【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 24, 2022】Enrollment at California’s community colleges has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years, new data show. The stark decline has educators scrambling to find ways to meet the changing needs of students, who may be questioning the value of higher education as they emerge from harsh pandemic years.(Photo credit: California Community Colleges)
Since pre-pandemic 2019, the 115 campuses have collectively lost about 300,000 students, an alarming 18% drop that portends significant enrollment-based funding cuts if enrollment does not increase.
That uncertainty has put the financial viability of some colleges at risk. But the crush of pandemic-fueled changes has also pushed the system to an inflection point, which may force the colleges to reimagine themselves in ways that jibe with students’ priorities and needs. “What we’ve seen is that higher education as a whole has been disrupted forever,” interim Deputy Chancellor Lizette Navarette told a state Assembly hearing this week.
“We gave [students] a taste of what a flexible adaptive education meant” during the pandemic, she said. Now they “no longer want something that looks like the education they received before.”
Unlike during the Great Recession, community college enrollment dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey of former California community college students found that one third haven’t re-enrolled because they prioritized work, and 22% prioritized taking care of family or other dependents. Another 29% said they struggled to keep up with their classes, according to the nonprofit research center RP Group.
Changes in enrollment were felt unevenly across the system
Between fall 2019 and fall 2021 community college enrollment dropped 18 percent systemwide.The student defections affected the entire system, from small colleges serving rural northern California hamlets to bustling urban campuses in southern California. The college with the largest percentage loss statewide was College of the Siskiyous in the far north of the state; it experienced a 44% drop, from 3,371 to 1,882 students.“We have no idea what’s going to happen,” Melguizo said. But if the decline continues or enrollment stays flat, “that will be really bad.”
At West Los Angeles College, enrollment dropped nearly 28%, from 13,941 in fall 2019 to 10,061 in spring 2021. Jim Limbaugh, the college’s president, said many students were enticed by employers who boosted wages to attract employees amid worker shortages during the pandemic. “When you have the opportunity to make over $20 an hour out in the community, they’re going to put college on the back burner,” he said.
Looking to high schoolers
In their search for new bodies, college presidents are scouring local high schools for students willing to enroll in community college courses. They see that kind of dual enrollment as an opportunity for sustained growth, since those students are likely to remain enrolled after they get their high school diplomas.
Losing so many students is a harbinger of bad news for the 23-campus California State University system as well, because about half of undergraduate enrollment is made up of community college transfers. Between fall 2019 and fall 2021, community college enrollment of transfer-intending students was down 20%. That cost CSU an estimated 12,000 students between fall 2020 and fall 2022. And the University of California’s nine undergraduate campuses admitted about 11% fewer community college transfers this fall than a year ago.
The declines “may have set California’s higher education system back” by limiting its ability to “promote economic mobility among historically underrepresented students,” according to a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California.
(Source: Los Angeles Times)
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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 23, 2022】Per County of San Diego Communications Office, while it is the season—for food, but it’s also a time, as our holiday feasts run from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, that it’s easier than ever to waste food―when it’s served up but not eaten, or spoils before we can eat it.(Photo credit: County of San Diego Communications Office)
The United States Department of Agriculture and County of San Diego estimate that up to 40% of the total food supply in the United States is wasted every year.
That can be really hard on your wallet. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food they end up not eating. That also wastes the land, water, energy and things used to produce, transport, prepare and store food.
On top of all of that, food waste also worsens climate change.
That’s because when you toss organic matter―like food waste―into landfills to decompose, it creates methane, a greenhouse gas pollutant. The EPA says methane traps 80 times the heat carbon dioxide does and is responsible for roughly one-third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today.
How can you help? Here are some simple steps you can take to stop wasting food, save money and help fight climate change.
Reduce Wasted Food — Shop and Plan Wisely
The easiest way to reduce wasting food, during the holidays or just day to day, is to not cook too much, right? To help, plan ahead, shop smart and serve just enough food to make everyone happy. Of course, that sounds easy. But it can be hard to do. How do you know how much food is enough? SaveTheFood.com has a “Guest-imator” that can help you calculate how much food you need to prepare, based on how many people you’re serving and how much they typically eat, even for Thanksgiving. And yes, it can even calculate having leftovers if you want them.
