Women's Gymanstics is doing back flips

U-C-L-A women’s gymnast is the national champion in the uneven bars competition.

Tasha Schwikert became the fifth bruin to win the uneven bars title.

However, it is Georgia’s gymnastics team that was doing back flips.

Georgia won the team drills for the fourth straight year.

Also, Georgia earned first place in floor exercises and balance beam competitions.

Lastly, L-S-U- earned its first vaulting championship in women’s gymnastics.

The star-maker now gets his own Star

The man who helped make stars out of John Travolta and the Little Mermaid is now getting his own star.

Former Paramount Pictures President and former C.E.O. of Disney- Michael Eisner is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Eisner played a large role in the development of movies like Grease, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Hollywood stars such as John Travolta and Mickey Mouse were on hand for the celebration.

V-S-U is getting R-I-C-H

Alumni support at Virginia State University is up ten percent from five years ago.

The reason... Large Scale Renovations

V-S-U upgraded their buildings and online databases in hopes of attracting rich donors.

Alumni donor Anthony Spencer says when he gives his money; he wants it to go the best of schools.

Virginia State University is one of the many historical black colleges to try to renovations to increase funding.

Third Oldest Women in the world dead at 114

The third oldest person in the world is dead.

Arbella Ewings died at age 114 at her Dallas retirement home.

Ewings says the secret to a long life is not getting involved in other people’s affairs.

People close to Ewings say she felt that her time was coming soon.

She is survived by her 103 year old sister.

Sleep Deprivation among College Students

For many college students sleep is considered a waste of time.

A recent poll shows college students feel there are lot more productive ways to spend their time.
But is there?

Sleep therapist Ryan Forte says most people; especially college students are unaware of all the effects of sleep deprivation.

(Forte says there are many effects associated with sleep deprivation, both short and long term. Some short term effects are irritability, exhaustion, grogginess, and lack of concentration. Long term effects include seizures, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and weight gain.

Forte also says if a person is not getting enough sleep and is smoking or using cocaine or on adderall or other illegal substances that it can lead to even more serious long term effects.)
So how many hours of sleep do young people get a night?

Several C-SUN students polled answered less than the recommended eight.

The National Sleep Foundation reports that the average college student receives six point eight hours of sleep a night.

That is one point three hours less than students in the 1960’s were getting.

The report also shows 15 percent of college students only sleep four hours a night—and six percent of all college students suffer from some type of sleep disorder.

The most common being insomnia.

C-SUN student Chester Inong says he doesn’t get the recommended amount of sleep because he just does not have the time.

(Inong says students have to balance out class work and class time and it really takes up a huge part of one’s schedule.)

C-SUN student body Vice President Nicole Umali says she prefers using her time towards being productive.

(Umali says she is a very busy person and her days are full, so anytime she has she wants it to be spent on doing stuff, I’d rather do that than sleep.)

But, is staying awake trying to be productive actually leading to poor performance?

The National Sleep Foundation reports the biggest reasons why students do not sleep is because of work, class, athletics, social activities, family and studying.

More than 70 percent of college students say they believe “cramming”—staying up all night to study-- before taking a test helps them score higher on their exams.

A belief that one expert is questioning.

Sleep Deprivation researcher at Henry Mayo Hospital Cynthia Thames says that people will immediately feel negative effects of sleep deprivation after one night of less than four hours of sleep.

(Thames says people will not be able to concentrate as well, not going to be as alert; they are more prone to making mistakes due to a lack of focus. Thames also says there memory is not going to be as sharp.)

Thames says “cramming” lowers the chances for academic success.

Experts agree getting a full nights rest after studying the material is the best chance to earn an “A”—even saying cramming many times has a negative effect on academic performance.

And, new research is showing the lack of sleep does not affect everyone the same.

Students involved in student government, fraternities, and athletics have double the likelihood of being sleep deprived.

However, what are some of the rewards for people that do get a full nights rest?

A Stanford University report examined the effects of sleep among college athletes.

They found that athletes that sleep eight or more hours a night will improve their reaction time, focus, and ultimately their performance.

