It's a wonderful fall afternoon and 21 third graders are learning about nutrition and environmental science as a part of their every day school lessons. But they're not sitting in a classroom. You walk through furrows of fertile, dark soil surrounded by rows of lettuce, onions, carrots and other produce on the sun-drenched coast of San Mateo County.

“This is an organic farm,” says Sara Neale, their guide. “Do you know what organic means?”

“Original?” a boy said, shrugging his shoulders.

“That means we don’t use any chemicals,” she says with a smile.

Over the subsequent hour, the kids picked cilantro, tomatoes and other produce, learned about insects, nutrition and environmental science, and at last cut up what they picked and ate it on homemade tacos. It's all a part of a curriculum that continued for weeks after she returned to her classroom at El Granada Elementary School.

“Remember that saying, ‘Don’t do it to me,’” Neale told them. “When someone tries something for the first time, don’t say it’s gross.”

It has been for greater than 20 years HEAL projecta nonprofit education group based in Half Moon Bay, has brought classrooms stuffed with students to a five-acre farm just off Highway 1 across from the tiny Half Moon Bay Airport and surrounded by the rolling hills of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The organization runs programs to assist children find out about science – akin to the parts of a plant – and provides them practical advice about where their food comes from and eat healthier.

“It’s a real hands-on experience,” said Brett Schilke, the organization’s executive director. “Children touch, feel and taste all kinds of foods that they might not otherwise see. They harvest it themselves and turn it into something they eat. Often it's their first time on a farm, they're cutting vegetables for the first time, they're eating some of these foods for the first time. It’s a way for children to connect with nature and the foods they put into their bodies.”

Last yr, this system served 4,100 students, most of them second, third and fourth graders from throughout San Mateo County. Of those, 3,600 children participated in field visits and one other 500 participated within the group's summer day camps or gardening programs at their schools.

Overall, 36% of kids got here from low-income schools in places like Redwood City, East Palo Alto and Daly City.

The farm visits may seem to be a straightforward, fun field trip, but they contain essential information that may help children find out about every part from childhood obesity to climate change, supporters say.

“This is long-term education,” said Schilke. “We wish to create a foundation for these children that can last for a few years to return. We hear an infinite stream of stories from parents and the community saying, “My kid would never try vegetables, and now they're begging me to go to the store and buy chard.” I just joined in just a few days ago “I spoke to a mother who said her children were now in their 20s and they said they remembered being here as children and what they ate.”

The group, whose acronym stands for “Health, Environmental and Agricultural Literacy,” began in 2001 with a gaggle of fogeys from Half Moon Bay who planted a faculty garden on the San Mateo coast. It grew and have become an independent nonprofit organization just a few years later. Today it has 15 employees, a 12-person board of directors and about 90 volunteers, and an annual budget of $768,000.

Schools pay to go to the farm. But schools in areas with the bottom household incomes or the best percentages of English learners are allowed to return at a cheaper price or free of charge. The organization is asking Wish Book donors for $25,000 to cover the associated fee of college visits in probably the most disadvantaged communities.

During the recent visit, Stacey Walsh, a third-grade teacher at El Granada, said visits to the farm would help her teach environmental and science lessons.

“Often children learn more by engaging in activities such as being in nature, seeing, smelling and tasting things, rather than looking at a screen or a book,” she said. “You can’t choose vegetables from a book.”

After learning in regards to the parts of a plant, what aphids are, and the difference between a tomato and a tomatillo on the last trip, the kids picked vegatables and fruits and headed to an out of doors dining kitchen.

Neale handed out small knives, went over knife safety suggestions and told them they were making tacos.

“You’re the chef,” she said. “You decide what to cut into pieces and put on your taco. I challenge you to try everything.”

They dutifully sliced ​​every part up, rolled it into flour tortillas, and eagerly dove in.

“I love green onions,” said third-grader Ashley Murray. “They make everything taste better. It's very beautiful out here. I like how you can try new things. I learn more on the farm than in class.”

Her classmate nearby, John Lacerda, had just finished picking onions and wasn't yet convinced he should eat any.

“It’s kind of fun,” he said. “You learn about plants. I've never had a tomatillo. I’ve never been to a farm before.”

Would he eat the onions and cilantro?

“I’ll try a carrot,” he said, smiling.

Across the table, his friend Wolf Guel was devouring his taco.

“I like to grow all kinds of vegetables,” he said. “They take really good care of the plants here. I learned that plants need water, sun, soil and air and we should take care of them.”

