GRAPEVINE, Texas -- At Computerworld's Storage Networking World conference here yesterday, Frank Abagnale gave a keynote presentation on his life as an imposter and fraudster, a story that was told in the book and subsequent Steven Spielberg movie, Catch Me If You Can. Prior to his presentation, Abagnale -- now a lecturer and consultant who works extensively with the FBI and other clients -- spoke with Computerworld about ethics, computer crime and security risks faced by IT professionals.
Suppose you'd been born in 1990. How much of what you got away with 40 years ago do you think you'd be able to get away with as a 17-year-old today? It would be 4,000 times easier to do today, what I did 40 years ago, and I probably wouldn't go to prison for it. Technology breeds crime -- it always has, it always will. When I forged checks 40 years ago, it required a $1 million printing press that required three journeymen printers to operate. I had to build scaffolding on the side of it so I could operate it by myself. There were color separations, negatives, plates, typesetting chemicals.
Today, I sit down at a laptop, pick any company I want, go to their Web site, capture their logo, like American Airlines. I put it up on a check with a 747 in the background taking off. Fifteen minutes later, I have the most beautiful American Airlines check you've ever seen -- probably 10 times better than the check American Airlines uses.
Forty years ago, I wouldn't know who signs American's checks; I wouldn't know where American Airlines keeps its accounts payable account. Today, I would just call their accounts receivable, ask them for their wiring instructions. They'd tell me where they bank, on what street in what city, what their account number is. I call back and ask for a copy of their annual report, and on page three will be the signature of their chairman of the board, the CEO, the CFO, the treasurer. I scan it onto glossy white paper, with camera-ready art -- and I have the check. A world of too much information and the technology make it very easy to do today what I did 40 years ago.
Do you think there's much similarity between what drove you and whatever it is that drives a 17-year-old hacker today? No, mine was strictly a matter of survival. I was a kid who ran away from home at 16 and ended up in New York. A lot of people back then got into Haight-Ashbury, the hippie scene, the drug scene. No one was going to hire a 16-year-old, so I started out by lying about my age in order to secure a job. One thing led to another and it became more of a case of people were after me, so I had to stay a step ahead of them. I don't think I was out to set any goals or to make X amount of money. I was very creative, so it became more of a game as time went on.
Is there anything we can do to make illicit computer-related activity a less attractive pursuit for young people? There are about four reasons why we have crime to begin with. One of them is, of course, that we live in an extremely unethical society. We live in a society that doesn't teach ethics at home, a society that doesn't teach ethics in school because the teacher would be accused of teaching morality. We live in a society where you can't find a four-year college course on ethics. I have three sons who went through graduate school; only the one who went to law school had a course even offered on ethics. So today you have a lot of young people who have no character, no ethics and they find no problem in defrauding somebody or stealing from somebody or cheating somebody. Until we change that, crime is just going to get easier, faster, more global, harder to detect.
I've spent 32 years at the FBI, and I've witnessed crime only got a lot easier to do. Obviously, there's a lot less threat of being caught. When I was caught, I was just a teenager, and they sent me to prison for five years. Today, I'd probably get probation and community service; I might get 18 months and serve six months in jail. So there really is no threat of going to prison to keep somebody in line.
I really think the more technology there is in the world, the more you have to instill character and ethics. You can build all the security systems in the world; you can build the most sophisticated technology, and all it takes is one weak link -- someone who operates that technology -- to bring it all down. People don't like to talk about that issue, because they think it's over-simplified. But the fact is, in all my experience, that's where the problem lies. Until that changes, crime is always going to be with us.
Any thoughts on how we can bring that change about? I think you need to bring character and ethics back into schools, and you certainly need to bring it back into colleges and universities as part of a curriculum. Only about half of Fortune 500 companies even have a code of ethics or code of conduct. The ones that do have one publish it every five years on an inside page of their annual report to appease their shareholders. So, obviously, there's no big effort out there to bring about that change. Rutgers just finished a five-year study that found that 56% of MBA students cheated.
There are really no con men anymore like there were in my day, because you really don't have to associate with anyone. You don't have to be well dressed and well groomed and well spoken. Everything's done on a computer; there are no witnesses. So even if you know who's doing it, you probably don't have the ability to go capture them. Chances are you have no idea what they look like; they can sit in their pajamas and commit all these crimes.
As someone who has had a lot of experience with the law-enforcement authorities in other countries, how would you rate the effectiveness of international cooperation in the fight against computer crime? It's getting a little better, but you're dealing with a lot of countries like China, Nigeria, Libya, Russia, where we really don't have that cooperation. Unless it's a huge dollar amount or some international incident, it's very difficult to get the authorities to do anything about it. The American authorities or Interpol talking to Beijing about doing something about a hacker somewhere in China is unlikely to bring about any law enforcement activity.
How are we doing domestically? We have a lot of stupid laws. There's Check 21 [the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, which requires banks to accept paper documents with check images in place of original paper checks] -- the whole concept is ridiculous. Basically, what happens today is you give me a check for $2,500. I take the check and alter it to $25,000; I go to my bank and deposit it. My bank takes an image of it, which is a 600 dpi black-and-white copier image. It transmits that to your bank; they pay it, then they physically destroy the check. A month later, you reconcile and your auditor goes, "You wrote Abagnale a check for $2,500, obviously Abagnale has altered the check." So you sign an affidavit to your bank saying this is a forgery, the physical check has been altered. Under Check 21, they have to go back to the first bank of deposit, which is my bank. They tell my bank, "You have to give us some money back, this is a forged check, we have an affidavit from our client." Then, of course, the bank calls me and they say, "Computerworld said they gave you a check for $2,500 and you altered it to $25,000." I say, "They did? Do you have the check? No? Talk to you later." There is no evidence -- it's just absurd. There are a lot of stupid laws passed every day. I always say, criminals must have lobbyists in Washington.
What's the single biggest oversight companies make with respect to computer security? First of all, there is no foolproof system. If you believe you have a foolproof system, then you have failed to take into consideration the creativity of fools. My experience is if there's a man or woman who designed it, there's a man or woman who can defeat it. So I think most companies fail to take into consideration that they've developed this great system, but then they've failed to look at the person who's operating the system, the person who has information about the system -- his background and how much that person can be trusted. Companies hire people today with very little background checking; they're put into positions or they earn their way up to positions where they can do something to harm or cheat that company. So we have to pay a lot more attention to that weak link -- the human part of the system.
Would you say the greater security threat to a company is internal or external? I think it's internal. What you have today is a lot of influence from the outside. For example, if I'm trying to get inside a company, I'm going to find out who works in that weak-link position. I may find him in a bar or a restaurant, I'm going to get to know him and eventually I'm going to say, "I don't know what they pay you, but I will triple or quintuple what they pay you if would simply get this information for me." I'm not saying to steal something physical, to go rob some money. I'm saying to somebody, "Pull this up on the screen, write it down on a Post-it note, give me the Post-it note, and I'll give you $50,000. Nobody's going to know you did it, you'll never see me or hear from me again." It's very appealing to someone who has very little character and ethics in their background.
What's the biggest misconception people have about you and your background? All people know about me is the movie and what I did; I don't think they know that I've spent 32 years with the FBI and that I've dedicated my life to doing these kinds of [law-enforcement] things. People just know me as the character from the film. I do like the fact that most people don't recognize me, because they only know my name, so that's helped me a great deal since the film came out. But I don't really worry about those things -- I've tried to dedicate my life to eradicating some of these crimes. I've found that the No. 1 key way for me to do that is to educate people, so not only do I teach agents at the FBI Academy how to think out of the box, but I like to go out and tell the general public in banks and corporations, "Here are the problems and this is what you can do about it."
I don't want to go out and say, "Buy this software, it costs $1 million." I like very simple solutions to very serious problems. So I find that if I let people know, "Here is your risk, here is how people do this to you and this is how you prevent this happening to you," people are smart enough to go take the necessary steps to protect themselves. The problem is that most people are basically honest, so they don't sit back and think about how someone would do this. They're very naive when it comes to doing business, especially on a computer, and they have no concept of their risk.
What's the single most important thing that readers will read in your new book, Stealing Your Life, that's not available to them from any other source? This is the fifth book I've written on crime. I just try again to bring people up to date -- this book is all about identity theft. I first wrote about identity theft in the 1980s in a book called Crimes of the Next Generation, and I talked about it before it was ever given a name -- that it would come to pass that we would have people stealing identities. You have to make people aware of the risk and show them all the ways people do it so that it opens their eyes to how simple it is to do it, and then on the other hand, show them simple ways to protect themselves as well, without going out and spending a fortune doing that.
You dedicated the book to Joseph Shea, the FBI agent whose mission it was to arrest you. Why? He and I were friends for 30 years; he died at the age of 88 just about a year ago. He was a great help up until his death. I watched his two daughters grow up and get married; I attended their weddings. He watched my children grow up. He was obviously a big part of my life in getting me out of prison and getting me to work with the government. He was someone who saw that I had something to offer and he was very big on helping me do that. I think when he started out, he thought I was some master criminal and he was going to catch me, but when he came to the realization that I was just a kid and I was a runaway, being a father, he had a lot more compassion.
Any regrets? Obviously, I wish I hadn't lived the life I started out living, and I wish I could live that over. But I can't do that.
On the other hand, one could argue that if you hadn't done that, you wouldn't have been able to accomplish what you have in the past 32 years. That's true. It's a life I wouldn't want to have to live over again, even though I know where it's brought me today. But I believe there's a purpose and a reason things happen, and I'm just very fortunate that I grew up in a great country where you get a second chance to start your life over again and do something with it.
Ken Mingis' blog: Mac users 'unbearably smug' about security?


