A couple people had asked for new pictures of the garage, so here is one that I took today.

As you can see, thanks to our friends, the missionaries and the young men from our Church, we have a nice, clean, empty concrete slab now. All we need now is a new garage.

I saw this yesterday in Clearlake Oaks, California while I was driving to Sacramento. I couldn't believe my eyes. Most of the other stations were at $3.89 or $3.93/gal. This gas must be really good.

Any bets on how soon this is the average price?

Maybe you can help me. When I read this Oakland Tribune article I was a little bit confused.

Devareaux Manley's mother does everything she can to keep her son on the academic track. Devareaux, who attends Castlemont's Leadership Preparatory High School, said he doesn't exactly want for encouragement or motivation.

But when he received an African American Honor Roll certificate, it caused him to step back and think about what he had accomplished, he said, and where he was headed.

"It felt pretty good to be honored for doing hard work and keeping up my good grades," said Devareaux, 15. "It feels good to get acknowledged."

Devareaux was one of some 1,100 African-American Oakland public school students in grades 8 through 12 who were honored Monday evening for earning a B average or above. It was the seventh consecutive year the Oakland school district's African American Education Task Force has organized the event, held at the spacious Acts Full Gospel Church in East Oakland.

While these 1,100 students and their parents have reason to be proud of their academic achievement in earning a B average or above, doesn't this event reek of "separate but equal"? I'm hoping that as a fat, old, white guy, I'm just missing the point of the event. I'm not sure that I understand why an "African American Honor Roll certificate" is OK, when I'm sure that a "White Honor Roll Certificate" would result in front page stories in every newspaper in the state and not in the complementary tone of this story. Are the Hispanic, Asian or white parents and children supposed to feel slighted by not having a similar events?

If we truly have high expectations for all students, then should we be having events like this? Should we be honoring specific ethnic groups for a behavior, only because they're part of that group? Maybe I'm reading something into it that isn't there, but it seems like making a big deal out of a B grade for these students is a bit like a "participation trophy."

I'd love to hear from others on whether they agree or disagree. I'm really not sure how I should react to this article.

Coach Brown has suggested more than once that the editor of our local paper, the Ukiah Daily Journal seems to have a problem with the local school district. I haven't really agreed with him until now. This morning, I saw this blog posting from the editor entitled Wondering about UUSD policy.

I got a call from a single Mom who has two children, a kindergartner heading to first grade next year and a fourth grader heading to fifth grade. The two children both go to Frank Zeek School, which is not their neighborhood school. This woman got permission to put her kids into Frank Zeek (Nokomis is her neighborhood school according to UUSD) because she thought they would get a better education there and their father lives in the Frank Zeek neighborhood. The other day, this Mom got a letter from the principal of Frank Zeek saying that because her fourth grader had been absent from school four times in the past year and tardy 14 times, he was no longer welcome at Frank Zeek and that she would have to go register him at Nokomis next year. I understand she got a similar letter for her daughter who she admits had a tough kindergarten year tardiness wise, not wanting to go to a different school after a happy pre-school experience.

This woman lives in the neighborhood of the Grace Hudson School which she thinks would be a good place for her children, but was told by the administration there that her children would not be eligible to go because they do not speak Spanish. According to this Mom, she was told by the Grace Hudson School that kids going to that school must enter at kindergarten because of the immersion Spanish program which teaches English speakers to speak Spanish.

Apparently the waiting lists for local charter schools is long and her only option is to try for the lotteries at each school, which does not guarantee her children will go tot he same school.

Why doesn't she want her children at Nokomis? She says she knows that children there get bullied and beat up regularly and that the campus security is lax.

So, I am wondering:

• if it's true that only kindergartners or kids who already speak Spanish are allowed to enroll at Grace Hudson School even if they live in that neighborhood?
• if four absences in a 9-month long school year can result in your kid basically being expelled from the school?
• if Nokomis's reputation - and I recall our own news stories from four or five years ago about the bullying at Nokomis - is deserved and what the school district is doing about it?

After reading the posting, what "I am wondering" is why KC posted this item without actually confirming any of this mom's assertions or giving the school district the opportunity to respond. It just blows me away that she's basing this posting entirely upon one phone call. That shouldn't fly on the front page of her paper, so I'm not sure why she thinks it is OK on her blog.

Personally, I don't know if any of this is true. It might be nice however to hear from the school district about it.

I could easily write something similar about the local paper without any confirmations or research. I wonder how she would enjoy that.

I got a call from a subscriber to the local paper. She's taken the paper for a number of years. All of the sudden she got a letter from the paper saying that because she has missed a subscription payment and bounced a few checks to the paper that they're canceling her subscription.

She tried to subscribe to the Willits News, but they said they wouldn't give her a subscription either because they only deliver in Willits.

She doesn't want to subscribe to the Lake County Record-Bee because she knows that they just make up their stories.

