The holiday scene is captured on November 30, 2010, at Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, Calif.
Thankfully, there are destinations where the holidays are more than 10-foot candy canes, a tsunami of twinkle lights and an animatronic statue of Santa bringing a gift to the Baby Jesus.
Monterey has long been one of those places, where the holiday traditions are a rich blend of community, culture and local history - with a refreshingly subdued dollop of seasonal commercialism thrown in.
In California's first capital, visitors can augment annual traditions with events that aren't easy to find back home. Mix art and history with a seaside weekend, sprinkle with sea otter sightings, and you've created a new holiday custom for the entire family.
The best-known traditions of the area revolve around the adobes in Old Monterey that date from the time the town was the regional capital under Spanish, Mexican and, eventually, U.S. rule.
The original adobes and colorful gardens from the Spanish and Mexican eras are scattered amid more modern buildings in Monterey's historic district. It's often easy to miss them on the 2-mile "Path of History" walk, marked by yellow tiles set into the sidewalk. But two nights of the year, these buildings come alive with luminarias and period-attired characters during the annual Christmas in the Adobes celebration.
This year marks the event's 26th anniversary, and includes 22 buildings dating from 1770 to 1876. Among them are two structures that figure prominently in California's history: The Custom House is the oldest government building in the state, and Colton Hall was the site of California's Constitutional Convention in 1849.
One of the most popular adobes, Casa Soberanes, features holiday traditions of Mexican-era California, with harp music and Mexican aguas frescas. As you walk up the candlelit mosaic-tiled steps from the blue gate at street level and pass through the garden lined with abalone shells, the sounds of traffic from the street below quickly fade away. Inside, the thick adobe walls help keep the room warm, and scents of fresh greenery and spicy hot chocolate make you want to linger.
But more adobes beckon, notably the House of Four Winds, which showcases dances from early California, and the Cooper-Molera Adobe, with its lavish Victorian Christmas decor. Entertainment for kids and interactive displays are featured throughout the adobes. The proceeds from "Christmas in the Adobes" fund year-round children's educational programs presented by the Monterey Historical State Park.
Another way to celebrate the season of giving (or getting, as the case may be) is to stop by the Monterey Museum of Art for its 41st annual "Miniatures" exhibition. More than 300 tiny works of art by California artists are included - from paintings to photography to sculpture. You can try for a chance to win a small masterpiece by purchasing raffle tickets and stuffing the voting box of your favorite piece. The miniatures exhibition runs through Jan. 2, so there's plenty of time to win that holiday gift and tour the museum's permanent collection as well.
New Year's Eve celebrations in Monterey aren't limited to the 21-and-older crowd. The Monterey Bay Aquarium hosts a sleepover on Dec. 31 for adults and children 5 and older. The event offers a great opportunity to explore the aquarium without the usual crowds. Sleepover guests are promised some peeks behind the scenes, and there's a nature film screening for night owls in the group.
All ages are welcome at another seasonal celebration, First Night Monterey on New Year's Eve. A colossal celebration of the arts, the family-friendly event in historic Monterey features more than 20 performance sites. First Night kicks off in the afternoon with kids' activities, including games, drumming and face painting.
Later in the evening, live music, ranging from classical to salsa to hip-hop, gets added to the kaleidoscope of activities. Music lovers should take time out to wander the grand open spaces of Colton Lawn and the Custom House Plaza, watching the party from a distance. Even if you've snacked at the countless food booths, you might want to walk the few steps to Fisherman's Wharf, get a soft-serve ice cream and listen to the barking sea lions before returning to the concert scene to check out the dance band in the Serra Ballroom.
The grand finale takes place at the Golden State Theatre, a historic building dating from 1926. Once the largest theater between San Francisco and Los Angeles, its Moorish opulence and Wurlitzer pipe organ have been restored, making it an impressive performing arts space once again.
Hotel Pacific: 300 Pacific St.; (831) 373-5700; www.hotelpacific.com. Boutique hotel with luxury all-suite accommodations. Conveniently located steps from Monterey's historic adobes and Fisherman's Wharf. Rooms start at $127.
Casa Munras: 700 Munras Ave.; (831) 375-2411; www.hotelcasamunras.com. This hacienda-inspired hotel in the heart of old-town Monterey includes a spa and Spanish restaurant. Rooms start at $133.
Stokes Restaurant & Bar: 500 Hartnell St.; (831) 373-1110; www.stokesrestaurant.com. In a historic adobe building, this restaurant features rustic Mediterranean cuisine using regional produce. It's the perfect spot for a hearty winter dinner after touring the adobes.
Turtle Bay Taqueria: 431 Tyler St.; (831) 333-1500; www.turtlebay.tv. Savory taco bar with coastal cuisine from Mexico and Belize. Tacos are made fresh while you watch.
Christmas in the Adobes: 5 to 9 p.m. Thurs. and Sat.; www.parks.ca.gov/mshp. Tour Monterey's historic buildings and gardens illuminated by candlelight, featuring period decorations, costumed volunteers and tasty treats. Ticket prices are $20 for adults, $2 for children 6 to 17, free for children under 6. Call (831) 649-7120 for tickets.
Miniatures Exhibition at the Monterey Museum of Art: 559 Pacific St.; (831) 372-5477; www.montereyart.org. Through Jan. 3. More than 300 miniature works by California artists are on display. Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for students and military, free for children 12 and under. Purchase raffle tickets for $5 each, or $30 for a book of seven, for a chance to win a small masterpiece.
First Night Monterey: 3 p.m. to midnight Dec. 31; (831) 373-4778; www.firstnightmonterey.org. This family-friendly community celebration of the arts features more than 20 performance sites and a grand New Year finale on the Custom House Plaza. Admission button prices are $10 to $25 (youth and adults, depending on date purchased); children under 6 free.
Monterey Bay Aquarium: 886 Cannery Row (831) 648-4800; www.montereybayaquarium.org. At the New Year's Eve Family Event & Sleepover, 7 p.m.-8:30 a.m. Dec. 31. Adults and children 5 and older are invited to celebrate the new year with behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, an apple cider toast to the East Coast at 9 p.m. and a late-night nature movie. Admission $95 general, $75 for museum members. 886 Cannery Row (831) 648-4800; www.montereybayaquarium.org.


Fresh off her Oscar nomination for “The Favourite,” Rachel Weisz has set her sights on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as she is in early talks join Scarlett Johansson in Marvel’s “Black Widow” standalone movie.
Though a deal has not yet been completed, sources tell Variety that talks are headed in that direction, with strong interest from both sides of negotiations.
“Stranger Things” star David Harbour is also in talks to join the film, with “Outlaw King’s” Florence Pugh on board and Cate Shortland signed on to direct. Jac Schaeffer is penning the script. The film has been in development for some time, but picked up momentum last year after Schaeffer’s hire. Kevin Feige is producing the pic.
Marvel had no comment on the talks, and reps for Weisz’s team could not be reached for comment.
It’s unclear whether “Black Widow” will be an origin tale or set after “Avengers: Endgame.” It’s currently also unknown who Weisz would be playing in the film.
There’s been a big push from fans for Johansson’s Black Widow to get her own movie since she first appeared in 2010’s “Iron Man 2.” With the latest phase of the MCU coming to a close, the studio saw this as the best time to move forward on the project.
Weisz is coming off one of the most critically acclaimed roles of her career, with her performance in “The Favourite” not only earning her an Oscar nomination, but also a nod from the Golden Globes and a win at the BAFTA Awards.
She is repped by WME, Independent Talent Group, and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.


Tries from Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser kept Scottish hopes of a first Triple Crown in 27 years alive as they claimed an impressive 29-13 win over Wales.
Rob Howley’s Dragons dominated a brutal first-half battle and led 13-9 at half-time through Liam Williams’ touchdown and Leigh Halfpenny’s boot.
It was a different story after the break though, with wings Seymour and Visser crossing over as the rampant Scots racked up 20 unanswered points, also via Finn Russell’s kicking, to hand them a shot at the clean sweep of Home Nations at Twickenham in two weeks’ time.
“Brilliant performance by @Scotlandteam v @WelshRugbyUnion A great 1st win for @johnbarc86 as captain!” - Former Scotland skipper David Sole (@davidsole678) hails Scotland’s triumph.
Tim Visser - The Harlequins wing has often been regarded as the weak link in the Scottish line-up but he more than deserved his place this time as he set up Seymour to score, halted Rhys Webb from scoring a certain try before finishing off his own touchdown.
Scotland ended 10 years of hurt as they grabbed their first win over the Dragons since 2007. Their 16-point winning margin also gives the Dark Blues their biggest win over Welsh opposition since 1993.
Scotland centre Alex Dunbar can forget about making a switch to fly-half after his attempt at up and under went spectacularly wrong, with the ball flying off his shin before whizzing over his head and out of touch.


Akim Manso (E/R), Dec. 30, GNA- Chiefs of the Benkum Division of the Akim Kotoku Traditional Council had sent a congratulatory message to President John Agyekum Kufuor on his re-election.
The message, issued at Assin Manso and signed by Obrempong Sintim Poku III, Benkumhene of the Akim Kotoku Traditional Area, noted that the victory showed that Ghanaians acknowledged the good works of the President to improve the living standard of the people. "We the chiefs in the Benkum Division believe that the President and his government will continue the good work began four years ago to improve the living standard of all Ghanaians, especially the rural dwellers"
"We also appreciate the number of development projects initiated at Akim Manso, especially the rehabilitation of the Akim Manso-Akim Osenase road during your first term in office", the message said. The message urged farmers to ferment their cocoa for six days before drying to avoid the purple cocoa beans.


