Comment on a classmate's article

I totally agree with my classmate Omar's article about the bag ban has led to an unintended consequence. Since the ban took effect, people buy the thicker bigger bag at the store whenever they buy a lot of things. Omar mentions, "those bags take longer than regular plastic bags to decompose". The ban is intended to help improve the environment. However, instead of the thinner bags are thrown everywhere, we are now seeing people throw away heavy-duty reusable plastic bags at an unprecedented rate. 

The city’s good intention in the bag ban is not enough to save the environment. People need to change their own habit in order to save the environment. I like his idea about people should re-use the bags. Isn't that what it called? RE-USE-ABLE ?!. He also made a really good point that the money will add up over time. These bags usually cost around .99 cent. Some people will think that it is nothing. However, when they spend .99 cent every time they go to the store, it can add up to 5$ per month, and 60$ per year. Spending 60$ for a bunch of bags which are thrown away, and cause pollution?  It isn’t worth it!

Omar has a good article. However, I wish he could write more detail about this issue. For example, the consequences of having plastic bag should be mentioned. The Los Angeles Times last May states: “A reusable grocery bag left in a hotel bathroom caused an outbreak of norovirus-induced diarrhea and nausea that struck nine of 13 members of a girls’ soccer team in October, Oregon researchers reported Wednesday.” The reader is informed why it is important to reuse their reusable bags.

Houston voters declares their opposition against "Robin Hood"

According to The Austin Chronicle’s article entitled "Houston Voters Say No to 'Robin Hood'", the Houston school district will not send their property tax dollars to the state.

The law is known as “Robin Hood” requires wealthier school districts to fund the poorer school districts.  This law is the result of a court ruling in 1993, which states the poorer school districts have more disadvantages than the wealthier school districts. “Robin Hood” was passed to help equalize the financing of all school districts in Texas. However, it contains a provision called “additional state aid for tax reduction” which allows some districts not to make the required payments. This provision was deleted by the 2015 legislature, and this means about 243 districts will start making payment to the state. Houston is one of those districts, and it is estimated that it will owe approximately $162 million dollars to the state. The HISD trustees felt that the voters needed to approve the amount of money before it is sent to the state. They put it on the ballot during the last election under Proposition 1. This news upset a lot of Houston voters, and it led to the “No” vote by a margin of two-to-one to block the money being sent to the state for the Robin Hood plan.

There are many reasons why many wealthy school districts do not like the Robin Hood plan. One reason is that it creates a financial burden on the property taxpayers. It often results in having taxpayers vote against bond issues which the district proposes. Taxpayers resent that their tax money is sent to the state instead of being used for local schools.  In addition, there is no accountability about how the money is used.

Moreover, the Robin Hood plan’s payment is based on the previous year property tax value. For instance, a district’s property value increases greatly because of oil booming. However, this year the oil is not as successful causing the property value to decrease. Despite the downfall in property value, the district will still have to make a payment based on the previous year’s higher property value. Consequently, the school district may not be able to afford to make the payment.

Another reason is Robin Hood plan generates a huge cut in the school’s budget. For instance, the HISD trustees are concerned that if they are forced to send the payment to the state, they would have to cut down on the number of teachers, counselors, and essential programs in order to meet their budget. Also, there are studies that show that the Robin Hood plan does not improve the education in Texas as it is supposed to. In 2003, ten years after the law was passed, Texas had the lowest percentage of high school graduated in the nation.

People have started to question how the plan helps education in Texas. Houston is the largest school district in the state, and their rebellion against the Robin Hood plan can influence other districts to do the same. This is the first time the voters have rebelled against this law saying that they will not pay. This rebellion can lead to consequences. First, the Texas Education Agency can change the boundaries, and take away some of the wealthy property from the district. They also can force them to consolidate with another district.  Since the HISD is the first district to rebel, people still don’t know what the consequence would be.

I do not like the like the Robin Hood plan. The Texas Legislature should come up with an alternative way to fund Texas Public Education.  However, since the Supreme Court says that this law is not unconstitutional, there is little hope that the Texas Legislature will tackle the problem.  

SO you are crying because Trump is your new president?

2016 election is the most interesting topic to talk about this year. It surely is a unique election that the people of United States have ever experienced. However, the result is finally announced on Nov 8. It has been one week since then, and people should begin to accept the outcome whether they like it or not. The post “Blog 5” written by Jordan Call addresses the issues on the riots which are sparked by people, especially college students, who refuse to accept the result.

