Although the fans seemed devastated, the team was not fazed. With consistent rebounding and exciting shooting from senior Talei Tagivakatini, the Lady Cougars began an 11-0 run, making the Saint Mary’s Panthers look like the Saint Mary’s Fairies.

However, the Panthers began a 12-0 run of their own and came back to take the lead 12-11. The score flip-flopped several times until Saint Mary’s finally took the lead and didn’t look back.

The spirit of the Lady Cougars seemed to fade as they watched the lead slip from their hands. The tough press defense that the Panthers brought was too much as they held the Lady Cougars to single-digit scoring in the second, third and fourth quarters. As the waning seconds on the clock slowly dispersed to zero, the only lights illuminating the scoreboard showed the final score, Panthers 50, Lady Cougars 30.

This has been one of the only dim spots in the Albany High Girls Basketball teams still-shining season. They are only five games into the league season and have already played some of the better teams in the league. The potential of this team is great as they bring an aggressive defense and talented offense.

Although they lack in overall size, they still have talent. They currently have two players, Junior Deanna Calhoun and Senior Tamaya Newsome, averaging double digits in points. They also have a 40% field goal percentage, 9.8 steals per game and 28.4 rebounds per game as a team. This is right behind league leading Saint Mary’s who averages 52.8 points, 8.1 steals and 30.1 rebounds per game.

Their record doesn’t show it, 13-6, 4-3, but this team could still be a dark horse to go deep into the NCS playoffs and face the oversized Saint Mary’s again, this time with the 50-30 scarring still in their minds.

Each group prepared savory and mouth-watering plates. The yellow group prepared eggplant parmesan, bruschetta, and roasted pear over radicchio with parmesan and sherry vinaigrette. The green group cooked chicken mushroom, parmesan asparagus and parmesan garlic bread. The blue group made chicken tenders over a sautéed mushroom cream sauce, parmesan cheese fries and toasted bread over spinach. The brown group put together pupusas, latin-style salad, and fried yucca. The Red group prepared melon wrapped in prosciutto, salad with parmesan and red wine vinegar dressing, and poached eggs and parmesan cheese over toast with pistou. Lastly, the black group produced parmesan crusted tilapia, stuffed mushrooms with crabs, parmesan, and green onions, and steamed broccoli dipped in parmesan sauce.

The judges, Susan Charlip (Assistant Principal), Clell Hoffman (Albany High School Head Chef), and Juliet Chiarella (teacher), all sampled these exquisite dishes. After much deliberation the judges named the blue group as the first annual Iron Chefs.

Congratulations Gabriela La Torre, Amanda Mallard, Ashley Wakefield, Tracy Rugene, and Alan Craig!

Washington D.C. is becoming a great proponent in change. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 has been introduced in Washington D.C. This act would allow same-sex couples to be legally married in D.C. when currently D.C. only recognizes same-sex marriages from other states. This amendment provides hope for gay marriage in both D.C., and potentially, on a national level.

Washington D.C. is not a state; it is a district of Congress, which means that all city laws must be approved by Congress in order for them to take effect. If Congress approves same-sex marriage in D.C., Congress will implicitly show its support for same-sex marriage. Government officials and policymakers will be forced to clearly express an opinion either for or against same-sex marriage in a vote. In the past, the topic of same-sex marriage has been a touchy and taboo subject and therefore, little consensus has been reached on the issue. The vote on the ordinance by the Washington City Council will force Congress to reach a definitive consensus.

On December 1, 2009, the D.C. Council voted on legalizing same-sex marriage. The first round of voting passed with 11 votes in favor and 2 dissenting.

Later that month in December the D.C. Council passed the proposed same-sex marriage bill with a final vote of 11-2. Council member Phil Mendelson commented, “Today is the final step in a long march in equality.” From here the bill will be signed by the mayor of the District of Columbia and then must go to Congress for a review period of thirty legislative days before the bill is signed in as law.

By no means does this mean that same-sex marriage will be legal nationwide. On November 3, Maine voted 53-47 to repeal gay marriage, a similar result to what occurred in California with Proposition 8.

