"U.S. Department of Education report ... found black and Latino students nationwide face harsher discipline and attend schools with fewer educational opportunities than their white counterparts." --Donna Jones, Santa Cruz Sentinel
Found an interesting article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel that I wanted to share. I may do a full diary on it at some point, but for now sharing it in the OND is sort of a compromise.
Some of you may remember past diaries on a group of Kossacks went to visit immigrant labor workers in Watsonville. The Pajaro Valley School District, mentioned in this article, encompasses Watsonville and is where most of the kids of the families we visited go to school. --BentLiberal
Pajaro Valley leads county in suspensions, expulsions
Recent reports find minority students face harsher discipline nationwide
WATSONVILLE - Pajaro Valley Unified School District students accounted for 85 percent of expulsions in Santa Cruz County last year, though they represented only about half the public school population.
The predominantly Latino district's disproportionate share of expulsions and suspensions has been a consistent trend for several years, according to district and state Department of Education data.
The issue of school discipline and its impact on minority students has come to the fore in the wake of the release in March of a U.S. Department of Education report that found black and Latino students nationwide face harsher discipline and attend schools with fewer educational opportunities than their white counterparts.
...
The disciplinary actions matter because students who are expelled or suspended are more likely to drop out of school and end up in trouble with the law, studies say.
...
Studies were controlled for misconduct rates and still found minority students disciplined at higher rates
-- By Donna Jones - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest
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The OND is published each night around midnight, Eastern Time.
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Current Contributors are ScottyUrb, Bentliberal, wader, Oke, rfall, JML9999 and NeonVincent who also serves as chief cat herder.
News and Stories
12 candidates running in one of the most liberal House districts in the nation - The redrawn congressional district that stretches along the Pacific Ocean from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border is a political world like no other.
The open seat vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma is one of the few places in the United States where all but the two Republican candidates are running to the left of President Obama ...
For the eight Democrats and two left-leaning candidates who decline to state a party preference, the district is a progressive sanctuary where longtime Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart headlines a fundraiser and campaign trail visits from liberal icons Phil Donahue and Sean Penn are highly touted.
It's where several antiwar floats graced the Mendocino Fourth of July parade, where opposing the Patriot Act and supporting single-payer health care are badges of honor, and where advocating the legalization of marijuana is a mainstream position - especially when it's the largest cash crop in part of the district ...
... While Democrats are expected to draw the most votes in June and go on to face each other in November under the state's new "top two" primary system, a Republican has an outside shot to win one of the two spots. That's because 62 percent of the district's voters historically have chosen Democrats in primaries and 38 percent have backed the GOP.
--Joe Garofoli, sfgate.com
For Many Immigrants’ Children, American Dream Lies Abroad - Samir Kapadia seemed to be on the rise in Washington, moving from an internship on Capitol Hill to jobs at a major foundation and a consulting firm. Yet his days, he felt, had become routine.
By contrast, friends and relatives in India, his native country, all in their early-to-mid-20s, were telling him about their lives in that newly surging nation. One was creating an e-commerce business, another a public relations company, still others a magazine, a business incubator and a gossip and events Web site.
“I’d sit there on Facebook and on the phone and hear about them starting all these companies and doing all these dynamic things,” recalled Mr. Kapadia, 25, who was born in India but grew up in the United States. “And I started feeling that my 9-to-5 wasn’t good enough anymore.”
Last year, he quit his job and moved to Mumbai.
In growing numbers, experts say, highly educated children of immigrants to the United States are uprooting themselves and moving to their ancestral countries. They are embracing homelands that their parents once spurned but that are now economic powers.
--KIRK SEMPLE, nytimes.com
Crowd-Sourcing Expands Power of Brain Research - In the largest collaborative study of the brain to date, scientists using imaging technology at more than 100 centers worldwide have for the first time zeroed in on genes that they agree play a role in intelligence and memory.
Scientists working to understand the biology of brain function — and especially those using brain imaging, a blunt tool — have been badly stalled. But the new work, involving more than 200 scientists, lays out a strategy for breaking the logjam. The findings appear in a series of papers published online Sunday in the journal Nature Genetics.
--BENEDICT CAREY, nytimes.com
Solar farms in West TN signal growth of industry - Two new solar energy farms are generating a small but growing supply of electricity in West Tennessee, the latest signs of progress in an industry that proponents say is primed to add jobs and bolster rural and urban power supply.
