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Congratulations to the students, faculty and staff of Las Positas College in Livermore. It was just named the top community college by http://www.schools.com.
It was brought to my attention by Barry Schrader, a former news guy before he ventured in public relations and service as a trustee on the Chabot Las Positas Community College District.
Barry rightly wrote, “What a fine ranking for a community college we all helped start and watched grow into a full-fledged college only a few years ago. This honor is richly deserved and just proves that its founding Dean Dr. Barbara Mertes had the vision and the drive to make it happen. God Bless her.”
Well said, Barry.
The article by Justin Boyle points out that Las Positas is about one-third smaller at 8,835 students than the other highly ranked colleges, but it scored in the top percentile of key metrics such as retention, transfer rates and graduation rates. It’s ranking in distance learning at No. 3 speaks to the early and aggressive adoption of that technology, while it remains a campus with a small college feel.
http://www.schools.com/community-colleges/top-community-colleges-in-california
It may be a generational thing, but you have to wonder when The Weather Channel, in its coverage of Hurricane Matthew, labels the World War II vintage Yorktown as a “battleship.”
Try again—it’s an aircraft carrier not a battleship with 16-inch guns as was common in WWII. I know because my dad served on the Yorktown, flying in the back seat of a torpedo bomber as the gunner. We have a photo of the “Fighting Lady” hanging in our home.
Be wary if you see families who apparently are down on their luck hanging around Pleasanton shopping centers.
They may be exactly what they seem, but there also are professional panhandlers that routinely work the city. They can be on private property in a shopping center if the center management does not ask them to leave. Like any other person, they are welcome on the public sidewalk as long as they do not block it encroach on a roadway, according to police Lt. Brian Laurence.
He suggests that if your heart strings are being tugged, use good judgment. He noted that the professionals will have ratty looking signs, but may be clean personally.
When in doubt, give the police department a call on the business line (925-931-5100) and ask that an officer assesses the people. If they are in need of services, the officer will help connect them and will be sure the child is being appropriately cared for.
Laurence is working with the Human Services Commission and a non-profit to see how they can help the homeless population. It is in its early stages.