Friday, July 18, 2008

AMERICA'S HOSTS: Steve Inskeep and Deborah Amos; Paul Brown, Jean Cochran
CALIFORNIA/NEVADA HOST: Donna Apidone; NEWSCASTS:  Steve Shadley

Here are some highlights of today's show:

Jeff Hudson wraps up his trilogy on the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival with a review of A Midsummer Night's Dream at 6:33 and 8:33.

Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness is increasing the number of two-officer patrol cars on the streets.  Ginger Rutland has the Sacramento Bee commentary this morning at 5:33 and 7:33.

New attention is being focused on mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the Bush Administration presses Congress to act on a rescue package for the two institutions. Economic officials say Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac used to have plenty of capital reserves. But to stay afloat during a housing crisis, they need to raise more cash.  That story at 6:10 and 8:10.

School districts across the nation are experimenting with paying teachers based on performance. Washington, DC's public school system is proposing a similar plan. We'll hear from the chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools about how she plans to compensate teachers in her district.  That's at 6:40 and 8:40.

In this week's clip installment of StoryCorps, Kay Wang shows us how her ornery attitude is as strong as ever at age 87. She is interviewed by her son, Cheng, and her granddaughter, Chen. They do their best to probe the comical moments of her life even as she declares the interview to be over. Sadly, Kay Wang died just weeks after this conversation was recorded and we brought Cheng and Chen back in to the studio to reflect on Kay's life and her StoryCorps experience.  We'll hear them at 5:25 and 7:25.

Thanks for listening.  Have a great weekend.