Newswriters, columnists to cover AB 656 rally Monday at CSUS

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - Newswriting students and columnists will be covering - and writing about - a rally on the CSU, Sacramento campus Monday, a rally that will feature Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) who will be speaking about AB 656, a measure to fund higher education.


Assemblyman Torrico (Photo by Sacramento Bee)

The 3 p.m. rally in the Sac State Library Quad is part of a week of activities sponsored by the California Faculty Association to draw attention to the ongoing plight of all 23 campuses in the CSU because of draconian state budget cuts.

AB 656 proposes to tax oil companies, based on oil they extract from the ground in the state (and off the coast).

California currently does not have a well-head tax as proposed.

Text of the amended bill:

AB656

Good turnout for CSU, Sacramento rally - despite the heat

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - A crowd of about 200 faculty, students at staff took part in a noontime rally at CSU, Sacramento today, the first of many such activities as the three groups get together to fight the fee increases visited on students and the furloughs (pay cuts) forced on employees.

Some of the student speakers were choked up as they tried to explain how much the fee increases (32 percent total for this year alone) were hurting their ability to even go to college. Several faculty gave fairly rousing speeches, despite a sound system that was below inadequate - a bullhorn with a microphone attached.


Student speaker at today's rally

The sound system - such as it was - was still considered illegal by campus police. The police had banned the use of any amplification and told the leaders of the CFA to simply raise their voices when they spoke. The bullhorns were used anyway, a protest themselves of the campus administration's attempt at keeping the rally from growing very large.

Had the flames been fanned sufficiently (and loud enough for people to hear), it's possible the group might have marched on the offices of CSU, Sacramento President Alexander Gonzalez.

That would have made for some good theatre, and perhaps grabbed more media attention.

Regardless, the 25 students enrolled in my Column Writing class attended and this week will be writing columns - their first attempts.


A 'loud' speaker


Sign in the crowd

Sac Bee's Marcos Breton on tap for Column Writing class

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - This week the column-writing class at CSU, Sacramento is hoping to hear from Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Breton as a guest speaker in class. Breton, who in the past has written about and sports and other feature-type stories for the newspaper, now is a major city-side columnist.

In recent months, he has written a lot about the Kevin Johnson-Heather Fargo race for mayor of Sacramento.

And most recently (Sunday), he wrote about the controversial Proposition 8 which state voters just approved.

Tolerance or intolerance?

Marcos Breton

Breton was scheduled to speak in class a few weeks ago, but like so many other staff members at the Bee, has been busy doing his job - and a lot more - to help the newspaper with its struggles in the down economy and had to cancel.

Dan Weintraub to visit column-writing class Oct. 21

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - Dan Weintraub, a columnist for The Sacramento Bee will be coming to the CSU, Sacramento column writing class next Tuesday to talk writing, politics and perhaps a little about the future of the newspaper industry.

He was scheduled earlier in the semester - the night of the second presidential debate - and had to cancel.

Like many Sacramento Bee staffers, Weintraub has been adjusting to the new fiscal realities of the publishing industry. Among other things, he has started a new feature in the newspaper called The Conversation which goes into depth on different issues.

The approach is interesting and Weintraub will likely talk about what it was like to launch The Conversation, as well as how it is going.

Weintraub is a veteran member of the Sacramento press corps and believes in doing a lot of reporting before he writes a word for his column.


Dan Weintraub