At least Morrisville doesn't have this problem. From the San Jose Mercury News.
Candidate, banned from district property, wins seat on Alum Rock school board
By Sharon Noguchi
Mercury News
Article Launched: 11/06/2008 05:39:14 PM PST
Dolores Marquez didn't knock on doors, send out mailers or spend a penny besides her filing fee to campaign for a seat on the Alum Rock school board.
Oh, and there also was that matter of her messy resignation and agreement never to set foot on district property or talk to employees during work hours.
Yet on Tuesday, somehow Marquez won. Even she's at a bit of a loss.
"I'm baffled," she said Thursday.
The district is not pleased. It has sued to prevent the 57-year-old retiree from serving on the school board.
"I'm not sure where we'd have board meetings," said trustee Tanya Freudenberger, mulling the possible accommodations if Marquez is seated in December. "We're not talking an ideal situation, of course."
Marquez's attorneys insist she has a right to serve, despite a March 2007 settlement terminating her 30 years of employment with the district.
The settlement alleged that she had misused district property and illegally campaigned for her husband Joe Frausto, a former Alum Rock trustee who was seeking re-election in November 2006.
"She has a constitutional right to run, and voters have a constitutional right to elect her," said James Trujillo of the California School Employees Association, which is representing Marquez.
He noted that in drafting the settlement, the district agreed to remove a clause banning Marquez from running for Alum Rock office. "They knew she might seek a governing board seat in the future," Trujillo said.
The district did not return phone calls Thursday. The school board is meeting today to discuss the suit; a court hearing is set for Nov. 25.
However, district officials and attorneys previously have insisted the settlement effectively bars Marquez from serving as a trustee. The settlement also prohibits her from doing business with the district.
Marquez's apparent win, by a slim 200 votes, surprised many in the community — including Marquez herself.
For much of the campaign season, she was out of the East San Jose district due to the birth of two granddaughters and successive family health emergencies.
She said she came out of retirement to "give back to the community."
Observers credit the luck of her name appearing first on the ballot, and her name recognition from having worked as a child welfare and attendance liaison for the district and served on various community boards.
Plus, off and on, she had been in the news. There was an old dispute with fellow candidate Esau Herrera, who also won a seat Tuesday on the five-member board.
In 1994, Herrera and Marquez sued each other, charging harassment. Among other things, Herrera had alleged that then-trustee Alex Salazar tried to run him over with a car while Marquez, a passenger in the car, shouted encouragement.
A judge told the litigants to go home and work out their differences.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Crews search for survivors in Haiti school collapse
Coverage of the school collapse in Haiti, from CNN.
Immediate need: Haiti was also ravaged by Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike earlier this year.
There's plenty of aid organizations out there, and while we're highlighting the Red Cross here, please help where you can.
"You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org."
Crews search for survivors in Haiti school collapse
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNN) -- Rescue workers continued to search for survivors Saturday after a school collapse killed at least 50 children in Petionville near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
Clarens Renois, a journalist with the Haiti Press Network, said nearly 200 children remained trapped under rubble as of midnight Friday.
As many as 700 children were inside when the building collapsed around 10 a.m. ET Friday, officials said. Some were in class and others were in a playground, Haitian media reported.
"We are looking at major casualties here," said Alex Claudon, a Red Cross official on the scene.
President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis toured the disaster area. The Haiti Press Network quoted Preval as saying that he "heard and saw with my own eyes children appealing for help."
At least one member of the Haitian Parliament has raised questions about whether the school was built for the number of students and teachers who were inside when the College La Promesse Evangelique collapsed, Renois said. The official described the building as "not quite solid" with "weak construction."
Preval has since called for a review of building-construction guidelines.
The Haitian Civil Protection Bureau said at least 100 people have been injured, but the death toll is expected to rise.
Most of the students at the school ranged in age from 10 to 20, officials said, but some are younger. Haitian press reports said kindergarten, primary and secondary students attended the school.
"We are taking all necessary steps. The government has mobilized to save those who can be saved," Pierre-Louis said.
Preval asked residents to stay away from the area to allow police and rescue officials to do their work unimpeded.
Michaele Gedeon, president of Haiti's Red Cross, said that, while she was on the phone with rescuers trying to coordinate their efforts, she could hear the voices of distraught children.
"On the phone you can hear so many children, you know, crying, crying, and saying, "This one is dead. that one is dead,'" she said.
Claudon said hundreds of bystanders and rescue workers were digging through the rubble with their hands and rudimentary tools, but "what we need right now is heavy search-and-rescue equipment." Video Watch Red Cross official describe scene »
In a later interview, Claudon said, "Local authorities are doing their best."