Oct. 3, 2014 10:45 a.m.
Note that the author of the article was a mission president in Phoenix. He follows journalistic style by not involving himself in the story. I'd be interested to know if he had a hand in arranging the surprise wegkend visit for Madeline. @Wif55. It woukd appear this girl had parental sanctioning for contact with the missionaries because her mother had taken her to church (she may be a "child of record") and her father arranged for her to fly across the Atlantic in a private jet for a weekend in SLC.
Oct. 1, 2014 3:42 p.m.
Great story, but triggers some questions. What happened to her mother, a former Mormon missionary? The topic is passed over in the story, but one wonders. More important: how does the church handle parental permission when a minor starts chatting with missionaries? According to Preach My Gospel, minors need to be taught with their parents or at least with explicit parental agreement. Is that rule being ignored in online missionary work?
Oct. 1, 2014 11:41 a.m.
What are the chances of ever finding two violin-playing young women with the same disease who could help each other through it? So many are afraid of the "evil internet" it is TERRIFIC to see such a miraculous story that couldn't have happened without it. Bravo for those missionaries and the inspired leaders who "hooked them up" electronically.
Our prayers go out to Madeleine Martineau for a full and complete recovery.
Oct. 1, 2014 8:53 a.m.
Oct. 1, 2014 8:44 a.m.
A beautiful story of how technology can be used for good in the modern world.
Oct. 1, 2014 7:39 a.m.
This is an amazing story that brought tears to my eyes! I love the missionary effort that goes beyond the 18 mo./2 yr. limit. These are bonds of friendship and love that will last for eternity. God bless you all as you serve one another and our Heavenly Father on this earth.
We'll be remembering you, Madeleine, in our prayers!


WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a border crisis in Pennsylvania. The radical left is surging in New Jersey. And Nancy Pelosi is a threat to New York.
Republican candidates in the nation's premier midterm battlegrounds have embraced a central message in their fight to maintain the House majority this fall — and it has little to do with the surging economy or the sweeping tax cuts that the GOP celebrated as a once-in-a-generation achievement just eight months ago.


China is a major buyer of industrial and precious metals. In the mining group, BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT BHP, +0.19% BHP, -0.18% rose 0.4% and Rio Tinto PLC RIO, +1.17% RIO, +0.21% RIO, +1.39% bulked up 0.8%. Anglo American PLC AAL, +0.37% picked up 1%.
Pound strength can hurt U.K.-listed multinationals as it cuts into their profit made overseas. But equities on Wednesday managed to hold to gains as the pound GBPUSD, -0.0539% rose to $1.2638, compared with $1.2569 late Tuesday in New York.


UPDATE with full list: This year’s The Black List, the annual rundown of Hollywood’s best screenplays that haven’t been produced, dropped today. It’s interesting timing to release such a usually hot-button, water-cooler list on a big news day already with the Golden Globes, but the 73 scripts were unveiled via Twitter regardless. The complete Black List list, with rankings and agency and management stats, will be revealed at noon PT.
Among the notables this year, though: Mindy Kaling is on the list with her late-night TV movie she is toplining with Emma Thompson; The Imitation Game Oscar winner Graham Moore has cracked the list with The Last Days of Night, one of two Thomas Edison-George Westinghouse rivalry movies, with this one already starring Eddie Redmayne; and Adrift, the screenplay portion of a hot package now before buyers from scribes Aaron & Jordan Kandell, which has Shailene Woodley attached to star with Baltasar Kormakur looking to make it his next directorial outing.
Another project on the list also is already in the works is Drew Pearce’s Hotel Artemis, which he is also making his directrorial debut on with Jodie Foster starring.
Dan Fogelman, whose hit rookie NBC series This Is Us landed a Golden Globe nomination this morning, is on the list with Life Itself, another ensemble that weaves multiple love stories across different generations and locations.
One screenwriter made the list twice: Mike Makowsky, for Bad Education and I Think We’re Alone Now.


Imagine. It is cold and dark and snowy in the middle of the winter woods. The full moon is out and there's no wind. Despite the deep drifts of snow, you have the power to walk freely and explore, padding softly through the still, moonlit silence.
The frozen Colorado Rockies are drenched in snow. You are competing with a hundred superbly conditioned athletes in a grueling race running up and down 3,000-meter mountainsides. For 4 hours.
In both cases, you are wearing snowshoes.
Because snowshoes provide access to otherwise inaccessible backcountry areas, Hodgden travels around the country training members of the National Ski Patrol in snowshoe techniques for emergency rescue operations.
``In rough wilderness terrain, where there is 10 feet of snow, traveling in boots is like trying to swim through stormy seas; you are worn out in 10 minutes,'' he explains.
Kahkoska also used his pair to climb all 20,000 vertical feet of Mount McKinley in Alaska. ``Snowshoes are pretty much standard issue in modern professional climbing,'' he says.
But competition and rugged climbing are only a small part of the picture. Snowshoes are so versatile, and relatively inexpensive, that they provide recreation for thousands of urbanites who don't have time to run up mountains or engage in rescue operations. The price of a new pair ranges from about $60 to $150.
``Snowshoeing is a great family sport,'' says Cassie McLean of the International Snowshoe Federation in Wassau, Wis. ``It's inexpensive, and you can do it just about anywhere - roads, golf courses, parks, your backyard - with or without snow!'' she adds, recalling that a portion of the Mountain Man Winter Triathlon features snowshoers racing at top speed across dirt.
Cy Hempges, management assistant at Mount Rainier National Park in Ashford, Wash., disputes the stereotype that snowshoes are cumbersome and heavy. ``Anybody who can walk can snowshoe,'' he says.
Snowshoeing holds a special appeal to some urban fitness seekers because it is less of a strain than jogging over hard city pavements.
Snowshoes come in a tremendous variety of sizes, shapes, and materials. The earliest known snowshoes, which were round, were used by North American Indians, and certain snowshoes have actually been carbon-14 dated at 4,000 to 5,000 years old. Carbon-14 dating is a technique used for dating archeological objects by measuring the quantity of a particular carbon isotope in the objects.
Modern snowshoes range from the very long and narrow Alaska type to the shorter and stubbier ``Modified Bear Paw'' to a modern synthetic shoe, featuring tubular aluminum alloy and a synthetic gut stringing called Neaprene.
The various types are used for varying purposes.
``I've spent my whole life in the woods on snowshoes, and I prefer a wooden modified Bear Paw with an upturned toe so that you don't pick up a lot of snow with each step,'' says John Kulish, who has been a fur trapper and hunter in southern New Hampshire for 50 years. On the other hand, the aluminum alloy synthetic shoes are used for racing because of their lightness and durability.
Sherpa Inc. of Chicago, one of the largest snowshoe manufacturers in the United States, employs Kahkoska in its designing process because of his racing experience.
While aluminum and steel snowshoes can be made by modern techniques, wooden snowshoes require more delicacy.
``The process of making wooden snowshoes is really a craft,'' says Hodgden. ``You have to select, cure, and bend the wood, usually ash or maple, and then lace the entire shoe with usually only two to three pieces of gut,'' he says.
The craft was originally learned from native Americans, who in some cases, are still producing. Faber and Co., a 100-year-old snowshoe firm located outside of the city of Quebec, still taps this source of expertise.
``We are located next to a Huron Indian village and, yes, our snowshoe making skill comes from the Indians,'' explains president Guy Faber.
Faber produces about 35,000 wooden snowshoes a year, of which it exports 30 to 40 percent to the United States and another 10 percent to Europe.
Old snowshoes, particularly wooden ones, don't die easily. ``I've seen people put their old snowshoes like crossed-swords over their fireplaces,'' says Boston snowshoer Al Buczynsky. In fact, L.L. Bean, the venerable Maine outdoor outfitter, even goes so far as to advertise snowshoe furniture - a rocker, an armchair, and a coffee table - in its catalog.
But those seeking to put their snowshoes to use in the traditional Jack London setting may enter the 100-mile Iditashoe snowshoe race through the Alaskan wilderness. ``The Iditashoe is a continuous race, and you have to carry a certain amount of survival food, as well as a tent, saw, stove, and propane, and a flare,'' says McLean.
For more information about snowshoeing, contact Cassie McLean of the International Snowshoe Federation, at 8720 North 28th Ave., Merrill, Wis., 54452, or the US Snowshoe Association, P.O. Box 170, R.D. 1, Corinth, N.Y., 12822. An excellent book on the subject is ``The Snowshoe Book,'' third edition, by William Osgood and Leslie Hurley, from Steven Greene Press in Brattleboro, Vt.


Holi 2018 Special: 7 Interesting Ways To Make Gujiyas Healthy This Holi!
It is that time of the year when you can be guilty of loading up on lots of gujiyas and delicious savouries; it's the time to celebrate Holi that is slated to be celebrated on 2nd March, 2018.
It is that time of the year when you can be guilty of loading up on lots of gujiyas and delicious savouries along with thandai; it's the time to celebrate Holi that is slated to be celebrated on 2nd March, 2018. Holi is synonymous to indulging in sweets, especially gujiya, which is a fried dessert, made of all-purpose flour and filled with khoya, sugar and dry fruits inside. There comes a time when you cannot binge on gujiyas anymore considering they are rich and heavy on the tummy. This Holi, give your gujiyas a healthy twist and binge on more than just one.
Do not fret as we have got you covered; here are amazing ways to make some healthy gujiyas this Holi.
Gujiya tastes the best when it is fried; however, give it a healthy twist by baking it instead of frying. Choose the filling you wish to add and bake it without having to use oil. This way, you will be able to save on some calories if not many and enjoy binging on them. Don't worry about the taste; they might turn out to be better than the fried ones.
The use of all-purpose flour or maida can be very unhealthy, which is why you can add more semolina or sooji to your outer covering along with any filling you choose to add.
If you think you have been overloading yourself with sweet gujiyas, then bring savoury baked oats gujiyas to your rescue. Made with wheat flour, dry fruits and oats, this gujiya is bound to make your Holi just too special and healthy.
Dates and figs or anjeer are healthy ingredients that can be used instead of khoya. This gujiya can also be a treat for people suffering from diabetes. To make it even more healthy, bake the gujiya instead of frying it.
Add dry fruits like almonds, pistachios, raisins, dates and cashew nuts in the filling and make it deliciously irresistible. Also known as Ghughras in Rajasthan, dry fruit gujiya makes for a popular dessert during Holi.
Believe it or not, but you can actually use fruits in your gujiya as a filling. You can use apples, pears and plums along with dry fruits like almond, cashew nuts, raisins and coconut. Bake this delight and enjoy it with your friends and family and gorge on it without any guilt.
Carrots are almost out of season; however, you can definitely use them for making delicious carrot gujiyas along with dry fruits and coconut.
This Holi, make sure you choose to celebrate the festival in a healthy way. Give your palates a break and have a safe and nourishing Holi.