Other studies show everyone benefits from catching “z’s”.

Sleep therapist Trevor Rhodes offers some suggestions for improving the quality of sleep.

(Rhodes says the best thing to do as far as exercise goes is to exercise during the day.

Exercising in the day will help you sleep easier at night and achieve REM sleep.

Also try to avoid food and drinks that contain caffeine prior to bedtime.

Also keep TV’s and computers out of the bedroom or at least keep them off. Try to maintain the same bedtime routine. Lastly, keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool that will definitely help you get better sleep as well.)

Other recommended tips are to nap for no more than 30 minutes and avoid using sleeping pills.

In the past 50 years new research and data is being discovered about sleeping and its effects on the body.

Director of Sleep and Neuro-Imaging Lab at U-C Berkeley Matthew Walker says new data is forcing society to have more appreciation for the role that sleep plays.

Especially in regards to mental health and psychiatric diseases.

Walker also says that more research is expected to occur on these issues in the future.

Experts say two of the biggest signs of sleep deprivation is having consistency in trying to fall asleep and staying asleep.


Who knew that hitting the snooze button to get the extra ten minutes of sleep is actually a good thing.

Don't call him a Weirdo

VAN NUYS, Calif. - Next time you see Joesph Weirdo you should call him Joseph Weir as Los Angeles Circuit Court Judge Jack Musselman approved his request for a legal name change.

“I didn’t want to go through life as a Weirdo,” said Weir.

Weir stated, in his petition, that he suffered great embarrassment and that’s the reason for the name change, not to avoid paying debts or change his status in society.

Those are the main reasons for name changes said Judge Musselman. Weir is one of more than 300 people to have paid the $200 filing fee this year for a name change, said a court clerk.

Persuaders Review Part III

If advertisements are successful in creating a feeling beyond the product it increases the likelihood of the advertisers reaching its goal; which is to create brand loyalty or identity.

“Brand loyalty” consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service.

Basically, if you constantly buy Nike shoes then you are loyal to Nike products.

Some studies have linked brand loyalty to cult because a cult is a group of people devoted to beliefs or practices. A comparison that I agree with because whether it’s believing in a new deity or only buying Docker’s pants, you have a devotion to a belief or practice.

With brand loyalty is sure to come “brand experiences” and to better illustrate this point let’s use the iPod as an example.

The commercial for the iPod is a silhouette of a guy dancing and having a fun time listening to his iPod. So, the next time you are listening to your iPod and are dancing and having fun to your own music you would have shared in the brand experience.

Beyond brand loyalty and experience the true goal of marketers and advertisers is to create “lovemarks” (objects of devotion). The movie provided the example of Tide laundry detergent becoming the heart of the family, well in my family a Kodak camera would be considered the eye of the family.

My father will only buy Kodak cameras and he takes his camera everywhere with him. Kodak cameras have taken pictures at all of our families’ milestones. From graduations to weddings, my dad always checks the front, checks the back and makes sure its Kodak.

Unfortunately for advertisers not everyone is as loyal to brands like my father, in fact more and more people are dodging the bombardment of advertisements due to the creation of Tivo and DVR.

This has forced advertisers to display their products in television shows and movies in order to been seen. A clear example would be with FedEx in the movie Cast Away.

From the opening scene of the movie we see and hear how FedEx values their shipments and procedures and throughout the movie we see FedEx packages and one of the packages saved Chuck Noland’s life (the main character played by Tom Hanks).

Another example of advertisers trying to replace the lack of viewership from TV commercials is utilizing “webisodes” which are short films designed to be seen on the internet and American Express used this method by creating a story with Superman and Jerry Seinfeld.

Rather it just being a commercial about how low the interest rate is for American Express credit cards it told a story and made the credit card a character or play a role in the story.

American Express is not the only company to use webeisodes as BMW employed a similar tactic to reach internet users. The documentary “The Persuaders” provided an interesting viewpoint on the world of advertising and how much time and dedication is needed to sell a product.

