plus 3, About 1,500 turn out for career fair - Iowa City Press-Citizen

About 1,500 turn out for career fair - Iowa City Press-Citizen
Southland season 2 starts on TNT - Anderson Independent-Mail
State senator's son landed teaching post ahead of hiring freeze - Las Vegas Review Journal
Whale drags trainer off platform by her ponytail - Washington Examiner

About 1,500 turn out for career fair - Iowa City Press-Citizen

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 07:05 AM PST

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Katie Barnicle did what she was supposed to do at a career fair.

The University of Iowa senior smiled, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and got her name out to potential employers, but the inroads to employment are congested, she said.

"We are in the same arena with people who have already graduated. They're at the same career fair looking at the same jobs as us, and they might have a little more experience, so it feels a little bit like we are at a disadvantage," the marketing major said.

"A lot of people are fighting for a few jobs, so it's hard," she said.

More than 100 employers and about 1,500 work seekers attended UI's annual spring job and internship fair Wednesday on campus.

The competitive job market was noticeable in how the students presented themselves on Wednesday, said Angi McKie, director of marketing and public relations for the Pomerantz Career Center, which helped put on the fair.

"I think students when they are here are always seeking that career. I think students know the job market is competitive, and they need to put their best foot forward, more than usual," McKie said.

The purpose of the fair is not necessarily for students and employers to leave with a deal in place, McKie said. Rather, the objective is to start the process, she said.

Paul Spooner, 20, a UI junior, attended the fair looking for an internship and left feeling optimistic.

"My main thing is an internship in corporate communications. That's what I am looking for," he said. "It's going good. There are a lot of businesses, so it's definitely a good turnout."

Tim Nawrocki, 22, a UI senior, attended the fair to get a feel for the market.

"I am just trying to get a good feel for what is out there, what companies are out there and what they are looking for," he said.

Yellowbook of Cedar Rapids was among the employers looking to bolster its work force with students with business and liberal arts and sciences backgrounds.

"I think a lot of students are very prepared. They have their resumes, and they look very good in their appearance," said Brittany Deyo of Yellowbook.

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Southland season 2 starts on TNT - Anderson Independent-Mail

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 06:29 AM PST

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Southland

About a month ago, I reviewed a couple episodes of the show "Southland" as it made its way to TNT. This critically-acclaimed, former NBC program was considered a great achievement in scripted television, but the suits at NBC and the viewers of television itself couldn't give it the support it deserved.

But, as you would expect from quality cable networks, TNT picked up the reins of the show and decided to air the first episodes in their entirety and allow for a second season of this show.

The premiere of "Southland" season two begins on Tuesday, and it doesn't appear to have lost a beat.

The show starts almost immediately where it left off as the young beat cops Ben and Chickie are forced to deal with their veteran partners and some of their issues. The opener shows us Ben as he prepares to dive into phase two of his probationary period on the Los Angeles Police Department beat. His partner isn't sure he's ready for such a jump and Ben is determined to prove him wrong.

Meanwhile, Chickie has to deal with her partner's drinking and the effect it's having on her ability to do her job. As one would expect, there are decisions she is going to have to make that may make her career as a woman at the LAPD that much harder.

On the detectives' side, there is plenty going on from the beginning. At the conclusion of season 1, Russell had been shot by a neighbor during a domestic dispute. At the start, we realize he lived through the shooting, but has a long road to recovery. One so long, there is a question as to whether he will be back with his partner, Lydia.

While Lydia is dealing with this reality, she is asked to help protect an inner city teen who witnessed a crime committed by a major drug cartel who is determined to kill this star witness.

The first couple episodes get viewers back in the heads of the characters. We see a little of what drives Ben while getting a better understanding of where he came from before joining the police force. We get a better feel for the partner relationship in the PD world and realize just how insular the "Thin Blue Line" fraternity really is.

And we see the lives of these cops from every angle and begin to understand just how connected it is.

The great part about "Southland" is the interwoven storylines throughout each episode. A guy the patrolmen pass at noon might be a suspect in a double homicide at 4 p.m. When a detective interviews a potential witness to a kidnapping, it might be the cousin of one of the beat cops. It shows just how small a town like Los Angeles can be under the right circumstances.

It's a blessing that TNT gave "Southland" a reprieve from cancellation. Now we get the chance to see what happens to all these cops and see what drives them.

At least for one more season, anyway.

"Southland" airs at 10 p.m. each Tuesday on TNT.

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State senator's son landed teaching post ahead of hiring freeze - Las Vegas Review Journal

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 06:44 AM PST

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The Clark County School Board is expected to ratify Adam Cegavske's teaching contract at a meeting today . He is the only social studies teacher among 45 licensed employee hires before the School Board. The hires are being made as the district faces a new reduction in state funding expected to be made during a legislative special session aimed at closing an $887 million budget shortfall.

The state senator said her son got the job "on his own."

"Give him credit. I tried to stay out of it. We always would be accused of using our influence, so that is why I always stay out of things like that," said Barbara Cegavske, who has served on the Senate's health and education committee. "All I know is he got a job."

Adam Cegavske declined to comment.

Citing personnel policy, district spokesman Michael Rodriguez declined a request for Adam Cegavske's credentials. Rodriguez did say that Cegavske went through the normal hiring process. He said Cegavske was one of 900 teachers and one of 10 social studies teachers to be hired this school year.

