OC Register, "Unparalled academics drive top O.C. high schools"

The Orange County Register published its annual ranking of top Orange County schools with Oxford Academy magnet high school in Cypress taking top honors for the fourth time in five years. Middle College High, which allows students to complete coursework at Santa Ana College while still in high school, was ranked No. 2 in the county, and Orange County High School for the Arts in Santa Ana was ranked No. 7. The newspaper found poverty rates strongly correlated with success, with top-ranked schools showing an average poverty rate of 17%, compared with an average rate for the other schools of 55%.  - HTN Foundation

Unparalled academics drive top O.C. high schools

By FERMIN LEAL and SCOTT MARTINDALE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Oxford Academy continued its dominance among Orange County's high schools, claiming the No. 1 spot in the Register's ranking for the fourth time in five years.

Unparalleled academic scores and a phenomenal rate of college-ready graduates, along with other factors, again propelled the Cypress magnet to the top.

Oxford's 2011 Academic Performance Index of 989 out of 1,000 is the second highest of all high schools in the state.

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Hartford Courant, "Victim's Family Stiffed At Killer's Release Hearing"

A case in Connecticut underscores the need for Marsy's Law to become a U.S. Constitutional Amendment. The state's Psychiatric Security Review Board, which oversees the release of violent mentally ill patients, recently refused to allow the family of a victim, murdered by her husband in a extreme psychotic episode, from speaking before the board through legal counsel. David Messenger, who was committed to a mental institution in 1998 for bludgeoning his pregnant wife to death, is seeking a transfer to a group home in Hartford. Messenger, who is described as narcissistic and highly intelligent and manipulative, bludgeoned his wife, Heather Williamson and her unborn son while Messenger's son, then five years old, watched and begged him to stop.  - HTN Foundation

Victim's Family Stiffed At Killer's Release Hearing

By JOHN KLAR

The Hartford Courant

December 4, 2011

The Psychiatric Security Review Board, which oversees the release of violent mentally ill patients in Connecticut, recently demonstrated a bias against citizen awareness and involvement.

David Messenger, who was confined in 1998 for bludgeoning his pregnant wife to death as a result of an extreme psychotic episode, asked the board on Nov. 18 to transfer him to a Hartford group home with eventual release to unsupervised travel for 16 hours daily. The board refused to permit the mayor of Middletown to object at this hearing to Messenger's release. The board also prevented the victim's family from speaking through legal counsel.

I am writing as the attorney for the family in this case, for the rights of other victims and their families and also for the public's safety.

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MSNBC, "NamUs: Where missing people can be found"

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, known as NamUs, allows relatives, victims’ rights advocates, law enforcement as well as the general public scan records and search for information to help locate missing persons. The website is run by the National Forensic Science Technology Center, part of the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s R&D arm. There are more than 8,800 cases on NamUs, of which 75% remain open. - HTN Foundation

NamUs: Where missing people can be found

You can search online database to help solve missing and unidentified person cases

By Gabriel Falcon

NBC News

updated 10/15/2011 7:36:04 AM ET

There is a place where the lost can be found.

Long before Lisa Irwin vanished from her Kansas City home, there was another desperate search in Missouri for a little girl. Her name was Elizabeth Gill. On the afternoon of June 13, 1965, Elizabeth was in her family's front yard in Cape Giradreau. It was the last time the 2-year-old was seen alive.

Scott Kleeschulte also disappeared in Missouri. On June 18, 1988, the 9-year-old freckled face boy was walking down a street in St. Charles County. To this day, nobody knows what happened to him.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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LA Times, "Gov. Jerry Brown signs Dream Act for state's illegal immigrants"

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the second part of the “Dream Act,” making undocumented immigrants eligible for government financial aid to attend the state colleges and universities. Under AB 131, these students can receive Cal-Grants starting in 2013. Last year, the program made grants to more than 370,000 low-income students. Brown earlier signed AB 130, which makes undocumented students eligible for private aid. - HTN Foundation

Gov. Jerry Brown signs Dream Act for state's illegal immigrants

-- Patrick McGreevy and Anthony York, reporting from Sacramento

October 8, 2011 | 12:27 pm

Declaring the need to expand educational opportunity, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday that he has signed legislation making illegal immigrants eligible to receive state financial aid to attend California universities and community colleges.

Brown said he signed the California Dream Act because it makes sense to allow high-achieving students access to college financial aid.

“Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,'' Brown said in a statement. "The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.''

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LJWorld.com States lose track of some sex offenders

A sex offender who moved to California from Kansas never showed up as being registered in his new home state, according to an investigation by the Journal-World of Lawrence, Kansas. He was among 161 registered sex offenders who left Kansas since 2006 but never turned up on a registry in a new state because, once authorities in the new state are notified, it’s up to them or the offender to ensure registration occurs. - HTN Foundation

States lose track of some sex offenders

By Shaun Hittle
September 18, 2011

The state of Kansas and county sheriff’s offices keep pretty close tabs on the more than 4,500 registered sex offenders in Kansas. Only 8 percent of registered sex offenders currently are not complying with registration requirements, which include verifying home addresses four times a year.

But when a sex offender moves out of state, it’s a different story.

A Journal-World investigation identified 161 registered sex offenders who have moved out of Kansas since 2006, but who do not show up on offender registries in the states they moved to.

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