Homework - EMT's refused to help dying lady

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Brooklyn (12/9/09) - Two emergency medical technicians (EMT's)  have been suspended, as the city Fire Department investigates allegations that they chose not to help a dying pregnant woman just steps from their Brooklyn headquarters.

EMT's or emergency medical technicians are the people who drive up in the ambulance and save you if you are injured.

Eutisha Revee Rennix collapsed while working at an Au Bon Pain restaurant in Downtown Brooklyn on December 9. 

Rennix's co-workers say the two off-duty EMTs, Jason Green and Melissa Jackson, were buying bagels at the shop. They responded to pleas to help Rennix by saying others should call 911.

"Coworkers went over and asked them to help them in the back, and they refused and said they were on their break," said Cynthia Rennix, Eutisha's mother. "They told them to call it in. In the meantime, they were having their breakfast, and they bought their breakfast and they left."

A Long Island College Hospital emergency crew arrived minutes later but did not have the equipment to revive Eutisha Rennix.

Rennix's child, who was due in March, died after her mother. They were buried together last Friday.

Eutisha Rennix also leaves behind a three-year-old son, Jahleel.

The FDNY said Monday that the two EMTs have been suspended without pay, pending further investigation.

When asked if there was a case of burn out in the department, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said their actions were unacceptable no matter what.

"Burn out? They were sitting there having coffee, how can they be burnt out?" said the mayor. "They're human beings. Somebody's dying down the street and they say help them, and they just sat there. There's no excuse whatsoever, as far as I can see. I don't know what kind of burn out you can have."

Bloomberg added that the first responsibility of all EMS and FDNY workers is to save lives.

Jeff Samerson, a representative from the EMT and paramedics union said that the EMTs followed protocol.

"[Jackson] called 911. She didn't have an ambulance. She didn't have equipment. She does not work in the field as an active EMT in an ambulance," he said. "She is a dispatcher. She works as an emergency medical dispatcher. [Green] is also a dispatcher. These are people that are not in the field, that have not had patient contact in years. And they did the best they could."

Questions:

1) Where did the story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is an EMT?

4) What are the two EMT's names?

5) Why are the EMT's in trouble now?

6) Should the EMT's have helped the lady?

7) What was is excuse the EMT's are trying to give now?

Info from NY1

Homework - Polar Bears Go Swimming

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

Brooklyn, NY (12/20/09) - For one group of New Yorkers, the season's first snowfall was the signal to head to the beach in Brooklyn.

The legendary Coney Island Polar Bear Club saw in the icy cold Atlantic Ocean Sunday morning.

The club swims in the water every Sunday from November through April.

In addition to the exercise and cool thrills, they also raise money for the charity organization New York Cares and a camp for sick children.

While most New Yorkers would not even dare go near the ocean this time of year, veteran swimmers say it's a thrill unlike any other.

"I mean the first time I came down here I was apprehensive, nervous, scared, but once I went into that room over there in the [New York] Aquarium, it was amazing," said Polar Bear Club Vice President Tony Nastro. "There's an energy that comes from the people that do this, that just makes you feel you're in the right place, you're doing the right thing."

The club plans to ring in 2010 with a swim on New Year's Day.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did the story take place?

3) When does the club swim in the water?

4) Why do they swim in the cold water?

5) What is the name of the club?

6) How is the club going to celebrate the new year?

Info from NY1

Homework - Taking Away Section 8?

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

New York City (12/17/08) - Section 8 is a voucher that the government gives you to pay the part of your rent that you can't afford. 

Some New York residents hoping to use Section 8 vouchers to help pay for their housing may be out of luck.

The New York City Housing Authority is taking away more than 3,000 Section 8 vouchers. Each voucher gives about $800 a month toward housing to people who need it.

The vouchers have already been given to people who were counting on them to help pay their rent  costs and now the vouchers are not worth anything.

Housing officials said they had to take the vouchers back because Congress cut $58 million from its Section 8 budget last spring. 

"They knew this in May. They didn't let anybody know. People were walking around thinking they have an affordable housing unit, the potential for that, and they don't," said Manahattan Borough President Scott Stringer. "And I think right before Christmas, New Yorkers who are most vulnerable deserve better."

An agency spokeswoman said officials waited more than six months to cancel the vouchers with the hope that funds would be restored and more apartments would become available.

NYCHA officials said they are trying hard to get funding to meet the demands for the program. The people in that program could now end up homeless.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is section 8?

4) How many vouchers is the city taking back from people?

5) How much money does each voucher give a month to people that need it?

6) How much money got cut from the Section 8 budget?

7) What could happen to the people in the program now?

Homework - Councilman Martinez Going to Jail

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

New York City (12/15/09) - Former Manhattan Councilman Miguel Martinez was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to stealing tax dollars.

The former councilman will also repay the $106,000 he admitted to stealing from funds meant for low-income housing and arts programs in his district.

He will be on two years' probation following his sentence.

Martinez, who was first elected in 2001 to represent parts of Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill, resigned in July and pleaded guilty to mail fraud and money laundering.

