Proposed Law Would Fight H1N1 :: WRAL.com

Proposed Law Would Fight H1N1 :: WRAL.com:

"Worried about your family getting the H1N1 flu? Who isn’t? Every day seems to bring changes in which age group is more vulnerable, yet if you’ve called your pediatrician’s office to try to get a shot, you know that the vaccines aren’t coming in fast enough.

We all know that hand washing is our best defense against the flu, but now there’s a plan afoot to tackle the H1N1 pandemic from new angle that makes perfect sense. Under a bill proposed in Congress Tuesday, employers who tell workers to stay home when they are sick will have to give them paid time off for up to five days, Reuters reports. The emergency law would cover the H1N1 flu and other infectious diseases."

Now there’s a real incentive for people to stay home when they’re sick. We’ve all been told to keep our kids home from school when they’re sick and to do the same when we’re ill. The problem is that parents often don’t get paid when they’re sick, so they must choose between earning money and infecting others (while going without rest).

Paid sick leave is not required by U.S. laws. If it were, I suspect we’d have a lot less illness being spread.George Miller, the California congressman who introduced the bill and chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, told Reuters that at least 50 million U.S. workers don’t get sick pay, and many of them are in low-paying jobs with direct contact with the public, such as the food-service and hospitality industry, schools and health care fields.

Physical Education Key To Improving Health In Low-income Adolescents

Physical Education Key To Improving Health In Low-income Adolescents:

"ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2009) — School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley."

The study, which identifies opportunities for adolescents to improve their health based on routine daily activities, finds that regular participation in PE class is significantly associated with greater cardiovascular fitness and lower body mass index.

"We took an incredibly comprehensive look at all of the opportunities kids have throughout their day to engage in physical activity and determined which are the most strongly linked to fitness and weight status," said first author Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF Children's Hospital. "Obesity continues to be a major public health concern, particularly in low-income communities, so it is imperative that we develop targeted interventions to improve the health of at-risk youth."

UC Officials Voice Concerns in Debate Over Proposed Oil Tax - The Daily Californian

UC Officials Voice Concerns in Debate Over Proposed Oil Tax - The Daily Californian:

"Despite the millions of dollars higher education stands to gain under a bill that would impose oil and gas severance taxes, officials from the University of California have expressed concerns about the extent to which the UC system will benefit if the bill passes.

Assembly Bill 656 would levy a 9.9 percent severance tax on all oil and natural gas extracted by oil companies from the state and its ocean holdings beginning in January 2010.
The bill, first introduced by State Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, has the potential to raise up to $1 billion that would go to funding public higher education"

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency:

"(Media-Newswire.com) - Los Angeles -- The Los Angeles Times and the University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences today announced they will jointly sponsor a series of six statewide public opinion polls beginning November 8, 2009, and continuing throughout California's crucial 2010 elections for governor and U.S. Senate. This is the first such cooperative venture of this magnitude between a major newspaper and a major research university in the state of California.

The University of Southern California College of Letters, Arts & Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll will be taken at regular intervals during the next 14 months, and will be designed to survey California residents' attitudes on a wide range of political, policy, social and cultural issues.

'We are extremely pleased to team up with the Times to offer in-depth insight and analysis of the historic 2010 campaign,' said Howard Gillman, dean of USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. 'The partnership will provide unique experiential learning opportunities for USC College students, and will also enhance the ability of our faculty to address issues that are critical to California's future.'"

District Dossier: Wedding Bells for Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson

District Dossier: Wedding Bells for Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson:

"District of Columbia Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has been awfully coy for more than a year about her bi-coastal romance with Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star, charter school operator, and now, mayor of Sacramento.

But there was no hiding the diamond folks apparently spotted on her left hand Wednesday night at an education reform event in downtown D.C. The Washington Post's gossip columnists got on the case and got Rhee herself to confirm the engagement.

Naturally, the first thing most of us wonder is if Rhee will be leaving Washington soon. After all, KJ is only in his first term as mayor of Sacto, his hometown. He's not likely to leave his job for a move East. Rhee has just been through the stormiest stretch of her nearly two and a half year run as chancellor, brought on mostly by her recent decision to lay off nearly 400 district employees, more than half of them teachers."

The chancellor told The Post that she's not leaving D.C. any time soon, and her steeliness and tenacity to turn around decades of failure in the city's school system seems genuine, even if you disagree with her methods. She doesn't seem like a quitter, even for true love.
Still,anyone want to lay odds on how long for D.C. Michelle Rhee will be?

