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Mayor: Crime Prompted Hazleton Crackdown

AP Online March 15, 2007 SCRANTON, Pa. – A crime surge in a former coal town prompted a crackdown on illegal immigrants, the mayor testified Thursday as he defended the ordinance against claims that it is unconstitutional. see here illegal immigration statistics

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta said violent crime spiked 60 percent between 2003 and 2006, driving businesses away and making residents afraid to come out of their homes. Within weeks last spring, he said illegal immigrants were arrested for fatally shooting a man, shooting a playground with a BB gun and dealing drugs.

“People were demanding that something be done,” Barletta said on the fourth day of a trial to determine the constitutionality of Hazleton’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act.

“I understand those who say the federal government is in charge of regulating immigration,” Barletta said. “However, these crimes are being committed on our streets.” The ordinance, passed last summer, imposes fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and denies business permits to companies that employ them. A companion measure requires tenants to register with City Hall.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued to overturn the measures, saying the federal government has jurisdiction over immigration matters. Enforcement of the laws was barred pending trial, the first to examine local efforts to curb illegal immigration. go to web site illegal immigration statistics

Statistics show that illegal immigrants were responsible for less than one percent of the more than 8,000 crimes in the city between 2001 and 2006, ACLU lawyer Witold “Vic” Walczak said.

“I don’t have a dollar for one of them,” replied Barletta, who is facing a budget deficit. “We don’t have a dollar or an extra policeman for one of them.”

CORRECTION – Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5 denvernuggetsschedule.org denver nuggets schedule

Getty Images May 27, 2009 | Kevork Djansezian

Getty Images 05-27-2009 CORRECTION – Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5

Full Size JPG (206 KB) EDITORS NOTE – THE DATE IN THE DATELINE WAS SENT OUT INCORRECTLY ON GETTY IMAGES PHOTOS # GYI0057543528.jpg AND GYI0057543584.jpg. BOTH PHOTOS WERE TAKEN ON THE 27TH.LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 27: Chauncey Billups #7 of the Denver Nuggets puts a shot up over Trevor Ariza #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 27, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) see here denver nuggets schedule

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Pokemon to Host International Video Game and Trading Card Game Championships August 16-17.

China Weekly News August 26, 2008 Pokemon USA, Inc., the worldwide leader in trading card games and video games, announced details for both the 2008 Pokemon(R) Trading Card Game (TCG) World Championships as well as the first-ever Pokemon Video Game Showdown, which will pit the most skilled Pokemon video game players from the U.S. and Japan against one another in a battle to determine the ultimate champion. Both events will take place August 16-17 at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, bringing together hundreds of Pokemon fans from around the globe. site pokemon diamond pokedex

The Pokemon Video Game Showdown will feature 64 of the most talented players from the U.S. and Japan competing in two different age divisions. U.S. qualifiers were selected from two regional tournaments held in Los Angeles and New York on July 12 and July 19, respectively. Over 1,000 players from ages 6 to 43 came from all over the country to battle playing Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl for the opportunity to compete against the best players from Japan. Participants will strive for the chance to call themselves a champion and win a grand prize that includes a six-day vacation package for four to New York City, Honolulu, or Tokyo. Runners up will win custom Nintendo DS(TM) game systems and special Pokemon prize packs. go to site pokemon diamond pokedex

The 2008 Pokemon Trading Card Game World Championships follow a record-setting U.S. National Championships in June, which drew nearly 1,000 competitors. Hundreds of players from nearly 30 countries will compete in the invite-only event for the title of Pokemon TCG World Champion. The top 32 winners in each of the three age divisions will be awarded various Pokemon prizes and merchandise, including scholarship awards worth more than $100,000.

Pokemon has proved its dominance over the past 10 years as one of the most successful kid’s franchises of all-time. The Pokemon animated series is broadcast in more than 30 countries in over 25 languages. Nintendo’s Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl games sold more than 1 million copies in the first five days and more than 14 million copies since their launch. The Pokemon Trading Card Game is the number one collectible trading card game and boasts over 80,000 organized play members. Both championship events will promote the fun of the trading card and video games as players are required to use skill, strategy, and creativity to play.

Learning on their laptops Dist. 54 to provide some grades with iBooks.(News)

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) February 25, 2003 | Singh, Shruti Date Byline: Shruti Date Singh Daily Herald Staff Writer Dooley School teacher Jennifer Antonson is excited about the prospect of each of her students getting a laptop computer.

