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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 - VOLUME 6, NO. 38
Is El Nino Really Coming to the Aid of California? BY TERRY MILLER
Excessive heat, wildfires, and drought have plagued California for the past four years and, depending on who you talk to, we could have a significantly wet and wild fall and winter to hopefully offset the lack of rain. Apparently, all the predictors are in place (warmer ocean temps, etc.) This fall and winter's predicted El Niño has the potential to become the most powerful ever recorded, according to some scientists; and could bring heavy rainfall to parched California, but it may not be enough to reverse four years of drought, federal forecasters said last week. Data showing continued warm sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are leading to the prediction of a strong El Niño to peak in late fall or early winter the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center says. The report which came out last month, shows a
greater than 90 percent chance of El Niño continuing through the Northern Hemisphere in winter, and a roughly 85 percent chance of it lasting until early spring. "We’re predicting that
this El Niño could be among the strongest El Niños in the historical record dating back to 1950," said Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Some are now downsiz-
ing the significance and say it may not be nearly as bad at 1997-98. In a conference call with reporters, Halpert cautioned that there is no guarantee that we'll see the typical impacts of an
El Niño, which include increased precipitation across the southern portion of the U.S. from Central California to Florida. "Just because something is favored, it doesn’t guarantee it will happen.
And more importantly for California ... one season of above normal rain and snow is very unlikely to erase four years of drought," Halpert said.
Joseph Christo Gomez, of Long Beach, California, has received the maximum sentence – six (6) years in jail – for misdemeanor domestic violence against his former girlfriend, threats to kill her, resisting arrest, and battery on a police officer responding to the altercation.City Prosecutor Douglas Haubert praised the conviction stating, “This is a fair and appropriate sentence. The defendant proved he is dangerous and would continue to act out violently if he was not incarcerated. The judge got it right.” On September 10, 2015, Long Beach Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal sentenced Gomez, age 27, to the maximum term
after Gomez was found guilty on all charges. The crimes occurred on three separate occasions from January through June of 2015. Since Gomez was on probation for a battery conviction in 2012, Judge Lowenthal ordered an additional 173 days in jail - the maximum remaining time for the probation violation extending the total sentence almost six months. During the trial, the court heard evidence that Gomez held the victim’s jaw shut, pinned her against the car door in the presence of their young children, and repeatedly violated a restraining order requiring him to stay away from the victim. After calling the vic-
tim and threatening to kill her, Gomez went to the victim’s house at 2:00am and attempted to enter. When Long Beach Police Officers responded, Gomez refused to follow their instructions and struck one officer before he was taken into custody. Gomez told officers he had a gun, but no firearm was found. Long Beach Deputy City Prosecutor Pooja Kumar, who handled the bench trial and sentencing, added, “The defendant caused the victim to be in extreme fear for her safety and the safety of their children. We are pleased with the outcome and hope this will end the nightmare she has been living.”
Last week, the Albert Shanker Institute released a major report on the state of teacher diversity. The report shows that, nationally, progress toward greater diversity is being made, but it is quite modest compared with the need for more minority teachers. In the nine cities studied—Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Cleveland, Los Angeles and San Francisco— the teacher-diversity picture is much bleaker, with only a few pockets of progress surrounded by serious setbacks. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who is the Shan-
ker Institute’s board president, said, “Diversity is a key component to equality and opportunity. Where there’s a diverse teaching workforce, all kids thrive. That’s why we note with alarm the sharp decline in the population of black teachers in our cities. As a first step to turning this around, we are calling for a national summit on teacher diversity in urban areas.” Here are some key findings from the report: In all nine cities, the share of the workforce represented by black teachers declined—in many cases dramatically. The population of black teachers has fallen by even larger numbers. Although Latinos’ share
of the teacher workforce remained stable or grew slightly, the growth in Latino student population means very little progress has been made in closing the teacherstudent representation gap. The representation gap is more pronounced in charters than in district schools. Nationally, the research shows the biggest obstacle to greater teacher diversity is teacher attrition: Minority teachers are leaving, the evidence tells us, because of a lack of collective voice in decisions in their schools and a lack of professional autonomy. All students benefit from a diverse teaching force.
- Courtesy Photo
Man Sentenced to 6 Years for Violence Against Girlfriend
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Sharp Decline in Number of Black Teachers in Some Cities, Report Says