In walks the quietest pencil sharpener on the planet! Struggling with pencil sharpeners every year, I took particular notice to an article written about this pencil sharpener which claimed to be easy to use, efficient, and quiet. The article was written by a homeschool blogger and she bragged about this sharpener. Maybe I was not the only one who struggled with finding the perfect pencil sharpener? I am probably, however, the only one who gets excited about finding a new pencil sharpener. So, did it solve my pencil issues? YES!

I hesitate to reveal my pencil deficiency to the world but this pencil sharpener has been my favorite school supply. Even my 6 year old can use it with no problems. You stick the pencil in, you secure it, and get to sharpening. It’s quiet and since the pencil is secured in the slot without you forcing it in, anyone c an easily and quickly sharpen a pencil. It sharpens fast and to a perfect point every time.

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HOUSTON – Houston has scored a team of highly sought after all-stars.

So who are these new recruits? We all know the NBA trio Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Well, they are “not” coming to Houston but Jose Onuchic, Herbert Levine and Peter Wolynes are.

Who are they? Onuchic, Levine and Wolynes are to cancer research what James, Wade and Bosh are to basketball.

On a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Rice University, the weather may be bad but the news is good:

Rice was able to steal 3 of the best scientists in the world away from University of California-San Diego.

“What we were looking for was not to make California have any problems at Texas’ gain,” said Rice University Provost Dr. George McLendon with a smile.

But that’s sort of what happened. The economy is so bad in California, the college there just couldn’t compete with what Rice was offering.

Some say that offering included more research money and 42 pay raises.

“That’s actually not quite true.

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Years after a single traumatic brain injury (TBI), survivors still show changes in their brains. In a new study, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggest that Alzheimer’s disease-like neurodegeneration may be initiated or accelerated following a single traumatic brain injury, even in young adults.

Over 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, and beyond the immediate effects, growing evidence demonstrates that a single TBI may initiate long-term processes that further damage the brain. TBI is an established risk factor for later development of cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

“A single traumatic brain injury is very serious, both initially, and as we’re now learning, even later in life,” said Douglas Smith, MD, professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, the study’s co-senior author.

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Colorado legislators made a bet on the economy in April, guessing that state revenues would improve enough by June to trigger a $67.5 million boost for school funding next school year.

The bet appeared to have paid off Monday, when quarterly revenue forecasts were released by the staff of the Legislative Council and by the Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Because the OSPB’s June forecast was higher than the amount estimated in March, an extra $67.5 million will be available to K-12 education.

“I’m thrilled that it actually worked,” said Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs and architect of the idea.

School funding for 2011-12 was a key issue for lawmakers during the session that ended May 11. Lawmakers worked hard to reduce Gov. John Hi

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With the start of the fall semester just weeks away, University of California students can look forward to yet another tuition hike – a 9.6-percent increase, to be exact. On Thursday, the Board of Regents passed a $1,068 hike on top of a previously approved 8-percent hike for 2011-2012 school year. The regents voted 14-4 in favor of the second increase to cope with the $650 million cut in state funding for next year.

Undergraduate and graduate tuition for California residents will increase to $12,192 a year, not including room and board or campus fees. Now sure, that may not seem like much for college tuition but that’s a $1,890 (or 18 percent) increase from the amount UC undergraduates paid the previous year and more than three times what they paid a decade ago.

Leigh Mason, a fourth-year student and student government activist at UC San Diego, said the timing of the tuition increase so close to the fall term has families scrambling. “Fo

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Plaintiffs in two lawsuits challenging the Douglas County voucher pilot are asking for an immediate halt to the plan, arguing it must be stopped before any public dollars flow to private schools.

“Once the money is illegally diverted away from public schools, the bell can’t be unrung,” said Gregory M. Lipper, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the plaintiffs.

Americans United, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado and a handful of Douglas County parents, filed the motion for a preliminary injunction on Tuesday.

Taxpayers for Public Education, a group of Douglas County parents and residents who are the plaintiffs in the second lawsuit opposing the voucher pilot, filed a similar motion Wednesday.

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In addition to the preliminary injunction, both sets of plaintiffs have asked Denver District Judge Michael Anthony Martinez to consolidate the two lawsuits into one, noting the “cases share common questions of law and fact,” according to court documents.

Martinez has yet to rule on the motion to consolidate or the request for a preliminary injunction. He’s also

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HOUSTON – In the board game “Life”, one travels into adulthood: getting a job, having a family and handling money.

For hundreds of Houston students, it was a different game. Big companies set up camp at the George R. Brown Convention Center to hand out some real-life lessons.

Just like real life, it starts with a job. So the students applied, but not all received offers.

Kierra Hatchet, 16, was surprised to find her demeanor affected her job offers.

“I thought by being qualified, by being good for certain jobs, you would get the job, but that wasn’t the case at all,” Hatchet said.

So, she plans to make changes.

“Sell myself more for the job I really want. Act more interested, engage more in the person and more contact, more eye contact.”

Tarik Isaac is just 14 years old.

“They asked me what my weakness is and that caught me really off guard,” Isaac said.

Fortunately the confident teen was ready with answers. It

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