Posted: 13 Jan 2011 12:04 AM PST

A combination of philosophy and waiting to see if snow removal equipment could beat the weather is why the Grand Island Public Schools had one of the final cancellation notices on Monday classes for students.

"Our philosophy is that the kids will go to school if the community is going to work," interim Superintendent Harrison Cass said.

He said the school district had its employees out working on Sunday in an attempt to clear off the driveways and parking lots for the district's 18 schools and administrative offices. By 9 p.m. or a little later on Sunday, it became obvious that the school district could not keep its drives and parking lots open for students and staff members who would be arriving on Monday morning if classes had not been canceled.

Cass said school personnel who drove around Grand Island Sunday night could also tell that people would have difficulty getting out of their driveways and down the city's side streets on Monday morning. That made them realize that a number of Grand Island businesses would likely be closed on Monday or have a late start.

It was easier to make a decision to have students stay home when it became obvious that one or both parents also would be home for all or part of the day.

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Stanford players buying into Dawkins' philosophy

Posted: 13 Jan 2011 12:41 AM PST

Not long before the season started, Stanford basketball coach Johnny Dawkins said his heralded freshman class was "light years" away from being effective defenders. Apparently the newcomers are now at least within the solar system.

Two of the freshmen, forward Dwight Powell and point guard Aaron Bright, are starting, and a third, forward Anthony Brown, is part of the regular rotation. Meanwhile, defense has helped Stanford become one of the early-season surprises in the Pac-10.

The Cardinal (9-5, 2-1 Pac-10) have a 7-0 record at Maples Pavilion, where Stanford teams have gone 47-11 over the last four seasons. That home-court domination will be put to the test against 17th-ranked Washington (12-3, 4-0) tonight at 7.

Stanford is giving up a league-low 60 points per game and ranks 28th in the nation in that category, so Dawkins' preaching of the value of defense has taken hold. The Cardinal have already held five opponents under 50 points.

"We've improved defensively," Dawkins said. "We're still not where we want to be yet, but it's exciting to see, especially with the younger group. There are so many new faces, and they've really bought into the importance of defending." The defense, in fact, is "ahead of our offense," he said.

The 6-foot-9 Powell admitted he had to work a lot on his defending. Dawkins "was definitely not satisfied with my defense," Powell said. "There was a lot to learn about things like body angles on plays off the ball."

Bright was inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, taking over the point duties from Jarrett Mann. Mann remained in a three-guard lineup that also includes Jeremy Green, who at 15.9 points per game is the team's leading scorer. Dawkins said the lineup may change, depending on the matchups.

Bright is more of a natural point guard than the slashing Mann. "He was exhibiting leadership in practice," Dawkins said. "He earned the opportunity to be out there, and he's making the most of his opportunity."

Stanford won the first three games that Bright started before losing to Arizona 67-57 on Sunday. McKale Center is a notoriously difficult place for visiting teams, but the young Cardinal were down by just five points with four minutes left.

"We didn't win the game, so there's no real consolation for us," Dawkins said. "I thought we handled the unfortunate circumstances well."

The game had been postponed from Saturday because of the shootings in Tucson.

Forward Josh Owens averages 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds after returning from a year's absence caused by an undisclosed medical condition. "He's just scratching the surface on how good he can be," Dawkins said.

Briefly: Freshman center Stefan Nastic returned to practice Tuesday after being out four weeks with a foot injury. ... Green was just 2-for-19 from three-point range in three games last season against the Huskies, who won all three decisively.

Pac-10 standings

Team	Conf.	All
Washington	4-0	12-3
Arizona	3-1	14-3
Stanford	2-1	9-5
USC	2-1	10-6
Washington State	2-2	12-4
Oregon State	2-2	7-8
UCLA	1-2	9-6
Cal	1-2	8-7
Arizona State	1-3	9-7
Oregon	0-4	7-9

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Our philosophy

Posted: 13 Jan 2011 02:07 AM PST

OPINION
by KEITH AZOPARDI PDP leader
"If you want change with experience of Government but with the freshness and ideas that Gibraltar needs we are the only party that offer that. Above all we are the only party that make clear what we stand for. You know what you will get with us," said PDP leader Keith Azopardi.

He adds: A commitment to a new style of politics, to a new way of governing more constructively, a clear direction in foreign affairs and sovereignty and a deep commitment to the improvement of public services and the quality of life of our citizens. Put that against what you know about the others - status quo or a return to the past" said Keith Azopardi in launching the PDP's New Year message and responding to the messages from GSD and GSLP leaders.

2011 will be election year. Different parties will compete for the privilege to govern Gibraltar for the next four years. It is important that the different parties are clear with the electorate as to what they offer and what they stand for. Parties should not be able to get away with blank cheque politics - in which they are not prepared to say where they want to take Gibraltar. Or worse still with failures to deliver on a stated programme.

The PDP has always aspired to be the reverse of that. We are a Party that not only criticises where things go wrong but acknowledge when things are done properly. We have presented clear ideas about where we would like to take Gibraltar and how we would govern. Judge that against the other parties.

CLEAR POLICIES ABOUT THE FUTURE

We have presented clear policies about the future status of Gibraltar and about the next stage of constitutional reform. We are the only Party to do so. For example the GSLP say they are against the Andorra model. We agree. But what are they in favour of? And what is the Chief Minister specifically in favour of? Where do they want to take Gibraltar? We know and we have told you in detail. We are in favour of greater self-government, more democracy and a form of free association within the European Union maintaining our links with the Crown. Eventually if it were ever to become politically viable [which is not the case today] we believe that the people of Gibraltar should have the right to consider in referendum whether to opt for independence with the Queen as Head of State. The GSLP and GSD ask you to vote for them without telling you where we would end up with them at the helm. That is to take the electorate for granted. They either have no ideas or worse still are afraid to tell us what these are. They should not be supported. They have no entitlement to govern and certainly should not do so when they want to keep the electorate in the dark about where they stand on these important issues.

We have presented a comprehensive policy on improving accountability and decisionmaking in Government, to improve how the Parliament works, to change our electoral system and to improve democracy. We do not want the perpetual cycle of lack of democracy, fear of expressing opinions and negative, acrimonious politics. It is time for there to be a new style of politics. But we are the only Party committed to governing in a different way. Neither the GSD nor GSLP are committed to a policy of enhancing democracy. Indeed it may be that they have no policy to speak of. In 2007 the Parliament set up a cross-party committee on Parliamentary reform and committed itself to introduce legislation by October 2009. Needless to say there have been no recommendations for reform from that Committee and still less legislation.

The reality is that we get big talk from the GSD and GSLP on improving how we are governed but no action. We are the ones who are committed to real action which I promise would come within the first 12 months of a PDP Government. You would see a radical new way of governing Gibraltar, more inclusive, more democratic and above all much more constructive. We would put behind us, once and for all, the negative, destructive and divisive politics of the past.

We have presented clear ideas on housing, the environment, heritage, health and social services. We believe these areas can see major improvement for our people. Where do the other parties stand on these issues? We have gone round the housing estates and districts of Gibraltar to talk to people and hear their concerns and aspirations. It is clear that there are endemic issues of lack of maintenance, lack of housing, security, vandalism and humidity that are unattended. People are worried about the state of the health service.

Having new buildings is not enough. We need a new culture of management and a restoration of the morale of health service staff. Many members of staff feel undervalued and are being taken from specialist tasks they have been trained for to do other jobs that they have not been employed to do. Much more must be done to ensure the smooth delivery of services to patients and users of the health authority. There is a directionless heritage policy and an acquiescence in a no-holds barred planning system. We need to bring back a clear heritage policy and a strategic and well-thought out planning system.

It really is not that hard to present and introduce reforms. It is quite straightforward to identify deficiencies because they are obvious to many people. The reason that these things are not tackled is because the GSD and GSLP lack the commitment to change the way they do politics. That is at the heart of the lack of movement in this area. Gibraltar really needs a change and a break from the past. That will not be provided by backing either the present administration or returning the unreformed GSLP to power after a gap of 16 years during which they have apparently learnt little. If they had we would now know what they stand for and what their new ideas are. I am unable to identify new ideas in the current GSLP and so if you want change and a break from the past they certainly do not offer it. They present an unreconstructed return to the past. No new policies - no new ideas.

Come the next election it is important to judge who has been frank with the electorate and whose ideas are fit to govern. People who aspire to be Chief Minister need to be clear with the electorate about what they stand for and where they want to take Gibraltar. They need to allow those ideas to be put up for scrutiny. I am clear about what I stand for and not afraid to say it. Let others do the same. What they cannot expect is to be voted in to Government without explaining what they stand for.

GROSS BORROWING CLOSE TO HALF A BILLION

Our gross borrowing figure is now close to half a billion pounds. Net borrowing is set to increase to about 180M. When I was Minister in charge of the big economic departments - trade & industry, financial services and planning - the net borrowing [using the current way of calculating debt] was zero. In other words there was no net debt. Let us hope that a new administration does not find its ability to implement a progressive social programme hindered by the current decisions of this administration.

Being in Government is about leadership and it is also about making choices - about prioritising projects to be done. I make clear that we would have supported investment in public services, in housing, health, the environment, young people and social services before we had committed ourselves to a new airport terminal of this magnitude. Not because we do not believe that a new air terminal should not be built but because we think houses and quality of life issues are more important to our people and a new air terminal could have waited. On that same note there is an urgent need to invest in power generation capability and in alternative energies. It is ridiculous to see the number of power-cuts that we still have to suffer. We also need to do much more for our young people in terms of jobs, training and in terms of assisting them make their start in life.

That is our philosophy and what we offer the people of Gibraltar. This year is an important year because you have the chance to make that change. We will be there committed to work for you and for Gibraltar. We wish you and your families a happy and prosperous 2011.

13-01-11

Philosophy

Thursday, January 13, 2011

“Philosophy, practical concerns lead to school cancellation” plus 2 more

“Philosophy, practical concerns lead to school cancellation” plus 2 more

Pac-10 standings

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