Eight Months Later: The calm before the storm (literally)

It had been my intention to update this blog on a regular basis detailing my professional life and my writing endeavors in Texas. Somehow, things got so hectic that I was never able to jump on this virtual journal until now!

So much happened in such a brief amount of time, it is difficult to encapsulate or even internalize or process it all. Suffice it to say that I became quite comfortable with Spring and my surroundings and region, but as often happens in life "Just when you think it's all downhill, life throws you a curve" (Thank you poster from my 5th grade classroom for that bit of philosophy and insight)

On the professional side, I covered the Spring/Klein region for Community Impact newspaper for the better part of 7 months. While working under editor Matt Stephens, I learned a great deal about the C.I. style, although I never truly fit into the scheme of things.

I think in retrospect part of my inability to quickly adapt to the newspaper's style was not due to my inexperience with hyperlocal journalism, as I was previously doing a lot of local coverage while at AOL patch and other outlets, but I think it was mostly due to my being more accustomed to writing for weeklies as opposed to a monthly edition and very different deadlines and time elements.

My employment with C.I. came to an end on May 18 of this year, just before the memorial day holiday and right before the first round of storms which pelted the region for several days and left parts of Houston flooded and distraught. Fortunately for me, Spring wasn't as battered by the flooding and rain which crippled some of the area and took some people's lives.

The same could not be said of my ego and confidence. Here I was, one day sitting in my bedroom and trying to figure out what my next move should be. Should I move to Arizona with relatives and loved ones? Or should I give Houston one more chance even though things had not gone as planned? Was it time to throw in the towel?

Before I answer, I have to say that I was very fortunate to make really good friends with co-workers. The members of my editorial team for example, were invaluable in making me feel at home, as much as an out of towner can feel. I like to think that I made some really good friends in a short period of time.

Also, I give props to my therapist. I don't think I am ashamed to say I sought professional help with some of the transplant issues I was having, being alone in a new region with my family and friends scattered throughout the country.

I am happy to report that the answer to my previous query was a resounding no. I was not yet ready to throw in the towel, I resolved to remain working in print media, to fulfill my mission of ingraining myself in a community. Within 10 days of leaving C.I. I had job offers from publications as far north as Amarillo Texas and Wyoming.

It wasn't easy, let me share that, I worked and networked my butt off.

Ultimately,  I opted to stay local and have begun a professional relationship with The Facts, a daily newspaper covering Brazoria County, south of Houston.

I am eager to get back to steady writing (and blogging) again. But I have to get through this mess first

One month Later

Incredibly, amazingly, even miraculously, I have survived an entire month in Houston Texas. Not that I have been able to explore much outside of Spring which is about 30 minutes from the office (with no traffic) yet. I put so much effort into getting here that at first I thought the cultural and personal transition would be too much to bear, especially leaving behind my comfortable life in California in order to (hopefully) advance my career further. I hope to make more of these posts more frequently. Monday I am having my 30 day review at the newspaper. Wish me luck!

One thing which has been a big help has been focusing on the many assignments I am juggling for the paper. The latest one has been the most interesting: A community forum at Spring Independent School district (ISD) designed to give staffers an opportunity to share their feedback and address grievances in front of district administrators. I am hoping I will get a good web story out of it for next week.

I am also working on a story about a study put together by the Houston Galveston area council regarding redevelopment in the North West Houston area: Specifically a region called Cypress Creek Parkway which has been lagging behind other areas due to numerous factors including a rapid shift in demographics and older infrastructure.

One big adjustment, besides the weather, (it hardly rains now in So. Cal due to the ongoing drought, whereas it has been rainy and wet here for several days)  has been not having enough time to enjoy some of my hobbies like reading comics, writing about superhero culture and happenings and table top gaming and playing mmorpgs, which I hope to change by devoting more time to on weekends, days off and evenings. There will be four days to catch up on it all this coming holiday weekend.

I also plan to find a paper to freelance that covers sports on weekends because I really miss doing that. Last Saturday I attended a playoff game at Spring High School just to be in the midst of prep football once again, though being a spectator is not as much fun as actually covering the event IMHO.

Another change has been that it is hard to make new friends because of my schedule. Back home, a lot of the people I grew up with are still in town or came back to town, including my brother and I missed hitting up my old haunts like the bookstore in Glendora and Frank and Son's Collectibles in Industry. Yet, I think these are adjustments everyone faces in life at one time or another and counting my 2 year stay in Fullerton for graduate school, this is the second time in recent years that I am faced with making these life altering changes. Here we are a mere 6 days away from thanksgiving and less than a week from Black Friday craziness, but I have no plans for the holiday other than watching some football in the AM and maybe joining a gaming group to do some gaming into the evening with, hopefully, a lot of turkey eating in between.

I got my EZ tag in the mail this week, this is a device which allows me to go through the highway tolls and it electronically deducts money from an account, this has saved me quite a bit of time and it is nice not having to worry about looking for money or change for my commute on a daily basis.
CI is having their annual Christmas celebration in Austin near their headquarters in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to the trip. Also, the most joyous news of all is the fact that I get to go home for Xmas for nearly a week on Dec. 23. It will be nice to be in the Covina area for a few days and be briefly reunited with my old haunts.

Community Impact job in Houston TX

It's funny that a week ago I was driving through Texas and stayed at a hotel in a little town called Sonora on my way to my new job in Houston.
Last night I found myself near downtown Houston a the grand opening of a bar that was offering free food for Halloween revelers.

I got offered a job as a reporter in the Spring-Klein market, so I packed up my Kia with as much of my belongings and trekked my way through two states.

The Friday before Halloween I found myself having dinner alone after a long day of driving at a place called Ozona, 36 miles or so away from my destination, the hotel room I reserved that night in Sonora. Though the wi-fi was spotty, the room was comfortable and I had a good time speaking to my sister, whom I stayed with two nights prior in Arizona.