Freeze or Find Ways to Reuse Leftovers
Of course, even the best planners can end up with leftovers sometimes, especially at a big event like Thanksgiving. But you don’t have to let them go to waste. If you’re having guests, provide to-go containers, or invite your guests to bring their own, so they can take leftovers home with them. Rethink your leftovers and use them as ingredients for new meals. Leftover meat and vegetables can make a great soup or casserole. Or turn mashed potatoes into potato pancakes. And of course, you can freeze leftovers to use in future meals.
Compost What’s Left!
And don’t forget to compost leftovers. If you don’t have your own compost pile or bin, you can place any remaining food scraps and organic waste into your curbside green bin! (Note: If you do have your own compost bin at home, you probably want to avoid composting meats and bones; they can attract unwanted pests.)
Recycling and Cutting Down on Wasting Food Can Keep Your Pipes Clean
Believe it or not, recycling and cutting back on wasting food can even protect your house. That’s because cooking oils and grease can gunk up your plumbing and even cause sewage overflows if you discard them down your sink’s drain. Making sure you’re not over-preparing food can cut down on the amount of cooking oils you’re using. And keeping used oils out of your plumbing by collecting them and recycling them can keep your pipes clean and your house protected. Contrary to popular belief, mixing used oils with soap, or pouring hot water down the drain after discarding oils in the sink, doesn’t prevent fat clogs that can back up your pipes.
There are free drop-off locations for used cooking oils all around the county. Just collect your used cooking oils in a secure container with a lid and label it “used cooking oil.” Don’t mix chemicals or other liquids in with them. To find the nearest drop-off location, visit the County’s Recycling and Household Hazardous Waste database, WasteFreeSD.org, or call 1-877-R-1-EARTH (1-877-713-2784).
To learn more about reducing wasting food, visit the County’s Solid Waste Planning and Recycling website. And have a great Holiday season!
(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)
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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 21, 2022】COP27: In a first, rich countries agree to pay for climate damages in poor nations. The agreement says nations cannot be held legally liable for payments and calls for a 24-nation committee to work over the next year to figure out the modalities.(Photo credit: iStock)
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries agreed for the first time to establish a fund that would help poor, vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters made worse by the pollution spewed by wealthy nations that is dangerously heating the planet.
The decision regarding payments for climate damage marked a breakthrough on one of the most contentious issues at United Nations climate negotiations. For more than three decades, developing nations have pressed for loss and damage money, asking rich, industrialized countries to provide compensation for the costs of destructive storms, heat waves and droughts fueled by global warming.
But the United States and other wealthy countries had long blocked the idea, for fear that they could be held legally liable for the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.
The agreement hammered out in this Red Sea resort town says nations cannot be held legally liable for payments. The deal calls for a committee with representatives from 24 countries to work over the next year to figure out exactly what form the fund should take, which countries should contribute and where the money should go. Many of the other details are still to be determined.
The creation of a loss and damage fund was almost derailed by disputes that ran into the dawn hours of Sunday over other elements of a broader agreement, including how deeply countries should cut their emissions and whether to include language that explicitly called for a phaseout of fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas and oil.
Developing nations — largely from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Pacific — fought first to place the loss and damage fund on the formal agenda of the two-week summit. And then they were relentless in their pressure campaign, arguing that it was a matter of justice, noting they did little to contribute to a crisis that threatens their existence.
“The announcement offers hope to vulnerable communities all over the world who are fighting for their survival from climate stress,” said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate change. “And gives some credibility to the COP process.”
Still, major hurdles remain.
The U.S. and the EU are pushing for assurances that China will eventually contribute to any fund created — and that China would not be eligible to receive money from it.
(Source: New York Times)
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There is also no guarantee that wealthy countries will deposit money into the fund.
Immediately after the plenary approval for the loss and damage fund, however, Switzerland called for a 30-minute suspension for time to study the new text of the overall deal - specifically the language relating to national efforts to cut climate-warming emissions, the Swiss delegate said, according to a Reuters report.
