Daily Archives: March 27, 2022

Family mourns Clovis Marine veteran killed in crash30 mins ago

Suspected gas thief arrested in Clovis, police say2 days ago

Several seasonal heat records have been broken recently2 days ago

On Your Side: Door Dash driver loses two days worth2 days ago

Fresno Police Department pledges to have 30% female2 days ago

Troubled trailer park clashes over future ownership2 days ago

Karbassi unloads on two of his council colleagues,2 days ago

Exclusive: CA Senator Hurtado says California is2 days ago

Fresyes Fest returns to Downtown Fresno after pandemic2 days ago

Fresno Police offering $5000 reward for information3 days ago

This democrat believes he can pull off a major upset3 days ago

This political newcomer believes his foreign policy3 days ago

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Exclusive: Fresno councilman Karbassi unloads on his democrat colleagues following unprecedented audit vote, Soria and Arias are holding the council...

Rep. Ro KhannaRohit (Ro) KhannaSunday shows preview: US, allies up pressure on Russia; Jackson undergoes confirmation hearings Gas prices lead to tensions within Democratic Party A chance to improve research MORE (D-Calif.) on Sunday sought to clarify President BidenJoe BidenRussian rocket attacks wound five in western Ukraine city of Lviv If we de-list the IRGC, what will the dictators think? Biden to propose minimum tax on billionaires in budget MORE's recent off-the-cuff remarks concerning Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinRussian rocket attacks wound five in western Ukraine city of Lviv If we de-list the IRGC, what will the dictators think? Putin's war against Ukrainian civilians is not new nor will it work MORE remaining in power, stating that there was no policy for regime change among congressional Democrats.

On Saturday, Biden gave a speech in Warsaw, Poland in which he said Putin "cannot remain in power." This comment drew widespread international attention, with observers wondering if Biden was calling for a regime change. The White House quickly walked back Biden's remark, sayingthe president meant that Putin should not have power over countries outside of Russia.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Khanna said the president was likely "frustrated" after meeting with refugees who fled Ukraine.

"Look, when Putin inMariupol is bombing theatres with 300 kids there,where there's a sign saying 'children' and he's bombing that, any human being would express frustration," Khanna said. "And the president was speaking from his heart, but it's not the U.S. policy to seek regime change."

"Fox News Sunday"hostJohn Roberts noted that Biden has a "propensity to sometimes say the quiet part out loud."

"The president, I think, is a straight shooter. He's deeply empathetic. I'm sure he's so frustrated with these scenes of children, women being killed," Khanna said.

"It's not the policy of regime change there's no support in the Democratic Congress for regime change. We've been the party against regime change for the past 20 years."

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Khanna: 'There's no support in the Democratic Congress for regime change' | TheHill - The Hill

If you want an indication of how completely the Democrats have been transformed from the workingmens party to the party of affluent professionals, consider how intensely progressives are pressuring President Biden to extend for the sixth time the freeze on college-loan repayments.

This is class war and the folks with 21st-century versions of monocles and top hats are winning.

The people who have college loans to pay back are, on average, pretty well-off. Thats no surprise: Only one in three working-age Americans are college graduates, and college graduates earn more money than people who have only high-school diplomas. So do people who go to college but dont get a degree. College-loan forgiveness is first and foremost a government handout to people who have higher-than-average incomes.

If you know anything about higher education, you will not be surprised to learn that the people with the most college debt are the people with the highest incomes. Those big loans usually dont come from financing a liberal-arts degree at an Ivy League college: The elite schools have big money of their own, which is why, for example, the vast majority of Princeton graduates finish with no student debt at all, while the small share who do take out loans typically finish with less with debt less than $10,000.