So, I'm wondering:

• if it is true that the Ukiah Daily Journal would cancel a subscription just because someone missed a payment.
• if it is true that the Willits News discriminates against Ukiah residents.
• If the Lake County Record-Bee's reputation is deserved and what the California Newspaper Partnership and MediaNews Group, Inc. is doing about it.

It wouldn't be so much fun if the shoe was on the other foot.

I must say I was extremely disappointed with this San Jose Mercury News editorial. I think the cluelessness of the editorial board is unfortunate and even worse it is all too common in our state because of our confusing excuse for an accountability system.

How do you inspire students to take week-long standardized tests that don't affect their grades or their future?

That's the enigma confronting teachers and administrators this month as they administer the annual Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, tests. As Mercury News writer Sharon Noguchi reported last week, there's a motivation gap between younger and older students.

Elementary schools use pizza parties, school rallies and goofy stunts to prime youngsters for five days of multiple-choice exams that determine their school's reputation and academic standing. But those tactics are less successful with high school students worried about SATs and the exit exam, not about a test with no bearing on their future. The dilemma keeps principals up at nights.

STAR test results largely determine whether schools meet targets under the federal No Child Left Behind law. They're the overwhelming factor in determining a school's API score, the three-digit number that Realtors, parents and journalists fixate on. A few dozen students who tune out or sabotage the test can bring on state and federal sanctions.

Hmmmm... where to start. First, the STAR test results do not determine whether high schools meet targets under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For high schools, those determinations are based solely on the 10th grade California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) results. The STAR results do not impact whether a high school made the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals under NCLB at all.

Second, while STAR results are a part of the API calculation, for high schools, no single test has a weight greater than 29%. So, to really have a big impact, those "few dozen students" would probably need to focus their efforts on more than a single test.

Third, testing companies look for invalid tests where students answer "A" for every question or follow patterns or spell out things using the bubbles, so those tests aren't counted against the schools anyway.

Students take STAR tests in second through 11th grades. The lower grades are tested mainly in math and reading which creates another problem: Schools spend weeks drilling on those subjects at the expense of others, teaching to the test instead of to state standards.

This is just a reiteration of the same 'ol "NCLB is narrowing the curriculum" argument. That argument is ridiculous when you have 60% of students statewide who are below grade-level in those two basic subjects. If students aren't at grade-level in reading, writing and math, then we should be narrowing their instruction to solve that problem. The skills of reading, writing and math are essential to success in other subjects such as science or history. Students are tested in science in grades 5 and 8, as well as through their high school years. History/Social Science tests are also given in grades 8, 10 and 11.

Other measures would give a broader perspective on a school's academic performance and could be factored into the API score. They include the graduation rate, the percentage of students who need remediation at community colleges and state universities, the proportion who complete a career-technical education program or courses required for admission to a four-year state college, and the number of students taking advanced placement courses.

The lack of a statewide data system has prevented including some of these factors in the API. But within a few years, a system should be up and running.

I'm not necessarily against looking at other measures to include in the API, but there are some problems here. By adding these other measures, it reduces the incentives for schools to focus on raising student academic achievement. They will start focusing efforts on these other factors. Since student achievement is clearly the most important goal, it sure seems like the standardized test should be the majority component of an accountability system.

The lack of a longitudinal student data system is also a significant problem, but the reality is that it didn't need prevent the state from collecting appropriate data for these other areas of interest. CDE already collects tons of data from school districts. All the longitudinal data system is going to do is allow them utilize that data more effectively. They're still going to need to collect it. I'm not holding my breath for the completion of CALPADS/CALTIDES.

Actually, beyond the article, I have real problems with the API as you've probably seen before if you read my blog. Even if I could accept the API, then the other glaring flaw is that there is actually no accountability associated with it. Schools can fail to meet their API goals year after year with absolutely no consequences. NCLB is supposed to impose consequences for failure, but the California Department of Education sees to it that those never actually occur by allowing failing schools to select the "other" option instead of research-based reform strategies.

Here are some pictures I took of the aftermath of our garage fire.

In our efforts to look on the bright side, Grace and I both came to the same conclusion. After we get the garage rebuilt, we probably won't need the storage shed any more since we don't have anything to put in it anyway.

One thing I didn't mention last night is how thankful I am for our friends. I've already mentioned all the things that the neighbors did for us, but while the firemen were still putting out the fire, we had a bunch of our friends come by to make sure we were OK and offer their assistance. Our friend Craig Carter dog sat by allowing Storm to spend the night in his backyard. We had Kathy Norris, the Glavichs, multiple Richardsons, the Steinmans and our Bishop all stopping by before the flames were even out to check on us and our needs. There were probably more that I can't even remember. We've had a bunch of phone calls today from other friends checking on us.

We're so blessed to have such good friends.

Storm is back at the house now. We set up an area at the other end of our house for him to live until the garage is rebuilt. He doesn't look any worse for wear and he definitely seemed happy to be home.

