SEE PAGE 4 for campus crime victims now protected
SEE PAGE 2 FOR no more single-use plastic bags in california MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2014 - OCTOBER 12, 2014
cypressnewspress.com
VOLUME 1, NO. 15
Family members can ask court to seize Worldwide guns from unstable loved ones Day of Play by Jennifer schlueter
card. This initiative coincides with the California Library Literacy Services “Together, California Reads!” campaign, which challenges the community to address the barriers facing adult literacy across the state. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 23% of adult Californians lack basic literacy skills. That means that some 4.5 million Cali-
The Boys & Girls Club of Cypress observed Worldwide Day of Play on Friday, September 19th to celebrate active play in after school programs. Every year, Nickelodeon goes completely dark for three hours on Worldwide Day of Play, taking programming off the air on all of its channels and shutting down its websites to reinforce one simple message: Get up, get out, and go play! Over the years, these efforts have resulted in thousands of events and millions of kids being active and pursuing healthy lifestyles. For more than 150 years, the Boys & Girls Club movement has been a leader in helping youth who need the organization most to stay active. Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA) has teamed up with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Partnership for a Healthier America to adopt 13 key, national healthy eating and physical activity standards. Each year, the Boys & Girls Club of America partners with Nickelodeon to support the Worldwide Day of Play event. “Worldwide Day of Play is a powerful reminder for our members and their families to get moving and lead a healthy lifestyle,” stated Site Director, Samantha Johnson. “We are very proud to offer a wide variety of sports leagues, outdoor games, and activities to get keep kids active every day in our after school program. There’s no reason that kids should be sitting on front of a television set or computer all afternoon and we want to show kids that active play is extremely important to a person’s health.” The Boys & Girls Club of Cypress celebrated Worldwide
Please see page 2
Please see page 4
Elliot Rodger who went on a shooting spree in Isla Vista killing 6 and injuring 12 more people -Courtesy Photo
After 22-year-old Rodger Elliot went on a shooting rampage this May in Isla Vista killing 6 and wounding 12 more people, officials called, again, for stricter gun control laws. California assemblywomen Nancy Skinner consequently sponsored a bill allowing guns to be seized from mentally ill individuals. The law, which was
signed into effect last Tuesday, lets people demand a court order to temporarily seize guns from family members who pose a threat to the community or themselves. In order to prevent these potentially dangerous individuals from buying firearms, they will also be added to a list. Prior to his planned shooting,
Eliot had legally acquired three guns, and his parents had repeatedly warned police of his unstable condition. California has recognized that “family members are the ones who most acutely understand when their loved ones are in a dangerous situation,” according Please see page 4
Scavenger hunt raises literacy awareness at the Cypress Library Literacy plays an important part in every aspect of our adult lives. Without strong reading skills, it is difficult to seek employment, hold down a job, manage our healthcare, support our families, teach our children, participate in our communities, or enjoy the world of books. Yet thousands of adults in Orange County lack the reading and writing skills that they need to accomplish these tasks. In September 2014, California Library Literacy Services celebrated
30 years of providing high quality, learner centered, volunteer based adult literacy services in libraries around the state. In honor of this milestone, and to promote awareness of adult literacy in our county, the OC Public Libraries and READ/Orange County will be hosting a Literacy Scavenger Hunt throughout the month of October. The winner of the scavenger hunt will receive a Kindle Paperwhite 6” eReader with WiFi (valued at $120), and a $75 amazon.com gift
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Governor Brown signs legislation to ban single-use plastic bags Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags – SB 270 – aligning state law with ordinances passed by a growing number of local governments in California to reduce plastic waste. The legislation, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), prohibits grocery stores and pharmacies from distributing single-use plastic bags after July 2015 and enacts the same ban for convenience stores and liquor stores the following year. It will also provide up to $2 million in competitive loans – administered by CalRecycle – to businesses transitioning to the manufacture of reusable bags. Thus far, over 120 local governments in California have passed ordinances banning singleuse bags in some fashion, with widespread support from community and environmental groups. SB 270 is supported by many of these same groups, along with local governments, businesses and labor organizations. “The California coast is a national treasure and a calling card for the world, helping us attract visitors and business from around the globe. Removing the harmful blight of single-use plastic bags, especially along our coastline and waterways, helps ensure the kind of clean and healthy environment
we need to have a stronger economy and a brighter future,” said Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins. “California is the first state in the U.S. to ban the most ubiquitous consumer item on the planet, in an effort to drive consumers towards sustainable behavior change. Data from the over 127 local plastic bag bans has proven that bans are effective at reducing litter and changing consumer attitudes, and have refuted industry’s claims of apocalyptic impacts on jobs and poor communities. A state plastic bag ban saves taxpayers the huge amount of money spent on litter cleanup, and protects the environment,” said Clean Seas Coalition and Seventh Generation Advisors director Leslie Tamminen. “SB 270 is a great victory for all of California. We’ve seen locally that plastic bag bans lead to cleaner water and healthier wildlife, keeping trash off our beaches and out of our creeks. The success of bag bans in our local communities has empowered state legislators to make the right decision for the health of California’s waterways. Governor Brown’s signature of this statewide bag ban is an important moment for our state, demonstrating that California is once again willing to take the lead on important environmental issues,” said Save the Bay executive director David Lewis.
