Your home garden requires fertilizer, weeding, watering and a watchful eye.
Now multiple that by, oh, at least 10,000 and you have the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, now underway for the 23rd time at Walt Disney World.
This year's event runs 90 days, the longest in its history. But its planners don't plant and not look back.
"Most people think you put what's on the blueprint and you call it a day. That's not the case," said Eric Darden, horticulture manager for the festival.
Changes that occur during the Epcot event follow a couple of branches: making improvements and making replacements.
"We're walking this festival every single day and looking at what we put in," Darden said. "It's very common to say 'OK, I know this what we planned, and this is good … but how can we make it better?'"
For example, after planting the flowers for the sunburst design behind Spaceship Earth, the horticulture team decided to add taller plants for more dimension and "just to zing it up a bit," Darden said. They also supplemented the area featuring topiaries of Minnie Mouse and Pluto with materials and props from past festivals.
"We take advantage of all of our resources, that's for sure," Darden said.
Getting the right look for guests is one of the goals.
"People come to see that mass of flowers," Darden said. Some flowers are put in much closer together than one would place in a home garden, reaching for maximum color effect, he said.
"We always say that during Flower & Garden Festival, we're not just planting bedding plants, we're painting a picture. So we'll keep planting flowers until we get the look that we want," Darden said.
That painting will begin to fade, naturally, as the weather warms up during the course of the fest. Disney replants as it's called for, and sometimes that means a change in color scheme. For instance, the expansive design on the banks of the waterway between the park's Future World and World Showcase probably will have less blue in it by mid-April after more heat-resistant (and redder) blooms are put into place.
PICTURE GALLERY: Get a first look at featured topiaries, gardens and all-new gourmet tastings at the 23rd Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, now through May 30, 2016.
When the event grew to 75 days in 2008, a second widespread planting was required. Darden doesn't expect that to increase to three plantings this year.
"We're pretty sure the second planting is going to make it to summer. But it's uncharted territory to go 90 days," he said. "We know we can do it — but there's never been a 90-day festival."
For more than 50 years, Disney has been in the topiary business. Epcot's flower fest is an ideal place to carry on that tradition, with greenery figures spread throughout the theme park.
New topiaries this year include Huey, Dewey and Louie, the three rambunctious nephews of Donald Duck. They expand the number of "same-scale" characters to 11. They are sized to interact — at proper proportions — with a topiary set that includes Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, Chip and Dale.
"That's one thing to look forward to in future years," Darden said. "We're always trying to get more of those classic characters that we can use together. It makes it easy to be creative."
This year, the smaller-scale Chip and Dale are used in the park-ranger scene in Future World. They are the rascally ones in the display, having swiped Ranger Mickey's (topiary) sandwich.
Among the returning topiaries across World Showcase: "Lady and the Tramp" figures in Italy, the dragon in China, Belle and Beast in France, Snow White and the seven dwarfs in Germany and royal sisters Elsa and Anna in Norway, where "Frozen"-based attractions are under construction.
For year, the festival flirted with food offerings — from brunches to edible gardens to programs about food from around the world. Three years ago, Disney introduced kiosks or "outdoor kitchens" to the Flower & Garden lineup. There can be confusion between these offerings and the ones served during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival each fall.
"The main differentiation is done by the culinary team," Darden said. "Most of the dishes are going to be very hot, lots of herbs, vegetables, grain crops — not as much focus on just the meat. It's usually a lot more vegetable matter."
Watermelon salad with pickled onions, baby arugula and feta cheese; featured during the media preview of the 23rd Epcot¨ International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.
Although it's just the fourth year for the festival to have any sort of emphasis on food, visitors have laid claim to fest faves, including the watermelon salad from the Florida Fresh kitchen and the smoked salmon served at Cider House, said Gregg Hannon, executive chef at Epcot.
And while the Food & Wine fare is usually from far-flung locales, at least one stop at Flower & Garden feels home-grown. Hannon points to the Florida Larder Board from the Florida Fresh outdoor kitchen.
"Not only is it from Florida, but it's all ingredients that are locally sourced right here in Orlando," he said. "We have an Orlando-made cheese, we have a pate, we have bread made in Winter Garden and some pickled vegetables."
When: Daily through May 30. Park hours are 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Cost: From April 3 to May 26, a one-day ticket to Epcot costs $102; on the other days of the festival, it's $114.


Social media has made a significant impact on every aspect of our lives. Healthcare is no exception. The increasing usage of social networks among both practitioners and patients has proven to cast a positive impact on the overall healthcare quality.
Specifically, social media largely contributes to how we choose our healthcare providers. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, 41% of patients said that social media content impacted their choice of hospital or physician.
Each of these use cases presents different effects on patients and, at the same time, affect their relationship with the healthcare provider in the following manner.
Social media has become a popular tool for patients to expand their knowledge about their condition and treatment options. For example, 29% of patients peruse social media to view other patients’ experience with their disease and 42% browse social media platforms to discover health-related consumer reviews according to PwC.
For instance, the Psoriasis Association has launched a massive awareness campaign on Instagram, encouraging users to share images of their condition using #getyourskinout and #psoriasiscommunity. Dominic Urmston, digital communications officer at the charity, explained that “Users can find people who share similar experiences who they can chat to and support one another. Also, it empowers them so they can share images of their psoriasis and post about their experiences too”. As a result, the condition becomes less stigmatized and more people are encouraged to weigh in on various treatment options and speak about them with their healthcare providers.
On a less bright note, social media can contribute to the patient’s likelihood to change their provider multiple times; 44% of users look up information about doctors or other health professionals before scheduling a visit. Patients now pay more attention to negative reactions shared by other users. And can choose to switch doctors after participating in an online discussion with another patient. Social media reviews have had the most effect on provider choice for patients who are coping with a chronic disease, try to manage their diet or stress.
Additionally, social media often provides patients with space to "vent" their negative emotions and frustrations with the condition, instead of doing so in front of the doctor.
However, the research further identified a missed opportunity – patients tend to rarely empower one another to seek alternative treatments if their current one doesn’t bring the results they want.
Social media and online publishers have given us accesses to an enormous amount of scattered health information. Millennials, in particular, are more inclined to follow online health advice and rely on information shared by their peers, instead of scheduling necessary appointments with specialists.
And those professionals, who are willing to take an extra mile for their patient and look through the information, face an increased risk of making the wrong judgment by being presented incomplete or questionable data from unverified sources.
The bottom line is this: as a patient you should treat information sourced online with extra judgment. While it can be helpful to increase your overall understanding of the condition and guide you towards asking the right questions from your practitioner, it should not be treated as the ultimate source of truth or leveraged to question the doctor's expertise.


West Liberty-Salem’s Athletic Department recently honored all of its spring athletes.
In baseball, the JV Hustle award went to Jerett Meeker and the Varsity hustle award went to Cole Wilson. Scholar athlete, Batting title and Gold Glove award all went to Dusty Moell. Austin Secor, Trent Thomas and Cole Wilson were all given four-year participation awards.
In boys track, Alex Steiner received the scholar athlete award, Varsity hustle went to Micheal Lehman, Most Improved went to Nick Williams, Best Runner went to Kam Evans and Best Field Event athlete went to Brandon Wolfe.
In girls track, Bethany Painter received the scholar athlete, Most Improved went to Leah Cole, Varsity hustle went to Kaylee Karg, Most Valuable runner went to Morgan Freyhof, and Most Valuable field event athlete went to Lauren Godwin and Maddie Gantz. Gantz, Godwin and Michaela Rausch all received four-year participation awards and four-year letter plaques.
In softball, Kylie Gilroy received the scholar athlete, MVP went to Kylee Kite and Gilroy and the Offensive award went to Kite as well. Defensive award went to Olivia Ames, Varsity hustle went to Kenedie Cox, JV hustle went to Taylor Henault, and Most Improved went to Deidra McGill. Karlie Wilbur received four-year letter plaque along with four-year participation award.


Their activities had been suspended by Secretary Ryan Zinke for eight months.
Nine out of 12 members of the U.S. National Park Service advisory board abruptly resigned on Monday night, citing a "profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside."
In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, board member and former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles accuses Zinke and the Department of Interior (DOI) of refusing the meet with the advisory board as required by law.
As of this writing, the biographies of Knowles and his fellow resigning board members are still up on the NPS website. They describe a mixture of former politicians like Judy Burke, former mayor of Colorado Springs, academics focusing on healthy human/environment relationships like Carolyn Finney, and senior fellows at educational non-profits like Milton Chen. All board members were unpaid volunteers.
In May 2017, Zinke suspended the work of more than 200 National Parks advisory boards, committees and subcommittees, stating in a memo that the DOI needed to review "the charter and charge of each committee" before being allowed to continue with their work. At the time, Zinke suggested that the earliest the groups would be allowed to meet again was September of that year. Earlier this month, a DOI spokesperson told the Washington Post that “Boards have restarted” with no further comment. But Knowles said in an interview with Alaska Public Radio.
All board members who resigned were coming up on the end of their terms in May. Their resignation leaves the Advisory Board nearly decimated at a time when nearly 30 parks are facing reclassification and the cost of entry for many parks is expected to double.


Anna is CAS first-year, studying Journalism (surprise-surprise) and Environmental Studies, hoping to avoid chemistry and maths at all costs. They're from Moscow, Russia and went to high-school in Oxford, England. People often ask Anna about their opinion on Putin, so, please, don’t. They don't like him. At all. Anna loves writing, which’s why their Instagram looks like a blog. Some of the things they can spend hours discussing: mental health (especially, OCD), LGBTQ+ rights, classic rock (i.e. Patti Smith) and memoirs.