If you think the Jack Tar was the only big hotel in downtown Orange, you would be wrong. Before the Jack Tar, the city had the Holland Hotel, which was on the corner of Division and Fifth streets, across from where the Jack Tar was later built.
The Holland Hotel opened on Nov.1, 1902. It burned about 1955 and was then demolished. The lot has stayed empty, though it served as the parking lot for the Jack Tar for many years. The City of Orange now has plans to build a new Senior Citizen Center/Meals on Wheels building on the site of the old Holland Hotel. The development is part of the downtown master plan.
Orange had other hotels when the Holland was built, but the other inns weren’t fancy enough for the wealthy people in the lumber industry who lived in Orange and were contributing to culture. So some leading citizens invested in the venture to get a first-class hotel for visitors and for gatherings.
The Orange Opera House was at the northwest corner of Division and Sixth streets. It was built by Frances Ann Lutcher, the wife of Henry Jacob Lutcher, who was an owner of the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co. based in Orange. The Holland Hotel was a suitable place for performers and visitors to stay. With a ballroom and dining room featuring gourmet food by chefs, the Holland was also a place for Orange’s society to dine and hold receptions before and after events at the Opera House.
William Stark of the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co. was one of the investors leading the project to build the hotel. The investors hired Burt McDonald to design the hotel. He had designed hotels in Chicago and other large cities. William S. Eden was the head of construction and Charles Rein of the Rein Publishing Co. in Orange oversaw the project.
The hotel ended up with three stories of red brick and turrets on the corners. The ballroom and lobby had marble floors and ornate carvings. It was also decorated with Greek-style statutes. The west side of the second floor had a large gallery overlooking the Opera House for women to sit and socialize because it was not proper for Victorian Age women to hang around a hotel lobby.
Furniture in the Holland came from France and England. Today, the Heritage House Museum has some pieces that were originally in the old hotel.
The hotel featured high-class technology for the times. It was equipped with electricity and had long-distance telephone service. The rooms also had electric ceiling fans.
Fifth and Division was the perfect spot for the hotel because it was near two train depots. One depot was at the end of Division and the other was on Front Street near Third Street. The city’s largest livery stable for renting horses and carriages was across the street from the Holland.
A large barbershop, for men only, was on the street level. The hotel also had a gift shop.
For the next half century, the hotel was the site of elegant balls, parties and dinners. Politicians and leaders came and stayed, often speaking to clubs.
H.J. Lutcher Stark, the son of William Stark, started the Orange Rotary Club, which met at the hotel. The Orange Jaycees held the group’s first meeting at the Holland.
The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team conducted spring training in Orange during 1921 and 1922. The team players and management stayed at the Holland.
In 1949, the hotel closed for a while for a major renovation. The red brick was covered in white stone and the rooms were remodeled. The hotel opened as The New Holland Hotel.
However, the fire stuck about five years later. The owners didn’t want to fix the major damage and the hotel was eventually torn down. Investors then built the Jack Tar across the street. That hotel served Orange until it closed in the mid-1980s, when it was turned into a retirement home.


TWIRLING in front of the mirror, Heather Jackson admired the latest addition to her collection of fancy footwear – a pair of beautiful golden sandals covered in glitter.
Chosen specially for a friend’s wedding, she planned to wear them with a beautiful chiffon maxi dress, metallic pearl accessories and a floral vintage headband.
When the big day finally arrived, she couldn’t wait to step into her glitzy new shoes – not letting the fact she wore a dress size 24 knock her confidence.
But when she leant forward to do up the buckle, she struggled to reach her ankles – horrified to realise she had put on so much weight she could no longer fasten her shoes.
The former baker, from Alsager, Cheshire, recalls: “I felt utterly humiliated. I tried with all my might, but it was no use.
"It made me so breathless that my friend had to help, and in that moment, I knew I needed to make a change.
“It was deeply upsetting, but it was the reality check I needed. I knew my weight was out of control, but I just kept ignoring it.
"I’d always told myself weight didn’t matter, but when I realised I could no longer perform basic tasks, I knew I was on a downward slope.
Heather, 33, had always struggled with her weight.
She’d been brought up eating stodgy homemade dinners like lasagne, shepherd’s pie and Sunday roasts – before polishing off up to three rounds of toast before she went to bed.
By the time she started high school, Heather was much bigger than her friends.
She tried to cut back on snacking and even attempted to diet using a meal replacement plan – but whenever she reintroduced foods back into her diet, she piled the pounds back on.
When she left school, she managed to get a job at Topshop – but wearing a size 18, she rarely fit into the trendy clothes they stocked, instead having to visit plus-size retailers.
She explains: “I often found I couldn’t fit into the clothes I wanted to wear, so I made my feet my best feature and began collecting new shoes, and the more outrageous they were the better.
“One of my favourite pairs of shoes was a pair of black leather sandals with a Godzilla figurine for a heel.
"They were so over the top that I just knew I had to have them, and I didn’t even bat an eyelid when the sales assistant told me they cost well over £100.
When Heather heard one of her friends had lost five stone after joining Slimming World, she decided to give it a try – joining her local group the following week.
She was welcomed with open arms by the group’s consultant Julie, and although she weighed in at a whopping 20 stone, she was excited to get started.
“Julie was amazing from the start and explained that by making small changes to my diet, such as opting for low fat minced beef and swapping cream for quark, I would lose weight without really feeling like I was trying,” Heather explains.
In her first week, Heather lost eight pounds.
She swapped her once-stodgy breakfast of sugary cereal and toast for lean bacon, tomato, eggs and beans.
She swapped the chicken kievs and chips she’d once gorged on at lunchtime for a ham salad sandwich.
And her greasy takeaway dinners of fish, chips, mushy peas and curry sauce were replaced by lean steaks, vegetables and jacket potatoes.
She even stopped snacking on toast, cakes, chocolate, crisps and ice cream – instead opting for the much healthier option of homemade Weetabix cupcakes.
She says: “I was amazed by how easy it had been. Food had always been a big love for me, and I’d always worried I’d feel I was cutting my favourite things out completely when I eventually started dieting.
Heather was so determined to lose weight that she bought herself a beautiful designer dress covered in unicorns – in a size 14 as a goal.
But just weeks after Heather started dieting, her mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer and, after a brave battle, she lost her fight six months later.
“I’d promised her I’d keep going, and I reached the halfway mark later that week. I was devastated she hadn’t been there to see it for herself, but I knew she’d be proud of me, wherever she was,” Heather says.
In memory of her mum, Heather bought a miniature dachshund and named her Plum – which had been her mum’s pet name for her.
Walks with her new canine companion kept Heather on the right track to reaching her goal weight.
When she realised she was losing half a stone every six weeks she was delighted.
Finally, on December 23, 2015, she felt all her Christmases had come at once when she hit her 10 stone goal.
Heather says: “I was just so overwhelmed at the realisation I’d shed half of my body weight. And when I tried on my beautiful unicorn dress, it was actually too big for me – I’d managed to drop to a dress size 10. It was such a surreal moment.
“I’d lost so much weight that I’d even dropped two shoe sizes, so I sold my entire collection of shoes on eBay. I treated myself to some gorgeous new pairs with the money I made from them.
Heather’s Slimming World consultant was so impressed with her transformation she asked Heather to become a consultant too.
“I’d fallen in love with the plan and felt so passionate about inspiring others to be the best version of themselves,” Heather says.
In May 2017, Heather launched her very own Slimming World group.
Now she’s a full-time consultant, holding four weekly classes in Sandbach and Rode Heath in Cheshire.
Heather says: “I have over 200 members and it makes me so happy to know I can help other people turn their lives around. I’ve adopted another dog, Mouse, and have so much energy I even climbed Mount Snowdon.
We previously told how a Muller Light yoghurt addict who lost three stone eating up to 24 pots a day was gutted after Slimming World stopped them being Syn-free.
We also reported how a bride to-be lost seven stone with Slimming World after buying her dream wedding dress five sizes too small.
And mum June Adams lost 6½st after a spa snap of herself reminded her of Shrek’s Princess Fiona.


