Quick Take:
As the cost of college textbooks continue to rise, educators and students alike are looking to more contemporary modes...
Happy Monday evening, and final day of January, everybody.
Students trickled back onto the UC Santa Cruz campus Monday and our Hillary Ojeda and Kevin Painchaud were up on the hill taking in the scene. More on that below.
On the K-12 front, Hillary and Kevin also got a front-row seat recently to how social emotional learning plays out around the county. It’s become an increasingly important piece of the equation since the pandemic began, and well worth knowing more about.
To the headlines …
‘I love it, but I hate it’: Return to UCSC campus a mix of ups and downs
Mixed emotions: Students who were back on the UC Santa Cruz campus on Monday morning expressed excitement, concern, encouragement and frustration. After two weeks of remote classes due to a surge in COVID-19 cases caused by Omicron, some students felt more options for remote learning should be available while others felt the university was doing the best it could. Hillary Ojeda was there to take in the scene.
UC return to campus riven by conflicting pressures over in-person vs. remote classes
Divided opinions: Conflicting pressures grow at University of California campuses over whether to continue offering remote learning options amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Some student groups are planning walkouts. More from the LA Times here.
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What is social emotional learning?
An up-close look: Education agencies across the country have been working for years to implement social emotional learning programs in K-12 schools. At Branciforte Middle School earlier this month, one SEL lesson taught students how to manage conflicts. Teachers and parents hope lessons like these will help students excel academically and personally. A closer look by our Hillary Ojeda.
Newsom, S.F. and L.A. mayors get blowback for maskless photos
Caught with their masks down again: Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti are facing criticism after they were photographed Sunday without face masks at the NFC Championship Game at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium. More from the Times here.
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Why Neil Young did society a big favor by targeting Joe Rogan’s COVID lies
Analysis: Young, 76, specifically targeted his protest at Spotify’s marquee podcaster, Joe Rogan, who has been a prime purveyor of dangerous COVID-19 information, according to LA Times’ columnist Michael Hiltzik.
➤ ALSO: Joe Rogan forces Spotify into a tightrope act akin to Netflix, Facebook (NBC News)
California moves forward on plans to shut down death row
Death to death row? The Condemned Inmate Transfer Pilot Program has moved more than 100 people off of death row at San Quentin State Prison and the California Central Women’s Facility and into other housing locations, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. More from the Times here.
More from here & elsewhere
➤ Wind Advisory issued for Santa Cruz Mountains (Sentinel)
➤ Death penalty off the table for Steven Carrillo’s federal capital murder case (Sentinel)
➤ Calif. Assembly passes bill giving fast-food workers more power (SF Gate)
➤ ‘Entitled’ tech millionaire clashes with Hawaii locals over shoreline access (SF Gate)
➤ Here we go again: Winter storm to wreak havoc for 2,000 miles (USA Today)
➤ Two Beijing locals got Covid. Their contact tracing illustrated the city’s wealth gap (NBC News)
That is all for this Monday night. Please support our journalism with your pocketbook if you can — we need you.
Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor