The Pasadena Star News should have done its homework before they endorsed La Canada school board candidates

Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news, politics, things that bug me

Today’s Pasadena Star News endorses the wrong school board candidates for the wrong reasons. They endorse the three incumbents: Scott Tracy, Joel Peterson, and Susan Boyd. While I agree with their assessment that the incumbents have done a good job in difficult financial times, they also support them because of the following:

The incumbents have fought drug and alcohol use at the high school, developed a new concentration on average teens as well as AP students and have kept class sizes low.

Did the Star-News actually get statistics that support this assertion? Because my impression, and that of the kids and local youth leaders I know, is that they’re wrong on all three counts.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the La Canada schools. I’m happy (and grateful) to send my kids to them, and I’ve put lots of energy and resources into them over the years. But they’re not perfect. And these three points are definitely weak ones. I’ve never heard of as many kids getting busted on and off campus for drug possession as I have this year, and some of the stories I’m hearing about local parties this year would give even the most liberal parent an ulcer. I don’t see much extra effort put into “average” teens, and am not even sure what this effort is supposed to be. This year’s class sizes appear to be either the same or bigger than in past years at the high school level.

The next time the Star-News makes an endorsement, they should do their homework and get the facts from the source instead of taking a candidate’s campaign claims at face value. For democracy to work, we need accurate information.

And yes, for the record, I’m the campaign manager they refer to. I strongly support Neal Millard, and believe that he’ll not only be a good steward of the district’s financial resources, but he’ll tap into his experience with charter and private schools to bring the best ideas from those worlds to our schools. I worked with Neal on the educational foundation board, and found him to be sharp, reliable, creative and diplomatic. Those qualities will allow him to work with teachers, parents and administrators to improve academics, explore new funding avenues, and improve existing programs. You can read more at www.nealmillard.com.

I like all three incumbents: they’re good, hard-working people. I applaud anyone who’s willing to do this tough job, especially these days. I think there’s room for improvement in our schools, however, and believe that Neal Millard brings our best chance for taking our schools to a higher level.

New website: SocialBling

Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in social networking, work

Stephanie Michele wants to help you to get connected to other people who share your interests. She’s started a new company called SocialBling that helps you find other people based on your wants, needs and goals.

It was great working with Stephanie on this site, and using the logo and graphics that Debra Doty designed made the job that much easier. SocialBling’s gotten some great press: check it out!

Ashes to ashes, and now to my house

Posted on 28. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, local news

Yesterday’s strong winds blew so much ash off the local mountains that the skies above La Canada looked like a storm was brewing. It’s good that there wasn’t a storm, as we’re not eager for the debris that is likely to flow down the canyons that were ravaged by the recent Station Fire, but it would be nice to have a little rain to wash away some of the ash that landed everywhere.

My dog wasn’t bothered by the ash. He just jumped right over it. Someday I’ll get a better action shot of him jumping like a gazelle. He does this every time he comes inside.

All of that blackness is ash and dust. It makes me wonder exactly what burned to cause it.

Women are the solution, not the problem

Posted on 26. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in economy, education, feminism, health, inspirational people, international, startling statistics

Tonight I met one of my heroes: NY Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof. I heard him address an alumni group about his work and his new book, Half the Sky. Other than my family and our president, there’s probably no one I’ve blogged about more. I have immense respect for how eloquently he tells the stories of people who are unfairly treated, and for how deeply he cares about what happens to them.

Here’s a quiz based on what I learned this evening:

1. Which do you think there are more of in the world: males or females?
2. If the 19th century was defined by slavery, and the 20th by totalitarianism, what is likely to define the 21st century?
3. True or false: As many American women died in childbirth during World War I as men died on the battlefield.
4. A female sex slave in Cambodia can be purchased for several hundred dollars. Approximately how much in today’s dollars would a 19th century American slave be worth?
5. Which of the following concerns Kristof the least when he visits an African warlord: car accident, banditry, or dying at the hand of the warlord?
6. In some developing countries, families spend 2% of their income on education. What do they often spend 20% on?

