer's vaccine was able to neutralize variants including delta, though at somewhat reduced strength.

"These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants," Stéphane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "These findings highlight the importance of continuing to vaccinate populations with an effective primary series vaccine."

The company also said it is developing a booster candidate: a 50-50 mix of its currently authorized COVID-19 vaccine and another messenger RNA vaccine it has developed.

The delta variant is spreading fast

The delta variant is the fast-moving form of the coronavirus that is now found in 96 countries, including the United States.

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said the delta variant is "currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19," noting that the proportion of infections being caused by the variant is doubling every two weeks.

The delta variant is now infecting at least 1 out of every 5 people who get the virus in the United States. In some sections of the country, the variant is already far more common, particularly in parts of the Midwest and West. At its current pace, the delta variant is expected to be the dominant virus in the U.S. within weeks.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease expert at the World Health Organization, called the delta variant "incredibly transmissible."

"These viruses are becoming more fit. The virus is evolving, and this is natural," she told NPR's Morning Edition. "It's more transmissible than the alpha variant, so we need to just do all we can to prevent as many infections as we can and do what we can do to reduce the spread."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Detail of boxes with the U.S. donated Johnson & Johnson vaccine against Covid-19 at Universidad de Baja California on June 17, 2021 in Tijuana, Baja California. ; Credit: Francisco Vega/Getty Images

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Annabelle De St. Maurice from University of California Los Angeles/Mattel Children’s hospital.

Topics today include:

• J&J says its vaccine is effective against Delta variant

  • J&J vaccine lasts at least 8 months

• WHO says all vaccines it authorized should be recognized by reopening countries

• White House says it will miss July 4 vaccination goal

• Postpartum depression on the rise during the pandemic

• Experts believe Novavax may play a role in combating vaccine hesitancy

• Delta variant is not driving a surge in hospitalization rates in England

Guest: 

Annabelle De St. Maurice, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases and the co-chief infection prevention officer at University of California Los Angeles/Mattel Children’s hospital; she tweets @destmauricemd

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

For two decades now, and counting, the LANDFIRE program continues to assemble the most easy-to-use, intuitive and complete clearinghouse of remote sensing data products for wildland fire managers. 

President Biden signed a memorial bill to recognize the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and offered his condolences to people who are awaiting news on their loved ones in the wake of the deadly Surfside, Fla., partial condo collapse.

Biden — who was vice president when a 29-year-old man killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in the nightclub mass shooting — signed the bill to enshrine a monument to the dozens killed in the Latin Night massacre.

The shooting occurred at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June 2016. The month of June is celebrated annually as LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States.

"May a president never have to sign another monument like this," Biden said.

Biden also offered his thoughts to the victims and loved ones of those affected by the catastrophic collapse this week of a Miami-Dade County condo. Authorities say four people have been declared dead and an additional 159 are considered missing in the rubble.

"I just want to say, I've spoken to Gov. [Ron] DeSantis, and we've provided all the help that they have, they need," Biden said. "We sent the best people from FEMA down there. We're going to stay with them."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A waitress wears a face mask while serving at Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant in Los Angeles on June 15.; Credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Normal is not easily defined.

The past 15 months, though, have certainly been anything but.

Americans are starting to believe a "sense of normal" is approaching fairly soon, however, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. The poll also found that with the coronavirus receding in this country, mask-wearing is declining and Americans are going out more. But they remain cautious about being in large crowds.

As the country continues to open up, more focus turns to the economy, which cratered during the beginning of the pandemic last year. And Americans are split by race, gender and politics on whether President Biden's ambitious policies are helping or not.

Race, gender, party divides on Biden and the economy

Three months ago, in a similar survey, 49% of adults said the president's policies were strengthening the economy, while 44% said they were weakening it.

Now, that's declined a net of 6 points, as 44% of respondents in the new poll say Biden's policies have strengthened the economy and 45% say the opposite. The percentage who were unsure also jumped 4 points. It's all a little bit of a warning sign for Biden, as he pushes for two large — and expensive — spending packages.

There are significant splits by race and gender:

• Just 39% of whites said Biden's policies have strengthened the economy, but 52% of people of color say they have.
• 54% of independent men say his policies have weakened the economy, while 56% of independent women say they've strengthened it. 
• 45% of white male college grads say Biden has strengthened the economy, but a significantly higher 64% of white women with college degrees said so.