In his campaign, Barack Obama promised to get rid of the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, yet it is still in place. Many believe that Obama has been busy pushing his health care agenda, not yet focusing on the rights of LGBT citizens. Currently Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands have legalized same-sex marriage and recognize the union. In the United States, only Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire (which will be effective in January 2010), Washington D.C. and New York recognize the union but do not perform marriages between same-sex couples.

Many other countries recognize civil unions and registered partnerships including Iceland, New Zealand, Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greenland, Andorra, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Hungary, Luxembourg, New Caledonia, Slovenia, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

California is not on this list, due to the passing of Proposition 8. This illustrates the divide among residents of California. Here, in the Bay Area, support for same-sex marriage or similar legislation would likely pass by a landslide. It is indeed curious that Iowa and other more “conservative” states are passing same-sex marriage laws.

With Washington D.C’s movement to legalize same-sex there is a vast opportunity for change in current legislation. Hopefully, it will spur the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide. With Congress’s approval there is much hope for same-sex marriage to be legalized nationwide.

Borges scored his goals in the 11th, 29th, and 67th minutes. While his three scores were the driving force behind the win, the whole team contributed outstanding quality. Manuel Ramirez added two goals of his own, Peeja Khorashadi had two assists, and goalie Omar Sanchez had his fourth clean sheet of the season, stopping 5 Panther shots on goal. Nadeem Sassi added a goal off a penalty kick in the 63rd minute.

While there is still half a season left to play, you have to like the Cougars’ chances this year. They are riding high and look like they can hang with anyone. The Cougars’ next game is at home against St. Patrick/St. Vincent on January 8th. The rematch with St. Mary’s will be played in Albany on February 5th.

In their second game the Lady Cougars defeated Cloverdale High 61-45 with more key performances from Newsome and Calhoun. The Lady Cougars utilized their defensive rebounds grabbing 22 boards and a solid defensive game with 11 steals.

They entered the Vallejo High Tournament 2-0 and confident they would come out with a victory. They breezed through the first game with a 67-46 win against Vacaville Christian, but ran in to a roadblock against the tournament host, Vallejo High, with their first loss of the season 47-52.

They finished off the tournament strong with a win against Vacaville’s own Wood High school not being able to handle the Lady Cougars. Their 69-45 win was a nice ending to a tournament they felt they should have won.

The Lady Cougars have high aspirations for this season. When asked what their expectations were, junior Jenny Li said, “To be the best Albany has ever had and the best in the league.”

These expectations will not be hard to achieve however, their skills and education of the game has been developing for the last three year. Senior Maddie Cousens said, “I really think part of our success will be relying on our teams aggressive offense and defense. The key to basketball is working together.”

And this basketball team has done that well. They have been working together since 2007 as this team went undefeated in league when they were JV’s. That team will emerge this year with additional players that will contribute to their success.

Although Albany seems like the only powerhouse in the league, they will meet some roadblocks along the way. Their BSAL journey begins on January 8, when they face St. Patrick/St. Vincent.

St. Mary’s will be Albany’s greatest challenge. Junior Shelby Delaney said that St. Mary’s claims to, “Not be worried about winning league, but winning state”.

This has fired up the Lady Cougars and has helped prepared them for the tough season ahead. What’s the game of the year? “NCS. Here. In our gym. This year. Yee,” responded Li.

Their goals are set high and are ready for the league season to begin. Personal goals for Delaney and Li are through the roof, but describe the kind of season the Lady Cougars want to have. “I want to 360 dunk off the backboard,” said Delaney. “Samurai spin, triple side flip and back flip at the same time. Then, front flip seven times at the same time and windmill, finishing it all with a lay up.”

Look out for the Lady Cougars to have a nice season, ending most likely with a high seed playoff birth.

