Actual flyer. Please print, copy, and post wherever coyotes may see it!

A coyote snatched Jessica Simpson’s dog before her very eyes, per a tweet she sent Monday evening.

@jessicasimpson: http://twitpic.com/hrudr – My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes. HORROR! We are searching. Hoping. Please help!

Clearly, this is incredibly urgent. Coyotes aren’t known to keep malti-poos as pets for very long, and according to urban legend, will often sell these dogs to NFL players to be used as “playthings” for their rottweillers and pitbulls.

“Mommy” Jessica Simpson is offering a reward for Daisy’s safe return, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

In case this turns out badly, I’m asking all Metblog readers to chip in with me for a gift that will help protect any of Jessica’s future canine pals: a leash.

Ah, simpler times.

Books and media about the modern-day dilemma of finding the “right” private school for your 4 year old to attend is so overdone.  Someone needs to write a book about the travails of not interviewing, and not being interviewed by, elementary teacher-professors; about having to live with the fact that your horrible neighbors spawned their demon child the same time you did, which means their child is in your kid’s class, and there’s no imposed playroom interview to evaluate whether Chucky “fits in” with the class of ‘09; and about not receiving weekly newsletter reports about how much the class is learning about organic farming.

Enter Sandra Tsing Loh, who makes an appearance on Tuesday at the Santa Monica Public Library to promote her newest book, Mother on Fire.  Mother on Fire is a memoir of her experience touring private and public school grounds in search of the right kindergarten for her daughters and (spoiler alert) chooses the public school and becomes a total PTA mom to boot.  It’s free, and you can pick up tickets an hour before the 7pm showtime.

I’m personally hoping that Tsing Loh also will offer an editorial on “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” an essay published in this month’s issue of The Atlantic Monthly.  There, she uses her extramarital affair and subsequent divorce  (“Given my staggering working mother’s to-do list, I cannot take on yet another arduous home- and self-improvement project, that of rekindling our romance”) as a vehicle to rail against marriage (“…isn’t the idea of lifelong marriage obsolete?”).  Even though she would have a bit more credibility if she wasn’t writing this in the aftermath of a tumultuous divorce, it is a fascinating read.  Much more interesting than the kid’s story, anyway.

Instead of taking the typical Alternate Reality Game approach between seasons, the producers behind ABC TV’s “Lost” are readying the launch of a series of online classes and lectures with lessons on the source material behind the myth heavy series.

Viewers who enroll in “Lost University” will be able to study languages, such as Korean, Latin, and Iraqi Arabic, Hieroglyphics, Time Travel, and Jungle Survival, among other topics that fans will immediately see the importance of, as well as philosophy and psychology classes that will use show references as analogies.

Los Angeles “Lost” fans should be especially proud that most of these classes are taught by actual professors and teachers from USC and UCLA, including fellow blogger Clifford Johnson (Asymptotia.com), a USC physics professor who will be presenting a course on time travel along with Sean Carrol of the California Institute of Technology and Nick Warner, another Trojan. (more…)

Breakaway by Elizabeth Herndon, used under Creative Commons.

Yesterday Queequeg wrote about the 2009 Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta. I’d like to expand upon that a bit, including how you can get involved from the cool comfort your own internet connection.

I have entered a team in the regatta, and I would like to encourage everyone to join me in supporting Team Flotsam & Jetsam (so named for the floating debris after a shipwreck.) Follow that link to the sponsor page and make a donation to help my team raise the most money for 826LA. Any amount is greatly appreciated and will help 826LA provide free services for local kids. I know the economy is tough for everyone right now, but non-profits and charitable organizations have been hit particularly hard. They need our help now more than ever.

Follow me past the jump to learn why 826LA is my favorite non-profit. (more…)

True to form, politicians are once again going after the most vulnerable members of society when it comes to shorting them on funding and services. Two weeks ago voters rejected an attempt to move money out of a fund to provide mental health services by voting down a ballot initiative that would have done just that. But that didn’t stop the politicians.

This week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting health care for low-income children under the Healthy Families program.

And in a further effort to address the fiscal incompetence that is sui generis to California politics, Los Angeles Unified School District announced it will cancel most summer school classes this year. After all, kids don’t (and can’t) vote.

In addition to putting working parents in the position of having to find day care for younger children (as well as paying for it), an article about the cuts in today’s LA Times points out the greater toll to society. According to state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell,

“For kids who want to take challenging courses, for kids who need basic courses in order to graduate, these choices will contribute toward the dropout rate and we will have a less competent workforce.”

The article also states that LA Community Colleges have canceled their second summer session this year.

I could start with a snark about the economy and desperate educational institutions but I’ll pass.  Mount Sierra College here in Monrovia turns out some pretty incredible graphic arts and animation artists and they are offering up free classes as a sampler for those interested on May 30 from noon to 4PM.  The free classes being offered include animation, flash web design, resume building, hacking that tie in with the Bachelor degrees they offer in Media Arts and Information Technology.

The snazzy postcard they sent me can be embiggened from the thumbnail.  Registration is required and you can do it here now.

Address: 101 E Huntington Dr, Monrovia CA 91016

Sometimes it’s hard to put a face on what is happening in Los Angeles. It’s probably not too different from what’s happening anywhere else. I read about layoffs and failed propositions and budget cuts every day. Still, I wake up, go to work, go home, and repeat. I’m one of the lucky ones.

Today, I happened to be at the North Hollywood Home Depot, when I overheard a conversation between the cashier and a guy in line. He asked how she was doing. She said was just making the best of it. Picking up more hours here, because they keep cutting her hours at her other job – a school.

I don’t know what she does at that school. But, it’s hard to stomach the idea that her position is in any way expendable. It’s a SCHOOL, for crying out loud. That’s where the next Barack Obama could be getting his – or her – education.

I’m going to be thinking of that woman this holiday weekend. While many Angelenos are out with family and friends, grilling hot dogs, she’ll probably be picking up whatever shifts she can. A lot of people will probably be doing the same.

Hang in there, friends.

You can go here to register your top three priorities for the spending of federal stimulus dollars in LA. Your choices?

• Infrastructure: Street lights, sidewalks, repaving
• Afterschool programs
• Gang intervention programs
• Community centers/senior centers
• Permanent housing for homeless
• Neighborhood beautification: medians, plantings
• Foreclosure prevention & counseling
• Career training centers

So. What will you vote for? I chose gang intervention, afterschool programs, and permanent housing for homeless.

There’s also a field where you can make suggestions–do you have a write-in idea for how to spend the stimulus cash? Ha. Hahaha. I just bet you do.

Just when I thought the LAUSD and the California Legislature couldn’t possibly make me any angrier, our school parents’ group publishes an online poll today that goes something like this:

In order to face the upcoming deep LAUSD budget cuts, we need to make some hard choices.

Which of the following services do you believe we can afford to lose the least? Please mark these in order of priority – 1=most important, 7=least important:

• Academic coaches
• Technology/computer program
• School library
• Physical education
• Kindergarten aides
• Teacher training to match instruction to student skill levels.

Here’s the pathetic part – these are all services funded BY US BECAUSE LAUSD DOESN’T PAY FOR THEM. (more…)

Blogger Debbie Lopez is Twittering a 2nd grade field trip she’s chaperoning to the La Brea Tar Pits.

The average reader may not be too interested in updates such as, “Passing out bananas for snacks” or “We’re getting on the bus figuring out our seating arrangements,” but faculty of Beckford Elementary and the student’s parents may appreciate the microblogging of the day’s events… especially with updated notes on when the kids will be back at the school for pickup, safe and sound.

A very cool example of what Twitter can be used for.