The goal of the advertisers is not just for people to buy the product it is to make people emotionally connect with the product they are trying to sell.

As I previously mentioned this documentary touched on many unknown themes in the advertising world and now I realize how much advertising plays a role in my daily life. What new schemes and ideas can advertisers use to persuade us, only time will tell?

The Persuaders Review Part II

On the contrary, if one really did want to end the “circle of clutter” then the best method would have to involve some form of government intervention which would limit the freeness of the American economy.

Having freedom in the marketplaces allows companies like Song airlines to market however way they see fit, and for them they chose to strongly target females.

I believe that Song Airlines is extremely sincere in the marketing pitch based on the amount of research they put into learning about the female flying experience.

The documentary mentioned how the company conducted countless interviews with women flyers and even created a make-believe woman to further understand the needs of women customers.

However, I do think that Song airlines tended to focus more on flying with their airline as an event not just some regular airline.

Their goal was turn “Song” into an adjective and have people say, “That’s so Song”.

In that respect, I think they lost some of their drive to target the female passenger and tried to emphasize the traveling experiencing.

The technique used by Song Airlines is a classic example of the evolution of advertising.

Instead of focusing on the product advertisements today focus a concept or idea of what that product can do for you.

Referring back to the Song example there are plenty of airlines that will take you from point A to point B, so advertisements have to sell on the potential of what that product can do beyond transportation.

In the movie they showed a Cheerios commercial with a grandma feeding her infant grandchild.

But, rather than talking about nutritional value of the cereal they used each cheerio as a different city of where family members live.

I was able to immediately identify with this because when I eat Fruit Loops cereal, I like to pretend that each different colored loop is a country and I act a war battle as I enjoy my breakfast.

In today’s advertising all of the products are the same and advertistiments need to do more than have a quality product to get consumers to buy their products.

Persuaders Movie Review Part I

The Frontline and PBS documentary, “The Persuaders”, is a movie about the advertising world and it touched on many themes, concepts, and ideas involved in advertising.

Some of these ideas are: the circle of clutter, the marketing technique used by corporations, the evolution of advertising, “brand loyalty”, product placement, and the power of advertising has on its consumers on a personal level.

To paraphrase the movie from the moment we leave our house we are bombarded with advertisements everywhere we go.

Due to numerous advertisements on television, on the radio, or just walking down the street it leads to more advertisements being created just to be noticed.

This is known as the vicious “circle of clutter”. The question at hand is whether this circle can ever be broken and although you should never use the word “never”, I think that the “circle of clutter” will always remain in free market economies.

The reason why is because there are so many different companies selling the exact same product. For example printers, printers simply print the image/document from the computer, however there are several companies that make and sell printers.

Such as Dell, Epson, Compaq. It is for that reason, multiple companies selling the exact same good or service, that the circle of clutter will not be broken.

Personally, I think that it should continue because competition is always a good thing.

I feel with all of the companies and advertisements competing for my dollar should cause those companies to either lower its price or continue to create better products.

Henry Mayo Hospital Expansion

When Hospitals and schools are downsizing, Henry Mayo Hospital is expanding.

The Santa Clarita City Council announced Tuesday that it will grant $40,000 to a consulting firm to determine how much expansion is needed for Henry Mayo Hospital.

The expansion is to counteract the growing number of residents leaving the community as they cite inadequate health care by the hospital as a reason why.

“The sent my mother to a hospital in Tarzana, because they [the hospital] could not accommodate her,” said Langston Tajun who lived in the community for 16 years prior to moving.

Mayor Marsha Mclean and fellow council members in a unanimous vote agreed to pay Kurt Soloman Associates to conduct a one month study to determine the appropriate amount of expansion needed for the hospital.

“The specific function of KSA will be whether more doctors, rooms, or medical facilities would be most beneficial to the hospital,” said Councilmember Tim Ben Boydston.

A viewpoint that does not make any sense to CEO and President of Henry Mayo Hospital Roger Seaver, “Obviously, if you have more rooms, you will need more doctors.”

