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Children's reading levels in California fall short of expectations. The proposed solution for this is to alter how children are taught to read. The current approach to learning is known as "balanced literacy." The suggested method of teaching reading is known as "structured literacy." The proposed method of instruction has a disadvantage of requiring extra teacher training. Teachers' objection to this kind of instruction is an additional issue. This curriculum will also send a significant number of English language learners to special education. An amenity that these students might not require. Additionally, this kind of instruction falls short of fully transmitting reading instruction. Also, a necessary dyslexia assessment is part of it. This attracts me because one in five people suffer with dyslexia. This will give schools information on how to approach teaching particular people and children.  Teaching phonics is the main focus of structured literacy. The only issue is that teaching phonics in excess leaves insufficient time for reading instruction. My definition of "reading" centers on understanding how to read punctuation. I believe that we should combine the proposed and present teaching methods more effectively.

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In my article, there is a guide to all things gambling including sports betting in California. This isn't too much of a widespread issue but it is still very much important in terms of California's financials and its issues. California is the nations biggest gambling state outside of Nevada. It brings in some of the biggest revenue for taxes every year and mainly due to the state's tribal casinos.  While it is a huge pro to keep these casinos running for revenue, it also harms the state with gambling addiction. Many people fall into harsh debt and even homelessness because of a lack of control in gambling. This one hits close to home with me because I know a lot of family members who have struggled with gambling addiction. So for me, I really don't like gambling, I understand that is very crucial to the state's economy but too many people fall into a horrible state of mind and keep digging a hole of debt that they will never recover from no matter how much they win back.

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I chose an article about families that have had relatives die because of police violence should have funeral costs covered. Many people have lost a loved one due to police violence and people belived that they shouldn't have to suffer or worry about funeral costs and they should be paid for by the state's victim Compensation Board. The pro's of this would be that families wouldn't have to stress over expenses after losing a loved one in such a traumatic and heartbreaking way since they would have the crime that their family faced payed for. The con would be that many people don't belive that they should get the funeral payed for.

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I chose an article talking about firefighters mental health. This article revealed how overwork and distress from intensifying wildfires have left Cal Fire crews with increasing PTSD, suicidal thoughts and other mental health problems. Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler told CalMatters that the department faced a mental health crisis and called it his top priority.

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I chose to read this article because it talked about medicine and I got interested in it because I want to be a nurse when I am older.
CONS
Children will refuse to take medicine because of the way it tastes which will cause difficulty for parents who want their child to feel better when they are sick.
PROS
Money will be saved since adding flavor costs more money

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Undocumented students qualify for financial aid in California. Why aren’t more of them using it?

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Undocumented students qualify for financial aid in California. Why aren’t more of them using it?

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The article I ended up reading was about how undocumented  people in California have access to things like scholarships and finacial aid to get into UCs or CSUs in the state of California but only as little as 14% are taking advantage of this program.

PROS:
- allows undocumented people to pursue an education and make it in the American Dream
- allows for new opportunities
- eliminates the stigma of undocumented people not being able to apply to college due to circumstances
CONS:
- many undocumented people dont know the process of financial aid because theyve never had family members apply for college
- the stigma of only being limited to certain things
- verifying eligability for scholarships and financial aid for college education
My thoughts on this is that many high school advisers should start promoting this because I know many undocumented people can benefit from this and are going to be able to pursue an education without having that restriction of being undocumented. The fact that CA is giving out money to make those pursue a college education is very good its just that they have to promote it more in order for people to benefit from it.

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Exhausted teens need sleep, later school start times

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Exhausted teens need sleep, later school start times

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I chose to read the article titled ¨ Exhausted teens need sleep, later school start times.¨
Pros of the article: The article explains that teens suffered tremendously during the pandemic, and that with depression and suicide rates spiking, it has never been more important to ensure teenagers are getting enough sleep to help improve mental health. The article also explains that sleep is foundational for your health, and it understands that sleep loss is especially harmful to adolescents, causing higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, obesity, and car crashes.
Cons: The article seems to be discussing why sleep is important, but does not mention how or what they are going to do to fix this problem.
Where do I stand? I agree with pretty much everything in this article. Since I am a teenager, I agree that it is important for students to get sleep if teachers are continuing to pile on homework.

