SMUD.org | TOGETHER LET'S MOW DOWN AIR POLLUTION

SMUD.org | English | About SMUD | Connections | February 2011 Connections

TOGETHER LET'S MOW DOWN AIR POLLUTION

Take steps to trim air pollution by trading in your old gasoline-powered lawn mower for a quieter, clean-running electric model.

SMUD's annual "Mow Down Air Pollution" event takes place, rain or shine, on March 26, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Quantities are limited, so pre-registration is required. You may register starting at 11 a.m. on Wed., March 9 by calling 1-888-742-SMUD (7683) or by visiting smud.org. Registration is first-come, first-served.

The cordless, rechargeable electric mowers are offered at a discount with the trade-in of your operational gas mower. The 14 inch mower will cost $149 with trade-in, and the the 19 inch will cost $249 with trade-in.

Please drain your trade-in mower beforehand of all fluids.

For more details, visit smud.org, or call (916) 732-6227

Poll: Obesity, Not Drugs, Biggest Threat to Kids' Health - The Bay Citizen

Poll: Obesity, Not Drugs, Biggest Threat to Kids' Health - The Bay Citizen

Poll: Obesity, Not Drugs, Biggest Threat to Kids' Health

The latest Field Poll finds wide awareness about unhealthy eating and overweight among California voters

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By ANNETTE FUENTES on February 8, 2011 - 11:35 a.m. PST

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Cafeteria worker Rosaria Tufo hands out plates of fresh vegetables to students at Fairmount Elementary School in San Francisco,

Unhealthy eating is the single biggest health problem California’s kids now face, according to a survey of voters released today. And obesity is considered a serious problem for youth by an overwhelming majority.

In a dramatic shift in public perception, 31 percent of voters surveyed for the latest Field Poll chose bad eating habits as the greatest risk, trumping illegal drug use (17 percent) and violence (13 percent). When the question was asked in two previous surveys, 27 percent named illegal drug use as the chief threat to kids’ health.

Overall, nearly 60 percent of those surveyed said that obesity is a very serious problem for

How (and why) those Rogers Park high schoolers made their anti-Rahm/pro-Miguel video--WBEZ Del Valle for Mayor |

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: How (and why) those Rogers Park high schoolers made their anti-Rahm/pro-Miguel video--WBEZ

How (and why) those Rogers Park high schoolers made their anti-Rahm/pro-Miguel video--WBEZ

by Joanna2011

From WBEZ, 2.8.2011



You’ve probably seen the video that Chicago Public Schools students put together, attacking Rahm Emanuel and supporting Miguel del Valle for mayor. When it debuted on YouTube a little over a week ago, a lot of folks began to wonder if maybe it wasn’t really all that grassroots, if the professionals at del Valle’s campaign had

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Where is the love?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Where is the love?

Where is the love?

by Mike Klonsky

I'm sending each of them a broken-heart cookie and a cup of coffee to help them past the pain. A Huffington Post report has AFT prez Randi Weingarten breaking up with billionaire media mogul and N.Y. mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Oh, well. I never thought it would last anyway. Guess they just weren't right for each other, coming from different sides of the barbed wire and all.

"I'm very disappointed in the mayor. I don't know why he's gone from wanting to

You heard about the kids. You saw the video. Here’s the story. « Fred Klonsky's blog

You heard about the kids. You saw the video. Here’s the story. « Fred Klonsky's blog

You heard about the kids. You saw the video. Here’s the story.

by Fred Klonsky

Chicago’s public radio station WBEZ has a website that includes City Life by Achy Obejas. In her recent post she gives us some background on the Sullivan High School students who made the video in response to Rahm Emanuel’s slam of Chicago public high schools.

Gerardo Aguilera, Alexandra Alvarez, and Cristina Henriquez are all juniors at Sullivan High School. These students’ efforts to mobilize their community to

Day of Action: Workers Call for Democracy in Egypt | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

Day of Action: Workers Call for Democracy in Egypt | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

Day of Action: Workers, Activists Call for Democracy in Egypt by James Parks, Feb 8, 2011

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Egyptians protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo.

Union members from all parts of the world today joined with community activists in aDay of Action for Democracy in Egypt. In actions outside Egyptian embassies and government buildings, they pressed their governments to demand democratic transition in Egypt and guarantee that those responsible for the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations be brought to justice.

In the United States, AFL-CIO union members will join the Egyptian American community and human rights organizations in a demonstration in Washington, D.C. The AFL-CIO and the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. AFL-CIO are calling on union members in the area to demonstrate their support for the people of Egypt at 6:30 p.m. in front of the

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Mayoral Candidate Miguel del Valle Points to Overlooked Ethics Ordinance as Route to Reopening Parking Meter Contract

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: Mayoral Candidate Miguel del Valle Points to Overlooked Ethics Ordinance as Route to Reopening Parking Meter Contract

Mayoral Candidate Miguel del Valle Points to Overlooked Ethics Ordinance as Route to Reopening Parking Meter Contract

by Joanna2011

Calls on opponents to explain positions and AG Madigan to reopen investigation

February 8, 2011 (CHICAGO)--City Clerk and mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle pointed to a new possible route today to reopen Chicago’s 75-year parking meter contract with the Morgan Stanley investment fund, Chicago Parking Meters, LLC.

