Assignment Seven

Fear, Unemployment and layoffs are the words that come to mind and the realities being faced by young people in the current economy, yet that doesn't mean that they necessarily want to cut back on their spending.

I haven't been buying video games, but I have been buying micro brews .” Said Dorian Young, a 23 year old consultant living in Oakland, CA. “I'll go to the smaller independent businesses. Local cafés instead of Starbucks and Peet's.”

That isn't to say the current state of the economy isn't having an effect on young workers and college graduates.

“The state of the economy directly effects the well being of the people I care about.” Said Joshua Owings, a 22 year old musician and teacher living in Oakland, CA. “It's scary. Will I be able to find a job? Will the program that I work for at a public school be canceled due to budget cuts?”

Owings would like to start a local business in Oakland but he fears that because of current a future economic conditions getting a loan is near impossible. For Owings, a young person with little capital, making a large purchases or investment is not going to be in the near future.

“Schools are getting shut down in Richmond...” Said Tara Ramanathan, a 22 year old third grade teacher at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, CA. “I'm concerned about unemployment rates and jobs.”

According to the West Contra Costa Unified School District, at least six schools are being closed for budgetary reasons. As a first year teacher without tenure, Ramanathan could find herself out of work next school year.

Despite the doom-and-gloom atmosphere being presented in the media, Ramanathan, Young and Owings have not decreased their spending.

“I've been making a conscious effort to shop at local shops and businesses instead of large corporations.” said Owings.

“When I saw myself with an abundance of savings at the end of 2008, I decided not to invest it as planned.” Young said. Undeterred by a recent pay cut, Young has not decreased his spending. In fact, it's increased. “I feel better about spending money. The justification for spending money is 'I'm helping the economy.'”

Assignment Six

Main Story

A chlorine gas leak, caused by a train accident, has left six people dead, nine people injured and 90 evacuated from their homes.

The gas leak began when a tank car on a Union Pacific train was damaged. The cracked car allowed the chlorine, which is transported as a liquid, to leak out as a gas.

The accident occurred in South Morgan Hill near the Railroad Avenue and Tennant Avenue intersection. The wind, blowing from the South East, dispersed the gas into the surrounding area.

Teri Jenkins, 18, died at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose where she and her family were evacuated after exposure to the chlorine gas. The rest of his family, John, Glynis and Timmy remain in critical condition at O'Connor Hospital.

The body of a middle aged woman along with four unidentified bodies have also been removed from houses near the chlorine gas leak site.

Union Pacific employee Dwight Dougherty, who first phoned in information of the accident, was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. He is not expected to survive.

“Usually Chlorine gas victims respond well to treatment. This looks like a much more toxic substance” said the supervising nurse.

90 other residents in the area have been evacuated to motels by Union Pacific

“There is no need to worry,” said Pat Pritchard, Union Pacific spokesperson. He claimed to not know exactly when the accident took place and that the gas spill would be cleaned up in a matter of hours.

The gas leak was first reported to the Santa Clara County Sheriff, Laurie Smith , at 6:20 a.m. Saturday, by Pritchard. Smith said that while the Morgan Hill Police Department is responsible for the area where the accident occurred, the affected homes lie outside the city limits inside the county.

Smith said at least 12 of her deputies are now combing the neighborhood house-to-house, wearing gas masks. She also said that the Red Cross and the local fire department are on the scene.

Sidebar

Chlorine, an element that is used to disinfect drinking water and swimming pools, can be deadly when humans are exposed to its pure form.

Chlorine gas was the culprit in the deaths of six people after a train car carrying the substance was damaged in Morgan Hill.

Chlorine is a member of the halogen group of elements, the most unstable group on the periodic table. It was used as a chemical weapon in World War I and has been used in the Iraq war by insurgents.

Chlorine is a helpful disinfectant in the form of hypochlorous acid but a few deep breaths of Chlorine in its pure, gaseous form can irritate and damage the respiratory system, causing injury and death.

Assignment Five

Sally Blaine, a Sunnyvale, CA resident, was having a normal Tuesday night bath when a 6-foot anaconda just happened to poke his head out of the tub's overflow.

The anaconda, Bruno, belongs to James P. Stanley, her neighbor. A programmer for Apple Computer and a snake enthusiast, Stanley lives with his wife, three children and four snakes in the eastern half of a Sunnyvale duplex.

Tuesday night?, Bruno was showing signs of discomfort so Stanley gave him a warm bath. He left to answer the phone and when he returned, Stanley managed to grasp the last few inches of Bruno's tail as he slithered down the drain.

Stanley's wife called the Humane Society while Blaine's husband called the fire department.

Both firefighters and Humane Society personnel arrived at the duplex and began to pull Bruno from opposite ends. The two groups were unaware of each other and continued to play tug of war with Bruno for 10 minutes.

After Stanley realized what was going on, he raced next door to save Bruno. With the cooperation of the Humane Society and Fire Department, Bruno was freed in a few minutes.

Assignment Five

The Middlesburgh, Ohio Board of education was accused of violating state code by buying milk for the school cafeteria program without taking bids

Karen A. Borchard, Home Economist for the Ohio Department of Education told the school board it had to seek bids from dairy companies before purchasing milk for the school system. If the school board did not take offers and buy from the lowest, it risked losing its $365,000 state lunch grant.

The school board had been buying milk from the local company, Clover Dairy, which is best known for its too strong billboards.

Before the meeting adjourned, Harlan E. Ellsworth, president of the school board addressed Borchard. “I object strenuously to this dictatorial attitude of the Ohio Department of Education. We buy milk from Clover because it's the best available product for the best price. Besides, it's a local concern and deserves the business more than an outside chain,” he said.

The school board adjourned without taking action. A special meeting will be called next week to discuss the milk issue.