| • | BLACK HISTORY FOR A MONTH?
02-06-2010
IT'S here. Like just about everything else celebratory, it comes every year. But for African-American - or Black - History Month, this hasn't been the case for long. It has been with us since 1 ...
|
| • | WAS BARACK OBAMA TALKING TO PARENTS?
01-30-2010
PRESIDENT Barack Obama's State of the Union address was longer, I hear, than any other from a United States president in our nation's history. In that lengthy speech from Wednesday night, the man disp ...
|
| • | HAITI SHOULD HELP US TEACH OUR CHILDREN
01-23-2010
AS a kid growing up during World War II, I didn't understand my mother's constant commentary about the hungry children in Europe. Fact is, I didn't really understand anything about Europe and the bat ...
|
| • | SHIRLEE IS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER:HAVE WE ARRIVED?
01-17-2010
I'M not too sure that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday will help the public see the light. While it is the only national holiday honoring an African American, "Uh, who?" comes th ...
|
| • | EASIER SAID THAN DONE MR CORTINES
01-09-2010
RAMON Cortines, school superintendent of that gigantic educational system somewhere down the Pasadena Freeway, was on the airwaves Thursday spouting a message that I suspect n ...
|
| • | IVANA DESERVES PROPS, NOT CUFFS
01-02-2010
WITH Nigerian terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, padding his undies with enough explosives to take down American Airlines flight 231 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, I would have thought ...
|
| • | THE ANSWER IS BLOWING IN THE WIND
12-28-2009
SO much for us to be grateful for in a year when prosperity for so many friends, relatives and fellow countrymen is hard to come by. To have awakened Christmas morning in a house with a roof that wasn ...
|
| • | "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?"
12-19-2009
Thanks to Elin Woods, Tammy Wynette's record-breaking 1968 country tune, "Stand By Your Man" has found a resting place. "Surely you can find something in the Tiger Woods story that rela ...
|
| • | NOT TAKING THE TIGER BY HIS TAIL
12-12-2009
THE big question I get from readers these days is, "What about Tiger Woods?" It is my practice to respond to every e-mail or snail-mailed letter that I receive.
Most folk who've been foll ...
|
| • | KIDS RULE
12-06-2009
AT&T is not known for being on the side of parents or their children. By saying this, I'm not suggesting it does evil deeds directly aimed at the American nuclear clan.
But fast forward to the co ...
|
| • | ONLY KIDS -THEY DON'T COME IN BULK
11-28-2009
Here's some good news. The kid said he followed the advice of his parents and the other elders in his family. Jason, the kid, admitted it wasn't usually his choice; that's just the way things were in ...
|
| • | PARENTING ADVICE? MAYBE.
11-22-2009
If my usual parenting advice is what readers are looking for, this column may not quite hit the mark. Well, maybe some insights into the mighty responsibility of raising young'uns:
As my married daug ...
|
| • | XMAS GIFTS YOUR KIDS WILL CRY FOR
11-19-2009
I am not the Grinch and this blog most certainly is not aboutstealing Christmas. Having said that, readers are most likely set forsome kind of non-traditional nonsense that only The Captain, as one of ...
|
| • | DOING THE RIGHT THING
11-08-2009
EYEWITNESSES claim they didn't see anything. Financial regulators pass over the obvious accounting irregularities.
Parents say Johnny will outgrow his troublesome behavior.
Teachers pass non ...
|
| • | PARENTS ARE THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR
10-31-2009
ON Nov. 3, Tuesday coming up, remember to vote and remember to take the kids with you to your polling place.
If you've voted by mail, I sure hope you included the youngsters, well, teenagers too, in ...
|
| • | HOW HEAVY THE HAND THAT RULES THE ROOST?
10-23-2009
I'M not so sure about justice in America for a lot of reasons. And when it comes to this thing about a jury of one's peers, I get real troubled thinking about the parent who smacks their kid upside th ...
|
| • | Karma:police, arrest the parents, too
10-18-2009
ARREST the parents of 15-year-old Jesus Mendez, who has been charged with attempted second-degree murder for the act of dousing, along with four other teenage thugs, Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, ...
|
| • | PICK OF THE LITTER
10-11-2009
FAVORITISM is an issue in far too many families. We knew a mother who didn't care much for her second child because, said mom, "The kid gave me too many problems during my pregnancy." Mom ex ...
|
| • | PARENTS OUGHT TO BE ARRESTED
10-03-2009
The beating death of Derrion Albert, the honor roll student at Christian Fenger Academy High School in Chicago, isn’t really news.