Hundreds gathered Wednesday in Memphis for a solar energy symposium and the dedication of a 1-megawatt solar farm. Industry leaders also met Thursday in Stanton to formally open Tennessee’s largest solar generating facility.
It uses its more than 21,000 panels to harness the sun’s energy and produce 5 megawatts of power ...
... Tennessee moved to 15th place in solar energy production in 2011, up five spots from the prior year.
--Adrian Sainz, The Tennessean
Photo Project Aims to Capture a Day in the Life of the World - The world is invited to take photos of their lives on this coming May 15 and submit them to a global documentary project called ADAY.org. Backed by Desmund Tutu and Swedish pop-star Robyn, among others, the effort aims to create a crowdsourced snapshot of the world on that particular day.
“There are so many great things that will never reach the front pages,” says Jeppe Wikstrom, the cofounder of the ADAY.org project. “There is rarely time for those everyday moments even though those moments count.” ...
... “Everyone with a camera is longing for a purpose and we want to help people who want to participate but don’t know what to go for,” he says.
The photos will then be uploaded to a single place online, creating a global photographic archive of the world over a single day. (Bonus points to the first person who calculates how many hours that will be across all time zones.) In addition to the archive, ADAY.org will also produce a book and global exhibit that features a selection of the photos. The photos will be hosted on Amazon and will be searchable so they can be mined for educational projects down the road. Anyone who contributes a photo retains his or her copyright.
--Jakob Schiller, wired.com
US choice Jim Yong Kim is new World Bank chief - US nominee Jim Yong Kim has been chosen as the new president of the World Bank.
The Korean-American health expert is president of Dartmouth College in the US state of New Hampshire.
He faced a strong challenge for the post, which has traditionally gone to an American, from Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ...
... Aged 52, Jim Yong Kim is a doctor lauded for his pioneering role in treating HIV/Aids and reducing the impact of tuberculosis in the developing world.
-- BBC
Boston, 1967: When marathons were just for men
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially complete the Boston Marathon, despite stewards trying to force her off the road. She recalls how a female runner caused such a fuss.
The city of Boston is staging its annual marathon. Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the race 45 years ago, despite stewards trying to physically force the 20-year-old off the road. Here she recalls how a female runner caused such a fuss.
When race officials realised Kathrine Switzer was running the marathon they reacted angrily and tried to remove her from the race.
--BBC
Unruly NFL fans forced to do online 'naughty class' - American football fans in the United States have been told they must take a four-hour online course costing $75 (£47) if they are kicked out of a game for unruly behaviour.
The rules, which apply to most NFL teams, see those who fail to take the course, or achieve the 70% pass mark, arrested for trespassing if they are found at another game ...
Sample questions
Behaving badly towards other fans, such as fighting, swearing or threatening them, is OK as long as they deserve it. (Answer: False)
--BBC. (The BBC linked to another article in the New York Post)
The First Nations News & Views Sunday weekly series is one element in the "Invisible Indians" project put together by navajo and Meteor Blades, with assistance from the Native American Netroots Group. The OND periodically prints excerpted items on Monday nights.
• Seattle School of Law Debuts American Indian Law Journal: Backed by the Center for Indian Law & Policy, the 96-page journal, whose cover art appears below, contains articles titled, among others: "Can Indian Tribes Sell or Encumber Their Fee Lands Without Federal Approval?"; "The Public Nature of Indian Reservation Roads"; and "Justice Rehnquist’s Theory of Indian Law: The Evolution from Mazurie to Atkinson — Where Did He Leave the Court?"
"Running Eagle Takes Her Enemy" by Artist Terrance Guardipee
—Meteor Blades
Jenna Talackova
Aboriginal Transgender Wins Fight to Compete in Miss Universe Canada Contest: A member of the Nat'oot'en (or Lake Babine) First Nation of British Columbia, Jenna Talackova was born male. At 19, four years ago, she had a sex-change operation. And now she is a 23-year-old woman competing in the Canadian Miss Universe Pageant. Three weeks ago, however, the Donald Trump-controlled pageant disqualified her for being formerly male, and Talackova decided to fight back, enlisting Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred in the battle. Which generated some heated words. Allred asked Trump to prove he is a man, and Trump fired back that she would be impressed if she saw his junk. On April 2, the pageant agreed that Talackova can compete as long as she meets Canadian “legal gender recognition requirements” and the standards of other international competitions. The latter may be difficult since some of those, including the Miss USA pageant,
require a contestant to be a "naturally born genetic female." Transgender advocates saw the win as a partial victory. Suzi Parker at the
Washington Post granted that Talackova should have the right to compete, but asked why she would want to given Parker's view that it would be better if
no women desired pageant queen status.
