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ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) -- The COVID-19 pandemic is taking its toll on San Diego's art community ¡ª just ask James Stone, the owner of Stone & Glass in Escondido. He makes his living as a glassblower and certainly knows what it's like to feel the heat."When it comes to August, it will get to 125 degrees in here," says Stone, referencing the studio where he creates his work. However, he is used to it, as he has been blowing glass for quite some time, in fact, he says he was destined to be a glassblower "I always like to start by telling people that I was born in Flushing Hospital in Flushing, New York. I was delivered by Dr. Glass," Stone says.James became interested in glassblowing in the 1980s, after taking some classes at Palomar College. He said it didn't take long before he was hooked."It's the flame, the flame, the flame is life, and the first time you get around the flame you can't get away from it," Stone said.His creations are simply mind-blowing. The colors and shapes are all beautiful works of art. "When I began in 1986, if you didn't know the formula, to take sand and then make sand into glass, you didn't blow glass," he says.But just like many other professions, the glassblowing industry has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic."It's broken my heart , oh my god it's broken my heart. COVID has changed my business, it's changed the way we do business. We usually have classes of 6 to 10 people, but because of COVID, those classes are all gone," said Stone.So in order to keep his business alive, Stone & Glass has started a "Collectors Club.""This is the first edition," James says while holding up two drinking glasses. "This is COVID blue, it's very inexpensive. The little bit of money you commit to owning this fine artwork, helps keep us open."Stone & Glass is currently holding private classes. For more information, click here. 1894

Enrollment in public schools nationwide has gone down during the pandemic. According to data obtained by Chalkbeat and The Associated Press, enrollment dipped by about 2% since last year.Experts say several factors are to blame. Many students struggled to attend classes online, so they have been expelled from school for missing too many days. Also, kindergarten isn't required in some states.Surprisingly though, remote learning is more popular among parents than originally thought, according to a Pew survey.That's not to say all parents are on-board with virtual learning. In the grand scope, more parents prefer in-person instruction.Educators are more dissatisfied with virtual learning. About two thirds of teachers said students weren't prepared for grade-level work because of distanced learning.They also said students who were fully remote were completing less of their assignments and were absent more often. Teachers also reported high levels of stress and burnout.In a separate study by RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, superintendents said they'd like to keep virtual schooling as an option after the pandemic.¡°The reasons the superintendents said they wanted to keep online schools after the pandemic really related to parental demand, so they cited reasons like retaining student enrollment in their district. Enrollment is the way that districts get funding and also the benefits of offering more choices to students and parents,¡± said Heather Schwartz, PK-12 Program Director and Senior Policy Researcher at RAND Corporation.The survey also found lower-income students are suffering the most during this time.¡°Low-income students are likely to attend schools that are fully remote during the pandemic than upper- and middle-income students. And it's the lower income parents on the surveys who are more concerned about their children falling behind academically during the pandemic,¡± said Schwartz.Lower income students are less likely to have the devices and internet access necessary for online learning.While there are some resources to help lower income families, researchers at RAND Corporation are making a recommendation. They want to see the federal government develop open-source curriculum materials that are of high quality and specifically for online instruction. 2323

Europe is proposing a ban on single-use plastic items such as cutlery, straws?and cotton buds in a bid to clean up the oceans.The European Commission wants to ban 10 items that make up 70% of all litter in EU waters and on beaches. The list also includes plastic plates and drink stirrers.The draft rules were unveiled Monday but need the approval of all EU member states and the European Parliament. It could take three or four years for the rules to come into force.The legislation is not just about banning plastic products. It also wants to make plastic producers bear the cost of waste management and cleanup efforts, and it proposes that EU states must collect 90% of single-use plastic bottles by 2025 through new recycling programs.The European Commission estimates that these rules, once fully implemented in 2030, could cost businesses over €3 billion (.5 billion) per year. But they could also save consumers about €6.5 billion (.6 billion) per year, create 30,000 jobs, and avoid €22 billion (.6 billion) in environmental damage and cleanup costs.The Rethink Plastic Alliance -- an association of environmental organizations -- called the proposals "a leap forward in tackling plastic pollution" but criticized some perceived shortcomings.The proposals do not set targets for EU countries to reduce the use of plastic cups and food containers, it said."This could result in countries claiming they are taking the necessary steps as long as any reduction is achieved, regardless of how small," the alliance said in a statement.The proposal also faced criticism from the plastics industry.Plastics Europe, which represents manufacturers, said it supported the "overarching objective" of the proposal but said there must be more resources dedicated to "waste management" to ensure better collection of used plastic."Plastic product bans are not the solution," it said in a statement, and noted that "alternative products may not be more sustainable."On a global basis, only 14% of plastic is collected for recycling. The reuse rate is terrible compared to other materials -- 58% of paper and up to 90% of iron and steel gets recycled.Research shows there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the world's oceans by 2050, which has spurred policy makers, individuals and companies into action.Last month a group of more than 40 companies including Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble pledged to slash the?amount of plasticthey use and throw away in the United Kingdom.Starbucks also announced in March it was launching a  million grant challenge to solicit designs for a cup that's easier to recycle. 2689

Father and son stories aren't supposed to look like this."I was praying for my friends and family to be OK," said Braden Freidkes, a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He was inside the school when a gunman started shooting.Braden eventually made it out and into his parents' arms. They had been trying to reach him repeatedly and up until that point had feared the worst. "We were one of the lucky ones. We were able to get him and he was safe," said John Freidkes, Braden's father.But now Braden and his dad have a shared experience, in a way they could have never imagined.  605

ESCONDIDO (CNS) - A Pauma Valley man accused of ambushing three San Diego County sheriff's deputies at his home in a rural area near Casino Pauma, sparking a nearly six-hour standoff in which he suffered a gunshot wound, was charged today with three counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a peace officer.Arraignment for 28-year-old Jose Nieto at Palomar Medical Center was postponed until Jan. 11 because he was deemed medically unfit for the proceeding while being treated for the gunshot wound he sustained during last Thursday's standoff.The complaint against Nieto includes allegations of personal use and discharge of a firearm. He faces 33 years and eight months in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Runyon.The standoff began around 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 20, when deputies Cory Crawford, Jared Muli, and John Avedesian went to a home in the 156-00 block of Adams Drive in response to a a 911 call from a man who said "he needed help and didn't feel safe in his home."As the three deputies approached the front door of the home, they were met with gunfire, said sheriff's Lt. Rich Williams.The deputies returned fire, established a perimeter around the home and called for backup, including a SWAT team. Nearby residents were evacuated from their homes and surrounding streets were shut down. The deputies were not injured.Authorities spend hours trying to establish communication with the gunman, but when that was unsuccessful, the SWAT team entered the home about 10 p.m. and found Nieto inside with a gunshot wound to his lower body, Williams said. 1598