Inflation vs. wages by party

A quarter of Americans rank inflation as the U.S. economy's top concern. That's followed by wages, unemployment, housing costs, labor shortages, gas prices and interest rates.

But there's a sharp political divide on the question. Republicans and independents rank inflation as their top concern, while for Democrats, it was wages. Just 4% of Republicans said wages were their top concern.

Return to "normal"

Americans are growing increasingly optimistic about when life will return to a "sense of normal," as the survey labels it.

In April, three-quarters of Americans said they believe it will take six months or more. Now, it's just half. About a quarter (27%) say it will be less than six months, up from 15% two months ago.

People are also growing more comfortable doing certain things, saying they're:

• dining out at restaurants (78%) and 
• visiting unvaccinated friends and family (75%).

But they are not as comfortable doing others:

• almost 7-in-10 are not going out to bars; 
• about two-thirds are not attending live concerts or sporting events (65%);
• and a majority have also not resumed going to in-person religious services (54%).

COVID-19 vaccines and going back to work

While half say they are concerned about another coronavirus surge, almost 9-in-10 U.S. adults with jobs say they are at least somewhat comfortable returning to work.

Notably, a majority (57%) of those with jobs do not believe employers should require COVID-19 vaccines as a condition to return to in-person work.

More than a quarter of Americans say they will not get vaccinated. The most resistant to getting vaccinated continue to be supporters of former President Donald Trump. Half of them say they won't get the shot, the highest of any group surveyed. Trump has touted the vaccine and got it himself.

Since Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines came out, noting that Americans who have been vaccinated can largely set masks aside, there's been a double-digit decline in those saying they wear a mask even when it's not required.

There's also been a double-digit increase in those saying they generally do not wear a mask. In May, 49% said they wore masks even when it was not required. Now, that's just 36%.

One-in-five said they generally do not wear masks. Two months ago, it was less than one-in-10.

Affordability, not coronavirus, limiting vacations

Speaking of getting back to normal, a majority of Americans say they plan to take a vacation this summer.

But of the significant minority (45%) who say they aren't taking one, almost three times as many cited affordability (35%) as the main reason for not going, as opposed to concerns about COVID-19 (12%).

Methodology: The poll of 1,115 U.S. adults was conducted using live telephone interviewers from June 22 through June 29. Survey questions were available in English or Spanish. The full sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, with larger margins of error for smaller group subsets.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Actor Dwayne Johnson (L) and Simone Alexandra Johnson attend the People's Choice Awards 2017 at Microsoft Theater on January 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: Christopher Polk

When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson debuted his Hollywood persona in World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003, he was two years removed from his first successful protagonist role in "The Scorpion King" and on the heels of more film success with roles in "The Rundown" and "Walking Tall." 

Little did anyone foresee that "Hollywood" Rock would buoy the overall representation for Asian and Pacific Islanders in popular film for the next 20 years.

Last week, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released a report documenting the prevalence of Asian and Pacific Islanders both on-and off-screen across the top-grossing films each year from 2007 to 2019.  Of the 1,300 films examined, only 44 featured API actors playing lead roles, nearly a third of which were played by Johnson. 

The report offers more staggering statistics:

• In 2019, over a quarter of API characters in the top-grossing films died. Most died by drowning, explosions, stabbing or suicides

• Of the over 51,000 speaking characters in the 1,300 films examined, only 6% were Asian, Asian American or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders

• Only 50 of the 1,447 directors in the 1,300 films examined were of API heritage.

• In 2019, 67% of API characters played stereotyped roles

The release of this report comes at a time of rising anti-Asian hate crimes nationally, and the authors of the report believe the portrayal of Asian and Pacific Islanders in mass media contributes to that. Today on FilmWeek, we delve into the study's findings and discuss the history of API filmmakers and actors in Hollywood.

Guests: 

Nancy Wang Yuen, professor of sociology at Biola University in La Mirada; she is co-author of “The Prevalence and Portrayal of Asian and Pacific Islanders Across 1,300 Popular Films”; she tweets @nancywyeun

Justin Chang, film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR’s Fresh Air; he tweets @JustinCChang

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Shot from the film “The Boss Baby: Family Business”; Credit: Dreamworks

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Wade Major and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

• "The Forever Purge," in wide release

• "The Boss Baby: Family Business," in wide release & on Peacock

• "Long Story Short," at Laemmle’s Glendale; & on VOD/Digital (including Vudu, FandangoNow & Google Play)

• "The Tomorrow War," on Amazon Prime Video

• "The One And Only Dick Gregory," premieres on Showtime July 4 at 9 pm PT, available on demand on Showtime following that

• "No Sudden Move," on HBO Max

• "The Ladykillers (Originally released in 1955)," at Laemmle Theaters (Royal, Town Center 5, Playhouse 7)

• "America: The Motion Picture," on Netflix

Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.

