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- Written by: Editor
SACRAMENTO – The Foundation for California Community Colleges announced it has received up to $20 million in grant funding to launch a statewide program that will aim to improve California’s air quality.
The program – called the Vehicle Repair, Retirement and Replacement for Motorists program or "VRRRM" – will bring clean air and fuel efficiency benefits to California consumers by repairing, retiring or replacing 17,000 polluting cars in California and removing more than 850 tons of pollutants from California’s airways over the next three years.
"This is a significant step forward for California’s air quality," said Paul Lanning, Ed.D., President and CEO of the Foundation for California Community Colleges. "This program represents a collaboration of multiple agencies involved in California’s air quality management. It will infuse much-needed funds back into the state's economy while tapping into the educational and training resources of the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the world."
Through 2013, VRRRM (pronounced “vroom”) will provide monetary incentives for motorists to repair, retire or replace their high-emitting vehicles, thereby removing them from California roadways and reducing overall vehicle emissions.
VRRRM will supplement already-existing programs in an effort to add momentum to the fight for clean air while increasing the number of California motorists who will be eligible for such benefits.
Additionally, it will tap into the workforce training provided by California Community Colleges by involving student assistants at more than 30 different college sites. College students will also aid with outreach to local communities through weekend events held on campuses.
While there are other repair, retirement and replacement programs already in place throughout California that are making progress toward improving California's air quality, VRRRM is intended to help close the gaps and make vehicle emission reduction benefits open to all motorists, particularly those disqualified from existing programs.
The foundation collaborated with several agencies in developing the VRRRM program including the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, California Air Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
Although motorists throughout the state will benefit from this program, VRRRM will place special emphasis in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas, known as the South Coast Basin, and portions of Central California, known as the San Joaquin Basin.
Air quality measurements reveal that these air basins are plagued by the most severe air quality attainment issues in the state and nation. They are the only two air districts in California that have failed to attain federal air quality standards. What's more, nearly half of all California vehicles are registered and operate within these two basins.
Approximately 10 percent of the light-and medium- duty vehicles are responsible for close to 50 percent of the vehicle emissions according to remote sensing studies conducted in the South Coast Air Basin and in other urbanized areas of the country, and it has been found that providing monetary incentives can provide a necessary and cost-effective enticement for retiring many older, higher-emitting vehicles.
The VRRRM program is made possible by a grant from the Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund. Created as a result of an antitrust class action, the purpose of the fund is to achieve a clean air or fuel efficiency benefit for California consumers.
The Foundation for California Community Colleges was selected to administer the program due to the organization's statewide reach, and for its involvement in existing air quality programs.
Currently, the foundation works closely with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair to provide air quality testing and support through its statewide network of BAR Smog Check Referee Stations.
Through this program, 33 Smog Check Referee Centers located at California Community Colleges located throughout the state perform a variety of smog check services, and are staffed by Foundation Smog Check Referees and community college student technicians.
The program will be fully launched in the late spring, with additional details to be made available at www.foundationccc.org .
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UKIAH – Mendocino College Admission and Records Technician Anastasia Simpson-Logg was selected in February as recipient of the quarterly award for classified staff.
“Mendocino College has very much a family atmosphere. From my first day at work there’s been a good vibe” she said.
Simpson-Logg has worked at Mendocino College since late 2001.
She started in the Admissions and Records Department and particularly enjoys being involved in the commencement ceremony each spring.
Simpson-Logg said that “students are so grateful at graduation time” and frequently thank her for helping them achieve their academic goals.
“Anastasia is deeply engaged with Mendocino College,” said her supervisor, Kristie Anderson. “The best story that clearly shows her dedication to us and to the department was her adding just a few more moments to the day – to clear up a couple more items for training the new person and for processing student’s transfer work – and then delivering her daughter Anya a few hours later.”
The Mendocino College Foundation has allocated $2,000 for 2009-10 for the first year of the classified staff recognition program, with one recipient selected for each quarter on Sept. 1, Nov. 16, Feb. 1 and April 16.
The recipients are selected by the Mendocino College superintendent/president, two vice-presidents and director of human resources based on supervisor nominations, contributions to the college and longevity.
The winner has the opportunity to choose a college program to receive $500 which can be used by that program in support of the college’s strategic goals.
Simpson-Logg requested that the $500 from the foundation be given to the Mendocino College English program for the purchase of library materials that will augment the current English curriculum and assist students in their English studies.
For more information about Mendocino College, visit www.mendocino.edu .
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MENDOCINO COUNTY – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. recently announced a settlement with James L. Harrison, 62, of Ukiah, after he "looted college scholarship funds" from a trust intended to benefit female graduates of Ukiah High School pursuing careers in medicine.
