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Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – The impasse over extending taxes continues in California despite a revised budget plan from Gov. Jerry Brown that relies on an unanticipated rise in revenue. Republicans have insisted on an alternative plan that would cut compensation for state workers by 10 percent.

The updated budget takes into account a current-year tax revenue increase of $2.8 billion and a budget year earnings boost of $3.5 billion, for a total adjusted revenue of $6.6 billion.

The windfall, combined with steps already implemented by Brown since taking office, has reduced the state’s deficit from $26.6 billion to $9.6 billion, which consists of a current shortfall of $4.8 billion and another $4.8 billion in the fiscal year starting this July.

Brown’s previous budget plan reduced spending by $12.5 billion and relied on revenue of $12 billion from extending taxes. His new budget cuts spending by $11.2 billion because of an increase in funds for public schools by $3 billion.

Additional cost-cutting measures such as the elimination of 43 boards and commissions, as well as more than 5,000 state jobs, compensates for a revenue package that has failed to attract support from Republicans.

Brown, who assumed office in January having served two terms as governor three decades ago, has dropped his plan to raise the personal income tax. Under his revised plan, Californians will pay $2 billion less in income taxes compared to his initial proposal. However, he is still seeking to extend the sales tax and vehicle license fee for five years through a ballot.

The tax package represents 42 percent of the revised plan, while spending cuts account for 48 percent. Cuts include previously announced measures such as the closure of 70 parks to save $11 million in the first year, a hiring freeze and the halving of the number of state cars and cell phones.

The ballot for the tax extensions must first be approved by two Republicans from the Assembly and two Republicans from the state Senate.

Republicans rejected the governor’s revised plan and accused him of “fund[ing] bigger government.”

“Assembly Republicans showed that we can protect funding for the classroom and law enforcement without raising taxes,” Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway said in a statement. ” We call upon the governor to stop trying to raise people’s taxes and start working across party lines on a no-tax increase budget compromise.”

State GOP Chair Tom Del Beccaro added, “The bottom line is that Brown’s demand to increase spending while we have a deficit means that he still doesn’t understand that we can no longer spend beyond our means.”

The statemate with Republicans occurred in March when the governor suspended negotiations over what he said were “an ever changing list of collateral demands” in return for support for a special election, such as giving a $1 billion tax break to out-of-state corporations so the companies would bring jobs to California.

The alternative GOP budget plan relies on the higher April revenue to prevent cuts to education and law enforcement. It does not raise taxes and calls on state workers to “do their part” with a 10 percent reduction in pay, benefits and other employee costs, which Republicans say would provide the government with $1.1 billion in savings.

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Shelton, CT, United States (AHN) – A Connecticut honors student who was banned from his high school prom after a creative proposal backfired has had the ban reversed.

The incident sparked hundreds of thousands of people to post support notes on Facebook and the matter garnered more than 10,000 tweets on Twitter. The incident also sparked a national debate as it made headlines around the world.

As of this morning, the Facebook page for “Let James Tate Go To Prom” was “liked” by more than 195,000 people, and another page selling Tate-for-prom-king-type T-shirts is growing.

Finally, officials at Shelton High backed down from their hard-line stance against James Tate.

After nearly a week of international pressure, on Saturday Beth Smith, the headmaster of the public high school, gave in to what she called “international notoriety” and reversed the school’s decision, allowing Tate to take his date, Sonali Rodrigues, to the prom.

Tate a senior, was banned from the prom by school administrators after he posted cardboard letters on the side of the school that read, “Sonali Rodrigues Will You Go To Prom With Me? HMU [Hit Me Up] – Tate.”

His school considered the move a safety risk and trespassing. The school has a policy that anyone suspended after April 1 isn’t allowed to attend special events.

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Canal Winchester, OH, United States (AHN) – Two Ohio boys were kicked off the school bus for passing gas and being a disruption.

The incident happened on Thursday and according to one of the boys’ father caused riders to laugh, heckle and of course roll their windows down.

James Nichols in a report with the Columbus Dispatch said they boys were considered repeat offenders because a driver had warned them after a similar indiscretion weeks ago.

However this time officials at Canal Winchester Middle School intervened and deemed it was an obscene gesture that violated the student code of conduct. They were banned for a day from riding.

