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Top Stories: Aug. 16, 2010Good News for California Schools; Local Kids Get Stuffed Backpacks; Apple Employee Indictedby Danny Wool on Aug 16, 2010Layoffs at El Camino Hospital It’s hard to understand what’s really going on at El Camino Hospital. Last month, the medical center reported a $7.9 million deficit for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, but according to a new report, released in advance of this week’s board meeting, the hospital is in the black to the tune of $36.6 million. Nevertheless, the hospital has decided to carry through with its "Accelerating Continuous Excellence" initiative to reduce operating costs. This includes a freeze on executive salaries, a reduction of supply and consulting costs, and the inevitable slashing of personnel costs. To achieve that, the hospital will be letting go of 140 employees, from maintenance staff and administrative support to nurses. The layoffs account for almost 5 percent of the hospital’s total staff. When asked why the hospital is laying off so many people, when it is actually running a profit, Spokesman Chris Ernst explained that the surplus was the result of “one-time adjustments, one-time recoveries … We can’t count on those for the future.” Read More at the Mercury News. Read More at the Mountain View Voice. Some Good News for California Schools With the new school year fast approaching, there’s finally some good news for California’s ailing educational system. The $26 billion state aid bill that President Obama signed last week includes $10 billion to rehire teachers laid off because of budget cuts or even to add new teaching positions. Over 10 percent of that, $1.2 billion, will be going to California to help rehire teachers. This, it is hoped, will help to eliminate some of the layoffs forced on teachers as school districts cut their budgets, and could prevent a more drastic increase in class size. More teachers. Smaller classes. What could be better? A state budget, for one thing. Despite the July 1 deadline, state lawmakers and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have yet to agree on a new budget, and impasse could carry on well into the new school year. California may get the additional money, but it still does not know what it will be added to. Alternately, lawmakers may decide that with the money coming in, it could redirect $1.2 billion from existing education funds to other underfunded services such as prisons (which cost the taxpayer $50,000 per inmate per year, or more than it costs a student in the UC system). School districts can expect to receive federal help by late August. It would be helpful if they could have their regular operating budgets finalized by then too. Read More at NBC Bay Area. Local Kids Get Backpacks, Supplies A public education may be free, but parents are still expected to cover the cost of essential supplies that every student needs. This means more than a few pencils and notebooks. For younger kids it includes crayons. For older kids it includes a USB drive, which, let’s face, can be expensive. Then there is the backpack to store all these supplies. Outfitting a kid for school comes with a cost. Fortunately, in San Jose, needy children were able to get what they needed from the Sacred Heart Community. Parents and kids lined up around the block to receive a free backpack filled with all the supplies they need. It’s an annual event, but this year the need was even sharper than usual, “We've seen a lot of families that have not come to us before,” said one of the organizers, “but that's a reflection of what's happening in our economy and cuts to the school system.” Altogether, over 2,000 children were helped. Among the goodies found in this year’s backpacks was a gift card to help needy students buy new shoes. Now, at least, 2,000 kids will be ready to head back to school. They have all the supplies they need. The rest is up to them. Read More at ABC 7. Apple Employee Indicted for Kickback Scheme Paul Shin Devine, 37, of Sunnyvale was arrested on Friday for his involvement in a multinational kickback scheme. According to the indictment, Devine provided Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPad accessories with confidential information that they could then use to strengthen their negotiating position with Apple. Authorities say that he received over $1 million for the information. In addition to receiving the kickbacks, Devine is being charged with wire fraud and money laundering. An accomplice, Andrew Ang of Singapore, is also named in the indictment, but there is no information yet as to his whereabouts. Read More at ABC 7. Residents to Appeal Stop Sign Decision Residents of the Hathaway Park neighborhood of West San Jose have already had their request for new stop signs denied. They want them added to Colombo Drive and Latimer Avenue, hoping that this will slow down traffic and make the neighborhood safer for cyclists and pedestrians. So far, their request has been denied by the city’s Department of Transportation, but the neighborhood association has not given up. They’ll be taking their fight to City Hall at this Tuesday’s public meeting. Then it will be left for City Council to decide whether the stop signs can really slow down traffic in this part of San Jose. Read More at KLIV. by Danny Wool on Aug 16, 2010 |
![]() El Camino Hospital will follow through with its plans to freeze expenses and lay off staffers, despite recent reports that the company is making money. |
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