Homeless Students CAN Succeed

Schools commended for serving homeless students

The county grand jury on Wednesday commended three local schools that serve homeless students, finding their programs to be successful and staffed by dedicated, enthusiastic teachers, administrators and aides.

The three schools – Harbor Summit Elementary, Toussaint Academy of the Arts and Sciences and Monarch School – are run by the county Office of Education and provide instruction to some of the estimated 1,600 homeless children and teens believed to be in San Diego County on any given day.

The grand jury decided to look at the unique educational programs to see how they were serving homeless youths, many of whom are at risk of becoming high school dropouts.

San Diego County is one of only four counties granted an exemption to a federal law that prohibits states from segregating homeless students in separate settings – and San Diego is the only county with a “proven track record” showing its programs work, the grand jury said.

“The staff spoke passionately about the love they have for teaching in this type of environment and their desire to make a difference. They felt that this type of school, where 100 percent of the students live in poverty and (with) the uncertainty of where they will be living on a permanent basis, works because the students feel a sense of 'fitting in,' ” the report said.

More here.

Polar Bears

Polar Bears Listed as 'Threatened'

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced Wednesday that the U.S. government will list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, making it the first animal species to win protections because of threats from global warming.

The Arctic sea ice is vital to the bear's survival, its habitat has dramatically melted and computer models show that the pack ice is likely to continue melting in the foreseeable future, Kempthorne said.

Environmental groups had pressed the Bush administration to list the polar bear in hope that it would force the U.S. government to pass restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from factories, utilities and vehicles, saying that strategy is the only way to avoid the harshest effects of climate change.

But Kempthorne made it clear that the Bush administration wouldn't use the the act to limit emissions on industrial sources or otherwise regulate greenhouse gases. The law and science wouldn't allow it because direct connections couldn't be made between greenhouse gas emissions and harm to the polar bear, he said.

"We know Earth is warming. We know man is a factor in that. But we cannot tell you to what extent," said Kempthorne.

"The habitat for the polar bear is declining. That's what triggered this. But the Endangered Species Act is not the vehicle to deal with global climate change," Kempthorne said. Such policy changes would have to come from elected leaders and nations worldwide, he said.

Read the rest of the article here.

DETROIT!

It is great being a Detroit sports fan these days... The Wings! The Pistons! (Well, the Tigers are a little iffy, but hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad).

Pistons pull away late to advance to 6th straight conference finals
Pistons Advance To Eastern Conference Finals For Sixth Straight Year

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Detroit Pistons missed 64 percent of their shots and had a rookie filling in for an All-Star at point guard.

It didn't matter.

Detroit set an NBA playoff record with just three turnovers and made just enough shots and stops to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference final with a 91-86 win Tuesday night over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the second-round series.

Richard Hamilton scored 31 points, made victory-sealing free throws late in the game and Tayshaun Prince had a key block to help Detroit eliminate Orlando.

The Pistons are the first franchise to play in six conference finals in a row since the Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight in the 1980s.

"Now we expect to do this," Hamilton said. "We're supposed to be here."

The rest of the recap here.

21%

I'm 21% of the way to my goal... Would you like to help??

Dear Friends,

Last year I participated in the AFSP's 2007 Out of the Darkness Community Walk and once this year's information was announced I made sure to be one of the first to sign up. I hope to raise even more funds for AFSP this year and hopefully with your help will be able to meet my higher goal.

I will be joining with thousands of people nationwide this fall to walk in AFSP's 2008 Out of the Darkness Community Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I would appreciate any support that you give me for this worthwhile cause.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is at the forefront of research, education and prevention initiatives designed to reduce loss of life from suicide. With more than 32,000 lives lost each year in the U.S. and over one million worldwide, the importance of AFSP's mission has never been greater, nor our work more urgent.

I hope you will consider supporting my participation in this event. Any contribution will help the work of AFSP, and all donations are 100% tax deductible.

Donating online is safe and easy! To make an online donation please go to the AFSP Community Walk site here (http://www.outofthedarkness.org/) and search for my name(Carlee Padot) in the Participant field on the left hand side of the page. You can then click the "Support This Participant" button on the page.

Thank you for considering donating to this wonderful cause!

Carlee

Support Me!

Game Preview

Magic's Nelson sticks by guarantee against Pistons

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Jameer Nelson is sticking to his guarantee.

The Detroit Pistons don't blame him.

Shortly after going down 3-1 in the second round, Orlando's point guard said the Magic would go on the road and beat Detroit to extend the series.

"What am I supposed to do? Guarantee a loss?" Nelson asked Monday. "We've got to win the game. We have the confidence that we can do it.

"I believe it."

The Pistons have heard their fair share of guarantees over the years, usually from teammate Rasheed Wallace, and they responded to Nelson's with a collective yawn.

"He doesn't have anything to lose by saying that," Tayshaun Prince said. "One thing he's probably trying to do is spark his club."

Detroit might be without Chauncey Billups when it hosts Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Billups' Bentley was in the parking lot well before the team's midmorning practice to get treatment on his strained hamstring and go through a workout with strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander.

"If you look at it from three or four days ago to today, it's night and day," Kander said. "Running good. Feeling good.

"He's had no setbacks and he comes in every morning feeling better."

If Billups sits out for a second game in a row, coach Flip Saunders insisted it will have nothing to do with having a cushion in the series.

"When he's ready to go, he's going to play," Saunders said. "If we were down, it wouldn't matter."

The rest of the story here.

Fraggle Rock!

Fraggle Rock Feature Musical to Come

A live-action feature musical based on the 1980s children’s television series “Fraggle Rock” is making its way to theaters, via the Weinstein Co., trade paper Variety reports.

Jim Henson’s successful “Fraggle Rock” series will become a live-action musical feature, produced by the Weinstein Co. Cory Edwards (“Hoodwinked!”) is attached to write the screenplay and direct the film. The Jim Henson Co. will produce. Ahmet Zappa is executive producing. TWC will distribute.

The film will closely resemble the series in that it will feature both human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. The core characters from the series, Fraggle friends Gogo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red, will be shown venturing outside their home in Fraggle Rock and interacting with humans, whom they consider aliens.

The classic Jim Henson show debuted on HBO in 1983 and ran for five seasons. It was broadcast in more than 80 countries. Variety reports the show proved its timeless popularity once more recently, when the first three seasons were released on DVD and had good sales.

“One of our main priorities when we first launched the Weinstein Company was to feature a broad range of family-friendly franchises like ‘Fraggle Rock,’” Weinstein said.

A tentative release date has not been announced yet. Also, no word yet on casting for the Fraggle denizens’ voices or the human characters.


Check out more of the article here.

Exciting Game

Hamilton scores 32, Prince nails go-ahead shot to seal Game 4 win

There is a reason the Detroit Pistons have been to five consecutive Eastern Conference finals. They proved it on Saturday, even without their All-Star point guard to hold things together in front of a hostile crowd.

Richard Hamilton scored 32 points and Hedo Turkoglu missed a layup with time running out as the Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 90-89 to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Pistons became the first team to win on the road in the second round this postseason, and can clinch their sixth consecutive conference finals appearance when this series returns to Detroit on Tuesday.

All of it happened with Chauncey Billups watching in a sport coat on the bench after straining a hamstring in Game 3.

More of the story here.