Various news items for 10-8-2012
Here is a collection of news items found throughout the Internet in various RSS feeds I follow for 10/8/2012. I’ve collected them in a single entry to allow you to check them throughout the day and keep track in sort of an archive of items. They related to political, civic, planning, and technology. Enjoy and send me information, if you have any additional details on items.
11:57 am
Texplainer: What Happens if UT Loses the Fisher Case?
The Supreme Court case, University of Texas at Austin v. Fisher, will be argued this coming Wednesday afternoon. It examines whether UT at Austin, and most likely other public universities, should still apply an affirmative action approach to college admissions. As Reeve Hamilton sums up, based on a report by UT, dropping back to the “top 10″ approach could result in greater diversity than the current approach.
10:31 am
Who Bears the Burden of Proving a Defendant’s Incompetency?
Circuit splits are an interesting situation that occur all the time, sometimes ending up in Supreme Court appeals to resolve the matter on a national level. In this split, the issue is burden of proof about a defendant’s incompetency. In this case, United States v. Contreras, Case No. CR11-0168 (N.D. Iowa Oct. 4, 2012), the District Court noted the various splits on the matter as pointed out in United States v. Whittington, 586 F.3d 613 (8th Cir. 2009).
10:22 am
Education: The Other Infrastructure Problem
Ross Ramsey, writer with the Texas Tribune talks about a critical education issue that our lawmakers seem to be ignoring, the education of a growing minority population. As a state, we can continue to look the other way and gripe about the causes. But the problem doesn’t go away. It’s time to start dealing with the future.
10:11 am
In Pilot Program, Student IDs Track the Students
The Texas Tribune writes about the pilot program conducted by the Northside ISD on its student tracking technology using RFID. While some want to make it an issue of civil liberties and personal privacy, I’m of the opinion that if it helps save money by providing better attendance information and isn’t used in a bad manner, more power to them.