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A first-of-its-kind partnership, with Purdue University bringing Amazon to campus as its preferred textbook provider in 2014, quietly has been scaled back in recent weeks.
The West Lafayette campus and Amazon are still partners, Purdue’s top purchasing official told the J&C Friday. But as professors found in the past week, unable to upload the fall 2018 semester’s titles and course materials into an Amazon textbook portal that has been standard fare for the past four school years, the online giant no longer will be Purdue’s favored seller of textbooks.
The move will not affect the two Amazon@Purdue ordering and pick-up stores in the Purdue Memorial Union and the Krach Leadership Center on Third Street, which will remain open.
Rob Wynkoop, Purdue’s managing director of service enterprises, said Amazon initiated the change as it negotiated an extension of the relationship with the university through July 2023. He said Amazon will continue to sell textbooks – offering more than 90 percent of the adopted titles on campus each semester – and keep its campus stores.
But why Amazon wanted out of the preferred textbook provider arrangement, Wynkoop said he wasn’t sure.
Amazon officials did not immediately respond to messages left Friday.
First announced in August 2014, and rolled out in full in early 2015, the preferred textbook partnership between Purdue and Amazon was the first of its kind. A Purdue committee spent a year before settling on Amazon, saying at the time that the agreement would give students an opportunity to save 30 percent on class materials that, at the time, averaged $1,200 a year.
The Amazon deal was touted as a key component in President Mitch Daniels’ student affordability portfolio, often hailed in the national press right after discussions of the fact that Purdue’s tuition has been flat-lined, with no increases since the former Indiana governor arrived on campus in January 2013.
“This new way of doing business has the potential to change the book-buying landscape for students and their families,” Daniels said in August 2014.
Students weren’t forced to buy textbooks from Amazon. But the university made it easy, from ordering to pick-up, leaving traditional, off-campus textbook sellers – including long-time stalwarts University Bookstore and Follett’s – to scramble.
Wynkoop said that since 2015, the deal provided $2.2 million in direct savings on textbooks. Purdue reaped $2 million from Amazon, which was folded back into scholarships and efforts to keep the tuition freeze – now going into its sixth consecutive year, with the promise of a seventh year to follow.
The change apparently was quiet enough that it has been causing some book ordering confusion, particularly after last weekend’s graduation ceremonies, as professors and department heads looked to get courses squared away before the summer break.
Frank Dooley, a senior vice provost who was on the committee that recommended Amazon in 2014, said his office was still trying on Friday to understand how things worked.
According to an email from the Purdue registrar’s office, obtained by the J&C, professors and department textbook managers were being guided to a new textbook management site built and maintained by the university, instead of by Amazon. (Amazon’s textbook portal at Purdue will work for courses through the summer 2018 semester, but it will disappear after that.) The email said lists generated from the university’s site would be shared with University Bookstore and Follett’s.
What the new deal will mean for off-campus textbook retailers – some of whom have groused about being shoved off campus by Amazon’s official bookstore status at Purdue – wasn’t clear late in the week.
A representative from University Bookstore, directly across from campus at the corner of State and Grant streets, said the store was aware of the changes in Purdue’s deal with Amazon but wasn’t going to comment at the moment. Attempts to contact managers at Follett’s Bookstore weren’t immediately successful Friday.
John von Erdmannsdorf, owner of Von’s Bookstore at 315 W. State St., said his store has done progressively fewer textbook sales through the years. But he said his shop had felt the effect of Purdue’s relationship with Amazon.
The Amazon pick-up point on the first floor of the Purdue Memorial Union was open but fairly quiet Friday morning.
Wynkoop said that since 2015, 530,000 packages have been delivered to the pick-up points in the Union or at Krach Leadership Center. At the start of each semester, he said, the top 50 sellers were always textbooks. After that?
He said keeping Amazon on campus still makes sense, even if the Seattle-based company steps back from the textbook deal that was the first of its kind.


President Obama's $3.77 trillion budget proposal for 2014 also calls for long-term changes to Medicare and Social Security.
President Obama on Wednesday proposed a $3.77 trillion budget for 2014 that would cut deficits by $1.8 trillion over the next decade.
Obama's budget blueprint -- which has already drawn criticism from the left and the right -- offers changes to Medicare and Social Security. It also includes tax increases that would primarily hit high-income households and corporations.
The plan calls for greater spending on infrastructure, early childhood education and nondefense research. Those investments would be paid for by other measures so that they don't add to deficits, Obama said.
"[D]ebate in this town has raged between reducing our deficits at all costs and making the investments necessary to grow our economy. And this budget answers that argument. We can grow our economy, and shrink our deficits," he said.
The president's budget is late this year, coming after the Senate and House have each passed separate and very different 2014 budget frameworks.
While it's not expected to fly on Capitol Hill, Obama's budget nonetheless sets an important marker for continuing debt talks with lawmakers.
Boost infrastructure spending: The president's budget calls for a $50 billion investment to, among other things, repair highways, bridges, transit systems and airports. He would also create a National Infrastructure Bank to bring together public and private capital for important projects.
Change how inflation is measured: Obama has already gotten blasted from the left for supporting a switch to "chained CPI," which is a new way to measure inflation that would reduce projected federal spending by slowing the growth in federal benefits that are annually adjusted for cost of living. Those include Social Security benefits.
His budget, however, calls for ways to compensate for the change for low-income veterans, recipients of Supplemental Security Income and the oldest Social Security beneficiaries, a senior administration official said.
Chained CPI would also raise more revenue, since many parts of the tax code are adjusted for inflation every year -- including income tax brackets, the standard deduction and contribution limits to 401(k)s.
By 2020, the use of chained CPI could mean an average tax increase of $311 among the nearly 81% of households that would see a tax increase, the Tax Policy Center estimates.
The White House estimates that the switch to chained CPI will raise $230 billion over 10 years.
Cap value of itemized deductions: As he has proposed before, the president wants to limit the value of itemized deductions and exclusions for high-income households.
Normally a taxpayer multiplies her top tax rate by the amount of a deduction to calculate the taxes saved. But Obama would cap that rate at 28%, which is below the top two income tax rates. So someone in the 39.6% bracket today would save $39.60 on a $100 deduction. Under Obama's proposal, she would save $28.
The proposal is estimated to raise $529 billion over 10 years.
Enact a Buffett Rule: Last year, Obama proposed the "Buffett Rule" as a guiding principle for tax reform.
The idea: to make sure that people earning more than $1 million paid their "fair share" of federal tax -- which he defined as a minimum of 30%.
This year, he includes a more concrete version similar to one proposed in a bill last year by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, according to a senior official.
That Senate legislation would impose a minimum 30% effective federal tax rate on those with adjusted gross incomes above $1 million, although it phases in for those making between $1 million and $2 million.
Taxpayers would still get a break for charitable deductions when calculating what they would owe under the Buffett Rule.
The proposal would raise $53 billion over 10 years if it were enacted on its own, without the cap on itemized deductions.
Impose new limit on tax-deferred retirement accounts: Among his new tax measures, Obama would set a limit on the tax-advantaged portion of an individual's savings across IRAs and other tax-preferred retirement accounts.
The account balance threshold would be based on what could finance an annuity of $205,000 a year in retirement. In 2013, that would be $3 million, the administration estimates.
At that threshold, the proposal would affect far less than 1% of IRA and 401(k) account holders, according to estimates from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Depending on how the threshold is adjusted in future years, however, that percentage could rise significantly.
The proposal is estimated to raise $9 billion over 10 years.
Raise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products: Obama is proposing a new federal tax on cigarettes to fund expanded access to pre-K education, which would cost $66 billion, and expanded home visits and care for infants and toddlers, which would cost $11 billion.
It wouldn't be his first increase in the cigarette tax. In 2009, Obama signed into law a federal tax increase on cigarettes to help pay for an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for 8 million children.
The president's current proposal would raise the federal tax on cigarettes by 94 cents to $1.95 per pack. The White House estimates the tax hike would raise $78.1 billion.
Raise tax rate on investment fund manager income: Managers of private equity, venture capital and hedge funds are taxed 20% on the portion of their compensation known as carried interest, essentially paying the long-term capital gain rate. Obama wants carried interest to be treated as ordinary income, a proposal he's made repeatedly. The result: fund managers could pay a rate as high as 39.6%, or more than 2.5 times the rate they pay now.
Reduce deficits by $1.8 trillion: Obama's debt reduction proposal comes straight from an offer he made to House Speaker John Boehner last year during their fiscal cliff negotiations.
The proposal would replace the automatic budget cuts that went into effect last month.
Close to $600 billion of the $1.8 trillion would come from new revenue -- specifically the cap on itemized deductions and the Buffett Rule.
The other $1.2 trillion would come from spending cuts: $200 billion from defense and nondefense programs on the discretionary side of the budget. Another $400 billion from Medicare and other federal health programs in ways that largely affect hospitals and drug companies. And $600 billion in cuts affecting non-health spending on things like agricultural subsidies and unemployment insurance.
The administration has made clear the president's deficit-reduction proposals are not a starting point for upcoming discussions. "I've already met Republicans more than halfway," Obama said Wednesday morning.
And officials made it clear there will be no future debt-reduction deal unless new revenue is included.
House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday morning gave the president credit for including "some incremental entitlement reforms ... . But I would hope that he would not hold hostage these modest reforms for his demand for bigger tax hikes. Why don't we do what we can agree to do?"
Even if Republicans eventually agree to a revenue component, it is unlikely the president's proposals would be adopted wholesale. But if they were, his budget would bring total deficit reduction during his tenure to $4.3 trillion.


