Grossmont College Theatre Arts season begins Oct. 4

Another season of drama and comedy begins Oct. 4 with the start of the Grossmont College Theatre Arts plays.
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Here's this season's schedule:

• Mauritius: Oct. 4,5,6,11,12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 6 & 13 at 2 p.m. Crime...Passion...Stamp Collecting? That's right, stamp collecting. When two half-sisters, mourning the recent passing of their mother, inherit a spectacularly rare stamp collection, they are plunged into the seedy underworld of cloak and dagger philately. Mauritius is a suspenseful new comedy-drama where everyone involved seems willing to bully, connive, cheat, and, if all else fails, conduct a legitimate business transaction, to gain control of the rarest of prizes. Adult language.

"The Planets" by the Grossmont Symphony

Join the members of the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra & Master Chorale at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, in the second concert of the 2012-2013 performance season entitled, “The Planets,” a multimedia performance combining music with high-definition graphics and animations from NASA and Eurospace.

Grossmont College astronomy professor Philip Blanco has prepared a presentation to be viewed on the two large screens in the sanctuary of St. John of the Cross Catholic Church in Lemon Grove. The orchestra and chorus, performing in the dark, will present the opening movement of Haydn’s “The Creation,” entitled “Representation of Chaos.”  This will be immediately followed by a full performance of Gustav Holst’s ‘The Planets.”

Entertaining as well as educational for all ages, the one-performance only concert is free and open to the public. The church is at 8086 Broadway in Lemon Grove. A free-will offering will be accepted.

Grossmont College presentation on listening skills Sept. 26

The Grossmont College Adult Reentry Program will host “Listen Up,” a free presentation on improving listening skills, from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Career Center on the El Cajon campus.

Speaking will be Roxanne Tuscany, communications speech professor and director of the college’s speech and debate team. Tuscany will discuss how to improve interpersonal listening and communication skills, including interpreting body language and attention levels and responsibilities to understand what’s being said.

She also will discuss and identify the differences between hearing and listening and the types of listeners, as well as gender differences that affect listening and how to use your extra thought speed.

The public is invited to attend. The Career Center is located in Griffin Center, Building #60, which is the student center on the college campus. Parking lot #7 is the closest to Griffin Center. For more information, phone Nancy Davis at (619) 644-7615 or Susan Esparza at (619) 644-7697, or visit www.grossmont.edu/adultreentry.

Grossmont-Cuyamaca college district passes budget amid uncertainties

            Under darkening clouds of economic uncertainty, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board battened down the hatches Tuesday, passing a $150.4 million budget that prepares the district to weather the storm, should Proposition 30 – the governor’s tax measure – fall short in the November election.

“Like the household budget planner who wisely decides not to count on that iffy pay raise for the coming year, this district is planning very conservatively,” said Chancellor Cindy L. Miles. “We’re prepared to serve our students. In the long run, that level of service will be determined by voters.”

A $5.6 million projected loss in state funds factored into the district’s 2012-2013 spending plan means funding for about 1,000 fewer students and 310 fewer class sections if Prop. 30 fails. Statewide, the tax measure’s defeat Nov. 6 will result in California’s 112 community colleges losing $338 million in funding and having to turn away 180,000 more students.

Colleges hold public remembrances of 9/11

       Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges are holding public remembrances of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered the global war on terror.

The Associated Students of Cuyamaca College is sponsoring an on-campus display of 2,977 flags, with volunteers from the college, student leaders from Steele Canyon and Monte Vista high schools, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), area police and fire departments and the U.S. Armed Forces setting up the display in the grand lawn starting at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, the day before a community remembrance ceremony set for 12:30 p.m. at the college at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego.