Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/10607
Monday, May 17, 2010 – Daily News – 7A FOWL Continued from page 1A Island Red hen. Zack Doyle, from Los Molinos, won Reserve Best of Show with his Porcelain d'Uccle hen. Doyle also took second in Senior Showmanship. Brian Wiggly was first place Senior Showman and judged the younger showmanship classes. Zoe Garcia participated in Primary, Austin Garcia placed first in Beginner BILL Continued from page 1A unintended consequences’’ of affirmative action and Title IX, the landmark federal law that bans gender dis- crimination in education programs and activities. States that place the largest textbook orders have tra- ditionally held significant sway over the materials used in American classrooms. Texas is the country’s second- largest textbook buyer, behind California, which has more than 6.2 million public school students in grades K-12. Under Yee’s bill, SB1451, the California Board of Education would be required to look out for any of the Texas content as part of its standard practice of review- ing public school textbooks. The board must then report any findings to both the Legislature and the sec- retary of education. The bill describes the Texas curriculum changes as ‘‘a sharp departure from widely accepted historical teachings’’ and ‘‘a threat to the apolitical nature of pub- lic school governance and academic content standards in California.’’ ‘‘While some Texas politicians may want to set their educational standards back 50 years, California should not be subject to their backward curriculum changes,’’ Yee said. ‘‘The alterations and fallacies made by these extremist conservatives are offensive to our communi- ties and inaccurate of our nation’s diverse history.’’ But some publishing industry experts say worries that the Texas standards will cross state lines are unfounded. ‘‘It’s an urban myth, especially in this digital age we live in, when content can be tailored and customized for individual states and school districts,’’ said Jay Diskey, executive director of the schools division of the Asso- ciation of American Publishers. Diskey, whose group has not taken a position on SB1451, said the California Board of Education’s exist- ing review process is so rigorous that the state ‘‘may be the last place that would end up with the Texas curricu- lum.’’ Tom Adams, director of the state Department of Education’s standards and curriculum division, said the Texas standards could make their way into national edi- tions of textbooks, but those aren’t used in California. ‘‘Our main concern is whether materials meet Cali- fornia’s standards,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s nothing in our review process that says we should be following Texas or anything like that.’’ Adam Keigwin, Yee’s chief of staff, acknowledged that SB1451 was ‘‘a precautionary measure’’ and that California’s curriculum standards already are strong. ‘‘But there are still things that could sneak their way into our textbooks, and we want to be sure. We don’t want any of those changes that Texas has proposed,’’ he said. Three companies are responsible for about 75 per- cent of the country’s K-12 textbooks, Diskey estimated. Representatives for two of them — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and McGraw-Hill — on Friday referred inquiries from The Associated Press to Diskey. The third, Pearson Education Inc., did not respond to a request for comment. For now, California’s curriculum will not be subject to any modifications, Texas-influenced or otherwise. Last July, the Legislature suspended until 2013 the statewide adoption of new educational materials to give cash- strapped districts a break from buying new textbooks. Yee’s SB1451 is scheduled to be heard by the Sen- ate Appropriations Committee on Monday. Some of the other bills the Legislature will hear next week include: — A bill by Sen. Dean Florez that would require utilities to keep private information they gather about consumers’ energy use through so-called ‘‘smart meters.’’ Florez, D-Shafter, has been critical of Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s use of the meters to electronically gather information that used to be collected by meter- readers. His SB837, to be heard by the Senate Appro- priations Committee on Monday, would prohibit utili- ties from sharing, selling or otherwise disclosing indi- vidual customer information without written permis- sion from the customer. — AB1778, by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Tor- rance, would require any state entity that uses public money for television commercials promoting Califor- nia or California products to film those ads within state lines. Lieu objects to a recent California Milk Adviso- ry Board campaign promoting ‘‘happy California cows’’ that was actually filmed in New Zealand. Lieu’s bill is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Appro- priations Committee on Wednesday. — Contributors to the governor and legislators would have to disclose donations of $1,000 and up more quickly under a bill before the Senate Appropria- tions Committee on Monday. Sen. Roy Ashburn’s SB1118 would require online reporting within 24 hours if the contribution is made while the Legislature con- siders the state’s annual budget, during the 15 days before the Legislature adjourns each year and while the governor considers whether to sign or veto bills. Ash- burn, R-Bakersfield, argues those periods are when most fundraisers are held, and when the public is most suspicious of special interest influence on lawmakers. — Toddlers with a taste for 2 percent milk would be out of luck under a bill that would create new beverage standards in California’s licensed day care facilities. AB2084 by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, would require day cares to serve only low-fat or nonfat milk to children ages 2 and older, limit juice to one serving a day and ban drinks with added sweet- eners. Brownley says this will help combat rising child- hood obesity by reducing children’s caloric intake and teaching healthier habits. AB2084 is scheduled to be taken up by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Showmanship while Travis Ferreira took sec- ond. Emily Kourani, of Los Molinos, won first in Junior Showmanship. The youth showing pigeons included Ginger Shaffer in first place with the Junior Class and Thunder Shaffer with a first in Senior. The judge, Daniel Fry- Shaw, a registered APA judge, came from El Dora- do county and shared a lot of information. RELAY Continued from page 1A But one injection missed the heart altogether and