bridgington post issue #1: oct. 2014

The Bridgington Post Issue 1. October 2014

THE BRIDGINGTON POST Persistent Drought Raises

Concerns By Dylan Strickland

As California suffers through a second year of serious drought, many are wondering: is this the most extreme drought in state history, and does is herald a new, low-precipitation age for the state? But even as concern over this extended dry spell mounts, raising questions about long-term causes linked to global warming, the truth is that the current drought appears to be little more than a temporary weather pattern. To the extent that global warming does not influence it, California's current drought is the product of an extraordinarily persistent high-pressure system in the Eastern Pacific (our Western Pacific). Dubbed the “Ridiculously

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Welcome to the first edition of The Bridgington Post! We are a student-run newspaper created by the middle school Enrichment Cluster. Our goal is to fill you in on all things going around school, around our

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community, and around the world on monthly basis. You’ll find each issue filled with events, tips, trends, reviews, and more! From the latest video games to teacher interviews, we got you covered.

Meet the Press: Our Middle School Newspaper By Tamar Faggen, Editor-in-Chief

Inside this issue

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Next Issue: Bats, Monsters, and Halloween Bridges-style!

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How Manhattan is Manhattan Bagel?

Drama teacher Ryan Siabrasse: in and out of school

LA traffic makes life tough

Pigs as pets?

The Bridgington Post Issue 1 October 2014

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Getting to Bridges: For many, the gridlock is growing worse By Eli Lepler

Traffic in Los Angeles can be difficult at times, to say the least, making life tough for students and staff, many of whom endure long commutes to arrive at school each morning. Congestion on the roads peaks around rush hour, which happens between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 pm. The two major freeways that commuters take to Bridges are the 101 and 405. These freeways handle so much traffic that they often result in gridlock during the peak hours. Two members of the Bridges staff that take the freeways to school are Judy Temes and Lori Hardy. Lori takes the 101 to Bridges from Camarillo, a distance of 40 miles. Google predicts that it takes an hour and two minutes to get to Bridges, but Lori tells us that it takes closer to two hours. She tells us the 101 is worse than it has ever been since she started working at Bridges ten years ago. “It is horrible on the freeway,” she says. Judy takes the 405 to Bridges from Redondo Beach. The distance is 33 miles, which takes her between an hour and an hour and 15 minutes. “The commuting is new for me and it is definitely a challenge,” Judy says. “But I make the time pass by listening to audiobooks”.

According to Forbes magazine and INRX, a company that tracks gridlock in big cities, the average driver living in any of the 10 most gridlocked cities in the U.S. wasted an average of 47 hours – more than the typical work week – sitting in traffic last year. Los Angeles is the most gridlocked city in the U.S., according to the company. Each year, Angelinos spend 64 hours more in their car than if the freeways were not jammed.

According to the Rand Corporation, without policy changes, traffic is going to be worse in the near future. Rand suggests the following changes:

• Improve signal control and timing; • Promote ride-sharing, telecommuting,

and flexible work schedules; • Develop a high-occupancy toll-lane

network; • Promote deep-discount transit passes; • Expand bus rapid transit and bus-only

lanes; • And implement a regionally connected

bicycle network. It would probably take years to make these changes. In the meantime, Bridges students and staff are coping by carpooling. Lori carpools with students like Zach Montazeri. Judy is carpooling with Nick Sheftic. Judy and Nick recommend the app Waze to get traffic updates. Other than that, if there is traffic on the road or freeway, people are just going to have to be patient.

The daily commute on freeways like the 405 is not improving, experts say.


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Manhattan Bagel gets lots of rave reviews, but people want to know: how Manhattan is Manhattan Bagel? As the store many Bridges students love to frequent for lunch, we sought to find out whether the bagels really taste like New York bagels, or does the name imply false advertising? In search of answers, The Bridgington Post went straight to the source: the store manager. “Do your bagels really taste like New York bagels?” we asked. “And are they made in the traditional New York way?” His unequivocal answer: “yes.” What then, you ask, accounts for the different taste? Even though the bagel is boiled and baked, the water they use at Manhattan Bagel is water from Los Angeles, which contains a lot of minerals. The largely mineral-free water from New York is what gives New York bagels that certain New York taste and feels. From the handful of customers we interviewed, most said that they liked Manhattan Bagel without a complaint. Customer Sue Crystol, who lived in New York for the first 18 years of her life and calls herself a bagel connoisseur, said Manhattan Bagel has the same dense consistency as New York bagels and is chewier then most California bagels. Despite this praise,

