The James Logan Courier

By Thao (Michelle) Hoang, Courier Staff Writer

President Obama visited the East Bay Wednesday,his second trip to the Bay Area since he took office. President Barack Obama toured the Fremont solar panel manufacturer, Solyndra, during his 19-hour stay in the East Bay.

Before his Wednesday morning visit to Solyndra, Obama attended a pair of Democratic fundraisers Tuesday evening in San Francisco — one for Senator Barbara Boxer, who is bracing for a tough re-election battle this fall. This will be her fourth term. He also attended a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

By Jericho Faustino, Courier Staff Writer

Language Arts Teacher Peter Carini's son Joey is at an age where boys play basketball on the black top, run around playing tag, and play with other kids his age on the jungle gym, but at 11-years-old, Joey has a chance to do something not many people can say they've done — sing for the Pope.

Courier Staff Report

Online voting is underway as James Logan students choose their class officers for next year.

With hundreds of campaign posters festooning the campus, voting started at lunch Thursday and continues through Friday at 1:30 p.m. Vote collection and tabulation is being "done over the Internet -- Votenet Solutions in Washington DC is the company that is hosting the election website and counting the votes," wrote Activites Director Francis Rojas in an email to Logan's staff.

By Tom Lasseter
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

BEIJING — South Korean President Lee Myung-bak issued a scathing condemnation of the North Korean regime Monday and announced trade restrictions that ratcheted tensions to their highest level in years on the Korean peninsula, which is home to more than 25,000 U.S. troops
The White House said in a statement that it fully backed Lee, and that President Barack Obama "has directed his military commanders to coordinate closely with their Republic of Korea counterparts to ensure readiness and to deter future aggression."

In a national address, Lee said North Korean ships no longer would be allowed in South Korean-controlled waters and that almost all inter-Korean trade was being canceled.

By Allen Chan, Courier Staff Writer


The 2010 class sweatshirts are now on sale in room 67, for $27, to be paid in cash. T sweater contains the entire class’ names on the back and a coliseum with two horses in the front as a design. The primary colors on the front are white and yellow and red on the back. Though seniors have already purchased many sweaters, not everyone likes the appearance of it.

Darren Dela Pena says, “They’re cool.” He thinks the decoration is fine and that it makes a good sweater.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Mikey McKelvey, a seventh-grade teacher at Alvarado Middle School, has been selected as the New Haven Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year, it was announced during the Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. Lenora Matthews, a campus monitor and noon supervisor at Searles Elementary, was named Classified Employee of the Year.

A New Haven teacher for 18 years, including 14 at AMS, Mikey McKelvey also serves as a coach for Writers Workshop, the District’s research-based approach to literacy instruction. A member of the school’s Instructional Leadership team, she also has served as a department head, a curriculum leader and a literacy coordinator, as well as on School Site Council, the Site-Based Decision-Making Team and the Curriculum Budget Committee. She is a National Board certified teacher in both English/language arts and social science/history.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Cheri Benafield, assistant principal at Alvarado Elementary, and Anthony La Rue, a highly regarded young educator from San Diego, have been hired as principals at Pioneer and Eastin elementary schools, respectively, and Hui Stevens has been promoted from assistant principal to acting principal at Alvarado Middle School.

The New Haven Unified School District Board of Education approved the appointments Tuesday night. The Board also approved the appointment of veteran educator Geri Isaacson, currently overseeing professional development for nearly two dozen schools in Oakland Unified, as the District’s Director of Instructional Support.

By Daniel Chang and Jaweed Kaleem
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

MIAMI — As BP engineers worked to contain a deep sea oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, scientists tracking the spread of oil on the ocean's surface and underwater expressed concern that powerful currents could carry the crude as far east as Florida and potentially damage sensitive reefs in the Florida Keys.

Doug Suttles, BP chief operating officer, said Monday on NBC's ``Today'' show that a mile-long tube inserted into a damaged well on the sea floor was funneling a little more than 1,000 barrels — or 42,000 gallons — of oil, natural gas and water a day from the blown well into a tanker ship.

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Kitayama Elementary School improved its statewide ranking on the Academic Performance Index Report released today by the California Department of Education.

Statewide rankings show how each school compares to all other schools in California. A rank of 10 means that a school is in the top 10 percent of all schools of its level (elementary, middle or high) statewide. A rank of 1 denotes the lowest 10 percent.

By Christi Parsons and David G. Savage
Tribune Washington Bureau (MCT)

WASHINGTON — Calling her a "trailblazing lady," President Obama announced his nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court in a ceremony Monday morning in the White House.

Kagan had won accolades from "across the ideological spectrum," Obama said, praising her "openness to a broad array of viewpoints" and what he said was a "habit of understanding before disagreeing."

By Rick La Plante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer


The Board of Education on Tuesday night received an update on safety at James Logan High School.

Principal Amy McNamara reported a 35 percent drop in expulsions this year, from 47 at this point in the 2008-09 school year to 30 in 2009-10, and a 22 percent drop in suspensions, from 417 to 325. Referrals also are down significantly, she reported.

The improvement has been particularly noteworthy among 9th-graders, she said, attributing it in part to the “freshmen families” system that enables most 9th graders to have the same classmates and teachers for most classes. Having “adults who care about them and talk about them on a regular basis” has created “connections,” Ms. McNamara said, and resulted in more and earlier interventions.

By Troy Wolverton
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple on Monday reported out-of-this-world sales for its iPad, but complaints from some users and regulators threaten to bring the gadget and the company back down to earth.

The Cupertino, Calif., company announced it sold 1 million iPads in the 28 days since the gadget hit the market. The announcement came just three days after Apple began sales of versions that can access the Internet over 3G networks.

But even as Apple celebrated, complaints were trickling in about the device and one of the company's business decisions related to it.

By Paul Rogers
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Setting up what is expected to be a multimillion-dollar political battle between oil companies and Silicon Valley tech leaders, opponents of California's landmark global warming law turned in about 800,000 signatures Monday for a November ballot measure to suspend the law.

Opponents of the law, known as AB 32, say it will cost California jobs during a bad economy by increasing the price for fuels such as gasoline, and electricity bills. Supporters say the law — the latest example of California leading the rest of the nation on environmental reform — already is helping the state's green tech and renewable energy industries by driving demand for cleaner energy.