A man who robbed an Aurora movie theater, threatening seven employees at gunpoint, faces up to 107 years in prison.
Reported by Denver Post 13 hours ago.
Armed robber of Aurora theater faces up to 107 years in prison
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Smash-and-Grab Burglary Suspect Faces New Charge
Patch Batavia, IL --The 49-year-old Auroran charged in a smash-and-grab burglary at a St. Charles auto parts store and whose motus operandi matches a Geneva gas station burglary has been charged with an additional count of burglary after police linked him to an earlier burglary of a St. Charles auto spa.
Mark E. Swienton, 49, was charged with burglary, a Class 2 felony, after investigators linked him to a break-in at Valley Springs Auto, 3255 W. Main St., St. Charles police said. A cash drawer and money were taken in that burglary.
Swienton was arrested March 22, 2013 in St. Charles by Aurora police. Aurora investigators had been using a high-tech tracking device as part of a surveillance operation after they identified him as a suspect in numerous smash-and-grab burglaries that had been occurring throughout the area. The Aurora officers arrested Swienton after they saw him throw a large rock through the front-door window of NAPA Auto Parts, 203 S. 3^rd St.
St. Charles police said Thursday that Swienton was served with the latest charge while still incarcerated in the Kane County Jail, now facing two felony counts of burglary. The new charge also bumps up Swienton’s bail, which was set at $130,000 when he was arrested last month, to $160,000 on the two counts. Even if he is able to post bail, however, police said the Illinois Department of Corrections has a hold on Swienton, who was on parole for a burglary conviction.
*Related:*
· Burglars Smash Windows, Take Cash Register from Geneva Citgo Near Train Depot
· Was Citgo Robbery the 'Smash and Grab' Serial Burglar?
· 3 More Overnight Smash-and-Grabs; How Widespread Is This?
· St. Charles, Aurora Cops Nab Suspect in Smash-and-Grabs Reported by Patch 12 hours ago.
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Man Smokes Crack with a Stranger, Gets Robbed while Napping: Shoreline Police Blotter
Patch Shoreline-Lake Forest Park, WA --The following incidents are selected from Shoreline Police reports for March 11-18. Where an arrest is noted, it does not indicate a conviction.
March 11
· A woman parked and locked her van at Edward Jones in Richmond Beach. She was gone for just 15 minutes, during which time someone smashed the window and grabbed her purse.
· A known drug addict and prostitute was reported for shoplifting at Goodwill.
· At Trinity Presbyterian, someone shattered the passenger window of a van and stole miscellaneous car equipment.
March 12
· A man reported that he went to the Shoreline Motel with another man, where they smoked crack together. He fell asleep and awoke to find his cell phone, ID, and debit cards stolen.
· Another smash and grab car prowl was reported, this time at Richmond Beach Saltwater Park. A purse had been left in the car.
· A Shoreline man was arrested for aggravated assault after strangling his long time girlfriend until she nearly lost consciousness.
March 13
· A woman, who was home alone reported that someone broke her rear slider door after ringing the doorbell around 10:30 a.m., then ransacked the back bedroom and fled before police arrived.
· A woman reported that someone had stolen an escrow check she had been waiting for on the 1300 block of N. 176^th St. and cashed it.
· Someone fired an unknown “projectile through the window of a Barista Coffee stand on Aurora Ave. N.
March 14
· A Dodge Ram pickup was stolen from Rich’s Car Corner on Aurora Ave. N.
· Several smash and grab car prowls were reported around Shoreline.
March 15
· A man strong-armed a victim at a bust stop on 14800 5^th Ave N, taking the victim’s bag.
March 16
· A Shoreline resident was charged with fourth degree assault after allegedly kissing a small girl on the mouth at McDonalds on Bothell Way.
· A car was stolen from Highlander House’s parking lot on N 183^rd Street. The next day a car was stolen from the 17100 block of 25th Ave NE
March 18
· A Shoreline resident discovered a 9mm bullet embedded in his house on the 19300 block of 2^nd Ave NW. Reported by Patch 5 hours ago.
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Judge unseals warrants, affidavit in Aurora theater shooting case
The arrest affidavit for James Holmes and search warrants related to the Aurora theater shooting were unsealed Thursday afternoon by Judge Carlos Samour Jr.
Reported by Denver Post 9 hours ago.
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Aurora Suspect Was Threat, Psychiatrist Said
A month before a mass shooting in a Colorado movie theater last summer, his psychiatrist reported that the man now charged had been having homicidal thoughts.
