| Let the sun shine on public meetings
In the interest of greater transparency for all public decisions, meeting reports and agendas may soon join meeting notices on the town website. Town Meeting voted almost unanimously this month to pass a proposal by Martin Rosenthal of Precinct 9 to extend the state's Open Meeting Law. Now agendas, meeting notices, and reports on actions taken will be posted online - if enough town workers can be found to upload the documents. Rosenthal said his article would "increase the quality of citizen participation." Stanley Spiegel - speaking for the Advisory Board, a group of document junkies if there ever was one - called the measure "a model for the state" and "the obvious thing to do." .
Our Belize Community, friend and healer Master Lee
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices include theories, diagnosis and treatments such as herbal medicine, acupuncture and massage. TCM theory asserts that processes of the human body are interrelated and in constant interaction with the environment. Signs of disharmony help the TCM practitioner to understand, treat and prevent illness and disease. A practice long stemmed in tradition and belief that unfortunately, does not operate within the contemporary scientific paradigm. However, many believe in its powers and swear by the �touch� that heals. It is a tradition passed down from generations, one which is still being kept alive and was brought down to Belize at a time when people were unaware of its curative powers. Master Lee continues with his practice and his customer base continues to increase.
Oxford students disrupt David Irving debate - Summary
London - Angry student demonstrators forced their way Monday into an Oxford Union debating hall, disrupting an event at which the controversial historian David Irving was due to speak. Irving, who is British, has repeatedly denied the Holocaust and served a prison term in Austria for the offence. Police said that a group of about 30 students were staging a sit- in inside the debating hall of the renowned Oxford Union, which is attached to Oxford University. A hard core of some 30 protestors, singing and chanting anti- fascist slogans, stopped the debate from getting under way, reports said. They had broken away from up to 500 protestors and scaled a wall to force their way into the building, shouting "shame on you" and "fascists out." Irving and Nick Griffin, leader of Britain's racist British National Party (BNP), had arrived hours before the evening event to be escorted into the building.
City approves money for YMCA study
With a standing room-only crowd supporting the possibility of a YMCA-operated indoor recreation facility, the Crossville City Council approved spending approximately $28,000 on an in-depth marketing and feasibility study to determine if such a facility would be successful.Two council members elicited groans from supporters of the project when they voted to approve a motion that no further city funds would be expended on the project. That motion was later withdrawn.Local resident Gail Compton, who has spearheaded support for this project for the last year, spoke to the council and outlined some of the e-mails and phone calls she had received in support of the possibility of the construction of a YMCA facility. The facility is estimated to cost $8 to $9 million dollars and the services and activities included would be based on the results of the survey.Compton said the group is asking for city funding of the survey and added, "The benefits will far outweigh the costs of the survey."Also addressing the council were Scott Curry and Lindsey Meyers of the local high schools.
Experts say principals not prepared for today's schools
John Warren's job as principal at Northwest Laurens Elementary School comes with a list of duties a mile long. Lead. Manage. Mediate. Discipline. Plan. Perform. Succeed. "The school business is dynamic and changing," said Warren, 51, an educator for 20 years. "To anybody just getting into it now, it can be overwhelming." While there is a strong supply of school leaders in the pipeline, many principals in schools now and coming up through the ranks aren't prepared for the work it takes to lead 21st century schools, a study released this month by the Southern Regional Education Board says. Since 2002, the Atlanta-based group has studied what progress its 16 member states, including Georgia, have made to better prepare their principals for success.
District easing leap to first grade
UNION CITY At the start of this academic year, Evelyn Owusu's son struggled to make the transition from kindergarten to first grade. He had to adjust to longer school days and more difficult course work. "The curriculum is quite intensive. ... There's so much students need to know before first grade," said Owusu, who has decided that the traditional half-day kindergarten class isn't enough to prepare children for the next level of schooling. So Owusu hopes to enroll her daughter, Yaa Serwaa, in the New Haven school district's new midyear kindergarten class. Billed as a readiness program, the midyear, or "junior kindergarten," class is tailored for children who will turn 5 between Dec. 3 and March 23, to prepare them for kindergarten the following school year. She then plans to place Yaa Serwaa in an all-day kindergarten program next year so that when the time comes, the switch to first grade won't be as difficult for her as it's been for her brother.
|
