Skip to main content.

Archives

This is the archive for June 2007

Friday, June 29, 2007

Courier Staff Report

The house party where 2007 Logan graduate Biniam Yifru died was in high gear until it turned into a scene of horror.

Yifru died early Saturday morning after being shot in the head at a party hosted by another recent graduate at the home of Logan House Principal Beth Davies.

"I was dancing. The party was what you would call "crackin'," a witness told The Courier. "I saw a couple of Decoto dudes, but I didn't think they would cause trouble. then all I see is the lights go on, and people fighting.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

By Robert Mitchum
Chicago Tribune (MCT)


June, 2007 cover of Science
CHICAGO — Older brothers and sisters, there's a reason you're the smart one in the family.

A new study adds support to theories that nurture, not nature, is behind the long-observed tendency for first-born children to be more intelligent than their siblings.

The study, published in current issue of the journal Science, analyzed a database of a quarter-million men born between 1967 and 1986. Results indicate that environmental factors — in this case a child's "social rank" among his siblings determine intelligence level.

Since the late 19th century, scientists have wondered whether the order in which children are born affects their intelligence and personality. In 1973, a study of 400,000 Dutchmen found a relationship between birth order and intelligence, with average IQ scores decreasing from firstborns through younger siblings.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Three James Logan High School students won individual awards as Logan walked away with another unofficial national championship at the National Forensic League tournament last week in Wichita, Kansas.

Sophomore Cameron Steele finished first in Humorous Interpretation and juniors Taron Grizzell and Karen Joshi finished first in Duo Interpretation as Coach Tommie Lindsey’s team won School of Excellence awards in both speech and debate. It marked the 10th consecutive year that Logan has won a School of Excellence award.

By Michelle Caruso
New York Daily News (MCT)

LOS
ANGELES — Ron Goldman's family wants TMZ.com to pay big bucks in damages for posting O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" online Tuesday, destroying the book's potential value in the publishing market.

The Goldmans had fought for months in court to win rights to the manuscript and were "just days away" from a legal settlement that would have allowed them to sell it to a publisher and keep the proceeds, Goldman lawyer Jonathan Polak said.

"It's reprehensible," said Polak, who suspects someone in Simpson's camp leaked the text to spite the Goldmans.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Courier Staff Report


Biniam Yifru's senior yearbook picture.
The grieving family of slain new Logan graduate Biniam Yifru has scheduled memorial services for him.

Yifru died early Saturday morning after being shot in the head at a party hosted by another recent graduate at the home of Logan House Principal Beth Davies.

Visitation for Yifru, the 2007 Logan High graduate will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Fremont Memorial Chapel, 3723 Peralta Blvd., Fremont. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the same location.

Contributions to aid the family can be sent to the Chapel of the Roses, 1940 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA 94536 .

By Howard Witt
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

HOUSTON, Texas — There are a lot of necessary but unpleasant things — landfills, chemical plants and halfway houses being just a few — that can cause concerned homeowners to rush to the local zoning board to declare, "Not in my back yard!"

But some folks in the small central Texas city of San Marcos recently dodged the ultimate NIMBY nightmare: a forensic research facility comprised of dozens of dead human bodies left out in the open to rot.

By Buddy Collings
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — In a case watched closely for a decade by state athletic associations across the country — including Florida's — the Supreme Court said Thursday that rules limiting the recruitment of high school athletes do not violate coaches' free-speech rights.

The unanimous decision, a reversal of a lower-court ruling, was hailed as a victory by the Florida High School Athletic Association and other governing bodies.

"This solidifies that we can establish and enforce rules to maintain the integrity of our programs," said Sonny Hester, an FHSAA associate commissioner for compliance. "Our coaches are specifically told if a parent or kid asks about their program, they are to be directed to the admissions office."

Monday, June 25, 2007

Family, friends and co-workers of long-time New Haven Schools employee Dolly Alfonso will gather today to view her remains in preparation for its interrment on Wednesday morning.

Alfonso was killed in an automobile accident in the Coalinga area when returning from a trip to Southern California last week.

By Robert Mitchum
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

CHICAGO — Weighing over a ton, with slender legs twice as tall as a man, a toothless beak and ornamental feathers on its arms, the newly discovered Gigantoraptor was the Goliath of bird-like dinosaurs.