Reported by NYTimes.com 3 hours ago.
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Rep. Diana DeGette: Reducing Gun Violence Means Standing Up to the Gun Lobby
As Congress prepares to consider legislation to address gun violence, this week was a disturbing reminder to those of us leading that fight that after all these years the gun lobby will rely on its playbook of personal destruction to viciously attack any supporter of common-sense gun safety legislation. As I've learned in two decades of work on these issues, the gun lobby will take every opportunity to intimidate, and to attempt to silence, anyone with the courage of conviction to stand up and fight to keep our families safe.
This week, the founder of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Association, Dudley Brown, told NPR that it was "time to hunt Democrats." Brown, a leading voice against gun violence prevention, apparently sees nothing wrong with physically threatening the lives of members of the political party with whom he disagrees. It may be straight out of the playbook the gun lobby has used for decades, but that makes it no less outrageous.
In Colorado, we saw the ugliness of these attacks just last month when state Representative Rhonda Fields was personally maligned and threatened as she pursued meaningful gun violence prevention in the Statehouse. Rep. Fields is not only a tireless advocate, she is the mother of a child gunned down by an assault weapon. But that only fueled the gun lobby's efforts; efforts so personal, they eventually led to physical threats to Rep. Fields by a man now standing trial for those threats. Ultimately, however, the smear campaign was fruitless, as Rep. Fields and her colleagues passed landmark legislation that will help keep families safe.
Now the gun lobby has set its sights on me.
Since my time in the Colorado state legislature 20 years ago, I have worked on gun safety issues. In 1998, I introduced my first bill to ban high-capacity magazines. My colleague Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (NY-4) and I have introduced a similar bill, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, in this Congress. We are working hard to include our bill in comprehensive gun safety legislation being considered now because, while we will never be able to stop every disturbed individual from going into a school or a movie theater or a shopping mall and shooting people, we can limit the number of rounds in a magazine and give the people in their sights a fighting chance.
Rather than debate me on the merits of this common-sense proposal, the gun lobby has decided to distort remarks I made at a recent forum in Denver to attack me personally. After the forum, opponents of my bill intentionally mischaracterized one phrase from my remarks, spreading half-truths to mobilize their on-line allies. This is what they do and what they have done for decades to distract the public conversation from the critical issue of reducing gun violence. And this week they employed these tactics to undermine my high-capacity magazine ban.
The gun lobby wants to divert the public's attention from the fact that a high-capacity magazine ban would reduce the number of magazines in circulation, simply because they would no longer be available for lawful purchase. If Congress passed a high-capacity magazine ban, disturbed individuals like the Aurora shooter would not be able to purchase a 100-round magazine through a few clicks on a website, or buy a 30-round magazine at their local sporting goods store.
While those who currently own high-capacity magazines would be able to keep them and use them if they wished, they would not be able to purchase new high-capacity magazines. The availability of these assault magazines to criminals and the mentally ill would thus be greatly reduced over time.
A high-capacity magazine ban will not stop an individual intent upon doing harm, but would give those victims in their sights a fighting chance when the gunman has to stop and reload. As an Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent with whom I work frequently says, "a high-capacity magazine ban would go a long way to taking the 'mass' out of 'mass shooting'."
That's why this bill is so important and that's why the gun lobby is fighting it so hard. As poll numbers continue to show strong public support for a high-capacity magazine ban, and for universal background checks, the gun lobby strengthens and magnifies its efforts to intimidate and ultimately to silence anyone who threatens their cause. We've seen it again and again.
This debate is not about me or the other lawmakers who've faced the same tactics. This debate is about the thousands of children and families who are the victims of gun violence every year--the 58 people injured and the 12 killed in an Aurora theater, the 20 children and six brave adults in a school in Connecticut, and the countless other faces whose names we do not know.
The high-capacity magazine ban is a reasonable and common-sense step towards preventing these massacres. That is why I am urging all of you who support this and other gun violence prevention measures to stand up to the gun lobby. They may utilize smear tactics or scare tactics, but by raising our voices in any way we can, we can show them we will not allow their attacks to distract from the real issues. Please contact your Member of Congress today and urge them to vote for common-sense gun safety legislation. Together, we can stand up to their efforts. Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
This week, the founder of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Association, Dudley Brown, told NPR that it was "time to hunt Democrats." Brown, a leading voice against gun violence prevention, apparently sees nothing wrong with physically threatening the lives of members of the political party with whom he disagrees. It may be straight out of the playbook the gun lobby has used for decades, but that makes it no less outrageous.