---

THE WISH BOOK SERIES
Wish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has produced a series of stories through the holidays that highlight the needs of those in need and invite readers to assist make those wishes come true.

WISH
Support is provided through donations The Heal ProjectThe farm field trip program includes staff, gardening supplies, tools, kitchen ingredients and transportation stipends. Goal: $25,000

HOW TO GIVE
Donate at Wishbook.mercurynews.com/donate or email this to us form.

ONLINE EXTRA
Read more Wish Book stories and look at photos and videos Wishbook.mercurynews.com.

Originally published: December 29, 2024 at 6:15 am PST

The holiday shopping season is now here and Americans are able to indulge. The average US shopper expected to spend greater than $1,000 on gifts for Christmas and other winter holidays this yr, surveys show.

Today, consumers don’t have any shortage of payment options, each seemingly more tempting than the last. Swipe your bank card and earn “free” miles? Do you utilize “buy now, pay later” and spread payments over an extended time frame? Do you utilize a debit card to avoid debt?

As Business school professor Whoever writes concerning the holiday shopping season got me fascinated by the most effective strategy to pay for holiday gifts without breaking the bank. My advice, might be present in my upcoming book is counterintuitive. Do not use any of this stuff. Instead, use good old-fashioned paper money.

Yes, using money as a substitute of electronic payment is a straightforward strategy to control your holiday spending while helping others. And I speak from personal experience.

Why money is less more likely to set you back

Before you spend any money, it's necessary to set a vacation budget. The problem is that while everyone thinks setting a budget is a superb idea, few actually do it even fewer adhere to it.

budgeting is sort of a weight-reduction plan: Temptation and time pressure cause the most effective intentions to fail.

I even have seen this in my very own life. I fastidiously budgeted for a vacation season. However, with only a number of hours left until the gift exchange, I had nothing for 3 nieces. In desperation, I spent way an excessive amount of on gifts that I doubt were ever used.

Using money can enable you avoid making the identical mistake I made. It works for a number of easy reasons:

First, committing to using only paper money provides an automatic approach to budgeting. When you run out of cash, you're done shopping. Now I don't recommend putting all the cash in your wallet directly. Instead, take only a portion of your budgeted money with you if you buy groceries, or split the cash and keep a few of it in a separate reserve in case you plan to take all of it with you.

Secondly, using money helps you spend less because “Pain when paying.” Research in consumer psychology shows that spending paper money causes a short lived feeling of regret. This, in turn, helps decelerate purchases. People don't feel the identical pain in the event that they use bank cardssince the invoice will only be due in the long run.

Third, paying for things in money is cheaper in the long term since you don't need to pay interest on purchases. Um Half of all bank card users have a balance every month. With the The average account balance is currently over $6,000The interest on collecting gifts alone can cost you a whole bunch of dollars.

And yet another point: Many people buy Christmas presents for themselves Research shows that paying in money initially makes you value a purchase order more than when paying by electronic means. Cash payers have a stronger sense of ownership because they’ve made a “mental investment” within the item.

Using money when shopping online

It's easy to make use of money for in-person purchases, but you’ll be able to't put paper money through the screen of a pc or phone to make online purchases. But this holiday shopping season Online purchases are expected to exceed $240 billion.

It is feasible Use money onlyeven in case you depend on e-commerce. A straightforward method is to buy one Gift card from online retailers with money and add the gift card to your account balance. If you wish to spend more, you'll must go to a spot that sells cards, reminiscent of: B. within the local supermarket and spend money there.

This takes away the pain of paying and likewise takes a while so you’ll be able to take into consideration whether this is admittedly the proper gift and the proper amount for it.

One final point: the vacation season shouldn't just be a vacation Practice in consumer behavior. Instead, one goal is to assist others. Paying for gifts with money actually has this effect. There are many individuals without bank cards, debit cards or mobile payment apps who’re locked out of stores that refuse to simply accept money.

People without electronic methods are primarily poor and older people. Millions of Americans pay moneySurveys show that using money helps them since it sends a transparent signal to businesses that paper money remains to be wanted and needed.

The holidays are speculated to be fun, but they're not as enjoyable if you're fearful about money. How do you stick with your budget and make sure you don't find yourself paying huge bills after the vacations? The answer is straightforward: use money. Cash alone doesn't make the vacations a fun time, but it surely does eliminate a giant problem.

About one in five American adults recurrently provide unpaid care or financial support to their adult relatives or friends. And about 1 in 7 young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 live with their parents.

