Senate to vote on $1.1 trillion spending bill - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

Senate to vote on $1.1 trillion spending bill - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee:

"WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats overcame a Republican filibuster to clear the way for a vote Sunday on a huge end-of-year $1.1 trillion spending bill that gives budget increases far exceeding inflation to much of the government.

The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 60-34 on Saturday to end the GOP filibuster that threatened to hold up the legislation. The final vote would send the measure to President Barack Obama."

The 1,000-plus-page bill brings together six of the 12 annual spending bills that Congress had been unable to pass separately because of partisan roadblocks even though the current budget year began Oct. 1.

The measure pays for Medicare and Medicaid benefits, and boosts spending for the Education Department, the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and others.

California becoming a Third World nation - Dan Walters - Fresnobee.com

California becoming a Third World nation Dan Walters- Fresnobee.com:

"A quarter-century ago, in a series of Sacramento Bee articles that later morphed into a book, I described how California was undergoing dramatic economic and social change and quoted from a paper co-written by University of California at Davis economist Philip Martin about the state's future: 'The possible emergence of a two-tier economy with Asians and non-Hispanic whites competing for high-status positions while Hispanics and blacks struggle to get the low-paying service jobs'

The concept of a segmented, even segregated, California was somewhat revolutionary in the mid-1980s.

After all, wasn't California the embodiment of mobile egalitarianism?"

Behind D.C. schools' math gains, racial gap persists - washingtonpost.com

Behind D.C. schools' math gains, racial gap persists - washingtonpost.com:

"Last week's federal report card on math achievement was a welcome piece of good news for D.C. public schools. Although the District still lags far behind the country's top-performing systems, the report card showed fourth- and eighth-graders making strides at a faster pace over the past two years than cities including Atlanta, Chicago and New York.

But what remains embedded in the latest numbers from the National Assessment of Educational Progress is the persistent achievement gap between African American and white students both locally and nationally. The average scores of white D.C. fourth-graders over the past two years grew from 262 to 270 (on a scale of 500), but their African American peers' rose just three points, from 209 to 212. The achievement gap actually grew between 2007 and 2009, from 53 to 58 points."

Indiana Gazette > News

Indiana Gazette > News:

"Dissatisfied with the leadership of President Dr. Tony Atwater, faculty members at Indiana University of Pennsylvania will take up a no-confidence vote this week.

Union leaders contend that his budgeting and spending practices are jeopardizing the university.

For his part, Atwater says that tough times have required him to make hard decisions to meet the school's financial challenges.

Union leaders expect that their fellow professors will overwhelmingly approve the no-confidence vote.

So that raises a question: What does it mean for Atwater's presidency and his future?"

Assembly vote snuffs out education bill:Schwarzenegger loads veto gun

Assembly vote snuffs out education bill:Schwarzenegger loads veto gun:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday threatened to put the sleeper hold on Assembly Bill X5 8, following consecutive days of favorable votes by both the Assembly and the Assembly Committee on Education.

AB X5 8 was one of two measures aimed at establishing federal guidelines for national schools competing for a piece of the $4.3 billion Race to the Top grants, announced in July by President Barack Obama. The bill was passed following a 10-6 vote on Wednesday by the Assembly Committee on Education; the Assembly gave the nod on Thursday with a 47-25 outcome. The passage of AB X5 8 resulted in the defeat of Schwarzenegger-backed Senate Bill X5 1, which did not collect the needed nine votes for approval, according to the Sacramento Bee.�"

Dan Walters: A two-tier California is now reality - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Dan Walters: A two-tier California is now reality - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee:

"A quarter-century ago, in a series of Sacramento Bee articles that later morphed into a book, I described how California was undergoing dramatic economic and social change and quoted from a paper co-written by University of California, Davis, economist Philip Martin about the state's future to wit:

'… The possible emergence of a two-tier economy with Asians and non-Hispanic whites competing for high-status positions while Hispanics and blacks struggle to get the low-paying service jobs. … '"

The concept of a segmented, even segregated,California was somewhat revolutionary in the mid-1980s. After all, wasn't California the embodiment of mobile egalitarianism?

Three economic booms and three busts later, with 11 million more people, largely because of heavy immigration and a high birth rate, California has clearly reached the highly stratified condition that Martin and others saw coming.