In Colorado, we saw the ugliness of these attacks just last month when state Representative Rhonda Fields was personally maligned and threatened as she pursued meaningful gun violence prevention in the Statehouse. Rep. Fields is not only a tireless advocate, she is the mother of a child gunned down by an assault weapon. But that only fueled the gun lobby's efforts; efforts so personal, they eventually led to physical threats to Rep. Fields by a man now standing trial for those threats. Ultimately, however, the smear campaign was fruitless, as Rep. Fields and her colleagues passed landmark legislation that will help keep families safe.
Now the gun lobby has set its sights on me.
Since my time in the Colorado state legislature 20 years ago, I have worked on gun safety issues. In 1998, I introduced my first bill to ban high-capacity magazines. My colleague Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (NY-4) and I have introduced a similar bill, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, in this Congress. We are working hard to include our bill in comprehensive gun safety legislation being considered now because, while we will never be able to stop every disturbed individual from going into a school or a movie theater or a shopping mall and shooting people, we can limit the number of rounds in a magazine and give the people in their sights a fighting chance.
Rather than debate me on the merits of this common-sense proposal, the gun lobby has decided to distort remarks I made at a recent forum in Denver to attack me personally. After the forum, opponents of my bill intentionally mischaracterized one phrase from my remarks, spreading half-truths to mobilize their on-line allies. This is what they do and what they have done for decades to distract the public conversation from the critical issue of reducing gun violence. And this week they employed these tactics to undermine my high-capacity magazine ban.
The gun lobby wants to divert the public's attention from the fact that a high-capacity magazine ban would reduce the number of magazines in circulation, simply because they would no longer be available for lawful purchase. If Congress passed a high-capacity magazine ban, disturbed individuals like the Aurora shooter would not be able to purchase a 100-round magazine through a few clicks on a website, or buy a 30-round magazine at their local sporting goods store.
While those who currently own high-capacity magazines would be able to keep them and use them if they wished, they would not be able to purchase new high-capacity magazines. The availability of these assault magazines to criminals and the mentally ill would thus be greatly reduced over time.
A high-capacity magazine ban will not stop an individual intent upon doing harm, but would give those victims in their sights a fighting chance when the gunman has to stop and reload. As an Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent with whom I work frequently says, "a high-capacity magazine ban would go a long way to taking the 'mass' out of 'mass shooting'."
That's why this bill is so important and that's why the gun lobby is fighting it so hard. As poll numbers continue to show strong public support for a high-capacity magazine ban, and for universal background checks, the gun lobby strengthens and magnifies its efforts to intimidate and ultimately to silence anyone who threatens their cause. We've seen it again and again.
This debate is not about me or the other lawmakers who've faced the same tactics. This debate is about the thousands of children and families who are the victims of gun violence every year--the 58 people injured and the 12 killed in an Aurora theater, the 20 children and six brave adults in a school in Connecticut, and the countless other faces whose names we do not know.
The high-capacity magazine ban is a reasonable and common-sense step towards preventing these massacres. That is why I am urging all of you who support this and other gun violence prevention measures to stand up to the gun lobby. They may utilize smear tactics or scare tactics, but by raising our voices in any way we can, we can show them we will not allow their attacks to distract from the real issues. Please contact your Member of Congress today and urge them to vote for common-sense gun safety legislation. Together, we can stand up to their efforts. Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
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James Holmes' Threats Got Him Kicked Off Campus, Psychiatrist Warned Officials
The discovery of sealed university paperwork in the case of Aurora gunman James Holmes reveals that the school psychiatrist has warned school officials about him posing a threat. Los Angeles Times informed that Dr. Lynne Fenton saw Holmes during his time at the University of Colorado-Denver. On June 12, Fenton contacted Lynn Whitten of the campus police to complain about meeting with the student once and having him behave in an irrational way afterwards.
Reported by Softpedia 19 minutes ago.
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Robin Kelly: Conceal and Carry Failed in Aurora Shooting's Gun-Free Theater
A Democrat running for Jesse Jackson Jr.'s seat in Congress attacked the idea of concealed-carry firearms by citing the victims of the Aurora theater shooting, who could not defend themselves in a gun-free zone.Robin Kelly, candidate in the IL-02 congressional election, claimed Thursday evening that victims of 2012's Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting failed to "pull out their guns to kill the gentleman that did all the damage that he did."