pen- etrated her fatty cells, burn- ing her from lips on down, making it impossible for her to swallow pills. She spent the next three weeks in a medically-induced coma because the pain was too great to bear awake. When she got out, she switched doctors and had a surgeon remove the breast and all her lymph nodes in the right arm. Yet at 64, Ingraham was cheerful, energetic and not at all shy about her ordeal. “There’s no reason to be bitter,” she said. “It’s just something that was meant to be.” Asked for advice for dealing with cancer, Ingra- ham said attitude is key. “Stay positive,” she said. SKY Continued from page 1A describes as a program to “keep aeronautics alive,” and which coin- cided with the airport’s rededication ceremony. A grant from the FAA paid for improvements to the airport required to keep it open after neigh- SACRAMENTO (AP) — California’s latest budget implosion, leaving the state in a multibillion dollar hole, is another stark reminder that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not fulfilled the central pledge from the 2003 recall elec- tion — to tame the state’s chronic deficits and enact long-term budget reforms. During the unprecedent- ed recall campaign, then- candidate Schwarzenegger sold voters on the idea that he could bring spending in line with tax revenue and would push for changes that would smooth out the state’s up and down budget- ing cycles. ‘‘Audit everything, open the books, and then we end the crazy deficit spending,’’ Schwarzenegger said at the time. With just about half a year left in office, Schwarzenegger faces an even crazier deficit problem than the one he inherited, and finds himself without any of the major budgeting reforms he proposed. California’s chronic imbalance between tax rev- enue and its annual spend- ing obligations persists and has been made worse by a recession that has wreaked havoc on the state’s econo- my over the past three years. That Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has failed to realize the central promise of his turn in the governor’s office has become an ever- present backdrop to his final year. On Friday, he released revisions to his last annual budget, showing a deficit that is more than a quarter of all general fund spend- ing. How much of the blame Schwarzenegger deserves for failing to reform Califor- nia’s budget process is like- ly to be a source of political debate for years. Did he lose focus because the structural reforms he proposed were too difficult to achieve? Did he get distracted by other issues and California’s per- petual budget crises? Is the state’s political atmosphere and budgeting process so dysfunctional that even a former action hero can’t make a difference? ‘‘The single greatest rationale behind the recall election was reforming an out-of-control state govern- ment,’’ said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and a former Republican political strate- gist. ‘‘Right now, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.’’ Schwarzenegger cannot be blamed for the conse- quences of the recession. Relay Results The weekend event broke a record this year and raised more than $162,000. Teams recognized Top National Team Fundraiser - Walmart Transportation Top Presenting Sponsor Team - Ride For Life Top Fundraising Teams: 1st Place - Presbyterian Church 2nd Place - Red Bluff Volunteer Fire Department Boot Drive 3rd Place - Lassen Medical Group Top Youth Fundraising Teams: 1st Place - Sacred Heart 2nd Place - Red Bluff Union High School 3rd Place - Bend Broncos boring Corning Union High School expanded, Boot said. Because of the grant, the airport continues, and in Corning, so does the Young Eagles program offering free flights to youth. “It puts you in a little different perspective” said Tim Huckaby, a volunteer pilot. This was certainly true for 13- year-old Kyle Stewart of Rancho Tehama. Convinced by Johnathon Lin- stroth, also 13, of Rancho Tehama, to fly, Stewart was afraid of heights. That changed at 1,200 feet. For a few minutes, the controls were handed over to Stewart. It was awesome, he said. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.com. Schwarzenegger’s pledge to fix budget unfulfilled MCT file photo But had he been able to make some of the changes he advocated, he most like- ly would have left a far bet- ter budgeting process for his successor and a future gen- eration of lawmakers. The changes he desired included revamping the state’s tax system, enacting a robust and tightly con- trolled rainy day reserve, and establishing a strict spending cap so excess tax revenue during good eco- nomic years wouldn’t be wasted. Schwarzenegger rode into office on a wave of optimism that he could cut state spending and fix Cali- fornia’s broken budget sys- tem because he was an inde- pendent who would not be moved by special interests. His campaign capitalized on voter frustration over California’s exploding bud- get deficit and the percep- tion that his predecessor, Democrat Gray Davis, had a pay-to-play approach to governing — giving state labor unions big raises and luxurious pension benefits in exchange for their cam- paign support, for example. The budget deficit was projected at $16 billion by the time Schwarzenegger assumed office, roughly 20 percent of the state’s gener- al fund at the time. The pro- jected deficit through June 2011 is roughly one-quarter of expected general fund spending and comes after lawmakers already have made cuts, borrowing and adjustments of about $60 billion over the past two years, generating a new round of voter anger. Schwarzenegger staked his candidacy on putting the state’s fiscal house in order. Voters bought in, and in October 2003 completed the first successful recall of a sitting governor in state history, replacing Davis, a career bureaucrat, with the Hollywood hero who promised to save the day. In his first State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2004, he vowed a top-to- bottom reform of state gov- ernment. ‘‘Every governor pro- poses moving boxes around to reorganize government,’’ Schwarzenegger said. ‘‘I don’t want to move boxes around. I want to blow them up.’’ At a Los Angeles news conference during the recall campaign, Schwarzenegger stood between former Sec- retary of State George Shultz and investor Warren Buffett as he laid out his vision for restoring the lus- ter to California’s tarnished reputation. But that high-profile gathering provided the pub- lic with an unintentional glimpse into Schwarzeneg- ger’s governing style, one that at times favored popu- larity over practicality. 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