But the true level of support amongst Americans is deeper and broader.

From parents covering the price of unexpected automotive repairs to co-workers fundraising for his or her colleagues' medical expenses, Americans help one another in countless ways.

As Social work scientist who explores these patterns of what I call “financial interdependence“I often see transactions that challenge the common American narrative that most people in this country manage their own spending.”

A protracted-standing tradition

The practice of sharing money with friends and family members has deep roots in American society. Many Native American communities have done this Traditions of sharing food and other resources one another.

In the nineteenth century Mutual aid associations formed in every single place from Philadelphia to Florida. Many of them have helped lift black people out of economic hardship. These organizations provided every little thing from unemployment assistance to funeral expenses.

Today's informal support networks reflect these historical patterns.

In particular, many immigrant communities maintain traditional practices joint saving and lending Money. Mexican American families often take part in “tandas,” where their savings are pooled to attain financial goals or meet urgent needs. Likewise the West African and Caribbean communities within the USA Organize “Susu” groupswhile many Chinese American communities form “hui” associations.

In addition, local “hometown associations” often offer each financial and social support to their members, helping immigrant communities within the United States and other people of their home countries.

Everyone does it

These mutual support agreements are very widespread and apply to all income levels, although in numerous forms. She will be secular or religious in nature. The true extent of this sort of activity is usually unknown.

Lower-income families often engage in frequent, smaller exchanges. She could share the food costsFor example, relatives may help one another pay large, unexpected bills.

Wealthier Americans tend to offer larger amounts of cash to larger relations, but less often. This may also include parents Help with a deposit on a young adult's first home or paying a part of the price of 1 Grandson's college education.

Some families establish formal structures resembling: Financial trusts or 529 Education Savings Accounts to facilitate the implementation and tracking of those transfers. The number of individuals using 529 accounts has steadily increasedbecause the states offer appropriate resources and tax incentives.

The nature of this financial support often reflects economic needs and cultural values. In many East Asian American communities, for instance, adult children routinely provide financial support to their parents – as a cultural expectation.

Regardless of the community involved, technology has modified the best way people share money with their family and friends.

Mobile payment platforms make it easier to allocate costs and supply quick help. Money transfer apps have normalized small-scale financial sharing amongst family and friends.

Online and social media platforms are used to assemble resources for medical expenses, funerals or emergencies. These tools extend traditional support networks beyond geographic boundaries.

Other forms of support

Financial assistance can go far beyond direct monetary assistance.

Families and communities could Buy groceries in bulk living together to get monetary savings or living together to deal with rising housing costs. Some parents create informal childcare cooperativeswhile others coordinate care responsibilities for aging relatives with their prolonged families.

Financial education often focuses on individual saving and budgeting. Still, many Americans practice financial interdependence by managing their funds and making decisions along with others.

Tackle challenges

To meet today's economic challenges, Americans are finding creative solutions using shared resources.

More and more young adults need more help becoming homeowners than what they will get from a bank. The average home price has far outpaced wage growth Family support is crucial for a lot of first-time buyers.

Tuition fees have stabilized, albeit at a high levelThis results in more families pooling their resources for educational support. This often arises long-term financial commitments across generations.

Medical expenses remain a number one reason for financial stress Families must depend on one another to pay health care costs.

These support systems operate at many levels, including family, community, workplace, and government.

Some employers now offer this Emergency loan programs and related resources for the plight of employees. Some firms create formal peer support systems for workers facing financial challenges.

A number of states also support caring relatives through tax credits to reimburse their expenses.

Understanding the financial burden of caregiving, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a tax credit to support nursing and transportation services for those in need of care.

Some complications

While financial interdependence is a vital help, it will probably also bring challenges.

Financial obligations can strain family and friendship relationships. Providing an excessive amount of financial help could cause or worsen problems Power imbalances in relationships. Some churches may not have the funds for to support all members equally and effectively.

Clear communication and healthy boundaries may also help manage these tensions.

As economic pressures increase for a lot of American families, these informal financial support networks have gotten increasingly essential. Studies show that costs are rising It is becoming increasingly difficult to attain financial stability on your individual.

Every election season brings renewed attention on the amount of cash that influences American politics, and who spends it and for what purposes. In particular, persons are concerned about what’s referred to as “dark money.” The media recently highlighted the escalating spending on dark money for each the Democratically And republican pages.

The term sounds frightening and raises the specter of sinister figures manipulating the country's politics. Researchers For anyone fascinated with the US democratic system, I believe it is worth it to look at what “dark money” is, what concerns it raises, and what will be done about it.

