Peel District School Board officials say they're having a tough time getting an audience with the new education minister.
Peel Board chair Janet McDougald said she requested a meeting with Minister Liz Sandals, but was told by the education minister’s office that she isn’t currently meeting with any school boards.
“I was told the minister is not making appointments with school boards. She is totally booked until the end of June,” McDougald said.
In the meantime, while Sandals will be visiting and touring school board programs, McDougald said she was told the minister won’t be conducting any formal meetings with school board officials.
“I really wanted to sit down and talk to her about the funding formula again,” said McDougald, who noted the Board’s 2013/14 budget is due at the end of June.
The Board is engaged in what has been a lengthy lobbying effort to get the provincial government to change the formula being used in determining how much funding each school board receives.
The Peel Board has been arguing for years that local students are grossly underfunded because the government’s funding formula is based on outdated census data.
The Board is also spending about $12 million more than the Province is providing in funding to meet the needs of local special education students, according to McDougald.
She estimates the Board would receive millions of dollars more if the Province were using census data from 2006 instead of 2001 or 1996.
“I’m very disappointed,” McDougald said of the education minister’s unavailability. “Basically, she said she didn’t have time for us.”
As the second-largest school board in the country, with critical funding issues that have not been addressed, McDougald said the Peel Board should be able to get some face time with the minister.
“I would have hoped that we would have been a priority,” she said.
The Board is planning to reignite its lobbying campaign that will enlist the aid of parents in trying to get the ministry’s attention on local funding issues, particularly the funding shortfall facing special education.
A former Portland businessman filed a federal lawsuit Thursday that accuses the U.S. government of complicity in what he describes as 106 days of imprisonment and torture at the hands of plainclothes police in the United Arab Emirates.
Yonas Fikre, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen of Eritrean descent, seeks $5 million each from two FBI agents he accuses of trying to recruit him to serve as their informant inside Masjed As-Saber, the southwest Portland mosque where he prayed.
Fikre's lawsuit claims that the U.S. agents were angry when he refused to cooperate during 2010 interrogations in Khartoum, Sudan.
The suit alleges that the government put Fikre on the no-fly list and used that classification to keep him overseas. The U.S. agents also appeared to be standing by in 2011 as Fikre was brutalized when police officers from the United Arab Emirates blindfolded him and interrogated him, the suit says. He alleges that police in Abu Dhabi mimicked some of the same questions previously posed to him by the FBI agents.
Beth Anne Steele, the FBI's spokeswoman in Oregon, said the bureau cannot comment on pending litigation.
Fikre, who now lives in Stockholm, Sweden, accuses the U.A.E. police of beating him repeatedly with batons, forcing him to sleep nearly naked on a cold floor and threatening to strangle him with a flexible plastic pipe.
"One particulary painful torture method his interrogators used was to force (Fikre) to lie on his stomach with his sandals off, whereupon he was beaten severely on the soles of his feet; thereafter, he was required to stand on his feet, which standing caused him great pain."
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information.
Friday, 31 May 2013
Deals and steals to find in June
Bargain hunters, now is the time to book that Caribbean vacation, according to DealNews, a bargain-hunting web site. To be sure, June marks the start of hurricane season, so you may want to say yes to the offer of travel insurance. But it's also way early in the hurricane season, so it's less likely that weather will interrupt the trip than if you traveled in July, according to the site's editors.
By the same token, because hurricanes are a worry, trip prices plunge. Travel in June and you can get an all-inclusive five-night trip to the Dominican Republic, for instance, for less than $1,000. Or you could spend four nights in Jamaica for the roughly the same price.
Other things you can get on the cheap in June?
Lingerie: Victoria's Secret typically launches its semiannual sale in June, and other undergarment companies, such as Fredericks of Hollywood and Bare Necessities, usually follow suit. Keep in mind that if you're in no great rush for new lingerie, there will be another sale before the holidays, and the holiday sales are often even better.
Laptop bundles: With kids just now graduating, going back to college probably isn't top of mind. However, if your student will need new technology, you might want to start shopping. Many retailers offer laptop bundles this month, which can help you save on both the hardware and the software. But you may want to hold off if you're planning to buy Apple products, until after its developers conference June 10-14. Although Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted that a product refresh probably won't be out until fall, you'd kick yourself if you bought a Mac or phone right before new ones arrived and sent the price of the existing stock tumbling.
Movies: Summer blockbuster season is here, and that sparks marketing promotions that include free or discounted movies when you purchase tickets online. For instance, last month Fandango offered a free digital copy of the first J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movie when you purchased a ticket to see "Into Darkness." You may also may be able to score free tickets to screenings, according to DealNews.
Doughnuts: If you've decided to forgo the deals on the Caribbean vacation and lingerie, you can console yourself with a big blob of fried dough. June 7 is National Doughnut Day, and stores that sell the confection typically dole out freebies, though often only with an order. Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Tim Horton's all offered a free doughnut last year, but only Krispy Kreme did so with no purchase necessary.
Beach gear: Deals2Buy, another bargain-hunting site, says retailers have also put a plethora of summer-themed products on sale this week, from sandals to sunscreen. Their top picks include: shades, which are 50% off at Sunglasshut; sunscreen, which CVS has discounted 25%; cameras, which Best Buy put on its Kick Off to Summer sale for 66% off; and sandals, discounted as much as 90% off.
Speaking of holding off, there are also a few things that you really shouldn't buy in June, since the deals will be better soon. Such as?
Barbecues: The big blow-out barbecue sales are launched for the fourth of July holiday. If you're dying to buy a grill, wait until the end of the month, when you're likely to start seeing advertisements for the holiday sales.
Beef: Wholesale beef prices hit a new all-time high recently, which is sure to send supermarket prices soaring. So leave those cows alone and think healthy -- like chicken, fish and veggies. Sure, I know that summertime brings out the grilling instinct in all of us. But with a good grill basket, you can satisfy your fire lust and eat a delicious healthy meal too.
Click on their website http://www.myshoe123.com/ for more information.
By the same token, because hurricanes are a worry, trip prices plunge. Travel in June and you can get an all-inclusive five-night trip to the Dominican Republic, for instance, for less than $1,000. Or you could spend four nights in Jamaica for the roughly the same price.
Other things you can get on the cheap in June?
Lingerie: Victoria's Secret typically launches its semiannual sale in June, and other undergarment companies, such as Fredericks of Hollywood and Bare Necessities, usually follow suit. Keep in mind that if you're in no great rush for new lingerie, there will be another sale before the holidays, and the holiday sales are often even better.
Laptop bundles: With kids just now graduating, going back to college probably isn't top of mind. However, if your student will need new technology, you might want to start shopping. Many retailers offer laptop bundles this month, which can help you save on both the hardware and the software. But you may want to hold off if you're planning to buy Apple products, until after its developers conference June 10-14. Although Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted that a product refresh probably won't be out until fall, you'd kick yourself if you bought a Mac or phone right before new ones arrived and sent the price of the existing stock tumbling.
Movies: Summer blockbuster season is here, and that sparks marketing promotions that include free or discounted movies when you purchase tickets online. For instance, last month Fandango offered a free digital copy of the first J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movie when you purchased a ticket to see "Into Darkness." You may also may be able to score free tickets to screenings, according to DealNews.
Doughnuts: If you've decided to forgo the deals on the Caribbean vacation and lingerie, you can console yourself with a big blob of fried dough. June 7 is National Doughnut Day, and stores that sell the confection typically dole out freebies, though often only with an order. Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts and Tim Horton's all offered a free doughnut last year, but only Krispy Kreme did so with no purchase necessary.
Beach gear: Deals2Buy, another bargain-hunting site, says retailers have also put a plethora of summer-themed products on sale this week, from sandals to sunscreen. Their top picks include: shades, which are 50% off at Sunglasshut; sunscreen, which CVS has discounted 25%; cameras, which Best Buy put on its Kick Off to Summer sale for 66% off; and sandals, discounted as much as 90% off.
Speaking of holding off, there are also a few things that you really shouldn't buy in June, since the deals will be better soon. Such as?
Barbecues: The big blow-out barbecue sales are launched for the fourth of July holiday. If you're dying to buy a grill, wait until the end of the month, when you're likely to start seeing advertisements for the holiday sales.
Beef: Wholesale beef prices hit a new all-time high recently, which is sure to send supermarket prices soaring. So leave those cows alone and think healthy -- like chicken, fish and veggies. Sure, I know that summertime brings out the grilling instinct in all of us. But with a good grill basket, you can satisfy your fire lust and eat a delicious healthy meal too.
Click on their website http://www.myshoe123.com/ for more information.
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