Free Republic

RESEDA, LOS ANGELES -- The scores are in for Southern California students who took the annual STAR exam. Despite cutbacks and layoffs, scores are up for the ninth straight year. They're at their highest levels since the testing began. At a 10th-grade physiology class at Reseda High School, reading and language skills are combined with mathematics, and there are improved results in the latest statewide Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) examinations given to nearly 5 million students in grades 2 through 11. "Despite the cuts we are seeing that kind of significant progress. It's been steady over the last nine...

<p>With gasoline prices topping $2 a gallon, it’s probably not the best time to propose a gas-tax increase, but Sen. Tom Torlakson is pushing ahead with a bill that would tie California’s per-gallon tax on motor vehicle fuels to inflation.</p>