My Oculus avatar getting ready to head out into the metaverse.
When Mark Zuckerberg donned an Oculus Rift on stage at the Oculus Connect conference last fall to show off a group of avatars playing cards in virtual reality, it was meant to be a peek at the future of social networking. But it turns out that future is already here: Even without Facebook's direct participation, social VR is quickly becoming a thing.
Facebook's own Oculus Rooms social VR app (previewed last year) has yet to come to the Rift headset, but a wide array of social VR apps have already taken off, fostering vibrant communities of people coming together from around the world to interact as simple yet surprisingly effective avatars, facilitated by high-end VR headsets like the Rift and HTC Vive.
Currently, most of the public's limited interest in VR is centered on where we know the money already is: gaming. But social VR is already beginning to deliver on VR's promise of an "empathy engine," using the medium to connect real people from around the world.
But what does this new universe of social VR look like? I decided to find out.
If you tried to explain the internet to someone from the 18th century, and all you had as a visual aid was a painting of a Google results page full of links, you'd have a tough time convincing that person that the painting represented a global network of living information on every topic known to humankind.
That's about how tough it is to describe the groundbreaking events currently unfolding in social VR — YouTube videos of avatars hanging out with each other simply don't translate the full impact of the experience. Name-checking Second Life — the massive multiplayer online experience that launched in 2003 and is actually still around — scratches the surface of it, but the virtual bar has been raised with fully immersive headsets, and the VR universe is something entirely new.
Social VR is already beginning to deliver on VR's promise of an "empathy engine"
In the past two weeks, I've had one-on-one experiences with people from Sweden, China, the UK, Chile, Florida, Atlanta and California — all from the comfort of my New York City apartment using the Rift. Unlike the social networks that most of us are accustomed to, we didn't meet as icons or user names on flat, 2D screens. Instead, our interactions occurred in fully realized three-dimensional spaces, each person represented by 3D avatars allowing individual interactivity with almost the same degree of freedom and expressiveness we're accustomed to in the real world.
Looking down at your virtual hands and then walking over to view your personal avatar in a mirror for the first time is a transformative experience. Gone are the joysticks and keyboard commands; your face and hands are your interface in VR, and even something as simple as looking over your own virtual shoulder (yes, that's possible) pulls you deeper into the immersive experience.
In one VR environment, a handshake with another person's avatar results in a pleasant explosion of pixels, which means you're now friends with that person. Another environment does the same thing with fist bumps, except the action serves as a VIP ticket to a private party in another room.
Currently, the social VR community is a fairly small, tight-knit group of pioneers, much like the early days of the IRC (internet relay chat) that offered a vibrant but mostly under-the-radar social meeting place just before the explosion of the web.
My customized VR avatars in Bigscreen, vTime and AltspaceVR.
After a good deal of VR bar-hopping, I found the most active social communities in four social VR apps: Bigscreen, vTime, AltspaceVR and Rec Room. Bigscreen and Rec Room are both limited to the Vive and the Rift (for now) while AltspaceVR and vTime both work with the aforementioned headsets as well as cheaper options like the Gear VR (vTime also works on Google Daydream View). None of the experiences except vTime touted Cardboard as an option.
Like the concrete-and-steel social clubs of the world, each space had its own distinct look and personality, attracting different types of users and offering varying levels of social intimacy.
I met my first group of people in Bigscreen, an environment suited to small gatherings of up to four people in rooms in where users can interact while seated in swank virtual apartments, and watch videos in private movie theaters. The environment also doubles as a great personal workspace, as it easily allows you to work on your computer's desktop from VR (the Vive version lets you type using the SteamVR virtual keyboard, but the best input method for web surfing I found was via voice on Google Chrome). Beyond social and entertainment, Bigscreen also seems perfectly suited to the next phase of telecommuting and virtual presence meetings currently facilitated by tools like Skype.
When you enter Bigscreen you have the option creating rooms and inviting others, or joining rooms in progress (the limit is four people per room, so things get intimate pretty fast). My first Bigscreen meeting paired me with a man and woman from Asia and a man from western Europe. We were all newbies trying to figure out how to use the app so I kicked things off and opened a trailer for us to watch — you guessed it, The Matrix. Predictably, it was a hit, and that broke the ice. Soon, everyone began trading social VR tips and tricks.
It's scary meeting someone in VR for the first time. There's no user name to hide behind. And even though your avatar isn't really your own body, there's a distinct sense that you're exposed.
Nevertheless, it's scary meeting someone in VR for the first time. There's no user name to hide behind. And even though your avatar isn't really your own body, there's a distinct sense that you're exposed to others and must put your best virtual foot forward (much like real life). Conversations are verbal, not typed, so you don't have the luxury of a backspace key or taking your time when you respond. It's a virtual world, but it's real-time.
My next encounter occurred in vTime, where I was transported onto a moving train in which three people from different locations were already holding a conversation. After introducing myself, we all moved to another environment that had us sitting on a satellite orbiting Earth. You can see a screencap of that meetup below, but the static, 2D picture doesn't do justice to the experience — it really felt as though Earth's massive form was moving below us.
Everyone, even the one veteran user (six months deep) among us, seemed a bit giddy sitting atop the world like gods as space detritus floated by, only momentarily interrupting our discussion about the implications of this new, virtual universe. We soon teleporting to a campfire and then to a mountain cliff. Each environment looked and even, to a certain extent, felt like the real thing — only missing details like the wind from the realistic sky or the heat from the crackling fire. It was at this point that it occurred to me that we may never really need the fabled Star Trek transporter H.G. Wells' time machine, because in virtual reality, you can already transport to any place or time with a mere gesture.
In AltspaceVR, things were a lot more active. The rooms were filled with dozens people of all ages and nationalities and temperaments. While the vast majority of my experiences in social VR were friendly and polite, AltspaceVR felt a little more like the real world in that there were a least a few trolls less excited by the new platform and more interested in getting attention.
This was most apparent during an open-mic night at a club users could teleport into. As raucous as a late-night New York City comedy club, it took almost 30 minutes to get roughly 40 people (avatars) to settle down and start the show.
The early crowd begins to gather at an open mic night in AltspaceVR.
After a couple of performers, one guy got on stage and tried out a couple of racist jokes, after which he was promptly booed off stage and the show went on without a hitch. Like the offline world, AltspaceVR has its bad actors, but that authenticity reinforces the feeling of immersion. You feel as though you're in a real club.
"The same thing that makes social presence such a powerful force for positive interactions can also make it a powerful force for harassment."
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Rec Room, a social VR space centered around bringing people together to play games that require physical interactions instead of mere joystick skills. It's in Rec Room that I played several games of paintball, bonding with my own team of strangers as we worked together to defeat opposing teams. Later, I dipped into a room for a game of VR charades with several others, which provided just as many laughs as the game does in your living room. However, the experience was somewhat marred by enthusiastic children using their newfound avatar powers to harass those with less experience in the space.
A very young girl, obviously having sensor-tracking issues with her real-world hardware, was stuck with her avatar's body half-lodged in the floor of the room. After she called out for help (her voice actually sounded like she was in pain after a while), a couple of players, also children, tried to help by pulling at her avatar, but that only made things worse by obscuring her view. Virtual bodies can't be hurt, but the episode was disturbing nonetheless.
"Online harassment is a topic we take very seriously here. We really want to make sure Rec Room is a great community for people from all walks of life," says Nick Fajt, the CEO and co-founder of Seattle-based Against Gravity, the developer of Rec Room, during a subsequent meeting we had in VR. "We've found that social VR is something of a double-edged sword. The same thing that makes social presence such a powerful force for positive interactions can also make it a powerful force for harassment … we feel a particular obligation to drive the state of the art forward in preventing and addressing online harassment."
To that end, Rec Room, as well as the other social VR apps I visited, all have various tools devoted to reporting bad behavior, removing disruptive people and discouraging harassment. Although the tools all vary, a common function is the ability to point at a user or look a user up (user names were displayed at all times in each app) and enable a blocking or reporting action.
Meeting above planet Earth in one of vTime's VR rooms.
"Personal space is sacrosanct, whether physical or virtual, and those boundaries take on new significance with a HMD strapped to your face," says Clemens Wangerin, managing director of UK-based vTime. "I'm pleased to say that the clear majority use the service exactly as intended. Those that don't are dealt with swiftly when reported, and can receive temporary or permanent bans."
And while all the services have age limits (usually 13), there are currently no hard measures in place to prevent children from interacting with adult strangers. That situation is mirrored on the web, of course, but made more troubling when a sense of presence is involved via 3D avatars, audio interaction and hand interfaces.
"We pioneered the concept of a 'personal space bubble,' which prevents people from sticking virtual objects into your virtual body, or 'groping' you," says Darshan Shankar, the CEO and founder of Berkeley, CA-based Bigscreen. "Those [unwanted actions] can feel very uncomfortable in VR and a personal space bubble was a simple, clever solution to the problem. Many other social VR apps have now implemented similar controls to excellent results."
A VR smartwatch and control mechanism that you wear on your wrist in Rec Room.
Part of the reason harassment in these early stages of social VR is being given so much attention is due to the lessons learned on the social media web. And although there are no guaranteed methods currently in place to guard against harassment in social VR spaces, after much use, I'm convinced that the aforementioned companies are working earnestly to keep VR from devolving from an empathy engine into an "enmity engine."
During my first-ever business meeting in VR, Fajt took me on an in-depth tour through some of Rec Room's lesser-known corners as we discussed the future of social VR. Fajt, who spent several years working on the Microsoft HoloLens team, believes augmented reality will eventually become incredibly useful to mainstream consumers, but he's placing his early bet on VR as the path to the next step beyond today's web.
When I asked him why, he echoed the sentiments I've heard frequently in recent months from those studying both platforms: In general, AR is harder than VR, at least in the short-term. Although hits like Pokémon Go and Snapchat Lenses offer amazing imagery to overlay real-world environments, nothing compares to the full immersion available in VR. But Fajt believes this is all transitional, and that within the next decade we'll see tetherless glasses that seamlessly handle the task of delivering both AR and VR content. But in the near term, VR simply packs more punch as a platform.
None of the companies would reveal membership numbers, although Bigscreen, which is still in beta, claims its most passionate users stay in the app for 20 to 30 hours a week. Most estimates place the collective number of mobile and high-end VR headsets sold in 2016 in the single-digit millions.
In terms of revenue, none of the social VR spaces I used, all of which are free to use, had obvious revenue models. Predictably, the focus for these services for now is around building community first and figuring out profit down the road.
Against Gravity CEO Nick Fajt tells me about the future of Rec Room over a game of VR poker.
But unlike the web's early social-networking growth around sites like Friendster, MySpace and later Facebook, the grace period for social VR to develop without intense competition will be extremely short. Facebook's Oculus Rooms, which is currently available in a limited form for Samsung Gear VR users, will roll out in a major way for Oculus Rift later this year. When that happens, anyone withe Rift will be encouraged to link their Facebook accounts — a shift that will prompt VR's nascent user base to choose between these small, pioneering social VR apps and the world's biggest social network.
No, none of these spaces are hyperrealistic simulacras in the tradition of The Matrix. But as Epic Games founder and Unreal Engine pioneer Tim Sweeney demonstrated on stage months ago at Steam Dev Days (the game service's developer conference), we're less than a decade away from realistic human avatars in VR. That change seems destined to deliver on one of the biggest promises of the medium: teleporting, with others, to fully immersive worlds. When that happens, much of the groundwork will have been laid by the VR social networks of today.