Answers:

1. Males. Even though statistically there should be more females, so many females are aborted and such a low priority is placed on the health of women that in many parts of the world, boys outnumber girls by an outsize margin.
2. Gender inequity. It’s a huge problem in much of the world, and holds many societies back. Also, see question 1.
3. True. American maternal mortality improved when women got the right to vote, and politicians thought the electorate demanded adequate medical care.
4. $40,000. As poorly as American slaves were treated, their masters had more of a financial interest in keeping them healthy and productive. A female sex slave is worth so little that if she causes problems, she’s expendable. In some instances, her fellow slaves are made to beat her to death if she’s a troublemaker.
5. Dying at the hand of the warlord. Caveat: that holds true when he’s in the territory of the warlord. The warlord doesn’t want to be known for being responsible for killing an American journalist. I agree about the car accidents; one of my fellow writers from The Stanford Daily recently died in a car accident in Africa.  :(
6. Tobacco, alcohol, prostitution and elaborate celebrations. Kristof argued that this is why women should be empowered to make more financial decisions. He said he’s seen families whose children have died of malaria for lack of a $5 net, and yet the father spends $1.50 on alcohol 3x a week.

Kristof doesn’t want to just make people feel sorry for the people he writes about: he wants to spur them to action. Here were some areas where he said improvement would make a drastic different not only in the lives of the women they affect, but would have a ripple effect in helping the societies in which they live:

• End sexual slavery. Nearly 1 million women and girls a year are trafficked as sex slaves, and at least one reputable group estimates that there are 27 million people in bondage worldwide at this time.
• Improve female education. He said that when he’s talking to leaders of poor nations, he makes more headway on this issue by explaining that females are their country’s biggest untapped resource than by appealing to moral arguments.
• Improve maternal health. Today, a woman in Niger has a 1 in 7 lifetime chance of dying in childbirth. Women in many other countries don’t fare much better. A poor woman in a rural setting has two strikes against her, but there are techniques and practices which could be used to serve even these women better.
• Empower women financially. Micro-loans have been particularly successful in allowing women to not only provide for their family’s livelihood and education, but it’s allowed them to have more of a say in how the family money is spent.

If I were a journalist, I’d want to be like Kristof. But I’ve chosen a path where I can be around my family more, so I try to do my part by volunteering, creating websites for non-profits, and blogging.

Kristof was correct when he said that what makes us happiest is when we help others. It’s immensely satisfying to have a positive impact on the world. And Kristof definitely does.

If you’re interested in hearing Nicholas Kristof speak, he’ll be in Southern California for a bit longer. Here’s his schedule of events.

My (mis)Fortune

Posted on 25. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in food, my life, things that bug me

I thought all fortunes at Panda Express were positive. Apparently not. Here’s what I got this evening.

I usually have good judgment. Maybe I should have bad judgment? Either way, it was very disconcerting…

One in six adults has mental illness

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in health, startling statistics, videos

According to BringChange2Mind.org,

1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness.

It sounds high, but when I think about it, it rings true. Think of how many adults you know who take anti-depressants, and how many children you know who have ADD or autism. It’s very sad that so many people suffer from mental illness.

The goal of BringChange2Mind is to destigmatize mental illness. They’ve made a great series of ads that shows teams of people who care about each other, where one person has mental illness and the other doesn’t. Some are famous, like BringChange2Mind co-founder Glenn Close, who’s featured with her sister, who has a bipolar disorder. BringChange2Mind is also a resource for people with mental illness to find resources and support.

I hope these videos get lots of airplay. There are lots of misconceptions about and biases against people with mental illness. Everyone deserves love and respect.

When “music festival” really means “rave.” Plus, how I lost respect for the San Manuel Indian Nation.

