Promoting educational opportunity for all is good economic policy, says Stanford  Professor Martin Carnoy, while perpetuating inequality is bad for business.

From an economic perspective, there are clear benefits for greater educational attainment, but in California, Carnoy says, policies to encourage that are lagging,

 Learning to read is a critical first step on the educational ladder, so Carnoy suggests emphasizing that key skill is more important in the long term than promoting bi-lingualism.

Dr. Carnoy has written more than 30 books on economic issues, racial inequality and education policy. He will give a free public lecture on April 1 at 7 pm in the Person Theater  at Sonoma State on the topic, “Educational Equity and Social Justice as Smart Economic Policy. Dr. Carnoy also blogs regularly for the Huffington Post. Read his blog here.

Economics has been called the “dismal science,” but Yoram Bauman is working to counter that image. He calls himself “the world’s first Stand-up Economist.”

Bauman joked about fiscal policy and talked about his book, The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa this past Saturday. It was an atypical presentation for that venue, as Yoram freely acknowledges that he dealt far more with the words than the pictures in that publication.

He enjoyed the collaboration, Bauman says, but it involved a great deal of back and forth between the two creative partners.

The two are now at work on a sequel that will focus on Macro-economics. In the meantime, here's a video clip of Bauman performing at a conference of economists.

As NPR’s Chief European Correspondent Sylvia Poggioli has covered momentous events there over the past 25 years. She has also observed some broad changes in the way journalism is conducted.

Even though there are fewer other foreign reporters working alongside her in Europe, Poggoili says the sharp cutbacks that have swept through American newspapers are just beginning to be felt among their European counterparts.

Somewhat ironically, Poggoili (seen at left with KRCB News Director Bruce Robinson outside the studio where this interview was recorded)  is practicing western-style First Amendment journalism in a nation where very little of that still exists. Most of the new media there. She notes, is either controlled by or subservient to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Alzheimer’s disease, a severe form of progressive dementia, casts a long and fearful shadow on the baby boom generation, but lifestyle changes and advance planning can delay and even diminish its impacts.

A certified Occupational Therapist, Teepa Snow  is a dementia expert who trains and consults for healthcare professionals and families privately. She explains that  while Alzheimer’s is the most widely recognized form of dementia, it is just one of the many forms that condition may take. Here, Snow  (left) describes a few of the others.

Simple forgetfulness is a common trait for most adults, but the early signs of Alzheimer’s are significantly more acute. Here, Teepa Snow breaks down the difference.

The diagram below illustrates the physiological changes that characterize Alzherimer's disease.