And there isn’t anything that any of us need to hear or ...
|
| • | PUT KIDS ON TRACK
09-27-2009
MS. Inappropriate shimmied into the agency lobby smacking on gum, talking loudly on her cell phone but taking a break from the conversation just long enough to tell the receptionist she was there for ...
|
| • | MY SISTER BEVERLEE BRUCE
09-19-2009
My earliest memory of my big sister Beverlee Bruce is that of total trust, admiration and constantly being cheated out of my Chocoletto candies.
But with the telephone call last Sunday from NYP ...
|
| • | "COLORED" WOMAN SAYS KIDNAP VICTIM AND DAUGHTERS NORMAL!
09-06-2009
IT was on "Anderson Cooper 360" that I heard the woman. What an interview. But then I suppose news outlets are scrambling for a unique angle when reporting the finding of kidnap vict ...
|
| • | THE OVERSEER
08-30-2009
Brandi's off to her first year at Pasadena City College. She's reached so-called financial adulthood with a bank account, a debit card and scholarship money.
Bank of America will not be collecting ov ...
|
| • | THE MIGHTY MURPHYS
08-23-2009
MILLARD Murphy said his relative, who had come to manage the children and the home while his wife Molly was in the hospital giving birth to one more Murphy, packed up her bags and left the family ahea ...
|
| • | HOW MANY SHOES CAN CHILDREN WEAR?
08-15-2009
Back-to-school shopping is going to be taking a back seat this year if the economy keeps on wreaking havoc on family budgets.
While news reports keep telling us things are moving upward, if you repe ...
|
| • | TEEN CURFEWS SHOULDN'T BE NEWS TO PARENTS
08-09-2009
Unknown to many parents are state laws and community ordinances on the books that establish for minors, among other things, curfews, penalties for fighting, bullying and truancy.
What a change there ...
|
| • | BLAME FOR DEAD KIDS PUT AT LA COUNTY SUPERVISORS' FEET
08-02-2009
NOT much different about this column. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services - I've written unfavorably about them before. Inept social workers - they usually share the spot ...
|
| • | A SOCIAL SECURITY PRIMA DONNA
07-25-2009
CHILDREN in the foster care system have a tough row to hoe. And if they are involved with the Social Security Administration, the plot thickens. Their troubles aren't just with the Department of Child ...
|
| • | THE STAPLES CENTER - WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY SPENT?
07-07-2009
I’ve been telling the kid in my household the American economy is in a downward spiral and everything we do and don't do, nowadays, will represent this fact of life.She tries to understand.On a ...
|
| • | MICHAEL JACKSON KING -WHAT ABOUT POP?
07-05-2009
WHILE many folks feel we've had more than too much of the Michael Jackson coverage, with all aspects of the King of Pop's life being repeatedly pored over by the media, I'm pretty much like so many pe ...
|
| • | JACKSON WAS OUR BARACK OBAMA OF THE 70's
06-26-2009
Seems just about everyone has something to say about the death of Michael Jackson.Not only does everyone have something to say, but we are also being fed first-hand accounts from his fans as to how th ...
|
| • | KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS
06-20-2009
My daughter Brandi wanted to know if she would still have chores now that she had graduated from high school and would be attending college.
I was astounded. Pretty much knocked off my feet. It was ...
|
| • | LAPD DETECTIVE STEPHANIE LAZARUS - GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER?
06-14-2009
THE recent arrest of veteran LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus for the 1986 murder of Sherri Rasmussen on the surface doesn't have anything to do with parenting.But these days, in just about every hot ...
|
| • | NOT READY FOR ADULTHOOD
06-07-2009
WE just might just have to go kinda easy on the June 2009 high school graduates, especially those who no one told the 12 years they just completed were part of their prep course for the real world.Say ...
|
| • | LIFE WITH AND WITHOUT "BABY-BOY"
05-31-2009
"If you can't beat `em, join em." This old saying has been around long enough to have worn itself weary, but not so according to one parent with an unruly young man in her household.Teenager ...
|
| • | AMERICA'S KILLING FIELDS
05-23-2009
The names? Can't remember. Doesn't so much matter, anyway, because there are so many and by the time this column gets into print there will be many more added to the list.Where did it happen? That doe ...
|
| • | NOT A BAD IDEA!