Kelly, who faces Republican Paul McKinley in the April special election to replace Jackson, was speaking at her own one-person candidate forum, which she had convened rather than attend an NAACP-sponsored candidate debate with her opponent. Kelly made the controversial statement while arguing against conceal and carry rights for the residents of her district and the state of Illinois.
She told the audience, "in the movie [theater], *they have conceal and carry*, *but nobody pulled out their guns* to kill the gentleman that did all the damage that he did." [emphasis added]
However, the Cinemark theater where the shooting took place was the only one within 20 minutes of suspect James Holmes' apartment that had a policy banning guns from the premise. Victims and their families are preparing a lawsuit targeting Cinemark for allegedly failing to provide security for its patrons the night of the shooting.
Kelly prefaced her comments by telling the audience that the topic is "one thing I talk about," implying that she regularly covers this angle in her arguments against personal defense rights.
Kelly began this line of thinking by lamenting that the Supreme Court has stated Illinois cannot ban conceal and carry. All 49 other states in the U.S. already have some form of conceal and carry on the books. "I'm hoping that we have the weakest conceal and carry," she said in response.
Indeed, her opposition to conceal and carry is one of five pillars of an anti-gun pledge which serves as the banner of her official Facebook page. Kelly has openly campaigned on the promise that she "will lead on the issue of banning guns."
Her opponent McKinley attended a pro-Second Amendment rally with 150 2nd District constituents Thursday evening after the debate which Kelly did not attend. McKinley released an explicitly pro-gun rights ad via YouTube on Tuesday:
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Independence USA PAC, which is strongly opposed to gun ownership and defense rights, has contributed over $2 million to Kelly's campaign—starting in the Democratic primary where she faced Debbie Halvorson, a former Congresswoman with high marks from the NRA.
President Barack Obama endorsed Kelly on Tuesday. Obama is currently conducting a public relations campaign for expanded gun control legislation under discussion in the Senate. Kelly expressed support for the President's desired legislation during her forum Thursday.
Reported by Breitbart 1 day ago.
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Aurora shooting: police were warned that James Holmes posed danger
Documents reveal psychiatrist told police a month before attack that suspect had homicidal thoughts
A psychiatrist who treated the suspect in last year's Aurora cinema shooting in Colorado told police a month before the attack that James Holmes had homicidal thoughts and was a danger to the public, newly released documents show. The attack killed 12 and injured 70 and was one of the worst mass shootings in US history.
The documents released on Thursday show Dr Lynne Fenton told police at the University of Colorado, Denver, that Holmes also threatened and intimidated her.
Holmes last week offered to plead guilty in the shooting, which occurred during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie. Prosecutors rejected that offer and said on Monday they would seek the death penalty.
The shooting has already helped inspire a new state ban on large-capacity firearm magazines.
The documents had been sealed, but a new judge overseeing the case ordered that they be released after requests from media organisations including the Associated Press.
In the days after the shooting, campus police said they had never had contact with Holmes, a graduate student at the university. But campus police told investigators that Fenton had contacted them, following her legal requirement to report specific threats to authorities, according to a search warrant affidavit.
"Dr Fenton advised that through her contact with James Holmes she was reporting, per her requirement, his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made," the affidavit said.
University police referred calls for comment on Thursday to a campus spokeswoman who did not immediately return a message.
Holmes also sent Fenton a package in the days before the shooting, including a notebook that the documents describe as a journal. The package was dated 12 July – eight days before the massacre – but was found four days after the attack, in the university mail room. It included a note with an "infinity design" and burnt $20 bills.
Prosecutors have suggested Holmes was angry at the failure of a once-promising academic career and stockpiled weapons, ammunition, teargas grenades and body armour as his research deteriorated and professors urged him to get into another profession. Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson said Holmes failed a key oral exam in June, was banned from campus and began to voluntarily withdraw from the school.
Holmes's attorneys have said he is mentally ill. The documents show that police collected more than 100 items of evidence from his booby-trapped apartment that he had designed to explode at the time of the shooting, including 50 cans and bottles of beer, a Batman mask, paper shooting targets and prescription medications to treat anxiety and depression.
Both prosecutors and defence attorneys had raised concerns about releasing the documents. Prosecutors said they were worried about the privacy of victims and witnesses. Attorneys for Holmes said they did not want to hurt his chances for a fair trial.
