It hasn’t been an easy year for public education. For the John Swett school district, the state budget cuts have translated into layoffs, program cuts and elimination of basics like librarians and custodians.

Pastor John Wright of Full Gospel Fellowship Church in Hercules has decided some local help is needed. Wright has teamed up with Steve Trotter, principal of Rodeo Hills Elementary School in Rodeo, and launched a new web site: www.adoptyourschool.org.

The site has a general list of needed items (everything from colored pencils to glue sticks to disinfectant wipes) and drop-off locations. Right now Full Gospel is the only official drop-off point but more are coming.

Teachers in all grades at Rodeo Hills have also posted their personalized wish lists on the site.

So if you’ve got some extra school or office supplies around the house, or you don’t mind picking up a little extra while doing your back-to-school shopping this summer, check out the new site!

El Cerrito lags behind Orinda in home prices, per capita income and local schools (all related, as any real estate agent will tell you).
But when it comes to the condition of local streets, Orinda has to take a back seat to its counterpart in West County.
That news comes from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which ranked El Cerrito second in the Bay Area in its latest pothole report, released this week.
El Cerrito earned a total of 85 (or “very good”), just behind Brentwood, which tallied 86 on MTC’s pavement condition index, or PCI score.
The ranking is a major turnaround for El Cerrito, which lagged near the bottom just three years ago (a 53 score in 2006), before the city successfully pushed through a half-cent sales tax measure in 2008 dedicated to road repair.
The change prompted the MTC to single out El Cerrito in its report, which cites the city as “A Pavement Success Story.”
San Pablo also fared well for 2010, pulling in a “very good” ranking of 80 in the survey, a nice climb from a 67 score in 2006.
Hercules (73) and Pinole (70) were both ranked “good” for 2010, Richmond was in the “at-risk” ranking with a 2010 score of 55, while Albany was in the “fair” category with a 66.
So what about Orinda? It climbed three points from to 2006 to a score of 49 (still categorized as “poor”), which kept it ranked in the bottom five of the survey, keeping company with St. Helena, Larkspur, Sonoma County and Rio Vista.
Besides, Orinda has half as many BART stations as El Cerrito and none of the views of the Bay.

The extension of the Interstate 80 high-occupancy-vehicle lane from the Highway 4 connector in Hercules to the Carquinez Bridge will be dedicated with a ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday, but there are more ramp closures until then to complete the work, Caltrans announced.
Ramp Closures:
· Eastbound I-80 connector ramp to eastbound State Route 4/Willow Avenue will be closed tonight from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue off-ramp will be closed tonight from 8 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Note: this work will not be performed concurrent will the connector ramp closure above. One ramp will remain open at all times.
· Eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue on-ramp will be closed tonight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway off-ramp will be closed Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from 8 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.
· Eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue off-ramp will be closed Saturday night from 8 p.m. until 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
· Eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue on-ramp will be closed Saturday night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway on-ramp will be closed Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday.
· Eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway off-ramp will be closed Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue off-ramp will be closed Monday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue on-ramp will be closed Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway on-ramp will be closed Monday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway off-ramp will be closed Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
· Eastbound I-80 Crockett Off-ramp will be closed Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Presiding at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday will be Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi; Metropolitan Transportation Commission Vice Chair and Orinda council member Amy Rein Worth, California Highway Patrol Paul Fontana, Hercules Mayor Joanne Ward and Ghilotti Brothers President Mike Ghilotti.

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The Performing Arts Center at El Cerrito High School, 540 Ashbury Ave., has been a busy venue since it opened, hosting both student productions and companies such as the Berkeley West Edge Opera.
The theater is hosting events this weekend, starting with “Bollywood Comes to El Cerrito” from 6-7:30 p.m. Friday. The Bollywood festivities are hosted by the school’s South Asian Student Union and will include a student dance performance, a fashion show and a special performance students from by Albany High School.
Tickets will be $5 students, $6 adults at the door.

At 7 p.m. Saturday the theater will host the first ever talent show presented by the West Contra Costa School District’s Youth Commission, featuring skilled performers from around the district.
Tickets are $3 ages 12 and under, $5 ages 13-18 and $7 ages 19 and up, with proceeds benefitting student activities.