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Manhattan Bagel is not mentioned in the top bagel shops on L A Weekly’s reviews, and actually receives some fairly negative reviews. This doesn’t stop customers from raving about the shop on Google and Yelp, however. “I have been going here for years, and I really love the bagels at this place,” one person posted on Yelp, giving the shop five out of five stars. “The Bialys are hands down the best anywhere!” said another. “I spent time in New York and this is the closest thing to the bagels there. I recently brought some to work and everyone raved at how delicious they were!! Yummy!” The bagels are amazing but I found the employees to be rude. With Noah's right down the street, I won't be going back,” said someone on Yelp.com, where the average rating by 40 people was 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. To settle all these differing opinions once and for all, I decided to try the bagels myself to see if they really taste like legitimate New York bagels, or if the company is running some type of marketing fraud. My conclusion: these are--hands down--the best bagels in Los Angeles. I've tried many bagel shops, and this is the top--unless you can get your hands on a Bruegger’s bagel, which is all the way out near Hidden Hills. (Go there for truly the

REVIEW: How Manhattan is Manhattan Bagel? By Alex J. Seeger

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best bagels!) One gripe I still have: the store has very slow service. Even with just a handful of customers, it took a long time to be served. The bagel itself was delicious; it tasted just like a New York bagel. On top of that, for a bagel and a Diet Coke, it cost me only $2 or $3. It was pretty cheap, if you ask me. As for service, Manhattan Bagel should go back to Manhattan and learn how real New Yorkers serve customers. They may not always smile, but they are really fast. For this, I give Manhattan Bagel 4 out of 5 stars.


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Ryan Siebrasse is our Spotlight Teacher this month. If you don’t know who he is, he’s the Bridges Academy drama teacher for middle school and high school. He also produces and directs the school plays and musicals here. Ryan, as well as his wife Kate, also perform in musicals. Q: How long have you taught at Bridges? A: This is my 7th year at Bridges. Q: What made you come to Bridges to teach?

Teacher Spotlight: Life of Ryan

By Liza Esposito

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A: Well, Kate (his wife) and I wanted to move to New York or LA for a theater scene and I knew I wanted to teach at the same time. This seemed like the perfect school to teach at. There was a lot of potential at Bridges to create stuff.

Q: How many school plays and musicals have you directed/produced? A: Approximately 30. Some of my favorites were Little Shop of Horrors and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. (I asked him if that was just because I was interviewing him and he said it wasn’t.) Also Thoroughly Modern Millie. I wrote a couple plays at my first school that I was really proud of too.” Q: I know you’ve been doing theater since you were five. Where have you performed? A: All over the country; acting, directing and producing.

Q: What are you favorite musicals/ plays? A: I really like The Last Five Years and Next to Normal, which are both on the wall. (The painted wall in his classroom.) Death of a Salesman is also a great play. Q: What’s your least favorite musical that you’ve seen or done? A: I’ve done a lot of shows and seen a lot of shows, but I saw a musical a

couple of years ago called Beehive and it was more of a concert of 1960’s music. They tried to have a story to connect the songs, but the story wasn’t really cohesive. There wasn’t really a conflict and as we talked about in class, (7th and 8th Drama) you really need to have a conflict for the story to have significance.

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Drought: continued from page 1

Consectetuer:

Resilient Ridge”, or RRR, by oceanographers and climatologists, this ridge is deflecting precipitation-bearing westerlies from the West Coast and into southern Alaska, as well as into the sea between Alaska and British Columbia. Because this ridge has deflected the westerlies and tropical winds, most of our weather events this year have been caused by dry katabatic winds originating in the polar tundra of northern Canada. But rather than asking about the causes, many people are more worried about the sheer severity of the drought. Although the often-repeated statement “this is the worst drought in our history” seems plausible, it is in fact almost impossible to verify. The 1976-77 drought brought farming in much of the Central Valley to a halt, and the building of massive new water

piping systems, as well as spurring our state's current interest in water conservation. But then again, it is almost disingenuous to talk about “record droughts” or “record floods” anyway in this state. California

Has always been a land of contrasts in its weather. In 1862, the Central Valley became a lake, and Sacramento could only be reached by canoe. Two years later, a large drought devastated Californian agriculture. Despite what many prophets of doom decry as our wasteful water usage, Californians are relatively conscientious in water conservation. In many cities and towns, especially in the north and along the coast, the per capita usage of water is well below the national average.