It wasn't easy to say goodbye to family and friends and my routine, but I relished a fresh start and full time work so the decision really was made for me. I drove for four straight days with stops in Arizona and El Paso along the way before finally reaching Houston a week ago.

Right up till my move I had been practicing journalism and writing as much as I could, doing some freelancing for the SGVExaminer and tweeting out scores of prep football games for the SGVTribune. In fact, I was freelancing for three newspapers including the Weekly News in Chino and anapr.com.

Thought I was comfortable with my freelancing, I wanted to work full time and doing it out of state was my only options. Journalists are often told to start in small markets before pursuing bigger more saturated media jobs, but with all my experience, I am not exactly new to the industry.

My experience in the new job, though I have had some rough patches, is plugging along and I even participated in our office Halloween party this past weekend.

 It is great to be able to practice journalism full time with a good market to cover including coverage of school districts and local government.

I have not completely got used to some things in Houston, the highways and toll roads, and the differences in weather patterns, but I think getting acclimated in a new region always takes time and patience and hard work.

I never knew how much I would miss my old life, my routine trips to Barnes and Noble on weekends, jaunts to North Orange county near my alma matter, high shool football games and Mt SAC and Citrus College games, and even my old desktop computer.

Thus far, the fruits of my labor has been covering an event for the Spring ISD (Independent School District) which gave me a chance to get to know the communications people for the district and to write a nice little web story. 

Next week I will be covering local races in Texas for the upcoming election, and who knows what else. Though today I finally got a chance to rest for a bit, and though I am grateful to be working in journalism, I felt homesick for the very first time, missing my hometown and my routines, but I think that the future holds good things for me.

I am a reporter, that is what I do

I have started to write again for the Walnut Weekly News. For some reason, the publisher decided to change the masthead and it is now called "Our Weekly Newspaper" but most people still call it the Weekly News.

I may be a small fish and not working for big media print outlets like the L.A. Times or the OC Register, but I feel that I still make a contribution in my industry and chosen profession.

It's interesting, while reporting at the OC Register this summer I had a backstage view of the goings on in the newsroom and their plans to expand to Long Beach. Shout outs to my many friends fighting the good fight there like Raymond Mendoza, Alma Fausto, Jackie Moe, Evan Lancaster and a few others.

The next few weeks into the holiday are going to be busy with projects to end the year and with my thesis and research for CSUF, but I feel pretty good about the upcoming year, 2014 is looking up. I maintain optimistic about the future. I will be T.A.ing Dr. Gail Love's section of history and philosophy of mass communications, while continuing to freelance for various news outlets like the Walnut Weekly and (hopefully) an online news agency like the Voice of OC.

The Register continues to post from time to time stories that I wrote during my tenure in Santa Ana and Tustin, here is a link to the latest:

Five questions with family caregiver Josefina Ortiz

Well, that is all for now, I will post again sometime, I am on my way to cover a city council meeting

-30-

Redskins: Will they Change the Name to Appease Political Correctness???

Well hey there, I haven't blogged in such a long time.

The reason being, ever since I finished my summer internship at the OC Register, I have been busy concentrating on grad school. I got A's this summer, but this fall has proven harder with quantitative research and having to research my thesis topic as well.

Also, the tiger and I haven't been doing much journalistic work, but that may soon change as in addition to covering sports for the Tribune, we might get another reporting internship, this time with the Voice of OC. I am having coffee with the editor next week.

So what's been in the news bugging me lately? The Washington Redskins! The Politically correct run amok crowd, or some indian tribe wants the team to change the name because the term is apparently insulting to Native Americans. I guess historically it is, but why has the controversy made headlines of late? I mean the team has had that name for close to 8 or so decades. The owner says he will never change the name because it was chosen to honor the team's first coach, who was part Indian, or so the legend goes.

I don't know how to honestly feel about this one. I know a lot of Native Americans say that they are not bothered by the name, that it just honors their history but others say that they don't know what they are taking about.

All I know is that one of my fondest memories of being a kid is decorating the Christmas Tree one day and putting up decorations with the rest of my family while in the living room of my old house. The Skins and the Cowboys played on the tube and I would sneak peeks to see how the game was progressing, my brother and I both did while the rest of the family cooked, helped with decorations. I can almost vividly replay that over and over in my head, a moment in time I will always treasure, that Sunday seemed to last an eternity. So it seems weird if the Cowboys end up playing the Red Hawks, or some other name they give the team if they decide to change it. What's next? Will they go after the Cleveland Indian's mascot?

President Obama came out to say that he would think about changing the name if he was the team's owner. Doesn't the President have more pressing issues to consider than to meddle into the NFL???

Michele Martinez speaks about Improving Santa Ana

One of the cool stories I got to do this summer was an interview with Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez. An excerpt of the interview which made it to print follows.

BY ARIEL CARMONA JR. / FOR THE REGISTER
Councilwoman Michele Martinez, 31, says great changes are coming to the city – especially when it comes to health. The city is making major strides, she said, in increasing park space and in its commitment to a resolution passed by the City Council in 2011 that advocates for policies that improve residents' health. Here's what Martinez, who also serves as the director of the Alliance for a Healthy Orange County, had to say.

Q. Does the city receive state or other funding for health-related programs?

A. We really don't have any funding sources for health programs. What we've done is used our public works, planning and parks and recreations departments. They have all collaborated to get grants, whether it be for bike lanes or walk and bike studies. We also partnered with the school district to get Garfield and Willard and Walker community centers. So we have the parks and the community centers that during the day the schools utilize and at night the community then takes over. We got state grants for that.

