Monthly Archives: March 2008

Breaking news: Measure Q wins!

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 18, 2008 | Comments closed
    What we’ve known since Feb. 5 is now official. Stockton Unified’s $464.5-million bond issue was approved overwhelmingly by voters. The final tally is in: Measure Q got 20,331 yes votes and 9,164 no votes. That’s 68.93 percent in favor and 31.07 percent opposed. So in theory, as previously reported, the district could have stuck [...]
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Car of the future

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 15, 2008 | Comments closed
    I have a story running in Saturday’s paper about how a group of seniors this year at Weber Institute have converted a 2002 Chrysler Neon from gas to battery powered. I hope you’ll read it and also watch Tara Cuslidge’s excellent video. A 2002 Neon, though not the one at Weber.     There is considerable angst [...]
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O’Connell: 20,000 layoffs statewide

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 14, 2008 | Comments closed
    The California Department of Education announced today that more than 20,000 potential layoff notices have gone out to teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses and support staff at public schools around the state. The actions are in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to slash $4.8 billion from the state education budget to assist California through [...]
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Michelle Poletti, Ralph Kramden and me

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 13, 2008 | Comments closed
    Every now and then, it’s necessary to lighten things up a bit. For me, this is one of those times.     Today, I interviewed SUSD school bus driver Michelle Poletti. Next week, I’ll be writing a story about her. She just might be the best bus driver in the world. Michelle Poletti/Photo by Ariel [...]
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Kudos for SUSD trustee

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 12, 2008 | Comments closed
   Stockton Unified board member Dillon Delvo finds himself this week mentioned in the same sentence as disgraced soon-to-be-former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.     But don’t worry; Delvo is not known to be involved in any lurid scandals. Rather, a writer at asianweek.com recently suggested the political world could use more Delvos and fewer Spitzers. [...]
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A blog on blogs

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 10, 2008 | Comments closed
    Last week’s events left me pondering the comments that readers can put at the ends of the stories that appear online. Some call these items blogs. Officially, they are called forums. I have a few things to say about them, and I’m pretty sure I speak for some of my fellow reporters when I [...]
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Mixed bag on Stagg

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 4, 2008 | Comments closed
    I can’t say I’m surprised by the mixed reaction to the saga of Toina Vickers, her students, and their dream of a June trip to Europe.     Some readers are very angry — with Vickers and with me for either the original story and/or today’s follow-up. Others are sympathetic to the students and offering suggestions [...]
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A Weber winner

By Roger Phillips | Published: March 3, 2008 | Comments closed
    Stockton Unified’s Weber Institute is an impressive place with impressive students. On the school’s brochure, it asks the question, “Do you want job training by the time you graduate from high school?” Weber provides just that to its students through its technology, health and automotive academies.     Considering that most jobs do not require a bachelor’s degree and that [...]
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