WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to be labor secretary, Democratic Rep. Hilda Solis of California, is expected to advocate greater union influence in the workplace and more “green” jobs.
Solis, the 51-year-old daughter of a Mexican union shop steward and a Nicaraguan assembly line worker, is in line to be the second Hispanic nominee in Obama’s Cabinet. Obama planned to announce her nomination on Friday, said a labor official who spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not been made yet.
The lone member of Congress of Central American descent, Solis would replace Elaine Chao, the only original member of President George W. Bush’s Cabinet still in office.
Chao said her successor “will inherit a strong legacy on behalf of America’s workers, which includes record low fatality, illness and injury rates, record achievements in enforcement recoveries, and strengthened protections for union members.”
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Time Warner Cable’s news show, Local Edition, recently aired three spots featuring Cal Poly Pomona. The show is aired in conjunction with the cable company’s local broadcast of CNN Headline News.
Two of the segments feature the university’s launch of a new private label wine, Horsehill Vineyards. The inaugural vintage is now available for sale in the university’s Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch. Horsehill Vineyards is a new collaborative project between the College of Agriculture and The Collins College of Hospitality Management.
The first segment features Dr. Les Young, interim dean of the College of Agriculture. Young describes the process of taking historic Zinfandel cuttings and the long process of nurturing them into wine-ready grapes.
In the second segment, The Collins College’s Dr. Margie F. Jones discusses the process of creating the Zinfandel rosé and learning opportunities for Cal Poly Pomona students. Watch Young’s interview in low bandwidth or mid bandwidth. Watch Jones’ interview in low bandwidth or mid bandwidth.
In another five-minute segment, Glenn Shenker speaks about the university’s newly launched free shuttle service to and from the Pomona North Metrolink station, 205 Santa Fe Street, Pomona. Shenker, interim director of Parking and Transportation Services, says the program is another example of the university’s commitment to carbon neutrality. The Bronco Link shuttle will encourage the campus community to use public transportation and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The shuttles are also powered by compressed natural gas. Watch Shenker’s interview in low bandwidth or mid bandwidth.
The interviews are recorded each month in the company’s studios and are featured throughout Southern California. Time Warner Cable Inc. is the second-largest cable operator in the United States.
Instructional & Information Technology has made the video interviews available to the entire campus community.
A local pilot got the honor of delivering the last C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in production.
Air Force Lt. Col. Charlie Ohliger, a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, flew the last C-17 from Boeing’s production facility in Long Beach to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earlier this month.
Actually, Ohliger sat in the co-pilot’s seat, as Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, commander of the Air Mobility Command, symbolically piloted the flight across the country.
Ohliger, who graduated from North Torrance High before attending Cal Poly, said the huge transport aircraft has always interested him, growing up so close to where it was built.
“I think I was captivated initially by the appearance of the C-17 and its general purpose,” he said in an Air Force news release.
In the past 15 months, 12 C-17s have been delivered from Long Beach to Dover. They’ve been used to deliver material and crews to the Middle East, carried two giant squids for the Smithsonian Institution and assisted with delivering relief supplies after hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
“(The C-17) is a phenomenally successful aircraft that is well-suited for the requirements of our military forces today,” he said. “It is easy to operate, very reliable and exceptionally capable. We keep finding new ways that it excels.”
Ohliger said that while delivering the massive aircraft has been an experience, his most memorable flight was into Moscow in 2000.
“The Cold War had been over for some time and travel to the Commonwealth of Independent States was relatively normal,” he said.
“The notion of me landing an Air Force C-17 with an American flag on the tail at Russia’s international airport was still unbelievable.”
Before this month’s flight, Ohliger had said he was not nervous flying alongside a general, something he has done several times before.
“Frankly, although I’m excited to fly with him, I’m more excited to be involved with the delivery of the last C-17 to Dover,” he said. “That is the really significant piece of this trip.”
Original article: San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Considered one of the greatest female Asian athletes of the 20th century, Chi Cheng, ‘71 Kinesiology, broke track and field world records and received numerous awards, including a bronze medal in the 1968 Olympics. Although she has retired her running shoes, Chi continues to work tirelessly in promoting a healthy, active lifestyle in her home country of Taiwan.
Through the Hope Foundation, which she co-founded and serves as the chairwoman, Chi encourages people to walk 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy, save energy and to reduce each person’s carbon footprint. “We have a slogan that says, ‘10,000 steps a day keeps the doctor away’ – just like an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” she says.
As a former athlete and kinesiology major, Chi understands the value of health and taking care of one’s body. “Health is more important than wealth,” she says. “The most wealthy people in Taiwan cannot buy back the life of their beloved ones or their own lives.”
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POMONA – Mallory Fehrensen, 20, has fond memories of a woman who taught her elementary-school class to “just say no.”
Fehrensen, who studies theater in education and community at Cal Poly Pomona, was so inspired by the person she calls “the tobacco lady” that she decided to base her senior project on the woman’s teachings.
“I decided to create a program that uses theater to educate children,” Fehrensen said.
She is the founder and director of Theatre Educating Children About Realistic Experiences, also called The CARE.
“The CARE is a preventative program that gives children a community to take part in that doesn’t involve violence or drug abuse,” she said.
The program works with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at the Success Through Awareness and Resistance day camp in La Puente. The group meets with fourth- through sixth-grade students Thursday mornings, using theater to teach them how to deal with everyday experiences.
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