Research Description: Over the past 22 years Dr. Liu has been directing a research program that seeks new therapeutic options to treat hyperlipidemia through molecular and cellular studies conducted in liver cells and various animal models. Hyperlipidemia is one underlying causal factors for developing diabetes. Among numerous accomplishments, Dr. Liu’s team has characterized a new cellular pathway that upregulates the liver low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) transcription through a cholesterol-independent mechanism and demonstrated the effective cholesterol reduction in hyperlipidemic animals by activating this pathway. Furthermore, Dr. Liu’s laboratory has identified a novel post-transcriptional mechanism of LDLR gene that mediates the cholesterol-lowering effects of herbal medicine berberine as well as the medicinal plant goldenseal. In the last several years, PCSK9 has emerged as a new therapeutic target for treating hypercholesterolemia. PCSK9 is a key regulator of serum LDL-C metabolism by promoting the degradation of hepatic LDLR. Dr. Liu’s research in characterizing the transcriptional mechanism of PCSK9 has brought new insight for developing novel therapeutic approach to inhibit PCSK9 biosynthesis with a potential to improve the efficacy of current cholesterol-lowering drug statins for the management of hypercholesterolemia. Her group has long-standing, productive collaborations with members of the SDRC including Dr. Kraemer and Dr. Tsao.
Dong B, Kan CF, Singh AB and Liu J. High fructose diet downregulates long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 3 expression in liver of hamsters via impairing LXR/RXR signaling pathway. J Lipid Res. 54:1241–1254, 2013.
Kan CF, Singh AB, Stafforini DM, Azhar S, and Liu J. Arachidonic acid down regulates acyl-CoA synthetase 4 expression by promoting its ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. J Lipid Res. 55: 1657–1667, 2014.
Singh AB, Kan CF, Shende V, Dong B, and Liu J. A novel posttranscriptional mechanism for dietary cholesterol-mediated suppression of liver LDL receptor expression. J Lipid Res. 55:1397-1407, 2014.
Dong B, Singh AB, Azhar S, Seidah NG, Liu J. High-fructose feeding promotes accelerated degradation of hepatic LDL receptor and hypercholesterolemia in hamsters via elevated circulating PCSK9 levels. Atherosclerosis. 239:364-374, 2015.


Of course Portland has a hurling team.
It’s difficult to gage the success of the strange and intentionally unfinished beast that is a staged reading.
But if there is a metric, it’s how much you want to see a fully staged version afterwards.
By that standard, Hurl, written by Charlie O’Neill and presented by Corrib Theatre, is a rousing success.
The title refers to the traditional Irish sport of hurling, which seems to involve a ball and sticks, field hockey-like movements and some jargon that was recited quickly in slightly flawed Irish accents. The rules never become particularly clear, but as with so many sport dramas, what’s happening on the field isn’t as important as what’s happening off of it.
In this case, it’s Musa (Victor Mack), a refugee from Sierra Leone, and Lofty (Allen Nause), an alcoholic ex-priest, and their efforts to carry their hurling team made up of foreigners and refugees to the provincial hurling finals in spite of disapproving traditionalists like the local athletic association chairman.
Director Tracy Cameron Francis invited members of the Willamette Hurling Club, dressed in full uniform, to provide movement during the play’s game sequences, which offered a tantalizing hint of how the play could come to life in a full staging.
Though the characters are paper-thin and the refugees’ plights are deployed for emotional rather than critical or political affect, the play’s insistence on the transcendent joy of sports spark to life, even with scripts on music stands and the slight participation of the Willamette Hurlers.
With some inventive choreography and full staging that lets the scenes take the breakneck pace at which they’re written, it seems highly likely that the play would, in the words of one of the characters—really fly.
Hailey Bachrach is a Portland native. She has written for Oregon ArtsWatch, HowlRound, American Theatre, and others. She also writes plays, loves Shakespeare, and pets strangers' dogs.


So much baggage comes with driving an ‘80s Trans Am. As Regular Car Reviews puts it, it’s the car that symbolizes the struggle, the car for teenage dads who think they can still play Call of Duty whenever they want, for employees mad at their regional managers, for the uncle with the Hall and Oates mustache who wants to be with it.
None of that detracts from how interesting and even special that vintage of Trans Am was. When it was new, the idea was it provided a kind of sophisticated fun for a buyer not quite liquid enough for a Corvette, but maybe a little refined than someone who would buy a Camaro. Or a Mustang.
But is it fun to drive? Hell yeah. The car in this video has a 350 cubic inch V8 and a five-speed manual, and it can’t take corners worth a damn, but I think if you can’t get a kick out of driving one, you should check your pulse.


For the past year, faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the Boston University School of Public Health have been celebrating the school’s 40th anniversary. A symposia series and dozens of receptions and dinners in 15 states and 13 countries were attended by more than 2,000 people. The yearlong celebration culminated with last Thursday’s 40th Anniversary Gala, a gathering of more than 300 community members, public health leaders, and friends of SPH at the State Room in downtown Boston.
Beyond Health Awards, one of the highest honors given by SPH, were presented to Janice L. Cooper, project lead for the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program in Liberia, and Larry Kessler, founding director of the Massachusetts AIDS Action Committee. Both received standing ovations.
Jeannine Rivet (SPH’81), a Dean’s Advisory Board member and executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, echoed that sentiment as she and her husband, Warren Herreid II, were inducted into the William Fairfield Warren Society for their decades of support for SPH and BU. The society honors living individuals and families who have made gifts of $1 million or more to the University.
The celebration included a performance by Danza Orgánica, a social justice–oriented dance theater company based in Roxbury. The dancers performed part of Running in Stillness, a soon-to-premiere piece that confronts the effects of mass incarceration.
Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented to Kathryn Brinsfeld (SPH’01), assistant secretary and chief medical officer of the US Department of Homeland Security; Mark A. Keroack (SPH’00), president and CEO of Baystate Health; and Hania Dawani (SON’81,’89, SPH’86), mental health and nursing consultant, faculty in health sciences, at Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates and a California State University, Northridge, associate professor.
The gala was a celebration of “progress towards a healthier world,” Galea said.
Michelle Samuels can be reached at msamu@bu.edu.


Iranian film-maker Asghar Farhadi’s choice of replacement speakers at the Oscars has won praise from Iranians and has been seen as adding an extra layer of subtlety to his message in absentia.
Farhadi won his second Oscar last night for The Salesman, about a couple whose relationship is thrown into disarray after an intruder surprises the wife in the shower. The story is influenced by Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. The win has put him on a shortlist of elite directors who have won an Oscar in the foreign film category more than once, including Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman.
Farhadi boycotted the ceremony in Los Angeles “out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations” affected by Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries, which he said “have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the US”.
Instead he sent two Iranian-Americans to pick up the award and read his message. They were Firouz Naderi, a former Nasa scientist who was the project manager for the Mars exploration and Anousheh Ansari, the first self-funded woman in the world to have gone into space. In 2006, Ansari grabbed global headlines after becoming the first Iranian in space and also the first woman tourist to visit the international space station.
At the Oscars, Ansari read Farhadi’s message to the audience’s applause. “Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear. A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression.
Farhadi’s reference to “us” and the “enemies”, seen as a condemnation of Trump’s policies, also appeared to carry a message to politicians inside Iran. In January, when he announced the reasons behind his decision to boycott the Oscars, he targeted hardliners both in Iran and the US.
At the Oscars ceremony, Ansari wore a scarf around her body that depicted a map of her birthplace, the Iranian city of Mashhad, as seen from space. In remarks made to reporters after the speech, she said not coming to the Oscars was a difficult decision for Farhadi.
“It was very difficult, as you know this would be his second Oscar, and he would be the fourth foreign film-maker to receive two Oscars, it was a big deal for him. I think not coming he felt that it’s very important to make the statement that he made,” she said.
On Sunday, thousands of Iranians turned up at Trafalgar Square in London to watch The Salesman in a special open-air screening organised by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan.
Abbas Faiz, an Iranian independent human rights consultant, said the London gathering sent a “beautiful message”. “It shows the power of art, that it’s so potent. So many people in this world would not accept the negative and poisonous propaganda that is coming out from the new administration from the United States,” he said.


In a meeting with news anchors, President Trump said it’s time for compromise on an immigration bill, a major departure from the way he has framed the issue in the past. But Democrats aren't buying it.
WASHINGTON — In a private meeting between President Donald Trump and national news anchors, a relaxed and open Trump said the time has come for compromise from both parties on an immigration bill, a major departure from the way he has framed the issue in the past.
"The time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides," Trump said, according to six attendees who recounted the meeting to BuzzFeed News.
But Democrats believe the Trump administration, which has broadened the definition of who qualifies as a criminal and ramped up enforcement and deportations, stoking fear in immigrant communities, is far from an equitable negotiator on immigration.
"The only thing Donald Trump is interested in compromising is the United States Constitution," said newly elected DNC chair Tom Perez, adding that Trump has painted immigrant families as criminals and floated mobilizing 100,000 troops to act as a deportation force.
“At this point it’s just talk,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro.
A list of Trump’s six guests released Monday night showed that three are family members of victims of violence by undocumented immigrants, which also angered Democrats.
The meeting alternated between portions being off the record and parts attributable to senior White House officials without using their names, a practice the administration has criticized on stories they disapprove of. Attendees included NBC’s Chuck Todd and Lester Holt, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer, Univision’s Maria Elena Salinas, Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart, News One’s Roland Martin, and others.
A major topic of the meeting was immigration, with Trump reiterating that “bad hombres” need to be removed from the country, but appearing open to a path to citizenship for DREAMers — undocumented young people brought to the country as children.
Trump also acknowledged that his messaging on immigration, which has been hardline save for occasional comments that he has love for DREAMers, could have been better, giving himself a C grade so far.
But like any instance of Trump appearing to moderate on immigration there was a catch. Asked by George Stephanopoulos if he was open to a path to citizenship for DREAMers, Trump said yes — once they leave the country and come back, which is a nonstarter for many immigrants with ties to the country.
Attendees said one of the Fox News anchors — it’s unclear whether it was Chris Wallace or Bret Baier — asked whether giving some form of legal status to certain undocumented immigrants would mean that Trump wasn’t keeping his promises to his base.
But Trump said that wouldn’t be the case because there has to be “a softening on both sides. There’s got to be a coming together."
Democrats aren’t buying Trump’s talk of compromise on immigration ahead of his joint address to Congress Tuesday.
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the immigrant community is "rightfully scared" of what President Trump has done.
"His executive order goes far beyond anything that anyone proposed. People are cowering. It’s going to hurt us economically — large numbers of people just aren’t going to show up to work and employers are going to start complaining," Schumer said, earlier in the day. "Once again, it’s an administration that they don’t seem to know what they’re doing. They simply come up with these proposals that sound good and then they can’t implement them, they don't make any sense, they don’t meet the law. It's amazing in a month how incompetent this administration has been."
And while Trump was open to discussing issues more openly than attendees expected, he also was skilled at deflecting pointed questions. He was asked about his comments regarding violence in Chicago and what he meant by saying he was going to send in federal law enforcement, a question that he avoided.
He was also asked about pushing police officers on the issue of police brutality and deflected, talking instead about the tough cops he met on the campaign trail and how they would be able to deal with the violence quickly.
Trump also left the possibility open that he would speak about immigration besides in the usual red meat fashion he usually serves his base, by adding a mention of a compromise between the two parties.