Still coming up is a year-end performance by students in the ECHS jazz program who will play with members of the beloved horn section from Tower of Power at 7:30 p.m. May 31.
“Take a nostalgic trip back in time to hear Tower of Power hits performed by the ECHS Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble alongside TOP greats like trumpeter Mic Gillette (remember the opening solo of ‘Your Still A Young Man’?) and baritone sax player extraordinaire Stephen ‘Doc’ Kupka.”
Organizers promise “Great music (and) sumptuous treats all to support the growing ECHS Music Program!”
Tickets are $20 for VIP seats and $15 for general admission and can be reserved by calling Lynn Chung at 510-236-5637 or Chungdc@aol.com.

Coming up this summer will be a presentation of “Les Misérables” performed by 36 young actors in Berkeley-based Stage Door Conservatory’s Teens on Stage program. Details on the production are available at 510-521-6250.

As budgets tighten, these aren’t easy times to be a public employee or, for that matter, a public agency. Local educators and their unions are hoping to muster some support from passing taxpayers for their position with a Teacher Appreciation Celebration and Rally from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Civic Center Plaza in Richmond.

Supporters are invited to join teachers, representatives of the United Teachers of Richmond and Mayor Gayle McLaughlin at the rally, themed “Great Teaching Lasts a Lifetime.”
If you can read their signs, thank a teacher. If you know someone being held back in life because they can’t, or can’t read the signs too well, put them in contact with LEAP, the city’s free Literacy for Every Adult program that teams tutors and learners individually or in small groups.

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Last week I spent an enjoyable hour talking with several Hercules High School students about online journalism — something I pitch in on every day at the newsroom, but still find plenty to learn about.

It wouldn’t have happened without Jon Becker, the Times’ online editorial director and an occasional school speaker himself, mentioning that Steve O’Donoghue, director of the California Scholastic Journalism Initiative, was looking for a speaker.

I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk a little about the paper’s journalism efforts, and to hear what students are doing with the new tools at their disposal.

I followed directions that Hercules High journalism teacher Natalie Wojinski was kind enough to provide, and arrived on campus just before 4 p.m.

I asked folks who follow me on Twitter and Facebook: “What one thing should I tell students?”

The Facebook responses ran the gamut from cynicism borne of bitter experience to hard-won optimism. And the Twitter answers? Oh, about the same:

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Caltrans has scheduled more work on Thursday and Friday that will mean off- and on-ramp closures on Interstate 80 in Hercules.
From 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. both days work will reduce traffic on a segment of Willow Avenue to a single lane, directed by flaggers as crews demolish part of the overhead structure.
The eastbound I-80 Willow Avenue off-ramp will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Also on Thursday, the eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway on-ramp, will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.-8 a.m. and the eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway off-ramp will be closed from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The work is part of a Caltrans project extending the Interstate 80 carpool lane from Highway 4 to the Carquinez Bridge.

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Caltrans, which loves to wait until the last minute to announce these things, has scheduled more closures in Hercules for its Interstate 80 Eastbound HOV Lane Extension Project.
* The I-80 Eastbound Willow Avenue off-ramp will be closed today from 10 p.m.-8 a.m. Work will continue Monday night, April 4, and Tuesday night, April 5, from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. Detour: From I-80, take the eastbound State Route 4 off-ramp and then exit to Willow Avenue.
* The connector ramp from Highway 4 to eastbound I-80 will close from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday for paving. Detour: Continue on John Muir Parkway. Turn right on San Pablo Avenue. Continue on San Pablo Avenue to Willow Avenue and turn right. Continue on Willow Avenue. Take the on-ramp to eastbound I-80.
* Eastbound I-80 Cummings Skyway off-ramp, Monday night, April 4, from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. for guardrail installation. Detour: Take the Pomona St. off-ramp, turn right on San Pablo Ave, continue on San Pablo Ave. to Cummings Skyway and turn left.
As always, drive with caution around the work areas.
Work is part of a project to extend the Interstate 80 carpool lane from Highway 4 to the Carquinez Bridge.

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