Brown initiative seeks higher taxes to avoid deep school cuts
(Sacramento Bee © 12/06/2011)

Gov. Jerry Brown asked voters Monday to increase taxes on sales and the rich in California, warning of damaging cuts without new money and blaming Republicans for partisan gridlock. The Democratic governor’s initiative would raise the statewide sales tax a half-cent and impose higher income taxes starting with individuals making at least $250,000 a year. The plan would raise $7 billion annually …

Brown’s turn on tax measures: $7 billion for schools
(The Educated Guess Blog © 12/06/2011)

Gov. Jerry Brown released his much-anticipated ballot initiative Monday, to temporarily raise sales and income taxes and use the money to repay K-12 schools and community colleges billions of dollars owed to them. The governor is hoping to qualify the initiative, titled The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012, for November’s election. The proposal calls for a half-cent sales tax…

WALTERS: Too many tax plans may backfire
(North County Times © 12/06/2011)

SACRAMENTO — Those who believe that California should raise taxes —- including Gov. Jerry Brown —- to close its budget deficit or increase spending may be forming a circular firing squad. Four major tax measures, all with well-heeled support and opposition, appear to be headed for the November 2012 ballot, plus a few lesser tax proposals…

San Diego Unified school employees warned of cuts, layoffs
(San Diego Union-Tribune © 12/02/2011)

SAN DIEGO — San Diego city schools chief Bill Kowba issued a sobering letter to some 14,000 employees Friday, warning about grim finances and layoff notices set to land in mailboxes before the holidays under the threat of midyear cuts. SD Unified letter to employees Teachers are safe from midyear job cuts under state law that requires any potential layoffs to be signaled with March pink slips. Ca…

Fewer school days not answer to midyear cuts, Sacramento-area districts say
(Sacramento Bee © 12/06/2011)

SACRAMENTO — In crafting the state budget last summer, legislators said educators could absorb midyear cuts by slashing up to seven more days from the end of the school year. But that’s not likely to happen, local educators say.”That is such a drastic measure and such bad policy, I can’t imagine any district would consider using that flexibility,” said Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, superintendent of…

San Francisco schools struggle with more homeless kids
(San Francisco Chronicle © 12/04/2011)

SAN FRANCISCO — Rudy Nguyen, 10, is homeless. Last week, he was sleeping on the floor at a San Francisco drop-in homeless shelter with his parents and 3-year-old brother Danny. Thin mats kept them off hard linoleum. In the last two months, he spent three nights at a bus shelter and a week on the streets, sleeping on his parents’ laps in a park. Yet every morning, Rudy Nguyen takes two Muni buses…

Editorial: Freeing up LAUSD
(Los Angeles Times © 12/06/2011)

LOS ANGELES — A decade ago, the Los Angeles Unified School District centralized authority over education, including over reading instruction. The district had recently gone on a hiring spree to achieve smaller class sizes in primary grades. Many of those new teachers came with little or no pedagogical training, so the district adopted Open Court, a rigid, heavily scripted literacy curriculum. Tea…

17-year-old Cupertino student wins Siemens Competition and $100,000
(Contra Costa Times © 12/06/2011)

CUPERTINO — For her design of a cancer-fighting technique that targets tumors and leaves healthy tissue intact, Angela Zhang, of Cupertino, has won a best-of-the-best national science competition and a $100,000 scholarship. She is all of 17 years old. Zhang, a senior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, won the grand prize in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, which fund…

College leaders meet with Obama to discuss costs and productivity
(New York Times © 12/06/2011)

WASHINGTON — In a private meeting on Monday, President Obama and his secretary of education, Arne Duncan, conferred with a dozen college presidents, mostly from public institutions, and leaders of two nonprofit education organizations, about how to curb the rising cost of college and improve graduation rates. “It was an unusually interesting meeting, and not your usual list of college president…

Many U.S. workers in public sector retiring sooner
(New York Times © 12/06/2011)

MADISON, Wis. — As states and cities struggle to resolve paralyzing budget shortfalls by sending workers on unpaid furloughs, freezing salaries and extracting larger contributions for health benefits and pensions, a growing number of public-sector workers are finding fewer reasons to stay. Karen Gunderson, 56, retired from her information technology job with the State of Wisconsin earlier than pla…

State Teacher of Year classroom star shines
(Los Angeles Daily News © 11/14/2011)

LOS ANGELES — The grammar lesson centered on the mind-numbing topic of reflective and intensive pronouns, but the seventh-graders couldn’t take their eyes off the teacher working the classroom…

Education Report: California weighs the $2 billion hefty cost of NCLB reprieve
(Oakland Tribune © 11/13/2011)

This fall, frustrated by the glacial pace of Congress in making over the decade-old No Child Left Behind Act, the U.S. Department of Education decided to go around the landmark education law. The administration announced states could apply for temporary relief from some of the act’s key provisions — such as requiring all students in the nation to be proficient in reading and math by 2014 …

Retired Orange County teachers logged 182,315 volunteer hours last year — ‘California Retired Teachers Week’ begins
(Orange County Register © 11/14/2011)

Statewide, the teacher retirees logged 2.3 million volunteer hours with an estimated value of nearly $50 million. Officials said the response rate from association members was 13 percent, so the real tally likely is much higher. California Retired Teachers Week, now in its 13th year, began Sunday and ends Saturday. “We cared about our students and our communities while we worked as educators, and t…

Elk Grove Education Association opposes proposed cap on health benefits
(Sacramento Bee © 11/14/2011)

