The district claims that enrollment has dwindled in recent years, with all school facilities operating at 48% ful capacity, according to the New York times. The district says that some students have been lost to charter schools as well as other factors. Schools in the area report dismal student achievement, with the majority of students failing to perform according to grade level standards. Why action had to be delayed until financial resources were severly strained remains a mystery to us. However, now students will have to deal with the district’s inability to adequately fullfil its responsibilities.

There is little question that other districts may follow in similar pursuit as the economy continues to falter. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson in the future that action shouldn’t be dealyed until the very last minute. How districts have chosen to handle their incompetency is unacceptable and underlines part of the reason for our failing public education system.

Former child star Corey Haim was found dead in his home earlier today of an apparent drug overdose. The star was known for his roles in films like “License to Drive.” 38 year old Haim was transported to a local hospital in Burbank, California by paramedics before being pronounced dead. According to officials, it was Haim’s mother who contacted paramedics after watching him collapse for no apparent reason. She has not commented on allegations that Haim’s death was caused by drugs. Investigators did not find any indication of drug use at the site of his collapse.

Corey Haim is not new to the drug culture, having had several stints in rehab for cocaine and prescription drug use. It appears that his career spiraled downwards following his string of successful films in the 80s. The New York Times reports that at one point VH1 was considering offering Haim a spot on the popular show “Celebrity Fit Club,” after weighing in at an astounding 300 pounds.

Haim leaves behind his mother. He was never married, but at one point was engaged to Nicole Eggert of baywatch. Funeral plans for the star have yet to be announced, although you can expect an update when they become available. An autopsy will be performed on the star to verify the exact cause of death. While substance abuse is believed to be the cause of his untimely death, other factors may have been at play.

If there’s anything to indicate that Lindsay Lohan’s professional career is tanking, its that she now feels a need to sue eTrade for apparently infringing on her intellectual property rights. eTrade, an online stock trade company aired a commercial during the Super Bowl that made reference to a baby name “Lindsay,” and characterized this baby as being a “milkaholic.” What Lohan’s attorneys are alleging is that eTrade purposely named the baby Lindsay to trigger the thought of Lindsay Lohan in audience members’ minds. They say it is a form of subliminal advertising. Naturally, Lindsay and her legal counsel are suing for an exorbitant amount – $100 million. According to them, the commercial reached such a vast number of households worldwide that the damages are substantial. We aren’t legal experts here, but the suit looks absolutely frivolous. Who in their right mind would think of Lindsay Lohan when hearing the name “Lindsay” on an eTrade commercial?

The defendant in the lawsuit has already responded saying that the name was chosen at random, something that is very believable. What sort of benefit would they have expected to garner if they actually named the baby “Lindsay” on purpose? The attention of a teen audience, which doesn’t engage in online stocks trading in the first place.

It’s sad to see how some celebrities abuse their power, and this is the perfect example of just that. Hopefully the courts serve justice in this matter.

Automobile maker Toyota has been receiving some immense criticism in recent months for failing to address stacking concerns that it’s automobiles, including models like the ever-so-popular Toyota Camry and Toyota Prius, may accelerate unexpectedly causing harm to the car’s drivers and passengers, and to those in other vehicles nearby. The company first claimed that floor mats found in the cars were somehow pinning down the gas pedal. It wasn’t until a highly publicized accident involving a Lexus, Toyota’s luxury brand of car, with a CHP officer at the wheel and members of his family as passengers that federal investigators began asking more questions. The recent recall of millions of vehicles to fix a malfunction in the gas pedal mechanism has got Toyota customers less on edge, however, there is still concern that even the proposed fix may not work. Some Toyota drivers have reported continued problems with unintended acceleration despite having their cars repaired per the recall.

