KCET's Award-Winning Weekly Series 'SOCAL CONNECTED' Explores the Clash of Values over California Proposed "End of Life Option Act"
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Susan C. Mills or Rachel Coulson
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KCET's Award-Winning Weekly Series 'SOCAL CONNECTED' Explores the Clash of Values over California Proposed "End of Life Option Act"
BURBANK, Calif. - March 9, 2015 - SOCAL CONNECTED, KCET's Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning series delves into the controversy surrounding aid in dying. Should terminally ill Californians have the option to end their own lives, as patients in Oregon and Washington do? Anchor Val Zavala talks with a doctor who lost his 25-year-old daughter to cancer after a long and painful illness. He would've liked to have given his daughter the choice of the lethal prescription that Brittany Maynard had when she went to Oregon to lawfully end her life. Opponents say allowing "assisted suicide" is a violation of the physician's oath, when pain at the end of the life can be managed with proper palliative care. They also fear that financial incentives could lead to abuse. Zavala asks how the law would work and what would be the consequences of this emotionally charged end-of-life issue. Based on stories from KCET.org's Agenda blog.
The episode airs on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 8 p.m.
This week's SOCAL CONNECTED also features:
Micro Pollution in Personal Care Products: It's a new kind of plastic that is too small to recycle and too tiny to filter out of waste water. Called microbeads, thousands of them are put into skin cleansers, exfoliates and even toothpaste. They eventually end up in our oceans, consumed by fish and coral and adding to the huge gyres of plastic that are floating in our oceans. Reporter Derrick Shore meets two Culver City environmentalists who are on a crusade to raise public awareness of microbead pollution and persuade manufacturers to stop using them. Based on a story from KCET.org's Departures.
7-Year-Old Pilot from Compton: At an airport in Compton, a remarkable program is teaching kids to fly before they can drive. Anchor Val Zavala met 7-year-old Lauro Banuelos as he climbed into the cockpit of a Cessna 172. He is one of hundreds of young people who are learning to fly airplanes and helicopters at "Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum" founded by Tuskegee Airmen, along with ace helicopter pilot Robin Petgrave. It's an inspiring program that is lifting hundreds of Compton kids beyond their circumstances. Based on KCET's Local Heroes.
PLEASE NOTE: There are three longer segments this episode, rather than the standard four.
Broadcast Premiere Date: Wednesday, March 11 at 8 p.m.
Repeated: Friday, March 13 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m.
SOCAL CONNECTED is anchored by 16-time Emmy®-Award winner, Val Zavala. Contributorsinclude science journalist Cara Santa Maria, reporters Derrick Shore, Jennifer Sabih, Conor Knighton, documentary filmmaker Nic Cha Kim and writer Nick Hardcastle.
The television broadcast executive producer for SOCAL CONNECTED is Val Zavala; digital executive producer is Zach Behrens; and Linda Burns is senior producer.
ABOUT SOCAL CONNECTED
SOCAL CONNECTED, winner of a Peabody® and two duPont Awards, 23 Emmy® Awards, 24 Golden Mikes, 48 LA Press Club Awards, two Gracie Awards, and four regional and one national Edward R. Murrow Awards, including Best News Documentary and Los Angeles Magazine's "Best New Local TV Program" of 2009, airs exclusively on KCET. For more information, to view episodes online or to leave comments, please visit www.socalconnected.org. SOCAL CONNECTED is made possible through the generous support of The Ahmanson Foundation, Chapman University and theMaddocksBrown Foundation.
ABOUT KCET
On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 50-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET is a service of KCETLink.
