June 8, 2012 4:12 pm
Source: www.ft.com
California low on college graduates - Vacaville Reporter
The state will need 2.3 million more college degrees and certificates than it is likely to produce by 2025, the 13-page report by California Competes said.
If legislators and higher-education leaders fail to act quickly, the group said, California will lose its economic and educational luster.
"We have to change business as usual in higher education," said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, one of the organization's board members. "This is about our future."
Other organizations, most notably the Public Policy Institute of California, also have highlighted the state's deficit of trained workers in recent years. Business leaders say the shortfall will force companies to move to other states or countries.
"The Silicon Valley is a knowledge-based economy," said Dennis Cima, senior vice president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a coalition of South Bay businesses. "If we don't have college-educated people here in the Silicon Valley, then companies will go where the people are."
California Competes recommended changes, including improved decision-making at California's 72 community-college districts and determining which college degrees will be most valuable in the future. The state also needs an independent agency to guide California's higher-education decisions, the organization
said.The state is on track to grant 3.2 million bachelor's and associate's degrees and vocational certificates in the next 13 years, researchers concluded, but 5.5 million will be needed by then. More jobs than ever require a college education, and California Competes said schools need to do a better job teaching critical-thinking and communication skills.
Several daunting obstacles stand in the way of improving the numbers. An alarming number of high school graduates are not ready for college math or English, and budget cuts have made it difficult to get classes at community colleges and California State University campuses.
The California Competes report is another reminder that the Legislature and governor need to show stronger-than-ever leadership on higher-education issues, said Steve Boilard, higher-education chief for the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
"Too often people use a tight fiscal environment as an excuse not to make changes," he said. "This is exactly when you have to do things differently."
A recurring theme in reports on California's higher-education shortcomings is the state's lack of goals and failure to coordinate its 112 community colleges, 23 CSU campuses and 10 Univer-sity of California schools. Besides proposing a new coordinating body, Thursday's release called on lawmakers to create a higher-education vision.
Although colleges and universities rarely hear good news these days, California has reason for optimism, said Lande Ajose, California Competes' deputy director. State leaders understand the problems better than ever, she said, and are rethinking California's higher-education system.
"Even in the past six months, people are acknowledging that we have to move forward," Ajose said. "People aren't just waiting for the next big financial boom."
Source: www.thereporter.com
Sandusky jurors' neighbors in Centre County don't appear to support him and want justice served - YAHOO!
BELLEFONTE, Pa. – Taped to the window of an antique shop in downtown Bellefonte is large yellow posterboard that reads, "Signed Joe Paterno Items."
When owner Mitch Bradley, a 1987 Penn State graduate, walks around his shop – located in a Victorian house one block from the courthouse where Jerry Sandusky will be tried – he is sure to point out two pet goldfish in a tank by the cash register.
One is named JoePa. The other is Terno.
Bradley will be following Sandusky's trial on child-molestation charges closely. A jury of his Centre County neighbors was selected in two days this week and testimony begins Monday. Sandusky, a Penn State assistant football coach for 30 years, is accused with 52 counts of molesting 10 boys over a 15-year period.
[Related: Sandusky juror profiles: Most have ties to Penn State]
The allegations rattled the entire county and university community and led to the firing of Paterno last November (he died of cancer three months later).
But Mitchell, a longtime Nittany Lions fan, is glad he's watching from outside the courtroom.
"Because of my Penn State connections, I have so many preconceived notions about the case and I know Sandusky is guilty," Bradley said. "There's no way I could be on that jury."
Most of the nearly two dozen Centre County residents interviewed for this story expressed similar sentiments. The 12 jurors and four alternates are their neighbors and friends. And of the 16 county residents selected to serve, 10 have Penn State ties. One is a Penn State student, another is a professor of 24 years.
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky at the courthouse. (Reuters) If the mood of the townsfolk is any indication of how the jury will lean, Sandusky will be found guilty.
"All the evidence says he's guilty and I think everyone around here knows it," said 90-year-old Midge Biggins of nearby Clarence.
