Faster Than the Speed of Fast Food

In the current era of health conscious America, eaters are always looking for a fast, easy, healthy alternative to the big name, boring card board hamburger joints.

Chipotle is the package deal.

It was a busy Saturday, just after noon in the Birdcage Shopping Center off of Sunrise Boulevard.

The decor was simple but yet not boring. Wood molding and corrugated steal lined the eating area and corridor where customers formed a line. Aztec style art of the same material casually decorated the restaurant walls.

The menu is clearly organized in a build your-own-meal sort of way. First you choose the type: burrito, fajita burrito, burrito bowl, tacos, or salad. Then you choose what goes inside: Chicken, steak, carnitas, barbacoa or vegetarian. As you move down the line you can see employees prepare your meal. Next, and perhaps the most important, is the choice of salsa: fresh tomato (mild), roasted chili-corn (medium), tomatillo-green chili (medium hot), or tomatillio- red chili (hot).


I chose three tacos with soft tortillas and barbacoa (braised, shredded beef). I topped my tacos with cheese, romaine lettuce and a combination of fresh and hot salsas. The spice had just enough kick for my cheeks to draw in some extra help from outside air, but not enough to fry my taste buds. It is in my personal belief chips and salsa should be included in any mexican meal but at Chipotle they are purchased separately for $1.65. Regardless of the extra charge I got them and was satisfied with my choice.

Chipotle does serve a variety of domestic and authentic beers and if your feeling a little frisky margaritas are available. But don't expect to get any salt for the brim of your cup; they don't carry it.

At large, the experience was delightful. As we walked in the door my party had ordered, paid and sat down to eat in about five minutes time. All of the seats indoors were full so we opted to sit out side, luckily it was a dry day in autumn. There were umbrellas set up to block the intruding sun but unfortunately they were established in a stationary way and could not be altered to the direction the sun was facing. This was not a very big discomfort considering we were finished with our meal in under an hour.

For two people, two meals, a beer, a margarita and a side of chips and salsa we paid $22.67.

Fresh and naturally raised ingredients is definitely worth paying the extra couple of dollars compared to buying lunch at a popular fast food joint. Nutritional facts are listed with detail on Chipotle's to-go menu which is readily available at check out.

Although there is not an option to pull up to a drive-thru window to pick up your meal there are about 55 conveniently located restaurants throughout the greater Sacramento area. Chipotle also has the option of ordering your meal online to further add to the quickness of your dining experience. And for those with technological advances there is also an application for your iPhone so you can place your order.

Oh and if your costume is delicious, go into Chipotle dressed as a Boo-rito on Halloween and you get a free meal!


http://www.chipotle.com

Back to the Youth

The Beach Boys, The Who, The Ramones, and Black Flag all have one thing in common: The Queers!

And, you missed it. Sacramento proudly welcomed musical legends, "The Queers" Saturday night at the Kennel Club on Auburn Boulevard.



The Queers from Portsmouth, New Hampshire were originally formed in 1982. After signing to Lookout! Records (Berkeley, CA) in 1992, at the same time as Green Day, they began touring and never looked back. They have since released dozens of albums.

Saturday night was one stop on their "Pop Punk" tour across the United States before voyaging over the Atlantic to tour Italy and Spain. The show was all ages and Sacramento did a great job representing its love for the music by filling the place with bodies of all different stages of life. Patrons under the legal drinking age stood out by their glowing wrist bands that radiated under black lights. To be honest, it looked like a high school party from the early 90's with beer and tattoos. People proudly displayed their altered shirts with their favorite band names, patches, chains, mo-hawks, and smiles.

Three Sacramento bands opened that night, one of which are considered legendary all in themselves; The Secretions. This colorful trio of veteran Sacramento musicians always deliver. They bring to the stage presence, passion, and character. They played three shows with The Queers (the night before in San Fransisco, and the night after in Fresno). Part of their set included five pop punk songs to tribute The Queers' pop tour. Danny Secretion (drummer and vocalist) told a tale of the show that preceded and promised the performance would leave the audiences shorts in need of changing.