Q. How is the city addressing walking and biking?
A. We as a council made a commitment to integrating complete streets in the city. We passed a resolution. We are also updating our circulation elements which will include a bike and pedestrian master plan, for the first time ever. It's our commitment to active transportation.

Q. How does the city recognize those that promote healthy lifestyles?
A. We've had a committee in place for the past two years, of nonprofits and businesses, that gives input in how to move the city forward. It was instrumental in creating a smoke-free park zone. (She also points to Active Living in Santa Ana, Safe and Active Living United District, and Building Healthy Communities as key health groups.)

Q. What's being done to increase the number of parks in the city?
A. We knew that we were going to have issues, such as the lack of open space, that created issues with kids being overweight – and another issue is the safety component. There is a gang problem and drug problem in the city because it's an urban city and so that also affects the quality of life of young people and their families. (Some) are scared even with the park access that they do have. So we are having to address these issues all at once. We are addressing them with a holistic approach, with a partnership with the school district (and) the various nonprofits, because at the end of the day, we know that the city government can't do it all, it has to be a collaborative effort, a personal effort from the residents themselves.

Q. Why are plans being put into motion now?
A. As the director of the Alliance, I am going back and asking, 'What is it that this city accomplished? What is that other cities accomplished? If they haven't gotten anywhere, what can my organization do to help them?' We realize that there are issues with funding, we know cities have taken a big hit. So we have these city regulations from several years ago. We're saying let's backtrack because we need to keep out in the forefront. Santa Ana has been a model for the county. Being a council member for the city, I have the opportunity to hold my city accountable and to ensure that we are moving in the right direction and really setting some policies that can be a model that we make a commitment to. The fruits of labor have really come to the forefront for Santa Ana because of the dedicated staff that we have and also my colleagues on the council and their commitment to public health.

OC Register internship coming to a close

wow it's August! How'd that happen? The Tiger and I spent a lot of time driving to Santa Ana and Tustin this summer. I was in Tustin just 3 days ago working on a story about Yong-In Martian Arts' team USA which competed at the 2013 National Taekwondo Championships.

As my internship at the Register comes to a close next week, I am looking around sending out feelers to other media outlets. Surely there must be one out there that can use an exepienced Spanish speaking reporter? There is an outside shot that I will be a member of the Tustin team in the future, but no guarantees, as such I have started to look for my next journalistic gig.

It was nice to come in today and find two stories ready for me to tackle as I like to stay busy doing good work.

Would not be surprised if a big change is in the works. That's it for now!

Moving on to Tustin

I was dealing with some personal issues this last week, but luckily I seem to have worked through them and now I am focused once again on reporting.

The Tiger and I spent a lot of time last week and driving to and from Long Beach to Fullerton, covering the Tustin Little League All Stars who were participating deep in a tournament. I have been transferred from the Santa Ana Register to the Tustin News team and I am excited to have been given the opportunity to cover this community.

Our other assignments involved driving to Santa Ana to speak to a world war 2 veteran whose distinguished military career included a stint as a helicopter pilot for Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was a P.O.W. when get got shout down in an aerial mission for years, until he was rescued and met General Patton himself!

Needless to say this was one of the highlights of the week, to meet and profile such an interesting person and he is 90 years old and still active in the community!!!

Well, that's it for now. Pleas support your local newspaper and purchase one today or subscribe!

Student Activists Question City's Contract with ICE in Santa Ana

On the evening of June 18, the Tiger and I headed toward Downtown Santa Ana to shadow S.A. Register news reporter Ron Gonzales to a public safety meeting where the issue of whether the city would retain its contract with Immigration and Costoms Enforcement (ICE) Department detainees which bring revenue to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, was being discussed.

   A number of community members, including student activist Carlos Perea protested the city’s contract with ICE and attended the meeting en masse to complaint to the city council about the situation.

   A few days later I met with Perea and his friend Alex Nava Teodoro. They are both advocates for immigrant youth, the former has been in the U.S. since the age of 14, but has not had an easy road to his current status as a college student and as an advocate in his community. While in high school Perea learned English in one year, determined to help other students struggling with issues of family separation. While there, Perea also took command of a club focusing on undocumented students, working with LGBTQ and other under-represented groups. He recently organized the first youth conference in the city and along with Teodoro.

     Here is a link to the story on the meeting written by Ron Gonzales. You may need to be an OC Register subscriber to read it all. However,what follows is a Q&A I conducted with them in the city’s cultural center. 

Q. Carlos, you are the winner of the Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund, what does that honor mean to you personally?

Carlos: The scholarship supports students who are advocating for social change that work in the community and have an academic background. I was not expecting to get it because I’m a community college student. They usually give those types of grants to four year students. One of the things is that since I was in High School I was involved with my community and one of the reasons why I didn’t apply to a four year school straight out is I wanted to stay here. Obviously a community college is cheaper, but I had taken into consideration that the California Dream Act would take effect (in 2012) I have to pay out of my own pocket. I applied to the scholarship and I got it. It allowed me to keep on paying for school and also allowed me to keep on doing the work I do for my community. I feel it’s recognizing the work we do as immigrants, especially in this area. 

Q. The City of Santa Ana has been asked to cancel the ICE contract by concerned community members. Why is this such an important issue to the community at this time?

Alexis: It’s Important because amidst a national immigration reform and amidst the 2 million deportations that have happened during the Obama administration, amidst many deaths in the border, this impacts a lot of immigrants in Santa Ana. The city can send a really strong message inside one of the most Conservative counties and urge Obama to stop deportations by cancelling this contract. It would be sending the message that as a concerned community, it is not going to work with ICE who have had so many lawsuits filed against them for violating the human rights of undocumented immigrants.

Q. Carlos, When you were in High School you made it a point to work with other groups like LGBTQ, where did you get your passing for organizing and activism?