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California prisoners depended on community colleges. What happens when their prisons close?

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California prisoners depended on community colleges. What happens when their prisons close?

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I picked this story because the main focus is on prisoners. I am doing a research project on how prisoners should be treated in english class. Reading this article will benefit me in the next couple weeks. Some pros and cons of this issue is closing these prisons can be pros on the economic side because California get to save money on what is not being used. Some cons are that the people who attend the community college and go to prison, their education becomes disrupted because they end up in a whole entire different prison and not able to attend their school. I stand with the shutting down prisons because these prisoners can still being going to community college if they did not break the law. At the end of the day they are in their for a bad reason.

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The story I chose is called "Firefighters’ mental health is at risk. A California bill could help". This story talks about how firefighters are constantly under pressure due to the constant fires in California. It writes how some of this stress can be lessened if a California bill is passed. The California bill in question would expand workers' compensation coverage for California first responders that suffer from PTSD.
Pros: First responders would be able to get the proper help and treatment they need in return for protecting the people.
Cons: I do not see any cons that stick out, but one I would say is a con is that some firefighters could lose their jobs if they are unable to recover and do their job again.

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I chose an article on mental help for fist responders. The pros about this law passing in order for fist responders are them being able to receive help with ptsd and any other form of trauma that they have while being on the job. I believe that this system truly will help improve the life of those who are in traumatic working fields but also those receiving the help from first responders. this law also ensures that first reponders have any medical bill covered when the incited happened on duty. the negative side to this is many workers can easily take advantage of this system and the laws in place to protect them. Mental and physical health is a huge topic that first responders deal with and ensuring that their are good all around before they help others is important; however, this can also lead to many people becoming reliant on the resources that are available to them. in all i do think this system is useful and helpful to the community.

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Facing California deadlines, automakers race to produce electric cars

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Facing California deadlines, automakers race to produce electric cars

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I picked the article discussing how car manufacturers have to increase the production of electric cars due to the California mandate to end the selling of new gasoline-powered vehicles soon.
Pros- Forces sellers and consumers to make a ¨cleaner¨ choice when picking/creating a vehicle.
Cons- Takes away consumer options, electric vehicles tend to be more expensive, and don't take into consideration the benefits of gas-powered cars.

While this is a step in the right direction
I don't believe this is the most effective way to reduce gas consumption. We should target the huge corporations that produce more emissions than vehicles and make sure our power grid can handle the amount of energy needed for electric vehicles.

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The story I chose is "Your guide to sports betting and everything else to know about gambling in California" and it talks about the legalization of multiple betting methods and on the effects betting could have on people
Pros: It shows people what could happen to them if they start betting a lot. It gives people who are addicted to gambling options on what to do to stop their addiction
Cons: It shows popular betting sites and on what you could bet on, encouraging others to start betting.
I don't believe that California being the 2nd most betting state in the US is not a huge problem but it should be made harder for young people to gamble or to gamble huge amounts of money, especially online.

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The story I chose was why the ‘science of reading’ may be the next dyslexia battleground. It provided a solution by testing students and children on their reading and literary skills. The testing would discover who has dyslexia and would allow them to get the proper help they need to better their education. Students are currently reading at a lower level and this could help solve that issue. Another issue that has occured is that teachers and educators were not properly trained on how to teach children how to read. Teachers would need to take more training in order to provide for those kids.

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I read the article about the importance of first responders specifically firefighters and their mental health. Cal fire officials call a mental health crisis in which many first responders struggle with overwork and stress in recent years as wildfires have increased, with this PTSD in firefighters has also increased. State initiatives passed a bill that would cover first responders coverage compensation. The con of this is workers fear that with them expressing their mental state they will lose their job. The pro is legislate encourages that their jobs are not threatened. Another con of this bill is there is not enough treatment centers for mental health. A second Pro of this bill is officials recognize the importance of work hours and will decrease the amount allowing for them to have more time. I stand with this bill because mental health is highly important and can save as many lives.