Plastic bag ban harms communities Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich sharply criticized the Governor’s signing of a law banning plastic bags and imposing a $0.10 fee on all paper bags that the grocery stores will collect. “The $0.10 per bag fee will force lower income residents in impoverished communities around the state to pay for paper bags, with little indication of how the money will be spent,”
said Antonovich. “This law only further hurts the California economy by jeopardizing thousands of manufacturing jobs and forcing consumers to pay additional fees to grocery stores,” he added. The Progressive Bag Alliance has vowed to collect the necessary signatures to place this issue on the ballot and let the voters decide if the State should continue with such a flawed economic proposal.
Literacy Scavenger Hunt Continued from page 1
fornians don’t read well enough to read a bedtime story to their kids. Without that support at home, children born to parents with the lowest literacy skills are 10 times more likely to struggle with reading themselves, perpetuating a vicious intergenerational cycle of reading problems. Luckily, low adult literacy is a challenge that can be overcome, and is being overcome through the work of dedicated volunteer literacy tutors in libraries statewide. 4.5 million adults in California may need help, but the good news is that somewhere between 10-15 million Californians have the ability to help! That need is met locally by READ/Orange County, the adult literacy services of the OC Public Libraries. READ/OC provides free tutoring in basic reading, writing, and English skills to adult learners throughout Orange County. Volunteer tutors and learners meet one on one at community locations such as the Cypress Library to work on the reading and writing skills that they need to achieve personal goals such as helping their kids with schoolwork, filling out a job application, starting a college or career training program, or even just reading a book for the first time in their lives. So far this year, READ/OC has helped 627 adult learners move along the learning path towards those goals, but there are another 96 adult learners waiting to start their journey
with a volunteer tutor. There are thousands more who have never come forward, either because they are too embarrassed to ask for help or because they are not aware that help exists. It is important for these learners to realize that they are not alone! Thousands of adults just like them have learned to read and write with the assistance of a READ/OC volunteer from their community. The Literacy Scavenger Hunt was implemented in order to raise community awareness, both to help potential learners come forward and to recruit new volunteer tutors. It will run throughout the month of October at the Cypress Library and other branches of the OC Public Libraries. To enter, patrons can visit the library to pick up a form, or visit the READ/OC website at www.readoc.org. A winner will be selected from entries received by 10/31, and the winner will receive a Kindle Paperwhite 6” eReader with WiFi (valued at $120), and a $75 amazon.com gift card, generously provided by the Friends of READ/OC. Interested community members can also get involved by becoming a tutor, or by referring a friend or family member who may need help. For a free, confidential consultation, they can call READ/OC at 714-5663070 or visit the website at www. readoc.org. All it takes is a little bit of our time because “Together, California Reads!”
OCTOBER 6, 2014 - OCTOBER 12, 2014 | 3
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Governor Brown reinforces access to healthy food options on state property SB 912 will require healthy options in vending machines Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today signed legislation that will ensure current nutritional standards for foods and beverages sold in vending machines on state property remain in effect permanently. “California is facing an obesity epidemic that demands we do everything we can to ensure access to healthier food options,” said Senator Mitchell, author of Senate Bill 912 (SB 912). “For most of us the workplace is our home away from home, so our state facilities should offer nutritional choices onsite and within sight, both for employees and the public we serve.” Since 2008, state law has required that one-third of beverages sold on state property meet minimal nutritional standards and since 2011, 35 percent of the food. SB 912 simply preserves current law by removing the sunset on these guidelines. “California is facing a public health crisis as more than half of adults and teens are classified as overweight or obese,” said Dr. Diane Sobkowicz, president of the board of directors for the American Heart Association’s Sacramento division. “We know that sugar-sweetened beverages are a huge contributing factor to this problem and we applaud Governor Brown for taking this step to ensure that state workers and visitors to the state will continue to have access to healthier options. The workplace is a key environment for maintaining the health of the population but we still have a long way to go and this is just one aspect of our multifaceted effort to combat obesity in connection with heart diseases and stroke.” Heart disease and stroke are the number one and number three killers of Californians, respectively. Obesity greatly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and some forms of cancer.