—Meteor Blades
• National Native News Offers First Nations Radio Briefs Each Day: The operation is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year as a provider of five minutes of radio news each day about American Indians, Alaskan Natives and First Nations peoples of Canada. Programming is available to Native and non-Native outlets. You can also listen on line.
—Meteor Blades
• Gov. Brian Schweitzer Honored at 31st Annual Montana Indian Education Association Conference: The association honored the governor Friday in Bozeman for his leadership in Indian education. Among the prominent members of Montana's Indian community in attendance was Carol Juneau (Mandan/Hidatsa), a former Montana senator. She spoke about the positive impact Schweitzer has had. Her daughter, Denise, is the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction, the first Indian ever elected to statewide office in Montana. Schweitzer spoke of the importance of education in bringing down reservation unemployment rates that are six or more times the national average.
—Meteor Blades
More News and Stories
NY TImes EditorialEmbarrassed by Bad Laws
A year ago, few people outside the world of state legislatures had heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a four-decade-old organization run by right-wing activists and financed by business leaders. The group writes prototypes of state laws to promote corporate and conservative interests and spreads them from one state capital to another.
The council, known as ALEC, has since become better known, with news organizations alerting the public to the damage it has caused: voter ID laws that marginalize minorities and the elderly, antiunion bills that hurt the middle class and the dismantling of protective environmental regulations.
Now it’s clear that ALEC, along with the National Rifle Association, also played a big role in the passage of the “Stand Your Ground” self-defense laws around the country ...
... That was apparently the last straw for several prominent corporations that had been financial supporters of ALEC. In recent weeks, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Intuit, Mars, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have stopped supporting the group, responding to pressure from activists and consumers ...
... The corporations abandoning ALEC aren’t explicitly citing the Stand Your Ground statutes as the reason for their decision. But many joined the group for narrower reasons, like fighting taxes on soda or snacks ...
In a statement ... [ALEC] makes no mention of its role in pushing a law that police departments believe is increasing gun violence and deaths. That’s probably because big business is beginning to realize the Stand Your Ground laws are indefensible.
-- New York Times Editorial
For Two Economists, the Buffett Rule Is Just a Start - High earners who are worried that this year’s Tax Day will be the last one before their rates rise have more than just the White House and Washington to blame. They can also look to two academically revered, if publicly obscure, left-leaning French economists whose work is the subtext for the battle over tax fairness.
Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty have spent the last decade tracking the incomes of the poor, the middle class and the rich in countries across the world. More than anything else, their work shows that the top earners in the United States have taken a bigger and bigger share of overall income over the last three decades, with inequality nearly as acute as it was before the Great Depression ...
... Both admire, even adore, the United States, they say, for its entrepreneurial drive, innovative spirit and, not least, its academic excellence: the two met while re-searchers in Cambridge, Mass. But both also express bewilderment over the current conversation about whether the wealthy, who have taken most of America’s income gains over the last 30 years, should be paying higher taxes.
“The United States is getting accustomed to a completely crazy level of inequality,” Mr. Piketty said, with a degree of wonder. “People say that reducing inequality is radical. I think that tolerating the level of inequality the United States tolerates is radical.”
-- ANNIE LOWREY, nytimes.com
Attention Problems May Be Sleep Related - Diagnoses of attention hyperactivity disorder among children have increased dramatically in recent years, rising 22 percent from 2003 to 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But many experts believe that this may not be the epidemic it appears to be.
Many children are given a diagnosis of A.D.H.D., researchers say, when in fact they have another problem: a sleep disorder, like sleep apnea. The confusion may account for a significant number of A.D.H.D. cases in children, and the drugs used to treat them may only be exacerbating the problem.
“No one is saying A.D.H.D. does not exist, but there’s a strong feeling now that we need to rule out sleep issues first,” said Dr. Merrill Wise, a pediatric neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at the Methodist Healthcare Sleep Disorders Center in Memphis.
The symptoms of sleep deprivation in children resemble those of A.D.H.D. While adults experience sleep deprivation as drowsiness and sluggishness, sleepless children often become wired, moody and obstinate; they may have trouble focusing, sitting still and getting along with peers.
-- KATE MURPHY, Well Blog (nytimes)
Finally, I'd like to give a shout-out to a long-running Dkos series -- Macca's Meatless Monday by beach babe in florida. -BentLiberal