CPR: News Story | Commentary: Mayor needs to collaborate with neighbors

CPR: News Story Commentary: Mayor needs to collaborate with neighbors:

"A year later, Sacramento’s self proclaimed collaborative mayor announced a winter shelter program for the homeless that included a plan to house 105 homeless men, women, and children in the city of Rancho Cordova. Incredibly, Mayor Johnson made his announcement without bothering to consult with the folks in Rancho Cordova.

When Ken Cooley, a city councilman there, read about the plan, he visited the proposed site and found a collection of dilapidated apartment buildings. Most had no stoves or refrigerators. Some had serious mold. When a city employee who accompanied Cooley poked a pen into the wall of one unit, ants came boiling out. Cooley doesn’t necessarily oppose bringing more homeless to Rancho, but he says there’s got to be a plan that includes decent habitation, security, services and programs."

Listen Listen -->

Sacramento Press / Sacramento Steps Forward initiative announced

Sacramento Press / Sacramento Steps Forward initiative announced:

"Thursday morning, journalist Lisa Ling, members of the City Council and the homeless and formerly-homeless community joined Mayor Kevin Johnson in launching the 'Sacramento Steps Forward' initiative. A crowd of several hundred waved blue initiative flags and cheered as Johnson announced his goal 'to end homelessness and focus on permanent housing.'

He applauded permanent housing shelters such as Mercy Housing, Turning Point and Martin Luther King Jr. Village, 3900 47th Avenue, where the launch was held."

Bill change underscores the need for journalists - Dan Walters - Fresnobee.com

Bill change underscores the need for journalists - Dan Walters - Fresnobee.com:

"A batch of amendments to a massive water bond bill was submitted to the state Senate's clerical desk Monday, and one of them, as it turned out, had nothing to do with water.

Later that evening, as the bond bill was being debated on the Senate floor, Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, asked about the opaquely worded new provision, and was given a vague answer.

However, two reporters for The Sacramento Bee continued to pursue the language on Tuesday because it made an oblique reference to the Sacramento Unified School District. And under questioning, Senate President Pro tem Darrell Steinberg admitted to them that the amendment would earmark $10 million for his pet project, a Sacramento cultural tolerance center."

Sacramento Press / School moving from old Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary

Sacramento Press / School moving from old Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary:


"It was confirmed last week California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus will move from the Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the College Glen neighborhood.

Since August, CMP leased the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter. Next Thursday and Friday, the school will be closed for the move and will resume at the new campus on Nov. 16.

SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond met with CMP board members, students and parents Tuesday night at the campus' new location. After stating reasons for the move, he answered questions from parents."

Board of Education Meeting

Board of Education Regular Meeting

Date: November 5, 2009

Time: 4:30 Closed session 6:30 Open Session

Location:Serna Center 5735 47th AvenueSacramento, Ca 95824 Tennessee Community Room

Agenda Items:

Item 7.2 - Carpenters Union 46 Scholarship Program
Item 9.1 - Public Hearing and Approval of Resolution No. 2586: Compliance with the Pupil Textbook and Instructional Materials Incentive Program Act.Item 10.1 - Approve New Board Policy 4311.1 Recruitment and Selection
Item 10.2 Part 1 - Approve/Ratify Facility Use Agreements: Sacramento Charter High School, St. Hope Public School #7 (PS7), Language Academy of Sacramento, and S.A.C. Prep
Item 10.2 Part 2
Item 10.3 - Approve/Ratify Naming of School of Engineering and Science (SES) High School
Item 10.4 - Resolution No. 2593: Ratifying the Facilities Use Agreement for the California Montessori Project Charter School at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and Determining the Project is Exempt from the California Environment Quality Act.
Item 10.5 - Update on Library Services
Item 12.1a - Approve Grants, Entitlements and Other Income Agreements, Ratification of Other Agreements, Approval of Bid Awards, Approval of Declared Surplus Materials and Equipment, Change Notices and Notices of Completion.
Item 12.1b - Reporting of Williams Complaints for the Period of July through September, 2009
Item 12.1c - Approval to Separate Curriculum from Human Resources, Contracts, and Curriculum Ad Hoc Committee.
Item 12.1d - Resolution No. 2590: Authorizing Delegation of Power to contract to Include Patricia A. Hagemeyer.
Item 12.1e - Resolution No. 2591: Authorization of Personnel to Sign Orders on District Funds.
Item 12.1f - Resolution No. 2592: Authorizing Signature Authority on Documents Transmitted to County Superintendent of Schools.
Item 12.2a - District Personnel Transactions.
Item 13.1 - Business and Financial Information.

