DECEMBER 16, 2013 VOLUME V, ISSUE III
CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 2013 L.A. ELEPHANTS The balancing act of keeping zoo elephants By Veronica Tossberg One controversy in Los Angeles is the debate about whether or not the elephant enclosures at the Los Angeles Zoo are adequate or not. The main problem is that some people think the enclosures are not adequate. One of these people is Aaron Leider, who filed a lawsuit against the city alleging that the zoo had poor habitats for the elephants. Some people agree with Leider that the elephants are living in poor conditions, but others believe that the habitats are perfectly fine, such as Zoo director John Lewis. Some of the critics of the enclosures, who support Aaron Leider’s argument, are animal rights groups such as In Defense of Animals. One victory for these critics was when Judge Segal concluded that the L.A. Zoo exhibit for elephants was “not a happy place.” Another critic of the conditions elephants are living in is the animal rights group Last Chance for Animals. According to them, “Since 1975, 11 elephants have died at the L.A. Zoo.” Some of the supporters of the enclosures are Zoo director, John Lewis. According to Lewis, the judge’s opinion was based off of limited and inaccurate information, the Los Angeles Times reported. Yusef Robb, director of communications for the city of Los Angeles, said that the issue is a balancing act between the learning experiences provided, and the conditions the elephants are kept in. The zoo is a department of the city. Veronica Tossberg is 12 years old. She is in 7th grade and goes to Eagle Rock Jr. Sr. High school. She likes scary movies, roller coasters, and her dog Lucky. She likes journalism because she likes to write and enjoys spending time with her friends there.
IPADS FOR STUDENTS Implementing technology in LAUSD classrooms By Eddie Song iPads in the Los Angeles Unified School District? Never thought of it, huh? You thought they were the haters of electronics! BUT NOOO. They actually started to pass out iPads to LAUSD schools. This was supposed to help children without internet access and not near a library. This was mostly for schools that are in the LAUSD that don’t have much money to get internet or computers. iPads were going to be distributed to all of the LAUSD schools but students at one of the first schools that received the iPads “hacked” the iPad by getting around the firewall. They supposedly “hacked” the iPads by going on to Facebook, Twitter, Twitch TV, Instagram, YouTube, iTunes, Netflix, etc. This reporter asked Dan Moren from Macworld some questions regarding iPads in the LAUSD: Good Times: What do you think about giving every kid
GOOD TIMES FREE
FIXING THE L.A. RIVER Yes or no? By Kaylin Lopez Does the L.A. River need fixing? The mayor is asking the federal government for $1.08 billion dollars to make the river better. Currently, there is a lot of trash in the water and some on the bike path. There isn’t a lot of nature or wildlife in the river. Also, there is cement surrounding it. The mayor wants to add more habitats and plants, and get rid of the cement wall around the water. There are two sides to this project. Most people agree that it will be a good idea to make the river better, but the United Chambers of Commerce in San Fernando Valley believes the mayor should think about what people who live along the river might lose. A lot of people like the idea of improving the river because it is important to them and it might help the environment around it. People want to be able to ride kayaks on the river and ride their bikes along the side of it and not see plastic bags, plastic bottles, or even shopping carts in the water. “One of the projects I’m fighting for is the full implementation of Alternative 20 to revitalize our Los Angeles River,” Garcetti wrote on his official blog. “In addition to providing recreation and green space in our city, Alternative 20 will generate 4 times the amount of jobs as the other proposals.” While many people in Los Angeles are supporting this project, others worry about the people around the river. Sean McCarthy is a member of United Chambers of Commerce in the San Fernando Valley. McCarthy says that the city can do this project with less than half the $1.08 billion dollars.The people from this group also think the mayor should think about some of the people this project will affect. “The river revitalization could require that some
iPads from LAUSD? Dan Moren: I think the iPad has proven to be a great tool in the education environment, and giving kids access to technology—especially this kind of easily deployable, affordable, and powerful technology—is a necessity. When I was a kid, a few of my classrooms had Apple IIs in them; we’ve come a long way since then! Computers and tablets open up so many cool possibilities for teaching and learning. But at the same time, they must be deployed thoughtfully and where they’ll have the best impact. GT: Would you fund this? DM: As a taxpayer? Sure. Again, I think we can’t overestimate the impact of education, and coming as I do from a family of teachers and librarians, it’s important that we do what we can to provide the best educational environment possible for kids. It’s definitely something worth investing in. Just as long as we’re still funding teachers and educators—technology is great in service to education, but it’s not a wholesale replacement. GT: Do you think the problems of getting the iPads “hacked” has a solution? DM: Well, yes and no. Apple provides good tools for helping administrators and others manage and deploy
The L.A. River. Photo by Dave Bullock.
people sell their businesses and leave the area. In other instances, the river revitalization will cause their apartments or homes to be condemned. If businesses are closed other people may lose their jobs,” he says. The main thing the mayor wants to do is to take down the cement wall that goes all around the river on both sides. Before the cement was put up, the river used to flood a lot. Because of this reason people worry that the river will start flooding again without something to block it from going into the streets. Representatives from his office have said that they are working on plans to keep the river from flooding while making it look natural and beautiful. The mayor really wants to do this project and representatives from his office say they are going to keep trying to get the money to complete this project. In October Garcetti took a trip to Washington D.C. He went and talked with President Obama, members of Congress, and administration officials to inspire them to fund the project. When he came back from his “little trip”, he took the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A), Gina McCarthy, on a tour to see the LA River. Kaylin Lopez is 13 years old and in 7th grade at Bancroft Junior High School. She enjoys school, and her favorite subject is Algebra. Her favorite thing about journalism is she gets to work with great tutors and write articles. (she enjoys writing better than reading).
large installations like this. That said, kids are curious, and some will always figure out a loophole. Back on those Apple IIs we used to have, I remember managing to “hack” them every once in a while, getting into the Control Panels or dropping into a command line prompt where my friends and I could write terrible BASIC programs. But I consider that a valuable part of my education too! GT: Has this worked in other districts and cities? DM: I know there are other districts that have attempted this, but I don’t think any have done so in the scale that LA is attempting. I know a South Carolina district is starting rollout soon, and there are some innovative curricula being designed in other places. A teacher and developer named Fraser Speirs has done some great work at his school in Scotland with iPads. But LA is certainly the most ambitious, and how things play out there may provide a template for future cities and districts. A lot of thanks to Dan from Macworld for answering my questions. Thanks, Dan! Eddie Song likes journalism because it keeps him entertained, and he now knows how to make amateur newspapers at school as projects!