california – Page 2

Analysis, Education, Internet, Latest Trend

California universities are aggressively expanding online courses

April 16, 2013

The online education movement is transforming physical colleges at a fast pace.

The California State University system is the largest university system in America and they are aggressively expanding its experimental foray into Massive Online Open Learning (MOOCs), based on an unusually promising pilot course. They will offer a special “flipped” version of an electrical engineering course at 11 more universities, where students watch online lectures from Harvard and MIT at home, while class time is devoted to hands-on problem solving. A San Jose State University pilot found that the flipped class increased pass rates a whopping 46%, which university President Mohammad Qayoumi believes is enough to move full-steam ahead.

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Business, Economy, government, Science & Technology News

Recently bankrupt Vallejo, California is now a model for other U.S. cities

May 24, 2012

Vallejo, CA became the largest city in America to declare bankruptcy in 2008.

The working-class port city of Vallejo, California became the largest city in America to declare bankruptcy in 2008. Crime and prostitution surged as the police force was thinned by 40 percent. Firehouses were shuttered, and funding for libraries and senior centers was slashed. Foreclosures multiplied and home prices plummeted.

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Analysis

US Gov wants to spread the wealth with open competition for $200M in early stage investment

May 3, 2012

The Obama Administration’s plan to spread the country’s wealth around has made its way to struggling technology entrepreneurs. This past Tuesday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) began accepting applications for the $200 Million “Early Stage Innovation Fund.” The new fund will allow venture funds to augment privately raised capitol with a grant up to a 1-to-1 match, to be used for early stage investments (around the $1-to-$4 million range).

The program is an extension of the Administration’s StartUp America campaign to catalyze job growth through the engine of small business entrepreneurs. Most importantly, according to Sean Greene, a Special Advisor for Innovation at the SBA, the new fund will inject much-needed capitol in to what the Administration feels are underfunded areas outside of the typical startup zones (i.e. California and Massachusetts)…

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Great New Product, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Police in California using computers to predict future crimes

August 21, 2011

The Santa Cruz police department doesn’t utilize mutant precogs but a computer program that can predict when and where crimes will occur.

The police force in Santa Cruz, California is performing a little experiment. They are using computer programs to predict where crimes will occur, and then sending officers to those areas before any crimes are reported, just like in Minority Report.

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Current Events, government, Green Friendly, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

DOE Awards $2 Billion loans to double concentrating Solar Capacity in the US

June 18, 2011

Solar power just got a boost.

Google isn’t the only one investing in solar power. The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced new conditional loan guarantees that should inject about $2 billion into two large-scale solar thermal projects…

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Business, government, Science & Technology News

California To Be First U.S. State to Ban Styrofoam Containers

June 6, 2011

Styrofoam takes forever to biodegrade, it clogs up waterways, and wildlife mistake it for food and ingest it.

The state Senate in California just voted to ban the sale of Styrofoam containers. Restaurants and shops would be banned from distributing food in foam containers. Californian’s takeout and sodas will have to be sold in more sustainable, or ideally, reusable containers. Some 50 municipalities in the state have already enacted such bans. If the measure passes the state Assembly, it will make California the first in the nation to ban styrofoam.

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Analysis, Hot Issues, Latest Trend

Anger Swells Over Lifeguards’ High Pay in California Beach City

May 22, 2011

Some lifeguards’ salaries, benefits and overtime pay topped $200,000.

When Aurora Toussaint takes her disabled son to the sun-kissed beaches of Newport Beach, California she knows that the lifeguards who watch from their towers will be there in seconds should anything go wrong.

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Crazy Stuff, Science & Technology News

What Makes the Rocks Move in Death Valley When No One is Looking?

March 4, 2013

Long trails showing rocks’ movement make phenomenon all the stranger.

Unforgiving sun, punishingly hot days, freezing nights, no water, and a name like Death Valley keep people away from this ultra-dry section of California. Those who do venture there notice that sometimes, in some places, rocks just move. They don’t do it a lot, and they never do it when anyone is watching. Make no mistake, though, they do it. They leave behind long, even grooves in the packed dust to prove it.

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