The James Logan Courier

By Fred Tasker
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
MIAMI — After a lifetime of Hollywood success, actress Farrah Fawcett had the misfortune to die from one of the rarest malignancies, anal cancer.

It's a cancer that struck 5,070 Americans in 2008, compared with 40,740 cases of rectal cancer, 108,070 cases of colon cancer, 184,450 cases of breast cancer and 215,020 cases of lung cancer.

It's so rare, doctors say, that many caregivers don't routinely screen for it and many patients don't notice it until it reaches advanced stages.
"Early on, the patient often doesn't feel anything or know anything," said Dr. Michael Hellinger, colorectal surgeon at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach. "As it advances, with rectal bleeding, a little lump, people sometimes think it's hemorrhoids."

By Scott Canon
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Besides the obvious reason, TNT is not good for you.
But grass, it turns out, might be dynamite for the problem.

TNT contaminates hundreds of sites, from military firing ranges to old production dumps to waterways, and poses a threat to the human nervous system and to the liver and kidneys. It's suspected to cause cancer. It can cause allergic reactions and attack the immune system, and it may lead to birth defects.

Left alone in the soil, TNT breaks down into an even more toxic substance.
If the problem is left in the dirt, maybe that's where the solution can grow.

Three Missouri researchers have hit on an idea that could potentially scrub away the TNT danger: Simply plant the right kind of grass.

By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

Iran descended further into chaos Saturday, as security forces used guns, tear gas and metal batons against defiant protesters, protesters fought back, and the toll of dead and injured mounted in the country's escalating post-election crisis.

Videos and pictures posted on the Internet, and which appeared authentic, showed scenes of violence. In one, a woman lay in the street, surrounded by a crowd, her face covered in blood. Other reports showed security forces firing into the air to disperse protesters and tossing canisters of tear gas.

But there were also images of protesters battling back-hurling stones, chasing police away and displaying security forces' helmets like trophies.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Wendy Gudalewicz, who during the past 20 years has built a reputation in the Bay Area and beyond as an exceptional instructional leader, was appointed June 9 by the Board of Education to serve as Chief Academic Officer of the New Haven Unified School District.

“Wendy’s entire career is testament to her clear focus on curriculum and instruction,” New Haven Superintendent Kari McVeigh said. “She is the perfect choice to continue the good work that’s begun in our District in teaching and learning, and to take us to the next level.

By Michael Upchurch
The Seattle Times (MCT)


Early on in this documentary about the industrialization of food-production comes a statement with more implications than at first are apparent: "The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about where your food comes from — because if you knew, you might not want to eat it."
In other words, "Food, Inc." isn't just about food. It's about suppressed information.

Producer-director Robert Kenner, with input from authors Eric Schlosser ("Fast Food Nation") and Michael Pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma"), tries to lift the veil. The result is an alarming film that tackles food and freedom-of-speech issues on many fronts.

By Dion Nissenbaum
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

BEIRUT — Lebanon's pro-Western political parties turned their focus Monday toward crafting a stable coalition government hours after voters, prodded by the Obama administration to embrace moderation, soundly rebuffed efforts by Iran-backed Hezbollah politicians to secure more political power in Beirut.

While Monday's results gave the ruling coalition a significant political boost, the fractious alliance must now decide whether to marginalize Hezbollah or bring the powerful Shiite Muslim party into a new unity government.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Seeking alternative funding to continue to improve student achievement despite continuing state budget cuts, the New Haven Unified School District has begun surveying voters regarding the possibility of a parcel tax.

“The situation in Sacramento is only getting worse, and it’s having a devastating effect on education,” Superintendent Kari McVeigh said. “We’ve been able to delay some of the measures other districts have had to take, including laying off teachers and increasing class sizes, but the time is coming -- and soon -- when we will have no choice."
Click here to take the survey.

By Weida Siddiqi, Courier Staff Writer

Since 1982 the Puente program at Logan has been running a successful operation. The Puente Project is a national award winning program that has been running for more than 25 years and has improved the college going rate of thousands of California's students. Its goal is to increase the number of students who enroll in four year colleges and universities, earn college degrees and return to the community as mentors and leaders to future generations. It all started at the Chabot community college and now has spreaded to many different high schools and colleges throughout the state of California. The Puente staff is there to help out with academic counseling and as mentors.

By Jessie Mangaliman
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The son of Japanese immigrants who were interned during World War II, and a college instructor on ethnic studies Lewis Kawahara knew that high schools and colleges in California have awarded honorary degrees to Japanese-American students whose studies and lives were disrupted in the Spring of 1942.

"I knew there were former students from this college," said Kawahara, an adjunct assistant professor at the College of San Mateo. "So I thought, 'Why not here?' "

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

The Board of Education on Tuesday night heard a “State of the District” report from Superintendent Kari McVeigh. The Board requested the report as part of its adoption in May of the District’s Comprehensive Strategic Planning Framework.

Superintendent McVeigh reiterated the District Goal -- that all students will perform at grade level in all core subjects -- and reviewed the Seven Essentials, conditions for continuous improvement as outlined in the Comprehensive Strategic Planning Framework. The Framework, which builds on the New Haven Strategic Plan, has been and is being used by all sites, administration and members of the original Strategic Planning Team and the Update Team to review student performance data, identify strengths, and determine where the data needs to improve.

Courier Staff Report


All around the James Logan High campus, students can be seen with their noses in their books.

Not their textbooks, even though finals are looming for most Logan students next week.

The book that's arrested student interest this week is the yearbook, which debuted Monday when it was distributed to juniors and seniors after school. Freshmen and sophomores had to wait until yesterday.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Amy McNamara-Furtado, principal for the past five years at San Leandro High School – a large and diverse school where she focused on issues of fostering equity and improving student achievement – was appointed Tuesday night by the Board of Education to serve as principal of James Logan High.

Ms. McNamara-Furtado, 38, will assume her new duties officially on July 1, but she plans to be a frequent visitor to the Logan campus in June.

“Amy is a true instructional leader, and her experience at San Leandro mirrors our needs at Logan,” New Haven Unified School District Superintendent Kari McVeigh said. “She’s been an outstanding principal at San Leandro, and her experience there has taught her how a large, diverse high school works. She will be an excellent leader at Logan.”

By Jericho Faustino, Courier Staff Writer

An art show featuring works by Logan students and sponsored by the Art Association of the East Bay, ended at Century Theatres in Union Landing last week.

A rack standing on the left side of the concession stands at the 25 screen theater held 105 works of art created by students of James Logan High School. Plenty of abstract work and more lined the portable metal frame that held the art. The beautiful black and white penned drawings, and multi-colored animals like Diego Rojas' burning red phoenix in "As Birds Fly, So Do Our Dreams," and beautiful metal plate carvings like Daniel Nunez' "Golden Gate"ť, beckoned curious movie goers to take a look at some of James Logan's artist art work.

By Cait Baca, Courier Staff Writer

During this past week, Logan's Forensic Science class was MIA from school as they had two field trips.

In Forensic Science, (also known as CSI), juniors and seniors learn different aspects of the crime solving industry. They are taught how to solve various crimes using DNA samples such as hair, fingerprints, blood that humans naturally leave behind at crime scenes. Students also learn how victims died, and how suspects executed their crimes. Led by Ms. Panico, the Forensic Science class uses the information they comprehend through out the year in order to solve virtual crime scenes created by their teacher.