(Berlin) – A prominent Azerbaijani journalist was viciously attacked by police and security guards on the outskirts of Baku on April 18, 2012, demonstrating the government’s ugly disregard for media freedoms in the final weeks before the Eurovision song contest is to be held in the city, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch urged Azerbaijani authorities to conduct a prompt and effective investigation into the vicious attack against Idrak Abbasov, who was beaten by police and security personnel from the state energy company as he attempted to film house demolitions on the outskirts of Baku.
At about noon, Abbasov, a journalist with the newspaper Zerkalo and the Institute for Reporters’ Freedoms and Safety (IRFS), a media-monitoring group, was filming the demolition of houses illegally constructed in the Sulutepe settlement on the outskirts of the capital, Baku. The houses, located on land held by the state oil company SOCAR, were being demolished by SOCAR to reclaim its land. Residents were protesting the demolition.
Approximately 20 policemen and SOCAR security guards attacked Abbasov, beating him with fists and kicking him until he lost consciousness. Abbasov was taken unconscious to the Baku Hospital No.1, with multiple bruises and hematomas and blood all over his face.
Azerbaijan has a history of unpunished attacks on critical journalists. Independent journalists, human rights defenders, and others seeking to express their opinions, investigate issues of public interest, or criticize government authorities have been attacked, harassed, threatened, and imprisoned.
Abbasov, who lives in the Sulutepe settlement, had been filming a confrontation between the residents of the settlement and the SOCAR guards. He was wearing a vest with the word “Press” on the back, clearly identifying him as a journalist.
Abbasov’s two brothers, who also live in the area, came to his aid and eventually managed to stop the attack, though when they intervened the guards and police also beat them. Abbasov’s brothers and Musayeva took him to a nearby ambulance unit. Abbasov was unconscious; his eyes were closed; his right eye was bleeding. Doctors at the medical unit told them that he probably had sustained head trauma and needed to be transferred to a hospital. An ambulance transferred him to a hospital in Baku. By late evening, Abbasov remained hospitalized with a concussion.
In March, Abbasov received an international prize for his reporting from the Index on Censorship, a freedom of expression campaign group.
SOCAR guards assaulted several other journalists at the demolition. An unidentified man kicked Musayeva in the back and slapped her face when she was filming. Another man grabbed her camera and her journalist’s identification card. She continued to film with her mobile camera, but stopped as another man tried to grab it as well.
Three other journalists, including journalists from Radio Liberty and Objective TV, were stopped by SOCAR security as they arrived at the demolition site in a taxi. About 500 meters away from the site, five or six security guards stopped the cab and, when they saw journalists in the car, started to hit it, breaking the glass and the bumper and demanding the that driver turn back.
Azerbaijani authorities should conduct a full and impartial investigation into the conduct of SOCAR security guards and other law enforcement officials who were at the scene, Human Rights Watch said.
The attack against Abbasov took place a month before Baku is scheduled to be the host of the popular Eurovision song contest.


Eric Beatty throws the ball during Pomperaug High School football practice in Southbury on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.
SOUTHBURY -- There are few high school football teams in the state as practiced as Pomperaug at the cruel math that cuts seasons off at Thanksgiving.
The Panthers have posted consecutive 8-2 campaigns, only to have their playoff hopes put out by tiebreaking measures. They've been trained to expect the worst when inputting their data into a convoluted equation, like anyone who's ever fumbled around with a TI-83.
"It's a game of inches," second-year coach Dave Roach said from practice Wednesday, "and also a game of decimals."
"Last year, just sitting around on the computer and seeing (the different scenarios), where people had a win against somebody else and that determined whether we got in our not -- we have to make it up to us this year, you know?" said senior captain Carl Gatzendorfer, who has emerged as a pass-catching running back in addition to his duties as a cornerback. "We can't let anybody dictate where we want to go."
Gatzendorfer and senior quarterback Eric Beatty, friends since Pop Warner who have since swapped positions, are among the leaders of a team that's seen significant turnover on both sides of the ball. Gone to graduation are running back Andrew Reel and receiver Matt Paola, but here to stay is "the hammer," the formation from which the Panthers forged their punishing, run-heavy identity under legendary coach Chuck Drury.
The defense is fueled by math that's easy enough -- "11 hats on the ball." However, there are some daunting offensive numbers that require the Panthers' attention, the 186 touches and 1,696 all-purpose yards Reel and Paola combined to pile up in 2011.
Gatzendorfer, along with speedy tailback Dylan McAllister (6.5 yards per rushing attempt in 2011), a fellow senior, will assume much of that load. Which, according to Roach, is good news for Panther fans.
"Kids just fill the void," Roach said. "They miss (the departing seniors) and they want to be like them. They're always asking for their jersey numbers. They want to make their own identity, but at the same time, it's a respect thing."
Of Gatzendorfer, who saw limited action on offense a year ago, Roach said, "He's like having another coach on the field. As a possession receiver, I equate it to having a Wes Welker. He's a sure-handed guy and he's not going to drop the ball. Maybe that's not great for fantasy sports."
Welker was actually a fantasy stud last season, trailing only Detroit's Calvin Johnson in receiving yards. But the point is taken: Put the pigskin in Gatzendorfer's hands and it's likely to stay there. Worst case, it's a catch. Best case, he's darting upfield for six.
"I always trust Carl," said Beatty, who threw four of his 11 touchdown passes last season in a Week 2 rout of Bethel, an eventual playoff team. "He's got the surest hands on the team. We're always on the same page, too."
Teammates feel the same way about Beatty, who, according to Roach, took charge of offseason passing drills, growing comfortable in his leadership role.
"He's stepped it up this year big-time," Roach said. "The only way you're going to get leaders nowadays is if you give them the chance to lead. He was given that opportunity and he was successful with that."
The Panthers have dropped down a class, from LL to L, but a gruesome schedule out of the gates will make punching a playoff ticket harder than ever. A season-opener at Masuk, the juggernaut to whom they fell 49-3 last year, followed by a trip to Newtown, a team they beat 16-9 but lost out to in tiebreakers, won't leave much to chance; taking an 0-fer could effectively cancel their postseason.
The Panthers say bring it on.
"I was really energized by it," Beatty said. "(Masuk) whupped us the last two years. For our senior year, it's the best way to start the season, to really prove ourselves as a team."


Let's watch a Disney Channel Movie !
As the 2014 BET Awards are set to air June 29, 2014, lets recap the past moments that made us go "OMG"
10 Reasons Everyone Should Be Like Raven Baxter From "That's So Raven"
Walking into Whole Foods is the adult equivalent of going to Toys R Us as a child. A place where you may just want to hand the cashier your wallet and say "Here, take all my money", but the reality is you can't. But here are 10 reasons why you may be tempted to spend absurd amounts in this speciality store.