Carlos: I think it really started as a freshman. One of the first things I saw even within our own community was some type of looking down at our own people because you couldn’t speak the language, you were not assimilated into the culture. Even within teachers, you see they have a perception/bias towards immigration. You notice there’s a hostile environment, especially when you come to a conservative county. Even if you don’t know the context or the culture of Orange County, you come here and you perceive it.   I learned English in one year and was able to jump into regular classes and then take A.P. classes and catch up with the regular American students. It was during my summer to Junior year that I started to see the gap. I was one of the few, maybe one of two or three people, who was able to get ahead, the rest were held back because they didn’t know the language or did not have enough skills. I wanted to create something different. I wanted to help my friends to think about college. They were thinking about ‘I want to work because my parents are struggling,’ they were not provided that college information as much as the other students. You could see the inequality right there.

Q. What is the most pressing single issue facing the youth of Santa Ana today?

We have done surveys and we have done a lot of work on this. No. 1 is immigration because whether or not you are undocumented, we come from mixed status families. No. 2 is police issues. A big portion of the city’s budget is going to the Police Department. We tried to redefine what does public safety mean. Do we need that much money for the Police? You don’t have that much going into social services, libraries are being closed, and education. It could be argued not enough money has been allocated for education. 

Q. Who are your role models, who were your role models growing up and why?

Carlos: I would say my mom. She came to the U.S. when I was eight years old to look for a better future. Just the fact of her leaving her only child to look for a better place, it was hard on me, but it was harder on her and now she’s married and we have a family; but I know she struggled a lot. She worked in the textile industry. My family are my role models, they are hard-working people and they don’t do harm to the community, just the fact that they are being seen as criminals, you can do whatever to me, but don’t dehumanize my relatives and my family.   

               

Santa Ana Register is Born

I am sorry that this blog has seen the light of day for so long without any updates. I figured that grad school would keep me really busy and I was right. Thus far it has been a successful academic endeavor as I managed to pull straight A's for the second semester in a row.

The Tiger and I have been very busy as my venture into CSUF has also allowed me the opportunity to take a summer internship at the Orange County Register.

My first week as an intern was very pleasant, after meeting with the internship coordinator and taking a tour of the newsroom, I was given my badge to get in and out of the building and parking structure and was whisked away into a room with other reporters working on various assignments.

I cannot possibly express with words how elated I felt to be working at a professional newsroom once again! The thrill of deadline, the hustle and bustle of the workflow and reporters going to and fro.

On the second day I met with members of the Excelsior staff who are working in tandem with the Santa Ana Register staffers in producing content. Excelsior is the Spanish language weekly the Register produces and publishes every Friday.  The Santa Ana Register is the weekly supplement to the main OC Register which covers Santa Ana. It debuted last week and is out on Thursdays. I am already working on 3 stories for the next edition.

The first edition of the S.A.R. featured a great story by reporter Alejandra Molina detailing a youth forum held recently in which city officials were asked why the city earmarks so much of its money for the S.A.Police Department. According to the article, City Council members Vincent Sarmiento and Roman Reyna participated, along with director of finance Francisco Gutierrez and assistant director Robert Cortez.
 
Cortez said the city is looking into what it could do with the jail because it's not generating any revenue. This was in response to inquiries over the city's contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house immigrant detainees at the city jail.

If I wasn't just an intern I would have jumped all over this story!! Alas there is another Register reporter working on it.

I was driving back from one of the local high schools where Target donated money to renovate the library as part of a national program and as I drove down the hot streets, I realized me and the Tiger would have to traverse the streets of this Southern California city on many occasions to come.

JACC Musings and the freedom of the press

I have decided I will continue to keep this blog more updated, despite my being busy with grad school.

I just got back from the Journalism Association of Community College's state convention held in Sacramento, CA this weekend. I had participated in this convention as a student in the past, even won a number of awards, and it was very interesting to do so as an editorial assistant for the journalism department at Mt. SAC where I currently work. There is a special feeling of having students go to workshops and learn about media law, public relations, editorial writing, social media and journalism and many other related topics. There is also something so awesome about getting there the first day and looking at the tables full of all the student produced publications in the entire state and later sitting down for dinner and watching an overhead slide presentation with the names of all these young people in journalism who are the future of our industry, most of whom are experienced and leaders in their respective campus publications.

Unfortunately our school did not receive awards this time around, on account of inexperience in our staff, high turnover of editors and a transition period with a temporary adviser who has nevertheless held the program pretty much together in the absence of our regular adviser. Speaking of leaves, I have been very troubled following the story of PCC's journalism adviser Warren Swil, who was placed on leave by Pasadena City College earlier this month. Most of us in the industry are concerned that this was a retaliation on the part of that campus' administration, even though the administration denies that.

It is troubling to even consider that our freedom of the press could be restricted by school administrators. I will continue to follow this case closely because I am intrigued by it and its possible repercussions. The latest report details that Swil is being helped by the Student Press Law Center, a representative of that organization also spoke at this weekend's convention.

A short and sweet one. Sorry about my long gap between blog posts.

Freedom of speech, it's such an important concept. Today my adviser at work was speaking about this specific news item, the Mesa Press publishing an article on a somewhat controversial topic, or is it really that controversial? Is the mainstream media making too much of what the student editors saw as an informative piece?
Personally, I thought it must have been a slow news day in order for the TV station to even bother reporting on this issue. At Mt. SAC for example, students have written about sex before, in different contexts, so I really see it as a non issue. You be the judge.

Northview 20-10 over host Pomona High

Does wealth and power or influence really make a big difference in society? I am not sure about the others, but it sure is nice to have the resources, so I am amazed how a little school like Pomona High School can still exist with the likes of more affluent programs in Diamond Bar and bigger districts.