During a Regular Board of Education meeting, click HERE to watch the meeting live.

PLEASE NOTE: This video service is designed for high speed internet access.

This meeting of the Sacramento City School Board is being videotaped in its entirety and will be cablecast without interruption on Metro Cable 14, the government affairs channel on the Comcast and SureWest Cable Systems. Today’s meeting will be replayed Friday, November 6 at 1pm & Monday, November 9 at Noon on Channel 14, and will be webcast at www.sacmetrocable.tv. A video copy is also available for check out from any library branch.
Members of the audience wishing to address the Board should fill out a speaker identification form located in the back of community room and give to the Clerk. Please speak into the microphone when addressing the Board, and state your name for the record.

Greenwala - Greenwala Makes List of Top 100 Green Sites for Students

Greenwala - Greenwala Makes List of Top 100 Green Sites for Students:

"Yesterday, OnlineUnversities.com released it's list of 100 Top Green Sites for Students and Greenwala.com was included on the list.

Thanks to OnlineUniversities for including us on this list and of course MAJOR thanks to all the Greenwalas that make this growing communtiy so unique and special.

Here is the list of the Top 100 Green Blogs for Students:"

OpenSecrets | TARP Recipients Paid Out $114 Million for Politicking Last Year - Capital Eye

OpenSecrets TARP Recipients Paid Out $114 Million for Politicking Last Year - Capital Eye:

"WASHINGTON--(This release has been corrected to reflect that Bank of America has received $45 billion, not $55 billion, from the TARP program. The $45 billion includes $10 billion that Merrill Lynch received before being acquired by Bank of America. An earlier version of this release incorrectly added Merrill Lynch's $10 billion to Bank of America's $45 billion. Adjustments to the figures in the original release are in bold below. In addition, the total number of TARP recipients that lobbied in 2008 is 26, rather than 25 as originally stated.) The struggling companies whose freewheeling business practices have contributed to the country's economic woes are getting a lucrative return on at least one of their investments. Beneficiaries of the $700 billion bailout package in the finance and automotive industries have spent a total of $114.2 million on lobbying in the past year and contributions toward the 2008 election, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has found. The companies' political activities have, in part, yielded them $295.2 billion from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), an extraordinary return of 258,449 percent."

Obama Uses Malia’s Test Scores as a Teaching Example - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

Obama Uses Malia’s Test Scores as a Teaching Example - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com:

"MADISON, Wisconsin – President Obama marked the first anniversary of his election on Wednesday by calling on states to toughen their education standards – and wound up calling on parents to toughen theirs, too, as he confessed that his 11-year-old daughter, Malia, recently got a 73 on her science test.

(Note to parents: In Malia’s defense, the story has a happy ending: she studied hard and came home on Tuesday with a grade of 95.)

Mr. Obama campaigned for the White House on a promise of revamping “No Child Left Behind,’ the signature education law put in place by his predecessor, George W. Bush. He came to Wisconsin to promote his own education agenda, including “Race to the Top,’’ – a $4.35 billion grant program that requires states to compete for education money."

The big state government that could -- latimes.com

The big state government that could -- latimes.com:

"For example: Sen. John Benoit (R-Palm Desert) wanted to be appointed by the governor to a vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. And he was, after providing key votes for the water package.

Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) wants to be considered for the job of lieutenant governor, being vacated by Democrat John Garamendi, who was elected to Congress on Tuesday. Schwarzenegger will appoint Garamendi's replacement, subject to legislative confirmation. Maldonado would have been considered anyway, but he assured himself a finalist spot with his key votes Wednesday night.

The Capitol worked the way it's supposed to when it works.

The governor used the powers of his office.

Steinberg was tenacious and a nonstop negotiator, even siding against fellow Sacramento County and delta politicians who opposed the package.

The Assembly speaker, Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), astutely delegated"

Local governments use program to avoid tax grab by state - DailyBulletin.com

Local governments use program to avoid tax grab by state - DailyBulletin.com:

"Inland Valley cities are turning to a joint powers authority to help them overcome a tax grab by the state.