Brown's office, working with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the California Department of Financial Institutions, recovered both the principal and the interest-totaling over $650,000-owed to the trust.
In the settlement, Harrison agreed to a lifetime ban from serving as a charitable trustee or officer of a public benefit corporation.
"Harrison looted college scholarship funds intended to help women graduating from high school achieve their dreams," Brown said, adding that the agreement makes sure that Harrison is never in a position to steal from a nonprofit again.
In 1993, Ukiah residents Viola and Oscar Allen established a living trust. It was their wish that upon their deaths, funds from the trust would be administered as scholarships for female graduates of Ukiah High School interested in pursuing further education in the medical field.
Harrison, who was then vice president of Savings Bank in Mendocino County, became trustee in 1993. Instead of funding scholarships for students, he began spending the money for his own benefit. He invested in real-estate ventures and loaned money to friends and family.
In 2005, the FDIC was notified of suspicious activity involving the trust. The Attorney General's Office began its own investigation and found that Harrison had diverted hundreds of thousands of the approximately $474,000 in the original trust.
In February 2007, Brown's office filed a civil lawsuit against Harrison seeking to remove him from the Trustee position. Brown's office also filed criminal charges against Harrison in 2008.
In February 2009, Harrison entered no contest pleas to misappropriation of trust assets, filing willfully false tax returns and admittedly taking in excess of $200,000.
Harrison was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years probation.
As a result of the civil action, a new trustee was appointed to administer the Viola and Oscar Allen Trust and scholarships have been distributed for the last two years to female graduates of Ukiah High School.
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- Written by: Andrea McMullen
We are coming to the halfway point of the third grading period, which means our students will get credit checks to make sure they are achieving and moving positively forward to graduation.
We are now a little over halfway done with the 2009-10 school year!
Getting towards spring means that prom is coming up before we know it. Carlé High did a fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 13, at Foods Etc. in Clearlake and sold hot dogs, soda and chips to help offset the expense of putting on prom. The list of students volunteering will follow next week. We would like to thank Foods Etc. and our principal, Mr. Zander, for their generosity.
Odyssey Of the Mind went to Lower Lake Elementary School Thursday, Feb. 11, to perform a play they have been working very hard on since the beginning of the school year and we heard everything went great!
We would like to acknowledge our new students: Daniel Alvarez, Holly Brumback, Jake Brumback, Richard Iniguez, Brittany Krumsiek, Ricardo Olmedo, Raylon Ray and Alejandra Guitierrez. We hope you all feel welcome and comfortable here and do great things both for yourselves and this wonderful
community.
A very big thank you to Ryan Cumpston and Ellie Hackler for taking over the school recycling duties from Geneva Hudson and Brooke Robb who have been doing it since the last year.
This is a very important job because it helps our school look better and benefits everyone. All money raised through the recycling goes to buy blank media that the students use for various video and audio projects.
We really appreciate all the hard work Geneva and Brooke put in all year and Ryan and Ellie for taking over.
Due to the fact that Carlé students usually are only here for a year, two at most, all positions at this school such as Web site person, yearbook designer, business designers, TV editor of our morning bulletin, etc., have to constantly be trained by those who previously held the jobs and change is a constant here.
More portfolios are coming up! We have Vince Copas and Chris Clark on Feb. 25.
We would like to thank Michelle Larue for doing birthday cards on her own time, out of class, for all the students in our school. She makes sure that even if no one else is looking out for our kids, we are. Thanks very much for your kindness, Michelle.
There are many students and teachers who are hoping we get our tree replaced; it was the only tree in the quad and had to be cut down because it was dead. We would really enjoy having shade in the quad this spring.
Carlé recently hosted a meeting with the Gang Task Force on Feb. 10. Officer Ryan Peterson from Clearlake Police Department and Deputy Gary Frace of the Lake County Sheriff's Office were very helpful in raising awareness about gang activity in Lake County. The goal is to keep all of the students safe, whether they are at school or out in the community.
“I really appreciate the officers' time spent at Carlé, talking about the increased gang activity in the county and their down-to-earth responses to the students questions,” said Principal Ed Zander. “I also think it was a positive experience for the students to see that police officers truly care about the community and youth in Clearlake.”
Carlé teachers will give the model curriculum standards and talking more with them about how lessons are tied in with the standards. This is so students can better get an idea of what they're being taught and tested on and why.
There is already a good grasp on lessons and students involvement, but this will help everyone to be on the same page with everything so there is no question unanswered by students or the staff.
See you next week.
Andrea McMullen is a student at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake.