"The Sun" San Bernadino, CA Headlines

"The Sun"
San Bernadino, CA
Headlines
Tuesday, October 31, 2006


Giant fire fully contained
Guy McCarthy and Andrew Edwards, Staff Writers

Two men were questioned Monday by authorities investigating the cause of the fire, but no arrests were made. Four firefighters were killed in the blaze that had burned and estimated 40,200 acres. Arson investigators staked out hundreds of multicolored flags to mark the rate of spread and other details of the fire. Authorities estimated 34 homes and 20 other structures destroyed with the cost of firefighting as $9.9 million as of Monday. As of Monday residents from Twin Pines and Poppet Flats were allowed to return to thier homes.
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Rally protests use of police
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer

A dozen protesters hand-delivered a letter addressed to Mexico's President Vincente Fox by marching into the office of the Mexican government's chief representative in San Bernadino. They also aired thier concerns for about 15 minutes to Carlos Giralt-Cabrales, the Mexican government's diplomatic representative to the Inland Empire. Armando Navarro, a critic of the Fox administration, called the protest. "What happens in Mexico...will ultimately impact us over here," Navarro said. He said the federal response to demonstrations for higher wages for teachers "rapidly escalated the unrest" in Mexico. The turnout on Monday was low but energy was not. Some protesters held up signs that were streaked with red and depicting bloody clashes between police and protesters in the past. They drew comparisons between the current situation and the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre. Navarro said "The police did not use any kind of arms, pistols or guns, only defensive elements, like shields. The federal government only acted to restore order and security to the people of the city." Later, Navarro said he was not convinced.
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Fees falling at two-year colleges
Selicia Kennedy-Ross, Staff Writer

In order to make community college more affordable for low-income students, fees for state-funded community colleges will be lowered from $26 to $20 per unit by state lawmakers beginning Jan.1, 2007. "Several years of rising costs have created a barrier for some of our prospective students," California Community Colleges Chancellor Marshall Drummond said in a written statement. The fee reduction is expected to help turn that around.
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Idaho Headlines

Idaho Statesman
Idaho
Headlines

Illegal dumping trashes Idaho public land

The Bureau of Land Management monitors illegal dumping sites. Areas with rapid population growth provide good examples of the problem. Many people dump illegally because it is a free and easy means to get rid of trash. Much of the trash is toxic, including asbestos and antifreeze. The Bureau of Land Management in Idaho spends $50,000 to $75,000 in tax dollars each year to clear the illegal dumping sites.

Boise schools redrawing boundaries

The School District is redrawing the boundaries of 24 schools. The changes will go into effect in the fall of 2008. The plan is to ease overcrowding in some schools and fill classrooms in others.

Nevada Headlines

Las Vegas Sun
Nevada
Headlines

Heart Rendering Choice

32-year-old Troy Shaw is in intensive care. His enlarged heart is too weak to sufficiently pump blood through his body. It’s a genetic defect. His only hope is a heart transplant, but they are not performed in the state. Nevada Medicaid, his insurance provider, doesn’t pay for heart transplants in adults. His only choice is to move to California where they have MediCal which would cover the transplant, but they don’t have the money to move and are not guaranteed to get admitted to UCLA or receive a new heart.

Cigarette giant began years ago to fight smoking bans

In the mid-1900’s while anti-smoking advocates were attempting to lobby the Legislature to pass smoking restrictions in Nevada and the federal government was weighing a national ban on smoking in the workplace, Philip Morris was planting seeds that would help business owners such as casinos and bars fend off future smoking bans. Philip Morris funded a 1996 study saying that the state would lose jobs. Nevada was considered by Philip Morris to be their greatest success in the country.

Iowa Headlines

The Des Moines Register
Iowa
Headlines

Gang Communication Goes Wall To Wall

Police expect 2006 to be a record year for graffiti.
Detectives say street gangs use graffiti to establish an identity, challenge rivals, bolster egos, memorialize dead members, define territorial boundaries and celebrate violence. The Des Moines police are working to develop booklets for residents to educate them and their neighborhood groups on how to spot and interpret gang graffiti.

PAC: Money not linked to restoring TouchPlay

Owners of the TouchPlay lottery machines have vowed to make the gambling game an issue in the Nov. 7 election. They have raised about $77,000 since July from their political action committee that they formed, named Revenues for Main Street Iowa. They have contributed about $54,000 primarily to Democratic legislative candidates.

‘Laramie’ hype slams Valley, skips Kennedy

A Cedar Rapids high school escaped criticism for “The Laramie Project”. Valley High School administrators are braced for protests of the sanitized version of their fall play next week. “The Laramie Project” is a collection of interviews about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, who was tied to a fence post and left to die on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo.

Georgia Headlines

The Telegraph
Middle Georgia’s Paper
Headlines

Fertile Ground

An area that was once covered in thick forests is now becoming a shopping center. Bass Pro Shops has already started building. Developer’s say this is kick-starting their development process. Other retailers thought it was not ready for development but Bass Pro has validated the area. The shopping center is expected to be ready October 2007.

3 Face New Charges in Deputy Slaying

Three people initially charged with the murder of a deputy will be pursued on charges of drug conspiracy. They were told their rights and told of the new charges of one count each. Bond was set at $25,000 for Porter and Greene. Porter must resolve a probation violation before his release. No bond was said for Harclerode.

Woolworth's Waitress

It was important from my perspective to hear the story in Geneva Tisdales own words because it gave the story more character. Listening to the story you could hear her happiness at remembering some moments, sadness at others and laughter at what amused her.

The transcript differed from the audio considerably. When I was listening to the audio David Isay it seemed like he was rushing, monotone and I couldn’t find punctuation, as in pauses or endings, in his voice. The transcript did not come across like that. The transcript actually came more across as a story to me that I could actually take in and not feel rushed, unlike the audio where I felt like I had missed things and needed to listen over again.

David Isay had interviewed Geneva Tisdale on the day the Woolworth’s lunch counter had closed. Geneva had worked at Woolworth’s for over 4 decades. She worked there when four young black men sat down and asked to be served in 1960. They were refused service and protests followed. After several months Woolworth’s changed their policy and chose Geneva and a few other co-workers, who were also African-Americans, to eat lunch at the counter and if they didn’t want their pictures taken before the press came to hurry back into their work clothes. It was apparant she was happy to be the first, and a memory she treasures. After the changes and after all the years she worked there, Geneva still felt that had she been white she would have made more money working there. She made five fifty an hour and it never changed during her employment. She had always hoped after retirement to come back and be a customer, instead of an employee, with her grandchildren, but that day was the last day the store would be open.

I think the most important details of the story is how long she worked there and how her pay never changed and how she felt about it. It must have also made her feel important to be among the first that were able to eat at the counter when Woolworth’s changed their policy.

It was very interesting to hear and then see the difference in David Isay’s documentary. If I would have had a choice on whether to listen to the audio or not, I wouldn’t have listened. I had trouble with how rushed it seemed and no verbal punctuation. I had trouble following it.