Technology replaces parent-teacher meetings

The Indianapolis Star

A steady decline in attendance at parent-teacher conferences and an increase in online access for parents to monitor their children's progress has led the district to cancel spring parent-teacher conferences for Grades 7-12.

No other public school district in Hamilton County offers spring parent-teacher conferences above the elementary grades, and some don't offer conferences in those grades, either.

"Our teachers association surveyed NHS teachers last year, and the overwhelming opinion was that dismissing school early on two days for spring parent-teacher conferences was not a good use of time that would otherwise be spent in class," high school principal Annetta Petty wrote in an e-mail.

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Bird not sure he'll return as Pacers president

ESPN

Even Larry Bird isn't sure of his future with the Indiana Pacers as ownership pledges big changes for the troubled franchise.

Bird, the team president, said Monday he can't be certain whether he will be back next season, The Indianapolis Star reported.

"I don't know," Bird said when asked if he believed he and team CEO Donnie Walsh would return to the front office next season. "We'll just wait and see."

The Pacers are 26-41 and have seen a number of players make headlines for bad behavior or trouble with the law in the past few years. Two weeks ago, Herb Simon, who co-owns the team with his brother Mel, said that he'd had enough and pledged changes would be made -- and that everything except ownership of the team would be on the table.

"If it's changing everybody, it's changing everybody," Bird said, according to the Star. "I would like an opportunity to try to do it. ... I think there's a lot of blame that can be passed around, and obviously it starts at the top. When you're at the top, you have to take the hits like everybody else."

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Carson Becomes Second Muslim to Serve in Congress

Washington Post

It's been a busy 48 hours for Carson, as he was already in the Capitol today for his ceremonial swearing-in. washingtonpost.com's Emily Freifeld, captured the moment on video. During and after the event, the House's newest member shared his thoughts on being a "proud Muslim, a proud American, and a proud Hoosier" -- and the grandson of a woman he calls his political "Obi-wan Kenobi."

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New ozone standards likely to impact state economic development

nwi.com

The federal government's new smog standards could push future industrial development in Indiana away from its urban areas and into rural counties _ or even out of the state altogether, an industry official said Thursday.

Environmental activists, however, said the stricter ozone standard announced Wednesday doesn't go nearly far enough to protect the public from dense, eye-stinging summertime smog that makes it hard for the elderly, children and others to breathe.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rules lower its 8-hour standard for ground-level ozone _ smog's primary ingredient _ from 84 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion.

Based on air monitoring data from 2004-2006, the EPA said 14 Indiana counties currently do not meet the new standard. State environmental officials said the new standard could cause 24 Indiana counties to be designated as nonattainment, based on more recent data from 2005-2007.

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