MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 - AUGUST 3, 2014
riversideindependent.com
California approves bill to minimize concussion risk for youth footballers by jennifer schlueter
which will prohibit full-contact practices taking longer than 90 minutes a day in middle and high schools. Full-contact practices will be limited to twice a week, and completely banned during off-season. Furthermore, if a head injury is suspected, players cannot return to the game at all or before gaining approval from a medical professional. These regulations aim to prevent and reduce severe concus-
Operation Pedro Pan. It was one of the largest migrations of unaccompanied minors in North America -- that is until recent arrivals of at least 60,000 minors from Central America and Mexico since last October. Please see page 2
Please see page 4
sions in young football players. The rules, supported by the California Interscholastic Federation and sponsored by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), will be enforced starting January 1, 2015. California will then be one out of 20 states to prohibit off-seasonal full-contact practices. The CIF additionally voted Please see page 4
The kindness of strangers: Operation Pedro Pan film premiered in Riverside by Vickie Vértiz The Riverside International Film Festival offered many gems and stories among them, “Pedro Pan,” a short film that tells the story of Cuban children who fled to the United States in the 1950s. The director, Andrea Puente is not herself Cuban, but was equally de-
termined to accurately portray the journeys of children leaving their home countries from political turmoil and violence. The film documents how, from December 1960 to October 1962, thousands of young Cuban people arrived alone in the United States, by way of
City Council moves to activate mandatory water conservation measures for Public Utilities Customers In response to the call for increased conservation by the State Water Resources Control Board and the Governor’s office, Riverside’s City Council has voted to activate mandatory water conservation restrictions for Riverside Public Utilities’ (RPU) water customers starting August 1. “California is faced with continued, and increasingly serious, drought conditions,” said Riverside’s Mayor Rusty Bailey, “and we are all obligated to take steps now that will help conserve our valuable water supplies.” The council made changes to existing water supply planning and management documents in order to modify current municipal code on water conservation and meet the state’s emergency requests for mandatory water reduction measures, especially those limiting outdoor watering. Riverside’s multi-stage plan sets the guidelines RPU customers must meet to reduce water use citywide. “The mandatory steps we are asking our customers to take aren’t much different from what we’d ask them to do voluntarily,” said RPU General
La Salle quarterback gets tackled with an opponents head last season. Luckily no one was injured in this incident but it helps illustrate the need for legislation.- Photo by Terry Miller
With more and more football players suing the National Football League because of severe head injuries and the increasing awareness of the public about the tragic aftermath of such concussions, the NFL and college leagues reacted by limiting full-contact practices, which has already proven to reduce concussions. Last Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed the AB2127 law,
VOLUME 1, NO. 13