California
The California Jazz Conservatory’s Degree Program Comes to an End | KQED
Pham loves the school so much that he enrolled in as many classes as he could, from theory to bebop to jazz history. He’s learned from musicians he admires at the school, including Jeff Denson, Gerald Cleaver, and Mimi Fox, one of his favorite guitarists.
Students and alumni say the CJC gave them the chance to build a foundation in jazz, play alongside talented faculty, and grow into the musicians they are today.
The opportunity to earn a degree at a place like the CJC is rare. The institution is the only private music conservatory in the country solely devoted to the study and performance of jazz. The school, which gained accreditation in 2013, is the vision of Susan Muscarella, an educator and pianist who has sought to establish “the Juilliard of jazz on the West Coast.”
But the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns caused a major dip in enrollment, said Nick Phillips, who became president of the California Jazz Conservatory in October of 2023. The high cost of living in the Bay Area also makes it difficult to recruit students to a smaller California school offering only jazz.
Phillips said in 2014, about 70 students were enrolled in CJC’s degree program. By the fall of 2023, that number had dropped to 20 students.
“For a degree program to be sustainable, you need to have students enrolled in it. That’s just the bottom line,” said Phillips.
About one university or college per week on average this year has announced that it will close or merge, according to an April report from the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
The CJC announced the end of the degree programs in July, but made the decision to offer it one final semester to give students and faculty enough notice. The school is also helping students transfer credits.
The organization is also turning its attention to the Jazzschool, the CJC’s community education program, where enrollment numbers are rebounding.
“A place where people can explore and learn jazz — that’s what we want to continue,” Phillips said.
The legacy of the jazz program
As the CJC transitions into its next chapter, students and alumni are reflecting on how the degree program shaped their lives as musicians. Ruthie Dineen, a pianist, composer, and the executive director of the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, was part of the school’s first graduating class.
“I think about the Bay Area music scene as one large band. I feel like I’m still finding my voice, but that was really how I became part of it,” Dineen said.
The CJC made jazz education accessible for students like Dineen. She remembered being awestruck as a kid seeing Berkeley High’s jazz band perform.
“The group was so diverse. I vividly remember that, because as a young girl coming from a family from El Salvador, none of this seemed very accessible,” Dineen said. “My mom was a nurse, my dad was a firefighter. So it’s just a whole other world.”
Around 2009, Susan Muscarella asked Dineen if she would attend the new jazz degree program she was starting up in Berkeley.
The school offered Dineen a scholarship. She enrolled, taking private piano lessons with Susan, who pushed her hard.
“I cared so much about Susan, and I was so grateful to her in particular for providing that education to me,” Dineen said.
Out with a bang
Now the remaining students at the CJC are preparing for their final concerts and next chapters. Phạm, the international student from Vietnam, plans to continue studying in the United States, and wants to be a teacher one day.
His classmate, pianist Abner Robles, is determined to go out with a bang. He’s also an apprentice at Callahan Piano Service, a shop offering piano care, tuning, and rebuilding. He’s living the life of a tradesman, a musician and — for now — a student.
Robles grew up singing in church choir, and discovered jazz during the pandemic after hanging around musicians in Sacramento who loved to improvise.
“Improvising doesn’t have to mean that it’s this crazy advanced thing that only the chosen ones can do. You can boil it down to the simplest thing ever,” Robles said.
He has no regrets about taking the leap to study at the CJC.
“I knew I wanted to be in a Hogwarts of music,” Robles said. “I enjoy this semester more than the other ones because with the professors, all their focus is on us, and they want to build us up. Now is as intense as it gets and as cool as it gets.”
He knows attracting students is a challenge, especially when so many aspiring jazz musicians want to move to New York. But he’s proud he got the chance to study in Berkeley.
“What I have learned up to this point, and people that I’ve met, I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” he said. “I have a lot of love for that school.”
He’s looking at other schools now, like the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His friends at CJC are doing the same.
Like any good jazz musician, these students know how to improvise.
California
Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’
We are counting down to the California governor’s race. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, is one of the two biggest names running on the Republican ticket.
In a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News political reporter Josh Haskell, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, “I am the antithesis to California state government because I am going to take a nuclear bomb into that building and absolutely destroy everything that they do to us behind closed doors.”
Although he’s been elected by the voters twice, Bianco says he’s not a politician — which is why he believes his campaign for California governor is resonating, as reflected in the polls.
