Temple City's Wong Turn
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:24
Jasmine Wu
Two Temple City fi gures—formerMayor Judy Wong and former MayorCathe Wilson—were accused of wrongdoingby a developer, Randy Wang, whoclaimed that these two offi cials demandedbribes of him in exchange for their cooperationto move a long delayed $75 millionbuilding project forward.Wilson and Wong are faced with tenfelony charges—including bribery andperjury—all of which they pleaded notguilty to, and a maximum sentence of tenyears in prison.Earlier last year, Wilson had beenvoted out of her position in city councilmuch to the relief of school board members.Mayor Fernando Vizcarra called it“an old, bad marriage,” because there washardly any communication with the citycouncil on their part.In addition to being a councilwoman,Wong is advisor to the city’s new YouthCommittee; this newly formed committeeconsists of 13 Temple City middle schooland high school students and allows thestudents a chance to get involved in citypolitics by offering their input to studentrelatedcouncil discussions. “It’s a big disappointmentto the youth group,” sophomoreAmy Wang said. “Depending on thekids themselves, some may be infl uencedto think doing the easy thing is the rightthing, and others may have simply lost respect for people in government positions.”
Believe It...Or Not
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:24
Andrew Lin
1. This past Christmas, locals inAnchorage, Alaska, bought their pine treesgarnished with something different: Pacifi cChorus frogs. The frogs produce lovelycroaking melodies, are about an inch long,and are brown with vivid green patterns thatstretch along its sides—they’re quite cute.In all seriousness, however, scientists discoveredthat the frogs are in fact an invasivespecies and at risk for carrying certain fungiand viruses. Local government offi cials arerecommending that Alaskans do the localecosystem a favor by killing them. Offi cialssuggest rubbing Orajel on the frogs’ heads,which seeps into their amphibious brainsand knocks them out dead, or placing thecreatures in plastic bags and then freezingthem.2. A family in Albuquerque, NewMexico, is suing a local funeral home forsending their dead mother’s brain home in abag of personal effects. The family made thisghastly discovery after tracing the source ofthe stink.3. Last Dec. 30, 26-year-old BayronReyes Lopez of San Clemente was arrestedfor repeatedly beating, choking, andultimately killing a stranger’s schnauzerdog and then proceeding to run through thestreets naked.4. It seems as if Arcadia isn’t theonly host to the peacock phenomenon: thecommunity of Longboat Key, Florida, hasrecently began a campaign to rid the neighborhoodof their peacock infestation. Ownershave been setting up traps and one haseven been arrested for clubbing a peacock todeath. That’ll get you a $1,000 fi ne here inArcadia.5. A man in Portland, Oregon, wasrecently arrested for surreptitiously cuttingpeople’s hair on the public transit and is asuspect in a string of similar cases reportedthis past month. What’s more, the man has anoutstanding warrant on him in King County,Washington, for allegedly gluing people’shair. Go fi gure.6. The owner of a Southern Californiantoy store discovered a two-foot teddybear stuffed with three large, vacuum-sealedbags of marijuana on Dec. 28.7. On Jan. 5, a woman in Toledo,Ohio, knocked out a McDonald’s employeeafter being told that the establishment wascompletely sold-out of chicken nuggets. Shealso punched and shattered one of the restaurant’sdrive-thru windows in the midst of heranger.8. 45-year-old Rocky Flash the“Vampyre King” was sentenced to two yearsin prison for threatening to torture, dismember,decapitate, and impale a judge and hischildren. The Vampyre King’s threat wasdelivered shortly after the judge orderedhim to stay a respectful distance away froma woman the King met on an internet datingwebsite. Flash is the leader of an internetcommunity called Vampyre Nation, which isdevoted to securing blood for its patrons to drink.