Unknown political donors

When we speak about “dark money,” we often mean money spent on elections that comes from unidentifiable sources.

Federal and state laws set some limits on contributions and require that some political donations and expenditures be publicly disclosed. For example, candidates for federal office must report their campaign donors to the Federal Election Commission. The FEC compiles these reports open to the general public.

Also, Super PACs – Groups which might be allowed to spend unlimited amounts on independent election campaigns – must also report some details about donationsfor instance, the identity and amounts of people that donate greater than $200 annually.

But campaign finance disclosure laws contain loopholes.

For example, federal law allows certain organizations – particularly nonprofit organizations with the designation “Social assistance” Organizations or Business associations under sections 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) of the tax code – to lift and spend large sums of cash on election campaigns without disclosing the donors.

Another way of dark money is to make donations to Super PACs through Letterbox firmsThese are firms which might be created to hide the financial activities of other people or groups – on this case, political donations. Although Super PACs are required by law, report from whom they received the contributionsIf the funds come from shell firms, the Super PACs may not know where the cash actually got here from and will not be required to reveal it. This information stays hidden from the general public.

A scarcity of transparency amongst donors raises quite a few concerns. Voters may find it harder to evaluate the validity of political messages or to know whether candidates are beholden to particular interests. Regulators and watchdogs could have difficulty detecting illegal activities equivalent to campaign contributions from foreign nationals. And unscrupulous individuals and groups may spread misinformation or destructive rhetoric without being identified or held accountable.

Undisclosed political spending

While discussions about dark money often deal with its origins, the term can even describe a scarcity of transparency about where it goes.

Under federal law, campaign committees must Direct paymentsequivalent to payments to suppliers or consultants. However, these suppliers and consultants sometimes act as Continuous flow units receive campaign funds after which purchase undisclosed goods and services. And each of those recipients will be Letterbox firmswhich makes tracking money flows even harder.

For example, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign team and the Democratic National Committee were sued by the FEC for indirect payments through the campaign’s law firm to researchers who’ve compiled a dossier on Donald Trump's Russia connections. The Clinton campaign and the DNC paid a superb to settle the matter without admitting wrongdoing.

Enforcement, nonetheless, will be difficult. In 2020, a watchdog group filed a grievance with the FEC alleging that Trump's re-election campaign Hundreds of thousands and thousands of dollars passed on to a pass-through company in an improper try to conceal his spending – including payments to top advisers and relations that might otherwise have been disclosed by law. The FEC dismissed the Trump grievance in 2022, when commissioners 3:3 draw about whether it ought to be pursued further.

Like a scarcity of disclosure of donations, a scarcity of disclosure of expenditures may end up in voters and regulators losing priceless information. Lack of transparency can even result in questionable campaign practices, equivalent to using donated funds in ways in which Enrich candidatesCampaign staff or their employees.

Stalled federal reforms

Advocates for greater campaign finance transparency have had little success of their efforts to pressure federal lawmakers and regulators to handle the problem of dark money.

Since 2010, Democrats in Congress have been introducing bills which might be DISCLOSE ActAmong other things, it will force dark money groups to reveal their primary donors and restrict the usage of shell firms to hide donors' identities. While various versions of the bill have passed the House of Representatives, they’ve repeatedly stuck within the SenateOpponents claim that these measures violate people's privacy and would suppress constitutionally protected freedom of expression.

Supporters have also minimal progress to persuade Congress or federal agencies adopt recent disclosure rules or tighten enforcement.

The FEC, which has a even party-political division amongst its six commissioners, it was often impossible to search out a majority that agreed to take motion. And the FEC’s most notable decisions in recent times were Relaxation of campaign financing rules as a substitute of tightening themCongress has Securities and Exchange Commission ban from the introduction of recent disclosure rules for political spending for public firms, although some firms report themselves greater than the law requires.

Efforts by states to curb black money

Black money can also be a difficulty in state and native elections. The strength of state and native elections Transparency laws varyBecause these elections typically receive less attention and scrutiny than federal elections, the flow of cash is typically much more opaque.

In contrast to the federal government, quite a few states and municipalities have tightened their disclosure requirements lately. Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey And WashingtonFor example, have passed recent laws requiring more details about donors, including the unique sources of funds transferred between groups, before they’re spent on campaign purposes.

Meanwhile, countries like Iowa, Massachusetts And Texas have passed laws requiring campaigns to reveal detailed details about how consultants and vendors spend campaign funds.

