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Republican Sen. Joe Zarelli from Ridgefield, center, sits at his desk on the floor of the Senate Chamber.

OLYMPIA Clark County lawmakers this week promoted bills to fund the Columbia River Crossing project and protect education budgets.

Columbia River Crossing

Vancouver Democrats Rep. Jim Moeller and Sen. Craig Pridemore are sponsoring companion bills that would authorize tolling as a partial means to replace the Interstate Bridge joining Portland and Vancouver.

Both bills passed votes in Transportation committees Tuesday and could make their way to the floor in the next couple of weeks.

Finding the money for a new Interstate 5 bridge is a complicated process, Moeller said. It relies upon a combination of funds from Washington, Oregon and the federal government.

“We have to show the federal government that we are serious and that we have a funding plan,” Moeller said.

The Columbia River Crossing is the largest construction project in the history of Southwest Washington, Pridemore said.

“It will bring 16,000 jobs over the next seven years in direct stimulus and more than 27,000 jobs in economic impact,” he said. “It’s the single greatest thing we can do in both the short term and the long term to promote the economic vitality of the region.”

Education

Sens. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, and Don Benton, R-Vancouver, are sponsoring SB 6567, a bill intended to solidify education funding as a top priority.

“It’s just another way to ensure we fulfill our paramount duty,” Benton said.

State government has a spending limit for its general fund. Spending cannot exceed the prior year’s expenditures plus a fiscal growth factor calculated by taking into account inflation and population growth for the previous three years.

This bill would pull education funding out from under that spending-limit umbrella.

The shift would apply not only to K-12 education but also higher-education appropriations and financial aid.

The bill came up for its first public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee Tuesday. Benton admitted he doesn’t know whether it will gain traction with enough lawmakers.   

“It’s hard at this point to get a sense of anything right now,” he said. “We’re so late at getting things moving.”

Benton said in all his previous years working at the Capitol he never witnessed the Senate struggle so much to focus on budgeting during a short session.

– Justin Runquist

Engage in a discussion about the positive portrayal of women in media at a 90 minute screening of MISS REPRESENTATION. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, this film shares the stories of women from various industries, experiences and ages about the impact media has on its audience. Join in this critical discussion of the portrayal of women in todays media, and how you can help others see what they can be.

Two viewings of MISS REPRESENTATION will be hosted on the College of Charleston campus. This first showing will be held in room 235 of the Robert Scott Small building this Saturday, January 28 from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. The address for this building is 175 Calhoun Street, and is located near the corner of St. Philip Street. The second event will be on Wednesday, February 1 at 3:00 p.m. These showings are free and open to the public.

See you all there!

Midway through the 2011-12 Loyola Ramblers season visiting schools are continuously taking delight in the newly renovated Gentile Arena. The finalization of the court concluded Phase Two of the 100 million dollarreimagine campaign Loyola University Chicago has embarked on. Phase One comprised of erecting the state-of-the-art Norville Center for Intercollegiate Athletics. The Norville Center also houses the Gentile Arena in addition to world class locker rooms and weight lifting exercise facilities. These two athletic department venues together have already shifted the Rambler culture forward and initiated a true “Rambler Renaissance” for the rest of the university.

Complementing the upgrade in facilities, Porter Moser, men’s basketball head coach, and Dr. Grace Calhoun, athletic director, tirelessly work to keep Rambler Pride flowing around campus and within the student body. They have successfully instilled a new-found swagger in students and Loyola alums, evident each home game at the ‘Joe. The tenacious crowd plays well into the thunderous design of the arena.

Mark Lazerus of the Post-Tribune is marveled by the construction and believes Loyola has made the perfect decision on the cozy size of Gentile.  He also sees the gym as a microcosm for other Horizon League arenas.  ”Well, Loyola has created a mid-major paradise,” Lazerus writes. ”The Gentile high school gym has been converted into arguably the nicest facility in the league.” Anyone that has been to the Gentile pre-renovation knows exactly what Mark is talking about by referring it to a ‘high school gym.’ Valpo plays home to a high school style gym and would cherish in the chance to convert the Arc into a Gentile like arena.

Not only have the renovations increased fan fare, but have had an insurmountable effect on recruiting. When talking to Class of 2012 commit Matt O’Leary he stated the following for the reason he chose the Ramblers for college, “What ultimately drew me to Loyola was the fact that the campus is amazing, I see the program as one that has a chance to be very successful in the future.”

Bill Potter, Director of Communications for the Horizon League, finally took in a game last Saturday when Butler paid Loyola a visit. “I was lucky enough to take a hard-hat tour of Gentile Arena earlier in the year, and the finished product is remarkable. The fans are on top of the action, which I think they enjoy, and I think will serve Loyola well in terms of building a home court advantage in the years to come,” Potter explicated. Last month when cross town team DePaul played at Gentile, Blue Demon head coach Oliver Purnell took notice of the crowd right away. Having the Rambler Rowdies jeering and screaming amplified by the dynamics of the stadium is the ultimate form of home court advantage.