The species, discovered by fossil hunters in Inner Mongolia, could not fly but had avian characteristics including a beak and lightweight, hollow bones. Roughly 25 feet long and more than 16 feet tall, the dinosaur would have towered over its turkey-sized relatives.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

By Kirsten Scharnberg
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

CHICAGO — The young combat veteran stared at the letter in disbelief when it arrived in his mailbox a few months ago.

The Marine Corps was recommending him for "other than honorable discharge." The letter alleged he had violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice by wearing part of his uniform during an anti-war rally. Furthermore, the letter accused him of being "disloyal," a word hard to swallow for a man who had risked his life to serve his nation.

"All this because I have publicly opposed the war in Iraq since I came back from it," said former Marine Sgt. Liam Madden, 22.

Madden is not alone.

By VOA News


Mahmoud Abbas
U.S.Gov.photo
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has formed a panel of inquiry to look at the failure of security forces to prevent the militant group Hamas from staging a violent revolt in Gaza.

A government statement Saturday says the commission will be headed by Zakariya al-Agha. He is a leader of Mr. Abbas' Fatah party in Gaza.

By Michael Doyle
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)


The U.S. Supreme Court building.
U.S. government photo
WASHINGTON — The Constitution protects car passengers as well as drivers from illegal search and seizures, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In a case arising out of a late-night stop in California's Central Valley, the court agreed that passengers enjoy the same constitutional guarantees as drivers. When a car is stopped, both driver and passenger are in police hands and therefore can't be searched without due cause, the court ruled.

"A person is seized by the police and thus entitled to challenge the government's action under the Fourth Amendment when the officer by means of physical force or show of authority terminates or restrains his freedom of movement," Justice David Souter wrote.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

By Greg Gordon
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)


Judge Royce Lamberth
WASHINGTON — The former chief judge of a secret national security court took a swipe Saturday at the administration's recently halted domestic spying program and said he insisted from the outset that the information gleaned must not be co-mingled with intelligence gathered under court warrants.

Because of that precaution, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said, he never had to rule on whether President Bush had the power to launch the separate, warrantless spying program in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Lamberth's seven-year term on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ended in May 2002.

By Tommy Tomlinson
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)


wikipedia photo
CHARLESTON, S.C. — There was no need for the invocation or the benediction.

There was no need for the national anthem sung by a trio or taps played by a lonely trumpet.

There was no need for the mayor or the governor or the dignitary who brought words from the president.

All you needed for the memorial service was what you saw Friday morning when you walked through the door and down the steps.

Nine caskets, side by side.



Wednesday, June 20, 2007

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

The Board of Education on Tuesday night approved the 2007-08 budget and multi-year projections for 2008-09 and 2009-10.

The $105.1 million budget for 2007-08 reflects the realities of declining enrollment – it is expected that about 200 fewer students will be enrolled in the fall than this year, equating to approximately $1.1 million less in state revenue. Salaries and benefits account for 95 percent of the unrestricted general fund (85 percent is desirable). A 4.53 cost-of-living adjustment will be passed through to employees, per the District’s multi-year agreements with the New Haven Teachers Association, California School Employees Association and New Haven Administrators Association.





Tuesday, June 19, 2007

By Jim Malone, VOA News
Washington


Virgil Goode
The war in Iraq and immigration reform continue to dominate the political debate in Washington. While much of the debate takes place in the halls of Congress, small but influential grass roots groups are making themselves heard in a big way, both in Washington and nationally.

Take the issue of immigration reform. Congressional efforts to pass a reform bill have stalled for the time being, in part because conservative Republicans like Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia oppose efforts to create a path to U.S. citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

"My message to them is, not in two weeks, not in two months, not in two years, never! We must be clear that we will not surrender America and we will not turn the United States over to the invaders from south of the border," said Goode.



Sunday, June 17, 2007

By Scott Canon and Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)


U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of
Multi-National Corps - Iraq, inspects Zaganiyah Patrol
Base in Iraq with U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Royce Manis, right.

DoD photo
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The day after the U.S. military declared its Iraq surge at full strength, the No. 2 commander in Iraq appeared frustrated Saturday as he was briefed on progress in the restive neighborhood of Dora, an al-Qaida stronghold in west Baghdad.

"I guess I thought we'd make a little more progress," Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said at a combat outpost in the Dora market.

Odierno said he considered Friday the first day of President Bush's Iraq surge, with the last of 28,500 additional troops declared in place. Some of those added troops had already were beginning operations in violence-prone areas, including restive Arab Jubour south of the capital, where Odierno said "we've never had a presence."

Friday, June 15, 2007

By Michelle Raskin, Courier Staff Writer


Seniors and administrators practiced
their roles in the Graduation Ceremony
Friday morning.
Courier Photo
Okay, Seniors, the time has come to walk the stage, look back at all that you have accomplished and look forward to all that you are about to do. The big day is tomorrow, starting at 9:00 a.m. ending around 11:00 a.m.

Seniors practiced their roles in the graduation ceremony this morning.

The graduates must be here at Logan, in the Colt Court at 8:00 a.m. to line up. The gates will open up for the parents at 7:30; seating it first come, first served.





By Jagdeep Singh, Courier Staff Writer

Antonin Turgeon, a junior at James Logan High School won two awards at the Mission Valley ROP 2nd Annual Multimedia Fest of 2007 last month.

Turgeon, who enrolled in the computer Animation ROP class here at Logan, won in two categories. He told The Courier that he usually does computer animation design, for which he won an award for his “Billiard Ball Computer design. He also decided to participate in
the graphic category, in which he won an award for his “Metalclick” computer graphic.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

By Carmen Shiu, Courier Entertainment Editor


Logan seniors enjoy the Boardwalk and
each other.
Carmen Shiu/Courier Photo
A good time was had by Logan's seniors at their last get-together before graduating- — the annual Senior Picnic, held this year at the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk.

The senior class spent the day riding the famous wooden rollercoaster and the other rides at the beachfront fun zone, aided by special wristbands that gave them unlimited access to the rides while they were there.

By Yanira Romero and Sadaf Khan, Courier Staff Writers

The first annual M.E.CH.A. recycling program last week turned Logan's cast-off bottles and cans into more than $800 in scholarschips for club members.

The recycling program began in late September. Led by Gabriela Esquivez, James Logan Teacher and M.E.CH.A advisor, students belonging to the club also known as Mechistas, noticed that students on campus would throw items away rather than recycle them. This eventually sparked the idea of starting the program, she told The Courier.



Wednesday, June 13, 2007

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

UNION CITY - A television show promoting healthy eating, starring Searles Elementary School students and videotaped with the assistance of James Logan High School students, will make its debut Friday night.

The first of five episodes of “HEART Smart Cooking With Kids,” produced by the New Haven Unified School District’s Health Education and Resource Team (HEART), will air at 6 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Sunday on Comcast Channel 28 in Union City and Hayward. Ensuing episodes will air on Fridays and Sundays at the same times.

The show also can be seen on Channel 27 in Newark and Channel 29 in Fremont, on the same Friday/Sunday schedule.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

By Jeremy Manier
Chicago Tribune (MCT)


Dr. Anthony Atala
CHICAGO — Outside the bruising politics of stem cell research, scientists are rapidly moving beyond the black-and-white contrasts that have fueled the moral battle over their work.

Conservatives have staked out a position opposed to all stem cell research that involves the destruction of human embryos, championing methods that derive stem cells in other ways.

Advocates of embryonic stem cell research, on the other hand, argue that only embryo-derived cells can form any type of tissue, offering unique hope for diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes.

Courier Staff Report

James Rardin, Ramon Camacho and Megan Safford are this year's Teachers of the Year, their colleagues learned at a staff meeting Monday afternoon.

The three teachers won the titles after a process that involved nomination by their students, fellow teachers, adminisistrators and other staff members, and parents. A group of teachers and administrators then reviewed the nominations and narrowed the field to nine finalists: three from Houses One and Four, Houses Two and Five and Houses Three and Six.






Sunday, June 10, 2007

RIA Novosti (MCT)


President George Bush met with J-8 delegate
Kavitha at the G-8/J-8 Summit.

Photo:www.J8summit.com
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany — Youth delegates from G-8 member countries discussed climate change, economic development and AIDS with the leaders of the eight industrialized nations Thursday on the second day of the G-8 summit in Germany.

J-8 representatives, young people aged 14-17, met with leaders of the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Germany on the sidelines of the summit in a German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm. The meeting came as part of ongoing weeklong discussions between young G-8 representatives in the Baltic city port of Wismar, which will end this weekend.