ELK GROVE — “They are basing things on worse, worse, worse-case scenarios and asking us to make concessions on numbers that have never come to fruition in the past,” said Maggie Ellis, president of the Elk Grove Education Association. The teachers union and the school district have been in negotiations over the benefits and bonus since February, entering mediation in June. Elk Grove Unified is th…

George Skelton column: Public pensions are protected in Constitution
(Los Angeles Times © 11/14/2011)

In Philadelphia, 224 years ago, some men tucked these words into the nation’s new Constitution: “No state shall … pass any … law impairing the obligation of contracts…” Those words, squeezed into a very long sentence in Article 1, Section 10, listing powers denied the states, became known as the “contracts clause.” And it is playing havoc with modern-day public pension refor…

Editorial: Pension reform is critical for California
(Palm Springs Desert Sun © 11/13/2011)

Gov. Jerry Brown has launched a package of pension reforms that his Democratic colleagues in the California Legislature should take seriously. Pension reform is essential to protect the future of the Golden State. Over the past few years, we’ve seen many scary numbers. A Stanford University study estimated California’s unfunded retirement liabilities at $500 billion. A report by the Little Hoove…

Editorial: LAO report lays out conundrum of pensions
(Sacramento Bee © 11/14/2011)

In a recent report, the Legislative Analyst’s Office generally gives Gov. Jerry Brown’s 12-point pension reform plan decent marks, calling it “a bold starting point for legislative deliberations.” But the “buts” in the LAO’s analysis are daunting, a sobering discussion of how difficult it will be – perhaps even impossible – to tame the retirement tiger that each year consumes a bigger a…

Dan Walters: California school advocates talk more dollars than sense
(Sacramento Bee © 11/13/2011)

It’s unfortunate – but nevertheless political reality – that the Capitol almost never moves beyond money in its perpetual debate over how our 6 million-plus public school students should be educated. While money is certainly important, it’s just as certainly not the only factor, and likely not even the most important one, in how well students fare. Family engagement, language barriers…

Editorial: Lessons of ‘parent trigger’
(Los Angeles Times © 11/14/2011)

The so-called parent trigger option was first used nearly a year ago when parents at McKinley Elementary School in Compton presented a petition to the local school board demanding that a charter management organization take over the campus. California’s trigger provision, which had been included in 2010 school reform legislation in an unsuccessful effort to win a federal education grant, empowered…

Parents organize to push for better California schools
(Los Angeles Times © 11/13/2011)

SAN FRANCISCO — Nancy Crop is a Palo Alto civil rights attorney. Cushon Bell is a Pasadena educational activist and former teacher. Teri Levy is a Los Angeles creative artist in fashion and photography. But even though all three high-powered women are privileged to send their children to excellent public schools, they say they are haunted by the countless California children stuck at low-performing campuses….

Brown: Time to invest, not tighten
(Orange County Register © 11/13/2011)

ANAHEIM – Gov. Jerry Brown told a national conference of Realtors on Saturday that America cannot cut its way out of its economic morass but must continue spending on such public items as roads and schools. “We need some bold moves here,” Brown told hundreds of Realtors meeting at the Anaheim Convention Center for the annual conference of the National Association of Realtors. “The way forwa…

“Great News” on West Contra Costa County Schools Debt, Superintendant Says
(Albany Patch © 11/14/2011)

The West Contra Costa school district is on the verge of breaking free of long-standing, crippling debt caused by “financial disasters” of two decades ago, said schools Superintendent Bruce Harter. In a “Getting Debt Free” message dated November 2011 on the district web site, Harter said the district expects very soon to be rid of three long-term debts — two to the state and one to IBM. (A …

Richard Lee Colvin: A Sensible Solution to Student Loan Debt
(Huffington Post © 11/13/2011)

The college class of 2010 now has a dubious distinction. Its graduates who had student loans owed a record-high average of $25,250, up 5.2 percent from the previous year, according to a new report from the Project on Student Debt, a nonprofit advocacy group. Last month, President Obama announced a plan to make it a little easier for 1.6 million college graduates to repay their government loan…

The Answer Sheet: Research doesn’t back up key ed reforms
(Washington Post © 11/13/2011)

There is no solid evidence supporting many of the positions on teachers and teacher evaluation taken by some school reformers today, according to a new assessment of research on the subject. The Education Writers Association released a new brief that draws on more than 40 research studies or research syntheses, as well as interviews with scholars who work in this field. You can read the entir…

Tough Questions on Changing Chicago Teacher Evaluations
(New York Times (State Version) © 11/13/2011)

CHICAGO — For the first time next year, thousands of Chicago Public Schools teachers will be evaluated based partly on how well their students are doing academically. Many fear they will face dismissal if the standards are not applied fairly. “It’s going to make people really angry,” said Ruth Resnick, a librarian at O’Keefe Elementary School, who spoke last week at a pub…

Bay Area cops raiding Occupy Oakland camp for second time — 32 arrested
(San Francisco Chronicle © 11/14/2011)

OAKLAND — Oakland police have arrested 32 protesters at the sprawling Occupy Oakland encampment outside City Hall while hundreds of law-enforcement officers squared off against demonstrators in the second such raid of the downtown tent city. Law-enforcement officers from numerous Bay Area agencies began arriving in force at 5 a.m. as a police helicopter flew overhead. Clad in armor and riot helme…

Police Officer Accused of Infiltrating Occupy Oakland Says He Supports the Movement
(New York Times (State Version) © 11/14/2011)

OAKLAND — A video produced by a Bay Area group that monitors the police shows that some officers attended an Occupy Oakland protest last month in plainclothes. Early Monday morning, hundreds of police officers in Oakland raided the Occupy Oakland camp, arresting protesters who sang “We Shall Overcome” as they were handcuffed, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The raid is…