05-17-2009
MARIAM said money was short in her household. So short, she said, that planning, shopping and preparing meals had become classified as drudgery.The good stuff just doesn't get into her shopping cart a ...
|
| • | MOM'S DAY BRUNCH OR WORLD PEACE
05-10-2009
This piece isn't going to be anywhere near what's generally written about Mother's Day celebrations. While mom often expects to receive presents and special treatment, this year, with an economy produ ...
|
| • | LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES WITH MORE DEAD CHILDREN
04-26-2009
WHILE most of my e-mail "alerts" or "be sure to read" messages over the past week have focused on the recently released government memos authorizing torture tactics that were previ ...
|
| • | CATHOLIC PRIEST AND CHRISTIAN GIRLS
04-18-2009
There's nothing much to be said about the horrific kidnap, rape and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu that hasn't already been said and whatever hasn't been verbalized has most certainly ...
|
| • | "A KNOWN TROUBLEMAKER!"
04-04-2009
“That woman Shirlee Smith is a known troublemaker,” said the woman who was sitting at the table next to mine. It was a loud stage whisper, which was, I suspect, intended to be ...
|
| • | MILITARY RECRUITERS? AFGHANISTAN?
03-29-2009
Is the military, with so many career paths open to graduating seniors, an option families really want their sons or daughters to grab on to?Families need to know the real story and not just what the a ...
|
| • | KCAL 9's PAT HARVEY DEAD WRONG
03-22-2009
Nowadays, with the economy tanking, lots of folk are providing the public with suggestions on how to stay afloat. Turn on television news and on just about every local channel there is a segment on wa ...
|
| • | TICKETS AVAILABLE TO HEAR HER EXCELLENCY, ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF, PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA
03-16-2009
Her Excellency, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia will be speaking in Pasadena on April 8 as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series.Tickets are only for "Series Subscribers," BU ...
|
| • | HER EXCELLENCY,ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF,THE PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA BE COMIN' TO TOWN
03-14-2009
"Where’d you get that from?” is a common enough query, especially if it’s a hot piece of news circulating through the hood. Now, when it comes to inqui ...
|
| • | SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ON THE FREE THROW LINE
03-06-2009
ONCE again top folk in the Pasadena Unified School District are scratching heads and adjusting their game plan to give the public some measure of understanding.
This time it's about how or why 42 pe ...
|
| • | TRUANT DAMSELS IN DISTRESS
02-28-2009
Ah, the young damsels, the ones who decided a day at Paseo Colorado trumped a day in their respective classrooms, weren't, in my opinion, lured anywhere. I knew this when the first news reports claime ...
|
| • | IN TODAY'S TROUBLESOME CLIMATE, HOW IMPORTANT IS BEDTIME?
02-22-2009
A simple question, but not such a simple answer. I suspect there are many more parents facing the same issue as the two moms who looked me up to ask for my input.Jen and Barb from "The Mom Life S ...
|
| • | Let's Stop Obsessing Over Octomom
02-14-2009
PLEASE, people, let's band together and put the octuplets to rest. We can do this. With enough support, we can actually make this happen.
var requeste ...
|
| • | LET'S DIM OCTUPLET MOM'S TV SPOTLIGHT
02-07-2009
IT'S difficult to determine what's to be said about a 33-year-old woman who would add a set of octuplets to the six children she was already attempting to parent as a single mom.The sane among ...
|
| • | HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE WILMINGTON FAMILY MURDER-SUICIDE
02-01-2009
SO many people are asking themselves and each other what drove the Wilmington man, who authorities say is responsible for shooting to death his wife, their five children and then himself, to commit su ...
|
| • | INAUGURATION - PICTURES AND REPORT
01-25-2009
“Start at the beginning, “ Brandi advised, when I declared it was impossible to write something short but all ncompassing about our trip of a lifetime to the 2009 inauguration of Pre ...
|
| • | MLK DAY OF SERVICE
01-18-2009
Across America, in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2009, we're all being asked to support the American spirit of volunteerism and community service by making a commitment to help in our com ...
|
| • | INAUGURATION QUESTIONS AND ADVICE
01-11-2009
We're counting down the days and there aren't that many left before Brandi and I head for the historical inauguration ceremony of President-elect Barack Obama.Readers have posed some interesting quest ...
|
| • | MONEY GROWING ON TREES?
