MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014 - JULY 27, 2014
riversideindependent.com
A win-win situation: paid summer internships for Inland students by Vickie Vértiz
Gutierrez, both from Riverside, are working with Habitat for Humanity of Riverside this summer. They are helping to build homes, are collecting donations for their work, and managing the inventory of building supplies. Margarita Oreta and Christina Chu, also from Riverside, will work at the Riverside Art Museum to teach art classes and help produce exhibitions.
wireless access, make E-rate dollars go further, and deliver faster, simpler, and more efficient applications and other processes. Known formally as the federal Schools and LibrarPlease see page 4
Please see page 4
All four students earned their internships through the Student Leaders Program with Bank of America, which places recent high school graduates in paid eight-week internships with nonprofit organizations. “It’s a job that teaches us a lot about what we want to do,” said Gonzalez, a graduate of RaPlease see page 2
State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson applauds FCC vote to expand Internet access for schools and libraries State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson applauded a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Friday that marks a major step toward preparing students for the global economy by expanding Inter-
net access for schools and libraries. The FCC voted today to modernize the E-rate program and boost support for wireless connectivity for schools and libraries. This action is designed to expand
National Night Out 2014 The Riverside Police Department invites you and your neighbors to be part of National Night Out (NNO) this year. NNO events are designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness. They generate support for and participation in local anticrime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community partnerships, and send a message to criminals letting them know that Riverside neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. Neighborhood social events are being held throughout the city from 6:00-9:00 P.M. Police personnel will be out in force visiting events that are registered with the department. Fire and City personnel will also be participating in the activities. The 2013 National Night Out was a huge success with over 50 community groups participating. The Riverside Police Department thanks: Target, Riverside Police Officers’ Association, and Boy Scout Troop #106 for assisting with the National Night Out Kick-off event that was held on Saturday, August 3rd, and included a free pancake breakfast, activities for the kids, Police and Fire personnel, and many community groups. Thank you to all the joined in for the fun! How Can Your Neighborhood Participate This Year? Your neighborhood can host a block party, ice cream social, potluck dinner, neighborhood walk, neighborhood baseball- soccer- basketball game, neighborhood clean-up, or any other event that best represents your neighborhood.
Habitat for humanity -Photo by Jennifer Schlueter
Some opportunities in life can make all the difference. Successful summer internships, that are also paid, can lead students to postgraduate education and into well-paying careers in the given program field. This is the kind of chance a few select young people were awarded in Riverside this year. Two students in particular, Saul Gonzalez and Roberto
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Doing business with higher education "Doing Business with Higher Education" will showcase tips, resources, and guidelines on how to get on local university and college bid lists for upcoming projects, vendor opportunities, and select services. Learn how to be considered by California Baptist University, La Sierra University, Riverside Community College District, and University of California, Riverside for new work. Discover what these organizations look for in incoming applications, proposals, etc. These tips
could be the difference in landing your company a new contract. Do not miss this opportunity to learn how to win new business from regional purchasing experts from four top universities and colleges. Location: Chamber Bourns Boardroom in the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce. When: July 25, 7:30 to 9:00AM Cost: $35 for members, $75 for non-members. Register online or contact Richard Prince at 951-683-7100 ext. 218
Día de las Artes
Día de las Artes is a free, one-day celebration of the Casa Blanca neighborhood through the arts. It will involve original theatre, music, dance, painting, photography, poetry, storytelling, food and fun. This one-day event is open to everyone. Enjoy the irresistible outpouring of artistic expression from the undeniable richness of the relation-
ships developed in Casa Blanca between the artists of the Mad St. Arts Collaborative and the residents of the neighborhood. When: August 9, 2014 | 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Where: Casa Blanca Library & Plaza, 2985 Madison St., Riverside, CA 92504 For more information please visit madstreetarts.org
Change lives. Make wishes come true.
Become a Make-A-Wish ®
VOLUNTEER
Volunteers for Make-A-Wish give their time and talents to help bring hope, strength and joy to children who are battling life-threatening medical conditions. We have a special need for volunteers in the Inland Empire to help local children.