Roughly three-quarters of Californians may complain about traffic congestion and other hassles, but they're still pretty much living the state's fabled good life. For the other 25 percent or so, it's another story.

Half of the latter are unemployed, or are living in families without working incomes, and most of the remainder can be categorized as either dropouts from the labor force or working in subsistence jobs below their capacities.

California, with about 12 percent of the nation's population, has a third of its welfare recipients.Seven million people, nearly 20 percent of its residents, are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the program that provides medical care to the poor. At least a quarter, and perhaps a third, of the state's ninth-graders are not making it through high school.

Excess and deprivation mark California prisons - News - The Orange County Register

Excess and deprivation mark California prisons - News - The Orange County Register:

"CALIFORNIA DREAM

Fifty years ago, California was a promised land where workers could find jobs and their children a state-paid higher education.
Today, it's not quite like that anymore.

Prisons have replaced the university as the state institution of priority. This fiscal year, the state General Fund plans to spend $8.2 billion on corrections – $3 billion more than what's budgeted for the University of California and California State University systems combined."

In fact, California spends more per capita on its prisons than any state of comparable population. In 2007, California devoted nearly $280 to corrections for every man, woman and child in the state. New York spent $191 per resident.

From 1999 to 2007, California spent more than $60 billion incarcerating the state's worst criminals. Over that time, Texas spent $22 billion. New York, $28 billion.

Mentoring helps immigrants' children aim for college - washingtonpost.com

Mentoring helps immigrants' children aim for college - washingtonpost.com:

"The tour bus pulled into Gettysburg College with a loud wheeze. Graciela Rodriguez, 12, stepped off and blinked for a moment at the white columns, brick facades and emerald lawns."


Graciela's parents had barely graduated from high school in El Salvador. Until recently, Graciela herself, who was born in Silver Spring and lives in Riverdale, had never set foot on a college campus.
Yet as she and the other eighth-graders in the group explored Gettysburg, where tuition runs $38,690 a year, their attitude was less that of awestruck visitors than of enthusiastic prospective students.
"Yes! This is where I'll be!" Graciela, who would like to study medicine, exclaimed when the guide announced that they'd entered the science building.
"Wow, really?" she said thoughtfully when told of the school's low professor-to-student ratio.

AllGov - News - Interned Japanese-Americans Receive University Degrees 67 Years Later

AllGov - News - Interned Japanese-Americans Receive University Degrees 67 Years Later:

"Acknowledging a wrong committed at the outbreak of World War II that cost hundreds of Americans their college education, the University of California system has awarded honorary degrees this month to Japanese-Americans who were forcefully relocated by the U.S. government. Approximately 700 UC students were put into internment camps in 1942 as a result of Executive Order 9066, which required all Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast to move out of fear they might help Japan in its war against the United States.

Following a decree passed in the spring by the California Legislature, UC officials arranged for special ceremonies this month at UC campuses in Berkeley, Davis, San Francisco and Los Angeles to award honorary degrees to camp survivors or their relatives. The decision follows a similar act by the University of Oregon, which last year presented honorary degrees to 20 Japanese-Americans."

Texas colleges count economic blessings

Texas colleges count economic blessings:

"SAN ANTONIO—Denise Trauth, president of Texas State University, tries not to gloat. But when she meets with counterparts from across the nation, as she did at the annual gathering of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities recently, she feels fortunate to be in Texas.


Many public colleges and universities across the nation are laying off employees, reducing student financial aid and taking other painful steps to cope with the economic downturn and declining state appropriations."


The University of North Alabama, for example, has raised tuition 9.5 percent in each of the past two years. California State University, Bakersfield, has scaled back academic programs and enrollment in response to a $15 million, or 25 percent, cut in the state portion of its budget. And Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed merging three public, historically black universities to cut costs.

Institutions of higher learning in Texas haven’t been immune to the belt-tightening. Hiring for many positions throughout the 15-campus University of Texas System is frozen. UT-Austin is laying off some staff members to free up money to retain and recruit top professors. 