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I chose an article discussing the flavoring of medicine intended for children, and how it may not be happening much anymore. I don't really see any Pros in this issue, only ones which will benefit Pharmaceutical companies. They want to stop flavoring medicine in order to basically save money, as it is an extra step in the manufacturing of children's medicine. There are many cons of this issue, but most importantly, this will complicate medicating young children, and can lead to avoidable complications of common sicknesses. I believe the new rules regarding the manufacturing of flavored medicine should be revised in order to continue this practice. Children should continue to have access to easy methods of medication.

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Black women in California need more than short-term solutions for maternal health disparities

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Black women in California need more than short-term solutions for maternal health disparities

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The article I picked was "Black Women in California need more than short-term solutions for maternal health disparities" In summary, this article states that despite various investments and political action, maternal death rates have climbed recently, especially for Black women. California passed a law in 2021 to confront racial disparities in maternal and infant health, but advocates for this cause say there needs to be mechanisms for transparency, accountability, and deeper investment. This article is from the perspective of a Black Woman who has experienced this firsthand when giving birth to her daughter. The woman had a C-section, and without the proper care from her doctors, she got an infection causing her to stay in the hospital away from her newborn for about a week. The pros of this article are that it brings awareness to the community and the issues in the healthcare system. The cons are that Black women reported higher-than-average experiences of mistreatment, such as being shouted at and scolded, and having requests for help ignored or refused. I think that this issue is extremely important and that discrimination in the healthcare system is something that needs to be fixed immensely.

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Facing California deadlines, automakers race to produce electric cars by Nadia Lopez

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Facing California deadlines, automakers race to produce electric cars by Nadia Lopez

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I chose this story because the whole thing about how California will ban fossil fuel cars in the coming decades interests me. Pros: Replacing gas-powered cars will definitely reduce the amount of overall fossil fuel emissions produced in California, as about half of all fossil fuel emissions are due to gas-powered vehicles. It will also contribute to the possible green future of the world and try to save the world from climate change and the effects of it. It will also encourage other states and possibly even countries to start incorporating more green technology into their economy. Cons: I think it is a little much to expect everyone in California to buy a newly built electric vehicle, and pay the funds to maintain it all before the deadline, if you will, of the all electric-vehicle thing. Not everyone living in California can afford this type of technology at the moment, or even in the coming decades. I just think the idea is a little unrealistic, unless funds are cut back so that people can actually afford them. Along with people unable to afford them, this will drive gas and diesel companies out of business. In my opinion, this is not entirely a bad thing, but for the owners and the ones who run the company and make their income off it, it is. Another con would be sort of a debate: Are electric powered vehicles really better than gas-powered vehicles? We talk all the time about how gas-powered vehicles are bad for the environment while electric powered vehicles aren't, but is that really true? Yes, gas-powered vehicles emit fossil fuels into the atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse effect and speeding up climate change, but since electric-powered vehicles contain a battery that will eventually die, unable to be charged anymore and need to be thrown out, is it any better? I feel that electric-powered cars are probably better than gas-powered, but I feel that technology needs to create a better battery that doesn't die out. I'm not a scientist, and I don't know how to create batteries, but I feel like we must find an alternative to these disposable ones that just ruin the environment and takes centuries to decompose. Perhaps a new type of battery that doesn't take so long to decompose can be created, along with it being solar-powered. I feel that solar power might be the best alternative to powering vehicles, since the sun's energy is pretty much endless.

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I chose a story about how firefighters should get the help they need because of the amount of trauma and ptsd they face. The bill would extend by 7 years a provision in existing state law that says PTSD qualifies as an occupational illness that is covered by workers' comp for firefighters, police and other first responders. The amount of suicides that cal fire does not track is a problem because many firefighters have described their trauma in deep detail. The stress they receive from long hours at work trigger drug-use and drinking problems that cause mental and physical health problems. The cons to this is that facing issues that include first responders are difficult to legislate. Many say psychological problems are very difficult to diagnose and how to find them are very tricky to pinpoint. "Extending coverage of presumptive injuries would likely result in increased workers compensation costs. The magnitude is unknown."