Negotiators late Saturday had worried about changes being discussed so late in the process.
The document, which forms the overall political deal for COP27, needs approval from the nearly 200 countries at the climate summit in Egypt. In line with earlier iterations, the draft did not contain a reference requested by India and some other delegations to phasing down use of“all fossil fuels”. It instead referred to a phase down of coal only, as agreed at last year's summit.
【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 22, 2022】Per County of San Diego Communications Office, the holiday season means it’s time to ship gifts to faraway friends and family, or maybe even travel to deliver them in person and bring gifts back home in return.(Photo credit: County of San Diego Communications Office)
Whatever you do, be sure you don’t ship or bring back a present nobody wants—a harmful pest!
It can happen if you’re not careful. The gifts you send or receive could be carrying hitchhiking pests or plant diseases that could potentially damage the County’s $1.75 billion agricultural industry and our environment.
That homemade wreath you brought home from grandma’s could be carrying spongy moth eggs; that citrus you picked from your backyard to send to a friend could be carrying huanglongbing—a destructive citrus disease. Or that beautiful fruit basket you made from scratch to send to a friend could be hiding mealy bugs.
So remember. Don’t pack a pest!
Every year San Diego County’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures inspectors — human and detector dogs — work hard to stop the spread of invasive pests like the emerald ash borer, glassy-winged sharpshooter, and South American palm weevil.
How can you help?
Here are some simple guidelines:
Don’t Pack a Pest
- If you’re traveling — whether it’s out of state or out of the country — leave whatever you find on your trip right where you found it. Don’t bring home a keepsake clipping from Aunt Penny’s holiday wreath, or those bulbs you found in Florida, any citrus branches, leaves or stems from anywhere, or avocado leaves from Mexico.
- Don’t transport any fresh, raw, uncooked, untreated foodstuffs. Same for seeds, beans, nuts, rice, dried fruit, decorative greenery, untreated wood items, animal products or soil from almost any foreign country.
- If you are traveling and think you may have accidentally packed some plant or animal item away, declare those products when you’re asked by an agricultural inspector if you have anything in your luggage.
For more information about harmful insects, plant diseases, and Agriculture, Weights and Measures — and everyone’s — role in protecting our local environment and agriculture, visit the department’s Insect and Plant Disease Information webpage.
(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)
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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 20, 2022】ounty offices, including family resource centers, library branches and animal shelters, will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday.(Photo credit: County of San Diego Communications Office)
Essential services including Sheriff’s Department patrols and animal control emergency response will continue during the holidays.
Most County and state-operated COVID-19 vaccination sites will be closed Thursday through Sunday with the exception of the South Region Live Well Center at 690 Oxford St. in Chula Vista which will be open on Sunday. All vaccination sites will resume normal hours Monday, Nov. 28.
Vaccinations are still available through healthcare providers and at pharmacies. County- and state-operated COVID-19 testing sites will be closed Thursday. State and two County mobile clinics will be open on Friday and will have normal weekend schedules. See which sites will be open on the testing schedule.
All County parks and campgrounds will also be open during normal business hours on Thursday and Friday with some exceptions listed below:
- The Fallbrook Community Center will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- The Lakeside Community Center will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- The Lakeside Teen Center/REC Club will be closed Monday, Nov. 21 through Friday, Nov. 25.
- The Spring Valley Community Center will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- The Spring Valley Teen Center/REC Club will be closed Monday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Nov. 29.
- The Spring Valley gym will be closed Wednesday through Friday.
- The 4S Ranch Sports Park recreation office is closed on Thursday and Friday. The ranger office and park will be open both days.
Parks’ reservation phone line will not be available Thursday and Friday, but you can make reservations online at sdparks.org.
Parks is extending Thanksgiving with Green Friday encouraging people swap shopping plans for outdoor experiences, including free family-friendly activities at County parks. Learn more about the various Green Friday activities.
County animal shelters will resume their regular business hours starting Saturday, Nov. 26. All other County offices will reopen for regular business hours on Monday, Nov. 28.
(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)
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