A program called Secure Communities aims to be in place throughout the country by 2013. The program will share information about anyone who is arrested and fingerprinted at the local level with federal databases. According to The New York Times editorial page:
“The program, Secure Communities, a collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and the Department of Justice, is a source of anxiety and anger for cities, counties and police departments that want to preserve a bright line between local policing and federal immigration enforcement. Their valid concern is that local officers should never be seen by immigrant communities as arms of immigration enforcement. Fighting and preventing crime are unrelated to detaining and deporting immigrants and should stay that way.
“Places like San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and Arlington County, Va., have chosen to opt out of Secure Communities, but their ability to do so seems limited.
“Because Secure Communities is a data-sharing program between two federal departments, the only way a local jurisdiction could avoid participating would be by refusing to send a suspect’s fingerprints to the federal criminal-justice system, a dereliction of crime-fighting duty. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has written a letter detailing how a local agency could register its objections as the program is deployed, but she did not really offer an opt-out clause. This seems hardly likely to preserve that bright line on enforcement.”
As the economy strains family budgets, many are cutting back on saving for college. According to The Washington Post:
“American families are scaling back plans to pay for their children's college education as the stunted economic recovery continues to weigh on household budgets, according to a survey to be released Tuesday that was commissioned by college lender Sallie Mae.
“The study, which was conducted by Gallup, found that the percentage of families who planned to make little or no contribution to tuition increased, while the percentage who expected to cover more than half of expenses decreased. The trends were particularly pronounced in Hispanic families, where the number who thought they could only pay a little jumped from 12 percent to 35 percent.
“In addition, the percentage of families who said the reason they are not socking away money for college is that they cannot afford it rose from 62 percent last year to 68 percent this year.”
In connection to this story, California community colleges are struggling with wait lists for students eager to start or continue their education. The Los Angeles Times writes:
“Kiyan Noyes-Aponte landed on the wait list for every class he wanted at Orange Coast College. The 18-year-old graduate of Mission Viejo High School pleaded with professors for a spot, diligently attended lectures and sat on floors in overcrowded classrooms hoping other students would drop out.
“Despite his efforts, he managed to enroll in only two classes at the Costa Mesa campus, enough for part-time status. And he was luckier than many.
“Students registering at California community colleges this fall are facing unprecedented hurdles, as campuses have slashed classes in response to budget cuts. At the same time, enrollment has surged, fueled by the largest high school graduating class in the state's history, older workers returning to school for job training and more students being unable to get into the state's four-year universities.”
Are you getting enough exercise? Chances are, you’re not according to a new study covered in USA Today:
“Only about 5% of American adults do some type of vigorous physical activity on any given day, according to the results of a new study.
“Researchers analyzed 2003-2008 data from nearly 80,000 participants, aged 20 and older, in the American Time Use Survey, a national telephone-based poll that asked people what they did in the preceding 24 hours.
“Most respondents reported sedentary activities such as eating and drinking (95.6%) and watching television/movies (80.1%), or light activities such as washing, dressing and grooming (78.9%), and driving a car, truck or motorcycle (71.4%).
“The most frequently reported moderate activities were food and drink preparation (25.7%) and lawn, garden and houseplant care (10.6%), lead investigator Catrine Tudor-Locke, director of the Walking Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, and colleagues found.”