Jordan Call mentions, “Our country, especially 16-25 year olds, are thin skinned, sniveling kids who cry and start shit over the littlest stuff”. There are surprisingly riots, protests in some universities after the election night. For instance, hundreds of students from UT Austin marched for hours in Downtown Austin under the rain against Donald Trump’s victory. They claimed that he is a racist, and his victory will lead to violence and segregation. How do they, who are educated college students, believe that they can solve violence with more violence and protest?  They hurt themselves by walking for hours under the rain, they hurt the traffic because they march on the streets which are for cars, and they waste the policemen’s time trying to get the traffic flow again after the protest. The college students need to learn that this is not the end of the world, and they do not need to cry about this or skip class to go to protests.

Jordan Call writes, “You think life is hard? You don’t know the meaning of the word”. There are countries that do not have the right to vote, or even know their candidates’ background before they go vote. When they get a new president, they accept it and keep living their lives. Meanwhile, in the United States, people, who cannot get the president they want, start to cry and fuss like a teenager.

“But look at you now. Acting like spoiled kids. Throwing fits in the street, getting arrested and picking up criminal records that guarantee you’ll never get a good job”, John Call declares.

There is no wrong in wanting to protest against a bad government. After all, that what make America a land of freedom. However, people need to consider better reasons and peaceful protests. The college students need to focus on their studies than skipping classes to protest. If they are disappointed about this year result, they should study hard, run for office one day and be a better president. 

What the ninth graders should be taught in driver ed?

John Whitmire, who is the Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman, proposed a bill last month which will require the Texas Education Agency to develop a new curriculum for nine graders on how to act during traffic stops. His intention is to decrease the tragedy which has happened during police encounters in years. He wants to protect the children and to inform them about their limited rights when they interact with police officers when they get pulled over.

He states that “If you feel an officer does you wrong, you don’t take it up with them out on the street, you take it up with an administrator. That’s one of the things I think we’ll teach.”

Students need to be taught what their rights are and the best way to express it. The students need to be informed with the truth, data and real life situations. In addition, the new curriculum should contain information in the handbook for the students emphasize negative reactions that can happen sometimes come from interacting with polices. Kevin Lawrence, who is the director of the Texas Municipal Police Association, says, “On the side of the street is not the place to litigate what you believe the officer is doing is wrong or what the officer believes you are doing wrong”. In addition, he suggests that the police officer should hand out to individuals a form which shows the process to file a complaint against that officer if the person feels he has been treated wrongly.  

Furthermore, the new curriculum should raise students’ awareness of racism in some police officers. The white and black students need to know that the regardless of their actions, the situations can be different because of their races. In July 2016, a lot of police officers were shot and injured by a black man in Dallas. The event created fear for the police. Thus, students must realize that police officers have a dangerous job and they must learn how to react in such a way as to show that they are no danger to the policeman. For instance, they can ask the police officers when they need to move or get something out of their pocket since it can be anything, even a gun.

We must teach the students to act respectfully to police officers regardless of the situations. They need to know if they rebel against the law enforcement officers, they run the risk of being shot. Students need to be taught that there are ways to protect their rights, but it is not by being disrespectful to the police officers. Whitmire says, “Increased training and education for both peace officers and our students will help foster positive relations and interactions”. The bill should emphasize better police recruit and training. Police officers should not have aggressive behavior toward a certain races. It is true that we cannot tell ones to stop being racist if they has been that way their whole life. However, they should have been told that they must react properly for their job regardless how they feel about certain races. The police also need to be trained to respect the teenagers. A person does not respect police officers if he feels disrespect by them. Both officers and students should be trained in a way that they will not act toward each other with fear.

I believe that the bill can make an important impact for law enforcement officers and the ninth graders if the education is extended to both. However, trust between the community and law enforcement should begin much earlier than ninth grade. Police officers should be given time to come into elementary schools and participate in activities that will build trust.

Teenagers should be taught how to interact with cops ?

I remember we discussed in class about John Whitmire, who is the Chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, and his proposition for developing the new curriculum for ninth graders. “What should we teach ninth graders so police won't shoot them?” is written by Scott Henson, aka, Grits for Breakfast in order to address his perspective on the issue discussed in the Whitmire’s proposal. The writer intended his audience to be the legislators. The writer Scott Henson is a former journalist and political opposition researcher. He has experiences in criminal-justice as he worked for the Texas' Criminal Justice Reform Movement for more than two decades. His perspective on this issue is creditable.  Henson states that kids should not be taught that they need to comply with the police regardless of whether their rights are violated, whereas John Whitmire says that “if you feel an officer does you wrong, you don't take it up with them out on the street, you take it up with an administrator…” However, Henson is concerned that the police officers will not be held accountable when the citizens complain even if there is video. The writer also addresses the fact that kids need to be aware of the different reactions of police officers to particular races. The white kids need to recognize the fact that skin color can cause things to be different for some of their minority classmates. Henson wants the new curriculum to teach teenagers how to interact with cops in a way that will protect their rights while also teaching them that police can arrest them for an offense like not using a turn signal when changing lanes and take them to jail, even when the law does not call for jail time as punishment for the offense. The writer states “a curriculum which taught students the legal limits of their personal rights when interacting with police might be useful”.  Henson concludes that the unnecessary aggressive interaction of some police officers to the public is another issue about which we need to be concerned. He further believes that any proposed legislation should require more training for police officers. He wrote that the police are the agents of the state, and they should be responsible.