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Shifting to College Campuses
(New York Times (State Version) © 11/13/2011)

BERKELEY — Goodbye, city park, hello, college green. As city officials around the country move to disband Occupy Wall Street encampments amid growing concerns over health and public safety, protesters have begun to erect more tents on college campuses. “We are trying to get mass numbers of students out,” said Natalia Abrams, 31, a graduate of…

Occupy Sebastopol calls for encampment backing, protest big banks
(Santa Rosa Press Democrat © 11/13/2011)

Two days after the Santa Rosa City Council gave Occupy campers permission to remain on the lawn at city hall if they meet a range of conditions, close to 60 marchers in Sebastopol distributed fliers at shops and offices along several blocks of downtown. They hope business owners will post them as pre-printed statements of support in advance of a Tuesday meeting at Sebastopol City Hall over their …

The New Progressive Movement
(New York Times (State Version) © 11/13/2011)

OCCUPY WALL STREET and its allied movements around the country are more than a walk in the park. They are most likely the start of a new era in America. Historians have noted that American politics moves in long swings. We are at the end of the 30-year Reagan era, a period that has culminated in soaring income for the top 1 percent and crushing unemployment or income stagnation for much of the res…

The Buzz: Seven members of California’s congressional delegation make the 1 percent cut
(Fresno Bee © 11/14/2011)

Issa tops seven in California delegation among richest 1% The Occupy Wall Street movement has focused the national discourse on wealth inequality, specifically the split between the richest 1 percent and the other 99 percent. While most Californians aren’t among the wealthiest 1 percent, many Golden State residents are represented in Congress by those who are. The cutoff for the…

Teachers in Oakland use general strike as a teachable moment
(KGO-TV (ABC) San Francisco © 11/03/2011)

OAKLAND (KGO-TV video clip) — Teachers in Oakland were using the Occupy Oakland mass protest Wednesday morning as a teachable moment. Melrose Leadership Academy teacher Benjie Achtenberg taught his eighth graders about general strikes and freedom of speech rights….

Oakland engulfed by mostly peaceful protest
(Los Angeles Times © 11/03/2011)

OAKLAND — Thousands of demonstrators chanted, marched, danced and waved signs Wednesday during a general strike called by Occupy Oakland, a largely peaceful protest that snarled downtown streets, rerouted buses, closed the busy port and drew hundreds of teachers and city workers from classrooms and offices. The daylong, citywide protest against income inequality and corporate greed began about 9 a.m., …

Oakand Tribune: Occupy Oakland demonstrators clash with police, block port
(Oakland Tribune © 11/03/2011)

OAKLAND — After a night of confrontations with police and dozens of arrests in downtown Oakland, Occupy protesters were back at the Port of Oakland this morning, attempting to block trucks from entering. The scene was tense earlier at the port entrance at Adeline and 3rd streets, where truckers have faced off with about a dozen protesters who erected a chain-link fence across four lanes of traffi…

Pension reform group’s initiatives may spur Legislature, shake up Capitol landcape
(San Jose Mercury News © 11/03/2011)

SACRAMENTO — A pair of pension reform initiatives filed Wednesday could shake up the Capitol landscape and jolt reluctant Democrats and labor leaders into acting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to overhaul pensions. Initially lukewarm if not hostile to Brown’s plan, Democrats and public employee unions got a glimpse of the alternative — measures that would require a lot more sacrifices from governm…

George Skelton column: Brown has two reasons to push pension reform
(Los Angeles Times © 11/03/2011)

Gov. Jerry Brown would be the first to admit that rolling out a 12-point pension reform plan is the easy part. Brown has always belittled the notion of multipoint plans, dismissing them as targets for cheap shots. Of course, he’s usually most adamant about that when he doesn’t have a plan and is being pressured to produce one. But Brown is essentially correct. A plan without execu…

Pension Tension
(Santa Barbara Independent © 11/03/2011)

Jerry Brown has rolled out his long-awaited proposal to reform publicly financed pensions for government workers this week, drawing protests from Republicans and Democrats alike. Which means he must be doing something right. “We’re not on a sustainable path,” the governor said last week, unveiling a 12-point plan to address the multiple billion-dollar obligations for which taxpayers …

California teachers lack the resources and time to teach science
(Los Angeles Times © 11/03/2011)

At some Los Angeles elementary schools, teachers have drastically cut time for science because of pressure to focus on reading and math. If they can incorporate science into class time, they say they mostly have to buy their own supplies. And educators from the state’s high-tech epicenter of Silicon Valley say some students come to high school having never once conducted an experiment in earl…

Evaluation reforms are not the way to improve schools
(Lodi News-Sentinel © 11/03/2011)

Again we have a bunch of folks who’ve never taught, or some who decided to get away from kids in classrooms, trying to fix education with revamped teacher evaluation systems. They want teacher “report cards.” Current evaluation systems in districts with competent administrators already work well and maintain high teacher performance. They should be left alone. Let’s not wast…

Teacher evaluation systems getting nutty
(Washington Post © 11/03/2011)

How’s this for nutty? A teacher who has a chance encounter with a parent at a grocery store and chats about school can earn credit toward a financial bonus. That is the way it is in the Challis School District in Idaho, a state where nearly 30 school systems have adopted teacher evaluation systems that include as one measure how well teachers get parents involved in their child’s edu…

AFT Conference Highlights Need to Work with Community
(American Federation of Teachers © 11/03/2011)

If there was a common thread running through the AFT’s Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Conference, held Oct. 28-30 in Detroit, it was the importance of working with the community to advance an agenda that supports children and public schools, and that values educators and other public employees. Meeting under the theme of “Strengthening Communities Where We Work and Live,” conference participants …