Posted on 20. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in health, music, parenting, startling statistics

The Sheriff’s Deputy that spoke at last Friday’s Red Ribbon Week PTSA meeting spoke fast, since he had lots of ground to cover. We learned the effects of various drugs on the body, we heard which ones are abused the most in our community, and we saw examples of how students hide drugs at school

One of the most fascinating things I learned was that “music festival” is often a euphemism for “rave.” The Deputy said that when kids say they’re going to a music festival, it usually means they’re going to a rave. He described raves as having loud music, flashing lights, casual sex and lots of drugs. (Here’s the Urban Dictionary definition of a rave.) He said they’re often held in convention centers, warehouses or the desert, and any security that’s there can either be bought off so they ignore the drugs or is just concerned about weapons, not drugs.

Here’s an example of a “music festival” this weekend: 2009 Cypress Hill Smokeout Festival. It’s being held at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, which is named for the San Manuel Indian Nation. The San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino is also a sponsor of SmokeOut, as are LA Weekly, MySpace and Jack in the Box. In case you have doubts that SmokeOut isn’t purely a music festival, here’s a screenshot of the homepage:

And don’t miss Saturday’s expert session: “For musicians, marijuana has long proved to be a source of creative inspiration. For listeners, music and marijuana is the perfect stoner cocktail. Smoke a joint, blunt or bong, and kick back and enjoy your favorite tunes.”

The Deputy also informed us that much of the marijuana consumed locally comes from legal medical dispensaries. He said that kids will go and tell a doctor (or should I put that in quotes?) that they have a headache or some other pain, and will be prescribed marijuana for it. They’ll then re-sell the marijuana at the school for a profit. If you’re not sure how this works, perhaps you can learn at the Medical Marijuana Expo at SmokeOut. Don’t worry about having difficulty finding a medical marijuana dispensary: this past Sunday’s NY Times article, “Los Angeles Prepares for Clash over Marijuana“, says that, “There are more marijuana stores here than public schools. Signs emblazoned with cannabis plants or green crosses sit next to dry cleaners, gas stations and restaurants.” For the record, I voted for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes here in California. I never imagined that it would be this unregulated, however, and that it could wind up in the hands of children.

Hopefully parents will understand what this really is before they let their kids attend. And if they do attend, hopefully they won’t drive while they’re high.

What would you do with a squirrel with a broken leg?

Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in animals

I knew something was up when I called my little dog to come inside last night and I didn’t hear him. He has so much bling (aka tags) on his collar that I can usually hear him from across the yard. I grew worried, afraid that he’d escaped into the darkness. My son finally found him in the corner of the yard, with a young squirrel in his mouth. Thankfully, he dropped the squirrel and came running to me, so I put him inside and pondered what to do with the squirrel.

The squirrel was still alive, but it appeared to have a broken back leg. It limped about, and couldn’t climb a tree or a fence. We were in a hurry to go out, so I had to decide quickly. I figured I had two choices:

1. Kill the squirrel
2. Let the squirrel live until it died on its own

It was so cute. It looked like the picture on the right. I took an actual picture of it, but I don’t think you want to see it.

I let the squirrel live. My son used a shovel to cajole it into a long box we had in our garage, and we dumped the squirrel onto a bed of leaves in a neighbor’s yard that doesn’t have a dog. (and doesn’t read this blog) I didn’t want to leave it in our yard, for fear that my dog would find it and finish it off.

Maybe I should have whacked it with the shovel so that it wouldn’t suffer. I just couldn’t. Maybe I’m a wimp, or a softie, or just a naive product of suburbia.

It was sad.

Map of expected debris flow from impending rains

Posted on 07. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in environment, local news

The Greek, Hindu and Japanese systems of thought believe that there are five classical elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth and Aether. Our foothills have already had Fire, thankfully not accompanied by too much Wind, but we await the Water that will rain down and probably make the Earth flow in rivers of mud.