As The Queers took stage they delivered what was promised. Joe Queer (guitar,lead vocals), Dangerous Dave (bass, vocals), and Lurch (drums, vocals) moved through their set flawlessly as the crowed danced and every single person on the floor had a dirty pants grin on their face from ear to ear. Perhaps even more surprising than The Queers covering The Who's, "The Kids are Alright," was that all the kids were singing along, word for word. The Queers classic, "Punk Rock Girl" had everyone excited; also the band showed off their musicianship with their tribute to Dick Dale and surf music with an all instrumental song.

After the band finished their set and exited the stage the whole place started chanting, "Holy Shit, Holy Shit," (at the suggestion of Danny Secretion) and The Queers came out for an encore performance.






Perhaps one of the most refreshing qualities of The Queers was that they were not intimidating. They got on stage in plain clothes, t-shirt and jeans. They didn't need to put on a persona or classify themselves as a certain genre. They just got on stage and played their music, and did it well. They allowed their influences to shine through them, but did it in a style all their own.


Anyone would have enjoyed this show, regardless of misconceptions of punk rock. The proof lays with the parents who brought their kids to the show and the 60 year old man with green hair, they were dancing just as hard as the teenagers.

For more information and to find out about up coming shows please visit;

http://www.myspace.com/secretions
http://www.myspace.com/thequeers
www.thequeersrock.com
http://www.myspace.com/theenlows
http://www.myspace.com/thenogoodniksrock

The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

Chicken Little...err I mean William Tierney wants his readers to believe that the roof could some day collapse on the California State University program. His possible answer to the problem? A buy out from The Apollo Group's University of Phoenix. His propagandistic article, "Will CSU's motto someday be 'I am a Phoenix?'" outlines a questionable announcement from an un-named future Governor of California that the University of Phoenix is buying out CSU's for $2.3 billion in 2010. The fabricated reasoning behind it? Well selling public education would render more profit then selling off state parks which only, "nets a few hundred million dollars." The crisis was blamed on, "The previous administration," our current administration. What about the administration before that? Regardless of who is pointing fingers and whom they're pointing them to, a simple fact still remains; the bigger the mess, the longer it takes to clean up. Selling to the University of Pheonix will only put California's future on the fast track to half fast education. Sam Dillion, from the New York Times, said in his article, "Troubles Grow for University of Pheonix, Built on Profit," they have a graduation rate of only 16 percent. Although as of 2009 the Online Education Data Base puts the graduation rate are a mere four percent. These rates are disturbing considering the UoP is one of the fastest growing university's with one of the highest enrollment rates. Why is that? Well because the UoP is a for-profit educational system. They are concerned more about getting students in door, applied and excepted for financial aid than providing them with quality education on an individual face to face basis. Corporations are always more interested in lining their pockets and look at students as a number rather than the future leaders of our state and our country. A point brought up in Dillions article is the fact that UoP, "gets more federal student financial aid than any other." What is the money being used for if only four percent of their students are graduating? Furthermore, how is this affecting currents student in the CSU program? There are many students well into their third month of school and still have not seen a penny of their federal financial aid. As far as the quality of education goes there is much for debate. Also stated in Dillions article, students at the UoP only spend an average of 20 to 24 hours with an instructor in the duration of a course vs a student at a traditional university has the opportunity to spend at least 40 hours with an instructor. This, of course, was written before the incorporation of furlough days at CSU's which has forced instructors to cut course material and students to receive less education. Two days a month already hurts, it is hard to imagine 50 percent less class time. The University of Pheonix claims to have a high satisfaction rate from students. It was disturbing to find testimonies upon reviewing consumeraffairs.com. Jody from Brigham City, Utah, told of her account of being relentlessly pressured and eventually cornered into thousands of dollars of unwanted student loans. She was told to go ahead and start her classes before she had received her acceptance letter from FAFSA. " I asked her what would happen if I didn't get aid, and she replied again that things looked really good for me and to go ahead and start," wrote Jody. In the end Jody was forced to take the maximum amount of student loans, which she didn't want in the first place, and was penalized for dropping her classes. Other testimonials that stood out were as follows: "Over the last two years I have gone through hell with the University of Phoenix and I do not wish for anyone in any country to go through similar experiences," Jackie of Newbury Park, CA June 6, 2009. "I want to be in a class action lawsuit against UoP. I feel terribly wronged by them and am looking for other people who want to join a class action lawsuit," Elizabeth of North Chicago, IL June 9, 2009. The University of Pheonix is the big bad wolf, CSU's are little red riding hood. William Tierney and other whistle blowers like him are Chicken Little yelling that the sky is falling. Although common sense says this idea is far fetched and it is hard to believe it could ever happen, if in fact it did happen California will be in big trouble. http://www.sacbee.com/1190/story/2227503.html http://www.aznews.us/troubles_grow_for_university_of_phoenix,_built_on_profits.htm http://www.consumeraffairs.com/education/phoenix.html