California 'ground zero' for '10 election fight

California 'ground zero' for '10 election fight

Barely a year after the historic election of President Obama, Republicans are talking up 2010 as the "change" election.


n blue-leaning California, the dangers for Democrats are becoming evident as the GOP works to fire up voters with issues like budget deficits, health care reform and the costs of curbing global warming.
"California is ground zero for many of these debates because the problems are bigger and more outside than just about anywhere else," says Andrew Moylan, director of government affairs for the National Taxpayers Union in Washington, which plans to underscore the conservative message on issues like health care, the deficit and spending.
Democrats, who control both houses of the state Legislature, "have dramatically increased spending," Moylan added, "and of course they're having to pay the piper."
GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO, has repeatedly lambasted "the politicians" whom she says have run California into the ground - pointedly referencing Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat and former two-term governor who is running for a third term in next year's election.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/13/MNUP1B1N1U.DTL&type=politics#ixzz0ZZv85rQL

Cortines unveils plan to dismantle and rebuild Fremont High -- latimes.com

Cortines unveils plan to dismantle and rebuild Fremont High -- latimes.com:

"L.A.'s top school official on Thursday unveiled his plan to shut down Fremont High and start over from scratch -- a move denounced by the teachers union but applauded by city leaders and the nation's secretary of education.

After quietly alerting the Fremont staff Wednesday afternoon, Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ramon C. Cortines spoke separately with students, parents, city leaders and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who was in town to promote such school turnarounds.

Fremont, Cortines said, has shown 'some promise, with some of the finest teachers and the right principal . . . but it needed to be given a nudge because the status quo is not acceptable.

'There has to be a sense of urgency,' he said."

California students underutilize School Breakfast Program -- latimes.com

California students underutilize School Breakfast Program -- latimes.com: "More than 1 million low-income California children who receive free or reduced-price school lunches don't get breakfast at school even though they would qualify, and about a fifth of the schools in the state don't even offer breakfast, according to two reports from the Food Research and Action Center.

California ranked 33rd in low-income student participation in the School Breakfast Program for 2008-09, the same ranking it received a year earlier. In terms of the number of schools that offer breakfast, California's ranking fell from 35th to 40th, the Washington, D.C.-based group said. In the 2008-09 school year, 8,756 schools that took part in the National School Lunch Program also offered school breakfast, compared with 8,922 schools the previous year."

Protesters damage Calif. university leader's home - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Protesters damage Calif. university leader's home - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"BERKELEY, Calif. -- Eight people are under arrest after protesters broke windows, lights and planters outside the home of the chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley.

University spokesman Dan Mogulof says 40 to 70 protesters also threw incendiary devices at police cars and the home of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau late Friday. There were no fires or injuries."

The eight arrested on suspicion of rioting, vandalism and attempted arson include two Berkeley students, Mogulof said Saturday.

The protest at the chancellors home came late the same day that police arrested 65 protesters inside a campus classroom building that was partially taken over for several days.

The protesters are demonstrating against state funding cuts that have led to course cutbacks, faculty furloughs and sharp fee increases.

New education standards due in 2010 | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

New education standards due in 2010 | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com:

"Public schools in Ohio, Kentucky and 46 other states will gain new education standards next year for grades kindergarten through 12, experts say."

Education leaders in 48 states are nearing the final stages of a nationwide plan to adopt common guidelines for English and math. (Ohio also is poised to approve new guidelines for science and social studies.)

The standards are expected to be ready for public comment early in 2010. Then, after more revision, each state's board of education must approve the standards for their state.

If that succeeds, it will mark the first time the states agree on what topics and skills students should master at each grade level. And it could lead to comparing educational achievement across state lines.

That's something No Child Left Behind couldn't accomplish.

That eight-year-old set of federal education rules allowed every state to set its own standards and tests for public schools. Critics said some states set standards too low, producing high school graduates unprepared for college or work.

"Academic standards are too low," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said at an October education meeting in Cincinnati. "We're lying to our students, that they are being prepared to succeed in college or to compete in the globally competitive workplace."

An international study in 2006 showed America's 15-year-olds scored lower in math literacy than peers in 31 other countries and lower in science than peers in 22 countries. A different test in 2007 concluded U.S. fourth-graders and eighth-graders underperformed peers in several Asian and European countries in math and science.

The new standards are expected to better align U.S. schools with the world. But not all states are on board: Texas and Alaska's leaders have said they prefer to retain their own state goals.