(This needs our responses) Editorial: Collective bargaining like it’s 1978
(Orange County Register © 11/03/2011)

One of the biggest mistakes in California history was passage of the Dills Act in 1978. It was quickly signed into law by Jerry Brown during his first stint as governor. The Dills Act mandated that the state must negotiate collective-bargaining contracts with public-employee unions. This quickly turned the unions into the most powerful force in the state. The result was major increases in the pay…

Finances, student achievement and firing of superintendent among concerns of West Covina Unified candidates
(San Gabriel Valley Tribune © 11/03/2011)

In the past year, West Covina Unified School District has faced declining state funding, a lawsuit over the firing of its superintendent and a fight over the future of its charter school. Amid the turmoil, five people are competing for three spots on the school board in Tuesday’s election. Board President Steve Cox and board members Camie Polous and Mike Spence are all seeking reel…

Ravitch updates best-selling book on ed reform
(Washington Post © 11/03/2011)

Critics of Diane Ravitch like to say that the education historian talks a lot about what is wrong with the modern school reform movement but doesn’t offer solutions about how to fix anything. Historians, of course, by definition spend their time looking to the past, not making policy pronouncements about what should be. That said, Ravitch, the leading voice in the country speaking out agains…

Women Feeling Effects of Cuts to State Health, Social Services Programs
(California Healthline © 11/03/2011)

In California, women are especially affected by recent budget reductions made to state health and human services programs such as Medi-Cal and CalWORKs, Bloomberg reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, and CalWORKs is the state’s welfare-to-work program under the federal welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Details of Cuts Michael Weston, a spokesperson for…

Occupy march winds down in LA
(San Francisco Chronicle © 11/03/2011)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An Occupy Los Angeles march and rally is winding down. The more than hour-long march through downtown Los Angeles ended with a rally Wednesday night in front of LA Police Department headquarters. About 80 people who remained taped flyers onto a wall outside the building with names of people they say were victims of police brutality. Some people sto…

Occupy protesters claim victory at Oakland port
(USA Today © 11/03/2011)

OAKLAND – Occupy Wall Street protesters declared victory after thousands of demonstrators shut down evening operations at one of the nation’s busiest shipping ports late Wednesday.The nearly 5-hour protest at the Port of Oakland, the nation’s fifth-busiest shipping port, was intended to highlight a daylong “general strike” in the city, which prompted solidarity rallies in New York, Los Angeles and…

More Americans supporting Occupy Wall Street
(CNN.com © 11/03/2011)

(CNN) – As Americans learn more about Occupy Wall Street, they are becoming more supportive of the movement’s positions, according to a new poll from ORC International. The survey, taken Oct. 28-31, shows more adult Americans saying they have heard of Occupy Wall Street than when the question was asked in early October. Sixty-four percent of respondents now say they’ve heard of the movement, com…

Maryland – I started my first year of work in a school that was falling apart.  I did not have a classroom.  Instead, I pushed a cart of materials from one small, overcrowded classroom to another.  The building didn’t (and still does not) have air conditioning.  During the hot summer months (which can extend into October and often start in April), students were expected to perform in classes and on high school assessment tests in temperatures in excess of 90 degrees.

Minnesota — 35 students in AP chemistry last year, in college-level labs in rooms built for 24.  Even the universities keep their lab sections closer to 20.  Unsafe!

New Jersey — I work in a more than 100-year-old school that is falling apart.  We fix one thing and something else breaks or falls!

Tennessee — I am a special education teacher, a bus duty attendant, our school’s parent involvement coordinator, an after-school tutor, and much more.  I work in an old school that needs many repairs—stained ceilings, wooden floors, a beautiful OLD school.  Our students are mostly free and reduced-price lunch, and many are on the backpack snack program for weekend foods.  Our classrooms are small and overcrowded.  Children are cramped for space and teachers lack materials, but there is no place to store them.  Oh, the places we could go if we had a new or modern facility!  We have no science lab, a small computer lab that is housed in our library, and no librarian, just a teacher who comes back on the weekend to try to keep the library neat and the books shelved.  Give someone a job: Let them fix our school, our teachers, and our students.

Jerry Brown’s pension package faces skeptical Legislature
(Sacramento Bee © 10/28/2011)

Even as Gov. Jerry Brown announced his plan Thursday to reduce pension benefits for public employees across the state, its prospects of passing intact appeared dim. California’s powerful labor interests objected to major parts of the plan, and the leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature – neither of whom attended Brown’s announcement – reacted warily. Brown said he thinks the …

The CalSTRS response to Governor Brown’s 12-point pension reform proposal
(www.CalSTRS.com © 10/28/2011)

SACRAMENTO — CalSTRS appreciates that Governor Brown has taken a very important step in addressing the critical and complex issues facing the state’s public pension systems. We look forward to receiving more detail on the proposal and having the opportunity to review it in depth. The most important reform CalSTRS needs is a plan of action to address its long-term funding shortfall, which only t…

Pension reform’s impact on teachers
(Educated Guess © 10/28/2011)

Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to rein in pension costs, future teachers would work years longer before they could retire with smaller pensions. Current teachers and administrators would soon pay about 1 percent more out of their paychecks toward their retirement. And both current and future educators would be unable to retire, then turn around and return to the classroom full time. Brown’s pensi…

Brown’s own allies are his biggest foes in pension reform fight
(Contra Costa Times © 10/28/2011)

SACRAMENTO — Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown turned the Capitol upside down Thursday when he unveiled his sweeping plan to overhaul California’s pension system. Republicans and business leaders loved it. The governor’s natural allies — public employee unions — hated it and could very well kill it. “It’s quite possible for labor to shut the whole thing down,” said Jack Pitney, a political science …

