“Doc, I gotta get back to 2013, or else Biff will become Sacramento’s teacher of the year!”
Teachers of tomorrow
The Sacramento County Office of Education knows the future. It must. Earlier this month, it announced the county’s two best teachers of the year—that year being 2014.
Oh, we kid the office. The annual tradition—in which a selection committee names two deserving educators to represent the area on state and, potentially, national stages—is a welcome one. This year’s honorees are Mariemont Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade teacher Deanna Victor (appropriate last name) and Florin High School math teacher Tim Smith.
A news release says they were chosen from a group of 16 area teachers representing 11 school districts.
Victor and Smith will now represent the county in the California Teachers of the Year competition, which selects five winners. Probably through some combination of dodgeball and spelling.
Two Sacramento-area teachers were named to that list in 2011.
Burglary fatigue
Sacramento suffered a burglary mini-spree on Friday, when suspects targeted four homes in the northern part of the city. Police say two unsuccessful break-in attempts late in the morning on Trigo Way and Wheelhouse Avenue appear to be related.
Later that afternoon, two homes were robbed a few miles away, on Azevedo Drive and Northstead Drive. It’s unclear whether those two successful burglaries are connected.
On the bright side, in another part of the city earlier that morning, officers nabbed two bicycling burglary suspects who were thought to have attempted a break-in on 9th Avenue. Police found burglary tools in their possession.
Stacking the deck
The Sacramento Transportation Authority is soliciting big developers for an opening on an oversight committee that helps steer transportation funds from a half-cent sales tax measure known as Measure A. The reasoning is that someone who’s overseen major construction projects can understand “the complexity, costs and implementation issues involved in building large-scale infrastructure improvements,” the STA application states.
It’s not like the area lacks for big developer opinions when it comes to dolling out transportation funds. The other two voting seats on the nine-year-old committee belong to public members with municipal finance and transportation planning experience.
How about considering someone with a sustainable growth record for the four-year appointment?
Applications are due by Monday, Sept. 30, and can be found here.