Get Involved Today ocie.wish.org | 714-573-9474
Shortage of federal judges in region impact local business and community Judge Virginia Phillips of the U.S. District Court's Central District of California recently met with local business leaders from the Chamber to discuss the pressing need for more federal judges in the District's Eastern Division, which covers Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The Eastern Division of the Central District is functioning with only two district judges, overburdening the court's personnel with a crushing workload and creating hardship for businesses, witnesses, and law en-
forcement officers who must travel to other divisions for their cases to be heard. These transfers often result in these parties spending countless hours on Southern California's already overcrowded freeways traveling to required court appearances. The Chamber will continue to work on federal legislation to address this issue, including most recently S.1385, which would create new judgeships nationwide. For more info, contactNicholas Adcock at 951-683-7100 ext. 217.
Paid summer internships Continued from page 1
mona High School. “This experience early on will help me when I get a job in the future.” Gonzalez plans to study business in college. The internships provide meaningful, hands-on work experiences that young people often have trouble getting, usually working summer internships where the work consists of answering phones or getting coffee. Instead, interns are assigned similar tasks as fulltime professionals with the goal that these jobs will lead them into their future careers. The fact that the work is paid is a rarity and is important for many working-class students who cannot take unpaid internships at nonprofits that frequently do not have the funds to support training a young person. “If I didn’t have this, I’d probably be applying to fast-food restaurants or sitting at home,” said Gutierrez, who graduated from North High School. “Instead I’m learning how to do monetary transactions, research and grants, administration, marketing. ... In the future I do want to go into nonprofit work, and this gives me a great well-rounded experience of what it’s like.” Paid internships are also sponsored in the Moreno Valley Unified School District through their A.S.T.E.R.I.S.K. program,
providing 75 paid summer internships. In that program, high school students and recent graduates can work for the City of Moreno Valley, Riverside County Regional Medical Center, and March Joint Powers Authority, for instance. Aja Gray, a graduate of Vista del Lago High School, interns at the hospital and spends time working in the pharmacy, the pediatric clinic, the information desk, and other departments, gaining a wide breadth of skills. “It’s so amazing,” Gray told the Press Enterprise. “I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am to be learning and getting paid to learn. I knew since middle school I wanted to be in the medical field. This experience will definitely help me. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The organizations students work for also benefit from the program, receiving help they would not otherwise have. “The kids get a lot out of it and then, of course, we get a little bit of extra labor, which always helps,” Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Kathy Michalak said to the Press Enterprise. “These kids bring a different twist. Both of us get something really great out of it, which is what makes this work.”
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CBP intercepts 67 extremely invasive giant African snails at LAX Live mollusks arriving from Nigeria were destined for Los Angeles area
U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) inspected an air cargo shipment declared as 67 live snails. Accompanying paperwork described them as Achatina Fulica for human consumption. They arrived from Lagos, Nigeria in two plastic basket packages weighing slightly more than 35 pounds in total and were destined for San Dimas, California. After submitting an urgent sample to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Protection and Quarantine entomologists, their acting national mollusk specialist in Washington, D.C., identified them as Giant African Snails - scientifically known as Archachatina (Calachatina) marginata var. ovum (Pfeiffer) (Achatinidae). CBP received notification of this on July 7. Native to Africa, their other commonly known names are Giant African Land Snail, West African Snail, West African Land Snail, Banana Rasp Snail, and Margie. “This significant interception of Giant African Snails is the first time this pest has been encountered in such large quantity and as a consumption entry by CBP in Los Angeles. It exemplifies how CBP agriculture specialists protect our nation’s agriculture from the introduction of threatening foreign pests, plants and diseases,” said Todd C. Owen, CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles. USDA emphasized the importance of safeguarding this shipment of one of the most extremely damaging snail species. Thereafter, CBP transferred the shipment to USDA’s local Plant Inspection Station for final disposition.