Instead, the big loans usually go toward financing graduate studies, especially professional education: law school, medical school, MBAs, and other preparation for high-paying careers. Americans sometimes forget where the money actually lands in our economy: Your local junior-high principal doesnt have Jeff Bezos money, but he makes nearly $20,000 a year more than the typical architect, earning just shy of $100,000 on average in 2020,according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That guy can afford to pay his student loans. So can his lawyer ($126,930 average salary) and the local nurse practitioner ($117,670), who earns about as much money as the typical aerospace engineer ($118,610).

Policy analysts, including progressives, who take the time to run the numbers consistently, come to the same conclusion: Every program for college-loan forgiveness under serious consideration disproportionately benefits high-income people. Astudy by the University of PennsylvaniasSylvain Catherineand the University of Chicagos Constantine Yannelisfinds that a universal debt-forgiveness program would benefit earners in the top 10% five times as much as those at the bottom; capping forgiveness at $50,000 or even at $10,000 would produce similar results, providing much more benefit to the well-off than to those who are struggling. As the scholars note, this is true in large part because big student loans go along with big incomes.

The poorest Americans wont benefit much from college-loan forgiveness for the same reason they dont benefit from income-tax cuts the same affluent people who pay most of the income taxes also have most of the college debt.

The COVID-era freeze on repayments already has provided$200 billion in benefitsfor borrowers who have relatively high incomes. Thats $200 billion out of the pockets of U.S. taxpayers including low-income taxpayers. If we want to relieve the debts of the poor, we could pay off the credit-card balances of the lowest-earning 20% of US households for half that much money. For the full $200 billion, we could buy a $350,000 house for everyhomeless person in the United States. Instead, we are transferring that money to the nations poor, struggling personal-injury lawyers, suburban dentists, and generously compensated McKinsey dorks.

Why?

Because Democrats prefer to use your money when buying votes. In the United States, the cities are Democratic and the countryside is Republican the real political contest is in the suburbs, which is where those affluent, college-educated professionals live and vote.

The Democrats are happy to help the rich get richer, as long as they vote the right way.

Kevin D. Williamson is the author of Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the Real America.

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Student loan forgiveness proves Democrats are the party of the rich - New York Post

High school students across New Jersey, take note. You would get to sleep in a little later before class under a new proposal spurred by what experts and officials say is a growing mental health crisis among young people.

Two lawmakers, including the leader of the state Assembly, introduced a bill this week that would require classes start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. at New Jersey high schools, beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

The measure would apparently not apply to elementary or middle schools.

Delaying school start times has been debated for years in the Garden State. Its now one of many issues that have been revisited in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, and state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, said the new bill (A3816) is inspired by concern over the mental health of children and teens after two years of upheaval because of COVID-19. Many were already reporting alarming rates of depression and anxiety even before the pandemic.

Earlier this month, experts and advocates told state lawmakers New Jersey students are suffering amid a national mental health crisis.

Ensuring students are getting enough rest is an important first step toward addressing the alarming rise in student mental health issues were seeing in New Jersey, Gopal said.

Coughlin said students are better prepared to succeed in school when they are well rested and eat nutritious meals.

Overwhelmingly, the research and success stories out of other states school districts show that the benefits of later start times to students holistic well-being, in terms of both mental health and academic performance, easily outweigh the costs, he said.

One of the biggest arguments against the idea: Opponents say later start times could disrupt extracurricular activities, including sports, and cause problems for child care and busing schedules.

Gov. Phil Murphy told Politico New Jersey on Friday morning that he is open to the proposal.

Theres a fair amount of research that suggests its a better way to go to start later, Murphy said after an unrelated event at a school in Chatham. Im absolutely open-minded to that.

The bill would need to be passed by both the state Senate and Assembly and signed by Murphy to become law.

The vast majority of New Jersey middle and high schools currently begin before 8:30 a.m.

The average start time for New Jersey schools is 7:51 a.m., compared to the national average of 8 a.m., according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

California a state Murphy has often sought to emulate enacted a law in 2019 pushing start times to 8 a.m. for middle schoolers and 8:30 a.m. for high schoolers.

