Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Students call for more science, math in summer

Capitol Alert

The latest on California politics and government

June 21, 2012

AM Alert: Students call for more science, math in summer

VIDEO: Dan Walters, in today's report, asks: "Are Republicans an endangered species in California?"

School's out, but middle-school and high-school students are joining a National Summer Learning Day rally on the Capitol's north steps to call for more summer learning programs, especially in science, technology, engineering and math -- so-called STEM education.

Listed speakers include State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson (a news release notes that he used to be a science teacher) and Jonathan Raymond, superintendent of Sacramento City Unified School District.

The list of legislator-participants is long, including Democratic Sens. Lou Correa, Mark De Saulnier, Kevin de León, Loni Hancock, Carol Liu and Michael Rubio, plus Republican Sen. Tom Berryhill.

Representing the Assembly side are Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway, Republican Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, and Democratic Assembly members Roger Dickinson, Holly Mitchell, Richard Pan and Nancy Skinner.

The rally starts at 10 a.m., followed by educational activities and a picnic on the north lawn. San Francisco-based comedy magician Robert Strong will also be on hand. Maybe he can pull the rest of the state budget out of a hat.

Meanwhile, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer will be talking to the Sacramento Press Club at noon about state finances and the budget.

Alert readers will recall that the Democrat said last week in response to a Republican request that the budget was "financeable." Click here for more information about today's luncheon.

Both the Senate and the Assembly have scheduled floor sessions for 9 a.m. Click here for the Senate's schedule, and click here for the Assembly's.

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

blog comments powered by Disqus

FOLLOW US | Get more from sacbee.com | Follow us on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook | Get news in your inbox | View our mobile versions | e-edition: Print edition online | What our bloggers are saying