From The Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles teachers who became whistle-blowers during a cheating scandal have won the right to open their own charter school. The new enterprise, called Apple Academy, won unanimous approval from the Los Angeles school board. The school's chief executive is former L.A. teachers union president A.J. Duffy. The cheating, which came to public attention last year, ultimately led to the shutdown last summer of all six Crescendo charter schools. Operators of the new charter, scheduled to open next fall, hope to enroll more than 600 students at up to four locations. Organizers said they have about 300 letters of interest.