Her sixth-graders could research and write their English papers right at their desks, and they could read about history for social studies as current events occur, Antonson pointed out.

“I think back 20 years ago. A school wouldn’t even consider not having a set of encyclopedias,” said Antonson from her Schaumburg school. “This is a new resource every child should have access to.” Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 plans to give every student in grades four, five and six an Apple iBook laptop to use during the school year. The District 54 school board approved the project on Thursday. in our site ibooks for mac

The laptops will be phased in over the next three years. This fall, District 54 will provide laptops to about 1,700 students in seven of its 22 elementary schools. Another seven or eight elementary schools will receive laptops for their fourth-, fifth- and sixth graders beginning in the 2004-2005 school year. The remaining elementary schools will receive laptops for students in these grades beginning in the 2005-2006 school year. When the program is at its peak, about 5,100 students and dozens of staff members will work daily on laptops.

Each phase will cost about $2.1 million for hardware, software, training and support.

Officials said despite the budgetary constraints school districts face in this tough economy, they plan to pay for the program by reallocating money, and they won’t dip into reserves.

District 54 spokesperson Terri McHugh said each year the district spends money for various types of technology – from software licenses to desktop computers. She said, for example, in the upcoming school year the district would not need to buy desktop computers and would buy laptops instead.

The district this spring will choose the seven schools that will receive the first batch of Apple iBooks, based on current technology network and skills and strength of leadership in the building.

District 54 officials said along with books and blackboards, in this day and age laptops are logical learning tools for English, science, social studies or any other subject.

“We believe technology has to be woven into the subject,” said Marianne Zito, District 54 assistant superintendent for instructional services. “This is a modern-day book.” Zito said through the use of laptops, the district intends to enhance reading and writing skills, improve students’ connection with outside resources in a monitored environment and beef up technical skills. website ibooks for mac

She said the district hopes to equip these students with computer skills they can use in high school, college and the workforce.

“It certainly opens up the door to see what skills they will need in the future,” she said.

Through a pilot program conducted this fall in nine classrooms, students used the laptops to write journals, create presentations and do research on the Internet. District officials said teacher, parents and student surveys revealed the children were more motivated to work on assignments in school and at home, and they spent more time reading and writing.

Students also took laptops home everyday, which enabled them to show parents exactly what they did at school that day – something that moms and dads always want to know.

District officials said the results of the pilot program gave them qualitative information, but the program is too new for firm quantitative data about the improvement in literacy or technical skills.

Indeed, District 54 is one of just a handful of educational institutions implementing this program.

The Maine Department of Education launched an initiative this school year through which all seventh-grade students and teachers across the state receive iBooks. The department plans to provide all eighth-graders with laptops beginning the next school year.

When the $37 million state-funded Maine Learning Technology Initiative is in full swing, nearly 36,000 students and teachers will receive these laptops.

Tony Sprague, project manager of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, said it’s too early to make definitive judgments about the benefits, but the enthusiasm the laptops generate among students is evident.

He said during a pilot program the state conducted last academic year, attendance improved dramatically during the nine weeks students received the laptops.

Henrico County Public Schools, a Virginia school system that provides laptops to nearly 25,000 high school and middle school students and teachers, also has noticed some preliminary benefits. The $21 million laptop program began in 2001.

School officials said last year, scores for the U.S. history section of the standardized high school U.S. Standard of Learning exam jumped 20 points from the year before. U.S. history was the only completely digitized subject in the district.

“They’ve benefited by all having access. When you look how fast info moves … this is the way the world is moving,” said Janet Binns, director of public relations for the Henrico County Public Schools.

Singh, Shruti Date

HAVING FUN SERVING OTHERS; Alternative spring-breakers forgo bars, beach.(FAMILY TIMES)

The Washington Times (Washington, DC) March 23, 2003 Byline: Alexandra Rockey Fleming, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Boston College junior Jeff Capotosto needed a break from the daily grind. Like most students, he hit the road, hoping to put some miles between himself and the stress and responsibility that riddle higher education. Mr. Capotosto’s spring break – unlike those of many of his peers – didn’t include any tequila shots, no honeycomb of revelers crashing cheap motels, no random hookups with unknown coeds. He traveled to Washington instead – on his own dime. Here the 21-year-old and his compatriots spent a week laying insulation and posting drywall on a couple of houses in projects supervised by D.C. Habitat, an affiliate of Habit for Humanity International, the Christian nonprofit housing organization based in Americus, Ga.

