CA LOTTERY SHORTED SCHOOLS BY $36M, AUDITOR CLAIMS

CHICO, Calif. – $34 billion, that’s how much the California lottery has given to California schools since 1985.

Now, the California State Auditor claims the lottery shorted the state by $36 million.

Action News Now spoke with Assistant Superintendent at Chico Unified School, Kevin Bultema.

"Those dollars that we receive from the lottery really benefit the district as a whole," Bultema said.

The California State Auditor said the lottery owes schools $36 million.

Their findings read in part, “We determined that the lottery has not ensured that it maximizes funding for education and the State Controller’s Office (SCO) is not effectively overseeing the lottery’s performance.”

But, the lottery sent Action News Now a statement disagreeing.

“CSA incorrectly claims education contributions were underfunded by $36 million," the statement read.

Bultema was unaware of the CSA’s claims until Action News Now brought it to his attention.

“We don’t know what the impact is to Chico Unified specifically at this time,” Bultema said. “Currently, we receive about $700,000 a year in restricted dollars that we use for textbooks that helps us with our textbooks every year. Then we receive another $1.9 million in what we call unrestricted dollars and those really are used to offset teacher’s salaries.”

One parent, Jennifer Saxon, said they expect institutions to follow the rules just like people.

“That’s outrageous that there’s so much corruption that things are being taken away from children who need it so much and teachers are already underpaid and self-funding classrooms and I just think it’s a horrible thing to happen,” Saxon said.

Another parent, Cara Nielsen, who has kids enrolled in Parkview Elementary said the schools could use the extra money.

“I know the schools work really hard to get things to the students so they could really use that money the students could really use,” Nielsen said.

Again, the $36 million shortfalls are what the CSA is claiming but the lottery doesn’t agree with that.

https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/36-million-dollars-has-been-shortage-from-California-Lottery-to-Education-according-to-a-press-release-from-California-State-Auditor–568223351.html

CHICO STATE PROFESSOR UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED MISUSE OF UNIVERSITY FUNDS

CHICO, Calif.- A Chico State professor is under investigation for alleged misuse of university funds, according to a 15-page report issued by the Chancellor’s office.

It states an investigation was launched into accounting professor Curtis Deberg in 2018.

The chancellor’s office recently wrapped up that investigation in November of 2019.

University officials say it began after different departments at the university began to identify unusual activities regarding the professor's non-profit organization called “Sage Global.”

They say the professor faced allegations claiming he had used the campus name, facilities and other resources inappropriately, that he had a conflict of interest due to his multiple roles on campus, and had used thousands of university funds inappropriately.

Students who know the professor say they’re shocked at the claims.

Chico State student, Jennifer Brissenden, knows Professor Deberg, she says, "I think Curtis is a good man he is a good accounting professor, considering accounting is very difficult."

Provost and Vice President of Chico State Academic Affairs, Debra Larson, says, "This investigation has triggered his rights as part of the California Faculty Association and we are working with Professor Deberg in that space but there is still quite a bit of discussion going on."

The report completed by the Chancellor's Office claims that many of the allegations made were accurate.

The university says Professor Deberg is currently still employed and is on sabbatical.

They say is expected to continue teaching in august of 2020.

His non-profit organization, "Sage Global" is not active anymore.

Action News Now has reached out to Deberg for a statement, but we have not heard back.

https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/Chico-State-professor-under-investigation-for-alleged-misuse-of-university-funds-568221201.html

Obama demands pro-Trump group's ad be pulled in South Carolina

Former President Obama's attorneys say they plan to file a cease-and-desist letter over a pro-Trump group's television ad in South Carolina that attacks former Vice President Joe Biden by using a portion of Obama's book out of context.

Obama is also demanding that all South Carolina television stations immediately stop running the ad from the Committee to Defend the President, which is aimed at supporting President Trump's reelection bid.

"This despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook, and it’s clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by taking President Obama’s voice out of context and twisting his words to mislead viewers," Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill said in a statement.

"In the interest of truth in advertising, we are calling on TV stations to take this ad down and stop playing into the hands of bad actors who seek to sow division and confusion among the electorate," she continued.

Hill added that while Obama is not endorsing in the primary, he has "several friends," including Biden, competing in it.

The ad uses excerpts from Obama's 1995 memoir, "Dreams from My Father," in an effort to get the attention of black voters in the state.

"Joe Biden promised to help our community. It was a lie. Here's President Obama," the ad says at the beginning.

It then uses a passage from Obama describing how the black community had been wrongfully treated in the past.

"Plantation politics. Black people in the worst jobs. The worst housing. Police brutality rampant. But when the so-called black committeemen came around election time, we'd all line up and vote the straight Democratic ticket. Sell our souls for a Christmas turkey," Obama says in the recording.

Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates called the ad a "despicable torrent of misinformation" in a statement to The Washington Post.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/484841-obama-lawyers-to-send-cease-and-desist-letter-to-pro-trump-group-of-south

FRC: 'Keep Your Kids Home on Transgender Propaganda Day,' Thursday, Feb. 27

(CNSNews.com) – The conservative Family Research Council (FRC) is urging parents across the country to keep their kids home on Thursday, Feb. 27, a day that pro-LGBT activists and teachers will use to read pro-transgender books to children in some schools and libraries, a practice they want to establish as an annual event.

"Do you want your child to be psychologically manipulated at school on Thursday? Might be a good day for a Mommy Date at the museum!" said the FRC's Cathy Ruse in a post on the group's website.

"The anti-Christian Human Rights Campaign [HRC]and their pals at the powerful National Education Association are pushing public schools to recognize this Thursday as 'Jazz and Friends National Day of School & Community Readings,'" noted Ruse.

The HRC states that it is showcasing three books for the Jazz and Friends readings: Julian is a Mermaid, I am Jazz, and They She He Me: Free to Be!

For parents who want to protect their children from the pro-LGBT readings, the FRC provides a link to a "universal opt-out letter." The FRC also links to a group of concerned parents in Arlington, Va., the Arlington Parent Coalition, who are organizing against the transgender propaganda being forced on children in some schools.

https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/michael-w-chapman/frc-keep-your-kids-home-transgender-propaganda-day-thursday-feb

Trump campaign to open urban field offices as part of massive effort to win black votes

President Trump is opening 15 urban campaign field offices in an aggressive bid to improve his performance with black voters, who for decades have been an overwhelmingly Democratic constituency.

Sleek and situated in retail shopping districts to generate foot traffic, this unique collection of regional “community centers” is a critical component of the Trump campaign’s multimillion-dollar strategy to double in 2020 the 8% support the president received from black voters nearly four years ago. Senior Trump campaign officials unveiled office design mock-ups and fresh “Black Voices for Trump” merchandise during a Wednesday briefing for reporters.

“You’re never going to get the votes you don’t ask for,” said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser. “Last time, it was, ‘What the hell do you have to lose?’ Now, we’re going to show them what they’ve gained from President Trump and what more they can gain if they get four more years.”

Five offices are slated for Florida: Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. In North Carolina, branches are opening in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro. Others will be located in Atlanta, Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee. The hubs, among 330 field offices across the country, mark a departure from the typical ramshackle, strip-mall field office outpost.

With Democrats embroiled in a bitter presidential primary and some leading contenders having trouble winning over black voters, the Trump campaign is confident there is a serious opportunity for the president to exceed the Republican Party’s usual vote share with this crucial bloc.

Democratic strategists already focused on how best to defeat Trump in the fall concede they are concerned about their party’s ability to turn out black voters in November.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/trump-campaign-to-open-urban-field-offices-as-part-of-massive-effort-to-win-black-votes

>>8261887

It's ok to be straight

>>8261907

So much harder to get away with lying anymore.

Wonder why.

Comms?

Bologna sandwiches and insomnia: Inside Harvey Weinstein’s life as a convict

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is having a tough time acclimating to life as a convicted rapist, battling insomnia and being reduced to scarfing down bologna sandwiches, according to a source and Weinstein allies.

“This is a very tough adjustment, and he’s not doing it well,” said the law enforcement source of Weinstein, who’s been held in Bellevue Hospital for high blood pressure since shortly after his Monday conviction on counts of rape and criminal sex act.

“He was on top of the world with women, mansions and wine and song. Now that’s all over,” said the insider. “Tonight he’s eating a bologna sandwich.”

The source added that Weinstein, 67, has been bouncing off the hospital’s walls since he was admitted.

“He’s not sleeping,” said the source. “He’s walking in the limited area. He’s very restless. He’s got a lot on his mind.”

Chief among Weinstein’s concerns is his young children, according to Donna Rotunno, a member of his legal team.

“He has always been somebody who has wanted to shield them from this,” said Rotunno. “His fear is just not being able to be there for them.”

In addition to three daughters by his first wife, Weinstein has a 9-year-old daughter, India Pearl, and a 6-year-old son, Dashiell, by his second wife, Georgina Chapman, who left him in 2017 when the #MeToo maelstrom began.

“I’m sure right now for him it’s surreal,” said Rotunno. “How could it not be, especially when you do maintain you never forced anyone to do anything?”

Weinstein spokesman Juda Engelmayer said that he spoke with Weinstein by phone on Tuesday, and was left with a similar impression that the fallen Hollywood kingmaker is struggling.

“He said that he’s not feeling that great and his health is not so wonderful,” said Engelmayer. “He hopes that we are continuing fighting for him and believing in him.

“And then it [the call] disconnected.”

Weinstein, who faces up to 29 years behind bars, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11.

https://pagesix.com/2020/02/26/bologna-sandwiches-and-insomnia-inside-harvey-weinsteins-life-as-a-convict/

>>8261959

notable

>>8262081

Agree.