Free Republic

Gloria Romero grew up in Barstow, the daughter of a railroad worker, and like many of the desert community's young, left for the big city – in her case Los Angeles, where she earned advanced degrees, and became a college professor and later a Democratic state legislator. By happenstance, however, Romero's most important legislation – empowering parents to take control of failing public schools – is making its first impact in Adelanto, just a few miles from Barstow. This week, a San Bernardino County judge ordered Adelanto's school board to stop stalling and grant the charter school petition of parents...