With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
Glendale student in National Spelling Bee semifinals
An eighth-grade student at Eleanor J. Toll Middle School in Glendale will try to advance today during the semifinal round of the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Jeremiah Bernal Cortez correctly spelled "copious" and "shanghaied" in the second and third rounds of the competition Thursday. Those answers, along with his score on a 50-word computerized test taken Wednesday, propelled him to the field of 50 semifinalists.
Two other Southland students, however, were eliminated.
Kenley Ku Farace, a seventh-grader at St. Margaret's Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano, misspelled "cornice" and "cappelletti" during today's rounds. Mickey C. Shi, an eighth-grader at Chaparral Middle School in Diamond Bar, correctly spelled "debacle" and "realgar," but failed to earn enough points during Wednesday's computerized test to advance.
Support for LAist comes from
The semifinal round will begin at 7 a.m. California time today and be shown live on ESPN. A contestant is generally eliminated when he or she misspells a word. The championship round will begin at 5 p.m. California time and will be shown on ABC on a tape-delayed basis on the West Coast beginning at 8 p.m.
The bee is limited to students in eighth grade or below, with this year's contestants ranging in age from 8 to 15, with 80 percent between the ages of 12 to 14.
English is not the first language of 21 spellers and 102 spellers speak languages other than English.
Cortez, 14, loves to read books, especially of the science fiction genre. His favorite author is Harry Turtledove. In his spare time he practices fencing and enjoys playing video games. He is considering careers in business or finance.
The winner of the spelling bee will receive $30,000 from Scripps, which owns television stations and newspapers, a $5,000 scholarship from the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond from the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster, and reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica valued at $2,700.
Southern California has produced only one champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which began in 1925 – Anurag Kashyap of Poway, the 2005 winner.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence. -
This is the one time you can do this legally! -
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.”
Best of LAist