I totally agree with this article.  The new curriculum should show kids what they should do when they are interacting with cops. However, it should educate them with facts and reality, not mislead them. In addition, the system needs to acknowledge that some police officers overuse their power to violate others’ rights because of their emotional and aggressive behavior.

It's time to address Austin's terrible traffic problems

Everyone has been talking about how bad Austin traffic has become. The number of cars is increasing every day. It is almost impossible to go through the I-35 highway without being delayed. The article “Time to unclog Austin’s traffic arteries” from mystatesman.com uses an interesting comparison between the human circulatory system and Austin's roads to address this current issue of heavy traffic and clogged roads. Anna Wynne and Mercedes Feris, who are the authors, work in the mobility industry. They have a good amount of knowledge and experience on Austin’s traffic throughout the years. The problem of traffic Austin is facing will lead to serious consequences in the future. It is like the blood blocked in the arteries will cause a heart attack; the clogged traffic will cause deadly accidents. The article states that there were 120 traffic fatalities in the previous year, and most of them happened on arterial roads. The traffic has an impact on the gas money and car maintenance. The article says:” Sitting on congested roadways costs the average Austin driver roughly $1,000 a year in extra gas and lost productivity”. Moreover, Austin’s lack of sidewalks is affecting the retail businesses. The authors write:” Businesses along our major streets suffer because unpleasant and unsafe walking environments depress foot traffic — the lifeblood of retail shops.” 

This article is intended to convince voters to vote for prop 1 on November 8. Prop 1 is proposed by Austin mayor Steve Adler and the Austin city council. It will put in 720 million dollars in critical improvements for the city. They state that Prop 1 will provide renovation to major corridors like North and South Lamar, Airport Boulevard, Slaughter Land and others. Moreover, safety issues on outlying roads such as Anderson Mill Road and U.S. 183, Parmer Lane, RM 620, Spicewood Springs Road and Oak Hill Parkway Bridge will also get addressed. In addition, a new signal technology system will be installed to better time the traffic lights to keep cars moving.  

            I totally agree with the authors. I take I-35 to work and to school. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to not meet any traffic in the morning on the weekend. However, the five o’clock traffic is always the same. My trip from point A to point B often gets delayed. I still think I am lucky because my workplace and school are close to home. What about people that live far away from their job or their school? I think it is a pain for them to commute every day.

Jessica Pham

Asian-American business boom in Austin mirrors fast-growing community

 

The Asian-American community in Austin is growing every day. You can find an Asian restaurant in any part of town. There might be at least two or three Asian-Americans at your work or in your class. “Asian-Americanbusiness boom in Austin mirrors fast-growing community” from myStatesman states that Asian-American population has now exceeded African-Americans and becomes the city’s third largest demographic group.

 

Based on the cost of living, university and city’s amenities, Austin has become an attraction for many Asian-Americans because “the city meets their adventurous lifestyle, is family-friendly and is less expensive than other major cities.” Once one person moves here, he tends to bring his family with him. Then he tells his friends, and the friends bring their families also. Another reason for the booming population is that Austin has a lot of tech companies like Dell, Samsung, and NXP. They attract Asian-Americans who tend to have higher education levels and seek better opportunities. Austin is also a great place for opening businesses. Many Asian-Americans think about Austin as a great place to start a business because in Austin, “if you talk to someone with an idea, you can get a buy-in on that idea,”. 

 

However, Asian-Americans face a hindrance that many others don’t face: Language barriers. Some of the Asian-American population has limited English proficiency. It is difficult for them to understand the regulations they must meet, and they often miss their opportunities to develop a business. Sometimes English can be a huge challenge for some Asian-American owners trying to maintain their business.  

The article about Asian-Americans is insignificant in most people’s mind when they read the news. Now it is time for people to start looking closer to what is happening to the Asian-American population in our community. 

First post

Hello !

Welcome to my very first blog.