Jerry Brown’s pension plan explained
(Sacramento Bee © 10/28/2011)

Gov. Jerry Brown estimates his public pension reform plan would save the state $4 billion to $11 billion over 30 years and $21 billion to $56 billion over 60 years. Local government pensions also would have to comply and would save proportionately similar sums, the administration said Thursday. NEW WORKERS These provisions would apply to new state and local workers: • “Hy…

New study: California science education gets failing grade
(Californian © 10/28/2011)

SALINAS — The irony is that more than 90 percent of the 168 elementary school principals and 540 teachers surveyed statewide in the study think science instruction should begin in kindergarten. Science helps kids to think critically and to be creative, said Toby Boyd, a kindergarten teacher in Sacramento County and a member of the board of directors of the California Teachers Association, a union based in Burlingame.”It makes them think outside their comfort zone,” he said. “And that’s the joy of science.”

Field trip inspires Watsonville High art students; partnership brings together school, arts group and plant nursery
(Santa Cruz County Sentinel © 10/28/2011)

WATSONVILLE — Sierra Azul Nursery and Gardens owner Jeff Rosendale led a group of Watsonville High School students around the grounds Thursday, answering questions about plants and talking about the sculptures that dot the property. The 50 students are enrolled in Mosaic, Watsonville’s arts academy, and the field trip to the nursery on the outskirts of the city gave them the chance to experience…

Harkin-Enzi No Child Left Behind Bill Faces Uncertain Future
(Huffington Post © 10/28/2011)

Though getting a sweeping federal education bill out of a Senate committee feels momentous given Congress’s heightened partisan atmosphere, Senators Tom Harkin’s (D-Iowa) and Mike Enzi’s (R-Wyo.) measure faces a rocky road. Their bill would reauthorize the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which became known as No Child Left Behind during its last overhaul a decade ago. A product of c…

Obama using education issue as political sword
(Education Week © 10/28/2011)

With President Barack Obama’s jobs plan stalled in Congress and his re-election bid saddled by low approval numbers and high unemployment, his administration is using its record on education—and that of congressional Republicans—as a political weapon as Campaign 2012 heats up. Even though the Senate earlier this month rejected a $35 billion piece of a $447 billion package the administration said w…

Occupy Oakland makes plans for citywide general strike on Nov. 2
(Oakland Tribune © 10/28/2011)

OAKLAND — Occupy Oakland protesters debated Thursday evening the practical difficulties of organizing a citywide general strike with the aim of shutting down the city of Oakland on Nov. 2. Speakers urged teachers, students, union members and workers of all stripes to participate in whatever way they could, and said the entire world was watching Oakland. “Oakland is the vanguard and epicenter of t…

Is Scott Olsen Occupy Wall Street’s Kent State moment?
(Politico.com © 10/28/2011)

Two weeks ago, MSNBC’s Donnie Deutsch mused that Occupy Wall Street might benefit from a kind of Kent State moment – “a climax moment of class warfare somehow played out on screen” – to simplify its message and win broad sympathy for its movement. Today, OWS and liberal groups like MoveOn are disseminating video and photos of Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen, whose skull…

Rachel Maddow, Frank Rich Talk Occupy Wall Street and Fox News (VIDEO)
(Huffington Post © 10/28/2011)

Rachel Maddow and Frank Rich sat down Wednesday night to discuss Occupy Wall Street and the conservative media’s response to the movement. Maddow also discussed Rich’s Sunday column in New York Magazine. Rich compared Occupy Wall Street to the Bonus Army protests of 1932. He drew parallels between the intense police response to the Bonus Army demonstration on Capitol Hill and the harsh police re…

John and Ken meet Main Street: Conservative talk radio hosts get an earful at Occupy Los Angeles encampment
(Los Angeles Times © 10/28/2011)

LOS ANGELES — Conservative talk radio hosts John and Ken showed up at Occupy L.A. for a live broadcast Thursday, setting off a chaotic scene of jostling and shouting. If their aim was to provoke, they succeeded. The hosts, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, have been mocking the protest on their popular afternoon show on KFI-AM (640). When they entered the encampment of tents surrounding City Hall, ac…

Occupy movement reaches Gilroy
(Gilroy Dispatch © 10/28/2011)

GILROY — Wall Street may be 3,000 miles from Gilroy, but it didn’t take long for a political grassroots phenomenon to surface in South County. In wake of neighboring cities such as San Jose, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Oakland – where more than …

Governor wants voters to approve his 12-point public pension overhaul plan unveiled today
(Sacramento Bee © 10/27/2011)

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled a 12-point public pension reform plan this morning that would ask voters to increase the age at which future state and local government employees could retire with full benefits and place them in riskier retirement plans than current workers. Speaking to reporters this morning, Brown said he wants all of his proposals to go before voters on the November 2012…

SEIU Local 1000: Governor’s pension proposals a ‘good starting point’
(Sacramento Bee © 10/27/2011)

SACRAMENTO — Yvonne Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000,the state workers’ union, sent the union’s pension reform talking points copied into an email to union members this afternoon. The memo calls Brown’s pension ideas “a good starting point” for discussion, then pivots to a call for pensions for all workers. Here’s the letter to members, followed by the talking points: Dear Local 1000 Mem…

The rich are getting richer, U.S. study says
(Los Angeles Times © 10/27/2011)

WASHINGTON — The top 1% of households saw their after-tax incomes grow by 275% from 1979 to 2007, said the study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That was more than quadruple the growth of the rest of the top 20% of the population during that period. Meanwhile, income for the 60% of households that make up the middle of the income scale increased by slightly less than 40%, the study…