“It’s about money, their trying to get away with the bare minimum,” said Seaver. Currently, Henry Mayo is the primary hospital in the Santa Clarita Valley with a population of 151,088 according to a U.S. Census report.

The council in a previous meeting agreed to add 55 beds to the 217 bed hospital. The expansion is in the early stages of a 25 year plan.

Breaking News: Young People Don't Vote

Americans the ages of 18- and 25 are not involved in political activities so they are less likely to vote in elections, said Deputy District Director of Los Angeles John Bwarie in a telephone interview.

“It’s concerning that a lot of people in that age group don’t have the time to participate … or do not know a lot about the issues,” said Bwarie, who is a staff member for Los Angeles Council member Greig Smith, who represents the 12th district.

To combat this growing concern, Bwarie said, Smith and his staff began hosting four annual community events in the San Fernando Valley (SFV)and working with California State University, Northridge organizations to help create political awareness.

“The last event we had back in April got about a couple hundred people, which is encouraging,” said Bwarie.

“There is another event scheduled in November, and myself and council member Smith are anticipating a higher amount [of participation] because we’re getting closer to the presidential elections, said Bwarie.

In addition to hosting events, Councilman Smith and his staff is giving speeches on various school campuses in the SFV, predominately high schools, said Bwarie.

One of the things Bwarie is banking is the advancement of technology to lure people to the polls.

The increased usage of technology by young people is causing a disconnect between political participation because the Internet creates a sense of immediacy and people don’t realize how these issues affect them, he said.

Another problem is that young Americans are less likely to vote, so if they don’t vote chances are they aren’t participating in other political arenas, said Bwarie.

It seems Bwarie has the stats to back his claims.

In a “fact sheet,” The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) reported that in 2006 youth voter (18-25) turnout was approximately 24 percent based on the 2006 National Election Pool’s National Exit Poll.

CIRCLE reported that there is close to 27 million citizens in that age bracket.

In California, the percentage was less than 24, according to the fact sheet.

Exit polls are the only method of estimating youth voter turnout and updated information will be available in November when the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey is released.

Among 18-24 year old voters, Minnesota had the highest youth voter turnout with approximately 69 percent compared to 45 percent of California voter turnout and 36 percent of Arkansas, which was the lowest, in the 2004 presidential elections, reported by CIRCLE’s state by state comparison of young people who vote.

CIRCLE does research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25.

“The main ways to improve upon turnout numbers is to create more awareness,” said Bwarie.

Bwarie, 28, has been working for Councilman Smith for over two years and started working in politics at age 22, he said, because he wants to affect change in his community.

Bwarie is optimistic that by continuing organizing community events and speaking to young voters, that turnout numbers will rise, he said.
###

Homeless Musician on Tour?

Perhaps you have never met Ralph Clark but chances are you have heard him serenading the WEST 118 freeway exit of Tampa Avenue.

Clark is a homeless man who everyday for the past 12 years has been playing his saxophone to help himself survive.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have to pay rent…because with my salary I can barely afford a $0.99 cheeseburger,” jokes Clark.

Clark’s salary ranges from $15 to $45 a day however his top performance earned him a $200 check that ironically bounced.

Unlike other homeless people, Clark decided to not ask for handouts but rather tips.

“A lot of people say that homeless people are just that bums with no work ethic and I don’t want people thinking that about me…I got the idea to play the saxophone for residents from [former President] Bill Clinton, he played the saxophone and look how well he turned out,” said Clark.

And, Clark is still following politics.

As the presidential race heats up between McCain and Obama, Clark is curious to learn more about what each candidate plans to do to deal with the homelessness issue in the United States.

“Ha! Probably not much since we don’t vote they a lot of other people don’t care about us,” said Clark as he eats a Jumbo Jack sandwich while being interviewed.

Perhaps, Clark is onto to something most candidates avoid the issue of homelessness in the United States as a self inflicted wound dating back to the late President Ronald Reagan.

In all the debates between the Republican and Democratic Party during the primary season, the issue was rarely brought up if even at all and the one time the topic got serious was when homelessness was mirrored with immigration.