A YOUNG pilot claims to have been left high and dry by the demise of Oxford airline Varsity Express after he invested £15,000 to be trained by the collapsed carrier.
Twenty-three-year-old Peter Chilvers borrowed cash from his parents, grandmother and other family members so he could fulfil his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot.
Mr Chilvers is one of four recently-qualified pilots who handed over a total of £52,500 to be ‘type-trained’ – to learn to fly the company’s 18-seat Jetstream 31 plane.
Varsity Express, which offered daily flights between Oxford and Edinburgh, was grounded after just a week, leaving passengers – and Mr Chilvers – stranded in the Scottish capital last week.
Thames Valley Police has launched an investigation into allegations of “fraudulent activity” at the airline.
However, the entrepreneur behind Varsity Express, Martin Halstead, has denied any wrongdoing and has pledged that all the pilots will be repaid in full.
Mr Chilvers was offered a £24,000-a-year job after being interviewed in London and had been due to start his first pilot’s job with Varsity in May.
However, he needed to hand over the money, including £4,000 from his 89-year-old grandmother Barbara, so he could be type-trained.
Mr Chilvers, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, underwent training at Oxford Aviation Academy.
He said: “I always wanted to be a pilot. I was incredibly excited to begin work. It would have been real flying and a great route to start off on, with short sectors all in the UK.
“Being based out of Oxford would have been the ideal location.
“Varsity held the interviews in the ‘Gherkin’ in London and that sort of thing doesn’t come cheaply, so I thought these guys were well backed.
Mr Halstead, 23, from Summertown, said he had written off £3,500 of his own money that he put into Varsity.
However, he added: “The pilots will be reimbursed. We are in discussion with them at the moment about a payment schedule to get their refunds returned.
“That money was put into the company and used as part of the working capital, but we are working on getting it back.
Mr Chilvers fears that losing the money would harm his chances of future employment in the industry, as it is now commonplace for pilots to pay for their training.
He said: “Currently in the airline industry companies that are taking on the most pilots want some financial contribution.
“Having no money rules me out of quite a lot of jobs in the industry that are open to someone of my experience level.
“My family have stood by me and helped me as much as possible but their finances have been completely ex-hausted.
Mr Halstead has already insisted that between 350 and 400 passengers who had booked trips with Varsity would be refunded within 14 days.
He said the pilots would have their money returned within three months.


STOUGHTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A 23-year-old Stoughton woman is facing criminal charges after authorities say she fled the scene of a hit-and-run crash on Wednesday night that left a man with serious injuries before trying to mislead investigators who found her banged up sedan in a nearby driveway.
Officers responding to a reported pedestrian accident at the intersection of Washington and School streets about 7:30 p.m. found a 40-year-old Stoughton man on the ground and a passenger side mirror believed to be from the vehicle that struck him in the crosswalk, according to police.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to a Boston hospital with serious injuries. There was no immediate word on his condition.
After clearing the crash, police said officers determined the vehicle was most likely a white Nissan Sentra based on the parts number on the mirror. They then ran a search for white Sentras in the area and traced one to a home on Morton Street, which is a short distance from the crash scene.
Marlene Perdigao, who was identified as the driver, was arrested after she allegedly attempted to mislead investigators while being interviewed.
She is slated to be arraigned Thursday in Stoughton District Court on charges including leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, knowingly misleading police, and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.


SPARTA, Mich.--Are you looking for a way to get a great workout in without being trapped inside this summer?
Always wondered how to work out without having tons of gym equipment to worry about? Have you been interested in working with a personal trainer, but not sure where or how to start? It's time to get outdoors and have some fun all while burning calories, and strengthening your body and soul!
First Classes are being offered at no cost!
SPARTA, Mich.—If you’re craving fresh local produce, the wait is almost over!
The Downtown Sparta Farmers Market opens for the season June 13.
The market will be open on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. through September 26. It will take place in the ChoiceOne Bank parking lot, located at 72 N. Union.
Rockford Relay For Life raised $318,000 for the American Cancer Society, making it one of the most successful fundraisers in the state.
Other West Michigan communities are doing their part. During the Wyoming-Grandville Relay For Life on May 10, participants raised at least $54,857. That same day, participants in the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Relay For Life collected at least $45,984 for the American Cancer Society. Runners and walkers in East Grand Rapids raised at least $56,531 during their Relay For Life May 17. On May 18, the Relay For Life of White Lake generated at least $43,211 for the American Cancer Society, while Relay For Life of Comstock Park raised at least $42,815.
And don’t count local colleges out. In April, Grand Valley State University raised at least $85,263 during its Relay For Life, Western Michigan University collected at least $32,083 and Aquinas College raised $5,670.
Recreational Soccer Club FC Ridge is looking for Head Coaches and Assistance Coaches. FC Ridge is a Sparta-based organization aimed at providing a well balanced and educational soccer experience for those who live in West Michigan’s Fruit Ridge area and surrounding communities, such as Rockford, Cedar Springs, Kent City, Casnovia, Walker, Coopersville and other nearby communities. It was previously known as Sparta Youth Soccer Assoc.


At one point in all our lives we all imagine ourselves as parents. We do not only imagine that but we actually even play mommies and daddies, perhaps a nature�s way of preparing us for that role later on in life. I don�t know how today�s children do it but for most folks, myself included, there were days when we played moms and dads from sunrise until sunset!
We all dreamt of becoming parents, we looked forward to that day! Coming from a family where there were more females than males, I too wanted children, four maximum just like my own parents. Today, most ‘dreamers’ including ours truly are now parents and that’s fantastic. The only problem is that for most, things didn’t exactly go according to the script. What we overlooked was all the work that goes with parenthood. Truth be told, and I am not trying to scare anyone here, until your children are all grown up with meaningful lives of their own, parenting is like a life sentence at Guatemala Bay.
While your envision a perfect life, with a caring supportive partner and well behaved children, often things don’t go according to plan. Studies show that almost 50% of parents end up splitting and going their separate ways and for most, this marks the end of your parenting dream. Other parents continue co-parenting their children with very little interruption to the children’s lives, for the rest, world war 3 erupts as all courtesy and even common sense is thrown out of the window!
Children are often the unfortunate pawns of battles between exes. Sometimes motivated by desires to hurt the other parent or out of a sefish desire to be the sole or primary influence on the child’s life, these battles can be both emotionally challenging for both children and parents alike. I had first-hand experience of this some months back, when my child was travelling on a school trip to South Africa. Personally I don’t have child dramas with anyone; I believe that parents should remain civil if not for their sakes, at least for their children. I go all the way to create that environment, swallowing all my pride if it comes to that. So for some unlucky parents, there is this new immigration law that compels both parents to provide written consent before their children can cross borders. This is a nightmare for estranged parents and their children.
either refusing to consent or their present whereabouts were unknown. My heart bled for their children, because without the consent, they were not going anywhere.
Like someone said a few months ago, the danger with this new requirement, which we are told, is meant to curb child trafficking is that all of a sudden it is making some parents feel very important. It is a fact that some parents are dead-beat parents; they can go for months or even years, not knowing where their children are, what they eat or even where they sleep. Never mind whether they are even walking bare. They go about their daily lives trying to pretend they don’t have children at all and most times, their former partners would have simply forgotten about them, given up on them or even presumed them dead.
Life was normal or maybe just getting back to normal for some parents until this law came into being. What happens now is that these runaway ex partners get hunted down, they can be men or women and once they are located and asked (or begged) to write that consent they will then start theatrics and unnecessary drama. Being asked for the consent all of a sudden inflates their egos, even gives them this false sense of power over both the child and the other parent.
At the South African High Commissioner’s office that day I saw pain on the faces of parents and their children. The parents feeling helpless, and for one child, she just could not stop her tears. Sometimes you ask God to intervene when things are like this, beyond your control because surely hurting a child is the second worst sin in the sacred book. The other day I came across a post on facebook, a young lady had posted asking for advice because she was experiencing the same thing. The main issue, the one most people were interested on, was how to beat the system, how to travel with the child even if it meant breaking the law. One of the saddest things in the world, is to see a child grow up hating one of their parents. Take heed.


