Add another state to the list of those having second thoughts on Common Core. The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper’s reporting that Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal has ordered a sweeping review of the Common Core national guidelines and asked the State Board of Education to “formally un-adopt” the program which includes sample English reading selections that have infuriated parents. Bills are pending before the Georgia legislature that would remove the state from participation in the Common Core. Concerns over the loss of state autonomy in education to the federal government have fueled local opposition and become a factor in political campaigns across the state. Local pundits seem to be of the opinion that the Georgia State Board of Education will do as the governor asks, before the legislature does it for them. We’ve linked to the full story for your convenience with this news read at Girard at Large dot com. Georgia is the latest state to halt implementation of Common Core to answer growing questions about what it means for states and the quality of education. Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Utah, Wyoming, and Indiana are among those who’ve recently either seen executive action to halt its implementation or legislative activity to eliminate it.
The Manchester Health Department announced that a batch of mosquitoes captured in the city has tested positive for Triple E, Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Triple E is a serious disease with a high mortality rate. Symptoms include fever, severe headache, stiff neck and a sore throat. Manchester Health Officer Tim Soucy says the finding was not unexpected and that simple precautions to prevent mosquito bites should be taken by all citizens. You can get details on those and the disease by reading the department’s press release, which is posted with this news read at girard at large dot com.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Senate President Peter Bragdon, Republican of Milford, has called the state senate back into session to resign his post and elect a successor on September third. Bragdon has come under fire for accepting the position of Executive Director of the Local Government Center with critics saying it presents unavoidable conflicts of interest with his being a senator. To allay criticism, Bragdon announced he’d step down from the senate’s top post. While Republicans cheered the decision, Democrats said it didn’t go far enough noting that the organization heavily lobbies the legislature and is regulated by a number of state agencies. They want Bragdon out altogether. Don’t expect that to happen. Meanwhile, Republicans are accusing Democrats of being hypocrites on the issue, charging that State Senator Jeff Woodburn, Democrat from Dalton, is in the same position as Bragdon visa vie his work. The Union Leader reporting this morning that Woodburn is Executive Director of the Council for Children and Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions, which was created in nineteen ninety seven by the legislature, is funded mostly by the state tax dollars and has been known to lobby the legislature. Republicans aren’t saying there’s anything wrong with that, oh my head, but that it’s hypocritical for the Democrats to attack Bragdon when one of their own has been doing the same thing. Democrats, of course, say there’s no comparison between the two. We’ve linked to the story from this news read at Girard at Large dot com so you can decide on your own.
September is National Preparedness Month and Southern New Hampshire Planning, the Manchester area’s regional planning organization, wants you to be prepared. A key message they’d like to put across is for folks to plan to be self-reliant for three days without utilities and electricity, water service, access to a supermarket or local services, or maybe even without response from police, fire or rescue in wake of an emergency. Their press release, which is linked to this news read at Girard at Large dot com, encourages people to get an emergency supply kit, make an emergency plan, be informed about possible emergencies, and get involved. It also lists coming events at which they’ll be available to the public to share information.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ continues right after this!