Oakland school board votes to close 5 schools
(San Francisco Chronicle © 10/27/2011)

OAKLAND — A crowd of 500 parents, teachers and children yelled and jeered as the Oakland school board held a final hearing before voting 5-2 Wednesday night to close five elementary schools at the end of this school year. The vote came after several hours of discussion and public comment at Oakland Tech High School, where the meeting was held. A small police presence was on hand to help keep ord…

San Diego Unified school board trustees back off on widespread school closures
(www.VoiceofSanDiego.org © 10/27/2011)

SAN DIEGO — It’s the battle to take school closures off the table. San Diego Unified school board member Scott Barnett today proposed halting the district’s school closure process at a press conference at Dana Middle School in Point Loma. Meanwhile, School board President Richard Barrera said he’s already directed staff to place a motion on next week’s board meeting agenda that, if successfu…

Innovation criteria is the model for Feds’ grants
(Education Week © 10/27/2011)

The U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund’s model of awarding bigger grants in return for greater evidence of program effectiveness may become the new norm for federal education and social programs, if a wide-scale interagency initiative proves successful. The i3 program sets aside different pots of money based on the level of research evidence that undergirds a project. The…

Live Blog: Protesters vote to stage a general strike in Oakland on Nov. 2
(Oakland Tribune © 10/27/2011)

OAKLAND — A vote among protesters to try to organize a general strike of the city next Wednesday received 96.9 percent approval, a protest leader announced on a microphone in the amphitheater at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. People chanted “Strike! Strike! Strike!” before beginning to disperse, some of them dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” that was playing on the amplifier. Another person smoking a joint wal…

Occupy Oakland: Iraq vet critically injured by police projectile
(Oakland Tribune © 10/27/2011)

OAKLAND — Scott Thomas Olsen, 24, of Onalaska, Wis., was admitted to Highland after he was hit on the head above his right eye during clashes with police, said hospital spokesman Curt Olsen, who is not related to the veteran. Scott Olsen appears to be the first serious injury nationwide of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread to virtually every major American city — and several smaller ones — …

City Serves Eviction Notice On Occupy Arcata
(Arcata Eye © 10/27/2011)

ARCATA – The City of Arcata has formally notified Occupy Arcata that the temporary living quarters on the Plaza will have to go. Some 14 tents and a few cardboard micro-shanties crowded the Plaza’s center the late afternoon of Oct. 26, when written notice was served by Police Chief Tom Chapman. The City letter states the City’s support for the consti…

Letter: Occupying Modesto is a start
(Modesto Bee © 10/27/2011)

Occupy Wall Street has been a very exciting moment in U.S. history. Finally all people are coming together to want an America that is just and fair to all her citizens. Why should only 1 percent have all the power and richness of a country while 99 percent have not? The song of the 1960s, “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” by Bob Dylan is now again. All are welcome to work for a better democracy. We…

 PENSION NEWS 10-27-11

California and National Media Coverage of Governor Brown’s Pension Proposals
Provided by: Californians for Retirement Security
October 28, 2011

Media coverage that includes Californians for Retirement Security:

ABC7Local: Gov. Brown unveils new pension plan (Willie Pelote in video)
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=8408076

News10 Sacramento: Many question Brown’s pension plan (Steve Maviglio)
http://www.news10.net/news/article/160524/2/Many-question-Browns-pension-plan

KGO Radio News: Brown Proposes Pension Changes (Terry Brennand at 17:56)
http://vaca.bayradio.com/kgo_archives/kgo_player.php?day=4&hour=19

KQED’s California Report: Brown Unveils Pension Plan (Willie Pelote)
http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201110280850/b

Pacifica Radio: Governor’s Pension Proposal (24:17) (Willie Pelote)
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/74580

KCAL9 Los Angeles: Governor Brown Seeks Pension Reforms, Raising Retirement Age (Maviglio)
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video/6391450-gov-brown-to-unveil-new-pension-plan-for-state-workers/

CBS2 Los Angeles: Gov. Brown Unveils New Pension Plan For State Workers (Caltrans Engineer Phil Tonko)
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/10/27/gov-brown-to-unveil-new-pension-plan-for-state-workers/

KPCC: Gov. Brown proposes new pension plan for Calif. workers (Lou Paulson)
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/10/27/29597/gov-brown-proposes-new-pension-plan-calif-workers/

Fox Business: Calif. Governor Seeks Sweeping Cuts to Public Worker Benefits (Maviglio)
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1244738299001/calif-governor-seeks-sweeping-cuts-to-public-worker-benefits/?playlist_id=87185

Wall Street Journal: California Proposes to Curtail Workers’ Benefits (Dave Low)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204505304577002132398967156.html

New York Times: California Governor Offers Plan on Pension Costs(Dave Low and Willie Pelote)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/us/plan-outlined-to-cut-california-pension-costs.html

Los Angeles Daily News: City, county study Brown’s pension plan to see how it would affect workers (Barb Maynard)
http://www.dailynews.com/politics/ci_19211272

Bloomberg: Brown Proposes Overhaul of California Pension Programs (Willie Pelote)
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-27/brown-proposes-overhaul-of-ca-pension-programs?category=%2Fnews%2Fmostread%2F

Bloomberg: California Pension Changes Face Opposition by Brown Labor Allies (Allan Clark)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/california-pension-changes-face-opposition-by-brown-labor-allies.html

Los Angeles Times: Gov. Jerry Brown risks backlash on pension plan (Dave Low)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-pensions-20111028,0,6084553.story?page=1&utm_medium=feed&track=rss&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20latimes%2Fnews%2Flocal%20%28L.A.%20Times%20-%20California%20%7C%20Local%20News%29&utm_source=feedburner