“President Trump, in one year, from 2025 when he took over, until now, did absolutely nothing to harm California. What’s harming California is 30 years of Democrat one-party rule that have created an environment here that no one can live in anymore. They’ve only been successful here in California because we vote D no matter what. You vote D or die. I mean, that’s it. Charles Manson would be elected in California if he was the only Democrat on the ballot,” Bianco said.
Bianco isn’t the only conservative Republican running for governor, and according to polling, he’s neck-and-neck with former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
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Leading in some polls in the wide-open California Governor’s race as the June primary creeps closer is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
“Steve has no chance of winning in November. The Democrats know that I’m going to win in November, and so they have to do everything they can to keep me out of that,” Bianco said.
When asked about the affordability crisis in the state, Bianco said, “Almost the entire issue of affordability in California is because of regulation, excessive regulation imposed by government. Every single regulation can be signed away with the governor’s signature.”
“It is a drug and alcohol addiction problem that, and a mental health problem,” he said about the homelessness crisis. “Every single bit of money that is going to these nonprofits that say ‘homeless,’ zero money. You’re getting absolutely nothing. I can’t tell you that we would end what we see in the homeless situation within a year, but I guarantee you we would never see it again after two years.”
When challenged on that prediction, pointing to how the state doesn’t have the facilities to treat the number of people living on our streets, Bianco responded, “We have been conditioned to believe that buildings take five years to build. It takes 90 days or less to build a house, but in California, it takes three to five years because the government won’t allow it. The regulations that are destroying this state are going to be removed with me as the governor.”
Bianco also said California jails shouldn’t have to play the role of treatment facilities.
Although he says he supports the Trump administration and wants the president’s endorsement, Bianco has been traveling the state — meeting not just with Republicans, but Democrats and independents as well. He says all of our state government officials have failed.
The primary election is June 2.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (FOX26) — California’s privacy watchdog has ordered PlayOn Sports to pay a $1.10 million fine and change how it handles consumer data after finding the company’s practices violated state law in ways that affected students and schools in the state.
The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued the decision following a settlement reached by CalPrivacy’s Enforcement Division.
The decision is the first by the board to address privacy violations involving students and California schools.
Schools across the country use PlayOn Sports’ GoFan platform to sell digital tickets to high school sporting events, theater performances, and homecoming and prom dances, with attendees presenting tickets at the door on their mobile phones.
Schools also use PlayOn Sports’ platforms for other sports-related activities, including attending games, streaming them online, and looking up statistics about teams and players.
In California, about 1,400 schools contract with PlayOn Sports for these services.
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GoFan is also the official ticketing platform for the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports.
According to the board’s decision, PlayOn Sports used tracking technologies to collect personal information and deliver targeted advertisements to ticketholders and others using its services.
The company allegedly required Californians to click “agree” to tracking technologies before they could use their tickets or view PlayOn Sports websites, without providing a sufficient opt-out option.
“Students trying to go to prom or a high school football game shouldn’t have to leave their privacy rights at the door,” said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy’s head of enforcement. “You couldn’t attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn’t show your ticket without being tracked for advertising. California’s privacy law does not work that way. Businesses must ensure they offer lawful ways for Californians to opt-out, particularly with captive audiences.”
The decision also describes students as a uniquely vulnerable population and warns that targeted advertising systems can subject students to profiling that can follow them for years, expose them to manipulative or harmful content, and develop sensitive inferences about their lives.
Instead of providing its own opt-out method, PlayOn Sports directed students and other users to opt out through the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital Advertising Alliance, which the decision said violated the company’s responsibility to provide its own way for consumers to opt out. The company also allegedly failed to recognize opt-out preference signals and did not provide Californians with sufficient notice of its privacy practices.
“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for all Californians — from high school students to older adults, and everyone in between — to make the choice of whether they want to be tracked or not,” said Tom Kemp, CalPrivacy’s executive director. “Californians can opt-out with covered businesses, and they can sign up for the newly launched DROP system to request that data brokers delete their personal information.”
Beyond the $1.10 million fine, the board’s order requires PlayOn Sports to conduct risk assessments, provide disclosures that are easy to read and understand, and implement proper opt-out methods.
The order also requires the company to comply with California’s privacy law prohibiting the selling or sharing of personal information of consumers between 13 and 16 without their affirmative opt-in consent.
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 4:43AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — A bill that would prevent police officers from moonlighting with federal immigration enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is advancing through the California State Assembly.
AB 1537 passed the State Assembly’s committee on public safety on Tuesday.
The bill also requires that officers report any offers for secondary employment related to immigration enforcement to their place of work.
Those failing to comply could face decertification as a peace officer in California.
The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, whose district includes Mar Vista, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire and parts of South Los Angeles.
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