Media organisations said there had been a "wealth of information already made public in the proceedings thus far". They argued there was no basis for the documents to remain sealed. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
A psychiatrist who treated the suspect in last year's Aurora cinema shooting in Colorado told police a month before the attack that James Holmes had homicidal thoughts and was a danger to the public, newly released documents show. The attack killed 12 and injured 70 and was one of the worst mass shootings in US history.
The documents released on Thursday show Dr Lynne Fenton told police at the University of Colorado, Denver, that Holmes also threatened and intimidated her.
Holmes last week offered to plead guilty in the shooting, which occurred during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie. Prosecutors rejected that offer and said on Monday they would seek the death penalty.
The shooting has already helped inspire a new state ban on large-capacity firearm magazines.
The documents had been sealed, but a new judge overseeing the case ordered that they be released after requests from media organisations including the Associated Press.
In the days after the shooting, campus police said they had never had contact with Holmes, a graduate student at the university. But campus police told investigators that Fenton had contacted them, following her legal requirement to report specific threats to authorities, according to a search warrant affidavit.
"Dr Fenton advised that through her contact with James Holmes she was reporting, per her requirement, his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made," the affidavit said.
University police referred calls for comment on Thursday to a campus spokeswoman who did not immediately return a message.
Holmes also sent Fenton a package in the days before the shooting, including a notebook that the documents describe as a journal. The package was dated 12 July – eight days before the massacre – but was found four days after the attack, in the university mail room. It included a note with an "infinity design" and burnt $20 bills.
Prosecutors have suggested Holmes was angry at the failure of a once-promising academic career and stockpiled weapons, ammunition, teargas grenades and body armour as his research deteriorated and professors urged him to get into another profession. Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Pearson said Holmes failed a key oral exam in June, was banned from campus and began to voluntarily withdraw from the school.
Holmes's attorneys have said he is mentally ill. The documents show that police collected more than 100 items of evidence from his booby-trapped apartment that he had designed to explode at the time of the shooting, including 50 cans and bottles of beer, a Batman mask, paper shooting targets and prescription medications to treat anxiety and depression.
Both prosecutors and defence attorneys had raised concerns about releasing the documents. Prosecutors said they were worried about the privacy of victims and witnesses. Attorneys for Holmes said they did not want to hurt his chances for a fair trial.
Media organisations said there had been a "wealth of information already made public in the proceedings thus far". They argued there was no basis for the documents to remain sealed. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
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Aurora Shooter's Doctor Warned Campus Police
In the aftermath of James Holmes's mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, CO in July 2012, police at the University of Colorado's Denver campus said they had not had contact with him, but reports emerged that his psychiatrist had warned them. New documents have confirmed that warning, according to USA Today:A University of Colorado psychiatrist told campus police a month before the Aurora movie theater attack that James Holmes had homicidal thoughts and was a public danger, according to records unsealed Thursday.
Lynne Fenton, a psychiatrist at the Denver campus, told police that Holmes had also "threatened and harassed her via email/text messages" in June 2012. He is standing trial for the July 20 shooting rampage that killed 12 and injured 70 during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie....
Soon after the shooting, university police said they had not had any contact with Holmes, a graduate student doing neuroscience research. But a search warrant affidavit released Thursday revealed that an officer had told investigators that Fenton had contacted her to report "his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made."
Gun control advocates have used the Aurora shooting to press their case, either arguing that legal gun ownership of "assault rifles" must be restricted, or that conceal carry laws failed to protect the public.
As more facts emerge about the Aurora shooting, however, it is clear that the gun control narrative does not fit what actually happened, and legal gun ownership had little to do with Holmes's terrible crime.
Reported by Breitbart 20 hours ago.
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The Aurora Warnings
What did police at the University of Colorado know about the homicidal intent of James Holmes, the Aurora, Colo., theater shooter? When did they know it? Did they share this information with police outside the university? If not, why not?
Reported by Slate 15 hours ago.
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Aurora Shooter James Holmes’ Psychiatrist Warned Police He Was Dangerous
About a month before the deadly mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, psychiatrist Dr. *Lynne Fenton* warned campus police at the University of Colorado that *James Holmes* was dangerous, according to documents released by prosecutors. Police deactivated Holmes' student ID, but according to reports, it is unclear what else, if anything, was done with the information provided by Dr. Fenton. Holmes, of course, would go on to kill 12 people, and wound 58 others, in that horrific shooting.
Reported by Mediaite 15 hours ago.