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Great Expectations: Ringing in the 2010 California Elections
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:23
Alex Ethridge
2010 is already stacking up to be a greatyear for parties—political parties, that is. WithGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger fi nishing uphis term at the end of this year and a few seatsin Senate left vacant, the entire nation is plungingheadfi rst back into the political frenzy wewere so fond of a couple years ago in 2008.In California, over 90 initiatives are fi ghtingto make November’selection, and while manywill fi zzle out, dozensare likely to reach theballot. Initiatives areprocedures in which anumber of voters proposean amendment andtry to get voters to pass it.Some are familiar, suchas legalizing same-sexmarriage, while othersare new, like outlawingdivorce. Anyone can draft an initiative, and ifit gets the required number of votes, it makesthe election ballot. Each initiative needs morethan a million dollars in funding to collect thenecessary signatures: about 400,000 for a stateamendment and 700,000 for a constitutionalamendment.The biggest battle is between businessand labor, whose dueling propositions maycause turmoil for the nation. While there isn’t any bloodshed yet, both are posed to attack.Supporters of business interests, called antiunionists,advocate initiatives trying to ban deductionsfor unions’ political affairs and revamppensions of public workers. These propositionswould, if passed, harm the power and lifestyleof America’s working class, called unionists.Instead of fi ring back, however, unionistsare emulating Roosevelt’s motto of “speak softlybut carry a big stick” by choosing initiativesthat cancel billions in business tax breaks, raiseproperty taxes, and prevent corporate donations.“Both are getting ready for battle,” commentedThad Kousser, a political science professor fromStanford University, “but if they rattle their sabersenough, it could [create] a truce.”A truce is exactly what some governmentreformers are hoping for. Bob Hertzberg, cochairmanof good-government group CaliforniaForward, said, “We think it’s in the best interestsof California to stop the noise and focus on serious issues that affect all of us.” He has beentrying to negotiate peace between the parties,and is pushing for initiatives that will relocatemore power to state governments and reformthe state’s budget process.Other groups believe that the confl ict is agood thing, and voters will want a small groupof people to remake California’s government.One thing is for sure—this year’s election willbe like nothing California’s witnessed before.Fred Kimball, owner of a Westlake Villagefi rm that gathers initiative signatures,said, “It’s either a mildseason or nuclear war—justdepends on which dominofalls.”Whether or not Arcadiajoins the party, studentshave something tosay about this year’s politicalfuture. Senior WinstonChang said,” I supportthestatewide movement for aCalifornia constitutional convention.[It] could potentially [ease] the fi nancialharms of our budget crisis.” Another issue athand is the Prop 8 decision. Junior Ray Chaosaid, “It’s a really controversial topic, and allthe buzz about it will probably guarantee it a spot on the 2010 ballot.”
In Memoriam: Agustin Roberto “Bobby” Salcedo
Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:23
Evan Delgado
In our own little bubble, we residentsof Arcadia sometimes forget the dangersof the world, until something happens soclose to home. On NewYear’s Eve, beloved ElMonte Assistant PrincipalAgustin Roberto“Bobby” Salcedo wasfound in a ravine withbullet wounds in hishead and chest whileon vacation in Mexico.His entire family was inshock, and his communitywas hit hard by theloss. Salcedo had beendining with his wife andsome friends a day earlierwhen the restaurantwas stormed by gunmen.He was taken along withfi ve other men, and killedin an execution a day later. His brotherCarlos was horrifi ed by the ordeal, as hehad been text messaging his brother onlya few hours before the occurrence.Over 4,000 students, friends, familymembers, and residents of El Monteattended Salcedo’s funeral. “Take MeOut to the Ball Game” played over thespeakers to honor the die-hard Dodgerfan. Students reminisced his acts of kindness,including the time he set up a togathemedparty for his students. He wasrecently elected to the school board andwas fi nishing his doctorate in educationleadership at UCLA.All of his co-workers commentedon how dedicated he was to teaching and his community, and even studentsat AHS have felt the loss. “Even thoughI didn’t know Mr. Salcedo personally,I knew that his infl uence as a schoolboard member and assistant high schoolprincipal profoundly impacted the students,parents, andteachers who knewand worked withhim...although hemay not be alivenow, his spirit willcontinue toimpact theeducationalworld heworked in,”said freshmanAndrew Sun. In the words of El MonteMayor Andre Quintero, Salcedo was “anabsolute bright, shining star in our community,”Over the years, crime has spreadlike wildfi re throughout Mexico, andthere is a large concentration in Durango,the state of Mexico home to GomezPalacio, the city that Salcedo had beenvisiting. The high-industry district, fromwhich many goods are sent to the US, has become a strategic point of interestfor battling drug cartels. As the drug warspicked up, so did crime in general. Neighborswithout work even began posing ascartel members and extorting residents.Families have stopped visits, and onestore owner even moved his store fromthe public to his own home. Crime rateshave topped last year’s state records, andmany residents believe that this is due tothe ineffectiveness of the Mexican government.It was unclear, but a commontheory is that the kidnappingand shooting were drug-related,although Salcedo wasin no way linked to drugs inMexico.Salcedo was a valuedmember of the community,dedicating his life to education.It seems that he was simplyin the wrong place at thewrong time, dragged into thedrug wars of Mexico. “My reactionto the incident is that itshows how the world outsideArcadia, now named one ofAmerica’s best places to raisechildren, holds danger andimperfections, which we maynot fi nd in Arcadia itself,” saidsophomore Stephen Lee.The incident has come as a shockas well as a tragedy, especially to peoplewho have never felt the outreach of somethingso tragic and so near. An inspirationand a hero, Bobby Salcedo will be missedby his friends, family, and the thousandswho admired his work as a public educator. edelgado
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