When he spoke in court, Martinez said, "I stand here before you remorseful and shamed for the offenses I committed." He also apologized to his family, three children, constituents and the City Council, and said if he could go back in time he would "do things differently."

Martinez is expected to enter prison on January 4th.

Neither the former politician nor his attorneys spoke to reporters outside the courtroom, but supporters said they were saddened but thought the sentence was just.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is the name of the councilman who is going to prison?

4) How many years is he going to prison for?

5) How much money did he steal?

6) When is he going to go to prison?

7) What area of the city did he represent?

Info from NY1

Homework - Juvi going down?

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

Albany (12/14/09) - The state's troubled juvenile justice system has been examined by an internal task force created by Governor Paterson. The task force is now calling for juvi to be reformed, claiming thousands of kids are at stake.

Guarded juvenile institutions across the state are supposed to
help hundreds of New York's troubled youths and prevent them from recommitting the crimes that landed them inside.

But a new report finds the state facilities are not working for 12 to 15 year olds.

The task force says that Juvi costs more than $200,000 per kid and is not doing a good job.

"New York State is harming its children, wasting money, and endangering its public," the task force said in its report. "This cannot continue."

At four facilities, the federal justice department found guards routinely used force as their first response, breaking bones and teeth and causing other injuries.

At one facility in upstate Fulton County, a 15-year-old Bronx boy died -- a homicide but there were no criminal charges.


One of the biggest problems, the report finds, is a matter of distance. Three quarters of admissions come from New York City. But often times, they are taken far from home.

For kids at a Delaware County facility, home was about 125 miles away.

The state is trying to shut down the worst Juvi spots but people say that you can't just take away the jobs of the people that work there and putting dangerous criminals back on the street is bad for public safety.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is Juvenile Detention supposed to do for the kids?

4) What did the state department find that the guards are doing to the kids?

5) How much does Juvi cost per kid?

6) What happened to the 15 year old bronx boy?

7) Why is the state having a hard time shutting down the worst Juvi spots?

Info and video taken from NY1

Homework - Siberia is Sinking

 

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

Yakutsk, Siberia (12-10-09) -   

Climate change is slowly melting Siberia's permafrost. 

Permafrost is the ice under Siberia's soil that is supposed to be permanent and never melt. Well, now because the temperature of the Earth is rising, the ice that is never, ever supposed to melt, is melting.

This is forcing local people like Avetik and Ludmila Nasarian to rebuild their houses to deal with the regular flooding. Every year, this couple has to raise the floor in their house so that they are not walking around in a bunch of water. Every year summer comes a little earlier and is a little hotter. 

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is permafrost?

4) What are the couple named?

5) What does the couple have to do in order not to have to walk around in water?

Info from the Guardian

homework - Kid Lost On Bus

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

Brooklyn, NY - Officials are looking into how a 5-year-old autistic boy from Brooklyn ended up on the wrong bus as he was heading home from school this week.

Helen Morell says her son, Elijah Salinas, usually arrives home from PS 108 around 3:10 p.m. However on Monday, he didn't show up when he was supposed to.

"It was hell. I was so scared. I was so scared something had happened to him," Morell said.

Morell says she called the school and the bus company but got nowhere. She says someone placed her son on the wrong bus, and is now looking for answers.

"I was just praying that nothing happened. But I was terrified that
they might have left him on the bus sleeping," Morell said.

She blames a breakdown in communication and says somebody from either the school or the bus company should have realized the mistake.

"I blame the school. They should have known to put the baby on the right bus. They should have put him on the right bus. They have a sheet where they're supposed to read which child goes on which bus," Morell said.

Morell says the driver eventually realized the mistake and returned her son nearly two hours late.

A spokesman for the Atlantic Bus Company says there is no indication any of its employees did anything wrong.

The Department of Education says it's investigating. Disciplinary action is also said to be pending.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What was the name of the kid that got put on the wrong bus?

4) What was his mothers name?

5) How long did it take for the bus driver to realize the mistake?

6) Whose fault do you think it is? The bus company or the school's? Why?

Info from NY1

Homework - ACS Worker Shot in the Bronx

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

The Bronx (12/7/09) - Police in the Bronx are continuing their investigation after an ACS worker was shot and killed Monday morning outside her apartment building while taking her children to school.

Investigators say Lakisha Scriven, 30, was killed by a single gunshot to the head at close range around 7:30 a.m. in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, as she walked from her apartment to her car.

Her two daughters, ages 8 and 5, were unhurt.

Witnesses say they heard the children screaming and crying following the shooting.

"It's a very sad situation because now I can hear these kids voices in my head," said one witness.

Scriven lived in a building on Furman Avenue off of East 237th street. 

The Administration for Children's Services says Scriven was a child welfare caseworker and that her children have been placed in the care of family members.

Neighbors say police had been called to Scriven's apartment several times because of domestic fights.

The police said they are looking into whether the shooting was because of an affair gone wrong or a love triangle.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What was the name of the case worker that was shot?