The 2015 Women in ICT Awards Judges' Breakfast was held at the Zeta Bar in the Hilton Hotel, Sydney, on November 6, with a strong roll-up from this year's judges, all of whom are industry leaders and figureheads. The event was hosted by ARN publisher and president, Susan Searle. Photos by ARN Editorial Director, Mike Gee.
It wasn't all work and no play at Huawei's recent Network Congress 2015 in Beijing, China. The company took its Australian partners on a trip to the Forbidden City, where they learnt of the history behind the Chinese imperial palace. Of course, appreciating the beauty of the architecture and its surroundings was also part of the tour. Here are some pictures from the outing.
Employees from Schneider Electric Australia recently took a break from their day jobs to pack show bags with educational material for the Julian Burton Burns Trust BurnSafe Schools Program. According to Clipsal by Schneider Electric director of marketing, Chris Quinn, packing 7000 bags in one day saves around 200 resource hours (about five weeks). Primary school kids and their families will be receiving these bags over the next eight months.
The first of WhiteGold Solutions' 2014 Christmas parties was held in Melbourne at The Carlton Hotel on November 28. Sponsored by Fortinet, Barracuda, Nutanix and Watchguard, the party was attended by about 80 resellers and vendors. WhiteGold Solutions co-founder, Dominic Whitehand, said this year's Christmas parties - the second leg is in Sydney on December 5 - will be the last events as WhiteGold before its name change to Exclusive Networks in the New Year. Guests signed a WhiteGold banner to commemorate the occasion.
Leading value-added distributor, WhiteGold Solutions, held its Christmas Party 2013 at Bungalow 8 in Sydney. Guests enjoyed aperitifs and drinks and a few lucky attendees won a prize.


Delays have found an unlikely new fanbase: Mexico.
The band played Mexico City[/a] at the weekend (September 2-3), and were surprised when they found themselves being mobbed fans.
However the group nearly didn’t find out their level of South American fame, after they were delayed on the way to the festival.
Meanwhile the band are set to support Embrace on their up coming October dates.


Hurricane Harvey forecast: Rain, rain, rain Jump to media player BBC Weather forecasts Hurricane Harvey could bring up to a metre of rain to Texas.
World storms Jump to media player Hurricane Harvey impacts the US whilst Tropical Storm Pakhar looks set to bring more rain to South Asia. Simon King explains.
How the BBC covered Hurricane Katrina Jump to media player Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina damaged much of New Orleans after high winds, heavy rains and floods from levees. Here's some of how the BBC reported from the city.
BBC Weather forecasts Hurricane Harvey could bring up to a metre of rain to Texas.


STAMp duty will be abolished for thousands of first time buyers, Labour will today pledge.
Ed Miliband will set out Labour support for first time buyers today with a promise to reduce to zero stamp duty on homes worth up to £300,000, handing some people a saving of up to £5,000.
The duty pledge is part of a three-pronged approach to housing.
Labour started the week with a repeat of a pledge to introduce rent caps and force through three-year contracts, a move some warned would actually increase rents with landlords opting for sudden long term rent increases to get around the ban.
Alongside the stamp duty and rent announcements, Labour will also announce plans to give first time buyers that have lived in an area for more than three years “first call” on up to half of homes built in their area.
In a speech in Stockton Mr Miliband is expected to say: “There’s nothing more British than the dream of home ownership, starting out in a place of your own.
“But for so many young people today that dream is fading with more people than ever renting when they want to buy, new properties being snapped up before local people get a look-in, young families wondering if this country will ever work for them.
It is thought the stamp duty changes would cost £225m a year, funded partly by increasing the tax paid by holding companies that buy UK property on behalf of investors and raising stamp duty on foreign buyers from outside the EU by at least 3 per cent.
Senior Tories dismissed Labour’s plans for rent controls as “drivel” which would suppress house building and see rents artificially inflated in advance, and spike every three years - insisting such market interventions had been ridiculed by economists.
And there was a stark warning from Generation Rent director Alex Hilton.
“Stopping landlords from making inflation-busting rent increases would make private renters more secure than they are in today’s wild west lettings market,” he said.
“But the proposals are still riddled with loopholes.
The proposed reforms were welcomed by homelessness charity Shelter, which said that the current rental market was “not fit for purpose” because of short-term contracts, sudden rent rises, and huge lettings fees.
But introducing rent control was called “a stunningly bad idea that could clobber renters” and “devastate” cities, by the free-market Adam Smith Institute think tank.


Apple's App Store has had, by all accounts, explosive success. Thanks to more than 35,000 apps, however, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. According to a new report from BusinessWeek, Apple may be considering ways to "share" apps with friends in an effort to increase app discovery and spur wider distribution.
The App Store allows users to leave ratings and reviews, which can give potential users some idea if an app is good or not. But those ratings can be skewed by the fact that the iPhone asks for a rating of an app when it is deleted—chances are if you're deleting an app, it's because you don't like it. The App Store also maintains lists of top downloaded paid and free apps, both overall and in several categories.
But discovery still remains an issue. "As every day passes, it gets harder to rise above all that noise," Michael Boland, a program director for consultant The Kelsey Group, told BusinessWeek. "It's difficult to be found in the app store."
One way to address the issue is to have a way for one user to make a direct recommendation to another. Like the Zune's infamous song "squirting," a source for BusinessWeek says that the upcoming update to iPhone OS 3.0 includes a mechanism that would let users "share software with one another." The suggestion is that the mechanism is integrated into the OS but is not yet "activated" by Apple.
Such a feature makes us wonder how a "sharing" system would work. Apple has filed a patent on such a sharing mechanism, which provides for broadcasting data from one mobile device to another. It doesn't seem likely that one user could "beam" an app to another, though, given that apps are DRM-encoded to a particular device. It seems more likely that Apple could enable some mechanism that could utilize the Push Notification system, or perhaps SMS or MMS messages to send recommendations, including a link to the App Store.
Even more useful would be an integrated method of offering time-limited demos. Suppose I send a recommendation for an app to a friend—what's the use of the recommendation without a way to see if the app will work for the person I recommended it to? Such a demo mechanism would benefit users and developers alike, and would eliminate all the feature-limited "lite" versions of apps littered throughout the App Store.
Discovery and sharing are problems that competing app stores from Google, RIM, and others face as well. Google is also said to be experimenting with a way to enable direct user-to-user gifting and recommendations for its Android Marketplace. As the app store concept continues to evolve, we can be assured that new ways to share the apps we're using will become integral to how these stores operate in the future.


Doug Newcomb 2015 BMW i8 The 2015 BMW i8 is a world-class, high-performance hybrid sports car that can also tread lightly when needed.
Concept car visual appeal. Seat-pinning performance. Fueling flexibility.
Scissor-lift doors make getting in and out difficult. Tiny rear seats. Subscription-based connectivity.
The 2015 BMW i8 is a world-class, high-performance hybrid sports car that can also tread lightly when needed.
Cargo Capacity: 4.7 cu ft.


Will Prince Harry be Absent from Royal Duties After the Baby is Born?
The whole of the United Kingdom is overexcited these days. It was announced that Meghan Markle will give birth to a new member of the Royal Family and that her due date is in early spring. That means that we are only weeks away from that date. When they are not busy will their royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing themselves to become parents for the first time in their life.
Will Prince Harry take paternity leave after the baby Sussex is born? That is what we will investigate in this article. If we take a look at the tradition of the Royal Family, only mothers are allowed to take paternity leave. This is also the case in the normal world. Some companies started to move away from the traditional maternity leave and stated that the father should be offered with paternity leave.
What Do We Know About Paternity Leave in The United Kingdom?
According to the online media, in the United Kingdom, fathers can choose to use the paternity leave under some conditions. It can be used for one or two weeks of paid time, during the first two months after the baby is born. In 2014, the policy about paternity leave gave one more option to the parents. The parents could use between two and twenty-six weeks off. Only 10% of dads are using the option.
What Do We Know About Paternity Leave Outside the United Kingdom?
In 1974, Sweden was the first country in the world that gave to option of paternal leave, regardless of the gender of the parent. In 2002, Sweden changed the option of two months of paternity leave to three months of paternity leave. Most of the males in Sweden are taking three months off after the baby is born. In the United States, there are not any policies about parental leave.
Did Prince William Choose to Take Paternity Leave?
Prince William took an absence from his job after his first child, Prince George, was born in 2013. He was working as an air ambulance pilot at that time. Kate Middleton took a six months absence from royal duties after she gave birth to Prince George. Both he and Kate Middleton spent their time together at Anmer Hall, their home which is located Norfolk.
They did the same thing after Prince Charlotte was born in 2015. After Prince Louis was born, in 2018, Prince William didn`t take any time off. He was seen at all the royal events just a few days after Prince Louis was born. He chooses to continue working on his royal duties along with his father, brother, and other family members.
Will Prince Harry Choose to Take Paternity Leave?
If we can judge from the practices that were done by Prince William, we are pretty sure that Prince Harry will take paternity leave. However, Meghan Markle will probably take a little longer absence from royal duties. Most likely, for some time, they will take a together time off, so they can enjoy their newborn baby in a surrounding as private as possible.
Home » Celebs » Will Prince Harry be Absent from Royal Duties After the Baby is Born?


Prince George's new nanny is "married to the job" and will accompany the British royal and his parents on a trip to Australia and New Zealand next month.
Prince George's new nanny is "married to the job". The eight-month-old son of Britain's Prince William and Duchess Catherine will soon be looked after by the child-minder who is said to be dedicated to the role. A source told HELLO! magazine: "She has worked for other high-profile families and it was from there that the Cambridges heard of her and hired her."
The friend added: "She is not married and doesn't have a boyfriend, as her life is totally dedicated to the family she is working with. She is known for being totally professional - married to the job."
The new nanny, who is reportedly in her 30s, is not caring for George this week, as he's staying with his grandparents, Carole and Michael Middleton, while William (31) and Catherine (32) enjoy a romantic break in the Maldives.
The new nanny will accompany the family during their 19-day royal visit to Australia and New Zealand next month.
The couple are thought to have recruited the new child-minder to look after their tot after their current nanny Jessie Webb, (71) who previously looked after William when he was a child, gave her notice last month.
Royal press secretary Miguel Head appeared to confirm the recruitment in an itinerary for the upcoming trip, which was released to media recently.
William, Catherine and George will visit Australia and New Zealand between April 7 and April 25.