Capitol Public Radio: Brown Proposes Sweeping Overhaul of State’s Pension System (Pelote)
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2011/10/27/brown-proposes-sweeping-overhaul-of-state%E2%80%99s-pension-system

KBAK News Bakersfield: Calif. proposes hybrid pension plan for new hires (Maviglio)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/132740813.htmlhttp://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/132740813.html

Sacramento Bee: Labor balks at Jerry Brown’s pension plan(CRS statement)
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/10/labor-balks-at-jerry-browns-pension-plan.html

FoxNews.com: California Gov. Brown Calls for Sweeping Pension Cuts (Dave Low)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/27/california-gov-brown-to-seek-sweeping-pension-cuts/

California County News: Governor Proposes 12-Point Pension Reform Plan; Wants Voter Approval; Labor Balks (CRS)
http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/california_county_news/2011/10/governor-proposes-12-point-pension-plan-calls-for-fix-through-legislature-labor-balks.html

San Francisco Chronicle: Jerry Brown: Raise public worker retirement age (CRS Statement)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/27/BAVJ1LN5OE.DTL&tsp=1

Orange County Register: Brown proposes sweeping public pension reforms (CRS Statement)
http://www.ocregister.com/news/plan-324175-pension-retirement.html

AP: Gov. Jerry Brown proposes hybrid pension plan for new hires (Dave Low)
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/politics&id=8407504

Reuters: California governor wants workers to pay more for pensions (Dave Low)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/us-economy-california-pensions-idUSTRE79Q71620111027

AP in the Ventura County Star: CA lawmakers balance taxpayers, public employees (Allan Clark)
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/27/calif-proposes-hybrid-pension-plan-for-new-hires/?print=1

More clips on Governor’s Plan:

Los Angeles Times: The retirement system overhaul at a glance
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-pension-qa-20111028,0,4930171.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fpolitics%2Fcal+%28L.A.+Times+-+California+Politics%29

Sacramento Bee: Jerry Brown’s pension package faces skeptical Legislature
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/28/4013153/jerry-browns-pension-package-faces.html#mi_rss=State%20Politics

KQED: Analysis: Jerry Brown’s Pension Reform Proposal Will Displease Both Sides
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/10/27/john-myers-analysis-jerry-browns-pension-reform-proposal-will-displease-both-sides/

Riverside Press Enterprise: INLAND: LAO calls pension plan excellent start
http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/duane-gang-headlines/20111027-inland-lao-calls-pension-plan-excellent-start.ece

Marketwatch: Orange County Business Council Statement on Governor’s Pension Reform Proposal
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/orange-county-business-council-statement-on-governors-pension-reform-proposal-2011-10-27

KPCC: Too extreme? California Gov. Jerry Brown’s pension proposal
http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2011/10/27/21175/too-extreme-california-gov-jerry-browns-pension-pr

SEIU Blog: California State Workers Want to Retire With Dignity
http://www.seiu.org/2011/10/california-state-workers-want-to-retire-with-digni.php

KCRA: Change In Pension Benefits For Government Workers?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H2j1vvAM-0

Dan Walters: Dan Walters: Is Jerry Brown’s pension plan real or a ploy?
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/28/4012968/dan-walters-is-jerry-browns-pension.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters

–

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CTA suggests it might oppose millionaire’s tax initiative
(Contra Costa Times © 10/26/2011)

SACRAMENTO — Dean Vogel, president of the powerful California Teachers Association, says a tax on people making $1 million a year or more — a levy being pushed by the smaller California Federation of Teachers — won’t generate enough revenue. He also worries that having more than one tax initiative on the November 2012 ballot would turn off voters. “Our best guess is that CFT’s potential prop…

Dramatic jump in number of California school districts on financial brink — now 110
(www.BayCitizen.org © 10/26/2011)

The number of California school districts at risk of financial collapse has tripled over the last five years, according to state figures. There are 110 school districts on the state’s watch list that could be headed for insolvency, up from 37 five years earlier, according to the most recent figures available. The distressed districts may face state takeovers that are expensive for taxpayers and o…

San Diego Unified school board paints dire picture — hundreds protest school closure plan
(San Diego Union-Tribune © 10/26/2011)

SAN DIEGO — Facing an angry crowd of parents, students and teachers, the San Diego school board talked doom and gloom Tuesday night, taking on dire issues that have stirred unrest for weeks — fiscal insolvency, campus closures and selling off district property among them.Hundreds turned out to protest recent recommendations from the San Diego Unified School District that more than a dozen campuse…

San Luis Coastal school district reaches tentative contract deal with teachers union
(San Luis Obispo.com © 10/26/2011)

The San Luis Coastal Unified School District has reached a tentative contract deal with its teachers union.The three-year contract would give teachers a 2 percent raise retroactive to July 1, and then another 2 percent raise during the 2012-13 academic year.Teachers would also receive a 1.6 percent pay raise by working three additional staff-development days.Teachers may also receive an additional…

Public pension debate heads today to Southern California
(Fresno Bee © 10/26/2011)

CARSON — California’s public pension debate moves to the south state, where a new legislative committee will look at recent changes and options for fiscal stability. Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod of Chino and Assemblyman Warren Furutani of Gardena, both Democrats, are chairing the informational hearing, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Carson City Council Chambers. The meeting comes on the heels of Gov…

Closing the gaps?
(San Mateo Daily Journal © 10/26/2011)

“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.” — John F. Kennedy. It was recently reported in the San Mateo County Times that only 75 percent of local graduates head to college. We are told that San Mateo County is on a par with the statewide statistics of public high school graduates who go on to colleg…

Ravitch: Congress should ditch NCLB, not tinker with it
(Washington Post © 10/26/2011)

Despite the manifest failure of NCLB, the Obama administration proposes not to scrap it, but to offer waivers if states agree to accept the mandates selected by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The secretary has a great fondness for teacher evaluation, having decided (in concert with the Gates Foundation) that the key to better education is to tie teachers’ jobs and tenure to their students’ test scores. This, of course, will raise the stakes attached to testing. Mr. Duncan has already used the billions in Race to the Top to bribe states to impose his unproven policies on their schools.