Guests:

Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC; she tweets @LAELLO

Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com

Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Source: Dr. David Nierengarten 11/07/2024

TScan Therapeutics Inc. (TCRX:NASDAQ) Phase 1 ALLOHA study, evaluating its lead therapeutic candidates TSC-100 and TSC-101 in hematologic malignancies, showed patients continuing to have a positive response after one year, reported Wedbush analyst Dr. David Nierengarten in a Nov. 5 research note. TSC-100 and TSC-101 are T-cell receptor-engineered T-cell therapies (TCR-Ts).

"We see a catalyst-rich next few months ahead with data building in prominence on stock impact," Nierengarten wrote.

87% Return Potential

Wedbush has a US$10 per share target price on the Massachusetts-based biotech, trading at the time of the report at about US$5.36 per share, noted the analyst. The difference between these figures implies an 87% return potential for investors.

TScan Therapeutics remains rated Outperform.

Durability of Response Data

Nierengarten presented the clinical trial's latest results. As of the July 8, 2024 data cutoff date, in Phase 1 of ALLOHA, 16 patients with hematologic tumors had been administered TSC-100 or TSC-101, and 11 patients had been given a placebo. Median follow-ups had occurred at 5.8 months and 5.3 months, respectively.

At the time, none of the patients in the treatment arm had had a relapse. In the control arm, however, three, or 27% of, the 11 patients had, and the median time to relapse was 159 days. The analyst explained that this is typical for patients receiving a hematopoietic stem cell transplant after reduced-intensity conditioning.

One year out from treatment, five patients were evaluable, and all remained relapse free and minimal residual disease negative at the time. These data underscore the durability of response to this TCR-T treatment, Nierengarten commented. Its safety profile was shown to be favorable still, with no patients experiencing dose-limiting toxicities or adverse events associated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

"Enrollment continues in dose expansion cohorts, and results could support a registrational trial as early as 2025, pending regulatory feedback," Nierengarten wrote.

On the Horizon

TScan Therapeutics has several catalysts related to its clinical programs on the horizon, which Nierengarten listed.

On Nov. 8 and 9, the company will present preclinical data in the poster sessions at the annual Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer meeting. One poster will show in vitro combinatorial data for T-Plex, TScan's cellular therapy for treating solid tumors. It is comprised of two to three different TCR-Ts that target different tumor antigens on different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types.

A second poster will detail the expansion of ImmunoBank, the biotech's diverse bank of therapeutic T-cell receptors (TCRs) that recognize diverse targets and are associated with multiple HLA types. The third will depict development of a target agnostic platform to evaluate how TCR-Ts affect primary human tissues.

On Dec. 9, TScan Therapeutics will present updated one-year data from ALLOHA, at the American Society for Hematology Annual Meeting in December.

By year-end, the biotech will announce initial data from administering singleplex therapy, cell therapy engineered using a single TCR, to patients with solid tumors. This treatment is being given to establish safety before administering multiplex therapy, cell therapy engineered from multiple TCRs.

In 2025, TScan Therapeutics will provide long-term duration of response data for multiplex therapy in solid tumors and will potentially commence a registrational trial for TSC-100 and TSC-101.

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Disclosures for Wedbush, TScan Therapeutics Inc., November 5, 2024

Analyst Certification We, David Nierengarten, Martin Fan and Dennis Pak, certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect our personal opinions and that we have not and will not, directly or indirectly, receive compensation or other payments in connection with our specific recommendations or views contained in this report.

Company Specific Disclosures This information is subject to change at any time. 1. WS makes a market in the securities of TScan Therapeutics, Inc.. 6. WS is acting as a financial advisor for TScan Therapeutics, Inc..