01-03-2009
The one resolution I hope parents have made for this New Year is to make sure their children come to understand the changes in the household economy.Go ahead and correct me with the phrase that's alre ...
|
| • | DOUBLE WHAMMY HOLIDAYS
12-28-2008
Whew! I sailed through the first of this year's holiday double whammies unscathed and with my head held high.But it seems, perhaps, people my age just do this anyway and that would mean there was no c ...
|
| • | THEIR CHRISTMAS WAS ABOUT CHRIST
12-20-2008
Stockings, I'm told, were never hung by the chimney with care in hopes that ol' St. Nick might be there.The family had no stockings to spare and there wasn't a chimney anywhere. They didn't miss this ...
|
| • | NAUGHTY OR NICE DON'T MATTER
12-14-2008
It's that time of year when we're reminded about that list that gets checked twice and the additional fun experience of determining who's naughty and who's nice.But recognizing the condition of the ec ...
|
| • | EDUCATORS RESPOND TO SCRUTINY
12-07-2008
Following last week's newspaper column/blog about my daughter's teachers and counselor who didn't seem to think their job description included communicating with parents, I've had a flood of responses ...
|
| • | DON'T PARENTS DESERVE BETTER SERVICE?
11-29-2008
This is an appeal to the public, although the high school counselor indicated this approach along with seeking assistance from school board members and Pasadena schools Superintendent Edwin Diaz were ...
|
| • | AH, BUT IT'S A LONG DRIVE TO NEBRASKA
11-22-2008
WITHOUT a full look at the reasons older children were abandoned at hospitals in Nebraska under that state's safe haven law, one would think the parents who did this were pretty awful.That may not be ...
|
| • | MICHELLE OBAMA DOESN'T NEED TO DRESS LIKE OPRAH WINFREY
11-15-2008
QUITE frankly, I'd rather not write about the soon to be occupants of the house on Pennsylvania Avenue in the District of Columbia but the public interest in our first African American family moving i ...
|
| • | NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
11-09-2008
ON Nov. 4, the Cobb family, all six of them - young, old and middle-aged - got to their Altadena polling place at 5:15 a.m.Dressed for the rain, and also prepared for the almost two-hour wait with the ...
|
| • | HISTORY NIGHT '08
11-07-2008
Where were you on History Night ’08?Joyce, who lives in Duarte, California, watched history unfold November 4th on the television set in her family room. At what she thinks was 8:00 p.m., the ph ...
|
| • | LESSONS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL____
11-03-2008
MY daughter who lives in Inglewood got into a tiff with her neighbor over a Proposition 8 yard sign.Another of my offspring dropped a guy she'd been dating once she found out who his choice was for re ...
|
| • | IT'S LEGAL
10-30-2008
It’s legal. You can do it. You might have already done it and, then again, you might have never thought of it. Radical? Probably not. Life-changing? Just might be ...
|
| • | OUR GASTLY ECONOMY ISN'T CHANGING HALLOWEEN
10-26-2008
WHO said the economy was in a bad way? Aren't we being told families are having it hard because of, among other things, high prices at the gas pump and continually rising food cost?Back when prices at ...
|
| • | GET 'EM REGISTERED TO VOTE
10-19-2008
DID our high school teachers and administrators remember to get students who are or will be 18 on or before Nov. 4, registered so they can vote?Maybe the civic teachers, government teachers and all th ...
|
| • | FLOORED IN THE FAST FOOD LINE
10-05-2008
'GOT what she deserved," was the consensus of the group.""Well," said a quiet lady who was sitting on the sideline and who hadn't ventured to join in the conversation until things ...
|
| • | AN UPBEAT STORY
09-29-2008
WANT an upbeat story? Check out your neighborhood public library and there's a plenty. While I suspect I'm known for continually shining light on the nonsense that prevails in our society, libraries a ...
|
| • | TALK ABOUT VOTING!