Two days after Gov. Jon Corzine hinted to reporters how he plans to address the state’s budget shortfall that has tripled to $1.2 billion, he still won’t provide detail.
On Wednesday Corzine said without specificity he will plug the budget hole with cuts, purchasing delays and renegotiated contracts with private vendors.
On Friday he again declined to describe his plans, but promised to before January.
Corzine, who has met with state employees’ unions wouldn’t confirm nor deny whether he will ask them to forgo a raise this year.
“We had a broad-based conversation,” Corzine said.
Citing the flak California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got recently for a tax hike proposal, Corzine said he wasn’t looking to increase income taxes.
He did clarify that the $5 billion gap he projected for next year’s budget (the fiscal year beginning in July 2009) included the projection for inflation and growth. The $31.7 billion spending plan for the current fiscal year (the nearly $33 billion approved, minus $1.2 billion for the revenue shortfall) will be closer to $30 billion in fiscal year 2010, he said.
Corzine said he will continue to lobby Washington to approve another economic stimulus program geared toward public works projects during the lame duck session and another after President-elect Barack Obama takes office.
“We need demand, and the only capable expenditurer of dollars at this point is really the federal government,” Corzine said.
The former chief executive of Goldman Sachs couldn’t say how much longer it will be before the deteriorating economy bottoms out.
“I think the economy is in one of thoese periods where it is sharply moving down and people don’t really know where the bottom is,” Corzine said.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Arnold Schwarzenegger, budget deficit, economic stimulus, Jon Corzine. Bookmark the permalink.
The CWA leadership will , shortsightedly, fight any talk about not taking the 3.5 % pay increase due in the next fiscal year. This will be a huge mistake and a public relations diaster. It will also jeopardize the status of many state workers who will probably be subject to a layoff if the increase is taken .
The majority of state workers , when given the choice of saving their or a co-workers job , or taking a pay increase , would gladly vote to save the job. But the CWA leadership never listens to the rank and file. The CWA leadership gets it huge paychecks from workers dues and they make out better when workers get increases becasue the dues system is based on pay increase percentages.
The voice of the average state worker will not be heard because it will not have a forum. I sincerely hope that the Press does its best to get the opinion of both sides when this critical issue arises. The CWA leadership has its own agenda and it neither asks nor cares about the average New Jersey state worker.


A Utah State Prison inmate serving time on a cocaine conviction was given two additional sentences of one to 15 years in 2nd District Court Tuesday for arranging a drug sale while he was being held in the Davis County Jail.
Dana S. Parker, 29, was charged with eight counts of selling or possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia in April and May of this year. Because of his prior cocaine conviction and because some of the transactions occurred within 1,000 feet of a school (at the jail), four of the counts were bumped up a degree to first-degree felonies.In a plea bargain, Parker pleaded guilty Tuesday to two second-degree felony counts of distribution of cocaine. The rest of the charges were dismissed.
Judge Douglas L. Cornaby sentenced him to two additional one- to 15-year prison terms, to run concurrently with his present term.
According to court records, Parker was convicted of selling cocaine in 1986. He was charged by the county's drug strike force with four first-degree felony counts of distribution of cocaine in April and May; one second-degree felony charge of cocaine possession; a second-degree felony charge of distributing marijuana; and Class A misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.


Sledge-Lit 2016, a day of panel discussions, workshops, readings and networking for readers and writers of science-fiction, fantasy and horror returns for a second year, adding a festive addition to the annual Edge-Lit event at QUAD in Derby.
It takes place on Saturday, November 26.
The full line-up of authors and speakers for the day have been confirmed, offering a range of local and national writing talent.
Guests of honour Justina Robson and Stephen Volk will be joined by British Fantasy Award winning horror author Mark Morris; New York Times Bestseller Gav Thorpe; British Fantasy Award nominee KT Davies; dark fantasy author Freda Warrington and Paul Kane, author of the Sherlock Holmes/Hellraiser crossover Sherlock Holmes and The Servants of Hell.
Sledge-Lit workshops will feature subjects such as Social Media for Writers, Writing Non-Fiction and Performing Your Work; with panel discussions exploring the value of literary awards, the resurgence of short fiction and whether horror has become too narrow a genre.
Sledge-Lit takes place from 10.30am to 7pm. Tickets are £25, covering all the activities on the day and an event goodie bag. For more information, or to book tickets, visit http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/special-event/sledge-lit-2016.aspx or call 01332 290606.


Loring Air Force Base doesn’t see much action these days.
The Maine airbase — named after Maj. Charles Loring, Medal of Honor winner — closed in 1994. But it was the site of a new world record Sunday, when a Floridan man rode his motorcycle faster than 311 mph.
Other speed records were set Sunday, including one man who drove a 1995 Nissan pickup at 179 mph.
So what’s it driving a motorcycle faster than the cruising speed of some jets?
“In this situation it was very calm,” Bill Warner told the Bangor Daily News. “I progressed my speeds up from 180 all the way up to that speed over the past few years, so it was not a traumatic thing to do.
The column on the right-hand side of the page under “Archives” is labeled “Categoreis.” Unfortunately, the plural of category is “categories.” Remember the whole “I before E except after C…” rule? Spell-check is a good guard against elementary errors.


I spent a scorching day last week at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.
The thermometer hovered near 100 degrees. The climate was so humid that it seemed like a large shaggy dog had pinned me to the ground and was breathing directly into my face.
When the Union and Confederate armies crashed into one another just outside Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, precipitating the bloodiest battle in American history, the weather wasn't so uncompromising.
Heat or no heat, our visit was awe-inspiring. I made the trip with my grandson, who celebrated his 12th birthday at the park, and my son-in-law.
The battlefield is observing the Civil War's sesquicentennial — 150th anniversary. Gettysburg will celebrate its own sesquicentennial in July 2013.
The battle is frequently described as the war's turning point. It recorded the greatest number of casualties of any battle in the war: about 51,000 men from both armies.
Gettysburg is America's largest battlefield shrine, featuring 1,300 monuments, 41 miles of scenic lanes and boulevards, and one of the largest collections of outdoor sculptures.
The best way to gain a true sense of the three-day battle is to walk as much ground as possible. Be warned, however. It's a huge field, at 522 acres.
This was my fifth visit.
Each time I go to Gettysburg, I see people I know. Bronze visages of Gens. Robert E. Lee, George Meade, James Longstreet and many others greet visitors from locations all over the park.
One year, however, I did unexpectedly run into a person I knew — a colleague from Orange Coast College.
I was in the park's museum, admiring Confederate cannon balls. So absorbed was I in surveying that I didn't notice the couple standing beside me.
I happened to overhear the woman comment to her husband about canister shells filled with lethal grapeshot and shrapnel. I recognized the voice. She and her husband, both Civil War re-enactors, were making their almost annual pilgrimage to Pennsylvania.
During my first trip to the park in 1993, I took the two-hour battlefield bus tour. I was cramming the visit into a short Washington, D.C., stay — about two hours away. I don't recommend that.
The tour provided a basic orientation because I knew virtually nothing about the battle prior to the visit. Over the next 18 years I read more than 30 books about the Civil War, including several on Gettysburg alone.
In 2005, I hired a licensed battlefield guide for a personal two-hour tour of the park. By then, I was fairly savvy about the events of the battle and was looking for context.
Last week, I bought a CD and did my own auto tour of the battlefield. The tour takes about three hours, but you can extend it by getting out along the way and exploring on your own. We spent four hours in the museum and visitor center prior to the tour, and eight hours on the battlefield. It was a deeply satisfying experience.
I never tire of tramping the nearly 1-mile undulating ground of Pickett's Charge; of surveying the battlefield from atop Little Round Top, where so many Texans, Alabamans, New Yorkers and Mainers fell; and of walking somberly through the Soldiers' National Cemetery, the setting for President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
During this visit I saw for the first time the magnificent new 139,000-square-foot Museum & Visitor Center, built in 2008. It includes a rotunda gallery, museum gallery, theater experience, interactive stations, and museum store. It also houses the breathtaking 377-foot-long Gettysburg Cyclorama, painted in 1884 by French artist Paul Philippoteaux.
Four months after the 1863 battle, Lincoln went by train to the battlefield and dedicated the cemetery with his now-famous address.
Lincoln left Gettysburg convinced that he'd disappointed the crowd with his brief remarks. Little did he know that his rhetoric would dramatically reverberate through human history.
Gettysburg moves you in so many ways!


Red blood cells, platelets, or other blood components may be transfused to increase the number of red blood cells and platelets in patients who are short of breath, fatigued, or in danger of serious bleeding . During a blood transfusion, blood and blood products are infused into a vein.
Donated blood must be matched to your blood type. Prior to a transfusion, your blood will be drawn to check your blood type. You may receive blood that has been irradiated to prevent the risk of graft vs. host disease. A nurse will monitor you for any signs of an adverse reaction.
Bone marrow transplantation involves the injection of healthy stem cells from a donor's bone marrow into your vein. The new stem cells travel through the bloodstream to your bone cavities. Stem cells are cells that can produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
Bone marrow transplantation allows you to receive high doses of chemotherapy or radiation because it replaces those cells destroyed by the various treatments. Bone marrow transplantation may be performed using bone marrow either from a donor (allogeneic transplant) or from you (autologous transplant).
If the transplant is successful, the newly injected cells should be free of cancer and capable of producing healthy cells.
In order for bone marrow transplants to be successful, certain markers (called HLA types) on the donor's and recipient's blood cells and bone marrow cells must match. As the recipient, you will be given medications to suppress your immune system and prevent your body from rejecting the donor bone marrow. In the weeks prior to the bone marrow transplant, you may undergo intense chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to rid your body of diseased cells and to clear the bone marrow cavities for the new bone marrow. This process is called "conditioning."
Removal of bone marrow from the donor, called "harvesting," takes place in an operating room. A hollow needle and syringe is used to remove bone marrow from the donor's hipbone. Several punctures are made in order to harvest an adequate amount of bone marrow for transplantation. The puncture wounds are then covered with bandages.
The donated marrow is filtered and then administered through a small, flexible catheter into a large vein in your chest. You receive the bone marrow in an isolation room, where you will need to stay to avoid infection until the new marrow begins to produce infection-fighting cells. It may take about a month for the donor bone marrow to begin functioning fully.
Some patients with leukemia develop complications as a result of the spleen being congested with leukemia cells. In these cases, it may be necessary to remove the spleen as part of treatment. Removal of the spleen can often be done laparoscopically. The main side effect of splenectomy, other than the possibility of infection or anesthesia complications, is the fact that the patient may be left susceptible to certain types of infections, particularly pneumonia. In most cases, vaccination against common bacteria that cause pneumonia can prevent this from occurring. An alternative to removing the spleen, in some circumstances, is to irradiate it with external beam radiation.
Discuss the benefits and risks of the various treatments with your doctor.


