School leaders poised for cuts

Now that the injunction for the furlough is in place, the stage is set to do what state Department of Education leaders really wanted to do.

Schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto has always wanted to declassify the classified employees known as education assistants down to paraprofessional tutors—whereby they will only be entitled to a minimum of 19 hours a week with no benefits as part-time employees.

This will be implemented with the blessings and demands of teachers, principals and vice principals; these groups of employees have been maneuvering such a plan for the last seven years.

I am sure a nice lady such as Hamamoto will allow those 500-plus “;EAs”; to remain on as paraprofessional tutors.

Help needed for the uninsured

I am one of the lucky ones who is still healthy and still has fairly good health insurance coverage. I am writing in support of the idea that anyone who happens to need medical care in America, whether an American citizen or not, should be able to get medical care. Medical care should be primarily preventative care in order to cut down the cost of caring for someone who needs more expensive emergency care. Let's not force people to wait too long to get care because they can't afford it.

Yes, 46 million Americans are uninsured. Yes, premiums are growing four times faster than wages. Yes, half of all personal bankruptcies stem from medical expenses. We are the last industrialized country in the world to think about providing health care for all. That doesn't sound like America to me. Let's look at all the models from other countries and find one model that fits America or take the best ideas from other models to come up with our own unique model. Yes we can!

Jackson tribute was memorable

Tuesday's memorial tribute to Michael Jackson was a golden moment that brought joy, happiness and peace.

Jackson left a legacy of outstanding and great accomplishments nobody can ever duplicate. His music has given a unity to the world.

Thank you, Michael, for your humanitarian ways and values shared. May you rest in peace. Your memory will live forever.

The arts need stimulus, too

The arts are essential to the health and vitality of our communities. They enhance community development, spur urban renewal, attract new businesses, draw tourism dollars and create an environment that attracts skilled, educated workers and builds a robust 21st-century work force.

Nonprofit arts organizations are proud members of the business community. They employ people locally, purchase goods and services within the community and are involved in the marketing and promotion of their cities. In fact, there are more full-time jobs supported by the nonprofit arts than are in accounting, public safety and just slightly fewer than elementary education.

Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10 percent of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009—a loss of 260,000 jobs.