Then-Gov. Chris Christie signed a law in 2015 requiring the New Jersey Department of Education of study the feasibility and possible benefits or consequences of starting the day at middle and high schools no later than 8:30 a.m.

The education department released a report in 2019 saying teenagers would likely benefit from later start times, but the state shouldnt force the change because it would cause a logistical nightmare.

The same year, Murphy signed a law that required the state to experiment with starting classes after 8:30 a.m. at five high schools.

A number of organizations including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have suggested delaying school start times to align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents.

Experts say those rhythms cause teenagers to go to bed later and thus, school would need to start later to accommodate their need for 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights. Those who are deprived of sleep can suffer physical and mental health problems and experience a drop in academic performance, experts say.

The new proposal has the support of New Jerseys chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Jeanne Craft, the chapters president, said research show later start times for adolescents contribute to better academic performance, quality of life, mental health, and school attendance.

Still, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators has said schools that delayed start times received complaints from parents. One major concern is how much longer students will stay up if classes begin later in the morning.

State Sen. Richard Codey, a former governor, has long supported later start times and said he is all in on the new bill.

Theres not too many pediatricians who wont say were right, Codey, D-Essex, told NJ Advance Media. Their safety and their ability to learn is impacted negatively. Thats the biggest issue.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Matt Arco contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.

Adam Clark may be reached at aclark@njadvancemedia.com.

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N.J. high schools would start later in the day under top Democrats bill. Murphy is open to it. - NJ.com

(Piscataway) A special meeting of the Piscataway Democratic Organization (PDO) was held this month to screen candidates for the ward council seats.

Incumbents Frank Uhrin (Ward 1), Jim Bullard (Ward 2) and Michele Lombardi (Ward 4), along with Sharon Carmichael (Ward 3) were overwhelmingly endorsed by the PDO committee members. Uhrin, Bullard, Carmichael and Lombardi are committed to delivering exceptional services and programming, ensuring fiscal stability, government transparency, protecting our environment and delivering real results for all residents of Piscataway.

The special meeting was presided over by Councilwoman Gabrielle Cahill, new Democratic Chair. After decades of dynamic leadership, former Mayor and PDO Chairman, Ted Light retired from his official role in the organization at the January meeting passing the torch to Cahill. Together, we have built a strong local grassroots Democratic Party of inclusion, diversity and shared values here in our community and I am honored to have been able to work with dedicated people every step of the way, said Light. It is time for a new chapter and Gabrielle brings new ideas and motivational leadership while maintaining the core Democratic values that our organization has long stood for, Light added.

Ted has led us through two very challenging elections during the height of the pandemic never missing a beat. As the Covid-19 public health crisis raged Ted worked to make sure that voters rights were protected as he led the team to victory delivering big Piscataway numbers for President Biden in 2020 and Governor Murphy in 2021 and all our state, county and local candidates including myself, said Cahill. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his tireless leadership and devotion to our township, this organization, Cahill concluded. Cahill will now lead the organization through the next campaign cycle that has Piscataway favorite, Congressman Frank Pallone topping the ticket along with the Middlesex County County candidates, two of which are former Piscataway council members, Sheriff Millie Scott and Chanelle Scott McCullum.

Locally, the Ward 3 Council vacancy was created by the retirement of long-time Councilman Steve Cahn, an attorney and former Marine. Cahn spearheaded the groundbreaking ordinance prohibiting the sale of guns and ammunition near schools garnering nationwide acclaim and the support of the Brady Campaign to end gun violence. Cahn supporting his successors candidacy said, Sharon Carmichael is a brilliant professional who is dedicated to our community. Her experience and proven leadership qualities will be an asset to our Mayor and Council and I am looking forward campaigning door to door with her, Cahn said. Carmichael, a senior level professional working in voice recognition technology at AT&T holds degrees in mathematics and computer science. She has lived in town for 36 years and was active in PTO, Little League, Pop Warner and the Superchief Band Parents Association while raising her three very accomplished children. Carmichael is a steward and long-standing member of the North Stelton AME Church. Carmichael spoke passionately about her work with the church and with NJ Orators, an organization devoted to training youth in public speaking where she served as a volunteer coach and competition director.