During the meeting, the sides highlighted AIDS and poverty in African nations. A Russian delegate to the J-8 proposed reducing customs tariffs for African goods.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

By Greg Gordon
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — Representatives of three liberal-leaning groups came to the Justice Department in 2004, armed with evidence that hundreds of public-assistance agencies had illegally failed to offer voter registration to their mostly poor and minority clients.

Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act, which imposed the requirement, in 1993. But after these agencies registered 2.6 million people to vote in 1995-1996, the total registered plunged to about 1 million in 2003-2004.

Michael Slater, the Oregon-based deputy director of the national registration group Project Vote, said officials of the Justice Department's civil rights division showed little interest in enforcing that part of the law.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Courier Staff Report

More than 200 seniors and a squad of chaperones who partied all night long Disneyland-style will soon be roused out of their hotel beds to get on buses to go spend another night partying, this time Universal-Studios style.

The 254 graduating seniors boarded "deluxe motorcoaches" Thursday morning to take the circa 7-hour trip south to the Magic Kingdom. Some 21 chaperones, including parents, teachers, a Campus Security Technician, a counselor, and administrator and some significant others, tagged along to keep order and join the party, or parties, to be more exact.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

By Jasmeen Banwait, Courier Staff Writer


A memorial image from one of the victims
myspace page.
Two students from Evergreen High School in San Jose by the names of Amrit Kahlon and Jasdeep Duhra were killed in a fatal car crash on Yerba Buena Road last Saturday evening.

According to San Jose Mercury News, “San Jose Police Sgt. Nick Muyo said two people were killed in a car accident when the driver, traveling northbound at a high rate of speed, lost control of the vehicle, jumped the median and slid into oncoming traffic around 5:30 p.m. The car hit another vehicle head-on, skidded off the road and became wedged between two trees before bursting into flames, Muyo said.”

Courier Staff Report


Students mill about during
a fire drill.
Courier Photo
Minutes after he announced a $100 reward for information leading to the apprehension of whoever set a fire in the girls bathroom Wednesday afternoon, Principal Don Montoya had his culprit.

Montoya said Thursday that he received information from several sources as to the identity of the female firebug within seven minutes.

Last month, after a series of similar trashcan fires around the campus, it took 11 minutes after he offered a $100 reward for the guilty party to be identified.
By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Tracey Liebig of Alvarado Middle School was named the District’s Teacher of the Year and Rosa Thompson of Barnard-White Middle School was named Classified Employee of the Year at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Board of Education.




By Michelle Raskin, Courier Staff Writer


Logan students dance at the crowded
Senior Ball.
Courier Photo
Weeks before the class of 2007 held their Senior Ball last month, Principal Don Montoya made an announcement saying that guests couldn't be over an age limit of 20 and that chaperones at the Ball would be checking via photo ID.

Some students and parents disagreed with the rule, which in previous years was not enforce, but most ballgoers arrived at the San Francisco Hilton prepared to have their IDs checked, but the rule was enforced only spottily. Of the five adults who were checking in the students, two adults, Activities Director Linda Kingston and Leadership Advisor Cheryl Kuhlmann,checked IDs. The other three inconsistently checked, setting up a situation in which some students complained that their date's were not asked for ID, and some were angry because they could have attended the dance with their first-choice date who were over the age limit, rather than the back-up dates they did attend with.




Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Courier Staff Report


The Japanime Club raised more
than $224 selling sushi and more
at the Unity Fair.
Courier Photo
Last month's Unity Fair on the Big Green raised lots of green money for many of Logan's Clubs, according to Leadership Teacher Cheryl Kuhlmann.

Sales of food and other goods and the lunch-time celebration of diversity and unity at Logan netted more than $3,283 for the clubs, Kuhlmann wrote in an email sent to the school staff Wednesday afternoon.

The top money-raising club was Interact, which added $416.50 to its account with the Associated Student Body.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

By Christina La, Courier Staff Writer


Last year's reunion attracted dozens of
Campbell's former students.
Courier Photo
Tomorrow after school, Language Arts Teacher and Forensics Coach Campbell will be having his 10th student reunion in the staff lounge.

Each year, Campbell invites his previous English students, most of whom are juniors and seniors since he teaches mostly sophomores, to participate in an event to bring the classes together before they graduate from Logan. He asks the students to each bring a dish to the Staff Lounge to share with others. In other words, this occasion can be referred to as a potluck; this is also a chance for Campbell to reunite with his students.


By Mark Chediak
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)


A sign alerts customers Circuit City
customers that the labled television
won't be able to receive over-the-air
channels starting in 2009.

Roberto Gonzalez/Orlando Sentinel/MCT
ORLANDO, Fla. — With some high-definition televisions selling north of $1,500 two years ago, John Cantrell thought he found a real bargain when he paid $680 for a new, silver-framed standard television.

Now, Cantrell, an 83-year-old retiree living on a fixed income, understands why the deal looked so good. The 34-inch Toshiba he bought for his family room may be obsolete in less than two years, when broadcasters are required to switch to all-digital signals.

Cantrell's set is an analog-only television, once a mainstay TV model but no longer produced for U.S. consumers as of March 1.



From wikinews.org:

Evan O'Dorney, a 13-year-old from California in the United States, has won the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee championship in Washington, D.C.

He spelt the word 'serrefine' correctly to defeat second place Nate Gartke, of Canada, and win the 80th annual bee. Gartke, from Spruce Grove, Alberta, was trying to become the first Canadian to win the championship.

O'Dorney, from Danville, said he knew how to spell the word, which is a noun describing small forceps, immediately after the pronouncer read it out.

By Matt Stearns
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — A presidential candidate's macaca moment is coming. Count on it.

When George Allen, a Virginia Republican running for re-election last year to the U.S. Senate, directed the word "macaca" at an opposition worker of Indian descent, the audience extended far beyond the few dozen small-town Virginians who witnessed the incident. Thanks to the Internet — and a Web-savvy opponent — it convulsed Allen's campaign and helped torpedo his bid against Democrat James Webb.



Monday, June 04, 2007

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Courier Photo
New Haven's buses will be retrofitted
to reduce emissions.
Courier Photo
UNION CITY – Continuing its efforts to be a leader in environmental consciousness, the New Haven Unified School District will retrofit its entire fleet of buses, to reduce emissions by up to 85 percent.

The District, home of the first school in Alameda County running primarily on solar power, has won a $350,000 grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to retrofit all 28 of its school buses. The grant is part of the Lower Emission School Bus Program (LESBP).



Seniors queued up to get their yearbooks
Friday.
Courier Photo
Courier Staff Report

Students began the annual ritual of signing each other's yearbooks Friday after school, when Logan Yearbook Advisor Erika Viray's staff distributed the newly arrived annual book to seniors who bought one.

Yearbook distribution to juniors, sophomores and freshmen began during the lunch periods Monday, and is scheduled to continue after school today, and during lunch and after school tomorrow.

Students who haven't yet bought one can do so for $90 each.







Sunday, June 03, 2007


The Courier's visitor counter at the bottom
of the page hit 50,000 tonight.
Courier Staff Report

Apparent software glitches at The Courier's Internet Service Provider, Visionhead Technologies, sidelined the Union City-based online student "newspaper," said to be the only daily, 365-days-per-year, high-school-based news operation of its kind in the world, for most of the day Sunday, but the problems were solved in time for the paper to greet its 50,000th visitor.




Friday, June 01, 2007

By Karen Robinson-Jacobs
The Dallas Morning News (MCT)

CHICAGO — With lights burning 24-7, grease by the gallon and storm drain clogging to-go cups, the nation's restaurant industry hardly screams green.

But its largest trade group, with prodding from a smaller, eco-driven one, is preparing to change the industry's stripes.

In January, the board of the National Restaurant Association voted to promote more ecologically friendly practices in the nation's 900,000-plus eating establishments.


A group of religious demonstrators
shouted at students leaving school
Thursday.
Courier Photo
Courier Staff Report

For the second time in five weeks, a small group of religious zealots stationed themselves on the corner of Syracuse Avenue and H Street to shout a religious diatribe to departing students and staff.

The small group of men, holding signs warning passersby of the possible consequences of a variety of listed sins, also used a megaphone to deliver their message, all under the watchful eye of school administrators and Union City police.

District officials are trying to find a legal way to stifle the street-corner preachers, largely because they sometimes shout slogans condemning adherants to religions other than their brand of Christianity.