2008

Associated Press
November 20, 2008

State Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Concord, was named the 2008 winner of the National Trails Award for Public Service Monday in recognition of his work in developing plans for the Great California Delta Trail, Torlakson's press office announced Wednesday.

Torlakson wrote Senate Bill 1556, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law in 2006, the first step toward creating a trail system in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

By Jacquie Oliverius
Contra Costa Times
November 19, 2008

It was a full house when the Culture to Culture Foundation held a very special ceremony Oct. 5 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek.

Thirty-five seniors, ages 55 and older, were nominated, mostly by those who are involved in the area's senior community, for the foundation's first Senior Volunteer Awards for voluntarily serving in the community during the last year.

By Alicia Doyle
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Recognizing the value of a healthy workplace, the county of Ventura and city of Thousand Oaks received top honors for establishing wellness programs that benefit their company in many ways, including reduced insurance rates, increased productivity and lower long-term healthcare costs.

MediaNews editorial
October 21, 2008

STATE SEN. Tom Torlakson has made no secret of his plans. Term limits bar him from seeking re-election to the Senate, but allow him to serve one more two-year term in the state Assembly. It's very convenient for Torlakson, who needs a place to land before pursuing his real goal, running in 2010 for state Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Torlakson faces only token Republican opposition in his race for the Assembly seat representing northern Contra Costa from Antioch to Pinole.

By Theresa Harrington
Contra Costa Times
October 12, 2008

CONCORD — A contentious school board election is brewing in the Mt. Diablo district, where a longtime trustee and the teacher's union are working to defeat another incumbent amid months of controversy over management.

The school board has cut $14 million from the district's budget in the past year and is likely to slash millions more in coming months. It is also facing an expired teacher's contract that could lead to a strike, if it goes unresolved much longer.

Kelly Zito
San Francisco Chronicle
September 28, 2008

Shoes representing those who committed suicide by jumping... A pair of boots atop a pile of shoes represents the World... Nina Klehr (right) holds a sign in memory of friends who ...

Worn oxfords, floral flip-flops, in-line skates, sparkly high heels, fuzzy blue slippers.

Each pair of shoes placed early Saturday morning in a neat rectangular block on the green lawn of Crissy Field represented a person - teenager, artist, mother, doctor, war veteran - who has taken a fatal jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.

By Steven Harmon
MediaNews Sacramento Bureau
September 17, 2008

SACRAMENTO — Imagine a single act that could clean up the dysfunctions of California government.

Imagine taking the power out of lawmakers' hands to solve perpetually vexing issues such as prison overcrowding, broken water systems, failing schools, budget stalemates and gerrymandering.

Sacramento Bee
September 10, 2008

State Board of Education members will consider whether to ask the federal government for more time to institute a controversial statewide math standard, requiring all California eighth-graders to be tested on algebra.

The board meets for two days beginning at 9 a.m. today at the state Department of Education, Room 1011, 1430 N St.

The state board voted in July to test eighth-graders in algebra to bring California schools into compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind act.

By Steven Harmon
Contra Costa Times Sacramento Bureau
August 19, 2008

SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Sandre Swanson is convinced that the only way to avoid lengthy budget stalemates in the future is to strip the minority party of what he calls its out-sized influence.

La Opinión
August 6, 2008

California’s students should learn California’s history and the contributions made by our state’s men and women to the progress of the US. It is unacceptable that the teaching of this history is not being updated and it unfairly leaves out important facts about our national history.

CBS 5
August 2, 2008

Safety improvement plans for a deadly stretch of Vasco Road in unincorporated Contra Costa County are continuing to move forward, according to officials.

The Contra Costa Public Works Department and the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission are conducting an environmental review of the plan, said Christopher Lau, county public works department transportation engineer.

MediaNews Editorial
July 31, 2008

SEVERAL MEMBERS of the California Legislature have decided to become public school curriculum directors, especially in history. They have offered a number of bills that would mandate that particular pieces of California and U.S. history be taught in our schools.

Most of the additions would be welcome to history lessons. One bill would require that a landmark 1946 California school desegregation case be added to history lessons.

By Steven Harmon
Sacramento Bureau
Contra Costa Times
07/30/2008

SACRAMENTO — About 200,000 state employees are bracing for steep pay cuts as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to sign an executive order that would reduce their wages to the federal minimum wage — $6.55 an hour.

Schwarzenegger is slated to sign the order — which also includes laying off 22,000 part-time employees — today, the first day of the state's pay period. That has employees, legislators and public employee groups outraged and worried — especially because the budget negotiations appear to remain deadlocked.

By Mike Dorsey
Sacramento Bureau
Contra Costa Times
07/26/2008

SACRAMENTO — How many students know that a 1946 California court case on segregation actually set a precedent for the widely heralded Brown v. Board of Education?

The case of Mendez v. Westminster is one of the great triumphs in California legal history — five Latino parents challenged a white private school in court for admission and won, leading to desegregation of all schools in the state.

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., July 22, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Senator Tom Torlakson and Dr. Barbara Firestone to address early identification and intervention initiatives in California

State Senator Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, is the keynote speaker at The Help Group's Autism Legislative Briefing on Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Dr. Barbara Firestone, President & CEO, The Help Group and Vice Chair, California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism will present an overview of the Commission's recommendations and the autism legislative package.