09-20-2008
THE 2008 presidential campaign provides families on both sides of the political aisle some of the best lessons life has to offer.Hot off the grill we get a look at unsafe sex resulting in teenage preg ...
|
| • | DEFERENCE
09-13-2008
WHAT started as a simple search for T-shirts ended in an understanding of what Sen. John McCain's Republican presidential campaign wanted the news media to afford their vice-presidential candidate in ...
|
| • | MEET MICHAEL
09-07-2008
We owe you a big apology. Our website has been pretty much out of "whack" for the past too many months. You should now be able to post comments here on the blog and, by the way,& ...
|
| • | PUMP UP YOUR KIDS FOR THE ELECTION
08-24-2008
TITLE on my e-mail was a simple WOW with an exclamation mark. Born in 1965 just before Watts - in the first Los Angeles Riot - went up in flames, my daughter who lives in Colorado exclaimed she'd rece ...
|
| • | SUPERVISOR MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH
08-21-2008
What makes Mike Antonovich, a Los Angeles County Supervisor, so dedicated to the well-being of children in the foster care system?As guest on Wednesday’s Talk About Parenting with Shirlee Smith ...
|
| • | WHERE'S CAYLEE? A CASE OF LIES AND DENIAL
08-15-2008
THE troublesome story of Caylee Anthony, the 3-year-old Florida girl who has been missing for over a month, follows a pattern the public has been introduced to before. &nb ...
|
| • | Unusual Suspects
08-13-2008
While the YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women is, indeed, lofty, the steps they are taking pretty much depend on the rest of us. The forums, workshops and other programs develop ...
|
| • | SENIOR YEAR MUST-HAVES ADD UP
08-09-2008
THE listed requirements for graduating from high school in California are reasonably straightforward. There's no fuzzy language. There's no small print. There's nothing parents need to figure out.
O ...
|
| • | WHO TOLD THE FELONS OR THE HOMELESS?
08-07-2008
My friend Chile who was a guest on our Talk About Parenting with Shirlee Smith interview show some months ago talked about her early years in foster care, teenage years as a r ...
|
| • | ARROGANT THUGS
08-02-2008
`THUGS!""Where?""Come on, now; you see them."The descriptive comment was meant for the group of black teenage males strolling north on Lincoln Avenue in Northwest Pasadena. So ...
|
| • | JACKSON REALIZED THE SHOE FIT
07-11-2008
Who would have thought longtime civil rights activist Jesse Jackson's lengthy relationship with microphones hadn't taught him a thing or two?And one of those things, I would think, would have been: Yo ...
|
| • | IS HILLARY THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK?
05-31-2008
The long-running 2008 presidential campaign just keeps showing up in my house. It seems to have taken up a permanent residence. Thanks to my Brandi b ...
|
| • | A MOTHER'S DAY REMINDER: DON'T FORGET THE HUMOR
05-10-2008
Back in the day when I was doing stand-up comedy, a significant part of my routine was my Mother’s Day special.The concept of once a year good treatment for us, when we toil 24/7 all the other d ...
|
| • | RAMON CORTINES: A SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT WORKING FOR PARENTS
05-06-2008
LAUSD Superintendent, Brewer, has hired former Pasadena Superintendent and local resident, Ramon Cortines, as his number two man.Brewer has come under criticism for not, as yet, putting his dist ...
|
| • | RECESSION?
03-28-2008
I suspect I’m not the only head of household who has noted the controversy going on that could be headlined, “Recession or What?”The big boys, maybe some girls too, apparently have s ...
|
| • | CALIFORNIA HOMESCHOOLING TAKING A HIT
03-12-2008
Some happenings in our society are just too stupid to comment on. But, then again, there just may be some folk who fail to see the stupidity in the social action or there, also, may be some peop ...
|
| • | WHAT DO PARENTS KNOW, ANYWAY?
