Latest news with #Schempp
Boston Globe
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Today in History: June 17, O.J. Simpson charged with murder following highway chase
In 1775, 250 years ago, the Battle of Bunker Hill took place in Charlestown. Rebels, who had build a ramparts atop Breed's Hill, repulsed two waves of British army soldiers before running out of ammunition as the third wave breached their defenses and forced their withdrawal. Although a tactical defeat for the rebels, the battle became a rallying point showing the resolve and strength of the colonists. Advertisement In 1825, a crowd of 100,000, including some Revolutionary War veterans, gathered to commemorate the placing of the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument. It would take years of fund-raising, however, before it was completed, in 1843. Advertisement In 1885, the Statue of Liberty, disassembled and packed into 214 separate crates, arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French frigate Isère. In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which boosted US tariffs to historically high levels, prompting foreign retaliation. In 1963, the US Supreme Court, in Abington School District v. Schempp, struck down, 8-1, rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or reading of biblical verses in public schools. In 1972, President Richard Nixon's eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s, Watergate complex. Also that year, after extinguishing the flames of an extensive fire at the Hotel Vendome in Back Bay, nine firefighters were crushed to death when part of the building collapsed. It was the deadliest tragedy for the Boston Fire Department. In 1994, after leading police on a slow-speed chase on Southern California freeways, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. (Simpson was acquitted of the murders in a criminal trial in 1995, but held liable in a civil trial in 1997.) In 2008, hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that same-sex marriage became legal by order of the state's highest court; an estimated 11,000 same-sex couples would be married under the California law in its first three months. In 2015, nine Black worshippers were killed when a gunman opened fire during a Bible study gathering at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. (Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, was captured the following day; he would be convicted on state and federal murder and hate crime charges and sentenced to death.) Advertisement In 2021, the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, left intact the entire Affordable Care Act, rejecting a major Republican-led effort to kill the national health care law known informally as 'Obamacare.' In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, creating the first new national holiday since the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Last year, the Boston Celtics won the NBA title, securing its record 18th banner, with a lopsided win over the Dallas Mavericks at the TD Garden. The win ended a dominating run through playoffs.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bible-infused lessons in Texas schools ignore the law and hurt students like me
Starting this fall, a Bible-influenced curriculum approved by the State Board of Education last November will be allowed in Texas public elementary schools. The lessons could reach as many as 7,000 schools and 2 million K-5 students. As a second-generation Hindu teenager in Texas public schools, I find this curriculum worrying. Minority students can feel socially ostracized. Adding lessons that emphasize one religious tradition will increase social alienation for those who don't identify with that faith. Secular education, which has contributed to maintaining peace in classrooms, is being threatened. Young students rarely understand religious differences between themselves and their peers, in my experience. When a particular tradition — whether a place of worship or dietary restriction — is presented as "correct" or "better," those outside that tradition feel demeaned. Public elementary schools should not teach about the Bible. Period. The First Amendment mandates the separation of church and state, and the Fourteenth Amendment requires individual states to comply with all other Amendments. The Bible is a religious text. Public schools are state funded. Texas should not be endorsing religious material in elementary schools. Schools are not religion-free, but teachers must remain impartial during instructional periods. Student-led activities during free periods, like my school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes club, are protected. A Bible-infused school curriculum, however, sanctions religious expression in class by teachers and the school. In the case of Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a Pennsylvania school district's mandatory Bible readings were unconstitutional, even though individual students were allowed to opt out in rare cases. Even if a Texas school's decision to use the Bible-infused curriculum is optional, the U.S. Supreme Court has already thwarted an attempt at religious instruction in public schools. Furthermore, the judicial system is 100% backed up by the Constitution. Proponents argue that Christianity is a major part of U.S. history and will enrich humanities lessons. But 26% of Texans are religiously unaffiliated, while 6% practice non-Christian religions. A Bible-influenced curriculum disregards a third of the state population. The curriculum inserts Biblical stories into previously secular subjects. English is a required subject for K-5 public schools. In the subject textbook, the new curriculum includes scientific lessons alongside a unit called 'Serving Our Neighbors,' which emphasizes Jewish and Christian scriptures. By placing a religious chapter next to nonspiritual lessons, the textbook presents a certain religious tradition as the default, alienating students from other faiths. I recall arguing with classmates in third grade about God, reflecting our various faiths. We disagreed on God's abilities, whether he could walk on hot surfaces or fly, among other superpowers. As young children, we struggled to understand each other, and our teacher had to intervene. Infusing education with a majority religion worsens divisions for minorities. Although Christianity influences U.S. culture, religious pluralism is an important part of America's constitutional fabric. Public education should reflect those values rather than religious superiority. Though adoption of this new curriculum is optional for schools, they will receive additional funding if they do so. A 2024 Kinder Institute study found that 73% of Texas school districts are underfunded, and the most financially strained districts are more likely to have student achievement ratings of C or lower. State funds being reserved to reward religious education should instead be used to increase teacher salaries and improve educational opportunities. It is frustrating that underfunded schools are pressured to adopt a Bible-infused curriculum. Students like myself have attended primary schools for years to develop basic skills and identities. Controversial topics being taught, or worse, strangled in a biased environment, undermine our educational fabric. They threaten the future of my fellow students and minorities. All students deserve to feel valued in their classrooms, not subjected to alienation or divisions along religious and cultural lines. Rajasi Agarwal is a ninth grader at Westlake High School. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Teaching the Bible in Texas schools hurts students like me | Opinion
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ragged Mountain up for sale; strong interest in keeping 'hometown' feel
Mar. 21—Ragged Mountain, a ski resort in central New Hampshire, is for sale. The planned sale includes two components: the resort and ski operations, and 443 acres ripe for development, according to a listing by CBRE Golf & Resort Group. The land being offered for sale is owned by affiliated limited liability companies and can be purchased separately or together, according to the listing. The ski operations include the four-story Meeting House, three-story Elmwood Lodge and other buildings. Development plans allow for up to 625 "equivalent residential units," according to the listing. The second parcel includes the base parking area, two hotel pads and the rights to 245 units. A dedicated website for the sale does not include a price. Significant infrastructure already in place includes retention ponds, wells, water lines, electric lines, septic systems and graded roads, according to the listing. The news of the sale comes as the Danbury resort celebrates its 60th anniversary as an independent ski area. The resort has seen more than 100,000 skiers and snowboarders so far this season. The resort opened in January 1965 with a T-bar and a double chairlift. The conditions were less than ideal with no snowmaking equipment, according to its website, with some suggesting the name came from the "ragged" conditions. Being less than 100 miles from Boston, the mountain is "considered one of the top local resorts in the Eastern U.S.," CBRE says. Doug Anderson, co-founder of Utah-based Pacific Group Resorts, bought Ragged in 2007 with big plans in mind before the Great Recession hit. It was previously owned by Al and Walter Endriunas, who had proposed 850 seasonal housing units, a hotel and indoor water park. Pacific Group Resorts Inc. manages the ski operations. It owns and operates several other resorts including Jay Peak in Vermont. Ragged is the only mountain it does not own. "We study all our resorts. People love Ragged. People are passionate about this place. That's not going away," said Christian Knapp, vice-president/chief marketing officer for PGRI. "We might have an owner come in who wants PGRI to manage it." A spokesman for Ragged Mountain did not return a request for comment Friday afternoon. Brandon Schempp, first vice president of CBRE, said Anderson is stepping back from the ski industry and last year stepped down as chairman of Pacific Group. He remains the majority owner. "He is getting to the age where he is doing some estate planning," Schempp said. The Pacific Group formed in 2012 after Anderson bought Ragged, according to the company. In 2023, PGRI expressed interest in "further acquisitions," according to a news release. If the bids are not ideal, Pacific Group could choose to add the resort to its portfolio, Schempp said. Future expansion If the two listings aren't enough, there's also the potential to buy 604 acres of skiable land on a third slope known as "Pinnacle Peak" to expand the resort footprint, according to the listing. "The current owners have made substantial capital improvements at the resort, including lifts, snowmaking, base lodge upgrades, parking lots and base area lodging," the listing said. The listing agent, Schempp, said the interest in the resort is overwhelming. He suggested that the real estate development around the resort would be "slow and steady," which would rule out some larger ski resort operators. Many are committed to trying to keep the "hometown ski area" feel to the resort, Schempp said "The loyalty is there," he said. jphelps@ Union Leader reporter Roberta Baker contributed to this report.