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Portion of Prairie Path Trail Closed Until Fall
Patch Naperville, IL --Two trail sections of the Illinois Prairie Path near Ferry, Diehl and Eola Roads will be closed beginning Monday, April 8, to accommodate utility work being performed by NICOR.
*Find out what neighbors are saying on Facebook.*
The Aurora Branch, between Ferry and Diehl Roads, and the Batavia Spur, between the Aurora Branch and Eola Road, will be closed to all traffic while NICOR maintains and upgrades its gas delivery system located in its right-of-way running along the north side of Interstate 88.
Both the Aurora Branch and the Batavia Spur are anticipated to be closed until October.
A detour will be provided to take trail users of the Aurora Branch and Batavia Spur along Eola and Ferry roads to avoid the utility work and continue along the open sections of both trails. Signs will be placed on the trails to indicate closed sections and available detour routes. To access a map of the detour, visit the DuPage County website
Questions or concerns can be directed to the DuPage County Trail Coordinator at TrailPathCoordinator@dupageco.org or by calling 630-407-6920.
For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us.
Submitted by the city of Naperville Reported by Patch 5 hours ago.
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Psychiatrist warned police a month before the Aurora theater shootings
A detail that would have significantly impacted the gun control debate is finally revealed.
The post Psychiatrist warned police a month before the Aurora theater shootings appeared first on Conservative News, Views & Books. Reported by Human Events 43 minutes ago.
The post Psychiatrist warned police a month before the Aurora theater shootings appeared first on Conservative News, Views & Books. Reported by Human Events 43 minutes ago.
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Fox News Reporter Faces Jail For Doing Her Job On Aurora Shooting
Fox News reporter Jana Winter faces jail for doing her job too well. She's not been accused of any crime, only of protecting the identity of confidential news sources while reporting an important development in a major national story.
A Colorado court has now compounded a pending murder trial with a second legal case, one with profound First Amendment ramifications.
The story started on July 20, 2012, when James Holmes walked into a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in an Aurora, Colo., theater and unleashed a hail of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 58 injured. The horrific shooting spree left the nation stunned and looking for answers. Reported by Huffington Post 11 hours ago.
A Colorado court has now compounded a pending murder trial with a second legal case, one with profound First Amendment ramifications.
The story started on July 20, 2012, when James Holmes walked into a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in an Aurora, Colo., theater and unleashed a hail of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 58 injured. The horrific shooting spree left the nation stunned and looking for answers. Reported by Huffington Post 11 hours ago.
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Virtual Learning Solutions Slams Local School Boards in 1,080-Page Response
Patch Batavia, IL --A question posed at Thursday night's candidate forum in Geneva brought an interesting comment by Geneva School Board President Mark Grosso.
In response to an audience-written query about the proposed Fox Valley K-12 virtual school, Grosso said he found it curious that, for an Internet-based company with experts in the technology field, Virtual Charter Schools was slow and conventional in bringing the proposal forward to local school boards.
"All their communication was by U.S. Mail," he said.
Grosso said he has to vote on the virtual-school issue Monday night and couldn't comment too much, but added "I have some real concerns regarding their accountatiblity."
The comment echoes some of the distrust expressed by school board members and educators in virtually every one of the 18 Fox Valley School Districts that have been identified as potential service areas for the online charter school.
In broad strokes, the charter school would use school district tax dollars to offer online curriculum for families who prefer that medium to the traditional bricks-and-mortar public-school options.
All eight of the Geneva School Board candidates said Thursday night that they would not support this particular online charter-school proposal.
K-12 responded in a sophisticated Internet fashion Friday, when it released via email a 1,080-page PDF document stating its case for the charter option.
The report is attached here, for your light-reading pleasure.
It makes strong, data-supported arguments for online charter schools as well as the performance of the K-12 schools elsewhere in the country. The document, introduced and signed by Virtual Learning Solutions President Sharnell Jackson, takes a few moments to slam what VLS calls "special interest groups"—notably including local school board members—for trying protect their "power base."
From the report:
"The many adult interest groups that live off our public education system are already doing their best to co-opt digital learning for their own ends—and to ensure that nobody uses it to threaten their power, membership, or revenue base. Two such groups are especially powerful players in the politics and policies of public education.
"First are local districts and their school boards, vigorously represented by the National School Board Association (NSBA). This crowd would stifle the openness and global reach of digital learning in the name of district empowerment and local monopoly. According to Ann Flynn, NSBA’s director of education technology, online learning 'should be something that school districts can control.'