02-22-2008
Parents with an ear and an eye trained on the mental health, academic success and general well being of their children are frequently labeled as both troublesome, meddlesome and, equally as uncomplime ...
|
| • | HISTORY REPEATS
02-14-2008
Among those listed on the tattered and torn copy of a slave sale document that hangs on my wall, (for a good price) are families - husbands, wives and their children. The conditions for sale indicate ...
|
| • | YEAR OF THE RAT
02-07-2008
Let’s give our family members the opportunity to expand their cultural horizons by helping them to learn about and to appreciate our Chinese American neighbors.At the top of our cultural awarene ...
|
| • | "OH, NO THEY DIDN'T"
01-29-2008
My kid will be with me at my polling place on Super Tuesday. Why? She’s got a job to do just like I do. What’s that supposed to mean when she’s o ...
|
| • | WHERE'S THE BRIDGE OVER OUR TROUBLED WATERS?
01-27-2008
Stop for a few moments, well, okay we probably need more than moments which, actually, is no more than on overused figure of speech, anyway. Since I want this to be an honest look at the behavio ...
|
| • | WHAT COLORADO SPRINGS HAS TO SAY ABOUT HOLMES MIDDLE SCHOOL
01-18-2008
Here’s how the story I broke on the Blog earlier this week played out yesterday in Colorado SpringsReprinted from Colorado Springs GazetteFriday, January 18,2007School segregationHow King ...
|
| • | NON-BLACK STUDENTS LEFT OUT OF DR. KING CELEBRATION
01-15-2008
In celebrating the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. administrators at a middle schools have seriously misunderstood this great Nobel Peace Prize winner’s dream that one day children would ...
|
| • | PARENTS RAISING KIDS FOR JAIL TIME
12-31-2007
The so-called cute little 3-year-old sat across from me. While I was trading stories with other adults at the table, she, with a strong arm and an accurate aim, pitched a tennis ball that hit me dead ...
|
| • | OMAHA NEBRASKA MALL MASSACRE
12-09-2007
Since the Virginia Tech campus killings last April, administrators of America’s institutions of higher learning are stepping up efforts to make their campuses safe by, in part, ruling out applic ...
|
| • | IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THE XMAS PRESENT GAME, THEN WHAT?
12-02-2007
Having just heard Bing Crosby crooning the popular tune, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, ” made me all too pleased that the Advent Calendar in our household was r ...
|
| • | TOUGH TEACHER ON THE LOOSE
12-02-2007
It seemed like a page from yesteryear. The teacher was poised upright at her desk doing paper work. About twelve students were sitting quietly about the classroom with their heads bu ...
|
| • | HOW MUCH HURT DID THE BOUNTY HUNTER CAUSE?
11-10-2007
My sister has a doctoral degree in anthropology from Harvard University. She has taught at numerous prestigious universities across the country and for many years she served as a Peace Corps director ...
|
| • | CANDY VERSUS SAFETY
10-31-2007
There's got to be some safe places for youth to dress-up, parade around and grab onto an identiy that won't belong to them the next day. Roaming the streets and knocking on doors for that elusiv ...
|
| • | TOY RECALLS ARE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE
10-21-2007
I saw one of my favorite little characters on television nightly news the other night and the reporter, who flopped him around in front of the camera for all to see, wasn’t giving up any respect ...
|
| • | THE JENA SIX
10-09-2007
The Jena Six story is a hard cold lesson for parents of young black males that keeps before us the ugly reality called our sons don’t hold golden boy cards.The six high school students in Jena L ...
|
| • | I WROTE IT AND I STILL MEAN WHAT I WROTE!
09-25-2007
I’ve got a book on the market called “They’re Your Kids Not Your Friends.” The publishers in Mexico who picked up the rights went along with that ...
|
| • | CHARTER SCHOOL FAILING THE STUDENTS
09-15-2007
A local resident and education-for-all- kids advocate voiced concern the other day because students attending Nia Charter School wouldn’t be able to receive Cal Grants b ...
|
| • | MILITARY RECRUITERS GETCHA IF YOU DON'T OPT OUT
09-08-2007
There’s a little known section of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation that was approved by Congress back in 2001. No, the public probably doesn’t need to know all aspects of this c ...
|
| • | DO SOMETHING
08-23-2007
Time to act. Time to do something. This week’s blog on the shooting death of 16 year-old Ebony Huell has prompted comments, here, that sound like folks believe in action.Reese says t ...
|
| • | TROUBLE IN THE LAND
08-21-2007
Ebony Huell has, unfortunately, become the talk of Pasadena. The 16 year-old who was shot to death last Friday night on the sidewalk outside a teen party on Lincoln Ave. ...
|
| • | ANOTHER KILLING - ANOTHER MEETING
08-14-2007
There was another shooting in my town - Pasadena the city of roses. There will be many more. There was another meeting. There will be many more. No one at the ...
|
| • | WHO'S MINDING THE KIDS?