Whitman gives $10 million to Teach For America
(Contra Costa Times © 10/26/2011)

Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard CEO and former gubernatorial candidate, will invest $10 million in the national teacher-training group Teach For America. Half of that will support the nonprofit’s work in California, and the other $5 million will help double the number of the group’s teachers in the rest of the country, Whitman said in an announcement made public Wednesday. The investment will come …

Business leaders inject themselves in school reform
(Washington Post © 10/26/2011)

It’s hard to think of a profession other than teaching about which everybody thinks they are an expert. It’s often said that is so because just about everybody in the United States has gone to school at some point in their lives . It’s also true that just about everybody has gone to a doctor, yet medical professionals aren’t deluged with advice from businesspeople and …

Fortuna is one town with one future: Vote yes on Measure U
(Eureka Times-Standard © 10/26/2011)

I am so surprised in the opposition to Measure U. Here is how I see it. We have two really wonderful school districts, Rohnerville School District and Fortuna Union Elementary School District. When you merge them into one district, it would stand to reason you would have one, amazing district. I have faith in Fortuna and the citizens of Fortuna. I think the teachers in both districts are the best …

President to Ease Student Loan Burden for Low-Income Graduates
(New York Times (State Version) © 10/26/2011)

President Obama will announce new programs today to lower monthly loan payments for some students graduating next year and thereafter and to let borrowers who have a mix of direct federal loans and loans under the old Federal Family Education Loan Program consolidate them at a slightly lower interest rate. At a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, Melody Barnes, director of the Dom…

Student loans add to angst at Occupy Wall Street
(Los Angeles Times © 10/26/2011)

For almost a week, Nate Grant has sat cross-legged on a wall at the Occupy Wall Street encampment, holding a cardboard sign that bears his scrawled grievance: “Students Ought Not Be a Means of Profit.” Strangers have harangued him: “Get a job, you commie.” Tourists have photographed him. Others have stopped to engage in existential standoffs. “I have to pay interest on my car loan,” a banker …

Police clear Oakland’s anti-Wall Street camp
(Oakland Tribune © 10/26/2011)

OAKLAND – Under cover of darkness early Tuesday, hundreds of police swept into Oakland’s Occupy Wall Street protest, firing tear gas and beanbag rounds before clearing out an encampment that demonstrators had hoped would stir a revolution. In less than an hour, the two-week-old, miniature makeshift city was in ruins. Scattered across the area were overturned tents, pillows, sleepin…

Using Police In Oakland to Clear Out Occupy Was a Mistake (Commentary)
(Berkeley Daily Planet © 10/26/2011)

OAKLAND – What struck me most was the image of the police tearing up the signs and kicking the Occupy tent people’s stuff all over the plaza. I thought that the police job was to arrest people and let Public Works clean up the encampment, not to do a violent victory dance over the defeat of those whose politics they oppose. I stuck my neck out in person, in public and online telling the protestors to engage, to accept dialog, to back away from any confrontation and to carry ourselves with dignity out of respect for our fellow citizens and out of respect for the righteousness of our cause…

Report Says Top 1% Are Getting Even Richer
(Channel 10 – KGTV San Diego © 10/26/2011)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — From 1979 to 2007, average household income for the nation’s top 1% nearly tripled, while middle-class incomes grew by less than 40%, according to a new report from a research arm of Congress. While those at the top have seen their incomes soar over the past three decades, middle-class and lower incomes have stagnated, the report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) fou…

Poll: Economic fears fuel distrust of government
(San Jose Mercury News © 10/26/2011)

With Election Day just over a year away, a deep sense of economic anxiety and doubt about the future hangs over the nation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, with Americans’ distrust of government at its highest level ever. The combustible climate helps explain the volatility of the presidential race and has provided an opening for protest movements like Occupy Wall Street, t…

Occupy Coachella Valley begins second night at Palm Desert park
(Palm Springs Desert Sun © 10/26/2011)

PALM DESERT — Occupy Coachella Valley protesters are beginning their second night camped out at Palm Desert Civic Center Park this evening in the first local demonstration to resemble the around-the-clock presence Occupy Wall Street has established at a New York City park. Nearly 10 people maintained the group’s presence throughout the day, but expected dozens of others to join them this ev…

Citigroup earnings rise 74 percent, to $3.8 billion
(Vacaville Reporter © 10/26/2011)

It was the seventh straight quarter of income growth for Citi, the nation’s third-largest bank by assets. Citigroup was one of the biggest recipients of taxpayer support during the financial crisis. It received $45 billion in bailouts funds and was partly owned by the government until December 2010. The New York bank’s net income rose 74 percent, to $3.8 billion, due to lower losses from loans an…

In these hard times, songs of protest have been scarce
(Kansas City Star © 10/26/2011)

“Every successful movement has a soundtrack,” the songwriter Tom Morello told reporters after he had tried to fire up the crowd at the Occupy Wall Street Protest with a Woody Guthrie tune and one of his own labor songs. Perhaps he is right, but the protesters have yet to find an anthem. Nor is the rest of the country humming songs about hard times. So far, musicians living through the b…