“It is something a lot of Americans do not want to deal with because most homeless people are minorities, unattractive, uneducated, physically weak, and perceived drug abusers, said Timo Basset of the Feed the Hungry Campaign.

However, many Americans may have to deal with this issue sooner rather than later.

Homelessness is on the rise in every major metropolitan city with Los Angeles suffering the highest increase and it isn’t expected to slow down.

As the housing market crisis continues to take homes from more families many analysts are projecting homelessness to continue rising.

Homelessness is defined as not having a permanent residence... so anyone living out of motels or in one’s car is considered homeless said Tent City Coordinator Lisa Foire.

In a sense of truly modern thinking both Basset and Foire think eventually someone will solve and fix the homeless situation.

The optimism does not extend to Clark who in his twelfth year literally on the streets said, “they will never solve the homeless issue because all the people in power are not homeless so what do they care.”

Clark went on to say, “politicians, the people, and powers that be are all more concerned with helping and saving people overseas, or flying to the moon, or cutting greenhouse emission rather than help me buy some grocery’s.

Clark may be onto something again as latest polls show most Americans consider gas prices to be the top priority.

Clark, Basset, and Foire are all trying to remind people the seriousness of homeless and hope their voices will be heard by the powers that be but I don’t it.

Why… well Obama and McCain have dinner fundraisers to attend of course.

Journalists have little Protection and need a Shield Law or Two

LOS ANGELES- A federal shield law protecting journalists from revealing their sources would increase the flow of information said Lance Williams, in a panel discussion, at the University of Southern California campus.

Having stronger shield laws would positively impact the world of reporting by giving the public more independent access and obtain information other than from officials, said Williams.

Williams, a journalist, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for refusing to reveal a source in the BALCO investigation but avoided the term when an attorney pleaded guilty.

Williams wasn’t the only panelist to be sentenced to jail.

Panelist Judith Miller said via telephone that “without this bill, every prosecutor could go after us…we need this bill now.”

Miller, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is in Dubai reporting on another story and communicated to the audience and panel via telephone.

She served 85 days in jail for refusing to name a source in the Scooter L. Libby case.

Perhaps Congress heard the pleas from Miller and Williams because earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed a shield law bill and the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a shield law bill.

The House passed a veto proof bill, 398-21 that would protect journalists fromrevealing confidential court cases in most federal cases.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed its advancement 15-2 that would protect reporters from revealing sources and would not allow prosecutors to file charges on unpublished information.

In both bills, sources must be identified if the information results in “imminent and actual harm” to national security.

Three of the four panelists were pleased with the actions of congress but panelist Josh Wolf is opposed to the language of the two bills.

“These bills do not protect student-journalist, bloggers and citizen-journalists,” said Wolf.

Both bills state that a journalist is someone whose primary income comes from reporting.

“If you take the strongest elements of both bills than an effective bill will be in place…but with the language of the bill as constructed, it would be better to have no shield law than these bills,” said Wolf in an interview after the discussion.

Wolf, 25, is a video blogger who served 226 days in prison, the longest prison sentence for refusing to give the police videotapes during a 2005 demonstration.

Wolf is also a running for Mayor of San Francisco.

An issue that all panelists agreed upon is that if the shield law was enacted it would not put journalists above the law.

An issue written about by author Norman Pearlstein, who was referenced in the discussion.

“Freedom of the press is in the first amendment of the Constitution, and is a unique form of civil disobedience…besides the three other panelists were sentenced to jail,” said panelist Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr, attorney at law, in response to that issue.

The discussion was forced to end after 70 minutes to allow people to attend other sessions.

The event had about 60 people.

The panel took place in the Annenberg auditorium on the USC campus as part of the California First Amendment Coalition presentation on Free Speech and Open Government Assembly.

New Post Office in Moorpark

The Moorpark City Council unanimously approved to build a new post office.

The five-thousand square foot building with two full-service windows with retail services will be built on the west end of High Street.

The new post office will become the cities main postal service.

The United States Postal Service will construct the building, landscaping, driveways, and parking.