Biggins and two friends ate lunch at Dairy Queen, where they could see the courthouse from their window booth. They buzzed about jury selection and expressed one common fear.
"I think we're all scared Sandusky is going to get off somehow," Irene McClosky, 88, said. "Everyone's scared there's going to be some technicality."
For Cool Beans, the local coffee house where oatmeal squares are baked on premises daily and regulars have personal mugs stored behind the counter, it was business as usual.
Owner Wendy Fultz was worried the jury selection up the street would deter regular customers from stopping by.
"But even with all the commotion, everyone came," Fultz said. "At the same time, you can definitely hear a buzz of everyone talking about the case and about Sandusky."
Fultz doesn't disclose her opinions on the 68-year-old alleged pedophile, because as she explains, "that's not good business."
"But I hear what other people are saying," she said. "And it seems the overwhelming majority of people think he's guilty and hope this all gets sorted out quickly."
This is the biggest case in the history of the county, which has 154,000 residents.
Travis Quick, a 25-year-old who has an apartment up the road from the courthouse, snapped pictures on his smartphone of the media contingent camped out on his block.
"I wanted to show my mom this circus," Quick said. "She's been watching my tiny little street on the news every day."
Said McClosky: "It's usually State College in the news. It's never Bellefonte."
The road from State College to Bellefonte winds 15 miles through central Pennsylvania mountains and cow pastures. Historic downtown Bellefonte features Victorian-style houses and countless trinket shops.
"We're a small town and now we have a big case right here," said Bill Dress, who lives across the street from the courthouse and sat in a white folding chair on his porch during the two days of jury selection. "We're all interested in it but I think we all mostly want to see justice served."
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Romney's California neighbours outraged over noise at candidate's beach house as $12million home gets major renovation - Daily Mail
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A full-scale construction project is underway at Mitt Romney’s $12million lavish beach house - and it's ticking off his new neighbours.
The likely Republican nominee’s vacation home in the La Jolla neighbourhood of San Diego, California, will eventually feature a car elevator and its own lobbyist to add to its incredible ocean view.
But until then, it's a cacophony of hammers and drilling, and those who live nearby have had enough.
Tear it down: Mitt Romney's 75-year-old beach house just isn't big enough. He plans to level it and replace it with a mansion two and a half times the size, featuring a car elevator
An elderly woman who lives next door to the home at 311 Dunemere Drive told The New York Times that her car has repeatedly been boxed in due to the construction.
Neighbours told the paper that as many as six gay couples reportedly live within a three-block radius, which may cause some tension at the next block party.
One couple, Michael Duddy and his partner James Geiger jovially suggested to neighbours that they hang a gay pride flag from the pine tree on their property 'so that Romney’s motorcade has to drive under it.'
Irritated: Michael Duddy and his partner James Geiger disagree with Romney's stance on same-sex unions
Mark Quint, who lives several houses away, told the Times that he's tired of seeing the modest beach houses levelled to make room for sprawling properties.
He told the paper that he fears the 'nightmare of construction.'
The house came under scrutiny back in March, when Romney's political foes made public the plans for the construction project and began wielding them as another claim that the super-rich former Massachusetts governor is out-of-touch with Americans.
Ironically, in 2004 when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he took a shot at Sen John Kerry, the Democratic presidential contender, over the size of his house.
He told a conference of governors: 'There's a senator of my state who wants to be elected president and I don't know why he'd want to do that, because he'd have to move into a small house,' Romney joked.
Romney, whose wealth is estimated at $250million, is in the process of tearing down the 76-year-old home and replace it with a building more than two and a half times the size.
The plans call for a 3,600-square-foot basement that is - by itself - bigger than the existing home.
Included in blueprints, obtained by Politico.com, are a split-level four-car garage with an elevator for the vehicles.
Romney defended the garage as a way to fit more vehicles into a compact space.
Opposition: Romney's house came under scrutiny in March, when political foes made public the plans for the construction and used them as another claim that he is out-of-touch with Americans
The Romneys will keep the home's outdoor lap pool and add a shower and a 'water feature' (it's unclear what, exactly, this is.)
And to make sure the construction permits and paperwork are shepherded through the San Diego bureaucracy, the project comes with a lobbyist.
Romney has paid $21,500 to San Diego lawyer Matthew A. Peterson to be his liaison to city government and answer questions that city officials might have.
The La Jolla beach house is one of three homes that Romney currently owns.
Headache: Critics have seized on the plans for a 'car elevator' as yet another sign that Romney is too wealthy to identify with most Americans
He has a six-bedroom, three story summer home that sits on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, which he bought for $3million in 1997.
With a guest house and a 5,400-square-foot main home, the estate is worth an estimated $10million today, according to the real estate blog Zillow.
In 2010, he picked up a two-bedroom townhouse in the Boston suburb of Belmont.
At a mere $895,000 for 2,100 square feet, the Romneys reportedly keep it to maintain their residency in Massachusetts.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Antique farm equipment draws people across America to Wellington - Dodge City Daily Globe
People from across North America have converged on Wellington, Kansas, USA this week, all to check out rare, antique tractors and farm equipment.
Massey Days is the name of the event, a reunion for the farm equipment collectors who are involved with the Massey Collectors Association (MCA). Massey Days moves to different towns each year, this year it's being hosted by Floyd Moore, of Wellington; owner of Floyd's Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning, and one of the charter members of the MCA.
"It's a strict Massey show, it's kind of a get-to-gether for us fools that never get enough of these things," Moore said. The event started on Thursday, and lasts through tomorrow evening at 1402 N. H Street. Moore is expecting 200 people for the Massey Days banquet, to be held at The Rock this weekend. Those people will become coming from all over the place.
"I got people from Maryland, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and of course Kansas," Moore said he is also expecting people from Manitoba, Canada.
Of the several pieces of farm equipment and tractors on display in Wellington this weekend, 30 are owned by Moore. His favorite one? A bright yellow, tractor that he has restored, an I-244 Navy.
"I've got one of two that we know of to exist," Moore said. "It was sold to the U.S. Navy, built for the U.S. Navy, and it's a 1955 model, the other one is a 1956, they only built them for two years, '55 and '56." Some of the antiques aren't just nice to look at, either.
"We have been cutting some wheat...we've been out there playing this morning," Moore said on Thursday. Next year Massey Days will be in El Paso, Illinois, Moore said getting ready for the event has been a lot of work. But Massey Days brings with it a positive impact for the community and surrounding area.
"There's no rooms in [Wellington] this weekend," Moore laughed. "We've got people staying in Winfield and Wichita, because we've done got the motels filled up." Moore added that if anyone is interested in learning how to become a part of the MCA, to contact him at 620-326-1433, or visit the group online. In the mean time, the public is invited to see what Massey Days are all about.
"If anyone wants to come out and look, there's no charge," Moore said. "Just come out and have a good time, and look at some Massy tractors."
Source: www.dodgeglobe.com
California or bust? Police arrest travelers for pills - Herald-Citizen
Douglas David Andrews, 29, of Woonsoket, Rhode Island, and Mark Daniel McNeil, 37, of Blackstone, Massachusetts, were headed west on I-40 just east of Cookeville around 7 p.m. June 4 when their trip got detoured.
That's when Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Robertson stopped their GMC truck for speeding and for seatbelt violations.
The trooper said he found "several empty plastic bags and a set of electronic scales with white powder residue" in the back of the truck.
After further investigation, the trooper charged the two with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He alleges in warrants that the two men had pooled their resources "and purchased Percocets and had then re-sold them to try and make enough extra money to make it to California."
McNeil was also charged with criminal impersonation for allegedly giving the trooper a false name at first, apparently because there are outstanding warrants on him in Massachusetts, one warrant says.
The two men were taken to the Putnam jail, and U.S. Marshal's Task Force Agent Patrick Storie served the trooper's warrants on them, jail records say.
They have a July 13 court date.
Source: www.herald-citizen.com
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