Wedbush disclosure price charts are updated within the first fifteen days of each new calendar quarter per FINRA regulations. Price charts for companies initiated upon in the current quarter, and rating and target price changes occurring in the current quarter, will not be displayed until the following quarter. Additional information on recommended securities is available on request. Disclosure information regarding historical ratings and price targets is available: Research Disclosures *WS changed its rating system from (Strong Buy/ Buy/ Hold/ Sell) to (Outperform/ Neutral/ Underperform) on July 14, 2009. Applicable disclosure information is also available upon request by contacting the Research Department at (212) 833-1375, by email to leslie.lippai@wedbush.com. You may also submit a written request to the following: Wedbush Securities, Attn: Research Department, 142 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019.

OTHER DISCLOSURES The information herein is based on sources that we consider reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. The information contained herein is not a representation by this corporation, nor is any recommendation made herein based on any privileged information. This information is not intended to be nor should it be relied upon as a complete record or analysis: neither is it an offer nor a solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security mentioned herein. This firm, Wedbush Securities, its officers, employees, and members of their families, or any one or more of them, and its discretionary and advisory accounts, may have a position in any security discussed herein or in related securities and may make, from time to time, purchases or sales thereof in the open market or otherwise. The information and expressions of opinion contained herein are subject to change without further notice. The herein mentioned securities may be sold to or bought from customers on a principal basis by this firm. Additional information with respect to the information contained herein may be obtained upon request. Wedbush Securities does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. Thus, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. Please see pages 3–7 of this report for analyst certification and important disclosure information. Retail Investors The information provided is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individual recommendation or personalized investment advice. The companies/investments mentioned may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review their own respective situation(s) before making any investment decisions. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice due to shifting market(s), economic or political conditions. Investment involves risks including the risk of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance.

( Companies Mentioned: TCRX:NASDAQ, )

Global Analyst Adrian Day reviews results from two high-quality companies, a gold miner and a global blue chip. He also looks at changes in gold trends.

The Biden administration is opening the West Coast to offshore wind. Companies have largely focused on the East Coast, like this wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island.; Credit: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration plans to open the California coast to offshore wind development, ending a long-running stalemate with the Department of Defense that has been the biggest barrier to building wind power along the Pacific Coast.

The move adds momentum to the administration's goal of reaching 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, coming just weeks after the country's first large-scale offshore wind farm was approved off the coast of New England. Today, the country has just a handful of offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean, with around a dozen wind farms being developed in federal waters off the East Coast.

"It's an announcement that will set the stage for the long term development of clean energy and the growth of a brand new made-in-America industry," says national climate adviser Gina McCarthy. "Now we're thinking big and thinking bold."

The agreement identifies two sites off Central and Northern California with the potential to install massive floating wind turbines that could produce 4.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.6 million homes.

Interest in offshore wind on the West Coast has grown for years, especially with California's own ambitious goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The deep waters off the coast have the potential to produce a significant amount of energy.

But the Defense Department has largely objected to the idea, since the Navy and Air Force use the area for training and testing operations. In response to the growing interest, the Navy released a map in 2017 putting large swaths of California waters off limits.

In 2018, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management solicited interest from wind developers. But negotiations with the Department of Defense have been slow going ever since, effectively blocking wind development off California.

Tuesday's announcement outlines a compromise for a 399-square-mile area off Morro Bay, a site that's appealing to renewable energy companies because of existing transmission lines nearby that once service a retired power plant. It also identifies a location off Humboldt County in Northern California.

"It's our view that the world faces a grave and growing climate crisis," says Dr. Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy. "Climate change is both a threat to the Department of Defense's operations around the world and an existential challenge to our ability to maintain resilience here at home."

Another key site, just offshore from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, was not included in Tuesday's deal. California's last-remaining nuclear plant is scheduled to completely close by 2025, freeing up more potential transmission lines for offshore wind.

The Biden administration has set a goal of jump-starting the country's offshore wind sector with 30 gigawatts of projects by 2030. Those wind farms will foster tens of thousands of jobs, according to the White House, between renewable energy installers, manufacturers and steelworkers.

"This is a major breakthrough — a major advancement that will allow California to start planning for its carbon-free electricity goals with offshore wind firmly in the picture," says Nancy Rader of the California Wind Energy Association, who also pointed to the challenges. "Offshore wind development off the coast at Morro Bay and Humboldt will require a major port facility in each area to construct the floating platforms and assemble the turbines that will require continued proactive planning by the state and federal governments."

