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• November 22, 2010 50¢
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
REDMOND
TROUBLE AT COCC
Economists weigh impact of decision to spend school bond savings By Patrick Cliff The Bulletin
In a time of dwindling public budgets, the Redmond School District faces both a significant shortfall and a consequential surplus. The district projects a deficit for next year of up to $5 million, but it also has $15 million of savings from bond-related projects. The Redmond School Board recently decided to spend that money on renovating its oldest buildings and installing bleachers at the new high school. The board decided against returning the money to taxpayers, either as a one-time tax break of, on average, $700, or $33 per year over 20-plus years. In making that decision, the board focused almost entirely on the impact to students. Some sections of John Tuck Elementary, for instance, are freezing throughout the winter. Board members said the savings could possibly improve the heating in the aged school, making the students more comfortable and more able to learn. There is also an economic impact of the decision, though. The board received some pressure to return the money to taxpayers, and some economists argue that would have been the fiscally and politically prudent move. Others counter that the longterm value of improved schools outweighed the benefit of returning the money. See Schools / A5
Wired for distraction?
Redmond School District’s estimate of next year’s deficit
$15M Money the district has saved from school bond-related projects; it will be spent on renovations and improvements
Jim Wilson / New York Times News Service
Vishal Singh, 17, spends some time on his computer in Woodside, Calif., earlier this month. Singh, who is an aspiring filmmaker, says he often chooses time on his computer over doing homework.
By Matt Richtel New York Times News Service
He typically favors Facebook, YouTube and making digital videos. That is the case this August afternoon. Bypassing Vonnegut, he clicks over to YouTube, meaning that tomorrow he will enter his senior year of high school hoping to see an improvement in his grades, but without having completed his only summer homework. On YouTube, “you can get a whole story in six minutes,” he explains. “A book takes so long. I prefer the immediate gratification.” Students have always faced distrac-
tions and time-wasters. But computers and cell phones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose a profound new challenge to focusing and learning. Researchers say the lure of these technologies, while it affects adults too, is particularly powerful for young people. The risk, they say, is that developing brains can become more easily habituated than adult brains to constantly switching tasks — and less able to sustain attention. See Wired / A4
“You can get a whole story in six minutes (on YouTube). A book takes so long. I prefer the immediate gratification.” — Vishal Singh, 17
TOP NEWS INSIDE IRELAND: Debt-plagued country changes course, asks for bailout, Page A3
INDEX C2
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B5
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Crossword C5, E2
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Green, Etc. C1-6
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B6
We use recycled newsprint The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 107, No. 326, 30 pages, 5 sections
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Fall term has been a bit tense at Central Oregon Community College. The student government and the student newspaper have sparred over public records and allegations of misuse of funds; meanwhile, the student government hired an attorney and a public relations specialist, using student fees, in an effort to better define its relationship with the college. Citing concerns raised by COCC’s newspaper, The Broadside, students from Oregon State University-Cascades and COCC say they’re gathering signatures for a recall election petition, hoping to clean house and remove all members of Associated Students of Central Oregon Community College from office. In short, it’s a mess. On Friday, Community Relations Director Ron Paradis said there is tension on campus because of the hubbub surrounding ASCOCC, the claims made by The Broadside and the recall effort. “One thing that (President Jim Middleton) has said is that when you give a group a lot of authority and freedom, it sets them up for having to justify their decisions,” he said. “Students have approached me and students have approached ASCOCC who are not happy. ... There is that tension out there.” Much of the issue stems from COCC’s lack of a formal policy detailing roles and responsibilities of the college’s student government. A student government has existed at the college since at least the 1950s; in 1993, the college enacted a $1.50 per credit student fee, which ASCOCC oversees. On Nov. 12, ASCOCC and COCC administrators sent out a joint news release announcing they’re nearing a formal policy on what role the student government plays at the college. See COCC / A4
Need for pro bono legal services rises as economy sags
In China, coal boom is fueling a clash between business, environmental goals
By Tricia Bishop
The U.S. is among several coalexporting countries rushing to keep up with the burgeoning demand in Asia, especially in China, which burns half of the 6 billion tons of coal used globally each year.
The Baltimore Sun
Abby
Recall bid is latest volley in fight between paper, student government The Bulletin
O
$5M
Tension high amid feud over records, funding By Sheila G. Miller
n the eve of a pivotal academic year in Vishal Singh’s life, he faces a stark choice on his bedroom desk: book or computer? By all rights, Vishal, a bright 17year-old from Woodside, Calif., should already have finished the book, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” his summer reading assignment. But he has managed 43 pages in two months.
By the numbers
MON-SAT
Is our high-tech world producing kids who are
BALTIMORE — Michael Bell’s body is dying of ALS, a fatal disease that has steadily robbed him of speech and muscle control. But his spirit still has fight. So when his daughter’s mother threatened to keep the infant from him, he waged war, filing a custody suit in Baltimore Circuit Court this year with the help of a volunteer lawyer. After months of legal wrangling — and more than $16,000 worth of work donated by his attorney — Bell, 34, won regular visitation rights with his little girl. “If he hadn’t gotten visitation out of all that, I don’t know that he would have had the drive to keep fighting the disease,” said Bell’s primary caregiver, Candace Ingram. The national bar association expects lawyers to donate at least 50 hours of work a year to give those like Bell, with little or no income, legal aid. But only 22 percent of full-time lawyers meet that goal, according to the most recent statistics, despite a skyrocketing demand. See Legal aid / A5
Thinkstock
Burgeoning market leads to a dilemma, as ‘green’ countries are also leading exporters By Elisabeth Rosenthal New York Times News Service
Even as developed countries close or limit the construction of coal-fired power plants out of concern over pollution and climate-warming emissions, coal has found a rapidly expanding market elsewhere: Asia, particularly China. At ports in Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa, ships are lining up to load coal for furnaces in China, which has evolved virtually overnight from a coal exporter to one of the world’s leading purchasers. The United States now ships
coal to China via Canada, but coal companies are scouting for new loading ports in Washington State. New mines are being planned for the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Indeed, some of the world’s more environmentally progressive regions are nascent epicenters of the new coal export trade, creating political tensions between business and environmental goals. Traditionally, coal is burned near where it is mined — particularly so-called thermal or steaming coal, used for heat and electricity. See Coal / A5