Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Tuesday Wakeup

Study: 2 out of 5 working-age Californians jobless

By Judy Lin
The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, Sep. 6, 2009 - 12:12 am
Last Modified: Sunday, Sep. 6, 2009 - 12:37 am

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- On this Labor Day weekend, many Californians find themselves more in need of work than a holiday.

A report released Sunday says two of five working-age Californians do not have a job, underscoring the challenges in one of the toughest job markets in decades. A new study has found that the last time employment levels among this group were this low was February 1977.

- The Sacramento Bee

Judge refuses to halt CSU's second fee increase

By Laurel Rosenhal

Published: Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 2B
Last Modified: Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2009 - 9:05 am

A San Francisco Superior Court judge denied a request Monday to stop the California State University system from charging students for a second fee increase this year.

The decision means the 23 CSU campuses can continue billing students for the 20 percent fee hike university trustees approved in July.

- The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento-area college bookstores try to rent texts

By Laurel Rosenhall

Published: Monday, Sep. 7, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Last Modified: Monday, Sep. 7, 2009 - 1:48 pm

Karina Ochoa burbled with excitement last week as she pulled a textbook off the shelf inside Sacramento State’s campus bookstore. On the tag next to the "Dimensions of Human Behavior" text that she needed for a social work class, Ochoa saw that she could pay $45 to rent the book for the semester – instead of $120 to buy it.

"It's really not worth it to buy it," said Ochoa, 20.

A new program at California State University, Sacramento, allows students to rent books instead of buy them. It's part of a small but growing trend, as campus bookstores try to lure students away from Internet vendors and student advocates look for ways to save students money.

- The Sacramento Bee

The future of libraries, with or without books

By John D. Sutter
CNNUpdated 8:14 a.m. EDT, Fri September 4, 2009

(CNN) -- The stereotypical library is dying -- and it's taking its shushing ladies, dank smell and endless shelves of books with it.

Libraries are trying to imagine their futures with or without books.

Books are being pushed aside for digital learning centers and gaming areas. "Loud rooms" that promote public discourse and group projects are taking over the bookish quiet. Hipster staffers who blog, chat on Twitter and care little about the Dewey Decimal System are edging out old-school librarians.

- CNN


Survey: Latinas face challenges that hinder their education

Updated 4:10 p.m. EDT, Fri September 4, 2009

(CNN) -- Most Latinas have goals to graduate and get professional jobs, but challenges including discrimination and gender stereotyping undermine their chances of success, a new survey shows.

Many Latinas doubt their chances for academic and career success, the report found.

The discrimination -- sometimes from teachers and fellow students -- affects the young women's self-confidence and performance, leading to lower graduation rates, according to the report released last week by the National Women's Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

- CNN


Bay Bridge repair forces longer closure

By Tony Bizjak

Published: Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 11A

The Bay Bridge will remain closed until at least Wednesday morning as crews work nonstop to repair what's been described as a "significant" crack in the bridge's east span near Yerba Buena Island.

The bridge had been shut in both directions since Thursday night as part of a major seismic project, and had been expected to reopen for today's morning commute.

However, the surprise discovery Saturday of a large crack in a steel beam forced emergency repairs requiring the bridge to remain closed.

- The Sacramento Bee


Animal cruelty complaint filed against Ariz. man

(09-04) 16:59 PDT PHOENIX (AP) –

Arizona prosecutors have filed felony animal cruelty charges against a man who allegedly tried to feed a kitten to a python and later killed the feline by drop-kicking it.

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested 28-year-old Jeremy Tuffly at his Mesa home on Monday. He has since been released.

- The San Francisco Chronicle


Calif. porn company, SD university drop suit

By Carson Walker, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

National American University is no longer suing a California pornography company that used a name the school thought was too similar: Naughty American University.

The school's parent company, Dlorah Inc., filed the federal lawsuit in South Dakota, where the company is based, against La Touraine Inc., a Nevada company based in San Diego. The suit sought financial damages and to prevent the use of the school's trademark.

- The San Francisco Chronicle


Giant national debt needs giant calculator

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

(09-02) 16:49 PDT Montrose, Colo. (AP) --

The national debt is so large, it doesn't even fit on most calculators. Western Colorado real estate developer Matt Miles says he was concerned that no one in government, nor most Americans, had ever seen the number. So he made a new calculator.

The "Big Red" calculator displays 16 digits. That's enough to show all the numbers in the national debt, which totaled nearly $11.8 trillion — or $11,792,918,170,836.43 — at the start of September.

- The San Francisco Chronicle


Older women, younger men: A capital convergence

By Anna Tong

Published: Monday, Sep. 7, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1B

Single men, listen up: Sacramento is the only metropolitan area on the West Coast where there are more single women than men.

What has the region's singles scene so lopsided are the 20,000 more single women than single men over age 34, according U.S. census data from 2006.

- The Sacramento Bee

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