Yesterday, as is my Friday M.O., I made my way to cover a prep football game for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. It wasn't even a full write up, but one of our football capsules to let the readers know what went on with that particular school. Upon arrival, I noticed how different things were at PHS than at those other Orange County venues, for one thing there is no press box. Some districts have put more money and resources into their Athletic Departments, but I guess some other schools put the funding elsewhere.

This is not a knock against Pomona though, I just observed that they perhaps are not used to getting a lot of media coverage. The lady at the gate had to check with a coach before letting me in with my CIF press pass. Then during the game, I covered things from the vantage view of the sidelines, something I mostly only do in the 4th quarter and if there is no box. It was a great game, if not a competitive one, as Pomona tried to get back into it late. (Northview prevailed 20-10.)

Yet, it's way more fun to be down in the field than up in a stuffy press box because you get the pulse of the game, how the players are feeling, and how the coaches are reacting. You truly get an inside look at the schools and their players. Bonus, in the end I don't have to race down in the final minute to get past security to the field to interview the winning coach and players.

Even in digital age, it amazes me how mainstream media still clings to some old and less efficient ways of getting the job done. For example, at the Tribune, sports writers and correspondents are expected to call in scores quarter by quarter and to call in the final score of the game, so they can update the scoreboard on the website. However, I also tweet the final score of the game and halftime, because I know that even though I don't have a large audience hanging by my updates, (It's not like I am ESPN or some big name covering the NCAA) there are still some die hards that appreciate the information.

I tried calling in the final score of games the last few weeks, but it's a hit and miss, sometimes the phone lines get clogged up and we are expected to keep calling back. In the age of instant information, this process to me seems dated and unnecessary, especially if there are disconnects like we have had the last 3 weeks. If any editors are per chance reading this, if you are waiting on a final score, jump on twitter and check our tweets, chances are that some of us have posted them there.

Back to work in prep sports

Well, it has been a long hot summer thus far and I regret the lack of blog posts. Truth is I have been battling a lot of personal demons and trying to fix family problems, but somehow I am still standing and looking forward to what promises to be a very busy time in my life.

My car has been running sluggish so I took it in to the mechanic only to find out I had to overhaul the entire break system (pads, rotor, drums) and the tires had worn out, down to 10 percent, so I had to change all 4 of them. The joys of driving a used car kids. Set me back nearly $700 parts and labor!

I am on my way to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newsroom to pick up my CIF pass for fall 2012. Even though I start classes at Fullerton in less than 2 weeks, and am moving into the area to be close to school starting this weekend, I can still drive back on weekends to visit the parents and family and to cover prep games.

Week zero is just around the corner and I have written a football preview of Baldwin Park and Sierra Vista HS for patch.com. Tomorrow I am heading over to the field to take some snapshots of their scrimmage to go along with my story.

I am still struggling with trying to write more creatively and with trying to come up with a writing schedule and regiment in order to produce some literary work, but truth be told when it has been so hot in the valley, all I ever want to do is sit in front of my fan or escape to the local coffee joint to read the paper, sip some lattes and/or partake of the A.C. So what of my summer bucket list I formulated around early June? How faithful was I to my goals/wants/plans? Glad you asked:

• movies- saw a few blockbusters, the Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Ted (yea I know it was funny)
•  photography-I'd say 50/50 would have lot to have been further along by now, but I made quite a number of prints at the summer program @Tri Community and I also got more familiar with Adobe Light room.
• One trip to SD/Vegas/Portland- Comic con doesn't count, it was way too short, and most of these fell through because of the car situation and other financial demands. (books for school etc)  Stupid car problems!
• study chess: Every time I crack a book open to study I get sidetracked by wanting to play an mmo, so I go play DAoC or DDO. At least I got to hang out last weekend and play all day with my Citrus buds.
• 3 months to mmorpg: still mmorpging, but I want to try to level up my mage again, wow is so time consuming, I won't have time to raid once school starts up 
•  beach and other miscellaneous fun: haven't been out to the beach once. Gas is pretty steep, but now that I will be in Fullerton, it's at least a bit closer.
• local freelancing assignments and internship: Calwatchdog allowed me to do the story I wanted to write, and working on one more before the season ends.  I would say didn't work out quite as planned, especially this month because the Patch freelancing budget isn't what it once was, which is why I am glad:
  football is back!

I am looking forward to the fall season and to settling into completing my masters. I will also be brushing up on some skills I did not get to work on as an undergrad at the local JC such as video editing and page design, if all goes as planned. May the force be with me!!

Will there by any time left to write??

...That is the one question that I have been pondering this AM. Last night I got through one of the three articles I have been working on for patch and for calwatchdog.org. In fact, I made progress by completing one for Baldwin Park   and reaching sources and doing a lot of the research for one of the other two. It feels so good to complete one, like taking a big sledgehammer to a block of ice and smashing it out of the way.

This summer thus far has been a hectic whirlwind of activity, and it seems as I barely have taken a breather from working at Mt. SAC last fall, transitioning into a short-term assignment at the P.R. office at Citrus, to summer and into fall. Ever since I found out a few days ago that I had been admitted for grad school at CSU Fullerton, I have been running around making preparations, and now I have about a month's time to find a place to stay before I am immersed in academics again, becoming a semi professional student.

A week ago, I dropped everything and headed out with my brother to San Diego for a couple of days of sun and relaxation at the SDCC. I have an artist friend who was exhibiting at the convention, and he was able to get us professional passes for the con, but really before that little jaunt I had not even left the SGV for months, probably since my sister's wedding in Arizona.

I say all this because I am anticipating taking a short vacation, probably once July is mercifully over and I have secured my living arrangements at Fullerton for the fall. Orientation looms near, so it would sure be nice to take a breather before that new and exciting phase of my life begins! I am beyond excited over becoming at Titan and finally getting on with my educational career.