Chart from San Jose-Mercury news. There is however, a final word of warning. For the past 3,500 years, California's climate has generally been drier than the one in the wet spell between the gold rush and the new millennium. Some California droughts have lasted over 150 years, effected the entire West,

And have even brought down Native civilizations throughout North America. The maximum length of a drought that the state has any plan for: seven years. If this drought continues, experts say that large reservoirs would run dry after five to seven years. Fields would go fallow, and eventually, even the orchards (which require less water and are more valuable) could no longer be irrigated. This would be the case because, contrary to popular belief, 80% of water in California goes toward agriculture. Farmers with water rights would become extremely wealthy, but for the rest, farming would no longer be economical in the Central Valley. Some towns there would essentially disappear. However, cities would always have the cash and clout to purchase water. According to Barton Thompson, director of Stanford University's Woods Institute for the environment, "In theory, cities cannot run out of water. All we can do is run out of cheap water, or not have as much water as we need when we really want it.” The state could always build scores of desalination plants, following in the footsteps of Egypt, Israel, and Australia. This would increase Californian water prices fivefold, but of course, there comes a point where money is no object.

Source: Department of Water


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How do you like your bacon? Leslie likes hers on campus.

Karl, her pet pig, visits once a month to serve as a therapy pig at Bridges.

She has had him for eight months and he is surprisingly cute. His previous family moved away and couldn’t take him with them so they gave him to Leslie.

Most people think that pigs are dirty but that’s not true, they are very clean, Leslie assures us. Indeed, some might say, the stereotype that pigs are dirty is offensive and harmful to the pig community.

Leslie brings Karl to school because its fun and also to help students mellow out when they get upset. Pigs are cautious to new experiences, but as a therapy pig, Karl is not at all shy. But as a pig, he is cautious about eating new foods, going to new places, and meeting new people.

According to Leslie, pigs are easy to take care of because they are friendly when they get to know you, they only poop in one spot, and they aren’t very picky eaters. Pigs are omnivores but Karl is fed salad every night because he eats insects and bugs and his favorite food is almonds. Karl’s only annoying habit is digging up the garden with his snout.

Karl has a sense of feng shui because he rearranges the furniture in his little space. Karl enjoys swimming; in fact he has his own pool. He can even swim in the ocean. Karl knows many tricks such as circle, back up, sit, and roll over.

If you want to follow in her steps and adopt a pet pig, Leslie has some words of advice: “You need lots of space and plenty of patience,” she says.

It seems that pigs make more interesting pets than people give them credit for. Pigs are great pets but are not for everyone. It seems that more and more pet owners have caught the “swine flu”.

Pet Pig Pops In By Adam Jackson

Leslie’s pet pig Karl, right, visits Bridges one Friday a month to keep Leslie’s company,

and to serve as a “therapy pig”.

The Bridgington Post Issue 1. October 2014

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We are witnessing the coming of a new fad at Bridges: the show Attack on Titan, airing right now on Netflix and the cable station Adult Swim.

The bloodiness, “epicness”, and “steampunkness” of it has “swallowed up” Bridges students of every age, shape, and size. Attack on Titan takes place in a universe where humankind has been almost driven extinct by 10-20 meter tall, humanoid, man-eating creatures called Titans. What’s left of the humans huddle within giant 50-meter-tall walls that circle the remains of their civilization. One hundred years pass and humans have lived peacefully without the Titans. Inside the walls, however, famine and corrupt government are now tormenting the people. Suddenly, the Titans return out of nowhere with two new breeds of Titan: the 60-meter Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. They blast a hole through Wall Maria, the outermost wall. The Titans get in and wipe out 20 percent of the remaining human population. During this attack, ten-year old Eren Yeager and his foster sister, Mikasa, witness their mother being eaten by a Titan. Luckily, they survived. But Eren swore to “kill all Titans!” This show is gruesome and epic. “Some people will be able to handle it, while others clearly and therefore, should not watch it,” said Arianne, a Bridges student and fan of the show.

To its credit, the show offers

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a compelling plot, amazing action scenes, and the characters grow in ways you could never imagine. “The disturbing part,” added Ariann, “is that that actually makes it cooler.”

I give it four out of five stars.

REVIEW: “Attack” on Bridges: New show attracts hordes of school fans

By Elias Avedon


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Teacher Spotlight: Continued from page 4 Q: What’s your favorite thing about theater? A: My favorite thing about theater is how it transforms us, not only a performer, but as an audience member too. You share a moment with a whole bunch of people. It’s the exact same moment, but it can have so many different meanings to everyone and whatever that meaning is, it’s not right or wrong, it’s what you experienced. And those moments can last a lifetime. Note from Writer: (That was some deep stuff!) Q: What do you usually after school hours? A: Aside from working for the next day, you could ask my colleges and they’d all probably say I spend way more time at the school than I really should. If I’m not in the classroom, I’m usually designing the set or reading the script and checking if there’s something that isn’t working staging wise. I’ll go costume and prop shopping. When I’m not working on a show for school, I’ll be building sets professionally, and I also do some acting on the side. It’s really sort of my life, putting on shows. Q: Did you go to school for theater? A: Yes I did. I have a degree in theater teaching.” Q: Is it pretty? A: It is very pretty.