Nichols on the other hand calls the whole thing “laughable” the kids would be subject to disciplinary action for something natural and unintentional. His wife who was recently hospitalized with gastro-intestinal issues was offended by the whole thing.

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Shelton, CT, United States (AHN) – A high schooler’s prom date request has led him to be suspended and, even though the girl said yes, he’s not allowed at prom.

James Tate was suspended from Shelton High School for hanging 12-inch cardboard letters on the outside façade of the school asking classmate Sonali Rodrigues to be his prom date.

The message read, “Sonali Rodrigues, Will you go to prom with me? HMU [Hit Me Up] Tate.”

His school considered the move a safety risk and trespassing.

The school has a policy that anyone suspended after April 1 isn’t allowed to attend special events.

Tate said he took every precaution when he posted the message early Friday, sometime between 1 and 3 a.m.

“I had one friend hold the ladder while the other put double-sided tape on the letters,” he told the Connecticut Post. Tate also said he wore a helmet.

As for the claim that he trespassed on school grounds, he said he didn’t enter the school at all. While the front gates to the school were locked, Tate said he and his friends were able to get onto the grounds on a footpath.

Despite breaking the school’s rule, he’s garnered tremendous support. Even the mayor and the Connecticut governor say the case should get a second look.

However, the principal isn’t budging. Dr. Beth Smith is unrelenting in her decision. That has garnered Smith a lot of criticism for her decision to ban James from the dance. More than 130,000 followers voiced their displeasure on a Facebook page called “Let James Tate Go To the Prom.”

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San Francisco, CA, United States (AHN) – A British beautician has sparked the ire of parents on both sides of the Atlantic after revealing she injects Botox into her 8-year-old daughter’s face every three months. The reason– so the child can be a “star.”

In a report in the Sun of London she said, “I wish that I’d had the same advantages when I was younger.”

“I know one day she will be a model, actress, or singer, and having these treatments will ensure she stays looking baby-faced for longer,” added Campbell, who now resides in San Francisco.

Campbell admitted she purchases Botox and Restalyne over the Internet and first tests them on herself before injecting them into her daughter.

Kerry also gives her daughter regular full-body waxes. “She also has her virgin wax monthly, which gets rid of her fluffy leg hair and makes sure she won’t develop pubic hair in the future,” said Kerry. “It will save her a fortune in waxing when she’s older.”

Despite experts warning that Botox is only considered safe for adults there currently aren’t any laws stating that it is illegal to inject it into children.

Britney Campbell who frequently competes in beauty pageants said that she no longer “cries that much” during the injections. She also hopes to get a “boob and nose job soon, so that I can be a star.”

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San Jose, CA, United States (AHN) – Three people, including the alleged gunman, died Tuesday night in a shooting at San Jose State University.

According to KTVU, two people were killed when a man opened fire inside the university parking garage. The man was injured and brought to a hospital. School officials believe the attack was not random and involved only the three people.

The California Beat reported that the suspected shooter later died of a gunshot wound. Police have not released information on whether the victims or the gunman were students.

A spokesman for the university, the state’s oldest public institution of higher learning, told CNN that identities of three people would be released after autopsies are conducted.

The fifth floor of the parking garage was closed after the incident. The garage was scheduled to open for regular operations Wednesday morning.

The university has encouraged students affected by the shooting to consider in-campus counseling services. A number of students said in response on a Facebook page that the university’s alert system failed to inform them of the situation.

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Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – Teachers in the Golden State began a week-long effort on Monday to urge lawmakers to prevent more education cuts by extending current taxes.

Members of the 325,000-strong California Teachers Association and other allied groups gathered at the Crest Theatre at the state capitol to protest an all-cuts budget that has resulted from an impasse between the governor and Republican lawmakers.

The protests under a campaign called “state of emergency” are scheduled to continue the rest of the week.

Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a budget reducing spending by $12 billion to plug a record $26.6 billion deficit. His proposal includes a $1.4 billion cut to higher education, and requires a June ballot to extend taxes expiring this summer.

The tax extensions are the main source of revenue in the proposal, and would prevent further cuts to education.