Nearly 30,000 students nationwide will participate in some type of alternative spring break this year, says Dan McCabe, executive director of Break Away, a national nonprofit group that assists colleges and communities in promoting alternative break programs. Organizers say this type of trip appeals to students who want to make new friends, help other people, learn about different cultures and experience a new environment – minus the bacchanal more frequently associated with spring break.

Before his trip, Mr. Capotosto said he was confident that his vacation, organized through Boston College’s service group, Appalachian Volunteers, would be a great opportunity – “everyone coming together for a cause,” he says.

“A lot of times you’re worried about your own life,” he says. “This is a week where you can actually do something for someone else. It’s a nice thing to do that’s also rewarding for everyone involved.” +++++ Concerns The three B’s booze, beaches and bikinis commonly are linked to spring break in the minds of many students. Some considerations for parents of teens who are planning spring-break vacations include:

* Many “all-inclusive trips” to foreign destinations such as the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada include all-you-can-drink parties, booze cruises, unlimited open bar and parties sponsored by liquor distributors where alcohol is distributed free of charge.

* The drinking age is 18 or 19 in Mexico, Canada and much of the Caribbean, and in many of these places the age limits are only modestly enforced, if at all. alcoholpoisoningsymptomsnow.net alcohol poisoning symptoms

* U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the country they are visiting. If a teen is arrested, there is little if anything that the State Department can do to help. Also, medical care in many resort areas often is inadequate to respond to drinking and other substance-related crises.

* Although some travel companies provide adult chaperones, these adults are not responsible for monitoring students’ alcohol or drug consumption or sexual activity.

* Many young people don’t know the signs of alcohol poisoning. Symptoms include the following: The person doesn’t respond when spoken to, pinched or poked; the person vomits when passed out; the person cannot stand up or remain standing without aid; the person has a very slow rate of breathing fewer than six breaths per minute; he has bluish or purplish or clammy skin that feels cool to the touch; his pulse is slower than 40 beats per minute.

Source: Students Against Destructive Decisions +++++ More info Books * “The Uncollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College,” by Danielle Wood, ReganBooks, 2000. This book includes ideas and resources on opportunities for adventures around the world; internships, apprenticeships and training programs; and community service projects.

* “The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Adventures: Internships, Extraordinary Experiences, Seasonal Jobs, Volunteering, Working Abroad,” by Michael Landes, Ten Speed Press, 2002. This guide contains more than 1,000 opportunities to work, play, learn and help, introducing readers to previously unconsidered options. this web site alcohol poisoning symptoms

* “Don’t Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money: The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years,” by Helen E. Johnson and Christine Schelhas-Miller, Griffin Trade, 2000. Using case examples and real-life dialogue, this book shows how parents may have lost control over their college student, but they haven’t lost influence.

Online * SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, (www.sadd-online.com) has identified spring break as a time of year when teens are particularly at risk. Its Safe Spring Break Campaign offers a safety kit that includes materials that warn young people about some of the dangers of underage drinking. SADD also encourages young people to turn their energies to community-service projects that will strengthen and improve their communities. The Spring Break Safety Kit includes ideas and information about community-service projects that teens can organize that will provide opportunities for teens to get together, have fun and accomplish a worthwhile objective over spring break.

* Break Away (www.alternativebreaks.org), a national nonprofit organization, provides workshops and facilitates a network to connect nonprofit groups that need volunteers with the goal of having students become lifelong participants in community service.

* Youth Service America (www.ysa.org) is a resource center and alliance of more than 300 organizations committed to increasing the quantity and quality of opportunities for young Americans to serve locally, nationally or globally.

CAPTION(S):

Boston College junior Jeff Capotosto helps repair the house for D.C. Habitat, an affiliate of the nonprofit organization. “This is a week where you can actually do something for someone else,” he says. “It’s a nice thing to do that’s also rewarding for everyone involved.” [Photo by Jessica Tefft/The Washington Times] Boston College students and AmeriCorps workers put siding on a Habitat for Humanity house in a Northeast community in the District. Nearly 30,000 students nationwide will participate in some type of alternative spring break this year, says an official of a nonprofit group. [Photo by Jessica Tefft/The Washington Times] Natalie Battle, a junior at George Mason University, traded sand, sun and relaxation for an alternative break in New York City. There she spent a week caring for victims of HIV/AIDS via the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an AIDS advocacy and education organization. [Photo by Jessica Tefft/The Washington Times]