The Los Angeles Times blog has a posting titled Federal scientists say risk of mudslides from Station fire extremely high that shows a map of where the mud is likely to flow into our communities if it rains as much as forecasters expect. Unfortunately, the map isn’t at a high enough resolution to easily tell which streets will be impacted. I’ve overlaid it to a Google map to help see which streets in La Canada Flintridge are likely to be in the path of a mud flow.

Here’s the map from the LA Times blog:

Here’s a Google Map covering the same area:

Here’s an overlay of both maps with streets highlighted:

What can be done to prevent this? Simply put, either remove the debris before it flows down, block it once it gets here, or get out of the way. All would be quite difficult, given the terrain, the budget crunch, and the permanent structures in the way. Hopefully the County, the City, and homeowners will do what they can before the rains come.

“I’ve seen fire, and I’ll see rain. I’ll see muddy flows that I hope will find an end.” (apologies to James Taylor)

Teavana iced tea beats Diet Coke

Posted on 04. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in food

I’ve found an easy way to make amazing iced tea at home. It’s fresh and tasty, and helps me stay away from the dreaded Diet Coke. The key is to use the iced tea making system that you can purchase at Teavana.

Step 1: Boil water. I use this durable I bought in college. It’s the same kind my Mom used when I was a kid. I think she still has hers.

Step 2: Choose which kind of tea you want. I have three canisters of Teavana looseleaf tea: Peppermint, Japanese Wild Cherry Green Tea and Lemon Green Tea. There are many more wonderful flavors, but these are three that I’m not allergic to. (I can’t have apple, strawberry, and peach, among others.) Sometimes I cut open tea bags of non-Teavana teas to make the iced tea.

Here’s what the Peppermint tea looks like in the canister.

Step 3: Measure the right amount of tea leaves into the Teavana Perfect Tea Maker on the right, and fill it with boiling water. I stir it a little while I wait for the timer to beep. Peppermint tea uses 1.5 tsp. of leaves and steeps for 5-6 minutes.

Step 4: Put the container of hot tea on top of the special Teavana pitcher that’s filled with ice. The pressure from below forces the tea out and into the pitcher, and I get instant iced tea.

I prefer to drink it in this I bought at Ralphs. It’s better than a glass on my desk, since if it spills it’s less likely to make a mess. I like how big it is, since it makes me more likely to drink more tea and water, which is good for me. It also fits into the car cup holder and is easy to clean in the dishwasher. I almost never use water bottles anymore. It gets great reviews on , where someone even points out that it’s made out of the safest type of plastic.

I might give this Teavana set to a few people for Christmas. Shhh!! (We’ll see if they read this blog.)

California State PTA rules regarding endorsing candidates

Posted on 02. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in education, politics

In case you’re curious, and I’m sure some people are, here are the guidelines from page 118 of the CA State PTA Toolkit regarding endorsing candidates. They specify that a PTA officer’s title may not be used in an endorsement, but it doesn’t say the person can’t endorse someone as a private citizen.

A current or former PTA officer/board member must not use his/her title or the name of the PTA to endorse a candidate even for purposes of identification in any print, electronic, or website candidate literature (e.g., campaign mailer, ballot measure, candidate stationery).

A current PTA officer/board member must not use his/her title, the name of the PTA or the trademark of PTA
• in any election venue unless authorized by a vote of the association, following a study of the issue.
• to take action in opposition to the official California State PTA position.

Although federal election regulations do not prohibit the use of organizational affiliation for identification purpos- es, the California State PTA sets a standard which is higher than law. Failure to comply may result in a viola- tion of California State PTA policy.

For the purpose of this policy, all elections involving candidates are defined as partisan elections, even those for “nonpartisan” offices such as school board or city council. Use of a PTA’s name or the PTA trademark with participation in any partisan activity will endanger PTA’s nonprofit status.

PTA members are not prohibited from running for public office themselves nor from listing PTA involvement as part of their biographical information and/or campaign literature.