4) How old were her two daughters?

5) Who has her children now?

6) Why do the police think she was shot?

Info and video from NY1

Homework - $200,000 for a flight!!!

NEW YORK, December 7  - Virgin Galactic, a U.S. space tourism company, will show the public on Monday its first commercial space vehicle. The space plane holds 6 people at a time and is called SpaceShipTwo.

The showing ceremony, will be held at the Mojave Spaceport in California.

During a demonstration flight, a  mother ship is expected to bring SpaceShipTwo  15 kilometers up into the air.

The first customers are expected to start flying aboard the space plane in 2011, paying $200,000 for a seat.

A total of 300 people across the world  have booked tickets for flights on the space plane. 

Another 85,000 people have filed flight applications on the agency's website.

For $200,000, the space plane will take the passengers to a height of 68.3 miles.  The flight will take  2.5 hours with a five-minute period of weightlessness, when passengers will be able to release themselves from their seats and float around the cabin.

The Virgin Galactic plans to operate a fleet of five of these space planes.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is the name of the space tourism company?

4) How many people does the space plane hold?

5) What is the space plane called?

6) How much does a flight cost on the space plane?

7) How high will the space plane go?

8) How many people have already booked their tickets?

Info and picture from Rionovosti

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

New York City (12/3/09) - The court gave two small businesses a big victory over Columbia University on Thursday. The court said that property owners can't be forced to give up land the school needs for a project.

Eminent Domain is when the government makes you to sell your business or your house to somebody.

In 2001, Columbia began efforts to create a $6 billion campus in Manhattanville. The school partnered with the city and the state to use eminent domain to force the  neighborhood businesses to sell their shops to Columbia University.

Columbia already owns or controls about 91 percent of the 17 acres it needs. But two businesses stood up to the expansion, including Tuck-it-Away storage.

"The state and Columbia had no desire to compromise, they wanted it all. And it's the basic principle, in fact, that every small child learns from their parent just because you want something doesn't mean you can take it. And unfortunately Columbia has yet to learn that," said plaintiff Nick Sprayregen.


Columbia declined to comment on the ruling.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) What is Eminent Domain?

4) Why was Columbia University forcing the neighborhood businesses to sell?

5) What did the Court say?

Info from NY1

homework -Gay Marriage Rejected

Click HERE for the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

Albany, NY (12/2/09) -  The State Senate rejected a bill for gay marriage Wednesday.

The Marriage Equality Act was rejected by a 38-24 vote. 


Among the eight Democrats who voted against gay marriage were Queens Senator Hiram Monserrate and Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz Sr.

The senators debated on the bill for almost three hours, but most who spoke were in favor of gay marriage.

"This legislation would merely provide me and tens of thousands of other New Yorkers equal rights in New York State," said Manhattan Democratic Senator Thomas Duane who is the only openly gay senator.

Democratic Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson  revealed her support for the bill by saying  for the first time that her late brother was gay, and that by supporting the bill she would be giving New Yorkers civil rights that her own brother never enjoyed.


Diaz pointed out during the debate that same-sex marriage is still controversial nationwide.
"Every state of the nation, the majority of the states of the nation [where] the people got the opportunity to vote on this issue, the people have rejected it," he said.

 51 percent of New York State voters support same-sex marriage, while 42 percent do not like it.

In New York City, 61 percent of voters support same-sex marriage while only 33 percent don't support it.

Questions:

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) How many senators voted against the Marriage Equality Act?

4) How many senators voted for it?

5) Name 2 senators that voted for it.

6) What percent of NYC voters support same-sex marriage?

7) What percent of NYC voters do not support it?

Info from NY1

homework -Gotti Got Off

Click HERE to watch the video. Read the story. Answer the questions.

New York City (12/1/09) - After 11 days of talking about it, the jury in the fourth trial of alleged mobster John "Junior" Gotti were unable to reach a decision, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial Tuesday.

All three of Gotti's previous racketeering trials also ended with juries that could not make up their minds.


This jury said twice before that it was deadlocked, but each time the judge sent them back to work.

Prosecutors say Gotti, the 45-year-old son of a deceased mob boss of the same name, ordered or participated in several violent attacks, including three murders.

Defense attorneys say Gotti quit the mob in 1999 and never took part in any murders, named in an indictment, which was handed up in 2008.

"There was general agreement that he was in organized crime for many years. In his early years. But the withdrawal in 2003 was the primary problem that we couldn't come to a decision on. Six felt he did not. Five feel he did withdraw. One was undecided," said one juror.

Jurors in his three previous trials were also unable to come to a verdict.


Gotti remains out on $2 million bail.

Questions: 

1) Where did this story take place?

2) When did this story take place?

3) Who is on trial?

4) How many days did the jury talk about the case?

5) What did the judge have to do on Tuesday?

6) What did the prosecutors say?

7) What did the defense attorneys say?

8) How many trials has Gotti had in total?

9) What amount of bail is Gotti out on?

Info and video taken from NY1