An attorney for a pro-family organization says a school district in northeast Mississippi may have put itself in potential jeopardy in its attempt to "flee a bully."
Gary Carnathan is attorney for the Lee County School Board. On March 8, he received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) expressing concern about two items at Saltillo Elementary School, which is part of Lee County Schools (LCS).
The scripture is a portion of Jeremiah 29:11 – and judging by the picture included in FFRF's letter to Carnathan, the partial verse is included in a piece of art that does not include the book, chapter, and full verse. Even so, Carnathan determined that the school should not have the items in the hallway and the school would take them down.
The legal counsel for Mississippi-based American Family Association has seen FFRF in action before. He describes this incident as "just the latest in the continued bullying efforts from this organization in Madison, Wisconsin."
"[FFRF] just fires off a letter and they use the heft of what appears to be their legal knowledge to intimidate small school districts in rural areas, when the truth is there is nothing to this letter," says Abraham Hamilton III.
He continues: "One particular display comes to mind immediately that doesn't even cite a full scripture. It's an artistic rendering – and it's a complete and utter misrepresentation and really a bastardization of the First Amendment to articulate that that could in any way, shape, or form violate the First Amendment."
Still, Hamilton has some concerns – not so much about FFRF's tactics, but about the instructions from district leaders to schools and teachers to remove the items.
"… The thing that is really concerning here is that the local school district could very well put themselves in jeopardy for potentially violating the constitutional rights of their own personnel when they begin to make demands," says Hamilton. "The school district, in an effort to flee a bully on one end, could be putting themselves in potential jeopardy having subjugated the constitutional rights of their very own employees."
Hamilton isn't alone in his impressions about the efforts of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there about separation of church and state and what the Establishment Clause requires – and chief among those sources of misinformation is the Freedom From Religion Foundation," says litigation attorney Richard Mast of Liberty Counsel, an organization that's been contacted by several teachers of the Lee County Schools system.
"They will frequently send letters to school districts – and while some of their material may be accurate, they will often seek to overreach and excise all expressions of historic faith and others from the public sphere."
"… There may have been some misunderstanding at the district regarding the extent and the necessity of purging all religious symbols or personal symbols of faith from the schools – and that's not required. Teachers retain the right to wear religious jewelry or cross necklaces or even cross lapel pins. And where it's clear from the context of any individual display that [includes] a symbol of a teacher's personal belief and it's not attributable to the school or to the teacher acting in his or her official capacity, then it would be permissible to display that.
"So for example, while it … would not be permissible under current jurisprudence for a cross to be a standalone display in the hallway, [it might be permissible] if a teacher had a plaque or something like that that contained a cross on a bookshelf on which a teacher had a number of pictures of family and other things where it's clear from context it's not directed at the students …."
"We have been contacted by several teachers [in Lee County Schools] who … contacted us on their own, and we're assessing the items that they have and the context in which they're displayed. Context is key; and we have reached out to the district offering advice and assistance.
"I think that ultimately there will be a good resolution here, but obviously we have to advocate on behalf of the rights of teachers if school district decisions go too far. We've done that before. We prefer to assist school districts that take pains to strike the right balance and don't overreact in response to letters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation."
"The community member photographed it and sent it to several special interest groups.
"The 'cross in question' was in a closed office area outside the door of an employee – not a teacher – on a small canvas painted with her name. Not on a student hallway. The community member also photographed it and sent it in.
"The FFRF advised our district attorney that the items on the campus be removed. We removed items to avoid a lengthy, costly litigation.
"I made a choice to be a public educator and serve and love all children.
"Many have contacted their own legal groups and have received info regarding individual rights, that aren't in violation with separation of church and state. Some things are allowable placed in private areas (such as an educator's desk, away from public view) that aren't considered as violations or distractions to the learning environment.
"It would be unlawful for any educator of any religion to proselytize."
Another Facebook post, this one from Saltillo 5th-grade math teacher Wendy Harden Crawford, shows a number of personal effects that Crawford said she "had to remove" because of an "email stating we were violating laws separating church and state."


DECATUR - The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management (DWM) will host a rain barrel workshop for DeKalb citizens on Saturday, March 12, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Tucker Recreation Center, 4898 Lavista Road in Tucker.
Collecting rainwater in rain barrels for use during dry months is an excellent way to conserve water and reduce water bills. During the workshop, citizens will be instructed on rain barrel maintenance and water conservation landscaping.
The rain barrel workshop is open to the first 30 DeKalb County residents who sign up. This is a “hands on” workshop where residents will make their own rain barrels with DWM assistance.
The cost of the workshop is $30, which includes all the materials to make your very own barrel.
Watts spent four years in the coast guard in the early 1980s.
DECATUR – DeKalb County illustrated its commitment to sustainability by joining the Five Star Partners for a tree planting on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at Delano Line Park in Decatur. The tree planting is part of a site restoration project to restore the headwaters of a small stream in the Shoal Creek watershed south of Decatur.
The project encourages participation from local schools, neighborhood associations, non-profit organizations, local businesses, and others to assist with restoration efforts through environmental education field activities at the project site, including invasive plant removal, stream channel measurements, native plant installation and water quality testing.
The project, led by DeKalb County Natural Resources Management Office and Five Star Partners, recently worked with 48 students from Academe of the Oaks, a local high school, to plant trees at Delano Line Park.
DECATUR -- Just in time for Georgia Arbor Day, Decatur families and residents have reason to celebrate as Nalley Decatur gears up for the 1st Annual Nalley Tree Festival. The festival, which is being held Saturday, Feb. 12, from 12 to 3 p.m. at Decatur Square, is the kick-off to the Nalley Tree Campaign, a green initiative led by Nalley BMW, Nalley Infiniti and Nalley Nissan in Decatur, Georgia. The festival will feature music, children’s activities and educational literature from local municipal and environmental organizations.
To kick off this large environmental campaign, the Nalley Tree Festival will bring together multiple “green” businesses and partners. Official Nalley Tree Campaign partners are: City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Park Pride, Trees Atlanta and Keep DeKalb Beautiful.
Free tree seedlings will be available at the Nalley Tree Festival on Feb.


ORLANDO, Fla. – A wild-card pick by captain Fred Couples in the 2011 Presidents Cup, Tiger Woods validated his inclusion on the U.S. team by capturing the clinching point at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
He could well find himself with an opportunity to reprise that moment when the Presidents Cup returns to Royal Melbourne next December. If he doesn’t qualify for the American squad on points, he’d have to engage in a serious conversation with the captain being one of four picks. And he’d prefer to avoid that.
That intriguing scenario – and one he could envision only in his most optimistic aspirations – could present itself to the former World No. 1 player after he and Ernie Els were introduced officially Tuesday at Bay Hill Club as the Presidents Cup captains for the 13th edition of the biennial matches.
The youngest captain in the event’s history, Woods, 42, subtly lobbied PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan for the position after America swept to its 10th win in October at Liberty National Golf Club. That was at a time when he was uncertain of his competitive future after undergoing spinal fusion surgery last February.
But Woods’ comeback, which continues this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, has gone exceedingly well, capped thus far by his tie for second place last week at the Valspar Championship in nearby Palm Harbor, Fla. While the 2019 Presidents Cup isn’t until Dec. 12-15, Woods already has to address the prospect of becoming only the second playing captain after Hale Irwin pulled double duty in the inaugural edition in 1994.
He knew it was possible, and he addressed it with Monahan when he began talking to the commissioner about the role after serving as an assistant captain to Davis Love III in the 2016 Ryder Cup and to Steve Stricker in last year’s Presidents Cup. He also will serve as an assistant captain to Jim Furyk in the Ryder Cup this fall in Paris.
“It was just a natural progression to one day become captain,” said Woods, the 14-time major champion, who will be just a few weeks shy of 44 when the matches conclude in Australia.
Irwin was ranked 28th in the world and qualified automatically for the U.S. team by finishing seventh in the points standings, when he played for the U.S. He won two of his three matches at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, including a 1-up singles victory over Robert Allenby of Australia. Paul Azinger handled the captain’s duties when Irwin played.
It will be more difficult for Woods to qualify on points. A change to the qualifying process was announced Tuesday with an increase in captain's picks, from two to four, for each team in filling out the 12-man squads. Qualifying will end after the Tour Championship scheduled for early September, 2019, with automatic berths going to the top eight Americans on the points list and the top eight International players in the world rankings.
While Woods is a surprise selection – he didn’t even consider himself a candidate until nudged by Love, Stricker and others – Els was a logical successor to Nick Price as the International Team captain after serving as an assistant last year. A four-time major champion, Els, 48, has competed eight times in the event, but his only winning experience came in the 1998 matches at Royal Melbourne.
The Big Easy doesn’t believe he’ll find himself in the same quandary as Woods. “No, I think I’m going to be captaining,” he said flatly.
The selection of Woods and Els brings a third dynamic pairing of captains to the Presidents Cup after Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player of South Africa each served four times and Fred Couples and Greg Norman of Australia squared off twice. But Woods and Els bring a new dimension of relative youth and competitiveness.
Of course, Woods and Els share a special Presidents Cup bond. When the 2003 competition in Fancourt, South Africa, ended in a tie, Nicklaus selected Woods and Player picked Els to compete in a sudden-death playoff. The pair went a nerve-fraying three holes, the last in near darkness, before Nicklaus and Player decided to end the playoff and share the cup rather than have the duel continue the next morning.


See today’s story on NC Policy Watch about yesterday’s closing arguments in this case.
A federal jury took just three hours to award six plaintiffs a total of $473 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Smithfield, the world’s largest pork producer.
The jury, which was nearly all white and majority female, awarded each of the neighbors of Greenwood Farms in Pender County $3 million to $5 million each in compensatory damages, even more than the plaintiffs’ attorneys had suggested during yesterday’s closing arguments. The panel tacked on another $75 million in punitive damages for each plaintiff.
The actual award will be less because of a state law capping punitive damages: three times the amount of compensatory or $250,000, whichever is greater. That means even with the cap the total payout could be $94 million.
Ten plaintiffs in the first trial were awarded $50 million, later reduced, and two in the second trial won $25 million. Both amounts were reduced by US District Court Senior Judge Earl Britt.
As with the first and second trials, which Smithfield also lost, the company is expected to appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court.


All six branches of the Garfield County Libraries will be closed Wednesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. The libraries will resume normal hours on Thursday, July 5. Patrons can still browse and request books, movies, and more at http://www.gcpld.org, during the closure.
Register for a special hands-on digital music making event featuring Turntable Scratch and mixing, Beats Lab, Digital Composition and Editing, and Garage Band. This free workshop will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 6, on the Rosybelle Mobile Maker Bus at the Rifle Library. There is a limit of 12 participants so sign up soon at the front desk of the library or by calling 970-625-3471.