Sacramento - Black Parallel School Board

Sacramento - Black Parallel School Board:

"The Black Parallel School Board (BPSB) is a community organization developed to work parallel to the Sacramento City Unified District Board of Education. Its major responsibility is to support the educational growth and achievement of Black students. In order to do that we will monitor all educational activities and programs of the school district to ensure that they are compatible with the needs of African American students of the district. Additionally, the BPSB provides support services to parents regarding the education of their children. BPSB members will attend school meetings with parents to advocate for their children; BPSB members will also provide workshops for parents interested in learning techniques to make learning more successful."

Black Parallel School Board Meeting

January 9, 2010

Saturday 10:00am

Oak Park United Methodist Church

3600 Broadway

For more information call (916) 484-3729

Email: info@blackparallelschoolboard.com

Center for Multicultural Cooperation - CMC Students Talk with Superintendent O'Connell

Center for Multicultural Cooperation - CMC Students Talk with Superintendent O'Connell:

"Local students Jennifer Gaxiola, Ue Yang and Maricela Hernandez have written a grant to State Farm and received $72,000 in February to start the Youth Graduation Empowerment Project (YGEP) to help solve the drop out crisis in Fresno (Fresno's dropout rate is one of the higest in California). Over the last year this project has included six regional youth summits throughout the state focused on the dropout crisis, a statewide web dialogue which included over 350 students, and a statewide YGEP Summit in Fresno in September. Through these activities, these youth leaders developed specific policy proposals which they believe will lower the high school dropout crisis. On Wednesday, they met with State Superintendent Jack O’Connell at the California Department of Education to discuss the youth recommendations from the year’s work. Superintendent O'Connell praised their work and offered to help them in their efforts to share these recommendations with more policy makers."

CMC-Sacramento Gets a New Home!

The Sacramento Office of Center for Multicultural Cooperation recently moved in to the Sierra Health Foundations Nonprofit Innovation Center (NIC).  According to the NIC brochure, “the vision of the Nonprofit Innovation Center is to assist area nonprofits in becoming more effective so they can better support efforts to improve the lives of residents in our communities.  This collaborative model will inspire nonprofits to work at peak performance by leveraging each other’s wisdom and expertise to powerfully impact the region.” The NIC is located on Garden Highway, overlooking the river.  We are excited to be one of the eight inaugural tenants!

MySpace - Equal Start -CALIFORNIA - myspace.com/equalstart

MySpace - Equal Start- CALIFORNIA - myspace.com/equalstart

Equal Start is an organization that secures equal education for every child. Regardless of location, inner-city or suburbia, children should have the same opportunity to learn. A group gathered in late 2004 and made a commitment to help bring awareness to the plight of so many schools. With a desire to raise funding, Equal Start was represented in the Big Sur International Marathon. Through a successful race campaign, over $20,000 was raised. With a solid partnership with the Sacramento City Unified School District, Equal Start began a long journey to see the lives of students changed one class at a time. Today, over $30,000 and 2000 man hours have been donated to Oak Ridge Elementary School.

Camden alternative school seeks financial help | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/11/2009

Camden alternative school seeks financial help | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/11/2009:

"It was born of necessity at a beauty salon after high school students complained of a particularly bloody week in Camden's schools, some of New Jersey's most dangerous.

With little educational experience and few resources, an African American preacher and a Latino activist created an alternative high school that attracted students by the dozens: Bloods and Crips, middle school dropouts and barely literate adults, African Americans and Latinos."

Union says S. Phila. High needs more full-time officers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/11/2009

Union says S. Phila. High needs more full-time officers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/11/2009:

"The president of the union that represents Philadelphia school police said the school district's reliance on nonunion, per-diem officers may have been a factor in allegations that officers failed to prevent attacks on Asian students at South Philadelphia High School last week.

Michael Lodise, president of the School Police Association of Philadelphia, said per-diem officers, who lack medical insurance and other benefits, sometimes think: 'I'm not going to risk myself for $95 a day.'

When at least 30 Asian students were attacked by African American students at the high school Dec. 3, Lodise said, six of the 10 officers on duty were per-diem employees. The district uses them to save money.

Evelyn Sample-Oates, a district spokeswoman, challenged Lodise's numbers. She said records showed that 11 officers and a sergeant were assigned to South Philadelphia High, and that only five of the 11 were per-diem workers."