FRANKFORT, Ky., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- New Jersey company FJS Energy LLC signed a $7 million deal with India's Abhijeet Group to purchase coal from Kentucky and West Virginia, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced.
Under the deal, Kentucky coal companies will export about 9 million tons of coal annually for 25 years to India's Abhijeet Group.
"It's no secret that the coal industry is in a state of flux in America, what with erratic market conditions, the uncertain regulatory atmosphere and the ever-changing energy picture," Beshear said in a statement.
"But international markets need coal and this private partnership is a great example of a new market for Kentucky resources," he said. "My administration has worked hard to strengthen ties with India and we're looking forward to a long and successful partnership with many more economic opportunities."
The deal comes on the heels of a massive power failure across India July 30-31 when some 600 million people lost electricity, which was attributed to the collapse of three regional grids.
About 70 percent of India's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants.
While India does produce coal, domestic production cannot keep up with demand amid a growing economy and mining proposals face hurdles for approvals.
RELATED China can learn from India's blackouts?
Power plants typically operate at 70-80 percent of their top capacity.
"The import of coal will help us meet India's increasing demand for energy and steel," Abhijeet Group Executive Director Anand Kumar said in a statement. "This partnership is an example of the strong potential between American producers and Indian customers. We see a significant growth of our mutually rewarding relationship."
Kentucky state Rep. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, who sits on the board of FJS Energy and has several coal-related businesses, was instrumental in brokering the deal, WKU Radio reports.
Hall defended his role in the deal, telling the Western Kentucky University radio station that his involvement was both as a state lawmaker and a businessman.
"I'm very proud to say I wear both hats. This didn't put one dime in Keith Hall's pocket but maybe in the future, they'll maybe take more of my coal, mine more of my coal and put my people back to work," Hall said.
FJS Energy's Chairman, M P Narayanan, is a former chairman of Indian companies Coal India Ltd. and Neyveli Lignite Co. and serves as vice chairman for the World Mining Congress.
FJS Energy's Web site says that the company "continues to secure substantial coal assets in several countries."
"Such strategic moves allow the organization to provide fuel security to India which is expected to have a deficit of over 200 million tons of coal a year by 2015," it states.


Two new TV trailers were released today, and coincidentally, both are for US adaptations of British TV series. The first is Shameless, Showtime’s remake of the ongoing UK show (now in its eighth season) about an alcoholic single-father and his many children that he barely takes care of. Whereas the original series dealt with British underclass and working class culture, the American update has William H. Macy as the patriarch of a working-class Chicago family contending with the recession. Emmy Rossum plays the eldest daughter, who’s tasked with holding the family together.
Developing the hour-long drama is The Company Men writer/director John Wells, who also wrote the pilot. In typical Showtime fashion, it seems like show has a touch of sleaziness to it, but that half is thankfully balanced out by what looks to be more dramatic, heartfelt character work at the center of it. It certainly has a lot of potential, and is probably a show worth keeping an eye on.
Watch the trailer for Shameless, as well as the spot for MTV’s Skins, after the break.
Next we have Skins, MTV’s awful-looking remake of the trashy-yet-strangely-watchable Brit series about a group of teenagers who struggle to grow up and find happiness, and engage in all manner of drugs and unruly behavior to pass the time.
Watching this trailer, I can’t understand why MTV would go to the trouble of adapting the show, when it probably would’ve been far more sensible (not to mention cost efficient) to just acquire the rights to air reruns of the original, and censor scenes where necessary. I assumed the entire point of remaking Skins was to translate the British culture into something that would better reflect American youth, but from the looks of it, they’re just trying to replicate every aspect of it—the culture, the clothes, the rhythm, and on top of it all: every scene, line, and character. But sadly, none of the charm.
What do you guys think? Any Skins fans looking forward to this? How about Shameless?


The Farm Bill Expired—Now What?
Republicans and Democrats in the House couldn’t agree on what the bill should include.
On Sunday night, a monthslong battle over the farm bill culminated in a dead end when lawmakers in the House and Senate were unable to come to an agreement on what the bill should look like. As a result, the bill under consideration expired.
Congress has been battling over the farm bill, a crucial piece of legislation that covers the country’s agricultural funding on top of conservation efforts and food aid, since early this year. The bill, which comes up for consideration twice a decade, is traditionally hailed as a point of bipartisanship between Republicans and Democrats. But this year, lawmakers in the House have been split along party lines on what should be included in the bill.
The Senate’s version of the measure was uncontroversial and passed in June with 86-11 vote, reflecting much of the bipartisan collaboration traditional to the farm bill. But reconciling that version with the overwhelmingly partisan House bill has proved difficult. In particular, lawmakers have clashed over language in the House bill that adds work requirements to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), a move that would knock an estimated 2 million people off food stamps. As reported by Mother Jones‘ Tom Philpott earlier this year, SNAP work requirements don’t actually lead to increased employment.
Aside from SNAP, lawmakers have butted heads on issues ranging from sugar industry programs to conservation funding to school lunch.
Lawmakers had until September 30 to reconcile the conflicting versions of the bill. Unable to do so, the existing law has expired. SNAP is safe and unaffected for now—though SNAP funding is a major part of the farm bill, it is an “appropriated entitlement,” meaning its year-to-year funding doesn’t depend on the bill. Crop insurance is also safe, because it’s authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act.
But other programs stop functioning, effective Monday. Some have already prepared for this: The Farm Service Agency issued a notice two weeks ago stating the agency will not be approving, processing, or authorizing any Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts starting October 1.
And Ferd Hoefner, senior strategic adviser for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a grassroots group that advocates for agricultural policy change, says conservation programs like CRP and farm initiatives concerning organic, local, and regional food programs can’t continue without the farm bill.
As for what’s next, Hoefner says if Democrats win a majority in the House during the November midterms, they could use the November or December two-week sessions to push through a more bipartisan proposal.


If you're traveling to AC during the summer (or on fall weekends), you might want to spend a few hours at the Steel Pier amusement park. Opening nearly a century ago, Steel Pier used to attract thousands of visitors each day; even big-name performers like Frank Sinatra came to entertain. Its popularity slowed to a halt in the late 1970s, but – like many things in the AC – the Steel Pier is making a comeback.
Rides like the Rock-n-Roll, the Ferris wheel and the Drop and the Slingshot provide thrills and offer excellent views of the AC shoreline. But if you want an even higher flying view of the beach, you might take one of the helicopter rides offered here. To enjoy the rides, you will need to purchase tickets, offered by the single or by a book; special attractions, including helicopter rides, cost extra. Single tickets cost $1 and ticket books range in cost from $40 to $60, depending on how many you'd like to buy.
Hours vary by the season and the weather; visit the park's website before you go for additional information on schedules, prices, rides and more.


According to the Wall Street Journal (Jan 17, 2013), �The Obama administration has agreed to a French request for military transport planes to help move French troops and equipment to Mali.
According to the Wall Street Journal (Jan 17, 2013), �The Obama administration has agreed to a French request for military transport planes to help move French troops and equipment to Mali. �� Is this the same France that refused to give our F-111s permission to overfly their territory on their way to bomb Libya in 1986?


A hurricane may have swept through Northampton on Saturday afternoon but even that wasn’t enough to prevent the Cobblers from inching three points closer to promotion and in doing so they made their own bit of League Two history.
With this win over lowly York City, Northampton became only the second team this century – and the first since England’s fourth tier changed it’s name from the old Third Division in 2004 – to reach 60 points or more at the 28-game stage of the season.
The last team to achieve that feat were Chesterfield way back in 2001 and, encouragingly for Cobblers fans, the Spireites subsequently won promotion.
Not only that, but for the first time since May 2000, the Cobblers clocked a sixth successive league win – and 11 in 12 in all – as they comfortably overwhelmed a beleaguered York side despite the horrific weather conditions.
Gale-force winds and heavy rain could have acted as a leveller as the rock-bottom Minstermen came to town, and for large spells of this game there was not a great deal between the sides, but Cobblers’ superior quality in the final third was the deciding factor as Chris Wilder’s men quashed any fears that a two-week break from action might disrupt their momentum.
Instead, Town picked up from where they left off two weeks ago on another excellent day for the club.
While they were racking up three more points, rivals were left frustrated by the weather – Plymouth, Bristol Rovers and Oxford United all seeing their games postponed – and defeats for Portsmouth and Accrington cemented Cobblers’ position in the top three.
Those results now mean the gap back to fourth place stands at a seismic 14 points and surely only a spate of injuries coupled with a severe downturn in form can stop the Cobblers from playing League One football next season.
York were by no means outplayed on Saturday and only a lack of quality in the final third prevented them from perhaps taking something from this game, however once Luke Hendrie was dismissed for a poor challenge on Ricky Holmes moments after Town’s second, their hopes of taking something back up the M1 were over.
Despite the elements, there were times when Town strung together some wonderful passages of play, Ricky Holmes and Lee Martin in particular linking up well, and the final scoreline could have been more one-sided on another day but two goals would suffice.
The opening 15 minutes were York’s best of the match although rather than the visitors causing problems, it was Northampton who were the architects of their own downfall.
Zander Diamond pondered in possession and was bailed out by a typically sharp save from Adam Smith, whose kicking was a source of constant problems for his own side in the hurricane-esque winds.
But once they adapted to the conditions, Northampton gradually went through the gears as Holmes and Martin linked up to devastating affect to give York’s back four untold problems throughout.
O’Toole’s goal was a timely one and arrived just when the visitors seemed to be frustrating Northampton, the midfielder directing home a Martin corner with a smart flick into the bottom corner on 21 minutes.
The rest of the first half was, in all honesty, a fairly forgettable affair with very little in the way of goalmouth action, Richards’ header drifting agonisingly wide the closest either side came to scoring.
In the end, it was a 30-second phase of play just after half-time that ultimately proved the game’s defining moment.
York, who had started the second half on the front foot, looked for all the world to have equalised when David Winfield’s header from a corner appeared destined for the net but, within a blink of an eye, instead of drawing level at 1-1, the visitors found themselves 2-0 behind barely seconds later.
Ryan Cresswell cleared off the line, Cobblers broke, Holmes drove over the halfway line and with three options and just two York defenders back, he fed Richards who cut back inside and emphatically swept into the bottom corner.
It was the type of moment that sums up why Northampton are top and York are bottom, and just to add insult to injury, barely 90 seconds had passed when the visitors were reduced to 10 after Hendrie saw red for a daft and needless lunge on Holmes.
From that moment on, the result was never in doubt and Northampton were able to comfortably see the game out by keeping possession for long spells and patiently probing for another goal without ever really threatening York keeper Scott Flinders.
The win is Town’s 15th in the last 18 league matches, a quite extraordinary run of form that has taken them from six points adrift of top spot in 10th place to five points clear of the chasing pack and on the brink of promotion.
To put that run into context, if Northampton were able to match that form in the final 18 games, they’d finish the season on 107 points. No team has ever finished on more than 102.
Tougher tests await, not least the next three fixtures, but this remarkable Cobblers campaign shows no sign of relenting any time soon.