Assistant City Manager Hugh Riley says the new post office is expected to break ground by the end of this year.

West Nile Virus Found in Los Angeles

Health officials are urging people to eliminate standing water that attracts insects and use mosquito repellent.

The urging comes after the West Nile Virus was detected in mosquitoes collected from two Long Beach traps.

The virus has been detected in 14 counties across California—including Los Angeles and Riverside.

Health officials are urging people to avoid mosquito-infested areas, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, keeps screens and windows closed, and limit the watering of lawns and outdoor plants.

There have been three confirmed cases of Californians contracting the virus.

Centinela Hospital Center on Life Support

Some people living in South Los Angeles are worried that budget cuts will reduce the role of Centinela Hospital Center in Inglewood.

Since its takeover in 2007- Prime Healthcare services has fired more than 220 of its seventeen hundred employees.

Prime has closed seven of Centinela’s 13 operating rooms and canceled most of its private insurance contracts.

Prime says the cuts have been able to keep the hospital financially afloat.

State data shows that Centinela Hospital was unprofitable for years before Prime’s buyout and the previous owner considered shutting down the hospital.

State and federal data show Prime hospitals score above average on patient safety and treatment outcomes.

Still, many Inglewood residents are going to other hospitals.

Chief Executive of the Venice Family Clinic Liz Forer says she has seen a 15 percent increase in patients from Inglewood.

Offshore Dilling a Bad Idea says Schwarzenegger

Governor Schwarzenegger says people who think offshore oil drilling will bring down gas prices are just “blowing smoke”.

Some analysts say Schwarzenegger’s comment was being directed towards Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and possible running mate Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

The California Governor also criticized U-S energy consumers for not using enough renewable energy.

Schwarzenegger wants 33 percent of all California electricity to come from renewable sources—the state currently gets 12 percent.

Schwarzenegger also wants to add seven Million more hybrid vehicles by 2020.

Schwarzenegger and Crist did agree on one thing that the everyday driver needs to do more for the environment—drive slower, keep engines tuned, and tires properly inflated.

LBC is trying to be Green

The Long Beach Police Department is trying to be “greener”.

The Police Department added ten Toyota Priuses to it fleet.

And, plans to replace retiring vehicles with more eco-friendly cars.

The Department consists of mainly Ford Crown Victorias.

The Priuses will be used by police personnel traveling for training and other work…but not patrol.

The new cars will not be replacing black and white patrol vehicles.

The Department says this is because the system is not compatible with all the features needed in a patrol unit.

Recycling bottles, paper, and FOOD?

Beginning in September more than 85-hundred Los Angeles families will be recycling their wasted food.

The newest program will be launched in North Central and South L-A to reduce the amount of city garbage.

The plan estimates that eight to 20 pounds of food waste per household could be recycled.

About 27 percent of black-bin waste in landfills is food waste—and residents dump about 230-thousand tons of food scraps every year.

The 140-thousand dollar--one-year trial program will be paid through existing trash fees.

If the project goes city-wide it will cost around 13 Million dollars.

Turning Waste into Fuel

An advanced ethanol refinery is likely to be built in Lancaster.

Los Angeles County Officials are expected to approve the construction.

The refinery will turn waste into fuel.

The Regional Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on July 23rd and make their decision after the hearing.

The project will cost about 30-Million dollars—and will be built on a ten acre lot on Avenue “F” between Division Street and tenth Street East.

The refinery is expected produce three point two Million gallons a year.

It is expected to be built by the summer of 2009.

Show Me the Contract...then the Money

Former “Quincy M-E” star Jack Klugman may finally get to see his contract.

A Los Angeles court judge urged N-B-C Universal to show the actor his contract to see if the studio owes Klugman any money.

The judged stopped short of forcing the studio to reveal the contract, hoping both sides could reach an agreement by early August.

Klugman claims he lost his contract when his agent died and N-B-C is refusing to provide a copy.

The 85-year-old Klugman says he should receive 25 percent of the show’s net profit—which he says is around 250 Million dollars.

N-B-C says the series had lost 66 Million dollars through 2006.