Prison is a Place

Prison is a place where the first prisoner you see looks like an all American college boy and you're surprised.
Later you're disgusted because people on the outside still have the same prejudices about prisoners that you used to have.

Prison is a place where you write letters and can't think of anything to say; where you gradually write fewer and fewer letters and finally stop writing all together.

Prison is a place where you learn that nobody needs you, that the outside world goes on without you.

Prison is a place where you are smarter than the parole board because you know which guys will go straight and which ones won't. You're wrong just as often as they are, but you never admit it and neither do they.

Prison is a place where you see men that you do not admire and wonder if you are like them.

The previous is part of a poem anonymously submitted from a California prisoner. A poem which powerfully captures emotion and point of view from anyone that could be stuck in the California prison system.

It is no secret the California prison system is broken. In fact California spends more on correction than any other state, ten percent of the general fund according to Senator Mark Leno during a joint Public Safety Hearing on Reducing Prison Recidivism.

The answer to reducing recidivism and lowering spending on prisons all together is not the answer people want to hear. But people need to hear it: We need to give more to prisons now to in turn give less to them later.

The satisfaction:

By spending more on prisoner education programs it will reduce recidivism, reduce prison population and reduce crime rates. This is beneficial to public safety and also promotes prison safety, not to mention advantages for inmates and their families.

The Need:

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation places the average inmate reading level at 7th grade. Jody Lewen, executive director of the Prison University Project, believes it is lower. In fact she also believes an inmate having 7th grade reading, writing, and math skills are an exception. Seventy percent of inmates released from prisons are functionally illiterate; this leaves them with barely enough skills to get a job, let alone keep one. After the first 18 months 75 percent of released inmates are unemployed and 70 percent of them return to prison. In total there are roughly 170,000 inmates in California and to house one inmate for one year it costs $46,000.

You do the math.

The Prison University Project is a volunteer based program at San Quentin State Prison. According to the Prison University project newsletter the program offers 12 classes each semester in humanities, math, physical and social sciences as well as college prep classes and pre-release academic advising. Furthermore, the program receives no state or federal funding, inmates are loaned text books which are all donated from publishers.

Larry King asked Jody Lewen what surprised her most about being a teacher at San Quentin after she began, she replied, "The normalcy of the students, of the people here...I mean there's something very jarring about the realization that there are so many compassionate, intelligent creative people inside. I think that was disturbing."

Unfortunately the Prison University Project is the only one of its kind. Funding will have to come from somewhere in order to implement other projects at other prisons around the state. One prison trying to make a difference is not enough. "Out of all the forms of correctional education the strongest gains come from post secondary education. Twice a great of a chance of not going back to prison," said Jonathan Simon from the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice.

Prison is a Place where the system is blamed for draining state funds, contributing to an already taxed budget crisis, and not even rehabilitating the inmates it houses. In order for these men and women stuck in the California State Prison system to return to be functioning members of society, they need to be educated. Fixing a problem is always better than ignoring it.