Located in the often referred to as the ‘Beverly Hills of Dubai’, this Emirates Hills villa features decorative Renaissance arts, living spaces and bedrooms with generous dimensions, an en-suite master bedroom with Jacuzzi steps in marble slabs, luxurious furnishing and finishing, panoramic views of the lake, and immense outdoors with private swimming pool, landscaped gardens and elegant fountains and sculptures.Key elements of the interiors are the sophisticated upholsteries and draperies, crystal chandeliers, high wingback chairs and handcrafted carpets as wall arts and floor coverings. While for the exteriors, classical statues and fountains dominate the scene. Emirates Hills is a prestigious gated community and one of the most exclusive developments in Dubai. The community is home to the many high-profile individuals and diplomats, and looks out over the green fairways of the world-class 18-hole Montgomerie Championship Golf Course.


In its Mobility Report, the company said one of the first 5G use cases would be fixed wireless access. As 5G smartphones became available during 2019, it said it expected several service providers to launch commercial 5G services.
Significant 5G subscription volumes were forecast to be seen early in North America and North-East Asia.
The report also forecast that the build-out of population coverage for 5G would be faster than that for LTE.
"Initial LTE build-out was led by Western Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea. With the exception of Western Europe, these areas, along with China, are expected to also lead the 5G population coverage build-out," the report said.
With nearly half the world's households yet to have a fixed broadband connection, Ericsson said opportunities existed for operators to deliver broadband services to homes and small- and medium-sized business using fixed-wireless access.
It pointed out that in order for FWA to be a viable alternative to fixed broadband - including xDSL, cable and fibre-optic access technologies - it must be able to be dimensioned with comparable capacity and performance.
"While 5G will make this possible, there is also a range of markets to be addressed with LTE technology on the way to 5G," the report noted.
The report said there were 7.9 billion mobile subscriptions globally in the third quarter of 2018, with 120 million new subscriptions added during the quarter.
Subscriptions grew 3% year-on-year with China having the most net additions (37 million) followed by India (31 million) and Indonesia (13 million).
Mobile broadband subscriptions were growing 15% year-on-year and increased by 240 million in Q3 2018, the report said. There were now 5.7 billion mobile broadband subscriptions globally.


EVERETT — Voters won’t see a proposed regional fire authority in south Snohomish County on the ballot this year after all.
Getting about a half-dozen cities and two fire districts in south county all to agree on one plan just didn’t shake out.
All of the participating agencies except for Fire District 1, Mountlake Terrace and Brier have dropped out of the talks.
Those still involved put a six-month hold on the plan pending new financial figures.
“Right now it does not appear to work where everybody can save money and either have the same or improved service,” Fire District 1 commissioner Jim Kenny said Friday.
The remaining agencies plan to meet again in September, after the county releases updated property tax revenue projections. Fire departments rely on property taxes for the bulk of their budgets. The initial fire authority plan, including financial figures, was drawn up when most of south county was expected to participate.
Leaders from almost every city and fire district between Everett and the King-Snohomish county line started talking about forming the fire authority in spring 2011. If approved by voters, the fire authority would create a new government body to levy taxes and provide fire protection and emergency medical services in affected areas.
Snohomish County has only one regional fire authority so far, the North County Regional Fire Authority, based in Warm Beach.
The south county fire authority could be on the ballot in 2014, or it could end up not happening at all, Kenny said. A fire authority isn’t the only way to regionalize services, he said.
“Where do we go from here? That’s what we’ll have to see come September,” he said.


Over 60,000 children with different disabilities are registered in Azerbaijan.
The children’s entertainment center of Park Bulvar, Happy land hosted an integrative and entertaining event “From isolation to integration’ for inmates of orphanages and special children’s rehabilitation facilities.
This action was organized within the framework of the Unlimited Opportunities campaign held by Heydar Aliyev Foundation and UNICEF with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan, aimed at ensuring discrimination of children with disabilities.
During the event, over 50 children from orphanages, children with limited abilities and children with disabilities had a good time at Happyland. The action was organized for inmates of Surakhany district children’s home No 2, rehabilitation center for disabled children Mushvig (Nizami district), boarding school for blind and partially blind children near Ganjlik underground station, boarding school No 3 for mute and deaf children and children with hearing impairments.
The aim of the campaign is to draw attention of the broad community to problems of children with disabilities, implementation of projects aimed at provision of their social integration countrywide through special events, social ads and other communicative materials on TV.
Over 60,000 children with different disabilities are registered in Azerbaijan. Of them only 6,000 visit special schools and 11,000 received education at children’s homes.
As part of the campaign, a big international conference on disability of children was held in September of this year. The contest of paintings for children with limited abilities, as well as the rest in a summer camp in Nabran should also be singled out.


You're just a few clicks away from having the Nexus 5 wallpapers on your device.
On Thursday, Google finally announced the Nexus 5 and revealed more details about features we will find in Android 4.4 KitKat.
With the release of a new operating system and a new device there's bound to be new wallpapers and background images. Luckily, Google posts the system images for Nexus devices and some very kind members of the XDA forum have pulled the Nexus 5 wallpapers and have made them available for download.
Droid Life has packaged up all eight of the wallpapers into a ZIP file (link is at the bottom of the Droid Life post) and made it available for all to download, or if you'd prefer you can grab the wallpaper you like the most from the same post.
The size of the wallpapers will allow you to use them on nearly any device, including other Android devices and should make for some interesting parallax wallpapers on iOS 7 devices.


SoftBank's latest robotics acquisition could allow it to open up a whole new market for service industries and home help.
Its customer service and companion robot, Pepper, is somewhat limited by the fact that it can't do much more than wave its arms and talk.
Now, though, SoftBank has its eyes on the fetching and carrying capabilities of BigDog and Spot, the dog-sized pack robots developed by Boston Robotics.
SoftBank, originally an ISP and mobile network operator, moved into robotics in 2014 when it bought Aldebaran, the French company behind the diminutive humanoid robots Pepper and Nao.
Aldebaran was known for its work on recognizing and responding to human emotions, and its robots have found a niche for themselves welcoming guests in high-end hotels and retail stores. They also play a role as listening companions, with applications in health care, education and care for the elderly.
What Pepper and Nao can't do, though, is carry luggage or shopping, or help around the home. That's where Boston Dynamics comes in.
The company started life as a developer of military pack robots, before it was acquired by Google. Following the search giant's restructuring as Alphabet, though, Boston Dynamics didn't really fit in. The company's robotics division lost direction after its head, Android creator Andy Rubin, left to build a new smartphone.
Boston Dynamics and another Alphabet-owned property, the Japanese robot designer Schaft, had been up for sale since early last year.
Four legs good, two legs better?
Schaft makes two-legged robots for industrial and service tasks and while Boston Dynamics made a name for itself with four-legged robots, it has more recently been working on a two-legged model that can run and jump, called Handle.
With its alien-cyborg-warrior vibe, it's unlikely people would welcome Handle into their homes, but if SoftBank can blend Handle's physical capabilities with Pepper's wide-eyed, soft-voiced demeanor, it could have a domestic hit on its hands.
Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank, clearly wants Boston Dynamics to walk away from the battlefield, saying that under his ownership the company will explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling.