07-11-2007
You tell me who should be arrested in the troublesome story of the ten and twelve year old girl kidnappers.While this lawless caper took place in a distant land called Enid Oklahoma, a place most of u ...
|
| • | PARIS HILTON LIVES NEXT DOOR
06-12-2007
Is there anything to be gained from the incessant media coverage of Heiress Paris Hilton receiving a jail sentence from a judge for violating conditions of her probation, checking i ...
|
| • | FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH - AWARE OF WHAT?
05-02-2007
I’m not too sure that something like Foster Care Awareness Month can get the job done. But then, I don’t suppose the purpose of this month, which is really dedicat ...
|
| • | Don IMUS
04-25-2007
“Well!” said my sister, with much indignation expressed by her, in one of the frequent telephone calls she makes to me from her apartment in New York city. Beverle ...
|
| • | COLORED CHICKS RUIN THE DAY
04-06-2007
Little girls with ruffled dresses, hair filled with bows and curls, shinny new shoes and baskets filled with spring time goodies hanging from their small arms – it must be Easter time.&nbs ...
|
| • | WHO DIED THAT NEWS DAY?
04-05-2007
The teenage uncle told the interviewer he found nothing wrong with helping his toddler nephews smoke pot because, he said, the little ones had done it before. Uncle also said the youngsters had ...
|
| • | LIFE AIN'T EASY
04-05-2007
One of my grandmothers had a quince tree in her backyard and every year she picked them, canned them and I suppose even ate the fruit I wouldn’t touch.Quince? I never saw them for sale at ...
|
| • | Is The Military A Dumping Ground?
02-20-2007
“I don’t think you know the half of it,” said the young man sitting behind the desk at the public access television station in Los Angeles when I told him the title of the program I ...
|
| • | Military Recruitment:What Families Need To Know
02-04-2007
From somewhere back in time I recall a tune with a calypso beat and lyrics claiming, “There are more questions than answers.” A catchy phrase but not a concept we, as p ...
|
| • | DR. GRETA PRUITT,TALK ABOUT PARENTING WITH SHIRLEE SMITH BOARD MEMBER, NAMED TO LOS ANGELES MAYOR'S EDUCATION LEADERSHIP TEAM
12-10-2006
Talk About Parenting Board Member, Dr. Greta Pruitt, named to Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa's Education Leadership Team!L. A. Times, Sunday morning, December 10, 2006LOS ANGELES - With legislation po ...
|
| • | WHO IS TO SAY BRITNEY SPEARS IS AN UNFIT PARENT?
12-08-2006
Britney Spears isn’t someone I’d normally write about but recent condemnation of the big-time entertainer’s parenting grabbed my attention. Months ago the paparazzi ...
|
| • | TURKEY SQUABBLE
12-01-2006
Whatever squabbles emerged at this year's turkey gathering of relatives can't equal the allegations of criminal intent and the filing of a police complaint regarding the alleged assa ...
|
| • | STUDENT'S WINNING ESSAY PUTS HER ON A FLOAT IN THE 2007 ROSE PARADE
11-22-2006
Congratulations Christina! Thanks much for submitting your winning essay. ...
|
| • | KEEP THE FAMILY CONVERSATION CURRENT
11-12-2006
I’m generally amazed when astonished parents discover their student is able, in some meaningful way, to discuss current events. “I just couldn&rs ...
|
| • | MEDIA FOCUS ON ADOPTION IS SKEWED
10-25-2006
November is National Adoption month here in America. When we compare media coverage of our own children needing permanent families with that given to one-year old David Banda from Malawi who is ...
|
| • | KIDS CAN DO IT!