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I picked a story talking about the financial difficulties of hospitals that are occurring due to the long lasting side effects of the pandemic, and how many legislator and hospital administrators have acknowledged that a loan program would benefit the hospitals. The pros of this program is that it'll stop the closing of local hospitals and be able to help nonprofit and public hospitals, and keep their doors open. The cons is that it would require a lot of the state's help to be able to come up with the funds to keep the hospitals open. I stand with the loan program, because healthcare workers have declined since the pandemic while people are still getting sick, and I want everyone to have access to get treatment for their medical issues, because if we don't help, their soon won't even be hospitals to treat our needs.

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I picked a story about Black Women in California needing more than short-term solutions for maternal health problems. This story mentioned how maternal death rates have climbed in recent years, especially for black women. California passed a law in 2021 to confront racial disparities in maternal and infant health. Cons in this issue are some mothers are angry, failing black mothers, women are grieved, frustrated, and confused. Pros is that woman have picked up the pieces and bridged the gaps in the aftermath of community trauma, provides sustained resources, holding health care systems accountable for the quality of care delivered, and developing solutions that incorporate both measurability and accountability. I agree that black women do need more than short-term solutions for maternal health disparities because I believe white women have everything the need, just because a woman is black doesn't mean that they get less care then white women.

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Extra pay could lure experienced teachers to poorer schools. Why California won’t do it.

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Extra pay could lure experienced teachers to poorer schools. Why California won’t do it.

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I picked this story, because teachers are very underpaid and I wanted to know why California won't allow the better teachers to thrive for that higher paycheck. The pros of experienced teachers moving to poorer schools is the lower-income household children are going to become better educated. The cons of this is the higher income schools are losing the benefits of a positive teacher. Which could allow poorer teachers to come in and change the whole process of trying to get those kids somewhere like Harvard. I think teachers should go to where they think it would be the best for themselves and children. Giving the lower-income children a better chance at being financially stable in the future.

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I picked a story about Reparations panel recommends possible millions for eligible Black Californians.To sum this article up the goverment wants to give reperation money to black Californians due to slavery back in the day.The pros of this reperations pannel is that Black Californians are finally getting justice for what their anncestors expirenced.A con of this is that this reperation could put California in alot of debt.

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My topic is about how California is losing it's population as house prices continue to increase.

Pros:
- California added 123,350 additional houses to it's housing stock
- There are 3,770 residential units per 10,00 0 people, the most it has been since 1991

Cons:
- Median price for a single family home in the state is $791,490, which is more than twice of the national median
- The state still needs to build an additional 220,000 units to meet the needs for the population
- The number of each Californians in a house reached a record low this year at 2.77
- Nearly 8 million ex-Californian residents left the state within the past decade due to the high housing prices
- Median price for a home increased by 44% during COVID, peaking at $900,170

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I picked an article about how California is backing away from mandating children from receiving COVID vaccines. A vaccine mandate for children shouldn't have been a requirement to begin with. In my opinion, it doesn't seem like a fair decision to force children to get injected with a vaccine. Adults mandates are a different discussion, but when it comes to children, it doesn't seem right. It should be a decision made by the child and their parents, not by the state. Some pros of this are that children will now have the choice about receiving a vaccine, and that they have the freedom to rightfully make a thought out decision. Some cons are that some children who might possibly benefit from the vaccine won't receive it due to their decision, but that decision is completely their own to make.

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I picked an article about why abused children in CA foster care shouldn't be imprisoned for self-defense. The pros of his would-be that instead of condemning child victims to lengthy prison terms, they will remain in the juvenile system to receive treatment and services. I believe they shouldn't be imprisoned because there were no cons to this. If the bill to protect these kids is passed, they'll receive the proper care their guardians didn't provide them within the first case.

