~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Los Angeles Times

California Dream Act: Opening college doors

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo's AB 130 would make illegal immigrant students eligible only for private scholarships derived from nonstate funding. The governor should sign it.

July 25, 2011

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) has spent much of his legislative career trying to persuade lawmakers to grant financial help to undocumented immigrant students attending state colleges or universities. Until recently, his proposals stalled. Some opponents argued that extending such benefits would encourage more illegal immigration and displace deserving students who are in the U.S. legally. Others said such efforts would give false hope to students who would be ineligible for jobs once they graduate.

With AB 130, a bill that is part of proposed legislation known as the California Dream Act, Cedillo has addressed those concerns and produced a bill worthy of adoption. It has passed both houses of the Legislature, and Gov. Jerry Brown should make it law.

The measure would make illegal immigrant students eligible only for private scholarships derived from nonstate funding. State and federal financial assistance would remain off-limits. In practical terms, it would mean that those students who already qualify for in-state tuition under a 2001 state law could apply for private funds donated to schools. Currently, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for any financial help, including private scholarships. Last year, the University of California awarded more than $45 million in undergraduate scholarships funded by donor-provided gifts and endowments.

California's public colleges and universities and the students who depend on them have struggled along with the rest of the state in this slow emergence from recession. The UC's are accepting more foreign and out-of-state students to help offset budget cuts. And students have faced tuition increases, larger classes, and such limited choices that many can't graduate from community colleges in just two years.

AB 130 won't alleviate the crisis, but it will crack open a window of opportunity for those students who, through no fault of their own, were brought here illegally, who studied hard and earned a spot in a college or university but now can't afford it.

Some will object to granting illegal immigrants benefits that they believe should be reserved for legal residents. But barring undocumented immigrants from receiving private scholarships is both hard-hearted social policy and foolish economics. Society already has invested in these students. Most of them graduated from public schools. And few are likely to return to a country they have no memory of. As long as they are here, it is just as much in society's interests as it is in theirs that they be productive, taxpaying workers with solid educational credentials.

Only Congress can resolve the immigration issues confronting these young people; it can and should adopt legislation to allow those who came as children or served in the military to legalize their status and participate in the economy. But it's unclear whether Washington has the political courage to take on the issue anytime soon.

Until then, Cedillo's bill is good for the state's long-term health. It does no one any good to raise a permanent underclass of immigrants who aspire to succeed, only to confront educational rules that make that harder rather than easier.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-dream-20110725,0,2258286,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Google News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hartford, CT Boasts Public Safety Response & Gun Crime Intelligence with ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection & Location Service

Hartford Reinforces its Commitment to Public Safety and Reduction and Prevention of Gun and Other Related Crimes

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The City of Hartford, CT, is partnering with ShotSpotter, Inc., the market leader and innovator in wide-area acoustic surveillance and gunshot location and detection technology, to provide the ShotSpotter® Gunshot Location Service to the city. The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Service delivers real-time and immediate gunshot location data, giving officers improved situational intelligence that heightens first responder safety and enables accurate decisions for emergency response. The ShotSpotter gunfire alert data also helps improve incident response and management and provides additional forensic evidence for investigations and analysis.

“Reducing gun crime and associated violence is a top priority for the City of Hartford and our department”

City of Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra recently announced the reinstatement of the Shooting Task Force along with the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Service as two significant actions designed to combat the recent rash of gun violence in Connecticut's Capital City. The emphasis on public safety and security in Hartford is a collaborative effort of the Mayor's Office, Hartford Police Department, the Chief State's Attorney's Office, and state and federal agencies.

“The safety of Hartford's residents and communities is a major imperative of my administration. It's essential to having quality of life and vitality in our city,” said Mayor Segarra. “Let this be a clear message to those who engage in illegal gunfire: the ShotSpotter technology will alert us to when and precisely where a gun is fired, and we will investigate and prosecute all incidents to the fullest extent of the law. Along with our other partner agencies, we are working to reduce and prevent gun violence and its negative impact to our communities.”

The Shooting Task Force will be composed of the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, the Connecticut State Police, the Department of Correction and the East Hartford, Manchester and West Hartford police departments. It will work with the Violent Crimes Bureau and the Witness Protection Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and in conjunction with the Central Connecticut Cold Case Task Force.

“Reducing gun crime and associated violence is a top priority for the City of Hartford and our department,” said Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts. “By detecting and tracking gunfire as it happens, this technology will add valuable information to our continued community policing efforts and will allow us to respond faster to incidents of gunfire, further improve our presence within our community, and help diminish gunfire and deter illegal gun use. The gunshot data provided by ShotSpotter will be extremely helpful in our investigative and forensic analysis work as well as help support prosecution of illegal gunfire cases.”

“We're delighted to support the City of Hartford on this important community policing and public safety initiative,” said Ralph A. Clark, president and CEO of ShotSpotter. “Hartford and the State of Connecticut's political and public safety leadership have commendably taken an aggressive approach to reducing illegal gun use and improving community safety. We are proud to be assisting the City and its police force by delivering a solution that will help them combat gun crime and violence and improve the quality of life within their community.”

Located in central Connecticut, the City of Hartford covers over 18 square miles and has a population of more than 124,000 residents.

About ShotSpotter

ShotSpotter Inc. is the leading developer of wide-area acoustic surveillance systems for gunfire and explosive events. Its technology solutions are focused on improving public and community safety by locating gunshots and other explosive events, and ultimately, helping reduce and prevent violent gun crime and improving intelligence-led policing and community policing initiatives. Its flagship product, the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Service ® , pioneered the use of wide-area acoustic surveillance coupled with audio analytics for public safety, homeland security, and military applications. For over a decade, public safety agencies have relied on ShotSpotter solutions to provide them with real-time and precise event detection and actionable intelligence to aid their proactive anti-crime strategies and operations. ShotSpotter solutions protect many cities and counties nationwide, enabling law enforcement to respond more quickly, safely, precisely and consistently to gunfire. ShotSpotter possesses a multitude of patents that are the result of nearly two decades of innovation in the area of acoustic gunshot location technology. Its solutions are protected by many existing patents and pending patents. Information about ShotSpotter can be found at www.shotspotter.com. For ongoing news, please visit http://www.shotspotter.com/news/index.html.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110725005831/en/Hartford-CT-Boasts-Public-Safety-Response-Gun

.