So what of writing? It was on my summer bucket list to actually take a few hours a day and come up with some creative writing project in addition to blogging regularly again, but photography has taken a more prominent role, not that I have even shot a whole lot, with the exception of a few assignments including a 4th of July celebration, but I have taken some courses, trying to get proficient at Adobe Lightroom and learning to use my Canon.

I know soon enough summer 2012 will be in the metaphorical rear view mirror, and I will be left with a lot of papers to write, projects and research, and frankly I am concurrently elated and scared to death. LOL. May the force be with me!

Unanswered Questions Raised by Proposed Enrollment Regulations at California Community Colleges

by Ariel Carmona Jr.
source: walnut.patch.com

According to information released by the chancellor's office last week, students planning to finish school will likely be allowed to register before others at California's 112 community colleges.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that a plan to give enrollment priority to students who have completed an orientation, taken English or Math skills tests, or filled out a plan for completing college has won preliminary approval.

The community college state board is expected to vote on the proposal in September, and the new rules would take effect in 2014, but under these new rules, colleges would penalize students who have completed far more units than they need to transfer to a four-year school.

It was not immediately clear how many of the state's 2.7 million or so students complete an educational plan, and it's also unknown at this time how educators who are grappling with an ongoing budget crunch, which has already slashed thousands of classes, can figure out how to help students plan their educational paths.

The Daily Democrat newspaper reports Paul Feist, in the California Community College's Chancellor's Office said the board also gave final approval to new regulations preventing students from repeating classes they have already passed.

KPGS news also reported that active-duty military, veterans and former foster children will still have priority standing. They will be followed by students who have completed education plans, are in good academic standing, and have fewer than 100 credits.

On the face of it, the proposed changes are good, theoretically getting rid of the professional student in favor of those who have clear ideas and are on track to graduate and join the professional ranks. 

On further inspection, these are proposed regulations which bring up more questions than they answer and which appear to be contrary to the traditional mission of community colleges: To give students another viable educational option, other than more expensive state schools and private colleges.

For example: will the new regulations exempt students retroactively, those who have amassed a great number of units sampling various career options, or will it punish them right away by not allowing them to register into classes?

And what of a program such as a school's journalism program? At Mt. SAC for example, we relied on student editors repeating classes for practice because it was impossible them to learn their craft in one semester's time. These new regulation fail to address specialized programs like a school newspaper, which are very important to the campus community and the individual students.

There are many other activity, non-academic courses which require several semesters to achieve proficiency, but these new regulations would prevent students from repeating "activity" courses, such as art or music, starting in Fall 2013.

In the end, if the regulations work out similar to the U.S. government practice of making federal mandates, and then giving states the autonomy to implement and interpret their own laws, at least in theory, state colleges would have the same ability to regulate their curriculums to fit the system's requirements. Yet, this seems a messier process, and it could be an expensive one, if counseling departments, some already affected by budget cuts, have to beef up their manpower to help current and future generation of students.

It will be a "wait and see" game for those who are choosing community college as their primary educational institution, but one thing seems clear, if law makers get their way, the days of repeating courses and sampling various educational tracks are over.

Blogging through the summer months

 Hello faithful readers. Well I have really neglected this blog, but mostly because I have been working at the college this spring and doing very little freelancing. This is about to change once more, even though the summer season is traditionally slower, news doesn't stop, so with the exception of maybe a week or two I take off for my personal sanity, I will be writing and blogging for patch.com and other local media once more this summer season.

I also have a couple of journalism related internships lined up for now and possibly fall through spring. The beat goes on!

Lately I have been thinking about the upcoming November ballot, specifically about the Governor's tax plan, which if it fails to pass, could have catastrophic results for our schools, especially on the community college side. I have detailed that sort of ad nasuseum in my previous blogs, including my most recent offering, but suffice it to say, it will have some serious repercussions and I am going to keep a close eye on it.

The hour grows late, I mostly checked in to say that I am alive and well, but rest assured, I will be back, so check back often.

Citrus College Instructor Returns to North Korea

By Ariel Carmona Jr.

How do you bridge the cultural divide between two countries? With a little magic and a whole lot of good will and diplomacy.

Dr. Dale Salwak, has taught literature classes for 39 years at Citrus College, including Shakespeare, Literature of the Bible and Critical Thinking. He is also a prolific writer and a professional magician who recently returned from his third trip to North Korea. 

He was there for seven nights and eight days and performed on three of those nights at the renowned Pyongyang Circus Theater, a 2,500 seat circus where he shared the stage with two other magicians.  The two-hour show featured some of the best gymnasts and aerialists in the world.

Salwak said he got a chance to stand approximately 20 to 30 feet away from new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a brief speech given by one of Un’s advisers. Salwak had arrived four days before Un’s speech celebrating the centennial of the birth of the country’s father, the late Kim Il Sung, grandfather of Un.

At the event, Un was sitting in a viewing platform in front and to the left of Salwak, who stood with other members of an American delegation, Salwak’s interpreter, their North Korean host and other guests.

The speech was followed by an hour-long fireworks show, “the most elaborate one I've ever seen synchronized with national music, and then followed by another speech,” said Salwak. He added that it was magic that brought him to North Korea for the first time in 2009 after a friend asked if he would be interested in performing there. Salwak responded he was very interested in doing so.

Salwak made a lot of friends and developed close relationships abroad on what he called a “life-changing trip,” and he had such a splendid time, he longed to return. His wish came true in the spring of 2011, when he was asked to perform along with some of North Korea’s premiere magicians.