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The topic I chose is about how all cars must be made electric by 2035, which is becoming increasingly near, and how it affects the auto industry. To begin with, there are many pros and cons to electric vehicles and their environmental impact. This article introduces another "con" to the list, being that many companies trying to make the quick and drastic change are struggling due to labor and supply chain issues. The companies that aren't making the changes as fast are still experiencing low sales with their all-electric vehicles, creating a "go big or go home" scenario in order to remain in the market. This caused a huge shift in the demand for the raw materials required to make batteries, and requires the workforce of the auto industry to be retrained in order to be able to make the different structure of electric vehicles. I think more time needs to be given to the auto industry in order to help it adapt to EV goals more smoothly. Just a few more years could help he industry make safe, affordable, and reliable cars in a comfortable manner.

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Why the ‘science of reading’ may be the next dyslexia battleground

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Why the ‘science of reading’ may be the next dyslexia battleground

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In California children reading levels are below standard meets. The proposed solution to this is changing the way to teach kids how to read. Currently, the curricula used to teach is called "balanced literacy." The proposed way to teach reading is called "structured literacy." The problem with the proposed way to teach is it will require more training for the teachers. Another problem is that teachers are opposed to this way of teaching. This curriculum also will put a large amount of english learners into special education. An amenity that may not be needed for these students. This way of teaching also does not reach the full extent of actually teaching reading. It also includes a required screening for dyslexia. I like this because 1 in 5 people are affected by dyslexia. This will help inform schools on how to approach the way to teach certain people and students.  Structured literacy focuses on teaching phonics. The only problem is too much teaching of phonics does not leave a large enough amount of time to focus on reading. What I mean by "reading" is focusing on how to read punctuation. I think we should just do a better job at combining the current way to teach and the proposed way to teach.

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The story I chose is how California wants to increase pay for some Medi-Cal providers. Pros-20 percent of patients are covered by Medi-Cal; helps more than 15 million Californians;  looking for a newly proposed pay boost for primary care-providers;tax will go from 80 percent to 75 percent in the next year; medi-care is becoming the standard for elderly care in California; the amount of patients entering this care system is gradually increasing over time
Cons-the state isnt yet fully supporting medi-care yet
I stand with medi-care, its a good service for people and it helps with health.

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I picked a story about reparations for black people in CA. Pros: African-Americans getting money the government promised them a very long time ago
Cons: The money is coming from CA. This is a con because CA was not a slave state and should not have to pay for what other states have done. I also do not know where CA is getting this money to pay for reparations. I guess I stand on the side where reparations are paid because I think it is good for people to be true to their word and it can benefit those in need, considering most of the homeless population in SF is black.

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The topic I chose discussed the current writers' strike happening in Hollywood. The article also mentioned the strike that happened involving the staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District. It compared the responses from the government as well as the media towards these two strikes. The school district union strike got resolved in a matter of a few days while the writers' strike is still ongoing since the beginning of the month of May. I understand why the first strike was resolved so quickly as it affected the education of the future decision makers and there was this pressure from parents to resolve the issue. I also understand why it is important to resolve the writers' strike as it affects both the local and the national economy. The feeling I am getting from this article is that one strike was treated as more important than the other. I do not want to say one is more important than the other as both have disastrous consequences. What I know is that the Writers' Strike needs to be settled soon before the consequences start to go to full effect.

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I picked a story talking about the state passing something to help firefighters with their mental health. Pros: Supporting firefighters mental health is crucial and very important they endure incredibly challenging and traumatic situations. By having legislation specifically addressing their mental well-being, we acknowledge the toll their work takes on their psychological state. This recognition can lead to increased resources, funding, and support systems for firefighters, ensuring they receive the help they need. Cons: Some might argue that legislation focusing solely on firefighters' mental health is unfair or exclusive, as there are other professions that also face significant stress and trauma. Critics might question why firefighters should receive specialized attention while other essential workers might be left out. I think they're doing the right thing and it's very important to give firefighters the resources they need. Many firefighters see a lot of traumatizing things on a daily basis, so for the state to recognize that it's a step in the right direction.

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The story/topic I chose is Firefighters’ mental health is at risk. A California bill could help. Pros of this topic are that first responder will receive a bill expanding first responders’ access to workers’ comp for PTSD. The cons of this topic are that not all workers can get help because they need to be diagnosed and some cannot be diagnosed. I think California should extend a bill because first responders do not get much for their mental health.