Thomas then replaced the controlled substances with different medications, resealed the bottles and placed them back in the cabinets. For example, on Oct. 31, Thomas knowingly and intentionally removed a bottle of hydrocodone containing 20 tablets. She removed the hydrocodone pills, replaced them with Flexeril tablets, and put the bottle back into the cabinet.
The replacement of the controlled substances with other medication caused the drugs to be misbranded, since the labeling no longer matched the bottle’s contents.
When Thomas replaced the misbranded drugs back into the cabinet, she moved the pack of bottles around to place the misbranded drugs in the back.
On two occasions, Thomas knowingly and intentionally forged fraudulent prescriptions to herself using another provider’s information.
For example, on Oct. 26, Thomas forged a prescription for hydrocodone/APAP 10mg/325mg using another provider’s information to facilitate the crime of obtaining controlled substances by fraud. The other provider never saw Thomas as a patient and did not authorize the prescription.
Thomas fraudulently filled the prescription in Meridian, obtaining 30 tablets of hydrocodone.
Obtaining controlled substances by fraud is punishable by up to four years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of one year of supervised release. Identity theft is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and a term of three years of supervised release. Misbranding a drug while held for sale is punishable by up to three years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and a term of one year of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for June 5 before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.


I heard the news first in a text message from Shawn Carpenter's brother, who had flown to Albuquerque, N.M., for the closing arguments in his brother's trial, and then from Carpenter himself. Carpenter called from the courthouse and said he had been overwhelmed as the jury read the verdict aloud: "I lost it at the first question, the one I really cared about  'Do you believe that Shawn Carpenter was terminated in violation of public policy?' When the jury said yes, I just started bawling." In all, he was awarded nearly $4.7 million in damages, almost double what his lawyers had asked for.
So ends  at least until appeals  Shawn Carpenter's quest for justice. Carpenter, whose story was first written about in TIME magazine in August 2005, was a network security analyst working at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque when he discovered that the lab's network was coming under a methodical series of attacks emanating from Chinese IP addresses. When the Navy veteran found out that dozens of Army bases and defense contractors around the country had been suffering identical Trojan horse attacks on their secure networks, he went to his bosses to present the evidence he had collected and ask for permission to "backhack" the attackers to find out their point of origin.
What followed was an object lesson in bureaucratic torpor. Wary of the gray legal area involved in tracking Internet attacks back to foreign servers, Sandia supervisors told Carpenter that it wasn't in the lab's interest to follow or stop the attackers. They ordered him to stop and not to share information on the attacks, even after the FBI had requested permission to have him work the case under their supervision.
The attacks  code named Titan Rain  are still hitting secure government networks here and abroad. And the country can thank in large measure the type of fecklessness that Sandia's managers showed in handling Carpenter's case. Sandia actually has a huge security apparatus designed to ensure that the nuclear lab's secrets stay safe. But when Carpenter said he would continue trying to solve the case on his own time as a matter of conscience, Sandia trained that security apparatus on him. They investigated him, harangued him, stripped him of his security clearance and ultimately fired him.
A Sandia spokesman declined on Tuesday to respond to specific allegations, but said that Sandia is "disappointed by the verdict" and might appeal. He also repeated earlier Sandia assertions that Carpenter had stepped beyond clear boundaries.
I myself was skeptical of Carpenter's story when I first met him. And, after months of investigating his claims about his firing and the attacks that he tracked down, I still think he can be amazingly pigheaded, ignoring his own best interests and exasperating those around him when he thinks he's right.
But the thing is, he was right. And he fought a good fight. Not only against the hackers from China (until the FBI itself got cold feet and told him to stop), but also against the government bureaucracy that wronged him. Carpenter sued for wrongful termination. In response, the nuclear lab spent untold amounts of taxpayer money (that's right: his money, my money, and your money) on a legal strategy that appeared to be designed to run up Carpenter's bills long enough to force him to drop the case. They made him fly back from his new home in Washington, D.C., to New Mexico for settlement talks that Carpenter says wouldn't even have paid his lawyers' fees. They buried him and his lawyers in discovery documents. But Carpenter, who since had his security clearance restored and is a contractor with another federal agency, never wavered. In that quintessentially American way, he still wanted his day in court. Along the way, he became a minor cult hero among networks geeks and stubborn patriots.
It's still unclear whether this verdict will do anything to actually chasten Sandia into changing its management culture. But for all those in favor of government accountability, and for anyone who likes to see a David occasionally win against Goliath, Shawn Carpenter's victory in court is worth cheering.


The S&P/ASX200 index closed 78 points higher at 5557 points on Thursday, boosted by gains in mining and energy stocks, but it is still sharply lower than its April high of almost 6000.
Grappling with slower growth, a downturn in commodities and an elevated currency, the benchmark is now back at July 2014 levels, meaning investors effectively have not earned capital gains in 11 months, Clime chief investment officer John Abernethy said.
While the slide was "painful", Mr Abernethy encouraged investors to "steel themselves" and seize opportunities.
Woolworth is one of five stocks presenting opportunities for cashed up investors in a "fair value market".
Clime's return-on-equity modelling found that the market had fallen just below fair value on a required return of 10 per cent, 7 per cent higher than the Australian bond yield.
Mr Abernethy said the market may not grow strongly in earnings but investors should focus on the total return on income and growth.
"When companies are delivering a 7 or 8 per cent pre-tax yield, you're not assuming much in earnings growth to get your 10 per cent return," he said.
Five stocks are expected to deliver a return of about 10 per cent in the coming year paying out solid dividends and steady earnings he said: National Australia Bank, Telstra, Woolworths, Wesfarmers and CSL.
Mr Abernethy said traditionally high-yielding Telstra was a "buy" below $6, and he advised accumulating Woolworths at $27 a share. Wesfarmers was another pick with a forecast a yield of 5 per cent, while CSL was an attractive stock as a proxy for offshore investing on a weaker Australian dollar.
Concerns over the viability of Woolworths' Masters stores and uncertainty following key management departures does not justify its shares trading at a discount to its peers, Evidente founder Salvatore Ferraro noted in a blog.
Woolworths was trading at 14-times its forward earnings, while the ASX was at 16-times – the first time the supermarket giant has traded at a discount, he said.
On the banks, Thursday's rally driven by the big four may prove that bargain hunters are pouncing. Mr Abernethy said NAB was attractive after its $5.5 billion capital raising, and Money Matters' Nick Forsyth said that the banks' correction of more than 18 per cent in recent months had moved them from "significantly overpriced to very interesting".
The banks, with a 6 per cent fully-franked yield, when compared with a 2 per cent case rate was "very attractive" he said in a note. Concerns around long-term interest rates rising, increased capital requirements and a property correction were providing "excellent long-term value" in the banking sector, he said.
While Mr Abernethy said the market presented a good entry point for investors with cash to spend, his bullish position is based on a currency fall. He said the market had priced the Australian dollar at US80¢, and if it fell to US70¢ the market would perform relatively well.
"But if the dollar rallies to the mid-US80¢, that will slow Australian growth and the market will be very fully valued," he said.


TradeWinds didn't follow safety rules, the family of the man crushed to death says.
ST. PETE BEACH — The family of a man crushed to death by an elevator at the TradeWinds Island Resort has filed a lawsuit against the well-known beach hotel.
Mark Allen Johnson, 45, of Tampa was a subcontractor hired to clean oil and water from the bottom of an elevator shaft at the resort's Jacaranda Beach Villas property at 5600 Gulf Blvd.
On April 24, after about 40 minutes of work, the elevator car, which had been parked on a higher floor, suddenly plunged on top of Johnson.
He died before rescuers could get to him.
Johnson's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Pinellas County late Tuesday afternoon.
"It's a terrible, sad, tragic story," said Tommy Roebig, the Johnson family attorney. "The sad part is it could have been prevented."
Days after the accident, fire authorities who tried to rescue Johnson said they noticed an important safety step had been missed.
No one ensured that the main power to the elevator was completely off, a process referred to as "lockout/tagout."
In November, federal investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said both the hotel and SWS Environmental, the company Johnson worked for, should be penalized for serious safety violations. OSHA investigators said the companies should have ensured safety procedures, including "lockout/tagout," are known and followed.
The family's lawsuit is against only the hotel.
Roebig said that's because his firm's investigation concluded Johnson and SWS weren't in charge of the elevator and that the TradeWinds was at fault.
TradeWinds officials could not be reached to comment.
The lawsuit claims the TradeWinds' elevator service company, Thyssenkrupp, told a hotel employee to contact it before the cleaning began so the elevator could be properly secured. That never happened, the suit said.
Roebig said Johnson was not married but left behind two sons, 16 and 18. The lawsuit is seeking damages in excess of $15,000.
"Mark was a hard-working father," he said. "One of the hopes that the family has ... is that something like this doesn't happen to someone else."
Kameel Stanley can be reached at [email protected], (727) 893-8643 or @cornandpotatoes on Twitter.
It has received an "outstanding" during every rating period since 1997, the bank said in a release.