"Such a cramped viewpoint has even been adopted by some smart reform thinkers. Writing recently in Education Next, for example, veteran thought leader (and digital-learning advocate) Paul Peterson notes that 'if digital learning is to advance beyond the pilot stage, it needs to work within the current system of public education, not against it.' "
Area school districts are expected to vote on the proposals, starting this week.
**Districts Targeted for a Fox River Valley Region**
1. School District U-46
2. Indian Prairie School District 204
3. Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
4. Community Unit School District 300
5. Valley View Community Unit School District 365U
6. Naperville Community Unit School District 203
7. Oswego Community Unit School District 308
8. East Aurora School District 131
9. St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
10. Community Unit School District 200
11. West Aurora School District 129
12. Batavia Public School District 101
13. Geneva Community Unit School District 304
14. DeKalb Community Unit School District 428
15. Yorkville Community Unit School District 115
16. Kaneland Community Unit School District 302
17. Sycamore Community Unit School District 427
18. Central Community Unit School District 301 Reported by Patch 16 hours ago.
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The Color-Changing iPhone Becomes a Reality
A company named Clear Coat is selling a neat iridescent case for iPhones that not only makes the phone looks great, but also protects it from dings and scratches.A color-changing self-adhesive skin, the Aurora doesn’t actually change its color like a chameleon. Rather, it’s equipped with a palette of futuristic hues which lie underneath a surface that changes your viewing perception every time you twist and turn the handset.The Aurora sells for $35 (€27...
Reported by Softpedia 16 hours ago.
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String of Garage Burglaries Prompts Police Warning
Patch Batavia, IL --
The North Aurora Police Department is alertiing the public to three garage burglaries that occurred overnight (April 4 to April 5, 2013) in the Tanner Trails subdivision while the residents were home.
Two burglaries took place in the 500 block of Kelley Drive, North Aurora, where someone entered through the side garage service door.
In one case, a person or persons used a screwdriver or other tool to force entry, then went into vehicles and stole a purse and a laptop computer. In the other Kelly Drive burglary, entry was made through the unlocked side service door but nothing was stolen.
A third overnight entry took place in the 2800 block of Berman Road, where the offender(s) entered through the unlocked side service door. Nothing was taken in that incident.
In all three burglaries, none of the garage doors had deadbolts and there were no lights on outside the service doors. While the offender(s) made entry into the garages, they did not attempt entry into the residences.
The North Aurora Police Department offers the following suggestions for residents to reduce the chances of becoming a victim:
· Make sure all of your exterior doors, including garage service doors and doors from the garage into the house, are locked with deadbolts every night.
· Keep all of your exterior lights on, including those at the entrances, and keep bushes trimmed low. This makes it easy for your neighbors to see someone lurking around your home and removes easy hiding places for offenders.
· Consider installing window-well covers with cotter pin locks. This not only keeps small children or animals from falling in, but it also keeps offenders out. Cotter pin locks allow you to escape easily (i.e. if there was a fire) but keep an offender from easily getting in your window well, where he can easily hide.
· Consider changing your exterior lights to motion activated lights to reduce energy consumption. Having lights turn on as an offender approaches is probably the best defense to scaring an offender off.
· Remove valuables from your vehicles in your garage and keep them locked.
Police recommend you keep a file with model and serial numbers for your valuables.
"This is very helpful to the investigation if you are ever the victim of a burglary," officer Robyn Stecklein said. "Doing these things will go a long way toward protecting yourself from property crime."
North Aurora residents can schedule a Crime Prevention Survey by contacting officer Stecklein at (630) 897-8705, Ext. 716 or rstecklein@vil.north-aurora.il.us. Reported by Patch 14 hours ago.
The North Aurora Police Department is alertiing the public to three garage burglaries that occurred overnight (April 4 to April 5, 2013) in the Tanner Trails subdivision while the residents were home.
Two burglaries took place in the 500 block of Kelley Drive, North Aurora, where someone entered through the side garage service door.
In one case, a person or persons used a screwdriver or other tool to force entry, then went into vehicles and stole a purse and a laptop computer. In the other Kelly Drive burglary, entry was made through the unlocked side service door but nothing was stolen.
A third overnight entry took place in the 2800 block of Berman Road, where the offender(s) entered through the unlocked side service door. Nothing was taken in that incident.
In all three burglaries, none of the garage doors had deadbolts and there were no lights on outside the service doors. While the offender(s) made entry into the garages, they did not attempt entry into the residences.