CLARKSTON, Mich., Feb. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clarkston Financial Corporation ("Corporation") (OTCBB:CKFC), the holding company for Clarkston State Bank ("Bank"), today reported net income of $926,000 or $0.29 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2014, compared to net income of $5,016,000 or $1.55 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2013. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, the corporation reported net income of $1,736,000 or $0.59 per share compared to a net income of $5,502,000 or $1.70 per share for the same period in 2013. The decrease in earnings year over year is directly attributable to the tax effects of reversing the valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset made in 2013 and 2014. Pretax net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 was $1,078,000 compared to $945,000 for December 31, 2013. This represents a year over year increase of $133,000 or 14.07% in pretax income for the Corporation.
J. Grant Smith, CEO, said, "The Bank posted outstanding financial results in 2014. We had great success with the rollout of additional electronic banking products, increased our loan portfolio and continued the expansion of our strong core deposit base. In December 2014, the Board of Directors made a decision to close two of our retail branches to reflect the changing behavior of our customers and the potential growth within the marketplace with an emphasis on electronic delivery systems. Our two full service retail branches combined with the latest electronic delivery systems will further complement our suite of products and give our customers more electronic tools to interface with our Bank. The market continues to evolve as it relates to smart phones, tablets etc. and we are adapting our business model to this paradigm shift. We are very proud of our team and we look forward to further expanding our market share in 2015."
The Corporation's net interest income increased to $1,353,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 compared to $1,320,000 for the same period ended December 31, 2013. This represents a 2.50% increase over the prior year. The net interest margin of the Bank experienced compression due to stiffer loan competition, ending at 4.50% for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, down from 4.87% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. However, the Bank's net interest margin continues to exceed peer levels.
Noninterest income had a decrease in the fourth quarter 2014, increased due to the write down of one of the Bank's two remaining other real estate owned properties reflected in 2013. The quarter ended at $203,000 compared to $92,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, an increase of $111,000 or 120.65%. Noninterest expense continued to decline year over year, ending the fourth quarter 2014 at $1,288,000 compared to $1,423,000 for the same period ended December 31, 2013, a decrease of $135,000 or 9.49%. The decrease represents a decline in the expense related to troubled loans among other operating expenses.
Total assets at December 31, 2014 were $144,379,000 compared to $128,256,000 at December 31, 2013, an increase of $16,123,000 or 12.57%.
Total loans increased $9,792,000 from $103,015,000 at December 31, 2013 to $112,807,000 at December 31, 2014, an increase of 9.51%. Total deposits increased $14,124,000 or 1.27%, ending at $125,368,000 for December 31, 2014, up from $111,244,000 at December 31, 2013. Noninterest bearing demand deposits increased $11,926,000 from December 2013 to December 2014, reflecting an increase of 29.09%.
Total stockholders' equity increased from $10,974,000 at December 31, 2013 to $12,889,000 at December 31, 2014, an increase of $1,915,000 or 17.45%. This increase is due to the net income in 2014, mainly driven by the recapture of the remaining $1,000,000 in previously disallowed deferred tax asset in 2014. There is no longer any valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset.
Total non-performing loans decreased to $144,000 at December 31, 2014 compared to $279,000 from the same period 2013, a decrease of $135,000, or 48.39%. The allowance for loan loss decreased to 1.63% of total loans as of December 31, 2014, compared to 1.74% for the same period 2013. Management continually monitors the allowance for loan loss to determine its adequacy.
Clarkston State Bank opened in January 1999 and operates four branches in Clarkston, Waterford, and Independence Township, Michigan.
Safe Harbor. This news release contains comments or information that constitute forward-looking statements within the context of the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include: changes in interest rates and interest-rate relationships; demand for products and services; the degree of competition by traditional and non-traditional competitors; changes in banking regulations; changes in tax laws; changes in prices, levies, and assessments; the impact of technological advances; governmental and regulatory policy changes; the outcomes of contingencies; trends in customer behavior and their ability to repay loans; and changes in the national and local economy. The Corporation assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements.


One Take on the Etymology of the Term "Assault Weapon"
I like this video for two reasons: one, it contains some great perspective on something that causes frequent bouts of confusion and deliberately obtuse misidentification (what one might call lying or bull$hit). Two, the narrator sounds like one of my friends on the Michigan State Police EST, which entertains me to no end, especially after a couple of adult beverages.
On a more serious note, this is a great video to show people that genuinely understand what an "assault weapon" really is. Play it for people that still think an AR15 is a machine-gun.
From the narrator: "While I firmly believe that Assault is a behavior and NOT a description of an inanimate item, there is a proper use for it in military nomenclature and it isn't what the gun grabbers want people to believe. I was there, even debating Josh Suggarmann on it a LONG time ago, and this video can help clear up the lies and misconceptions before our guns and rights are used as pawns again for some perverted agenda. I hope you enjoy it."
Note: if you know a cogent and articulate counter-argument to this video, let us know and we will consider it for publication.
To be clear ahead of time: this is an op-ed, and a long one. If nothing else, watch the first 3 or 4 minutes, I think you'll like it.


The Bank is being set up as the only other commercial bank, Bank of Hawaii, pulls out of the territory.
The Hawaiian based bank, which has moved into temporary premises, said it will remain in American Samoa until the Territorial Bank is up and running.
The new bank is now establishing itself at the Bank of Hawaii's former location, having assumed the lease on a building that is owned by the American Samoa Government Employees Retirement Fund.


Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune A Salt Lake County parks bond with a $90 million infusion, without a tax increase, is planned for a long list of parks and recreation projects.
Holladay has experienced and continues to experience a loss of its tree canopy. This is due to clear cutting of properties, leaving nothing but dirt.
Construction’s heavy material loads on shallow roots kill trees. Sometimes, trees are not adequately watered, or diseases and insect infestations destroy them. While some new trees are planted, it's typically not in the same numbers as those that are lost.


Sony focuses on 4K high-definition video recording in its new smartphone as the industry faces uphill challenges.
Japan's Sony Corporation is turning its focus to 4K high-definition video recording in its new Xperia XZ2 smartphone, to differentiate itself from rivals that have caught up in camera technology.
Unwrapped at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress on Monday, the XZ2 features Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back and a longer, 18:9 ratio display, which reduces the size of the bezels on the front of the handset.
The device includes super slow-motion in 1080p high definition resolution, he said. Sony introduced super slo-mo in its XZ Premium last year, a first that was copied by market leader Samsung in its Galaxy 9, unveiled on Sunday.
Sony's device can also upscale SDR video to near-HDR quality video, using technology developed with engineers working on the company's Bravia televisions, he said.
While Sony has won plaudits for technical innovations, its sales have declined and it is adrift of the top 10 vendors. It sold 4 million units in the last quarter by the end of December, down from 5.1 million a year ago, according to results published earlier this month.
Analyst Ben Wood at CCS Insight said Sony, at last, had a competitive design to match the market-leading specifications it had on previous flagship models.
"It will be ruing a missed opportunity in 2017, given it beat rivals such as Samsung by a full year when it comes to features such as super-slow-mo video capture," he said.
However, he said Sony faced the same uphill challenge as most smartphone makers in standing out in the market.
"Taking on Apple and Samsung requires eye-watering investment that rivals such as Sony, HTC, LG and others are always going to struggle with," he said.
Is the US-Japan alliance at risk?


Sebastian Vettel led for much of the race, but Hamilton won the incident-packed race in Azerbaijan to take over the championship lead.
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Lewis Hamilton won an incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sunday to take over the championship lead.
Sebastian Vettel led for much of the race, but was stuck in second behind Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas when a crash between the two Red Bulls brought out the safety car.
On the restart, Vettel lunged for the lead but could not keep his car on the racing line at the exit of the next corner and instead lost places. Soon afterward, Bottas' right-rear tire picked up a puncture, ending his race and elevating Hamilton to first.
"Really quite an emotional race to be honest," Hamilton said. "Valtteri did such an exceptional job today and really deserved to have the win."
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen claimed second place after having dropped to 14th following an early collision. Sergio Perez held off Vettel for third to claim Force India's first podium since 2016.
The two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo battled all race for fourth place. After several dramatic near-misses, they collided on lap 40 when Ricciardo ran into the back of Verstappen under braking at the first corner, sending them both off the track.
Bottas had been left in the lead when first Hamilton, then Vettel, stopped for fresh tires. He would have had to stop soon but for the Red Bull crash, which allowed Bottas to pit and keep the lead.
Romain Grosjean crashed under the safety car on lap 42, sliding into the wall while weaving in an attempt to heat up his tires. That delayed the restart, and when it came Vettel charged down the inside of Bottas but couldn't slow enough to make the corner and went onto a runoff area.
After a start in cool, windy conditions, the safety car was out almost immediately on lap 1 as several cars collided in the middle of the pack.
Sergei Sirotkin ran into the back of Perez, causing contact between several other cars. That in turn left Sirotkin out of the race and Fernando Alonso limping back to the pits with two punctures.
The drama continued at the next turn, where Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen's aggressive lunge at Force India's Esteban Ocon plunged Ocon into the wall and out of the race. Raikkonen needed a new nose and dropped to 14th.
Renault's Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg briefly stormed past both Red Bulls into fourth and fifth, but Sainz lost his spot when he pitted, while Hulkenberg's race ended with a slide into the wall on lap 11.
1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, Mercedes, 51 laps, 1:43:44.291.
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Ferrari, 51, +2.460 seconds behind.
3. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Force India Mercedes, 51, +4.024.
4. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 51, +5.329.
5. Carlos Sainz, Spain, Renault, 51, +7.515.
6. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Sauber Ferrari, 51, +9.158.
7. Fernando Alonso, Spain, McLaren Renault, 51, +10.931.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 51, +12.546.
9. Stoffel Vandoorne, Belgium, McLaren Renault, 51, +14.152.
10. Brendon Hartley, New Zealand, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 51, +18.030.
11. Marcus Ericsson, Sweden, Sauber Ferrari, 51, +18.512.
12. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 51, +24.720.
13. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 51, +30.663.
14. Valtteri Bottas, Fnland, Mercedes, 48, did not finish.


Sonora, CA — Mother Lode diesel truck and bus drivers could see emission restrictions relaxed, but only if they register by the state’s deadline.
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has proposed changes to their existing On-Road Truck and Bus Regulation. According to the Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District, the regulation affects most diesel-fueled trucks on the roads in California with a weight greater than 14,000 pounds.
Expanding the NOx Exempt Area definition to include Tuolumne and adjacent mountain counties exempting 2010 engine requirements.
In order to take advantage of the possible rule revisions, you need to enter your truck, bus or fleet information into the ARB’s TRUCRS database. The deadline to register is January 31, 2014. Click here for more information or call the Tuolumne County Air District at 533-5693.


The twice-postponed CBS shareholders meeting has wrapped up in less than 30 minutes. There was no mention of the scandal enveloping former CEO Les Moonves, who was ousted in September after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Moonves was ousted after The New Yorker published allegations from 12 women who said he subjected them to mistreatment. The network launched an investigation with two outside law firms.
CBS shareholders have approved new board members, as an investigation into sexual-misconduct claims against former CBS CEO Les Moonves looms.
The 11 board members include six new ones who came aboard during a shakeup following Moonves’ ouster.
The board isn’t expected to decide the fate of Moonves’ $120 million severance package right away. It has until the end of January, when an investigation is to wrap up.
Two women’s organizations, UltraViolet and NOW NY, are staging a protest outside of the CBS shareholders meeting to protest Moonves’ possible severance package. Moonves won’t be paid the severance if the investigation finds he was terminated with cause. About a dozen protesters gathered ahead of the meeting.
The investigation into sexual-misconduct claims against former CBS CEO Les Moonves will loom over the network’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.
But no major decisions are expected right away. A newly revamped board will have to decide by the end of January whether Moonves receives a $120 million severance package. It will also have to chart the path for CBS to recover from the scandal.
Moonves was ousted in September after The New Yorker published allegations from 12 women who said he subjected them to mistreatment. The network launched an investigation with two outside law firms.
Shareholders will vote to elect 11 board members, six of whom came aboard in a reshuffling after the scandal broke.


