SoCal regional director of the California High Speed Rail, Michelle Boehm returns to the show for updates on this massive project amidst the competition for infrastructure funding in both CA and the U.S. More information is available at the water cooler source: http://www.cahsrblog.com/ as well as at the official site: http://www.hsr.ca.gov/.

(min 33): My second guest is Alicia Rivera, veteran community activist, talking about the imminent expansion proposed for at the Tesoro Refinery in the LA neighborhood of Wilmington. Environmental justice is on the line with the status quo as well as in the future. Deadlines, letter writing materials (http://bit.ly/2lXn3Lg), updates, and details to arrange for a Toxin Tour are available at: http://www.cbecal.org/, or by reaching Alicia directly: alicia@cbecal.org.

Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Executive Director of Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (C.L.U.E.) speaks in advance of their 2-22-17 special event “Architects of Justice” to be held 6-9 p.m., at the Temple Beth Shalom 2625 N Tustin Ave. in Santa Ana. Honorees include: Father Arturo Querijero Ferraras; Former Irvine Mayor Beth Krom; and Jennifer Muir Beuthin, General Manager of Orange County Employees Association. All the details are available at: http://www.cluejustice.org/. Local CLUE organizers contact information is also available on this website. OC personnel include: Sandra Ortega sortega@cluejustice.org and Anaheim rep.Irene Arellano iarellano@cluejustice.org.

Our second guest, UCI Professor of political science and rhetoric, Keith Topper (minute 31) takes us to the intersection of propaganda and rhetoric. Key is directing our direction toward policy and away from shiny objects.

On this Valentine’s Day edition of AAL, Teresa McQueen of Saffire Legal, takes up how her niche practice gives special expertise to employers and employees toward preventing sexual harassment at the workplace. Ms. McQueen’s practice offers legal, human resources, etiquette, and civility training for before or once these transgressions occur. She can be reached at: 949-535-5266, http://saffirelegal.com/, linkedin, Facebook and on Twitter. Her office is located at 2372 Morse Ave., Ste. 442, Irivne, CA. Additional resources are available these California and federal sites respectively: http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/ and https://www.eeoc.gov/.

Labor activist and writer Steve Early talks about his recently released book, “Refinery Town; Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City,” published by Beacon Press. He offers promising news about the force of grassroots efforts from the Richmond Progressive Alliance vis a vis the Chevron Corporation juggernaut. Copies of this book are available at: http://steveearly.org/, http://www.beacon.org/Refinery-Town-P1229.aspx, or your favorite independent book dealer.  Watch for him in your area as he continues his national book tour!  View details about the Richmond refinery fire in 2012 at: http://www.csb.gov/chevron-refinery-fire/.

Then we’re one of the first to present on the airwaves – the founding dean of UCI’s Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing and a professor of nursing science, Dr. Adey M. Nyamathi (minute 33). She links current initiatives with the degrees offered at the school, to prepare these vaunted professionals, in the trenches, in delivering better healthcare for all. For information about scholarship opportunities: http://www.grad.uci.edu/funding/fellowships-awards/index.html and http://www.ofas.uci.edu/content/Scholarships.aspx