According to the City’s ethics ordinance, if Morgan Stanley did not register any individuals who worked on the contract as official lobbyists, then the City can void the contract. The agreement does not list any registered lobbyists.

“The possibility that this ordinance has been violated opens an avenue for us to revisit a contract which forces Chicagoans to pay Morgan Stanley and its partners up to $11.6 billion

The Educated Reporter: Who bullies?

The Educated Reporter: Who bullies?

Who bullies?

by Linda Perlstein

I am not a sociologist, but I have spent a lot of time in middle schools and have developed an archetype of the very most popular girl. Think back to seventh grade. Chances are that the Queen Bee rated her status through some form of actual merit, if you will. She was athletic, pretty, stylish and most of all kind. She was easygoing, at least on the outside, and because she had older brothers she was not awkward around boys. The girls in her circle all elbowed for her attention, and she didn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about.

All around her girls were acting nasty, because they thought that would cement their position in the group, but this particular girl neither participated in or condoned such behavior. (She didn’t stop it either, but that is a lot to

SAC City DAC Education News & Comment

Education News & Comment

Comprehensive High School Coalition meeting

February 12, 11:00 a.m. 8491 Fruitridge Road

The next meeting of the ad hoc group of concerned citizens seeking a comprehensive high school to serve College Greens, Downtown Sacramento, East Sacramento, Midtown Sacramento, Oak Park, River Park, and Tahoe Park. Please find the proposed agenda below. The meeting will be held in the conference room at the SacramentoRecycling & Transfer Station at 8491 Fruitridge Road at 11:00 a.m. We encourage you to extend this invitation to any and all who may be interested in working to find a solution for our community.

Comprehensive High School Coalition Agenda

Sacramento Recycling & Transfer Station

8491 Fruitridge Road
Sacramento, CA

February 12, 11:00 a.m.

1. Group formation

a. Purpose

i. Comprehensive high school

b. Organizational structure

i. By laws

ii. Rules

c. Committees

i. Outreach/Communications/PR

ii. Program, Curriculum, Instruction & Data

iii. Planning

2. Data

a. Attendance area maps

b. Enrollment data

c. Fact sheet

3. Program

a. Look at WASC (Western Assoc. of School Accreditation) reports of successful programs as model

4. Outreach

a. Students

b. Parents

c. Teachers

d. Property owners

e. Residents

Chico is so dirty. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Chico is so dirty. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Chico is so dirty.

from Fred Klonsky's blog by Fred Klonsky

While some attention has been given to how it could be that Rahm Emanuel could make $18 million on Wall Street in the two years following his stint in the Clinton White House, there has been less media attention to how dirty Gery Chico is.

A subscription only post web site Early and Often provides more data.

Gery Chico‘s business relationship with corrupt city contractor Aurora Venegas was more extensive than he has acknowledged in his campaign for mayor, according to city records.

In December, after Venegas pleaded guilty in federal court to contracting fraud,

This Week In Education: Politics: Emanuel Overstates Charter Accomplishments

This Week In Education: Politics: Emanuel Overstates Charter Accomplishments

Politics: Emanuel Overstates Charter Accomplishments

by Alexander Russo

The Chicago Tribune notes that three out of four citizen want an elected school board but they're probably not going to get one since none of the frontrunners supports the move (Schools will be major test for next mayor) and it's not a mayoral call anyway. Meantime, a student-created video slamming frontrunner Rahm Emanuel for claiming that most of the best high schools in the city are charters made it to

Schools Matter: New York Charter School Solution Worse than the Problem

Schools Matter: New York Charter School Solution Worse than the Problem

New York Charter School Solution Worse than the Problem

by Jim Horn

Sharon Otterman for the Times has another nail today for the Bloomberg/Black edu-coffin. The first graph has this:

The new statistics, part of a push to realign state standards with college performance, show that only 23 percent of students in New York City graduated ready for college or careers in 2009, not counting special-education students. That is well under half the current graduation rate of 64 percent, a number often promoted by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as evidence that his education policies are working.

And buried in the story is this detail that sent me to the State pdf. file to have a closer look:

The data also cast new doubt on the ability of charter schools to outperform their traditional school

Update: Turnarounds Lacking Promised Leaders - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Update: Turnarounds Lacking Promised Leaders - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Update: Turnarounds Lacking Promised Leaders

by Alexander Russo

New leadership is one of the core elements of the $4b billion Obama turnaround program, and yet there aren't enough principals ready and willing to handle them, according to this New York Times article (US Plan to Replace Principals Hits Snag). Pictured is Terrence Little, the new principal at Phillips Academy High School in Chicago, observing a class on Monday. I'm not entirely clear how completely different it is to run a turnaround school than to run any other challenging building except for