Lost productivity and medical care costs related to obesity, overweight and physical inactivity are estimated to cost California $52 billion annually. “Fighting the obesity epidemic will take a multipronged approach and continuing to ensure access to healthy food and beverage options for our state workers is a good start,” said Sobkowicz. “We must also ensure access to healthy foods for all Californians while reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and promoting increased physical activity for adults and children.” Co-sponsors of SB 912 in-
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clude the American Heart Association, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network.
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Campus crime victims are now protected A closely watched and highly anticipated bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) to ensure that crimes committed on college campuses are properly reported and investigated was signed into law by Governor Brown yesterday. The legislation, AB 1433, requires colleges to report certain violent crimes (like sexual assault and hate crimes), occurring on or near campus, to local law enforcement, with the permission of the victim. The legislation comes as President Barack Obama is beginning to discuss the problem nationally. Senators Claire McCaskill and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced federal legislation in July, but the bill has yet to be heard in any committees and only has a 1% chance of being enacted according to congressional watchdog govtrack.us.
Gatto introduced his legislation in January, after several California colleges were accused of covering up on-campus sexual assaults because of concerns that higher crime statistics would lead prospective students to choose elsewhere. The lack of clear laws regarding immediate campuscrime reporting, and unwillingness of campus officials to involve proper law-enforcement professionals, greatly diminishes the chance that a perpetrator is arrested and convicted. This, of course, can allow a perpetrator to strike again. “Victims of crime should not see their chances of justice hurt, nor should perpetrators be allowed to victimize others, because a school values its public image more than victims’ rights,” said Gatto. “Simple communication between campus officials and lo-
New gun control law Continued from page 1
to the executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Josh Horwitz, and thus, has now become the first state of the country to allow them to ask for a court order seizing firearms. In other states with similar only law enforcement officials have the right to do so. Skinner told the New York Times: “This puts California in the leadership on efforts to stop gun violence, and it gives a very effective tool to law enforcement and families to intervene before a shooting tragedy occurs.”
cal law enforcement will ensure a greater understanding of crime in a community and increased public safety.” Current law regarding sharing of campus crime and investigations is muddled. The only way for concerned students, parents, or media to get these crime statistics is within a university’s once-a-year Clery Act report, required by federal law. There is no simple or timely way for local police (who keep almost all crime stats) to analyze it or to participate in the investigation of the crimes. The challenges faced by victims of oncampus crimes (as well Assemblyman Gatto’s efforts to assist these victims) were featured as the lead story in the January 6, 2014 issue of Newsweek, after several California colleges became the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging violations
-Photo by Terry Miller
of the Clery Act. Since then, Gatto has been proactive in responding to community feedback to the legislation and even amended the bill to reflect suggestions that the legislation could also provide protections for people that are falsely accused of committing crimes on college campuses.
Worldwide Day of Play Continued from page 1
Opponents of the bill argue against it because it would take away the rights of the Second Amendment and is not an adequate measure to prevent mass shootings. According to the NY Times, Gun rights supporter and California assemblyman Tim Donnelly said: “Every one of us wants to prevent a mass shooting. The question is: Would this bill stop that? I don’t believe you can ever stop that with laws. I don’t believe you can legislate evil out of the hearts of men.”
Day of Play by shutting down all electronics and instead supplying members with a variety of fun movement activities such as parachute games, relay races, indoor bowling, hopscotch, musical chairs, jump
roping, and more! For more information about programming at the Boys & Girls Club of Cypress, please call 714-527-2697 or visit our website at www.boysandgirlsclubofcypress.com.
Boys & Girls Club of Cypress member Anthony L. practices sprinting during a relay race in celebration of Worldwide Day of Play at the Club.- Courtesy Photo