Even in these states Gaps remainIndeed, efforts to extend transparency will be like a game of whack-a-mole: each recent round of regulation tends to steer to recent circumvention measures. But the experiences in these states and elsewhere can function a model and supply lessons for other jurisdictions.

Constitutional issues

In addition to the political challenge of enforcing stricter transparency rules, supporters of such measures also face potential constitutional challenges from opponents of disclosure.

In several cases, including in 2010 Citizens United v. FEC In this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed First Amendment lawsuits brought by politicians in search of to hide their identities. In this case, the court found that transparency helps voters “make informed decisions and give due weight to diverse speakers and messages.”

However, the Supreme Court has also recognized the fitting anonymous political speechAnd lately, the court’s conservative supermajority has turn into somewhat more skeptical of disclosure rules, including in a 2021 case, Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bontathat struck down a state law that required charities to discover major donors. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that the court's reasoning may be applied to campaign finance disclosure rules.

Even if there’s growing public pressure for stricter transparency rules, the Supreme Court could stand in the way in which of such reforms.

By KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders announced an agreement Sunday on a short-term spending bill that might fund federal agencies for about three months, averting a possible partial government shutdown when the brand new fiscal 12 months begins Oct. 1 and delaying final decisions until after the November election.

Temporary budget laws normally keep agencies funded at their current levels. However, following the 2 assassination attempts on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, an extra $231 million was made available to strengthen the Secret Service. Additional funds were also made available to support the presidential transition, amongst other things.

The legislator has fought to get thus far, as the present fiscal 12 months ends at the tip of the month. At the urging of essentially the most conservative members of his party, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) had tied the temporary funding to a provision that might have required states to require proof of citizenship when registering voters.

But Johnson abandoned this approach so as to reach an agreement, though Trump insisted that there ought to be no interim solution without compulsory voting.

Shortly thereafter, serious negotiations between the parties began, and leadership agreed to increase funding through mid-December, giving the present Congress the chance to draft a full-year budget proposal after the November 5 election, slightly than passing that responsibility on to the following Congress and president.

In a letter to his Republican colleagues, Johnson said the budget proposal could be “very narrow and limited to the bare minimum” and would “include only those expansions that are absolutely necessary.”

“While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most sensible course of action in the current circumstances,” Johnson wrote. “As history teaches and recent polls confirm, it would be an act of political malpractice to shut down the government less than 40 days before a fateful election.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would review the bill in its entirety before voting this week, but with the agreement, “Congress is now on a bipartisan path to avoid a government shutdown that would harm ordinary Americans.”

The chairman of the House Budget Committee, Tom Cole, said on Friday that the talks were going well.

“Nothing has happened so far that we can't handle,” said Cole, Republican of Oklahoma. “Most people don't want a government shutdown and they don't want it to affect the election. So nobody is saying, 'I have to have this or we're leaving.' It's just not like that.”

Johnson's earlier attempt failed within the Democratic-dominated Senate and faced opposition within the White House, however it did provide the speaker with a chance to indicate Trump and the conservatives on his caucus that he was fighting for his or her cause.

The final result—government funding virtually on autopilot—was exactly what many had predicted. With just weeks to go before the election, few lawmakers in either party had any appetite for the risk-taking politics that usually result in a shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the identical agreement might have been reached two weeks ago, but “Speaker Johnson chose the MAGA route and wasted valuable time.”

“As I have said throughout this process, there is only one way to get things done: with bipartisan, bicameral support,” Schumer said.

Now, a bipartisan majority is predicted to pass the short-term measure this week. But agreement on the short-term measure doesn’t mean it should be easy to pass a final budget bill in December. The election consequence could also affect political calculations if one party fares significantly higher than the opposite, potentially pushing the fight back to early next 12 months.

However, the Secret Service's funding is conditional: lawmakers have made it contingent on the Department of Homeland Security providing certain information to a House task force and a Senate committee investigating the assassination attempts against Trump.

In a recent letter, the Secret Service told lawmakers that a funding deficit was not the explanation for Trump’s security lapses when a shooter climbed onto an unsecured roof on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and opened fire. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said this week that the agency had an “immediate need” and that he was talking to Congress.

Originally published: September 22, 2024 at 2:12 p.m.

Lower airfares support demand for international travel

High earners spend money on travel

Pressure on the insurance unit

A visit to the Canary Islands

Fixed costs at home

Hiking in Spain

A number family in France

The results of their four-month break

“Double duty in the dojo”