The Delray String Quartet at the Colony Hotel, from left, Tao Lin, Tomas Cotik, Mei Mei Luo, Richard Fleischman and Claudio Jaffeé.
The Delray String Quartet puts on its last local show March 15 at the Colony Hotel, but the troupe won't be slowing down.
In April, the group makes its New York debut at the Bargemusic Festival. At the eminent event, the quartet will play Kenneth Fuchs' String Quartet No. 5, "American," a work that it commissioned.
Then in Miami in May, the quartet premieres its seventh original, commissioned work by Richard Danielpour, Quartet No. 7 for soprano and string quartet. It will be recorded on the ensemble's upcoming fourth CD with Grammy Award-wining soprano Hila Plitmann.
"For us this means a lot. We've been lucky enough to commission new works for the group," said cellist Claudio Jaffeé. "Danielpour makes us feel part of the narrative. To play and to encourage composers to compose new music for the medium is an honor - and we're thrilled to feel like we're playing a small part in the history of music by commissioning new works."
Jaffeé credits the newly commissioned works for its invitation to the Bargemusic Festival, which is "a big deal," he said. The company's members also bring impressive resumes.
Violist Richard Fleischman is a Juilliard School graduate, where he earned its highest honors. He's taken home many awards; most notably, the Windsor Prize, which Leonard Bernstein personally handed him.
Violinist Mei Mei Luo started at the Shanghai Conservatory. She also plays with Miami City Ballet and is concertmaster of Orchestra Miami.
Second violinist Tomas Cotik has performed around the world. He has a thriving career in his own right as a musician, concertmaster and professor.
Jaffeé has received accolades from the New York Times. He teaches and is an adjunct professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Founder and general manager Don Thompson assembled the quartet 11 years ago. When the Florida Philharmonic dissolved, he saw an opportunity to bring classical music to Delray Beach.
"I took four of the best musicians and started the quartet," he said. "I'm underwriting it and we're getting donations. We're doing all right. We're making CDs with top composers."
Membership evolved during the quartet's early seasons. But the current lineup has been together for four years. They've built a solid rapport.
During its February concert the ensemble played flawlessly. Pianist Tao Lin accompanied the group.
"We're a world-class string quartet," Thompson said. "We're one of the best in the country."
Tickets for the March 15 concert at the Colony Hotel, 525 E. Atlantic Ave. in Delray Beach are $35. Visit DelrayStringQuartet.com or call 561-213-4138.


Analysts at Argus upgraded Jabil Inc (NYSE: JBL) from Hold to Buy. Jabil shares rose 1.42 percent to close at $27.87 on Friday.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Phillips 66 Partners LP (NYSE: PSXP) from Neutral to Buy. Phillips 66 Partners shares gained 2.27 percent to $51.00 in pre-market trading.
Analysts at Raymond James upgraded NetGear, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR) from Market Perform to Outperform. Netgear shares rose 2.41 percent to close at $55.35 on Friday.
Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) from Neutral to Outperform. Akamai shares climbed 13.57 percent to $65.60 in pre-market trading.
JP Morgan upgraded Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) from Neutral to Overweight. Twitter shares rose 4.81 percent to $23.30 in pre-market trading.
Berenberg upgraded Boston Beer Company Inc (NYSE: SAM) from Sell to Hold. Boston Beer shares rose 1.63 percent to $190.50 in pre-market trading.
PiperJaffray upgraded Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) from Underweight to Neutral. Capital One shares rose 2.39 percent to close at $96.31 on Friday.
Baird upgraded Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) from Neutral to Outperform. Alexion Pharmaceuticals shares gained 3.14 percent to $119.40 in pre-market trading.
Analysts at BMO Capital upgraded Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) from Market Perform to Outperform. Costco shares rose 3.32 percent to close at $192.73 on Friday.
KeyBanc upgraded VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) from Sector Weight to Overweight. VMware shares rose 2.06 percent to $126.35 in pre-market trading.
Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ: FOXA) from Outperform to Market Perform. Twenty-First Century Fox shares rose 1.74 percent to $35.60 in pre-market trading.
BMO Capital downgraded Snyder's-Lance Inc (NASDAQ: LNCE) from Outperform to Market Perform. Snyder's-Lance shares gained 6.86 percent to $50.00 in pre-market trading.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Holly Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: HEP) from Neutral to Sell. Holly Energy Partners shares fell 0.26 percent to close at $33.90 on Friday.
Wedbush downgraded Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE: NX) from Outperform to Neutral. Quanex Building rose 1.05 percent to close at $24.05 on Friday.
TD Securities downgraded CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) from Buy to Hold. CSX shares fell 2.42 percent to $51.65 in pre-market trading.
Analysts at Needham & Company downgraded Oclaro Inc (NASDAQ: OCLR) from Buy to Hold. Oclaro shares fell 3.2 percent to $7.01 in pre-market trading.
Wells Fargo downgraded American States Water Co (NYSE: AWR) from Market Perform to Underperform. American States Water shares gained 3.05 percent to close at $56.68 on Friday.
Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) with a Buy rating. The price target for Domino's is set to $210. Domino's shares closed at $185.04 on Friday.
Analysts at JP Morgan initiated coverage on Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) with a Neutral rating. The price target for Tiffany is set to $103. Tiffany shares closed at $101.34 on Friday.
Jefferies initiated coverage on Delphi Technologies PLC (NYSE: DLPH) with a Buy rating. The price target for Delphi Technologies is set to $60. Delphi Technologies shares closed at $55.12 on Friday.
Analysts at Summit Redstone Partners initiated coverage on Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) with a Buy rating. The price target for Twitter is set to $26. Twitter shares closed at $22.23 on Friday.
Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Papa John's Int'l, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) with a Hold rating. The price target for Papa John's is set to $63. Papa John's shares closed at $56.85 on Friday.
Bank of America initiated coverage on Unitil Corporation (NYSE: UTL) with a Neutral rating. The price target for Unitil is set to $49. Unitil shares closed at $48.00 on Friday.
Analysts at JP Morgan initiated coverage on Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: PCRX) with a Neutral rating. The price target for Pacira Pharmaceuticals is set to $47. Pacira Pharmaceuticals shares closed at $43.85 on Friday.
BTIG initiated coverage on Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) with a Neutral rating. Electronic Arts shares closed at $109.28 on Friday.


Professionally, Chris is demanding enough of himself in his determination “to escape from the cape.” Explains Chris, “I can’t just say ‘I’m not Superman, I’m an actor.’ I have to prove it.” Last season he risked playing a gay amputee on Broadway in Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July. “When I got depressed by a bad review in the New York Times,” he recalls, “Gae showed me how I foolishly pay attention to one guy who thinks I’m a jerk and ignore the 32 critics who liked me.” This summer he’s on the boards again at the ambitious Williamstown (Mass.) Playhouse, where he opens this week as Achilles in The Greeks.


UK-based Stratajet launched its charter booking platform and accompanying app on Friday, having spent the past five years to build the software, algorithms and data it needs to perform near-real-time quoting. To do this, the platform links into operators’ own electronic systems and collects an enormous amount of data on everything from airport and airspace charges to runway characteristics, weather and Notams.
Its booking engine, combined with a belief that the industry has been very inefficient—empty legs represent almost 40 percent of all flights in business aviation and aircraft utilization is low—attracted investment from seed funds and venture capitalists, so the company has grown rapidly over the past 15 months. It now has 50 employees, many of whom collect and analyze data and to set up operators on its system.
Stratajet founder Jonny Nicol said the complexity of the problem had been “insane” and that the company almost folded in 2014. The Stratajet system can now trawl 500 operators for availability and prices, and check all the associated airport/airway charges and constraints to give a concrete quote in less than 10 seconds.
Stratajet started in Europe, gathering data from 2,107 airfields, many of which have far lower fees than the larger airports business aviation often uses. Once the technology was operational, Nicol embarked on a tour of Europe in the company’s Piper Chieftain to meet and vet operators. The platform is now live in 44 countries across Europe, and similar plans are underway to expand into the U.S. market.
Nicol is currently busy working his way around the U.S. between trips back to the UK, and flew the Chieftain over last year. He is in the process of visiting 426 operators in 48 states to introduce them to Stratajet.