Still, the areas identified in the agreement may not be enough for hitting the administration's clean electricity goal, as well as California's. The state is planning to get 100% of its electricity from zero-emission sources by 2045. To reach that, renewable energy needs to triple statewide with offshore wind playing a key role, reaching 10 GW, according to a recent state analysis. Tuesday's deal could provide just half of that.

A potential lease auction for the offshore wind sites could be held in mid-2022. But the projects will still have to negotiate concerns about the potential impacts on California's fishing industry and shipping channels, as well as any environmental concerns about sensitive ecosystems.

"Far too many questions remain unanswered regarding potential impacts to marine life which is dependent on a healthy ecosystem," says Mike Conroy of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "The fishing industry has been told these areas work best for offshore wind developers; but no one has asked us what areas would work best for us."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

�Catawba Communities,� a monthly show which will feature information about programs and services provided by local governments, school systems and associated agencies across Catawba County, will premiere on Charter Communications� Government Channel (Channel 3) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.

The information was developed and compiled by the Children's Agenda Planning Committee, appointed by the Catawba County Board of Commissioners. The committee's vision is to ensure a safe community where all children are engaged, enriched and equipped to reach their full potential.

Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2012-2013 shows Catawba County improved its financial position with conservative approach.

Robin Heilweil, 6, wears a mask while swinging around with her kindergarten class this month at Kenter Canyon School in Los Angeles.; Credit: Sarah Reingewirtz/Los Angeles Daily News/Southern California News Group via Getty Images

New research released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforces an old message: COVID-19 spreads less in schools where teachers and staff wear masks. Yet the study arrives as states and school districts across the country have begun scaling back or simply dropping their masking requirements for staff and students alike.

With the majority of school-age children still too young to qualify for vaccination, Friday's research is the latest salvo in a simmering fight between public health officials and politicians — with parents lining up on both sides.

The new study comes from Georgia and compares COVID-19 infection rates across 169 K-5 schools. Some schools required teachers, staff and sometimes students to wear masks; some did not.

Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 11, researchers found that infection rates were 37% lower in schools where teachers and staff members were required to wear masks. The difference between schools that did and did not require students to wear masks was not statistically significant.

This is one more study showing that masking, among other mitigation efforts, "can reduce infections and ultimately save lives," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado and vice chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

O'Leary points to a previous CDC study, of schools in Florida, that also found "a strong association with student mask requirements and lower rates of infections in students."

Like any study, Friday's release comes with caveats. Only 12% of schools invited to share their data did so. And it's always worth remembering: Correlation is not causation. Still, the results offer an important warning to states and school districts that are now lifting their school-based mask requirements, especially for adults: It's safer if you don't.

The latest, and perhaps broadest effort to change schools' masking policies comes from Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Tuesday banning all mask mandates in the state's public schools. After June 4, the order says, "no student, teacher, parent or other staff member or visitor may be required to wear a face covering."

For Abbott, and many opponents of mask mandates, the move is about restoring a balance between safety and freedom. "We can continue to mitigate COVID-19 while defending Texans' liberty to choose whether or not they mask up," he said in announcing the order.

Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, called the move "unconscionable" in a statement. "The governor's new verdict takes a blanket approach to addressing what is still extremely dangerous for some Texans — a return to school unmasked."

And Texas isn't alone. On Thursday, Iowa's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, also signed a law banning schools from requiring masks. The justification is similar: "I am proud to be a governor of a state that values personal responsibility and individual liberties," Reynolds said in a statement.

"Whether a child wears a mask in school is a decision that should be left only to a student's parents," South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said last week as he issued an executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school-based mask requirements.

Public health experts have been quick to sound the alarm.

"All along in this pandemic, we have seen the tragic consequences when politics start to play a role in public health decisions. And to me, this kind of maneuver smells like politics — to ban the requirements that are ultimately there to save lives," O'Leary said. "The body of evidence shows us that masks work."

And Dr. Aaron Milstone, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins, likens the banning of mask mandates to having a variable speed limit.

"Unfortunately, with contagious diseases the decisions I make impact someone else," Milstone said. "It would be like saying: You can drive 55 mph if you think that's safe for you, but if someone else thinks they can safely drive 90 mph, their choice may wind up risking your life."

While the CDC recently scaled back its masking guidance for people who are fully vaccinated, the agency also reiterated that schools should continue to require universal masking, at least through the end of the current school year. Though one vaccine has been approved for use for 12- to 15-year-olds, those kids won't be considered fully vaccinated for another month.