Q: For how many years have you had a beard? A: Wow! I grew the beard in 2002 so I’ve had the beard for big chunks of the past 12 years. Q: How long have you been married? A: I have been married for six years. So I’d say my interview with Ryan was great. I learned a lot of new things about Ryan and I hope you did too. Ryan is a very hardworking person and a huge part of Bridges Academy. That’s why I felt like Ryan should be the Spotlight Teacher for this months’ issue of The Bridgington Post.

The app to keep your brain agile By Brandon Alker

With educational apps growing in popularity, I recently found myself digging into Peak, created by Brainbow. Peak is a personalized self-improvement app specifically designed to help you improve your memory, focus, problem-solving ability, mental agility and language skills with fun and challenging games that help you reach goals and build healthy training habits.

Like many other apps, Brainbow makes a “Pro mode,” but the regular free mode is just as good. You can get it in the app store for free, or if you want the full version, just go pro once you’ve downloaded the app.

Brainbow states on its website that its mission is to “make lifelong progress enjoyable.” The company claims to use a combination of neuroscience, technology and fun to get those “little grey cells active and striding purposefully towards their full potential”

I personally think this app is an outstanding brain-exercising app, the best on the app store. Also it only takes just10 minutes a day to improve your brain, and it will help you with almost anything you plan to do in life.

The crew from the 2012 production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” directed by Ryan.


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1. The Doctor Who crime spinoff, Torch Wood, is an anagram of Doctor Who.

2. In the 50th anniversary episode, we found out that one of the Doctor’s first two companions, Ian Chesterton, became the chairman of governors at the school in which he worked.

3. The actor Tom Baker, who played the 4th doctor, appeared in the 50th anniversary as a character named The Curator.

4. In both the “Stolen Earth” and 50th anniversary episodes, the doctor’s phone number is 07700 900461 (It is only in the show, not in reality. So don’t try it at home kids!)

5. But then in the 50th anniversary, we learn that River Song’s shoes seem to be a weapon of mass destruction because they are in the black archives dangerous weapons section, which really seems to be the Doctor Who prop storage area. There is a board that has pictures of the doctor’s past companions in season from past episodes.

Think You Know Everything About Dr. Who? Think Again

by Zac Jones

Doctor Who is a science fiction show about time travel and an alien named “The Doctor” who looks like a human. The Doctor has a blue police box called the “Tardis,” which is bigger on the inside, and travels through space and time. So here are some facts that aren't well known to most viewers.

6. Thanks to the Doctor Who comics, we learn from the companion Clara Oswald that the Doctor has a Lego room in the Tardis.

7. In the episode “The God Complex,” the doctor says that he has a doctor’s degree in making cheese. Hmmm…I wonder where such a degree could be obtained? Wisconsin?

8. The Doctor has a piece of paper, called psychic paper, witch normally will show whatever the user wanted the person viewing the paper to think was written on it. Unless you are a genius, or were trained to be immune to psychic paper, you would believe it. But when the doctor said that he was a mature and responsible adult, with the psychic paper, it short-circuited. As we fans all well know, the possibility that the doctor is a mature and responsible adult was too big of a lie.


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Editorial: This month, stand up to bullies By Tamar Faggen, Editor-in-Chief

This month we are counting the days till October 31st, picking out our Halloween costumes, decorating pumpkins, and

buying lots of candy. But that’s not the only big thing happening this month. October is National Bullying Prevention month. National Bullying Prevention month was launched in 2006 by the Pacer Center, a parenting organization that supports and advocates for children with disabilities. The goal was to spread awareness about ways to prevent bullying. In 2011, one in five high school students reported being bullied in their school. But bullying does not only happen on the school campus. It happens online too. In fact 81 percent of youth say that bullying online is easy to get away with. The WE WILL Generation, a spinoff of Pacer that started a student-led bullying prevention movement, hopes to change this. “This is our issue and we will be the solution,” the website states. According to the Pacer.org, 60 percent of bullying situations end when a peer intervenes. We can make a difference. Wednesday, October 22, is Unity Day, the day when wearing orange means you commit to helping to end bullying. It’s the day everyone can come together—in schools, communities, and online—and send one large ORANGE message of support, hope, and unity. Wear ORANGE. It can be an orange T-shirt, tie, hat, wristband, socks, or even shoelaces. But more importantly, be part of the change. Don’t stand by. Get involved. Help end bullying.

Newspaper Staff

Editor-in-Chief: Tamar Faggen Managing Editor: Liza Esposito

Staff Photographer: Benny Dittbrenner

REPORTERS

Brandon Alker Adam Jackson Shane Cynamon

Elias Avedon Eli Lepler Alex J. Seeger Zac Jones

bridgington post issue #1: oct. 2014

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