China’s foreign minister is making a rare visit to Tokyo, in a sign of improving cooperation between Asia’s two largest economies as they face policy whiplash from the U.S. over trade and security.
Foreign Minster Wang Yi’s trip yesterday to meet Japanese counterpart Taro Kono will be the first of its kind in more than eight years. Japan is keen to confer with its neighbor ahead of a summit between the two Koreas and a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. China’s bid to repair relations comes as the U.S. threatens trade sanctions and a renewed emphasis on Taiwan ties.
Long-fraught ties between Tokyo and Beijing deteriorated to a 40-year low after the Japanese government’s 2012 purchase of disputed islets near Taiwan sparked Chinese demonstrations, damaged trade and even raised fears of a military clash. Since taking office at the height of the dispute, Abe has sought rapprochement with his country’s largest trading partner.
He finally managed to turn the tide last year with a qualified pledge of cooperation on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road trade and infrastructure initiative.
“For the Abe administration, China is essential to effectively pressuring North Korea,” said Madoka Fukuda, a professor of global politics at Hosei University in Tokyo. China is motivated by a lack of transparency in U.S. policy making, as well as tougher American security and trade stances, she added.
Abe is set to meet Trump in Florida next week, where he plans to press the president to maintain a hard line on North Korea and seek to persuade him to take a more multilateral approach to trade.
Despite the diplomatic push, tensions over territory and Japan’s militarist history remain. Coast guard and military ships from both countries continue to tail one another around the uninhabited Senkaku islands, known as the Diaoyus to China. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces activated a new amphibious unit to help defend remote islands just a week ago.
A poll published in December found a marked fall in the percentage of respondents in Japan and China who saw ties between the two countries negatively. Still, few see the relationship as good.
On the agenda for yesterday’s talks are preparations for a May trip to Japan by Premier Li Keqiang. Abe has expressed hopes the exchanges will presage a return to regular reciprocal visits between leaders of the two countries.
A high-level Japan-China economic dialogue will resume today, amid concerns in both countries about the potential for a trade war sparked by the U.S. The Chinese are seeking Japanese cooperation on U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs implemented last month, Kyodo News reported Saturday, citing people close to the talks.
Trump threw fresh confusion into trade negotiations Thursday by instructing advisers to review the possibility of returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. The TPP, which Trump withdrew from soon after taking office last year, includes 11 Pacific Rim nations, but not China.
Successful visits by Wang and Li would provide positive publicity at a crucial time for Abe, whose chances of winning a ruling party leadership election in September have been damaged by a series of allegations of cronyism and government cover-ups. Recent polls show public support for his cabinet has fallen below disapproval.


Vuclip’s survey of more than 20,000 Americans has revealed that 57% of them are going to purchase a tablet by Christmas, and most of them are going to keep it for themselves.
The survey results may seem excessive if extrapolated to the whole US population: just try to imagine some 160 million people rushing to a nearest hardware store for a tablet for Christmas, and you will be with me in my scepticism.
However, the predicted growth of this segment in the US in 2012 is more than 100%, or some 36 million units. Which means that even if exaggerated, the Vuclip’s survey of 20,435 people may still represent the real picture.
Answering the survey questions, respondents also explained how they will choose a tablet, and who they’re going to buy it for.
About a quarter of respondents will make their choice based on the tablet’s brand, while for 19% the most important part is 3G/4G/WiMax connectivity. Another 12% opted for OS, while 10% are going to choose the gadget by price. Among other choices that respondents had were apps available, battery life, and screen size.
According to the survey data, Apple is a clear winner in the brand race — 30% of respondents intend to buy an iPad. Samsung comes in second with 22%, followed by Kindle with only 3%.
This result chimes with existing US tablet market data, according to which the Apple’s share is 52%, Kindle has 21%, and other Android tablets account for the last 27%.
The amazing number of 57% of the survey respondents intending to purchase a tablet by Christmas means that the number of these devices both in the US and worldwide will skyrocket after a pretty modest quarter-over-quarter growth of 6,7% in Q3.
As for the person on the receiving end, in 66% of cases for men and 45% for women it is the respondent himself. The next most likely recipient is a friend, then come spouses and significant others.
Image credit: Mario Tama / Getty Images.


Professors of religious studies are sometimes called theologists.
1 How Much Does a Philosophy Professor Make in a Year?
3 What Are Average Salaries for Directors of Religious Education?
Theologists research, write and teach about religions and religious issues. They are usually employed by colleges and universities, and they typically have a Ph.D. or other advanced degree in religious studies. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 23,430 theologists and philosophy teachers work in the United States, earning an average of $72,200 per year.
Professors of philosophy and religion earn different levels of pay, depending on the type of institution for which they work. Most work at four-year colleges, earning an average of $73,130 per year. Those employed by junior colleges earn less, averaging $66,280 per year. The few theologists employed directly by religious organizations reported the lowest average salary, $52,370 per year.
Pay rates for professors of philosophy and religion tend to vary by region, with the highest pay occurring in the Northeast and the lowest pay occurring in the Midwest and Southeast. As of 2013, those working in Massachusetts earned the most (an average of $94,230 per year), followed by New Jersey ($91,410), Rhode Island ($90,860), New Hampshire ($85,940) and New York ($83,660). The lowest-paying states were Idaho ($56,950), Mississippi ($57,240) and Tennessee ($57,320).
Time, Forest. "How Much Does a Theologist Make?" Work - Chron.com, http://work.chron.com/much-theologist-make-30726.html. Accessed 22 April 2019.


In the fifth part of the Keating Report mid-year 2013 forecast on government budgets, read about some pockets of increased public construction activity around the U.S.
State and local governments account for approximately 75 percent of all infrastructure spending in the U.S., with the remainder supplied by the federal government, according to “Infrastructure 2013: Global Priorities, Global Insights,” a joint report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Ernst & Young.
Projects in the waterworks sector – potable water, wastewater, and storm water – are being driven by the need to replace aging, underground infrastructure, by environmental regulations, and by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency consent decrees, says Dona Storey, the American Express OPEN Advisor on Procurement. “Cuts in public funding are challenging municipalities’ efforts to address these issues. However, potential funding from Private Activity Bonds (PABs) and revenue streams from new storm water fees may drive greater private-sector investment,” says Storey.
One recently completed water infrastructure project is a water main renewal covering more than 1,600 feet of water lines serving a North Dallas suburb water treatment plant. Inland Pipe Rehabilitation (IPR), based in The Woodlands, Texas, installed cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) in the process. For the project, IPR relied on a pressure pipe renewal system provided by Zug, Switzerland-based RS Technik using Dow custom-formulated resins.
The renewal system, combined with the CIPP installation process, ensures that water mains can be relined and leaks repaired before a line completely ruptures. “This represents a significant cost savings to cities and towns across the country,” said Mike Vellano, vice president, sales and marketing for IPR. He said his firm’s approach structurally restores the existing pipe and is safe for the environment.
Another government-funded infrastructure project worth noting is the construction of a three-sided bridge in White Plains, N.Y. The New York State Department of Transportation designed the bridge project in-house, which includes work on the I-287 Exit 8 interchange. The bridge serves as the westbound crossing over the Mamaroneck River on Westchester Ave.
Avon, Conn.-based Oldcastle Precast Inc. provided 47 precast rigid frame sections as part of the project. The sections cover a 23-foot span with a 9-foot 8-inch rise. Yonkers, N.Y.-based ECCO III is the contractor. The completion date for the project is August.
According to the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Consensus Construction Forecast Panel, we should see healthy if unspectacular gains for the remainder of 2013 in nonresidential construction activity (including government and institutional structures). The AIA panel predicts construction spending for buildings will rise by 5 percent in 2013 before accelerating to 7.2 percent in 2014.
To access Part 4 of the Keating report, click here.
Michael Keating is senior editor for Government Product News and the GPN web site at www.americancityandcounty.com/gpn. He can be reached via e-mail at michael.keating@penton.com.


Silicon Valley may still be the best-known tech hub in the U.S., but startup leaders in New York City and Toronto are betting that by building a super-connected “East Coast corridor” they can lure more talent and money away from the West Coast.
Entrepreneurs from New York and Toronto said at Tuesday’s event that their interest in expanding to the partner city was not just to gain a foothold in that particular city, but to crack the U.S. and Canada as a whole.
For some of the New York and Toronto-based entrepreneurs at Tuesday’s event, the need to expand to the other’s market was obvious. Michael Katchen — founder of Toronto startup Wealthsimple, which offers an investment service for young professionals — said that opening an office in New York was a no-brainer, given that Toronto and New York are both financial centers.
However, entrepreneurs from Toronto and New York touched on a few lessons that are also applicable to smaller startup markets.
The first takeaway is that inclusivity can be an important selling point for prospective talent. Toronto entrepreneur Allen Lau — CEO of online storytelling platform Wattpad and cofounder of early VC firm Two Small Fish Ventures — said he believes that Toronto’s reputation as a melting pot (50 percent of the city’s population comes from outside of Canada) has become increasingly enticing since the election of President Donald Trump and his efforts to tighten immigration laws in the U.S. In June, Canada launched a “fast-track visa” to shorten the work permit and visa-issuing process to two weeks for highly skilled technical workers.
The second lesson is that cities should take stock of their market’s particular strengths. Some of the Toronto entrepreneurs in attendance said that they opened a New York office to take advantage of the city’s sales talent and to build connections in its media and marketing industries. Meanwhile, some of the New York entrepreneurs said they looked to Toronto for engineering talent, particularly graduates from the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto.
Finally, startup ecosystems should consider the importance of having a “flagship organization” that entrepreneurs can turn to if they are interested in learning more about a particular market and expanding there. Dessy Daskalov — CTO and cofounder of Nudge Rewards, a recent participant of MaRS’ accelerator program — said that her company turned to MaRS to figure out what potential customers and investors her cofounder could reach out to in New York.
“Especially when you’re an early company, when you get an intro through an organization like MaRS, you’re a lot more credible,” Daskalov said.


Tribeca boutique Babylicious has changed its name to Torly Kid and added merch for tweens aged 9-12. All those downtown babies are growing up.
The Bugaboo stroller fleets of the '90s and aughts in Tribeca are being phased out by the demands of a newly tween population as the babes get older. Babylicious has changed their business model to go along with the maturation process, becoming Torly Kid.
We wonder if this will be the first in a series of teen-friendly overhauls in the neighborhood - Bubby's After Dark, perhaps?