10-08-2006
We encourage parents to have their children submit school work - and here is our first. A book report from Lyndon, 5th grader, who lives in Colorado. Congratulations! An "A" ...
|
| • | CONGRESSMAN FOLEY'S FOLLIES
10-08-2006
The despicable behavior exhibited by former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley in his alluring emails to young Pages who worked in the program that have recently been made public is indeed news and political news a ...
|
| • | WE'RE HERE TO SERVE
09-06-2006
Thanks for being a "blog friend." We've had some technical troubles with our blog but tech folks say we are now back in service! Friend, Allen, sen ...
|
| • | STILL BILL (COSBY)
08-28-2006
In days past, or as my grandson likes to characterize my commentary, “back in the day,” the start of a school day often began with the clanging of the bell.Nowadays, the clanging starts wa ...
|
| • | JONBENET RAMSEY OVERKILL
08-17-2006
If you formerly disagreed with those of us who said the news we're fed is basically crap and that these over rated media conglomerates fail to provide people with the issues and events they need to kn ...
|
| • | ONE MORE GADGET TO SNATCH
08-15-2006
Recent news tells us iPod theft is on the rise. The media has gone all out to give Apple some un-paid for promotion for their trendy little gadget. A gadget that’s little in size but ...
|
| • | IS McDONALD'S FOR EVERY BODY?
07-30-2006
The other morning, Saturday to be exact, I tried pulling my red Oldsmobile into my local McDonald's drive-thru. The place in the "hood" was jammed. SUV's hanging out into the str ...
|
| • | MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS IN PRE-SCHOOLER'S DEATH
07-10-2006
Rita Foster? Folks in my hometown are beginning to wonder if that’s the real name of the 4-year-old child who was hit and killed by a bus in front of her apartment complex as she rod ...
|
| • | PARENT SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR PRE-SCHOOLER'S DEATH
07-03-2006
The recent death of 4-year-old Rita Foster is being called an unfortunate accident, with no one at fault, according to Pasadena Police spokesperson Janet Pope Givens.At 8 o’clock p.m., when it w ...
|
| • | DAVID SANDERS QUITS POST AS LOS ANGELES COUNTY DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
06-29-2006
Everyone's favorite department, which is also fondly called "The Kid Snatchers," will be looking for a new commandant. Everybody's buddy, David San ...
|
| • | THEATER ANYONE?
06-18-2006
There's so much more to life than television and to that end our organization, through the Center Theater Group, works to provide "curtain time" experience for families . The latest venture ...
|
| • | WHO CARES ABOUT JOLIE-PITT AND DOMINIQUE CALLOWAY?
06-12-2006
It's been a couple of weeks, now, since the much heralded birth of the Jolie/Pitt baby came to pass. Thank God for the media's short attention span we are now being bombarded ...
|
| • | AKEELAH AND THE BEE
05-28-2006
Sometime I just gotta wonder what's up (or down) with parents. You folk claim you want the best for your kids and then when something good comes along, like the movie "Akeelah and th ...
|
| • | HOW MANY KIDS ARE IN FOSTER CARE?
05-03-2006
A simple answer to this question is; too many! But what's to be done to decrease the numbers? Some would suggest adoption. Others might say placement with relatives and then there's that bunch of h ...
|
| • | FOSTER CARE-
04-29-2006
Reprinted from "They're Your Kids Not Your Friends" (c) 2001 by permission,Sorin Press, Notre Dame, IN I once told someone my favorite pasttime was sitting on the bea ...
|
| • | 20,000 Young Adults Age Out of Foster Care Every Year
04-29-2006
Aging out of foster care is a most outrageous concept and practice. Biologiclal parents aren't afforded the luxury of waving a fond farewell to their offspring once the kids h ...
|
| • | Disproportionate Number of African Americans in the System
04-29-2006
With such an overwhelming number of African American children in foster care, a quick thinking person might determine my folks don't know how to raise their kids. But let's please ask that you give th ...
|
| • | OCTAVIA BUTLER - A VERY TIMELY DEATH
03-14-2006
“Kindred,” by Octavia Butler, Pasadena’s selection committee’s choice for this year’s March 2006 “One City, One Story” provides a clear view of how the ...
|