Milstone said it's simply too early to talk about schools without masking. "Until vaccines are eligible for all children, it's hard to abandon the practices that we know work the best to prevent the spread of COVID."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, told CNBC this week that it is conceivable the CDC could recommend that middle and high schools be mask-free in the fall — if, that is, enough students 12 years of age and older get vaccinated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: LA Johnson/NPR

Undergraduate college enrollment fell again this spring, down nearly 5% from a year ago. That means 727,000 fewer students, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse.

"That's really dramatic," says Doug Shapiro, who leads the clearinghouse's research center. Fall enrollment numbers had indicated things were bad, with a 3.6% undergraduate decline compared with a year earlier, but experts were waiting to see if those students who held off in the fall would enroll in the spring. That didn't appear to happen.

"Despite all kinds of hopes and expectations that things would get better, they've only gotten worse in the spring," Shapiro says. "It's really the end of a truly frightening year for higher education. There will be no easy fixes or quick bounce backs."

Overall enrollment in undergraduate and graduate programs has been trending downward since around 2012, and that was true again this spring, which saw a 3.5% decline — seven times worse than the drop from spring 2019 to spring 2020.

The National Student Clearinghouse attributed that decline entirely to undergraduates across all sectors, including for-profit colleges. Community colleges, which often enroll more low-income students and students of color, remained hardest hit by far, making up more than 65% of the total undergraduate enrollment losses this spring. On average, U.S. community colleges saw an enrollment drop of 9.5%, which translates to 476,000 fewer students.

"The enrollment landscape has completely shifted and changed, as though an earthquake has hit the ground," says Heidi Aldes, dean of enrollment management at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, a community college in Minnesota. She says her college's fall 2020 enrollment was down about 8% from the previous year, and spring 2021 enrollment was down about 11%.

"Less students are getting an education"

Based on her conversations with students, Aldes attributes the enrollment decline to a number of factors, including being online, the "pandemic paralysis" community members felt when COVID-19 first hit, and the financial situations families found themselves in.

"Many folks felt like they couldn't afford to not work and so couldn't afford to go to school and lose that full-time income," Aldes says. "There was so much uncertainty and unpredictability."

A disproportionately high number of students of color withdrew or decided to delay their educational goals, she says, adding to equity gaps that already exist in the Minneapolis area.

"Sure, there is a fiscal impact to the college, but that isn't where my brain goes," Aldes says. "There's a decline, which means there are less students getting an education. That is the tragedy, that less students are getting an education, because we know how important education is to a successful future."

To help increase enrollment, her team is reaching out to the high school classes of 2020 and 2021, and they're contacting students who previously applied or previously enrolled and stopped attending. She says she's hopeful the college's in-person offerings — which now make up nearly 45% of its classes — will entice students to come back, and appeal to those who aren't interested in online courses. So far, enrollment numbers for fall 2021 are up by 1%. "We are climbing back," she says.

A widening divide

Despite overall enrollment declines nationally, graduate program enrollments were up by more than 120,000 students this spring. That means there are more students who already have college degrees earning more credentials, while, at the other end of the spectrum, students at the beginning of their higher ed careers are opting out — a grim picture of a widening gap in America.

"It's kind of the educational equivalent of the rich getting richer," Shapiro says. "Those gaps in education and skills will be baked into our economy, and those families' lives, for years to come."

The value of a college degree — and its impact on earning power and recession resilience — has only been reinforced by the pandemic. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans with a college degree were more likely to stay employed during the pandemic, and if they did lose a job, they were more likely to get hired again. Unemployment rates were higher for those without a degree or credential beyond high school.

"Almost all of the income gains and the employment gains for the last decade have gone to people with higher education degrees and credentials," Shapiro says. "Those who are getting squeezed out of college today, especially at community colleges, are just getting further and further away from being able to enjoy some of those benefits."

In the National Student Clearinghouse data, traditional college-aged students, those 18 to 24, were the largest age group missing from undergraduate programs. That includes many students from the high school class of 2020, who graduated at the beginning of the pandemic. Additional research from the Clearinghouse shows a 6.8% decline in college-going rates among the class of 2020 compared to the class of 2019 — that's more than four times the decline between the classes of 2018 and 2019. College-going rates were worse for students at high-poverty high schools, which saw declines of more than 11%.

