Lawsuits could boost diversity on school boards
Brian Turner/Flickr
Civil rights attorneys are using a California election law to force school districts to make their boards more diverse.
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, a San Francisco-based advocacy group, has been aggressively seeking city and district compliance with the California Voting Rights Act, a 2002 law that makes it illegal to disenfranchise minority groups from the electoral process.
The act allows lawsuits to be filed against districts that elect governing boards through "at-large" elections if those elections prevented minority voters from influencing the outcome. The law stems from claims that "at-large" elections allowed non-minority voting blocs to dominate the process.
The lawyers group has filed at least five lawsuits challenging local election processes that its says effectively prevent Latinos from being elected. The group's efforts have been aided by Supreme Court decisions upholding
1 in 10 children lives with a grandparent, report finds
Salim Fadhley/Flickr
The number of U.S. children living with at least one grandparent in their homes increased 64 percent between 1991 and 2009, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released yesterday.
There were 7.8 million children living with at least one grandparent in 2009, up from 4.7 million in 1991. Such family arrangements were most common among black and Hispanic children but have risen most substantially among white children.
In 2009, 17 percent of black children and 14 percent of Hispanic children lived with a grandparent – just slightly higher than in 1991. Among white children, however, the percentage living with a grandparent increased from 5
Most GOP hopefuls have strong California fundraising ties
Chris Clunie/Flickr2012 Republican hopefuls Mitt Romney (from left), Ron Paul and Tim Pawlenty have all raised campaign money in California.
Mitt Romney already has figured it out. And if the other candidates in the Republican presidential field haven’t already, they will soon.
On the must-do list for aspiring presidential contenders, a fundraising swing up the California coast ranks somewhere between door-knocking in New Hampshire and grubbing on barbecue under the Iowa summer sun.