The purpose of Salwak’s April trip was to take a delegation of five Americans, including two magicians, as the first step toward what he hopes will be a long lasting and meaningful cultural exchange. North Korea, in turn, will send some delegates to the United States.

He travelled with his son Ryan, fellow magician Rick Block from Washington D.C., and California magician Danny Cole and his wife Stacey. Salwak said the American delegation has made a lot of progress in their non-official diplomatic relations with the North Koreans, despite a lot of stereotypes about the country.

Salwak’s perspective on North Korea and its people is civic, not political. He said he tries to steer clear of politics and instead focuses on the fine and performing arts. “When I go there, I don’t go with any agenda; I go there to make a connection on a human level. I am always seeking growth and understanding, so I hope there will be more of such exchanges.”

Dr. Geraldine M. Perri, superintendent/president of Citrus College, believes fostering cultural relationships beyond the United States’ borders reflects the college’s mission. “Citrus College as an institution is a microcosm of our global community.  We are a very diverse campus, and I am happy that Dr. Salwak represents the college in such a unique and fascinating way on his travels abroad.”

“A lot of what people think comes from what they read and hear and not from having actually been there,” Salwak said.  His involvement in the magic community affords him a unique chance to grow and learn about other cultures. “We have a lot in common, and we can learn a lot from each other.”

“Dr. Salwak, in addition to being a great instructor is also very wise,” said Mrs. Joanne Montgomery, president of the Citrus College Board of Trustees.  “He knows that people respond to art and his particular brand of artistic expression is magic, something  for which he has an innate talent.  He is utilizing this to build bridges.” 

Salwak is the first to admit he is surprised by his involvement abroad. “North Korea wasn’t even on my radar a few years ago, but it’s funny how life sometimes leads us in paths we never predicted. I hope to go back, next year, at the latest, and maybe this autumn. Each time I leave the host says, ‘You’re always welcome in our country,’ and I hope to be the one saying that soon.”

He said he is hopeful the country’s new leadership will bring forth change, and he takes Un’s speaking to the North Korean people as a good sign, because previous political leaders have rarely addressed the people publicly in the past. “I got to experience the moment of his speaking and how people reacted. I was very touched by hearing him speak.“

It might be too early to tell whether significant social change will follow a new regime, but one thing has already been proven: the North Koreans, like a lot of their western counterparts, love magic. Politics and finances derailed a plan to bring American magician David Copperfield to North Korea in the 90s, but popularity in the performances continues to grow, Salwak seems to hint at why this is so. 

“Magic, like music, is universal; it’s what we call a great leveler. All of us respond to wonder and fantasy. Magic at its best connects with the inner child in all of us,” he said.

 

Dr. Dale Salwak (second from right) and North Korea’s lead magician, Kim Taek Song (center) after discussing a future cultural exchange with (from left) Yuji Yasuda, Jae Hwe Ku and Ryan Salwak.

 

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Santa Monica College's Tuition Plan Was Ill Conceived

by Ariel Carmona Jr

source: diamondbar.patch.com

The privatization of higher education, at least at the community college level in the state of California has been averted - at least for the time being.

While a highly publicized incident at Santa Monica College recently, a protest which resulted in the pepper spraying of students, got most of the press, somewhat lost in the media storm was the underlying message: That students fear institutionalized privatization of state funded schools.

Last week the board of trustees at SMCC held off on its controversial plan to institute a two-tier fee structure for high-demand courses beginning in summer session 2012.

Outgoing California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott praised the trustees and college president Chui L. Tsang’s decision saying in a press release, “Although I disagreed with this proposal, I cannot fault college leaders for searching for new approaches to serve students hungry for the opportunity to receive a college education. Tragically, we as a state have failed to properly fund community colleges, and our economy will suffer as a result.”

Talk about understatement of the year. However, despite the Chancellor’s approving remarks, this is not the first state which has tried something like this, and it will probably not be the last time an alternative to the state’s dwindling educational resources will be sought. This was not a great solution and SMCC made the right call on putting a halt to its plan.

The initiative sought to have a nonprofit foundation offer some high-demand core classes such as math and English at a higher price during the summer and winter sessions alongside the same state-funded courses. The California Community Colleges system-wide fees, as established by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature, will increase to $46 per unit this summer.

The Santa Monica two-tier plan would have offered a 3-unit class such as English 1A at the state funded amount of $138 while concurrently offering it at $540 as a student-subsidized price range, approximately four times the price.

Similar plans already occur at the Cal State University Level and at University of California Schools. Yet, there is one big difference, as pointed out by several critics of the plan, including a recent editorial which ran in the Modesto Bee: Community Colleges are supposed to offer equal access to all students, and a two-tiered plan would jeopardize this model, effectively making the community colleges less accessible to financially disadvantaged students.

While attending summer session at Cal Poly Pomona two years ago, I had to make a personal decision. The university had cut its state funded summer program in response to deep cuts in education and projected cuts for the following year, but still offered a limited amount of classes to students willing to pay to take them through the colllege’s extended university program.

I wanted to graduate, so I sacrificed a summer of frolic and fun, took the $800 I saved the previous spring, and instead of taking a trip, I took a couple of elective courses. I am sure that I was not the only one making these type of decisions, but I was fortunate to get the classes, others have not been as lucky.

State cuts have forced community college campuses to reduce course offerings by approximately 15 percent at a time when more students than ever are seeking admission.

Possible legal challenges and a possible violation of the California Educational Code may have put a stake through the heart of this recent proposal, but it seems unlikely we have heard the last of these types of “creative” solutions to a difficult budget crisis. It might be up to the voters in the upcoming November election to effectuate the type of tax policy revisions needed for real meaningful and equitable reform.

In defense of newspapers in a digital age

What follows is a short academic essay I wrote for the Journalism Association of Community Colleges in defense of newspapers not long ago. Don't steal it you piracy bastards LOL!

by Ariel Carmona Jr.

