Business

By David Batstone

SAN FRANCISCO (OBSNews.com)

Holiday Gifts Graded on Child-Labor-Free Status

The iPhone, Camp Rock, Zhu Zhu hamsters and more than a dozen other popular holiday gifts are graded “A” to “F” for their manufacturer's performance on preventing forced labor and child labor from being used in the production process. The newly enhanced Free2Work website (www.Free2Work.org ) offers consumers information about which major brands are addressing severe labor rights abuses. Free2Work is the result of a partnership between the Not For Sale Campaign (NFSC) and the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF).

Sacramento Facility Expands To Eight Master’s And One Doctoral Program

Glen Thomas, Secretary of Education for the State of California, addresses the incoming graduate students at Drexel University

SACRAMENTO (OBSNews.com) – Drexel University has welcomed more than 120 new students this fall, bringing to over 175 its total number of graduate students as it expanded offerings for working professionals at the university’s Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento.

Drexel, a 118-year-old institution based in Philadelphia, just opened its doors in Sacramento on January 5, 2009, at its high-tech Graduate Center at One Capitol Mall. .

Speaking directly to the University’s leadership in Philadelphia over Drexel’s high-definition videoconferencing system during a special Convocation event in September, Dr. Glen W. Thomas, Secretary of Education for the State of California, said, “Your vision to open a Sacramento campus is very exciting to us in Sacramento, in our region, in our state.” Addressing Drexel’s newest students, the Secretary said, “Drexel is known for being entrepreneurial and visionary and technologically savvy. Here we have cutting edge programs. Now, more than ever before, this state needs people like you who are highly educated. ”

Public Sector Technology Exchange Founder James Baker Assembles All-Star Technology Panel

SACRAMENTO (OBSNews.com) - On September 15, 2009 The Public Sector Technology Exchange hosted a Legacy Modernization seminar that was sponsored by information technology companies Unify (http://www.unify.com) and Western Blue (http://www.westernblue.com). The event took place at the Capitol Building in Sacramento, California.

The event began with an interview between author and public sector strategist James Baker and Dale Jablonsky, the current Chief Information Officer for the Employment Development Department (EDD). The two discussed EDD’s legacy application modernization projects and how to transfer existing software and database processes over to new applications.

Click on video below to play Part I - Introduction and Interview (2 more videos below)

Legacy Modernization for IT Systems - Public Sector Technology Exchange seminar - 1 from OBS News on Vimeo.

The interview between Baker and Jablonsky concerned the need for all legacy-based software and database systems in California to modernize. Jablonsky shared his “lessons learned” with an audience of more than 100 people representing state and county governments as well as leaders of the technology industry.

ROCKLIN, Calif., (OBSNews.com) - William Jessup University opened its doors this fall to their largest enrollment yet, revealing an incoming class of 194 students attending the Greater Sacramento region’s only private four-year, residential university.

“Over the last 12-18 months, the recruitment and enrollment efforts of the entire University have accelerated,” said Vance Pascua, vice president of traditional undergraduate admission.

“In light of the economy and the state budget cuts, we have made a concerted effort to find creative ways to ensure affordability and accessibility for students to choose Jessup.”