The Global Leader in News Distribution

The Global Leader in News Distribution:

"Over a thousand Citi India employees will join over 40,000 colleagues on Saturday, November 7, 2009 in more than 90 countries across the world on the company’s fourth “Global Community Day”. An annual event, “Global Community Day” provides Citi employees a unique, global platform to volunteer in their communities. In India, employee groups, accompanied by their families and friends, will be volunteering their special skills and expertise for a variety of projects addressing specific community needs including climate change, literacy, housing, sports, across 27 cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Lucknow, to name a few.

In order to fully leverage the enthusiasm employees have demonstrated for “Global Community Day” and make a meaningful difference to each local community, Citi India has partnered with several leading NGOs in each geographic location to jointly conceptualize day-long volunteering programmes. Some among these are Akanksha Foundation (Mumbai), Friends of Women’s World Banking (Ahmedabad), Pratham (6 cities), SOS Children Village (Bhubaneshwar) and Annamma School in Vijayawada. Each volunteer team, a mix of employees drawn from different Citi businesses across diverse hierarchies and age groups, will accomplish a clearly defined set of tasks assigned to it, such as conducting educational sessions on climate change, construction of houses for underprivileged communities, senior citizen support, cleaning of the Jamuna river and tree plantation."

St. Bernard's iPrism Wins Technology & Learning Award of Excellence

St. Bernard's iPrism Wins Technology & Learning Award of Excellence:

"St. Bernard Software, Inc. (OTCBB: SBSW), a leader in Web security appliances, today announced that its iPrism Web Filter appliance was awarded the prestigious 'Award of Excellence' by Technology & Learning Magazine. This recognition further reinforces St. Bernard's commitment to delivering superior security, performance and value across all educational institutions.

The Technology & Learning 'Award of Excellence' is a 27-year-old recognition program that honors software, hardware, network, and web products that break new ground in some significant way, as well as those that prove to demonstrate superiority over similar solutions in the education market. This year, a panel of more than 30 educators, who tested more than 100 entries across the country, chose the winners."

WNYC - News - Obama Gets Tough on Teachers – What Does That Mean for NYC?

WNYC - News - Obama Gets Tough on Teachers – What Does That Mean for NYC?:

"NEW YORK, NY November 05, 2009 —President Obama is praising Wisconsin for changing its law to allow student achievement to be used to evaluate teachers. The president visited Madison, Wisconsin yesterday, to promote his Race-to-the-Top fund which will award over $4-billion in total to states in exchange for reforms. As WNYC’s Beth Fertig reports, that puts pressure on New York, just as the city and the teachers union are negotiating a new contract.

REPORTER: Schools Chancellor Joel Klein talks often about the importance of getting better quality teachers."

House Democrats Introduce H1N1 Flu Emergency Sick-Leave Bill

House Democrats Introduce H1N1 Flu Emergency Sick-Leave Bill:

"WASHINGTON – This week U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) introduced H.R. 3991, the Emergency Influenza Containment Act.

H.R. 3991 would apply to employers with 15 or more employees. It would require employers who direct or advise employees to stay home from work due to symptoms of a contagious illness — such as H1N1 flu —to provide up to five days of paid sick leave. Employers that currently offer at least five days of paid sick leave would generally be exempt.

The bill would be effective 15 days after enactment and would sunset in two years. The committee plans to hold a hearing on the bill the week of November 16. The New York Times writes that Miller said in a telephone briefing: “We would like to move it to the floor as soon as possible...The influenza isn’t waiting for the legislative calendar.”"

Editorial: Mayoral arrogance hampers progress - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Editorial: Mayoral arrogance hampers progress - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"A year later, Sacramento's self-proclaimed collaborative mayor needlessly offended Rancho Cordova officials when he announced that he planned to house 105 homeless men, women and children this winter in that city without consulting city officials.

Like the rest of Rancho Cordova, Councilman Ken Cooley learned about Johnson's homeless plan for his city from the newspapers. When Cooley went out to examine the proposed site at the old Mather Air Force Base, he found deteriorating apartments probably built in the 1950s. Most had no stoves or refrigerators. Some had mold. A city employee stuck a pen into a wall and ants came boiling out."

SN&R > Columns > Bites > Business as usual > 11.05.09

SN&R > Columns > Bites > Business as usual > 11.05.09:

"Michelle Smira, one of the mayor’s top volunteer advisers, is leaving to run Kevin Johnson’s “strong mayor” campaign and to work as a consultant for Nestlé—and it’s business as usual at City Hall.

On October 22, Smira sent her resignation letter to the mayor, in which she explains that she’s leaving the city post to boost Johnson’s strong-mayor initiative.

“We need to change our antiquated structure and I will be there to help educate our community on the issue,” Smira "wrote in her letter. (You can read the whole letter on SN&R’s news blog, Snog.)

Smira told Bites she doesn’t believe there’s any legal issue with keeping both jobs, but said that if she didn’t quit the City Hall gig, then she wouldn’t have time to run her public-relations business, MMS Strategies.

Well, it just so happens that MMS Strategies was hired, within three days of Smira’s exit from City Hall, by Nestlé Waters. There, she’ll help conduct Nestlé’s public-relations offensive for a controversial water-bottling plant in south Sacramento.

Smira has worked previously on campaigns for U.S. Rep Doug Ose and for presidential candidate John McCain, and has served as the chairwoman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce political action committee, Metro PAC.

Sacramento Press / $10m Unity Center funding cut from water bond

Sacramento Press / $10m Unity Center funding cut from water bond:

"The California State Assembly stripped $10 million that had been earmarked for the future California Unity Center from an $11 billion state water bond proposal early Wednesday.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento had requested the money for the center to be built on 16th Street. He defended the provision Tuesday, but agreed to its being slashed from the water bond early Wednesday after its inclusion was stalling the bond from passing in the Assembly, confirmed Nathan Barankin, a Steinberg spokesman. Minutes later, the bond passed.

The session continued until nearly dawn. Later Wednesday, Steinberg told reporters he'd realized the $10-million earmark was threatening to derail the water bond."

Elk Grove Citizen : Archives > News > Solving $42 million school district budget shortfall

Elk Grove Citizen : Archives > News > Solving $42 million school district budget shortfall:

"The Citizen reported last week that there may be a $20 million glimmer of hope in solving some of the projected $42 million shortfall for the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) in 2010-11. If approved, it would save a hundred or so jobs.

The school district staff in August asked the seven unions that represent district employees to approve a negotiated plan which would include a reduction of work days, freezing steps and columns, ceasing the lottery payment and other cuts. If approved, it would save nearly $21 million."

For sports, EGUSD Superintendent Dr. Steven Ladd presented a plan at the last public forum that said the district would use $1.5 million of the $3 million saved from changing 12 elementary schools from year-round to traditional schedules.The district, in its proposed budget, planned to cut $800,000 from sports for 2010-11.

Tom Gardner, president of the Elk Grove Education Association (EGEA) and the largest union in the district, said Friday they are not expected to present the plan to their members until January.But he did say his union is considering the furlough days as a definite possibility. However, he said they are still completing negotiations for their contract.

Friends of the North Natomas Regional Park

Just a reminder to join me, the Friends of the North Natomas Regional Park, and the City of Sacramento's Department of Parks and Recreation for a workshop tonight on the North Natomas Regional Park.We will discuss the results of a recent community survey and talk about future development in the Park.

DATE: Tonight, November 4th

TIME: 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

LOCATION: Inderkum High School
2500 New Market Drive

We look forward to hearing from you. You voice is important, so if you are unable to make tonight's meeting, please feel free to email me with your ideas.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (916) 808-7001.

Sincerely,

Ray TrethewayCouncilmember, District 1

A White House Chef Who Wears Two Hats - NYTimes.com

A White House Chef Who Wears Two Hats - NYTimes.com:

"TWICE a month, President Obama’s senior policy advisers gather at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to hash out strategies for improving the health of the country’s children. Among the assistant secretaries, chiefs of staff and senior aides sits an unlikely participant: a bald, intense young man who happens to be the newest White House chef.

His name is Sam Kass. And when he’s not grilling fish for the first family or tending tomatillos in the White House garden, he is pondering the details of child nutrition legislation, funding streams for the school lunch program and the best tactics to fight childhood obesity."

Surveillance Video Shows Train Derailment In Davis - KTXL

Surveillance Video Shows Train Derailment In Davis - KTXL: "DAVIS - New surveillance video first broadcast by FOX40 News Wednesday morning shows what happened around 6pm Tuesday when a freight train carrying agricultural lime went off the tracks.

The train spilled approximately 50 pounds of lime, a non-hazardous substance used in construction, according to Davis fire officials.

Doug Walter, membership of the nearby Davis Food Co-Op, told FOX40 News the wheels from one side of a train car appears to be dangling 3-feet off the ground.

Officials with the Davis Fire Department first told FOX40 News they wouldn't likely have the train upright until midnight Thursday. As of 10:00am Thursday, three cars from the train were still off the tracks.

The derailment is not delaying commuter traffic, since the rail line accomodates freight only."

Sacramento Press / Free SMUD trees support the 5 million tree campaign

Sacramento Press / Free SMUD trees support the 5 million tree campaign:

"Tree clean our air and water, store carbon in their trunks, create habitat for wildlife, reduce air pollution, increase property values, and provide countless other benefits. The Sacramento Tree Foundation works to leverage all of the benefits that trees provide to create healthy and sustainable communities through building the best urban forest in the Sacramento region. A major keystone in building the best urban forest is the Greenprint initiative, a multi-decade regional framework created to meet Sacramento's sustainability and livability goals by expanding urban forests and optimizing the benefits of tree canopies. Greenprint partners, comprised of 22 cities and 6 counties, have agreed to double their tree canopy over the next 40 years. In order to achieve this goal, we need to plant 5 million new trees by the year 2025."

Parents Doing Homework?

Parents Doing Homework?:

"The parents of some ninth-grade students in NYC are spending their evenings this fall doing something they thought they had left behind long ago: homework. The ninth graders complete their assignments during class; the parents are supposed to write their responses either on an online blog created by the teacher or through hand written journal entries.

The point is to keep parents involved in their children’s ’ education well into high school. Studies have shown that parental involvement improves the quality of the education a student receives, but teenagers seldom invite that involvement"

Schools get creative to involve parents - News | Reflector.com

Schools get creative to involve parents - News Reflector.com:

"Some of the county's poorest schools continue to come up with creative ways to meet federal requirements for parent involvement.

Federal No Child Left Behind legislation requires schools with a free and reduced lunch rate of more than 40 percent, also known as Title I schools, to implement parent involvement plans with a portion of the additional funding their status earns for them.

There are 22 Title I schools in Pitt County, and Director of Federal Programs Sylvia Mizzelle said each is asked annually to host a minimum of five meetings aimed at increasing parent involvement.

One of the most recent examples of such a meeting was held Thursday at Northwest Elementary. Northwest officials brought in retired teacher and storyteller Ann Lunde to show parents the best techniques for reading to their children and emphasize the importance of it."

Commentary: School cupboards stocked with parental talent

Commentary: School cupboards stocked with parental talent:

"Backpack? Got it. Spiral notebooks? Plenty of those. Markers, folders and three-ring binders? Check, check and check! Parental talents? Huh?

Why would parental talents be on a child's back-to-school supply list? Here's why: Numerous studies have proven that there is a direct correlation between parental involvement and student achievement.

There are many things that fall under the heading of parental involvement, from the subtle (a parent's attitudes and expectations regarding education), to the more overt (reading to your child), to broader, more visible efforts (volunteering at your child's school)."

Every year, volunteers contribute thousands of hours to local schools. But parent volunteers are doing far more than making brownies for bake sales or chaperoning field trips.