The PDO members are excited to work on behalf of the entire team for the upcoming June 7th Primary Election. Joining Cahill on the PDO leadership team as PDO Vice- Chair is Ward 2 District 2 Committee Member Dennis Espinosa. Dennis brings energy, enthusiasm and the keen ability to move our organization forward. He is a team builder who embodies Democratic ideals and we all are looking forward to an exciting campaign cycle, said Cahill.

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A special meeting of the Piscataway Democratic Organization (PDO) was held this month to screen candidates for the ward council seats. - InsiderNJ

The Yolo County Office of Education hosted its Yolo County Elected Leaders & Officials Forum this week, which provided an update on the state of education in the county.

The forum, held Friday morning, included updates from all five school districts within Yolo County and an introduction of Congressman Mike Thompson who will represent most of Yolo County excluding West Sacramento due to redistricting.

Congressman John Garamendi, who has represented Yolo County for nearly a decade, attended the event to reintroduce Thompson to the community.

Joining you today is a brother that I know is dedicated to getting it done, Garamendi emphasized. Mike Thompson has represented this area previously and hes back to represent Yolo and a good portion of Solano County.

Garamendi noted that although he still represents a portion of Solano County he wont be able to represent Yolo County in all the ways he has in the past.

Ill work with Mike to make sure that youre well represented and the things that weve worked on over the years will be able to continue, Garamendi assured.

Thompson reassured Garamendis remarks and noted he will work to ensure that education in the county gets what it needs.

Everybody knows how tough the last couple of years have been and teachers, staff and administrators have been faced with just unimaginable hurdles, he highlighted. Nonetheless, you pulled through, youre working hard and youre providing the education that our students deserve.

However, he stressed that times are still tough as the school districts continue having to maneuver through the pandemic.

We need to make sure that were there for our students, for our staff and for our teachers and thats the commitment that I made to you, Thompson emphasized. I love Yolo County and look forward to working with all of you so thank you again for all that you do.

Elodia Ortega-Lampkin, superintendent for Woodland Joint Unified School District, delivered a presentation detailing the districts board-approved local control and accountability goals:

These goals had a lot of input from our community and many stakeholders and we have not had any controversy on the focus of these goals, Ortega-Lampkin emphasized. Were working on making these goals a reality.

Additionally, Ortega-Lampkin remarked on the difficulties that the pandemic has created for her district and others around the county while commending the work that has been done to keep students engaged and learning.

I hope that we continue to address the needs of our students with the same urgency that we have done with the pandemic, she began. I think that if we continue working together in that same manner with that same urgency and that some focus we will make a difference.

Maria Arvizu-Espinoza, associate superintendent for the Yolo County Office of Education, also highlighted the problem of absenteeism and lower enrollment rates that the pandemic has caused across schools in California.

Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is down by 9% among California school districts when comparing the 2019-2020 school year to this year with an ADA of 4.7 million students compared to 5.2 million students two years ago, according to Arvizu-Espinoza.

Certainly the pandemic is a large part of the chronic absenteeism and lower average daily attendance that were experiencing, Arvizu-Espinoza explained. Its really important to get kids back in school, enrolled and actually showing up again. We know that attendance is critical and its the number one signal of dropouts and graduation rates.

Garth Lewis, Yolo County superintendent of schools, thanked all of the speakers who attended the event for their enthusiasm and spirit in serving the countys students.

The future is bright for Yolo County children and I just want to express our gratitude for our partnership and the ability for all of us to share the responsibility in the health and the well-being and education of our students, Lewis stressed.

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Elected leaders discuss the future of education in Yolo County - Woodland Daily Democrat