“What I was fortunate to see on Saturday was the energy in Gentile. I look forward to seeing the energy continue to pick up as Porter Moser builds his program,” Potter said. As delightful as it is to have a brand new first rate home court, the potential and forward direction for the Ramblers is the most enticing. All of Rambler nation anticipates the return to college basketball greatness.

Porter Moser and his Gentile Arena are just the first two steps.

The Education Act 2012 gives schools the power to impose detentions without the existing 24 hours’ notice for parents. Photo: GETTY

6:00AM GMT 16 Jan 2012

Teachers will be able to keep unruly pupils behind at the end of the school day without warning after ministers scrapped the existing 24-hour notice period for parents.

The Government insisted the rules – being introduced from today – would make children more accountable for their bad behaviour.

It is among a series of Coalition reforms enshrined in the Education Act 2011 designed to crack down on classroom indiscipline. This includes increased powers to search pupils for banned items, granting teachers anonymity when accused of assault and giving heads the final say on expulsions.

It comes amid fears that the balance of power in schools has swung too far towards pupils in recent years.

Almost 1,000 children are suspended from school for abuse and assault every day and two-thirds of teachers admit bad behaviour is driving professionals out of the classroom.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Huntsville Middle School seventh-grader Emma Stowe loves to write, so her parents gently encouraged her to enter a nationwide creative writing competition a few months ago.

Good call. Emma’s entry, Thinking Cap, won the grand prize in the 9-13 age group of the annual “Be a Famous Writer” contest sponsored by MrsP.com, a website that aims to encourage a love of reading.

“I knew I was a finalist, but I never thought I might win,” Emma, 13, said Sunday. “I’m really excited.”

Emma’s 950-word short story about a missing gerbil named Ginger will be turned into a web video featuring Mrs. P. – TV sitcom actress Kathy Kinney. Kinney’s past credits include “My Name is Earl,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Seinfeld” and “Grace Under Fire.”

Robin E. Kaplan, an award-winning illustrator from Portland, Ore., will create original artwork to accompany Emma’s story.

In addition to the video, MrsP.com is producing a bound copy of Emma’s story with Kaplan’s illustrations. The picture of Emma that accompanies this article will appear on the book jacket.

“Emma’s written stories since she was little,” mother Elaine Stowe said Sunday. “It’s just something she’s always loved to do, so we thought this contest would be a fun experience for her.”

“But it was a pretty big surprise” that she took top honors.

Emma’s father, Jay Stowe, is chief operating officer of Huntsville Utilities.

Her story is set in Miss Applewood’s fourth-grade classroom. Ginger, the class pet, has vanished from her cage. A student in the class, Lily, skips recess to try to solve the mystery.

Lily ends up using carrots to coax the missing gerbil from its hiding place in the wall.

“Like a lot of fourth-grade teachers, Miss Applewood encourages the kids to use their thinking caps,” Emma said. “There’s a constant theme of Lily saying to herself, ‘I need to use my thinking cap to figure out where Ginger is.’”

Emma credited her sixth-grade reading teacher at Huntsville Middle, Michelle Steed, with pushing her to become a better writer.

“She taught me to really like words and learn their meaning.”

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Image via CrunchBase

Did you know that one of the biggest mistakes a person can make is misplacing an important document, such as a birth certificate or passport? Yes, these types of important, identifying documents are often what we’re frantically searching for when we need them most. About to board the plane for your honeymoon and can’t put your hand on that passport? Running late to register your little one for school and can’t seem to find his or her birth certificate? Do these harried circumstances sound familiar? If they do, you’re certainly not alone. Everyone misplaces an important document from time to time, but fortunately for all of us, emerging technology is beginning to make our lives (and our homes) slightly more peaceful. Scanning, storing and sending confidential pieces of paperwork and information is now revolutionized, and email fax services will help de-clutter even the most frantic households in no time.

Email fax services are available to the public, and helping everyone from frazzled parents to stressed business owners finally get rid of all their excess paperwork, and think with clearer minds (and clearer desktops). Imagine a workspace completely free of sticky notes, signed documents or invoices or bills waiting to be paid. Now, all those pesky pieces of paper can be neatly scanned into your iPad or smartphone for new ease of access and convenience. If you think you might not be a candidate for email fax services, think again. Take a look at our collection of who might be a great fit for the new technology, and start simplifying right away.

Computer Workers

Image by dennes abing via Flickr

If you spend your day in front of a computer, there’s no reason to also rummage through tons of hard copies of papers and files. Scan them all into your mobile device and enjoy the ability to send documents back and forth to coworkers and supervisors.

Families

Get the clutter out of the house, and keep all the kids’ important papers on your phone. You’ll never have to run home again to grab a permission slip or medical document.

Now that you’ve discovered how truly effortless email fax services can be, it’s time you register for an account and start cleaning up that clutter in your own life. That stack of bills sitting on the kitchen table? Scan them into your phone and pay on the go. The kids’ syllabi for school that are overtaking your home office? Copy those to your phone and toss the paper copies in the recycle bin. Before you know it, that cluttered desktop and frantic searching for lists and little scraps of paper will be a distant memory.