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Students from El Segundo High School continued a five-year holiday tradition by collecting toys to donate to pediatric cancer patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Students spent several weeks donating stuffed animals, toys, gift certificates, board games, movies, DVDs and CDs.
All said, the students collected enough toys to fill 175 bags, said student Jaime Bell, who helped organize the donation drive.
A report of a suspicious person in Polliwog Park Wednesday morning triggered a temporary lockdown at several schools in Manhattan Beach.
According to a school district official, a group of students from Manhattan Beach Middle School reported a man wearing what looked to be a bulletproof vest running through the park, which borders the school.
As a precaution, several campuses, including the middle school, Meadows Elementary and Manhattan Beach Preschool, were placed on lock down for about 20 minutes.
"In the event of an intruder we have a standard procedure to ensure student safety," said Carolyn Seaton, executive director of student services for Manhattan Beach Unified. "In this case, the lockdown was voluntarily."
Students crouched under their desks while police and district officials verified the safety of the campuses. The lockdown was called off around 11 a.m.
"It turns out it was probably a jogger cutting through (the campus)," a Manhattan Beach police spokesperson said.
Indeed, the suspicious person turned out to be a jogger wearing a weighted vest, Seaton said.
Polliwog Park is owned by the school district and leased to the city of Manhattan Beach.
A bone marrow drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in the cafeteria at Birney Elementary school in Redondo Beach.
Organizers are hoping to find a tissue match for 4-year-old Maya Chamberlin, who was diagnosed with HLH, a rare blood disease, in September. Volunteers will be asked to fill out a short survey and a sample of cheek cells will be taken.
The drive is being organized by parents from the Birney Elementary PTA. The school is located at 1600 Green Lane.
Potential donors can also join an online registry at http://join.marrow.org/maya.
Pictured above, from left to right is Nicole Rosen, Shannon French, Amanda Yuch, Alex Rosen and Kacey Isley. (Photo courtesy of Dayle Eisenhauer)
More than 50 players from the Mira Costa girls soccer team volunteered their time this past weekend to make and distribute lunches to the homeless in downtown Los Angeles. They joined a group of other volunteers with the Lunches with Love group and caravanned to deliver and distribute the bagged lunches.
The team made the lunches - 350 of them - Saturday night and together they went to distribute the meals early Sunday morning to individuals who live on the streets of Los Angeles. It took about an hour to hand out all the lunches.
The team is coached by Patty Perkinson.
"It was a meaningful, moving experience that none of them expected to have," said parent Dayle Eisenhauer.
Eisenhauer said several of the girls have already expressed interest in making more lunches and gathering sweatshirts to hand out to underprivileged kids living downtown.
A 2006 graduate of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School has been arrested for her involvement in a protest on the campus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Laura Thatcher, 21, was taken into custody after police responded to an incident at the home of UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau over the weekend.
About 40 to 70 protesters, voicing objections to UC budget cuts and student fee increases, threw lighted torches at police cars and the chancellor's residence on the north side of campus. Police said windows, lights and planters were damaged in the incident.
No fire or injuries were reported.
Thatcher, a resident of Rolling Hills Estates and an undergraduate art student at the University California, Davis, was taken into custody late Friday with seven others. The group was charged with rioting, threatening an education official, attempted burglary, attempted arson of an occupied building, felony vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
When reached by phone, her mother declined comment on the incident.
Thatcher is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, Calif, and her bail has been set at $132,500.
Although the eight protesters were originally scheduled to appear in court today, their arraignments have been delayed while the Alameda County District Attorney's Office continues to review evidence, according to news reports.
Birgeneua was asleep at the time of the incident and his wife called police.
"These are criminals, not activists," Birgeneua said in a statement. "The attack on our home was extraordinarily frightening and violent. My wife and I genuinely feared for our lives."
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the incident an act of terrorism.
"California will not tolerate any type of terrorism against any leaders, including educators," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "The attack on Chancellor Birgeneua's home is a criminal act and those who participated will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law."
For months, students from UC and California State University schools have protested student fee increases and program cuts.
Earlier Friday, more than 60 students were arrested for trespassing after a four-day occupation of a classroom building on the UC Berkeley campus.
According to news reports, Thatcher was arrested in mid-November along with dozens of other protesters after refusing to leave an academic building at UC Davis.
A UC Davis spokesperson said university officials have not yet decided if Thatcher and another UC Davis student arrested after the incident, Julia Litman-Cleper, would be able to continue their studies at the school.
With nearly $700 million within reach for California education reform efforts stemming from Obama's Race to the Top initiative, legislation that would allow the state to compete for those funds has been dominated by special interest, the Associated Press reports.
A reform bill by state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, has received support from Gov. Schwarzenegger and Jack O'Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction. The bill was passed by the state senate in November, and would allow for teacher and principal evaluations based on student achievement. It would also allow parents to remove their children from under-performing districts.
On Wednesday, the proposal was rejected by the state education committee and did not pass in the assembly.
The California Teachers Association lobbied against the Romero legislation and instead is backing a measure passed Thursday in the assembly by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica.
The bill would establish more rules for how charter schools are governed, among other things.
Schwarzenegger said he would veto the measure if it appeared on his desk, calling it a water-down reform effort.
"This is a Race to the Top, not a race to mediocrity or the status quo," Schwarzenegger told the Associated Press.
Lawmakers have until Jan. 19 to submit a federal application.
The home of University of California at Berkeley chancellor Robert Birgeneau was vandalized by a group of protesters late Friday.
In a statement release Saturday, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called the incident and act of terrorism.
"California will not tolerate any type of terrorism against any leaders, including educators," Schwarzenegger said
According to news reports, up to 70 protesters descended upon the Birgeneau's residence, which is located on the north side of the UC Berkeley campus. The group smashed planters, windows and lights while chanting "No justice, no peace." Several is the group were also waving lit torches.
Birgeneau was sleeping at the time of the incident. His wife woke when she heard the noise and called campus police. Eight people were arrested, at least two of them UC Berkeley students.
Three of the arrested suspects have been released on bail.
About 65 protesters have been arrested today at UC Berkeley, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting.
Some of demonstrators were identified as students, but police reported that 24 of those arrested had no affiliation with the school. Nevertheless, the group said they were advocating against student fee increases and budget cuts.
Earlier this week, police arrested 30 protesters at San Francisco State University after the group took over the Business building on campus.
If you happen to be near the Carson campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills tonight or tomorrow, you may want to stop by the student union, where a group of students will be undergoing a 24-hour letter writing campaign. Their goal: To get President Obama to speak at the university's 2010 commencement ceremony, which will take place at the Home Depot Center on May 21.
The event is organized by student Khaleah Bradshaw and the group got started at 3 pm this afternoon. Events - talent shows, Wii competitions - will be taking place throughout the night. I also heard they're pouring free coffee, courtesy of Starbucks.
Here's a link to their Facebook page.
Local high school students Jordan Howard and Rudy Sanchez recently participated in the 2009 Environemntal Youth Conference. Howard delivered the keynote address and Sanchez presided over a news conference with local politicians and celebrities.
Pictured above are Jordan with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Rudy with Supervisor Don Knabe, Assemblyman Zev Yaroslavsky, Laker Luke Walton, and ABC7 weathercaster Danny Romero.
Here's an article I wrote back in August about Jordan and Environmental Charter High school. Below is the press release the school sent out today.
Lawndale - Over the past few weeks, students from Environmental Charter High School (ECHS), an award-winning Los Angeles public charter school, could be found at the public podium in front of electronic media, consumers, and political and business leaders - delivering speeches about environmental issues, supporting Green campaigns, and being recognized for their contributions.
Sharing the stage with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 17-year-old ECHS senior Jordan Howard delivered the keynote speech at the 2009 Environmental Youth Conference in November.
Howard's speech, addressed to 6,000 teens energized to change the way they impact the environment, and themed "Start Local, Impact Global," kicked off the conference of local elected officials, young
environmental leaders, and celebrities. The event was organized to promote environmental awareness and responsibility through youth-conducted workshops and networking opportunities with green
professionals and environmental organizations.
Later at same conference, 16-year-old ECHS junior Rudy Sanchez joined a panel discussing how he has raised public awareness about reducing plastic consumption with reusable alternatives. With Rise Above
Plastics, a program of the Surfrider Foundation, he has delivered more than 35 presentations to over 1,000 people about alternatives to one-time-consumable plastics.
Later that week, as news cameras flashed, Sanchez joined City Supervisor Don Knabe, Assemblyman Zev Yaroslavsky, NBA Champion Luke Walton, and ABC7 Eyewitness News Weathercaster Danny Romero as a press conference speaker. He led city officials, celebrities, and attendees in reciting a public pledge to recycle and reuse plastic bags, helping to kick off LA County's BragAboutYourBag recycling campaign.
From City News Service:
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - An Inglewood school board member pleaded not guilty today to a felony charge alleging she embezzled more than $7,500 from the Inglewood Unified School District.
Trina Williams, 49, is charged with one count of misappropriation of public funds.
An audit submitted by the Los Angeles County Office of Education to the District Attorney's Office in July alleged Williams overcharged the district for training and travel expenses between June 13, 2007 and Sept. 28, 2008, according to the District Attorney's Office.
She was arrested Nov. 10 by investigators from the District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation and is free on bail.
Williams is due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Jan. 14 when a date is scheduled to be set to determine whether there is enough evidence for her to stand trial.
If convicted, she faces a maximum four-year state prison term, according to the District Attorney's Office.
A high ranking CSU employee received more than $150,000 in reimbursement for travel expenses, living allowances and home office expenses, according to a report released today by California state auditor Elaine Howle.
Most of these payments were unnecessary, the report claims.
According to news reports, the CSU official, who went unnamed in the audit, resigned in 2008.
*UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times has reported the subject of the audit is David J. Ernst, the former chief of information services.
The news comes as the CSU system tries to navigate through a historic $584 million budget deficit.
Here's a response to the audit from Lillian Taiz, President of the California Faculty Association:
"The whistle blower report published by the state auditor this morning is just the most recent in a long line of incidents from CSU executives and managers that betray the public confidence.
This improper use of public funds could not have come at a worse time for students and faculty at the CSU. The $152,441 wasted by this individual should have gone to pay for class sections. This behavior would be inappropriate even in better times, but under the current economic circumstances it is beyond reprehensible.
It is shocking that at a time when students fees are rising and faculty are taking furloughs that the CSU Administration would not exercise better oversight of how money is being spent. This incident also raises further questions about how the rest of Chancellors Offices' budget - which is larger than the budget of 7 CSU campuses - is being used.
In short, Chancellor Reed must get his fiscal own house in order if we are going to make it through this economic crisis intact.
We want to thank the whistleblower for his or her bravery to come forward as well as the state auditor for looking out for the public good of both the CSU and state taxpayers."
California State University, Dominguez Hills held a reception to celebrate the $1 million endowment recently awarded from the Bernard Osher Foundation to grow and sustain the university's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for older adults. The endowment is the largest one-time cash donation in university history. Pictured from left to right are OLLI at CSUDH Program Director Jim Bouchard, College of Extended and International Education Associate Dean Joanne Zitelli, University President Mildred Garcia, and CEIE Dean Marge Gordon.
- Photo courtesy of Gary Kuwahara
As the Supreme Court discusses bankruptcy and student loans, a new report released today shows California college graduates rank near the bottom of average debts of university students.
The San Francisco Chronicle has more:
In 2008, an estimated 48 percent of students graduating from four-year public and private schools in California had debt, and their loans averaged $17,795 per person. While that's still a heavy load, only six states had lower average debt burdens.
Nationwide, about two-thirds of students graduating in 2008 came out with debt, averaging $23,200. That's up from $18,650 four years ago, representing growth of close to 6 percent per year, according to a study released today by the Berkeley-based Project on Student Debt.