The most recent reported incident happened Monday, when 61 year old James Sikes driving a Prius in San Diego county watched his car speed up to 90 mph. Luckily, a CHP officer spotted him, and attempted to instruct him to put the car in neutral or apply the emergency brake. This advice should have supposedly stopped the car. Although many claim that a car’s brakes should overpower the engine in the event of unintended acceleration, more and more reports have revealed otherwise. Sometimes, a tactic as simple as shifting the car into neutral is nearly impossible due to the design of the car’s shifter. Fortunately, the man managed to turn off the engine before any harm was done. In the midst of yet another instance of bad publicity, Toyota has decided to send its investigators to inspect the car. It continues to deny that an electrical problem is the source of any of the problems observed in its popular line of automobiles.

We’d love to hear what our readers think of the Flash Delirium song that was just released. Take a listen to it and tells us how it compares to the band’s past work.

Police apprehended John Albert Gardner III in connection with the crime. A background check revealed that Gardner had prior convictions relating to sexual assault, and had actually served time, although not fully, for inappropriate contact with a minor. In comparing the Chelsea King case to that of Amber Dubois, investigators discovered some similarities and thus Gardner is suspect is both cases.

Jet Blue offered an amazing deal that ended today. The budget airliner had to sell off seats on flights headed to 10 different destinations on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The lucky people who managed to snatch tickets on these planes only had to pay a measly $10. Now, at this type of price, you probably think these flights were headed to some remote places that nobody would even dream of going to. Fear not – most of these flights were for popular destinations including Tampa, Florida and Salt Lake City, Utah. It is unclear whether the airliner plans to hold a similar deal in the near future.

As you might imagine, the airline industry has felt the effects of the recession. Just last month Lufthansa employees announced a 4 day strike hoping the airliner would make modifications to existing employee contracts to increase equality between the employee base. There is little question that this promotion held by JetBlue was a means to recoup some lost money. They didn’t recoup much, but its nice to see they’ve tried their best to extend this generous deal to their customers.

Jet Blue was founded in 1998 and reported revenues in excess of 3.2 billion for fiscal year 2009. Executives at Jet Blue are largely composed of former employees from another budget airline, Southwest Airlines.

Watch Liz Hint at a Second Season!

Update:
Paul, one of our readers, chimed in to say that Liz alluded to the possibility of a second season via UStream last night. She apparently tried to dodge any questions concerning the status of her relationship with co-star Bryson Gilreath. More updates as they become available.

Speculation is abuzz right now as to whether or not MTV will air a second season of My Life as Liz, a faux documentary of sorts depicting the life of an average teenager trying to make it through high school. The show has all of the elements you would expect from an MTV “reality show,” including obviously scripted scenes between Liz and the leader of a popular clique at school. Naturally, MTV worked in some romantic element as well – Bryson, who at the near conclusion of the first season is seen trying to chase after Liz after her and her date are leaving the venue. You couldn’t expect any other ending from a “reality show.” Really – do you think it’ s coincidental that after the first season of Laguna Beach, Lauren planned to move to San Fransisco, much like Liz is not contemplating a move to New York.

It appears that My Life as Liz has been received very well by the teenage population, which undoubtedly explains the possibility of another season. MTV has not made any public statements about the future of the show, but given the utmost positive reception, it’s a safe bet that a new season may well be on the horizon. If and when official word comes that My Life as Liz Season 2 is on its way, we will let you know!

For those of you that haven’t heard about the documentary, it talks about how dolphins are being slaughtered in Japan by the thousands each and every year. In an effort to get people more involved, the producer wrote text dolphin to 44144 on a sign, a message that would have reached millions of people. It is either that ABC didn’t approve of the message and thus chose to cut away from it, or that some other factor may be at play. We will keep an eye on this to see what sort of theories develop.

Some other winners at the Oscars included “The Blind Side,” a drama-sports film starring Sandra Bullock, and “Inglorious Basterds,” a Quentin Tarantino flick on a Nazi assassination plot, spearheaded by Aldo Raine (who is played by Brad Pitt in the movie). Everyone had high hopes for this film come Oscar time, yet it was surprisingly trumped by “The Hurt Locker.”

“Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney as a professional “layoffer” also didn’t failed to fare as expected during the awards. The recurring theme here is that big budget doesn’t mean everything these days and that people are starting to focus more on substance. The over-hyped eye candy-laden “Avatar” undoubtedly demonstrates this best.