The North Aurora Police Department offers the following suggestions for residents to reduce the chances of becoming a victim:
· Make sure all of your exterior doors, including garage service doors and doors from the garage into the house, are locked with deadbolts every night.
· Keep all of your exterior lights on, including those at the entrances, and keep bushes trimmed low. This makes it easy for your neighbors to see someone lurking around your home and removes easy hiding places for offenders.
· Consider installing window-well covers with cotter pin locks. This not only keeps small children or animals from falling in, but it also keeps offenders out. Cotter pin locks allow you to escape easily (i.e. if there was a fire) but keep an offender from easily getting in your window well, where he can easily hide.
· Consider changing your exterior lights to motion activated lights to reduce energy consumption. Having lights turn on as an offender approaches is probably the best defense to scaring an offender off.
· Remove valuables from your vehicles in your garage and keep them locked.
Police recommend you keep a file with model and serial numbers for your valuables.
"This is very helpful to the investigation if you are ever the victim of a burglary," officer Robyn Stecklein said. "Doing these things will go a long way toward protecting yourself from property crime."
North Aurora residents can schedule a Crime Prevention Survey by contacting officer Stecklein at (630) 897-8705, Ext. 716 or rstecklein@vil.north-aurora.il.us. Reported by Patch 14 hours ago.
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Unabomber's Brother, Aurora Massacre Survivor to Speak at 'Living Lessons' Event
Patch Montville, NJ --Some lessons are not learned at a desk or from a book. Some lessons are learned through merely living life.
The Robert R. Lazar School student body will soon be listening to the lessons some have had to learn through trying circumstances during the school's "Living Lessons" event on May 15.
The "Living Lessons" program has garnered national attention in years past for bringing a large group of people who have overcome adversity together under one roof. While "Living Lessons" is bi-annual, nationally-known speakers like David Kaczynski, the brother of "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, have piqued interest even beyond the Lazar School.
David Kaczynski, and many more speakers, will be part of this year's "Living Lessons" program, according to Judy Gothelf, an English teacher at Lazar and organizer of the program. Other speakers include a survivor of the Aurora movie theater shooting, a Columbine shooting survivor, Holocaust survivor, survivors of the World Trade Center bombing, mothers whose sons committed suicide, an anti-bullying advocate, a man who confronted the KKK and more.
"We have about 40-something speakers coming," Gothelf said.
"Living Lessons" was the idea of Gothelf and a former colleague, Joe Keiser, back in 2005. The duo worked to come up with a way to expand education beyond the classroom and teach the students that even some of life's greatest challenges can be overcome.
"Education is very much about going into a classroom and teaching the kids and teaching them lessons of grammar, but I think we have so much more of a responsibility and I think we have to teach the children what the world is like outside of their own little world," she said.
By having people who have faced these situations and forgiven their attackers talk to the students, Gothelf said, students walk away from the presentations with a different perspective on life. The students hear from different presenters based on their age and the appropriateness of the topics they are speaking about, but after the day's events, each student returns to their classroom and writes letters to those they heard from. Students have written in the past about how much they learned from the day and how they plan to respect others in the future.
To bring so many speakers to the school, students and community members help raise money, including during a walk-a-thon. This year's walk-a-thon was held in October and the physical education teachers set up a course in the back of the school. About $15,000 was raised during the walk-a-thon alone.
"It's the community that really pitches in big time," Gothelf said.
The school's PTC and the Montville Education Foundation also contribute, in addition to a grant the school receives from the New Jersey Education Association.
Gothelf thanked the community for their contributions, administrators for supporting the program and other organizers for their assistance. Reported by Patch 8 hours ago.
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Man Caught With Drugs, More Than $10,000 In Cash
Patch Solon, OH --A 44-year-old Willoughby Hills man faces drug charges after police found drugs and a large amount of cash on him during a traffic stop, according to Solon Police.
The man was pulled over March 27 at about noon on Aurora Road after a lane violation. The officer ran the man's information and found that he was wanted on an active felony warrant for dangeorus drugs, according to the police report.
Police searched the car and found marijuana debris in the car and a small bag that contained a grocery bag with several plastic bags with marijuana residue, the police report said.
Also found in the bag was $10,500 in cash separated into smaller bundles.
The passenger, a 19-year-old Cleveland man, was charged with drug abuse and drug paraphernalia.
* * Reported by Patch 5 hours ago.
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