http://www.yubanet.com YubaNet.com - We deliver news to the Sierra Nevada en-us Waste Management is offering FREE Christmas tree recycling to Nevada County residents. Please make sure your tree is free of ALL garlands! http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73701.shtml For years, Kirkwood has been offering exclusive programs just for women and girls in an effort to grow the number of women participating in skiing and snowboarding. Nationally, the participation has remained relatively stable but a recent study at Kirkwood reveals the resort has grasped the emerging women's market by investing in women specific programs and gear. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73700.shtml Nothing impressive develops over the next couple of days, although rain is in the forecast through Saturday over the Northern half of the State. The North coast, including the Smith and Eel river basins will see between 1.0" and 1.5" of rain Thursday night, with lighter amounts down the coast. The Northern Sierra, Feather River Basin, and Shasta areas will get about .50" by Friday morning. Sacramento will have a round of showers on Thursday night/ Friday morning. Another cool, moderately wet system crosses Friday night/ Saturday. That one will spread precip as far south as the Bay area and Yosemite, although the amounts range from 0.25" to 0.75". A big ridge of high pressure takes over thereafter. Look for a stretch of dry weather through the New Year, including a rain/snow-free New Year's Eve. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73697.shtml Proposition 92, which will appear on the February 5, 2008 ballot, would establish a guaranteed level of funding for California's community colleges in addition to the current funding guarantee for K-14 education. The measure also would reduce community college fees and limit the size of future fee increases as well as change the way community colleges are governed. A new CBP Budget Brief, "What Would Proposition 92 Mean for California?," examines policy issues raised by Proposition 92. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73696.shtml United States Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, released the following statement on EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson's declining a request for his participation in a field briefing on EPA's California waiver decision, scheduled for January 10 in Los Angeles. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73695.shtml The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73692.shtml Nevada returned to the top as the nation's fastest-growing state, with a population increase of 2.9 percent between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Arizona, fastest-growing between 2005 and 2006, slipped to second place. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73690.shtml 2007 has been a deadly year for law enforcement in the United States, with 186 officers killed nationwide as of December 26, according to preliminary statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73689.shtml As our nation prepares to ring in the new year, the U.S. Census Bureau today projected the Jan. 1, 2008, population will be 303,146,284 -- up 2,842,103 or 0.9 percent from New Year's Day 2007. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73688.shtml The Bush administration today announced its intention to remove current protections for roadless areas in Colorado's national forests. Colorado's roadless areas are the wild heart of the southern Rockies. Under the administration's proposal, many of these natural landscapes could be lost to logging, mining and oil and gas exploration. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73687.shtml A UN programme to demobilise hundreds of child soldiers in Chad has been on hold since November following the resurgence of fighting between the army and rebel groups in the east. "The process on standby," head of protection programmes with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Chad, Jean Francois Basse, told IRIN. "It's now all just a big mess." http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73675.shtml With Pakistan's female adult literacy rate as low as 36 percent, according to the UN, Shahida, married with a one year-old daughter, believes it is up to the women in her community to bring about change, if not for themselves, then for their daughters. "Otherwise their lives will be just like ours," Shahida, 20, said. She is among two dozen women huddled together on the floor of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) literacy centre in Jiya Bagha, a farming village, outside Lahore, the provincial capital of Pakistan's populous Punjab Province, to learn the nuances of teaching adults how to read and write. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73674.shtml I was near the deadline for a column when I glanced at a TV screen. "The Suze Orman Show," airing on CNBC at prime time, exerted a powerful force in my hotel room. And the fate of this column was sealed. Orman made a big splash many years ago on public television -- the incubating environment for her as a national phenom. With articulate calls for intelligent self-determination of one's own financial future, she is a master of the long form. Humor and dramatic cadences punch up the impacts of her performances. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73663.shtml Research carried out in the Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behaviour Sciences of the University of Granada has shown that the level of academic training is not related to the ecological awareness of people, despite the great proliferation of programs designed to educate and increase social awareness of the environment. Thus, according to research, housewives are more ecologically aware than university students, given they are more willing to recycle glass. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73654.shtml Flag waving is a metaphor for stirring up the public towards adopting a more nationalistic, generally hard-line stance. Indeed, "rally 'round the flag" is a venerable expression of this phenomenon. It comes as some surprise, then, that studies conducted by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown that exposing people to a subliminal image of the national flag had just the opposite fact -- moderating their political attitudes. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73653.shtml Scientists have for the first time identified brain sites that fire up more when people make impulsive decisions. In a study comparing brain activity of sober alcoholics and non-addicted people making financial decisions, the group of sober alcoholics showed significantly more "impulsive" neural activity. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73651.shtml Clicking on Web links in holiday-related e-mail messages is a dangerous practice that could put your identity or your computer in the hands of criminals. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73652.shtml The annual America's Most Literate Cities ranking, published today in "USA Today," measures the cultural resources for reading in America's largest cities. It names Minneapolis, Seattle, St. Paul, Denver, Washington, DC, St. Louis, San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Boston as the most literate US cities, in that order. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73650.shtml EarthCam, the world's favorite webcam network and recognized authority on the Internet camera industry has released its ninth annual list of the world's most interesting webcams. Leading with the only known webcam transmitting street views from Havana, Cuba, this year's top 25 list (viewable at www.EarthCam.com/top25) honors worldwide Internet camera producers for concept creativity, technology, visual quality and design. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73649.shtml The American Film Institute (AFI) today announced the year's AFI Moments of Significance. These seven noteworthy events were determined to have had an impact on the world of the moving image during the calendar year 2007. Each year, AFI AWARDS adds another volume to the history of American film and television by documenting the collective opinion of the moving image communities, archiving the year's significant moments and honoring the talent and collaborative teams who have created the year's outstanding accomplishments. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73648.shtml You've seen their names plastered in headlines throughout 2007, but which headline shocked you the most? Which rehab-grad will stay clean for the long haul? Who's the hottest bachelor of them all? Some of our answers will surprise you! Parade.com polled Americans about their opinions on pop culture, entertainment, celebrities and more. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73647.shtml As we face the end of the calendar year, the National League of Cities would like to offer a lighthearted look at the serious job facing local elected officials every day. 1) You have to be able to add two and two together (and the answer must always be four). http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73691.shtml As presidential candidates ramp up their primary campaigns, health care reform looms prominently among voters' main concerns. A new study in the December 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) provides the most comprehensive evidence to date that expanding coverage to people without it leads to demonstrable improvements in health. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73646.shtml Candidates Exchange - cartoon by Nate Beeler http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73642.shtml The Fruitcake Uses - cartoon by Mike Lane http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73641.shtml December 26 - Boxing Day in England, and also St. Stephen's Day - which brings us one of the most beautiful Christmas Songs of all - Good King Wenceslas, who brought food and wood to a poor man and his family, right against the forest fence, near Saint Agnes' fountain - here, the Donner Summit version. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_73640.shtml