OK! Exclusive: Watch What Joe Giudice's Attorney Said Outside the Courtroom This Morning!
Teresa and Joe Giudice were back in court today in Newark, NJ to face two more charges of fraud after they were indicted yesterday. The stars of Real Housewives of New Jersey plead not guilty to the new charges.
OK! News: Watch Teresa and Joe Giudice discuss their fraud charges with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live.
OK! News: Look back at the most shocking moments from the reunion of Real Housewives of New Jersey!
—Reporting by Lindsey DiMattina for OK!
What do you think of the new charges against the Giudices? Do you think they’re innocent or guilty? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @OKMagazine.


A report published Thursday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said the income commercial farmers earn is continually declining, their position in the food industry has worsened and the possibility for increasing farmers’ profits is weak.
The overall scenario of farmers in Finland does not look good, according to the ministry’s report, which was written by advisor Reijo Karhinen, the former executive chair of OP, Finland’s biggest financial group.
Karhinen said that Finland’s farming sector is in crisis and that the challenges it faces are not temporary, but structural ones.
The report was requested by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä, both from the historically agrarian Centre Party. They aimed to examine the possibilities of raising the incomes of commercial farming industry by half a billion euros. The industry has seen earnings drop since the beginning of the millennium.
Karhinen wrote that in order to boost earnings in the farming sector, the entire food industry would need to undergo major changes and reforms.
The main reason behind the industry’s weak profitability is Finland’s membership in the EU, a situation which carries challenges for the sector to adapt to an increasingly demanding world, according to the report. Finland joined the union in 1995.
However, Karhinen’s sharpest criticism in the report was directed at Finland’s food retail industry.
The report said the farming sector needs assistance to adjust to major changes taking place across the industry, some of which are results from global climate change and new technologies.
Karhinen said that in order to make those changes, farmers would need strong compensation-based support. One of the suggestions cited in the report was to establish a new support and resource centre in conjunction with the Natural Resources Institute (Luke).
Another problem, according to the report, is the weak position food producers are in as they deal with the retail grocery sector. It said the poor internal workings of the commercial food chain has given the retail sector the upper hand.
The report said Finland’s food chain needs a common vision for the future and a clearer “win-win” strategy, saying that the farming industry also needs to increase its financial management skills.
Mats Nylund, an MP from Vaasa and chair of the Swedish-language farmer’s association SLC, said Karhinen’s report hit the nail on the head.
He said the report should be the starting point for a renewal of Finland’s agricultural industry.
“The most interesting part was Karhinen’s emphasis on consensus in the food chain. This applies particularly to the grocery trade, which must be included in a ‘win-win’ situation. The proposals to improve the flow of information - and the [proposal] that the two large retail chains with their dominant market positions should open their customer data to third parties - would really help competitiveness,” Nylund said in a press release issued by SLC on Thursday.
Gaining access to the financial figures of the retail grocery trade would help improve the transparency of prices, and it would also strengthen confidence in the food chain in general, Nylund said.


Ed Lee claimed victory Wednesday as San Francisco's first elected Chinese American mayor, finishing ahead of Supervisor John Avalos, the progressive standard bearer, and City Attorney Dennis Herrera when the ranked-choice votes were tallied.
Appointed District Attorney George Gascón won a full four-year term in office, while Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi is on his way to becoming San Francisco's new sheriff.
While the preliminary ranked-choice count is unofficial, the results have typically held up in the past. About 32,000 late-arriving ballots remain to be counted, said John Arntz, the city's election director. He said he expects final results in 10 days to two weeks.
But the candidates aren't waiting for the final figures.
Lee told reporters outside the mayor's office that while he avoided using the term "victory" Tuesday night out of respect for ranked-choice voting, "this latest report shows that the voters of San Francisco want four more years of what we have been doing."
Flanked by his wife and one of his daughters, Lee pledged to bring more jobs to the city and pull the city together.
"Every neighborhood is going to know that this mayor represents them," he said.
Lee, a bureaucrat and political novice when he was appointed to the mayor's job in January, finished with 61 percent of the vote after the second- and third-place ranked-choice votes were counted, well ahead of the 38 percent for Avalos.
The final result didn't come as easily as Lee and his supporters had hoped. It took 11 rounds of ranked-choice voting, eliminating every candidate but Avalos, before Lee finally moved past the required 50 percent mark.
Avalos, however, isn't ready to concede, despite being more than 25,000 votes behind Lee at the end of the ranked-choice count.
"There are still votes to be counted," said Erica Fox, a spokeswoman for the Avalos campaign.
But other challengers congratulated Lee, including Herrera, who in a statement called Lee's win a "well-earned victory."
Supervisor David Chiu, the fourth-place finisher, called Lee on Wednesday afternoon and promised to keep working with him.
"I have said all along that while we were competitors on the campaign trail, we have remained colleagues at City Hall," Chiu said.
"Now it's back to work," he added.
While the uncounted ballots are expected to boost the voter turnout to around 40 or 41 percent, that's nowhere near the 50 percent average of the past 10 mayoral contests.
Lee's early and continuing lead in the polls sucked all the excitement out of the race, said David Latterman, a political analyst and lecturer at the University of San Francisco.
"This was not (Gavin) Newsom versus (Matt) Gonzalez" in the 2003 mayor's race, he said. "This was Ed Lee against the field, and Ed and the field weren't that interesting."
Still, the two down-ballot races for district attorney and sheriff were overshadowed - in attention and money - by the battle for mayor. But the two citywide offices carry a lot of political clout and were fiercely contested.
Gascón is a newcomer to elections, but his last job as San Francisco police chief made him no stranger to politics. He was appointed district attorney 11 months ago by then-Mayor Newsom to fill out the remainder of Kamala Harris' term when she became state attorney general.
It took Gascón until round three of the vote tabulation to pass the 50 percent mark and bypass his top challengers: David Onek, a former city police commissioner and senior fellow at the University of California-affiliated Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice; and Sharmin Bock, an Alameda County prosecutor. Gascón had 63 percent at the end of the ranked-choice count.
The apparent winner declined to make a statement Wednesday. But Onek, running second, and Bock, who placed third, both called Gascón on Wednesday to offer congratulations.
In the race to replace longtime Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who is retiring after eight terms in office, Mirkarimi would not declare victory, but said he was "cautiously optimistic" that he would come out on top once the final ballots are counted. It took three rounds for him to finish first, with 53 percent, after Wednesday's tally.
His two chief challengers - Paul Miyamoto, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, and Chris Cunnie, the politically connected former head of the powerful Police Officers Association - would not concede defeat Wednesday. Miyamoto came in second and Cunnie third.
If Mirkarimi's lead holds, he will have handed San Francisco progressives a big win. It also would present a big opportunity for the more politically moderate Lee, who would get to name Mirkarimi's replacement for the year remaining on his Board of Supervisors' term.
The District Five supervisor represents the Haight, Western Addition, Hayes Valley and adjacent neighborhoods and has been a solid left vote since the return of district elections in 2000.
E-mail John Wildermuth and Rachel Gordon at jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com and rgordon@sfchronicle.com. Chronicle staff writer Stephanie Lee contributed to this report.


Florida-based ENG-vehicle manufacturers Frontline Communications and BAF Communications will spend the next few months getting to know each other. Prime Medical Services, a custom-vehicle manufacturer and parent company of BAF, purchased Frontline from C.P. Foster for $10.8 million.
Frontline International Sales Manager Bob King says the sale came about after Prime Medical Services asked Frontline if it wanted to purchase BAF. Frontline passed, and Prime Medical then made an offer for Frontline. The result will be an operation that eventually will fold BAF's 60 employees into Frontline's 100.
Frontline, besides being larger, is also stronger in the communications-vehicle business, with most of its energies focused on the ENG and satellite market.
BAF has a few ENG vehicles as well but is also heavily involved in construction of medical vehicles and of vehicles for FEMA. Frontline General Manager Jonathan Sherr will head up the new Frontline/BAF endeavor.
"Frontline is the stronger of the two by far, and we're booked out until November," says King. "Right now, we're in the throes of trying to figure out what to do with the other vehicle lines. If there's a lot of business there, we'll build on it."
King makes it clear that one goal will be to make sure BAF customers are aware that commonality of parts and increased service capability will not leave them high and dry. Incorporating BAF's staff into Frontline's is one step in that direction.
"They have a wealth of knowledge, and it's really difficult to bring someone in off the street—even if they have an engineering degree—and say, 'You're a truck designer,'" says King. "That just doesn't happen. But now we have a pool of people who are right up to speed."
King says that experience has already helped Frontline customers. With orders backed up until November, the BAF staff is already getting to work on alleviating the crunch, helping with paint and assembly on some projects.
Frontline's Clearwater, Fla.-based facility is only four years old, but King says it's jammed already; new ground will need to be broken on the company's existing 5-acre parcel to make room for the BAF employees.
When that expansion will happen remains to be seen, but King says it will definitely need to be done by the end of the year.
Richard Wolf, executive vice president and director of sales and marketing, for mobile-van manufacturer Wolf Coach, says it will take some time before he can get a sense of what the merger will mean for the market.
"The activity in the market is slower, and I can see why people would want to get some economies, but we'll have to wait for the dust to settle," he says. "Then we can see how much of BAF will end up in Frontline or how much of Frontline becomes the new culture. There are two competing cultures and a parent culture involved."
The challenge for the new organization is the same faced by other ENG-vehicle manufacturers: figuring out how to lower the weight of the vehicles.
"Cost is always an issue, but, right now, it's weight because customers want something small and also have microwave and satellite on the same truck," Wolf says. "So it's a safety and liability issue: We don't want anyone to get hurt."
He notes that weight has always been an issue and that it's the changes in electronics technology that are opening up new capabilities, such as digital ENG.
"As encoders have gotten better and satellite dishes have gotten smaller, you open up the ability to do digital," he says. "That's the reason we deferred on the hybrid vehicle until the electronics technology progressed to where the mechanical things we can do would create a workable product."