Kate Pickering and I began our journey to the highly acclaimed museum by hitching a ride from Kate’s father to the commuter bus stop on Albany Hill. There we caught the 8:26 am Transbay bus, which took us across the Bay Bridge to the bus terminal right off Market Street for just $2. From there we took the N Judah Muni to a few blocks above Golden Gate Park. Once off Muni, we moseyed over to the museum, past hippie hill and the grassy green lawn bowling club facilities, and onto a secluded dirt road through the trees, bringing us directly to the entrance of the Academy.

We went on the third Wednesday of the month—free day. Fortunately there was no line at the entrance as we had anticipated there to be. We began our visit by exploring the aquarium, filled with fish of the Northern California coast. We then viewed the Amazon Flooded forest, the swamp, and the Philippine coral reef, stopping by the discovery tide pool along the way. Stroking the sea stars was great, and we also enjoyed viewing the array of fish, yet we were a little disappointed by the proportions of fish to tanks. One tank, not much larger than a handicap bathroom stall, held a huge, very bored-looking fish. The general aquarium space was definitely nowhere near anything like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is understandable, but was a bit of a let down considering the positive feedback I had heard from many people.

Next we made our way up to the main floor, to the rainforest. As we stood in line to enter the secure dome, we observed the climate change exhibit found to the right of us. “We’ll visit that one next,” we agreed.

“Check yourself for hitch hiking butterflies” was the message playing through a speaker system as we entered the rainforest. Walking through the first set of doors into a small security room, I felt like I was entering my father’s high-security lab. When the green light came on, an attendant opened the second set of doors and allowed us to enter the rainforest.

A spiraling staircase circled the outer edge of the dome, and each level of the dome represented a different rainforest; Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the Amazon. The middle of the dome was composed of a pond area with fish swimming around and birds hovering above. Plants surrounded the area, but were very limited to this defined area. As we observed the species visible, and read the information boards, we noted how huge the space was, and how much it lacked, especially in terms of plant life.

We exited the rainforest and observed some of the other smaller exhibits, including a sustainability wall and an area about Madagascar.

It was interesting to learn that the Malagasy people of Madagascar rely so wholly on the Baobab trees, which grow on the island. These trees are called “giving trees” as they provide medicine, seeds and cooking oils, and can be used to make rope and wood products to build homes. With the increased logging going on worldwide, the Malagasy people and the animals of the region have been struggling to survive. The global issue related to a depletion of resources was a theme reflected many times throughout the museum.

The rooftop garden of the museum was neat, as we got a view of the two domes from the outside, with the plethora of native plants covering them. The information about the sustainability of the “green roof” was informative and gave me an inclination to take over my parents’ roof and turn it into a sort of garden.

While we learned quite a bit from the exhibits in the Academy of Sciences, both Kate and I were a little disappointed. Since I was little I have been visiting the Academy, running wildly through the exhibits of animals, earth quake simulations, and cool photos. In support of the museum, I raced several times in the Academy’s annual Run to the Far Side, which then became Run Wild. Reading the numerous reviews of the renovated masterpiece, I had gotten the idea that it was the new best museum since the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the De Young. It did not impress me to that extent.

Overall, there was a very commercially based atmosphere felt as I roamed the museum. There is a restaurant and a café housed in the Academy of Sciences, boasting organic, multicultural cuisines. While I value local, varied, organic food, I do not think that almost half the museum should be allotted to consumption. When looking down from the second floor at the layout of the museum, it is shocking how much space is being used for the café. This is especially upsetting considering the downsized exhibits and animal homes. Not only are there food venues, but there is also a gift shop, so that just in case you hadn’t blown all your money on lunch, you could buy some furry sea creatures and eco-pencils with penguins on them.

Of all the things to see at the museum, the African Hall was my favorite. It is most reminiscent to the old Academy, as the stuffed animals are still the same, and the murals have been recreated perfectly. In this hall, the outer wall is historical, as it is the only preserved wall left in the entire structure. Although the architecture of the entire building is very clean and minimal, modernist style, not to mention sustainable and unique, the building should not be the center of attention, instead it should be an unobtrusive backdrop to house all the science inside it.