Today’s Agenda

Should parents have a say in how their children’s schools are run? Put that way, it seems easy to say yes. But if you ask whether immigrant non-citizens should have the right to vote, even in school board matters, you can get another answer. In Platform, we hear about this issue (which has already come up in the L.A. mayoral race, in debates between candidates Julian Nava and Tom Houston) from immigrants themselves and from the American-born. Their opinions do not divide along predictable lines.

When population races ahead of basic services and infrastructure like roads and libraries, is the best course to restrict growth? Or does that penalize the un-wealthy? Can new development protect the environment and allow for affordable housing? What’s the place of public/private partnerships?

In the Neighborhood visits Santa Clarita, the young city that celebrated its fifth anniversary this year. Its methods of grappling with explosive growth provide both models and lessons for the rest of Southern California, which will face pent-up expansion pressures as the economy improves.

Economic decisions are also the subject of Youth opinion, where Frank Young of Jefferson High School warns against the more subtle forms of advertising aimed at teens. For instance, he says, you won’t see cigarette commercials on TV, but life is saturated with them--on clothes, billboards, in the movies. Even toy racing cars, he notes, can have cigarette logo decals. Worse, he concludes, by actually buying things that carry company names and logos, kids are paying to advertise for someone else.

“I’m not a racist but . . .” Is there a person alive who hasn’t heard or uttered this tired phrase? Alfee Enciso, in the Community Essay, argues that American culture carries the virus of racism, and denying it only perpetuates the problem. Look at our media, our advertising, our measures of beauty, he tells us. As a teacher, he even found this cultural racism in his African-American students. Enciso says that recognition of his own racism--despite the fact that he’s Latino and has an African-American spouse--set him free. He prescribes a dose of truth for everyone.

What can an immigrant do to make a living, if he or she speaks little English and has less money or education? The best opportunities are in food service, and therein lies a tale of the Southern California “stew pot.” Writer Trin Yarborough, cultural anthropologist Andrea Bell and photographer Marissa Roth bring us a delightful contemplation of this meeting point of cultures, where burgers nestle comfortably with Mexican food and teriyaki shakes hands with both.

Food is the starting point for Rabbi Yale Butler in the Sermon, where he contemplates the meaning of America’s military presence in Somalia. The doubters miss the point, he says--this is exactly what America ought to be doing with its overflow resources. It’s a natural impulse and absolutely the right thing.