The district Web site, ccsd.net, does not currently list social studies as one of the subjects for which teacher applications are being accepted. The district is taking applications for teaching positions in math, science, special education and Spanish.

While the district has not been "actively soliciting" social studies teachers, vacancies do happen from time to time, Rodriguez said.

Cegavske was selected from an applicant pool. He will be paid $16,706 for the semester.

Southwest Career and Technical Academy opened in August near Rainbow Boulevard and Windmill Lane.

In an e-mail sent to School Board members, Martha Tittle, the district's chief human resources officer, said these new employees were hired before the Nevada Economic Forum released information on the state's budget shortfall, now estimated at $887 million.

"The majority of these applicants are for critical labor shortage areas or hard-to-fill positions such as those in high-needs schools that often have more difficulty in recruitment of new teachers," Tittle said.

"A few hires were selected because the school may have had more than one vacancy or had already planned to fill a vacant position with a returning teacher or someone completing student teaching," Tittle said.

The district has since instituted a "hiring freeze," Tittle said in the e-mail. The deadline for hiring teachers is usually March 1, but this year no one was offered contracts after February 1, she added.

Carson City Bureau Chief Ed Vogel contributed to this story.

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Whale drags trainer off platform by her ponytail - Washington Examiner

Posted: 25 Feb 2010 07:05 AM PST

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ORLANDO, FLA. — A veteran SeaWorld trainer was rubbing a killer whale from a poolside platform when the 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her ponytail in its mouth and dragged her underwater. Despite workers rushing to help, the trainer was killed.

Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched the animal charge through the pool with the trainer in its jaws. Workers used nets as an alarm sounded, but it was too late. Dawn Brancheau had drowned. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.

The whale, named Tilikum, apparently grabbed Brancheau by her long ponytail, according to the head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks, Chuck Tompkins. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that her ponytail swung out in front of the whale.

"That's when the trainer next to him (Tilikum) said that he grabbed the hair, pulled her under water. And of course, held her under water," Tompkins said.

SeaWorld's Web site said the park would be open Thursday but that killer whale shows were suspended for the time being at its Orlando and San Diego parks. Its third location in San Antonio is not yet open for the season. Seaworld is owned by private equity firm Blackstone Group.

Brancheau's interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first to audience member Eldon Skaggs. But then, the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her," Skaggs told The Associated Press.

Some workers hustled the audience out of the stadium while the others tried to save Brancheau, 40.

Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.

But Tompkins said the whale had performed well in the show and that Dawn was rubbing him down as a reward for doing a good job.

"There wasn't anything to indicate to us that there was a problem," Tompkins told the CBS "Early Show."

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."

Because of his size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with Tilikum, and only about a dozen of the park's 29 trainers worked with him. Brancheau had more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most. She was one of the park's most experienced trainers overall.

"We recognized he was different," said Tompkins. He said no decision has been made yet about what will happen to Tilikum, such as transferring him to another facility. SeaWorld has also suspended the killer whale shows at all of its parks, which also include locations in San Diego and San Antonio, to review procedures.

A SeaWorld spokesman said Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.

Steve Huxter, who was head of Sealand's animal care and training department then, said Wednesday he's surprised it happened again. He says Tilikum was a well-behaved, balanced animal.

Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Brancheau's older sister, Diane Gross, said the trainer wouldn't want anything done to the whale because she loved the animals like children. The trainer was married and didn't have children.

"She loved the whales like her children, she loved all of them," said Gross, of Schererville, Ind. "They all had personalities, good days and bad days."

Gross said the family viewed her sister's death as an unfortunate accident, adding: "It just hasn't sunk in yet."

Dawn was the youngest of six children who grew up near Cedar Lake, Indiana. Her passion for marine life began at the age of nine, Gross said, on a family trip to Sea World.

According to a profile of Brancheau in the Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando's leading trainers. Brancheau worked her way into a leadership role at Shamu Stadium during her career with SeaWorld, starting at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before spending 10 years working with killer whales, the newspaper said.

She also addressed the dangers of the job.

"You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you," Brancheau said.

Billy Hurley, chief animal officer at the Georgia Aquarium_ the world's largest — said there are inherent dangers to working with orcas, just as there are with driving race cars or piloting jets.

"In the case of a killer whale, if they want your attention or if they're frustrated by something or if they're confused by something, there's only a few ways of handling that," he said. "If you're right near pool's edge and they decide they want a closer interaction during this, certainly they can grab you."

And, he added: "At 12,000 pounds there's not a lot of resisting you're going to do."

Mike Wald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta, said his agency had dispatched an investigator from Tampa.

Wednesday's death was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.

The trainer, Kenneth Peters, escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot orca that attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.

In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.

Wednesday's attack was the second time in two months that an orca trainer was killed at a marine park. On Dec. 24, 29-year-old Alexis Martinez Hernandez fell from a whale and crushed his ribcage at Loro Parque on the Spanish island of Tenerife. Park communications director Patricia Delponti said the whale, a 14-year-old named Keto, came from SeaWorld but is not a son of Tilikum.

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Orkin Emmanuel, Laura Wides-Munoz and David Fischer in Miami, Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg and Jeremy Hainsworth in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this report.

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