Under the state constitution, tax extensions require the approval of two Republicans from the Assembly and two from the Senate before a special election is held. Unions are now asking lawmakers to pass the tax extensions themselves since the deadline for putting the proposal on the June ballot passed last month.

The governor ended negotiations with Republicans after what he said was “an ever changing list of collateral demands” in return for support for a special election, such as giving a $1 billion tax break to out-of-state corporations so the companies would bring jobs to California.

The state GOP, however, said that Brown had agreed to the demands but backtracked after unions expressed opposition.

A budget that does not continue the 2009 taxes will double the cuts for community colleges to $800 million. In addition, California State University officials have warned that an all-cuts budget could lead to a reduction of $1 billion, or 35 percent of state funding, that in turn would result in higher tuition and reduced enrollment.

State Finance Director Ana Matosantos said last Friday that tax receipts were higher than anticipated but that current efforts to address the deficit should continue.

“We have to account for lost savings based on the timing of the Legislature’s actions to-date on the Governor’s January proposal,” she said.

Matosantos added that officials are working with the governor to revise the budget on the revenue side as well as the spending side. Brown is scheduled to present the updated proposal next Monday.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a $65.7 billion budget on Friday that continued to rely on slashing thousands of teaching positions despite opposition.

The budget aims to fix a record a $4.58 billion deficit deficit and a $6.1 billion decrease in state and federal funding without increasing taxes. The mayor stood firm on education cuts, proposing to lay off 4,278 teachers and remove 1,500 more through attrition.

Bloomberg said his administration had shown “continued, strong financial commitment” in education, increasing spending from city funds from $5.9 billion in 2002 to $13.6 billion in 2012. He said there was no recourse but to eliminate jobs, an argument the United Federation of Teachers shot down by saying the city had alternatives such as paring down contracts by 20 percent or ending bank subsidies.

The mayor backtracked on a plan to eliminate 16,000 child-care slots. He said his revised budget will ensure that all children will continue to receive care services. The slots will be maintained by using $40 million in city funds to compensate for reductions in state and federal aid.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew dismissed the revised proposal, saying, “Same smoke, same mirrors, same attempt to blame others for his decision to lay off thousands of teachers, despite increased state aid, hundreds of millions in new revenues and a surplus that has grown to more than $3.2 billion.”

The group this week proposed an alternative budget that identifies savings worth $1.5 billion. Apart from reducing contracts with J.P. Morgan Chase and other banks, the group proposed to close tax loopholes for the wealthy and for private equity firms.

City Comptroller John Liu similarly urged the mayor to focus reductions on contracts.

“While the Mayor’s Budget presents a picture reflective of the lingering effects of the recession, it should be noted that throughout the economic crisis, City agencies have spent billions of dollars on high-priced outside consultants resulting in runaway spending on technology-related

contracts. Unfortunately, the Executive Budget offers no respite,” Liu said.

Before we commit critical funding towards more technology contracts, we must consider the necessity of these projects when compared to the proposed service and personnel cuts the Mayor has put forth,” the comptroller added.

The budget requires approval from the city council. It is due on July 1.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Schools were set to open normally on Friday in the nation’s capital, where letters containing a white powdery substance forced students to evacuate on Thursday.

District of Columbia Public Schools assured that all its buildings had been cleared and declared safe for classes to resume on time.

Firefighters and haz-mat teams responded to at least 29 reports of “suspicious” packages left at elementary and middle schools throughout the district.

The parcels contained white powder that was found to be not hazardous. The Fire Department said there were no illnesses or injuries from the substance or from the evacuations. Local officials are working with the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service to investigate.

“At no time were students exposed to the substance and there was minimal impact to the school day,” the school system said in a statement.

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San Marcos, TX, United States (AHN) – A Texas State University student died Tuesday after jumping out a window with two other students, one of whom remains in a hospital.

According to the Austin American Statesman, sophomore Eirin Ann Hicks died from head injuries at the Brackenridge University Medical Center. The 24-year-old is believed to have jumped from a first-floor window of a dormitory hours before her death, along with a female and a male student.

The female student, a freshman, remains in the hospital. The male student was not injured.

Authorities are investigating the reason the students jumped out the window.

KXAN television reported that Hicks was a resident assistant at the dorm, Laurel Hall, and that there was a gathering inside the room from which she jumped.

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