For the communities and organizations tasked with helping high school graduates transition and succeed in college, the job this year is exponentially harder. Students have always struggled to attend college: "It's not new to us," says Nazy Zargarpour, who leads the Pomona Regional Learning Collaborative, which helps Southern California high school students enroll and graduate from college. "But this year, it's on steroids because of COVID."

Her organization is offering one-on-one outreach to students to help them enroll or re-enroll in college. As part of that effort, Zargarpour and her colleagues conducted research to help them understand why students didn't go on to college during the pandemic.

"Students told us that it's a variety of things, including a lot of just life challenges," she says. "Families being disrupted because of lack of work; families being disrupted because of the challenges of the illness itself; students having to take care of their young siblings; challenges with technology."

The biggest question now: Will those students return to college? Experts say the farther a student gets from their high school graduation, the less likely they are to enroll, because life gets in the way. But Zargarpour is hopeful.

"It will take a little bit of time for us to catch up to normal and better, but my heart can't bear to say all hope is lost for any student ever."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Police tape blocks access from a street leading to the building complex where the Capital Gazette is located on June 29, 2018, in Annapolis, Md. The suspect barricaded a back door in an effort to "kill as many people as he could kill," police said.; Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Jury selection in the trial of the gunman who fatally shot five employees at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., on June 28, 2018 gets underway on Wednesday.

Jarrod Ramos, 41, has pleaded guilty — but not criminally responsible for reason of insanity — in the killings of John McNamara, Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters and Rebecca Smith. The mass shooting was one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in modern U.S. history.

"There is a sense that you don't want this to be the thing that makes your life change," Phil Davis, the paper's former criminal justice reporter who now works at the Baltimore Sun, told NPR.

Davis was hiding under his desk while live tweeting the shooting that day. Later, he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that put out a paper the very next day.

"That's kind of what drove me to continue as a criminal justice reporter. Once I got the feeling of like, 'no we're going to get back to exactly what we do. We're going to tackle this how we would even if it wasn't us and try to go at it from the perspective of a local community newspaper,'" Davis said.

Bruce Shapiro, the executive director of the Columbia University's Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, said what made this shooting reverberate in newsrooms across the U.S. was "the idea of a newsroom full of colleagues being murdered just because they are journalists. It's an identity based attack."

Attacks on journalists in the U.S. haven't stopped there. During his time in office, President Donald Trump tweeted that the news media is the enemy of the people. Associated Press journalists were threatened and had their equipment damaged by supporters of Trump during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6. And last year, during the protests in Minneapolis over the murder of George Floyd by police, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reported at least 160 threats to journalists across the country in one week--mostly by police.

Shapiro says the trial is a reminder to the public of the risks and costs local reporters take daily.

"The reality is that local newsrooms all over the country cover extraordinarily difficult events affecting their own families, neighbors, kids, schools whether that is wildfires, whether that is mass shooting, whether that is COVID-19," Shapiro said.

The Capital Gazette trial has been delayed several times due to COVID-19, turnover in the public defender and state's attorney's offices, and rounds of court hearings. Davis says he hopes the long-awaited trial brings some closure.

"Certainly for the families of the victims themselves, I look forward to being on the other end of this trial," he said. "And whatever the outcome is, being able to embrace them and support them just to bring them some sort of closure."

Today, less than a week before the third anniversary of the shooting, the judge has called a pool of 300 people to determine the 12 that will sit as jurors. They will then determine Ramos's mental sanity during the attack.

Steve Mercer, a former Maryland public defender, said the defense has the burden to prove Ramos's sanity. He said that in cases like these, the defense will look at motive and intent. One possible motive, Mercer says, is Ramos' "long-simmering feud with the paper."

Ramos sued the paper for defamation in 2012 after reporters wrote about his guilty plea on charges of criminal harassment and 90-day suspended jail sentence. But that motive might not hold up.

"I think there's a big gap between sort of being upset about a story that's published ... and then going in and committing a mass shooting," Mercer said.

Mercer adds what presents a challenge to both the defense and prosecution is Ramos's conduct after the shooting. He was found by police under a desk at the scene of the shooting with a pump-action shotgun which was purchased legally a few years before.

"The defense may point to it and say that it shows just a disconnect from reality and a lack of awareness of what was going on," Mercer said.

Circuit Court Judge Judge Michael Wachs will ultimately decide if he ends up in prison or a state psychiatric hospital.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

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