About 50 to 60 patients, 30 of them severely injured, were taken to Trinite Hospital in Port-au-Prince, said Isabelle Mouniaman Nara, the head of mission in the capital for Doctors Without Borders.
Another 150 patients were treated elsewhere, Nara said Friday night.
The situation at Trinite "is under control right now," she said.
Trinite is the only hospital that is open in Port-au-Prince, Doctors Without Borders said. The other two -- General Hospital and Hospital de la Paix -- have been shut down due to worker strikes.
The school is in an extremely poor part of town and the roads are nearly impassable, Renois said. He also said an United Nations helicopter was unable to land.
"The school is poorly built," said Amelia Shaw, a journalist with United Nations TV who visited the scene.
The two-story school had an addition built in the rear over a 200-foot ravine, Shaw told CNN by telephone. The steep hillside, she said, is covered with run-down houses and shacks on both sides.
The disaster occurred when the second floor crumbled onto the first, Shaw said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team, which arrived on the scene within hours of the collapse, the agency said in a news release.
After assessing the situation, USAID activated its partner, the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team. That team will be composed of 38 personnel, four search-and-rescue dogs and 31,000 pounds of rescue equipment and is expected to arrive Saturday.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team will be accompanied by four additional USAID disaster experts.
U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson expressed her condolences in a note, the Haiti Press Network reported.
Immediate need: Haiti was also ravaged by Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike earlier this year.
There's plenty of aid organizations out there, and while we're highlighting the Red Cross here, please help where you can.
"You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org."
Crews search for survivors in Haiti school collapse
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNN) -- Rescue workers continued to search for survivors Saturday after a school collapse killed at least 50 children in Petionville near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
Clarens Renois, a journalist with the Haiti Press Network, said nearly 200 children remained trapped under rubble as of midnight Friday.
As many as 700 children were inside when the building collapsed around 10 a.m. ET Friday, officials said. Some were in class and others were in a playground, Haitian media reported.
"We are looking at major casualties here," said Alex Claudon, a Red Cross official on the scene.
President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis toured the disaster area. The Haiti Press Network quoted Preval as saying that he "heard and saw with my own eyes children appealing for help."
At least one member of the Haitian Parliament has raised questions about whether the school was built for the number of students and teachers who were inside when the College La Promesse Evangelique collapsed, Renois said. The official described the building as "not quite solid" with "weak construction."
Preval has since called for a review of building-construction guidelines.
The Haitian Civil Protection Bureau said at least 100 people have been injured, but the death toll is expected to rise.
Most of the students at the school ranged in age from 10 to 20, officials said, but some are younger. Haitian press reports said kindergarten, primary and secondary students attended the school.
"We are taking all necessary steps. The government has mobilized to save those who can be saved," Pierre-Louis said.
Preval asked residents to stay away from the area to allow police and rescue officials to do their work unimpeded.
Michaele Gedeon, president of Haiti's Red Cross, said that, while she was on the phone with rescuers trying to coordinate their efforts, she could hear the voices of distraught children.
"On the phone you can hear so many children, you know, crying, crying, and saying, "This one is dead. that one is dead,'" she said.
Claudon said hundreds of bystanders and rescue workers were digging through the rubble with their hands and rudimentary tools, but "what we need right now is heavy search-and-rescue equipment." Video Watch Red Cross official describe scene »
In a later interview, Claudon said, "Local authorities are doing their best."
About 50 to 60 patients, 30 of them severely injured, were taken to Trinite Hospital in Port-au-Prince, said Isabelle Mouniaman Nara, the head of mission in the capital for Doctors Without Borders.
Another 150 patients were treated elsewhere, Nara said Friday night.
The situation at Trinite "is under control right now," she said.
Trinite is the only hospital that is open in Port-au-Prince, Doctors Without Borders said. The other two -- General Hospital and Hospital de la Paix -- have been shut down due to worker strikes.
The school is in an extremely poor part of town and the roads are nearly impassable, Renois said. He also said an United Nations helicopter was unable to land.
"The school is poorly built," said Amelia Shaw, a journalist with United Nations TV who visited the scene.
The two-story school had an addition built in the rear over a 200-foot ravine, Shaw told CNN by telephone. The steep hillside, she said, is covered with run-down houses and shacks on both sides.
The disaster occurred when the second floor crumbled onto the first, Shaw said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team, which arrived on the scene within hours of the collapse, the agency said in a news release.
After assessing the situation, USAID activated its partner, the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team. That team will be composed of 38 personnel, four search-and-rescue dogs and 31,000 pounds of rescue equipment and is expected to arrive Saturday.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team will be accompanied by four additional USAID disaster experts.
U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson expressed her condolences in a note, the Haiti Press Network reported.
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