"I am not the editor of a newspaper and shall always try to do right and be good so that God will not make me one," wrote Mark Twain for Galaxy Magazine in December of 1870. Twain's satirical sentiment can be transplanted to the modern era, where an editor of a newspaper could arguably hate his job during a point in history when a 24-hour news cycle and the advances of technology have eroded an industry and caused massive layoffs and enough consistent dissatisfaction with the profession to discourage anyone from entering. However, to argue that we should let newspapers die simply because they are already contracting as a result of declining advertising revenues and the crippling effects of a national recession, is not logically persuasive because it relies on numerous faulty assumptions.

First, proponents of alternative methods of dissemination of the news point to the rise in social media, blogs and other outlets for gathering information and relaying it back to the public. Although social media websites like Facebook and Twitter top the lineup of most popular social media networks with an estimated 750 million and 250 million monthly visitors, respectively, ("eBiz The eBusiness Knowledgbase") neither Facebook, nor Twitter, nor You Tube are reliable sources of information, despite their immediacy and popularity. You Tube in particular, is littered with cases illustrating news hoaxes and falsified reports.

Citizen journalism websites are often cited as another viable 21st century replacement for the moribund newspaper industry, but the problems associated with these websites are as prevalent as those with social media sites, perhaps even more so because practitioners of citizen journalism are not trained in journalism practices, libel law, or ethics, and they are not policed in any ways in matters of standards.

Erin Elizabeth, a journalism major at Ithica College in New York, cites examples of the pitfalls of citizen journalists, succinctly arguing, "They're cheap, they're willing and they're woefully untrained." In her impassioned diatribe against them she goes on to write, "Journalism is like teaching, a lot of people think they can teach elementary school. You only have to know how to write and take pictures, but the truth is it's so much more than that which his why my teacher parents say they could never be journalists because they aren't willing to do the work" (Elizabeth)

One can certainly take Elizabeth's post as an embittered rant, but this does not debunk some of the points raised in her argument. Though many newspapers currently exist who solicit and encourage contributions by citizen journalists, they don't see the bigger picture.

CJ Cornell, executive director of New York Institute of Technology's global Vanguard Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program recently spotlighted the problems of having to identify who exactly is a journalist in an age when "Just about anyone with a laptop or cell phone can use free technology to create quality media and reach audiences larger than any newspaper or television network." In his analysis, Cornell explains the recent case of Oregon Blogger Crystal Cox, whose blog was sued for defamation, to the tune of $10 million, for writing several blog posts that were highly critical of an investment firm.

Cornell persuasively uses the Cox verdict to argue against the drawbacks of citizen journalism. "The Crystal Cox case reminds us that journalists need special protections, as a part of their work, to ensure their sources remain confidential. Occupy Wall Street represents countless examples where journalists are granted special access.” (Cornell)

Moreover, those in favor of letting the newspapers perish due to the proliferation of blogs and a plethora of non-profits and news sites fail to consider that for every good blog like a Montanawatchdog.org, or California Watch, there is a sleazy counterpart like the Walnut Tattler. Getting back to the Cox verdict, Cox did not qualify for state shield law protection because she wasn't employed by an official media establishment.

So what is the solution for newspapers to stem the tide and how do we pay for them in light of the financial losses they have already suffered? Luca Shaw's assertion in a wrap.com article that newspaper pay walls like the ones recently adopted by the N.Y. Times and the L.A. Times are too late, may be a bit premature, given some encouraging stories in recent months. The New York Times, for example has had some success with their "Times Select" pay program and so has the Financial Times, which launched a pay wall back in 2010 and has reached 267,000 digital subscribers. (Shaw)

Those who work hard in the industry should be remunerated for their efforts. Traditional print outlets should cooperate with new media and embrace technology, rather than be encumbered or be afraid of it. Reporters should help each other out, after all, the fifth estate and the more mainstream media share the same mission. Perhaps a feasible compromise would be to have smaller newspapers under the aegis or sponsorship of more successful and bigger media conglomerates, similar to popular blogs who feature blogrolls that are alike in tone and topic.

In sum, the argument that newspapers should be discarded does not take into consideration the myriad problems associated with alternative methods of delivering news content. Newspapers are needed because they are still the best way to safeguard our freedoms, the fourth estate still functions as an excellent training ground for the nation's budding reporters and editors. The talent and mentoring combined with the newsroom experience, despite recent cuts, is still immense and valuable, compared to other media; some might even say indispensable.

Just because some have turned away from consumption, does not invalidate their value. People can ignore the benefits of healthy foods, but that will never diminish their importance. Similarly, the analytical and investigative potential of the nation's print newspapers cannot be ignored. Newspapers can never die; their structure may be malleable and they may morph into other forms in the future, but their purpose and their mission can never be underestimated or questioned in a democratic society.

WORKS CITED

Cornell, CJ. "Media Shift." Idea Lab: Community News for the Digital Age. pbs.org,

31/1/2012. Web. 21 Mar 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2012/01/after-crystal-cox-verdict-its-time-to-define-who-is-a-journalist026.html>.

Elizabeth, Erin. "The Case against Citizen Journalists." Independent Media Erin. blogger,

4 Dec 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://mediaerin.blogspot.com/2011/12/case-against-citizen-journalists.html>.

Shaw, Lucas. "Newspaper Paywalls: Too Little, Too Late for a Fallen Giant Industry?." Wrap. 24 Feb 2012: n. page. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/newspaper-paywalls-too-little-too-late-fallen-giant-industry-35885?page=0,0>.

"Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites." eBiz The eBusiness Knowledgebase

(2012): n.pag. eBiz. Database. 21 Mar 2012. <http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites>.