Today's involved parents are using their vocational skills, unique talents and personal interests to benefit schools. And while I may be using the term "parent" here, this can apply to anyone who wants to be involved and volunteer in education: grandparents, other relatives, young adults, family friends and concerned citizens.

As a parent and former PTA officer at Jefferson Lighthouse School, I've had the opportunity there to see a wide range of volunteer talents put to use in the classroom, after school and in the school as a whole. Here are just some examples:

Activision kicks off ratings education program for parents - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness - USATODAY.com

Activision kicks off ratings education program for parents - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness - USATODAY.com:

"Activision is pairing up with a top mental health and media expert on an educational program for parents on video games, the publisher announced.

The Ratings Are Not A Game initiative is a collaboration between the Call of Duty and Guitar Hero publisher and Dr. Cheryl Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and Media at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also the author of Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do."

Investigation Into Councilman's Son Takes Twist - cbs13.com

Investigation Into Councilman's Son Takes Twist - cbs13.com:

"One of Sacramento's most powerful men is under investigation.

A local political group is calling out Sacramento City Manager Ray Kerridge about his involvement in home construction in a Natomas flood zone that was forbidden to be built in by FEMA.

Kerridge is the latest target in the controversy that has involved Dan Waters, son of City Councilman Robbie Waters.

The Democratic Party of Sacramento County says Kerridge should have known what was going on, and that he had the opportunity to audit that department but chose not to."

Champions Tour pro comes to aid of Elk Grove school district golf - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports | Sacramento Bee

Champions Tour pro comes to aid of Elk Grove school district golf - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports Sacramento Bee:

"Those who know James Reede III, Julian Woodfork and Will Smartt say they are good junior golfers and impressive young men.

But impressive enough to inspire a professional athlete in one afternoon to donate $35,000 to save nine boys and nine girls golf programs targeted for elimination by the Elk Grove Unified School District?

Apparently so."

After clinching the season-long Champions Tour points title and a $1 million annuity Sunday at the Charles Schwab Cup in Sonoma, Loren Roberts said as much.
"They were just great, great kids," Roberts said. "Good positive attitudes. … So I just got to thinking about it.

"I said, 'Gosh, it just seems like that might be something that maybe, you know, I could be involved in or have a part in.' That's what the Schwab Cup allows us to do."

Dr. James W. Reede Jr. took the boys to Sonoma on Saturday with tickets donated by the PGA Tour to the Northern California Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association. The younger Reede, Woodfork and Smartt are buddies through the First Tee of Greater Sacramento and the Sacramento Area Black Golf Club. Each is 15 and in the 10th grade. Their cumulative handicap index is 11.

Sacramento Press / Mayor, councilmembers clash over charter committee

Sacramento Press / Mayor, councilmembers clash over charter committee:

"Councilmembers clashed with Mayor Kevin Johnson over the usefulness of the Charter Review Committee’s work after the committee presented its final recommendations on city governance Tuesday. Johnson and Councilwoman Lauren Hammond questioned the value of the charter’s work, while Councilmembers Ray Tretheway, Kevin McCarty and Sandy Sheedy called for the 11-member committee to keep working past its deadline so that it can address additional issues.

The 11-member committee is advising the City Council to keep the city’s current council/manager form of government. The committee’s recommendations oppose the strong mayor form of government that would be established if voters approve an initiative in June."

Water plan has local goodie - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Water plan has local goodie - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"A nonprofit tolerance center in midtown Sacramento, championed by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, could get a vital economic boost from an unlikely source: a mammoth $10 billion water bond proposal.

Nestled among the provisions of a measure approved on a 29-5 vote by the Senate late Monday is language that would earmark 'not less than $10 million' for the California Unity Center."

The center, which is proposed for construction on the site of the old Sacramento City Unified School District headquarters at 16th and N streets, is envisioned as a "statewide hub" to teach tolerance to students and encourage "collaborative problem-solving," according to its Web site.

Language in the bond bill stipulates only that the $10 million "shall be available for capital improvements to nonprofit facilities that provide watershed, environmental justice and urban greening education programs to students in the Sacramento City Unified School District and the surrounding area."