- Original invite says it will be "addition to the Nokia smartphone family"
Nokia is holding a launch party in London today, Thursday 4 October, for an as yet unannounced phone. And you can watch the presentation live right here.
It is for the Nokia 7.1 - a much-rumoured handset that has been doing the rounds a lot recently.
Sadly though, it is unlikely to feature the Nokia 9, even though that was previously suggested.
Pocket-lint is in attendance itself.
We'll therefore be bringing you all the news and our first impressions of the new device as soon as possible.
The livestream started at 5pm BST, so 12pm EDT and 9am PDT.
Specs and images of the Nokia 7.1 leaked earlier today and you can read all about it here: Nokia 7.1 key specs appear in Android Enterprise listing.
There is also a Nokia 7.1 Plus floating around, so we might hear more details on that during the launch event too.
While it hasn't yet made an appearance, you can also read about the Nokia 9 and its penta-lens camera in our extensive round-up here: Nokia 9 specs, release date, news and rumours: A new Nokia flagship is incoming!
It comes as a surprise that HMD Global still hasn't unveiled the Nokia 9, but there's still time left in 2018. Fingers crossed.


Amazon launched an on-demand music streaming service called "Amazon Music Unlimited," charging $7.99 per month for Prime members and $9.99 per month for non-Prime members.
It's clear that Amazon wants to differentiate its service on price, as the Prime-member tier is cheaper than competitors like Apple Music and Spotify, which charge $9.99. Amazon also offers a plan for $3.99 per month that limits listening to one Echo device or an Amazon Tap.
The launch represents a continuation of Amazon's strategy to extract more value from existing Prime members, improve the value proposition of Prime to entice nonmembers, and drive sales of Echo devices.
Existing prime members will expand their music library exponentially if they subscribe. The new service will expand the content library to "tens of millions" of songs, up from roughly 2 million songs, and will now be comparable in size to Apple Music and Spotify, according to Time. This could signify that Amazon is planning to offer more premium tiers that Prime members could upgrade to for access to more content and services.
Amazon has added three new free perks for Prime members in the past two months. These include access to more free books and magazines through Prime Reading, podcasts and audiobooks through Audible Channels, and games and videos via Twitch, a social/video platform for gamers. Amazon also plans to triple the amount of original video content by the end of this year.
As adoption of Amazon Echo devices continues to grow, demand for audio ads will likely increase, as these devices are well suited to music listening. In fact,advertisers plan to double digital audio budgets in the next two years, according to a recent survey conducted by Ad Age and the Trade Desk. Currently, only 7.5% of media budgets are dedicated to the digital audio format, but marketers think this allocation will reach 14.8% by 2018.
Pandora launched a new premium tier on the same day, but still lacks an on-demand option. Pandora Plus is the reinvention of the company's existing ad-free subscription service, Pandora One, and is priced the same at $4.99 per month. New features include unlimited skips and an offline listening mode. However, of the largest music streaming services, Pandora is the only one that does not have an on-demand feature, a major feature omission that could limit adoption. Of Pandora's 78 million monthly listeners only 5%, or about 4 million, subscribed to Pandora One as of Q2 2016.


RIDGEFIELD -- The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing May 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the large conference room at Town Hall, 400 Main St.
The hearing will allow the public to comment on the sale of land on Sunset Lane and the town's plan to spend $350,000 to help purchase 28 acres off Old Stagecoach Road.
Along with $650,000 from the Conservation Commission, the money will be used to buy 28 acres of open space on a ridge line overlooking Ridgefield High School.
The town will use about a quarter-acre of the land for a cell tower.


This week we take a gander at what Corrections Connection guest contributor Art Bowker has to say about cyber crime. These offenses and those committing them could go unnoticed because of their unobtrusive nature, but they’re dangerous just the same. Bowker details what cyber crime is all about and offers some helpful tips to fight it. Once you've digested that, enjoy your your holiday dinner the best way you can. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
From a reader on the Corrections.com feedback page.
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."


And he said California has saved $86 billion and more than a million lives since launching its anti-tobacco efforts in 1989.
"I always tell people they do not need to be in Washington to impact health reform," the governor said. "It starts at home with healthier eating habits and regular exercise."
As the full House and Senate prepare to debate competing health care bills, Schwarzenegger weighed in on the so-called "individual mandate," a controversial plan that would require everyone -- including healthy young adults -- to purchase insurance. He said the individual mandate should be combined with public subsidies to help lower-income people afford insurance.
"Without an enforceable individual mandate, people will continue to voluntarily forgo coverage, shifting uncompensated costs to insured individuals," Schwarzenegger said.
Unless Congress pays for all of its costs, Schwarzenegger said, a mandatory expansion of Medicaid "will only be an empty promise of health insurance coverage" and will force California and other states to make cuts in education, public safety and elsewhere.
If Congress does not provide full funding for new federal mandates, Schwarzenegger said, the federal government should give states more power to set benefits and determine eligibility. And he suggested that Congress continue helping the states with medical care costs as it did using stimulus money, even after the stimulus program expires.
The governor noted that he has been a longtime supporter of a comprehensive health care overhaul, recalling how he participated in a regional health care town hall with President Barack Obama last spring. He said pending bills in both the House and Senate "include significant policy reforms" that will help control medical costs and fix a broken health-care system.
The White House is pleased to have the support of Schwarzenegger and any other Republicans in its high-stakes fight, which has largely broken down along party lines on Capitol Hill.
"A broad coalition of Democrats, Republicans and independents recognize the urgent need for health insurance reform and we welcome Governor Schwarzenegger's support for making reform a reality," said White House spokesman Adam Abrams.
While nearly all Republicans in Washington oppose Obama's plan to expand health care coverage, White House aides were quick to note earlier this month that the president has backing from the likes of Schwarzenegger, former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, former health and human services secretary Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Republican-turned-independent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
And Obama himself gave a pat on the back to Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe after she broke ranks with her party and voted with Democrats to pass a health care plan in the Senate Finance Committee.


ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday met his Lebanese counterpart Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri on the sidelines of the 7th edition of World Government Summit being held in Dubai, said a PM Office statement.
During the meeting, both sides discussed the bilateral ties and regional situation.
The prime minister along with a high level delegation landed in Dubai earlier in the day on a day long visit to attend the international event, at the invitation of Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.


If the man in your life has been prescribed androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) as part of the treatment for prostate cancer, you’re both best off if you’re warned ahead of time about possible side-effects and offered advice about coping strategies. Although research done at the University of California-San Francisco and published in the Journal of Urology in 2014 showed that there was “no meaningful decline in emotional quality of life two years after treatment,” the study also underscored the fact that patients are “likely to experience more adverse side-effects and complications from the treatment than from the cancer itself”. These unwelcome symptoms can include hot flashes, decreased libido, fatigue, decreased bone and muscle mass, increased total body fat content, and even possible harmful cardiovascular effects.
A release from the publisher notes that previous studies have reported cognitive and affective symptoms following ADT, particularly in the elderly, including emotional upset (tearfulness, irritability, and anger), decreased motivation, hopelessness, and cognitive interruptions in attention, memory, and visual processing. Some studies have linked ADT use to depression, although it is not clear whether such effects are a direct consequence of ADT itself or perhaps associated with age, comorbidities, hot flashes, fatigue, and insomnia. The UC-San Francisco team recommends counseling about the potential adverse effects of ADT as well as the interventions to improve mental and emotional health such as exercise programs and diet.
ADT, which suppresses the production of testosterone by either with medication or surgery, remains the gold standard for treating advanced prostate cancer, either alone or with radiation therapy. Benefits include reduction of tumor burden, delayed cancer progression, and overall improvement in survival in some cases. The current authors evaluated the effects of ADT on mental and emotional well-being in men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer using data from the CaPSURE (Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor) registry, which consists of data from largely community-based practices across the United States. Over 3,000 men completed a pretreatment and at least one posttreatment quality of life assessment checklist.
The authors focused on men newly diagnosed with localized (non-metastatic) prostate cancer in 1995-2011 and treated with radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, radiation therapy, or primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT). Of men included in the study 75% were treated with local therapy, 20% combination treatment, and five percent PADT. Among men in the PADT group, 84% were treated with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist monotherapy and 16% received combined androgen blockade.
Approximately 36% of patients reported some type of mental impairment at pretreatment evaluation, including depression, insomnia, confusion, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, nervousness, or poor memory. There were no overall differences in rates of mental health symptoms at diagnosis among treatment groups, although 18% of the PADT group reported poorer memory compared to 12% in the local group and 15% in the combination group.
Analysis demonstrated that exposure to ADT was associated with significant changes in mental and emotional well-being but did not result in clinically meaningful declines at 24 months. The release quotes lead investigator Clint Cary, MD, MPH as saying, "These results could be related to men in the ADT group adapting to their symptoms over time, thus reporting improves scores."
The most pronounced effect of ADT was on vitality. "This result corroborates other studies documenting fatigue among the most commonly reported side effects of ADT," says Cary. "It is not clear though whether the fatigue is a direct effect of ADT itself or a consequence of the physical side effects of ADT, such as sleep disturbances or hot flashes."
Cary recommends that patients should be counseled on possible ADT-related quality of life changes, as well as ways to minimize these changes before treatment for prostate cancer. "All patients should be well informed about the potential adverse effects of ADT, and interventions to improve mental and emotional health such as exercise programs and dietary/lifestyles changes could be of particular importance," he concludes.