These pests are a very serious threat to our agriculture, natural ecosystem, public health and economy. They can consume more than 500 types of plants and, if vegetables or fruits are not available, will even eat the paint and stucco off of houses. They can be carriers of several parasites which are harmful to humans, one of which can lead to meningitis. Being one of the world’s largest land snails, these mollusks can reach up to about eight inches long, about five inches in diameter and may
live up to 10 years. Suggested preventative measures include strict quarantine to prevent introduction and further spread. CBP: U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
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Immigration crisis: Obama requests billions in aid by Jennifer Schlueter According to the Department of Homeland Security, 57,000 Central American children, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, have crossed the US boarder since October. This number is twice as high as the number of the same period from the previous year and ten times as high as the number of 2009. The children that survive the dangerous journey are fleeing from poverty and crime in their countries, hoping to have a better life here, or to reunite with parts of their family who are already in the US. Some parents send their children because they believe rumors that their kids will be allowed to stay in the US once they
crossed the border. In 2008, former President George W. Bush signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act – a law to fight child/sex trafficking. Whereas Mexicans or Canadians are simply sent back across the border, this bill grants Central American kids a court hearing to determine whether they are allowed to stay or not. Due to the enormous number of immigrants, and thus, court cases, the children often have to wait years on the decision – years that they spend in processing facilities of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Some children do not even show up in court. Two weeks ago, protestors in
National Night Out Continued from page 1
Click Here for Online Registration. How Will Your Neighborhood Benefit? Your event will help strengthen neighborhood spirit, police-community partnerships, and will send a message to criminals that you have taken control of your neighborhood and they are being watched. If your neighborhood group or business organization would like to be involved, please register your event. For
additional information contact the Police Service Representative for your area. East: PSR Turner at sturner@riversideca.gov or 8265297 North: PSR Castillo at ncast@riversideca.gov or 8268721 Central: PSR Ochoa at iochoa@riversideca.gov or 3537962 West: PSR Alexander at aalexander@riversideca.gov or 353-7969
Murietta attempted to block migrant children and families from entering processing facilities. The Obama administration requested $3.7 billion on Tuesday, July 8, to increase the number of border patrol official, judges, and detention centers, and to improve the living conditions of the refugee children while waiting on their hearings. Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers says that
the White House will not approve Obama’s request: “It’s too much money.” He adds: “There are pieces of it that need to be dealt with immediately and that’s what we’re working on.” Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez declares: “I plan to support the president’s budget request but we must make sure that we do not short-circuit justice for the children. They get their day in court as the law mandates.”
Internet access for schools and libraries Continued from page 1
ies Program, E-rate established a surcharge on long-distance telephone bills in 1997 that provides discounts to assist schools and libraries in obtaining affordable telecommunications and Internet access. “Our schools, society, and economy thrive on interconnectivity,” Torlakson said. “Today’s action will not only help narrow the digital divide among students, but also help us reach and teach every child so they will be prepared for the world that awaits them.” Torlakson has championed efforts to update E-rate. In March 2012, he convened his Education Technology Task Force to bring 21st century tools into California’s classrooms so that no child is left offline. He has also brought together other state superintendents via the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to work together on this issue. Last September, Torlakson went to Washington, D.C., to push for increased federal assistance to provide broadband access for all students and schools across California. While there, he cochaired the CCSSO’s Digital Learning Task Force to discuss and meet with members of the FCC, the White House, and the U.S. Department of Education. He also met with U.S.
Senators to discuss E-rate. In June of last year, President Barack Obama proposed modernizing the E-rate program as part of his ConnectED initiative, which Torlakson at the time called “a huge step in the right direction.” The FCC opened a public comment period soon afterward. Torlakson encouraged local superintendents and other education stakeholders across California to weigh in, and the California Department of Education also submitted its comments. Among the state’s priorities are expanding the program; making it easier to apply for and receive funding; ensuring the flexibility to take advantage of future technologies; distributing funding according to highest-priority needs; and allowing for adequate bandwidth to support wireless access as schools continue moving toward a one-toone computer ratio. For more information on today’s vote, visit the Federal Communications Commission’s Web site. For information on how the state uses the Schools and Libraries Program and the California Teleconnect Fund to provide telecommunications discounts to ¬¬schools in the state, visit the California Department of Education’s E-rate Web page.