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Vikings continue their undefeated run. See Page 8. Thursday, Sept. 29 - Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016
Volume V, No 2
Big changes in the bay ecosystem JEANNETTE CHIAPPONE Staff member
Sunlight glittered on the Bay as Berkeley resident, Lyrinda Snyderman, and her friends paddled their kayaks to Angel Island on a calm, clear July morning. The breeze was light and salty. Circling seabirds shrieked and dove above the tideline near Treasure Island. Snyderman noticed odd, dark triangles bobbing for a moment beneath the whirling birds, then vanishing from sight. Tug boats, she thought. Then one of her friends yelled, “I think I see whales.” Snyderman quickly flipped her camera to zoom. For the next 50 minutes, she and her friends had a front row seat to the remarkable spectacle of humpback whales lungefeeding in the San Francisco Bay. The unprecedented appearance of healthy humpbacks feeding in the Bay is a sign of complex shifts in climate and ocean ecology, marine biologist believe. Changes in atmospheric conditions and water temperature, along with water quality, ultimately effect where sea life lives and thrives. “We tend to focus on the megafauna be-
cause we can see them, but it’s important to focus on the little things, too,” says Dr. Jonathan Stern, a marine biologist with San Francisco State University. “There have been these huge schools of anchovies right off shore...and as the tides move in and out of San Francisco Bay, so do the anchovies.” The humpbacks, in turn, follow their favorite food into the Bay. Up until this year, Stern says, there were “plenty of food resources for them further offshore, out towards the Farallon Islands.” Dr. Ellen Hines, associate director of The Romberg Tiburon Research Center, says colder, oxygen and nutrient-rich waters from deeper in the ocean is where the food chains thrive. In a process called upwelling, the deeper, colder waters rise as Northerly winds along the California coast move warmer surface water away from the shore, she says. “More food chains are enabled because in this colder upwelling of water... there’s more life.” Hines adds, “The upwelling used to be relatively seasonal and predictive.” However, a persistent ridge of high pressure parked over the North Pacific and North America several years ago. This high
Courtesy of LYRINDA SNYDERMAN
Three whales breach while feeding on schools of krill in the San Francisco Bay, indicating a resurgence of local marine life. pressure ridge is thought to have contributed to the rise of a large mass of warmer than normal surface ocean temperature. “The theory is that the upwelling is closer and closer to shore, restricted by this higher
ocean temperature. So what is happening is that these animals are coming closer and closer to shore in search of food in the coldContinued on Page 3
College Now gives highschoolers a headstart Left to right: Meranda Broder, Rosa Amendariz, Mandy Ganz, Stephanie Alves, Taylor Harrison.
CHELSEY SCHALLIG News editor
Mt. Diablo Unified School District high school students have the opportunity to earn college credits when enrolled in the College Now program offered at Diablo Valley College. MDUSD leaders went to DVC to start a dual enrollment program after California approved the Assembly Bill 288-College and Career Access Pathways in 2015. It allows Contra Costa Community College District to form partnership agreements with local school districts to give access to concurrent enrollment opportunities for high school students. “College Now gives students the opportunity to achieve high school and college academic success which gives them the chance to explore and pursue career aspirations,” says Rosa Armendáriz, DVC Interim Dean of Student Engagement. The College Now program started fall 2016 for eleventh-grade students and will become available to both twelfth and eleventhgrade students for the 2017-18 school year. This program gives high school students the chance to
CHELSEY SCHALLIG / The Inquirer
prepare themselves for future college experiences in an academically-challenging environment. College Now has a diverse background of students whose needs are not being met by the comprehensive high school.
“The main focus of this program is to encourage success academically,” says Mandy Ganz, MDUSD Counselor. The first part of their day consists of English, U.S history and advisory taught by MDUSD teachers
and additional DVC courses with other community college students. Counseling 120 is a requirement for those who are enrolled which is taught by Taylor Harrison, DVC Counselor.
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“High School students have access to college-level coursework and the chance to provide them with opportunities to engage in a college-level course,” says Armendariz. Students who want to apply must show a high level of motivation and maturity, and be ready for an academic experience. Applicants must have a history of satisfactory attendance and behavior to qualify for the new program. There is a total of 30 students who were accepted for the fall 2016 program. “DVC gains from this program because it adds to the diversity and experience on campus. Those enrolled in regular DVC courses contribute to and learn from the college environment,” says Armendariz. Contact CHELSEY SCHALLIG at CSchallig@DVCInquirer.com