On Monday, we'll order a construction dumpster so that we can begin the process of getting rid of the ash and burnt wood.

My mom and grandfather came by today to check out our handiwork. They seemed impressed.

We've been amazed at the number of people driving slowly by our house, or who put on the brakes once they see our garage is gone. If we could only figure out a way to charge for that, we'd be able to rebuild the garage.

Well, we've had an interesting evening. I was at a wedding reception for Nathan Richardson and as I arrived home, I saw a multitude of fire trucks parked in front of my house and thick black smoke rising into the sky. I quickly parked my truck and ran down the street toward my house. As the house came into view, I quickly realized that my house was OK, but my garage and storage shed were fully involved.

The good news is that everyone got out safely. Our neighbors were great. They rescued our dog, assisted my mother-in-law in getting out of the house and sprayed water on our car sitting in the driveway to protect it. The bad news is that the garage and storage shed are a complete loss. In looking at tomorrow's Ukiah Daily Journal, it looks like we made the front page. Here's what the story looked like, complete with picture.

Our dog is spending the night at a neighbor's house. Since he was living next to the garage, tomorrow we'll have to move him to the side of the house instead. We'll also need to go through the rubble to see if there is anything that can be saved. I'm not very hopeful given the heat of the blaze.

There was some damage to adjacent houses and a neighbor's car, but fortunately, thanks to the quick efforts of the Ukiah Fire Department, none of that damage was significant.

As I said, everyone is safe. We have insurance. Most of the stuff in the garage was just junk anyway. I'm sure there will be more on this as the story progresses.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this USA Today opinion piece. Minister Buzz Thomas suggests that since our environmental problems are due to overpopulation, the Roman Catholics and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should abandon their policies encouraging large families.

Of course, much of our environmental problem is due to overpopulation. There are simply too many people for the planet to sustain — at least the way we expect to be sustained. Each new person requires more food, water and oxygen. At the same time, each is producing more carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane (the big culprits of global warming). For each additional human, planet Earth (and the rest of us) pays a price. The world knows where this is all headed. In fact, we even devote an entire day — Earth Day, which we'll mark Tuesday — to promote awareness.

Now, consider the Roman Catholic Church's continued opposition to modern birth control or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' (i.e. Mormons) encouragement of large families. This might not alarm you unless you realize that nearly one in every five humans on the planet is Roman Catholic and that the Latter-day Saints belong to one of the fastest-growing religions in the Western Hemisphere. Many Orthodox Jews and some Muslims also eschew birth control.

In the interest of preserving our planet and our species, shouldn't religious organizations be encouraging smaller families? Do our spiritual leaders need additional divine revelation to realize that our current doctrines — which threaten to take the entire world down with us — have become ethically and theologically questionable?

I just couldn't help but laugh that Buzz is suggesting that religion plays a role in global climate change. There are so many other causes mentioned in various articles. Who is Buzz to decide that the Catholics or Mormons are wrong? Maybe Buzz is wrong. Maybe the Catholic or Mormon who won't be born because they start encouraging abortions or birth control would have been the next Al Gore and would have come up with a solution to the global climate change problem.

It just seems to me that we have so many other critical issues that perhaps we could focus some of our evangelical fervor and global consciousness on helping to reduce poverty, famine, finding alternatives to petroleum, exploitation of children or political corruption. This single-minded focus on the global warming crisis to the exclusion of all other issues is a bit like straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic. We have bigger, more immediate issues that could use our attention while we figure out the science.

About a month and a half ago, I wrote about the lack of temperature increases in our oceans and the problems that was causing for the global warming community. Yesterday, I saw this New York Times story about a new climate model which is predicting global cooling for the next decade.

One of the first attempts to look ahead a decade, using computer simulations and measurements of ocean temperatures, predicts a slight cooling of Europe and North America, probably related to shifting currents and patterns in the oceans.

The team that generated the forecast, whose members come from two German ocean and climate research centers, acknowledged that it was a preliminary effort. But in a short paper published in the May 1 issue of the journal Nature, they said their modeling method was able to reasonably replicate climate patterns in those regions in recent decades, providing some confidence in their prediction for the next one.

The authors stressed that the pause in warming represented only a temporary blunting of the centuries of rising temperatures that scientists have projected if carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases continue accumulating in the atmosphere.

I find it somewhat amusing that once again, global warming advocates have to backpedal when the data doesn't match their predictions. For something where the "science is settled", I find it rather amusing that new data keeps coming up which contradicts the settled science. As I've said before, I do believe that in general temperatures have increased, but I don't believe that the global warming advocates really have as clear an understanding of the causes and the effects that they suggest. I don't believe we should be taking radical steps to reduce climate change when the data doesn't match our original hypothesis. How can we know what we're doing is going to have the desired result? It just doesn't make sense to me.