A logical experiment that went right on nearly every count, Belle & Sebastian -- the Glasgow pop outfit that has been dubbed the bastion of twee -- fleshed out its sonic spectrum orchestrally at the Hollywood Bowl, emphasizing homages in places and creating unique swirling music elsewhere.
Bands: (B&S) Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson, Sarah Martin, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Mick Cooke, Bob Kildea, Sarah Willson, with the L.A. Philharmonic, conductor, Alexander Mickelthwate; (Shins) James Mercer, Dave Hernandez, Marty Crandall, Jesse Sandoval.
A correction was made to this review on July 10, 2006.
A logical experiment that went right on nearly every count, Belle & Sebastian — the Glasgow pop outfit that has been dubbed the bastion of twee — fleshed out its sonic spectrum orchestrally at the Hollywood Bowl, emphasizing homages in places and creating unique swirling music elsewhere. Buoyed by the effervescent persona of lead singer Stuart Murdoch, B&S shed its oh-so-dainty skin in a commanding perf that should be a model for other like-minded acts in the future. Perhaps Thom Yorke, Bjork or Sigur Ros would be up for a similar experiment next year. One can only hope.
Belle & Sebastian has been around for 10 years, creating waves initially for “Bacharachian pop” and lately for just being a smart pop band; members have never been extensively promoted in the U.S. and substantial Stateside tours have been assembled only twice for the band.
They sold out the Bowl — an astonishing feat for a band with no hits — to a mostly youthful crowd turned on by B&S’ whimsical wordplay and sweet melodies, not the sort that turns to NPR to have their tastes decided for them. The inclusion of the orchestra, which sounded like it had a few shows with the band under its belt, seemed a bonus, rather than a selling point.
Belle & Sebastian’s latest disc, “The Life Pursuit” (Matador), shies away from even the hint of an orchestra and, not so oddly, the only tune from that disc, “Sukie in the Graveyard,” was performed sans orchestra. Yet as full a sound as the orchestra helped B&S produce, the star remained Murdoch, who ventured into the crowd to do the obvious — sing — and not so obvious — get mascara applied. He wandered through the violin section and even took a turn at some wishy-washy conducting, endearing himself to the crowd at every turn. This was a far more ebullient collection of performers than was seen three years at the Greek Theater when Belle & Sebastian was at the precipice of a new level of pop stardom. That hasn’t been seen in record sales but judging by Thursday’s show, Belle & Sebastian has cemented its place as pop music force.
Openers the Shins, whose inclusion on the “Garden State” soundtrack garnered them hundreds of thousands of new fans, unveiled a number of songs intended for their next album. The Portland, Ore.-based quartet originally from New Mexico is venturing into a noisier assimilation of the Kinks and the Smiths than their last Sub Pop album displayed; the “Garden State” track, “New Slang,” was the quietest song of the night and the only tune James Mercer didn’t deliver with an emotionally unhinged wail. Band tried their hand at some harmonies that were seriously off key. The more basic they keep their sound, the better.
Production: Presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn. Reviewed July 6, 2006.
Cast: Bands: (B&S) Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson, Sarah Martin, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Mick Cooke, Bob Kildea, Sarah Willson, with the L.A. Philharmonic, conductor, Alexander Mickelthwate; (Shins) James Mercer, Dave Hernandez, Marty Crandall, Jesse Sandoval.


Meticulously well cared for 4 bed, 1 bath, 2 stall garage home with gorgeous woodwork, hardwood floors, high ceilings, and original decorative/stained glass windows. Spacious side yard and plenty of space throughout home, kitchen even has a breakfast nook! Forced Air Furnace and AC, steel siding and some updated windows. Upper level has bonus sun room and main level offers two 3-season porches. This home offers so much character and is walking distance to Lake George!


The Burman Bush Nature Reserve, in Morningside, could be closed temporarily following the murder of local musician, Simon Miliken.
It's understood the 60-year-old and a friend were accosted while out walking on Friday afternoon.
His friend managed to escape but Miliken was found stabbed to death, the following morning.
Ward councillor, Martin Meyer says for the last month, he's been working with the community to try and improve security at Burman Bush.
"We've started setting up a conservancy to help improve the situation in the park - to get people to use the park in a safe environment. We've also managed to find some fencing to fix the fence. Many people come into the park using the holes in fence. Unfortunately, all these measures are too late for Simon who tragically lost his life," Meyer said.
Meyer says it's a wonderful place for the community and they don't want it permanently closed.
"I will be asking that the Parks Department temporarily closes Burman Bush until we can improve the situation - to secure the fence, and improve security. We as a community can take back Burman Bush," Meyer said.


More than five years of updates for Windows 7 in a single package. It's about time.
Microsoft is finally making it easier to reinstall Windows 7 from scratch with a new Service Pack (SP) that the company refuses to call a service pack.
Windows 7 may not be available to most of us anymore, but there are many reasons to reinstall the operating system on existing Windows 7 PCs, and Microsoft never released a Service Pack after Windows 7 Service Pack 1's release in early 2011. Because of that, updating a Windows 7 PC in recent times required countless “download update-install-reboot-repeat” cycles to fully patch the system, installing five full years of updates piece by piece.
That problem is now history, however. Microsoft recently announced the availability of the Windows 7 SP1 convenience roll-up. That sounds more like something you’d buy from a confectioner than put on your PC, but it’s essentially SP2 for Windows 7. The rollup includes all the “security and non-security fixes” since the release of Windows Service Pack 1.
The impact on you at home:Thankfully, the endless update cycle for Windows 7 is over now...as long as you know about the roll-up, that is. Microsoft won’t offer the roll-up via Windows Update—I guess that would be too convenient. Instead, you have to download the roll-up directly from Microsoft’s Update Catalog (Internet Explorer only please). In other words, if you don’t know about the convenience roll-up you’re still in for a world of tedious updates.
Adding more roll-up fun for the future, Microsoft plans to create monthly roll-ups of non-security fixes for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 from now on. The new monthly roll-ups will be available via Windows Update.
But Microsoft didn’t stop tinkering with the update process there. The company has also decided to stop making Windows updates available through the Microsoft Download Center—an online repository that offers direct downloads of single updates.
Instead, anyone looking to avoid Windows Update will have to head to the Microsoft Update Catalog (MUC)—the same site where the new Windows 7 roll-up is available. Right now the MUC only works with Internet Explorer since it requires ActiveX. Microsoft plans to support other browsers with non-ActiveX functionality later this summer.


Update: An arrest has been made in this case. Read the story here.
A 35-year-old woman jogging in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Northwest D.C. was killed in a brutal stabbing Tuesday evening, and police are still searching for the man who attacked her.
Wendy Martinez of Northwest Washington was jogging in the 1400 block of 11th Street NW when she was attacked just before 8 p.m., police say. According to her family, she had just gotten engaged a week earlier.
News4 obtained surveillance video that shows Martinez stagger into the Asian American Carryout restaurant and apparently plead for help. She collapsed a short time later.
The manager of the restaurant said he heard someone scream and saw Martinez covered in blood.
"I scared. I don’t know what happened, and I just try to call police," said the manager, who asked not to be identified.
Strangers rushed to the woman's side to help her, and the manager called 911. Martinez died of her injuries a short time later.
Police released surveillance video Wednesday afternoon showing the suspect walking along 11th Street NW. Footage from another camera shows him walking with a knife in his hand.
The knife used in the stabbing was found nearby.
D.C. police chief Peter Newsham said police do not have a motive yet, but the "unsettling" attack was likely random.
Wendy Martinez was fatally stabbed near Logan Circle on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. She had been jogging along 11th Street NW, police said.
Police initially said they were looking for as many as three men in connection to the stabbing, but at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Newsham said investigators believe she was attacked by a single man.
"You have an incident like this — it's very scary. We haven't gotten to the bottom to see if this is someone that she knew or exactly what the motive is, but it's disturbing," Newsham said.
Martinez was an avid runner who lived in an upscale apartment just three blocks away.
She and her boyfriend got engaged just last week, her family said in a statement.
"Wendy Karina Martinez was the light of our lives. Not only was she an avid runner, but she was a devout Christian, a wonderful friend, and a driven professional. Everything you hope that a daughter and a friend could be," her family said Wednesday. "She was also excited to be planning her upcoming wedding to her fiancé, Daniel Hincapie. They were engaged just last week."
"Simply put, Wendy was fearfully and wonderfully made! Now we know she has found the one whom her soul loved. (Song of Solomon 3:4)," the statement said.
Martinez's family asked for respect for their privacy as they grieve and urged anyone with information on her killing to contact police.
Martinez was chief of staff of the software and data company FiscalNote.
"The entire FiscalNote family is shocked and deeply saddened to learn that Wendy Martinez, our Chief of Staff, was killed last night," the company said in a tweet Wednesday afternoon. "Wendy was an invaluable member of our team and a vibrant member of the community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Wendy’s family and friends."
Martinez was a University of Florida and Georgetown University graduate who previously worked for the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Development Bank, according to her LinkedIn page.
The crime rate in the area near Logan Circle is relatively low, with few violent crimes reported, D.C. crime statistics show. A number of upscale homes and trendy restaurants are located near the scene of the crime.
The attack left other joggers in the area stunned.
"As a runner, it's pretty terrifying. You'd think running on lit streets, you would be safe, but that’s mind-boggling," one woman said.
Another woman who jogs in the area brought flowers to the crime scene Wednesday morning, telling News4 that the victim easily could have been her.
Anyone who can help police is asked to call 202-727-9099.