Because of its budget woes, California is borrowing about 8 percent of each local government's property tax revenues.

California Communities will issue bonds and make the state repay those bonds in the future, said Richard Watson, California Communities operations manager.
The enrollment deadline for the program is Friday.

'Having a third party step up and fill the gap for us is a benefit to us. That way we don't have to use reserves,' Upland City Manager Robb Quincey said. 'That way we can keep our protection in place in the event of something worse happening like a natural disaster.'"

Senate approves education bill, paves way for stimulus money - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Senate approves education bill, paves way for stimulus money - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"The California State Senate voted Tuesday to pass Senate Bill X5 1, which would make the state more competitive for federal Race to the Top stimulus funds.

The bill calls for strategies to turn around the bottom five percent of the state's lowest performing schools and authorizes open enrollment at those schools so parents can choose the school their child attends. It encourages school districts to reward teachers who consistently improve student scores and repeal's California's charter school cap. The Obama administration has indicated that these measures would make states more competitive for the $4.35 billion that will be awarded in Race to the Top grants."

Obama addresses Native American leaders | 44 | washingtonpost.com

Obama addresses Native American leaders 44 washingtonpost.com:

"President Obama told what he called the largest gathering of Native American tribal leaders Thursday that 'you will not be forgotten by this White House,' pledging to work with them to address the community's chronic problems with health care, economic development, land management and education.

Obama fulfilled a campaign pledge by bringing the leaders of the 564 federally recognized Native American tribes to Washington during his first year in office.

He began his remarks with an accounting of the historically troubled relationship between the federal government and Indian Nations, telling them 'few have been marginalized for as long by Washington as Native Americans.'"

Politics K-12: Tribal Leaders Voice ESEA Renewal Ideas

Politics K-12: Tribal Leaders Voice ESEA Renewal Ideas:

"The U.S. Department of Education has taken its Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization tour all the way across the street: to the National Museum of the American Indian, literally across Independence Avenue from department headquarters in Washington.

An event today gave tribal leaders, in town anyway for a White House conference on Native American issues, a chance to share their ideas for renewing ESEA, of which the No Child Left Behind Act is the current version.

As you probably remember, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said recently that the NCLB 'Listening and Learning Tour' has reached a new phase. Instead of just touring the country, Ed Department officials are reaching out to specific stakeholders to find out what they think needs to be in the new version of the law. Two assistant secretaries, Carmel Martin (planning, evaluation, and policy development) and Thelma Melendez (elementary and secondary education), spoke at the event, but they kept their comments brief and mostly listened."

Inside School Research: Texas Merit-Pay Pilot Failed to Boost Student Scores, Study Says

Inside School Research: Texas Merit-Pay Pilot Failed to Boost Student Scores, Study Says:

"Back in August, I told you about some early results from a study of a performance-pay program that was being tested in the Lone Star State.

Piloted between the 2005-06 and the 2008-09 school years, the now-defunct Governor's Educator Excellence Grants, or GEEG, program distributed more than $10 million a year in federal grants to 99 Texas schools that managed to turn in high scores on state tests despite enrolling large numbers of students from low-income families. The program differed from some other merit-pay schemes, though, because it required schools to involve teachers in designing the performance-incentive plans for their own schools."

In the earlier study, which was conducted by researchers from the National Center on Performance Incentives, at Vanderbilt University, we learned that, when given a say, teachers tend to be remarkably egalitarian. They favor relatively modest awards and spread them widely.

In the new study, released just this month by the same group of researchers, we learn whether the pay incentives for teachers translated to any improvements in their students' test scores. The answer, in a word, is no. The third-year findings indicate that, overall, the program had a "weakly positive, negative, or negligible effect on student test-score gains."

JFS Program Gives Students New School Supplies | Education | Jewish Journal

JFS Program Gives Students New School Supplies Education Jewish Journal:

"Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Los Angeles supplied 1,100 disadvantaged children in the Los Angeles Unified School District with new backpacks filled with school supplies through its Tools for Schools program.

The program, now in its third year of operation, provides backpacks with supplies including pens, rulers, erasers, notebooks and other school necessities to children whose families are helped by one of the JFS social service programs. “Due to the financial hardship faced by many in our community, the need for basic school supplies was even higher this year,” said Paul S. Castro, JFS CEO/executive director.

This year, Tools for Schools enlisted the help of campers at Camp Ramah in Ojai, who helped put the backpacks together as part of a social action project."