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With the historic Notre Dame de Paris cathedral imperiled by a large fire, it's important to recall some of the incredible history of this 856-year-old church, monument, and cultural icon that sits at the heart of France, and to reflect on the incredible art and history inside the building, which administrators say now all may be lost due to the blaze.
Construction on Notre Dame was initiated in 1163 A.D. by King Louis VII, an ambitious French king who wanted to put Paris on the map of Europe with a huge new church. While some of Louis' other ventures, such as the Second Crusade, didn't shape up so well, Notre Dame went up fairly quickly for a stone cathedral in the Middle Ages, being mostly finished by 1260 but receiving its finishing touches in 1345.
Like most public buildings in the Middle Ages, the Gothic-style cathedral was a "poor people's book," covered with sculptures, paintings and stained glass windows depicting various scenes from the Bible for the illiterate majority of the population to understand.
Some of the most widely hailed works of art in Notre Dame are the Last Judgment, over the central western portal, and the Pieta, made by Nicolas Coustoues in the early 18th century, which depicts Mary holding Jesus' body after he was taken down from the cross.
At a low point for French history was the crowning of Henry VI as King of England inside the church in 1431. France was on the verge of losing the Hundred Years' War, and Henry claimed to have inherited both the French and English thrones.
However, Henry lacked the genius of his predecessor and failed to reverse the trend of French victories begun by Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl who led French armies to victory before being executed for her claims of being visited by angels and refusal to stop dressing like a man. Joan was subsequently canonized in Notre Dame in 1909.
The cathedral's huge pipe organ also dated to the 17th century and was still partially functional before Monday's fire.
Over the centuries, though, interest in Notre Dame began to fade from prominence and by the time of the French Revolution was in a state of total disrepair. In 1793, the French revolutionaries rededicated the church to the Cult of the Supreme Being, and many of the cathedral's treasures were destroyed, including 28 statues of Biblical kings, which the revolutionaries symbolically beheaded, mistaking them for images of French kings. However, by 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte had agreed to renovate the church, and he was coronated as Emperor inside Notre Dame in 1804.
The turning point for popular opinion about the church came in 1831, when novelist Victor Hugo published "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which waxed lyrical about the giant stone structure with such quips as "Time is the architect, the nation is the builder." Further restoration efforts followed and the cathedral was stripped of grime and its damaged sculptures restored.
It was during this period that the spire was added, which onlookers watched in horror Monday as it plunged through the roof, engulfed in flames.
During World War II, when the Nazis occupied Paris, Parisians removed the stained glass amid rumors that German soldiers planned on destroying it, especially the enormous rose window, which dates to the 13th century.
Today, the church is the most highly-visited monument in all of Paris, receiving 12 million visitors per year.
"When a man understands the art of seeing, he can trace the spirit of an age and the features of a king even in the knocker on a door." - Victor Hugo, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"


Winning a 5K in blistering time is the goal of only a few.
3 What Is a Normal Time for a Half Marathon for Beginners?
A 5K is the perfect distance for the beginning or seasoned runner. You can prepare for it in a relatively short two months doing just three runs per week -- or more if you're ambitious -- and the race itself isn't an all-day affair. You can usually find a race near your home and often the runs are "fun" rather than strictly competitive affairs. How much time it takes to run a 5K depends on your fitness level, your intensity during the run, your training and experience. Most people take between 20 and 50 minutes to complete the distance.
The less fit and trained a runner you are, the more likely it will take you longer than 30 minutes to finish a 5K. If you go at a 12-minute mile, or 5-mph pace, you'll finish in about 36 minutes. An average 6-mph pace will have you finishing in 31 minutes. Those who run an 8-minute mile will finish in 24 minutes and 48 seconds, with a 7-minute mile yields a time of 21 minutes and 42 seconds. To break the 20-minute mark, you have to run each mile in less than six and a half minutes.
Many 5K races, especially those that offer an option for walkers such as charity events, don't have a cut-off time. Even if you walked the race at a pedestrian 3-mph pace, you'd finish in just over an hour. Some races do have cut-offs of an hour, such as the Mammoth Lakes 5K in California, which is a 19:00-minute-per mile pace, or even 45 minutes, which means you must run each mile in about 14 minutes and 30 seconds. Time limits are imposed to meet city traffic requirements or to limit the amount of time the race must position volunteers out on the course.
It is possible to run a 5K at a blistering fast pace, but leave that to the elites. As of 2014, just six Americans have run the distance outdoors in less than 13 minutes; with a more average elite pace being between 13 and 14 minutes. Women regularly run 15- to 16-minute 5Ks at the Olympics. American runner Galen Rupp broke the world record for the indoor 5K in January 2014 with a stunning time of 13 minutes, 0.126 seconds.
Completing a 5K, regardless of your finishing time, is an athletic accomplishment. Ultimately, the race is against yourself. You can use your first as a benchmark time to beat in future attempts. Because the race doesn't have you out on the course for hours, such as a half- or full-marathon, you can run them relatively frequently -- always challenging your personal best.
What Is Cross-Country Running All About?
How Fast Should Tempo Runs Be for a Half Marathon Training?


Robbie Williams surprised Toby Anstis by dropping in on his show this morning!
Robbie turned up unannounced at the Heart studios to have a chat with Toby about his newborn baby, his upcoming tour, and the new Bond film.
Candy singer Robbie also drummed up some anticipation for his forthcoming tour by suggesting he's got something special planned...!


Visit farms, Starbucks' visitor center, cafes and culinary destinations in Costa Rica, one of the world's most exciting regions of coffee production.
If a crop can symbolize a country, then coffee is Costa Rica’s emblem. While recent marketing efforts paint this Central American destination as a bastion of sustainability, dense jungle, adventure sports and pristine beaches — all true — coffee is fundamental to its citizens’ core identity. Just ask any middle-aged or elder Costa Rican if they picked red cherries as a child, and they’ll likely nod their head yes. At one point in the 1800s, it was the country’s sole export. It drove infrastructure and even led to the nation’s first traffic law — no noisy, coffee-laden ox carts after 6 p.m. in the villages.
Like traveling the wine lands of France, coffee plants blanket the hills and mountains of Costa Rica’s rugged landscape. But unlike old-world wine tourism, coffee tourism is nascent. Be prepared for stays in eco-lodges, though upmarket, combined with muddy hikes over streams and through fields. The Starbucks visitor center is the most sophisticated facility yet. Those who demand the glossy veneer of big brand luxury, may flinch at the bumpy roads leading to farms.
Don’t let rustic conditions fool you into thinking the coffee industry itself is immature. To connoisseurs of the cup, Costa Rica represents one of the most exciting regions of production in the world. Due to restrictions on water usage, part of the overarching protocol by the government to conserve natural resources, Costa Ricans found an ingenious way to extract more flavor while reducing water. It’s called the honey process and refers to the method of drying and fermenting a bean with different percentages of sugar-rich mucilage around it. The result: a fruitier, sweeter, but more acidic and thus complex cup. Plus, the rise in micro mills (the acquisition of small scale post-harvest equipment by farmers) has given growers control over their coffee. This has led to a diversity of styles, traceability, and the chance to taste different regions (or terroir) side by side for comparison, comparable to wine.
The following itinerary takes six days at an unhurried pace. In tandem with a focus on coffee, is an exploration of Costa Rica’s traditional dishes. A land abundant with fertile, volcanic soil naturally yields incredible fruits and vegetables. Plenty of coastline gives fresh seafood, while large swaths of the north provide pasture for cattle. From ceviches to plantains alongside rice and beans, it’s easy to eat fresh, local food wherever you go.
For all but those with the greatest passion for coffee, visits to farms only demand two days and two or three nights. Once in Costa Rica, you should visit other regions such as the volcano in Arenal or the Pacific Coast. High-end resorts line Guanacaste in the northwest, while intimate independent hotels tend to populate the south. Due to the timing of flights, most travelers will spend a night in San Jose. Fortunately, the neighborhood of Barrio Escalante offers sophisticated restaurants, coffee shops, cocktail bars and brewpubs to keep travelers engaged.
Due to six months of rain, the dry season of mid-November through April is the best time to visit. Fortunately, the best weather coincides with harvest. In the Central Valley, coffee picking starts around October and runs through February. Ripening of coffee cherries in higher elevation fincas starts around November. Harvest is by far the most interesting period to visit.
Browse the photo gallery above for the ultimate coffee and culinary experience in Costa Rica, and see more coffee destinations below.


Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday offered condolences to India on a train accident near Amritsar in Punjab, which claimed 61 lives, the Russian Embassy said.
"I offer my deepest sympathies over tragic consequences of an accident on railways in the Punjab state. I ask to convey my words of sympathy and support to families and friends of the killed people and to wish the soonest recovery to those injured," Putin said, according to the Russian embassy.


Danny Lin, 25, a reckless driver who killed a pedestrian while speeding through Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2014, has been sentenced to up to five years in prison. Ironically, he also has what sounds like a truly terrible and toolish arm tattoo with a Paul Walker quote that reads, “If one day speed kills me do not cry because I was smiling.” Update: this does not appear to be an actual Paul Walker quote.
To be fair, the tattoo says nothing about going to prison for speeding. After Lin gets out, he might want to visit a new tat shop to get that thing updated.
He was convicted of second-degree manslaughter back in July, reports the New York Daily News. Lin was going 55 MPH in a 25 MPH zone in his 2011 BMW 335i when he fatally struck 57-year-old Robert Perry, who was thrown 140 feet after impact.
Police later testified that he tried to flee the scene after hitting Perry, reports Gothamist, because he drove onto the sidewalk and crashed into a fire hydrant before finally stopping.
It’s like he totally took the tattoo to heart, because Assistant District Attorney David Drucker said, “Basically, driving fast is what the defendant does. It’s like a hobby of his,” according to the Daily News. He was “very well aware of the potentially deadly nature of driving this fast,” Drucker added.
Seriously? Can people not separate movies from real life?
“I am truly sorry for what happened to that pedestrian,” Lin said. “I promise to be more careful if and when I am able to drive again.” His lawyer added that he hasn’t driven since the incident.
Screw that. Thankfully, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber had a different idea. “Society can’t have this kind of lawless behavior go unpunished,” he said. He reasoned that Perry had no way of getting out of the way of the car because Lin was going too fast.
He sentenced Lin to between one to five years in prison—half of what prosecutors argued for.
Update: Attorneys for the Walker family have contacted us to claim that the quote above is misattributed to Paul Walker. After doing some digging, we could also find no evidence that he actually said it, either.


Heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds are set to batter the North Island today as an active front moves up the country.
"The North island is looking pretty wet today, most regions will see some rain," Lee said.
Rain was set to hit Auckland late morning, briefly heavy with possible squally thunderstorms. Northerlies would change to strong southwest this afternoon with a daily max temperature of 21C.
⚠ Heads up, North Islanders!
There was a moderate risk of thunderstorms for the North Island's west coast, Taupō and Bay of Plenty through the day.
After a wet past few days, it was the South Island's turn to dry out, with conditions clearing through the day.
Tomorrow, the front would be on an easing trend, with a lingering cool southerly flow and just showers and potential gale winds in the east and south of the North Island.
By the end of tomorrow a ridge would have spread over much of the country, bringing settled weather to most places.
That settled weather was set to continue into the weekend, with just a weak front on Sunday potentially bringing some wet weather to the West Coast of the South island.
Few showers, but afternoon rain, briefly heavy with possible squally thunderstorms. Northerlies change southwest afternoon. 21C high, 13C overnight.
Rain from late morning, briefly heavy with possible squally thunderstorms. Northerlies change strong southwest afternoon. 21C high, 14C overnight.
A few showers. Rain this afternoon, heavy and possibly thundery, then showers. Northerlies change southwest afternoon. 21C high, 12C overnight.
The odd shower. Rain this afternoon, heavy with possible squally thunderstorms, as northerlies change gusty westerly. 22C high, 13C overnight.
New Plymouth Rain, heavy falls with possible squally thunderstorms. Northwest change strong southwest. 20C high, 11C overnight.
Napier High cloud increasing. Rain from late afternoon, chance heavy, clearing evening. Gusty northerlies turning westerly at night. 23C high, 11C overnight.
Whanganui A few showers. Rain from afternoon, possibly heavy. Northerlies change westerly evening. 19C high, 12C overnight.
Wellington A few showers. Rain from around midday, possibly heavy. Strong northerly, changing strong southerly afternoon. 18C high, 11C overnight.
Nelson Rain. Strong northerlies easing in the morning, changing southwest by evening. 19C high, 10C overnight.
Christchurch A few showers, then clearing evening but remaining cloudy. Strong southerlies gradually easing. 15C high, 9C overnight.
Dunedin Mostly cloudy. A few showers clearing during the morning but returning at night. Southwesterlies. 15C high, 9C overnight.


Attorney General William Barr plans to release the long-awaited final report by special counsel Robert Mueller on April 18, according to the Justice Department.
Mueller investigated allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. The special counsel concluded there is no evidence of collusion.
Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said the report will be released to Congress and the public on the morning of April 18. Barr previously said the report is nearly 400 pages long.
Since releasing a top-line summary of the report on March 24, Barr has been working with Mueller to black out portions to protect grand jury testimony, ongoing investigations, sources and methods, and damaging information about people who were not ultimately charged with a crime. The different categories of redactions will be color-coded in the final report, Barr told lawmakers.
Throughout the entire duration of Mueller’s investigation, Trump denounced the probe as a hoax. The president again slammed the investigation moments before the Justice Department revealed the release date for the final report.
“The Mueller Report, which was written by 18 Angry Democrats who also happen to be Trump Haters (and Clinton Supporters), should have focused on the people who SPIED on my 2016 Campaign, and others who fabricated the whole Russia Hoax,” Trump wrote.
Mueller ended his 22-month inquiry on March 22, handing Barr a confidential copy of the report. Two days later, Barr summarized Mueller’s conclusions in a four-page letter. Mueller didn’t make a determination on the obstruction charges against the president. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein examined the evidence presented and determined that it’s insufficient to bring a case to trial.
Trump called Barr’s letter a complete exoneration.
Barr has been under pressure from Democrats to release the full report, without redactions. Barr, a Trump appointee, has pledged to be as transparent as possible.
Since Barr released his letter, Trump has set his sights on the FBI and accused the Obama Justice Department of spying on his campaign. The attorney general told lawmakers he believed that spying on Trump’s campaign did occur, and that he plans to investigate whether it was legally justified.
The connection between the Mueller investigation and the allegations of spying is the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign, which predated the Mueller probe. The bureau started the investigation as early as July 2016 and handed it over to the special counsel in May 2017.
The FBI investigators obtained a spy warrant to monitor former Trump-campaign associate Carter Page. The core of the evidence the bureau used consisted of information from a dossier compiled by a foreign spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.


Detroit's municipal bankruptcy, which was already the nation's largest by debt, population affected and number of creditors, now appears to have become its costliest in legal and professional fees after just one year.
With the anniversary of its $18 billion Chapter 9 petition coming on July 18, Detroit has been billed more than $75 million in fees and expenses from 19 professional services firms through late June. It has paid out about $64 million of that so far, according to city records, including more than $38 million paid to law firms.
According to city records, it still owes another $7.6 million in outstanding balances to the same 19 companies for the same period — mainly due to a bankruptcy court order last September to withhold 15 percent of most professional fees until after the invoices clear a review by a fee examiner.
Robert Fishman of Chicago-based Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC submitted the last quarterly fee examiner review to the bankruptcy court in May, detailing just under $36 million in gross fees and expenses claimed through Dec. 31.
The next report, for the quarter ending March 31, is expected later this summer. But the 16 professional firms he tracks in those reports have already submitted more than $40 million in new invoices since then, with the city paying out more than $32 million since Jan. 1.
Raking in the biggest paydays were Cleveland law firm Jones Day, the city's lead bankruptcy counsel collecting just over $26 million through late June, followed by audit and professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP with just under $9.5 million since the bankruptcy petition. The two companies are still owed at least $1.8 million and $1.3 million respectively, according to city records obtained by Crain's.
Close behind were global law firm Dentons at $7.7 million and turnaround and crisis management firm Conway MacKenzie Inc. at $7.1 million paid since the bankruptcy petition. They are still owed about $1.1 million combined.
"The other (municipal bankruptcies) I'm aware of are not anywhere close to that figure," said Frank Shafroth, director of the Center for State and Local Government Leadership at George Mason University.
"I have some hopes for Detroit that they're going to get out. If you spend more than $70 million, the odds are you want to come out of that with a plan that's going to work. But Detroit is like San Bernardino and Stockton (Calif.) in that they all have issues with the pensions, and a state constitution that protects those issues. If that's able to get into the appeals court system, you could have legal costs that go one for years."
Before the Detroit petition, the costliest Chapter 9 bankruptcy was considered to be Jefferson County, Alabama, where professional fees topped $35 million with much of it in legal bills before the county exited bankruptcy in December. Shafroth estimates municipal Vallejo, Calif., has spent more than $13 million in various fees, and Stockton, Calif., around $12 million.
He expects that legal costs are only going to climb for communities like Detroit in the run-up to the confirmation hearing that begins next month and runs through September.
"You're going to get a chunk of new bills then, because you've got a lot of issues still to work out, and adversarial parties like Syncora (Guarantee Inc.) and (Federal Guarantee Insurance Corp.) that are well-capitalized," he said. "The cash register is about to get really heavy."
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC, which penned a restructuring legal services contract with the city days before the bankruptcy petition last July worth up to $1.2 million, has billed more than $2.5 million since mid-2013 and received payment for just over $2 million as of late June.
But Michael McGee, CEO of Miller Canfield, said the firm has taken on an evolving role in the bankruptcy case has progressed since last year.
Van Conway, president and CEO of Conway MacKenzie, noted that his firm is billing at a 25 percent discount from its usual rates, and it has not billed at all for time that he and Senior Managing Director Donald MacKenzie have put in on restructuring services for Detroit.
The company has assigned about 10 directors and other employees to operations restructuring for 27 city departments, representing about 80 percent of the city's payroll. An amended contract signed with Detroit last summer allows Conway MacKenzie to bill up to $19.5 million through Sept. 30, and Conway said the firm is currently on pace to come in under budget.
He also said other top-billing firms have legitimate, even unavoidable, expenses.
"You've got to put Jones Day aside as (a billing total) because you have to consider how much they defend frivolous lawsuits. How many people are going to contest the way the city proceeds with its case? Maybe 30, maybe 300. The firm's expenses are going to be driven by claims that are adverse to the city — some of which are frivolous, but all of which it has to defend," he said.
"The value proposition (in professional fees) really is, how many hundreds of millions in debt service will you be out from under when we emerge from bankruptcy? When you look at it in those terms, then everyone would pay that all day long in their business."
Ken Buckfire, president and managing partner of strategic advisory services firm Miller Buckfire & Co. LLC, declined to comment on his firm's invoices to the city, citing a policy against discussing client assignments.
The firm has billed Detroit about $5 million since last July and received about $3.4 million over the same period, according to the city. An amended services contract signed just before the bankruptcy calls for Buckfire's firm to receive $2 million if Detroit requests an opinion on a possible sale or lease of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to a regional authority, growing to a possible fee of $8 million, or 0.75 percent of the transaction value, if such a deal goes forward.
Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson, director of media relations for Milliman Inc., also declined to comment on its bills to the city other than to say its contract with Detroit was recently renewed. Milliman has billed the city about $1.2 million since the bankruptcy petition, according to city and court records, and has received payment for about $935,000.


football isn’t just about million pound deals and players driving Ferraris.
It is, in the case of Leeds United, about community involvement.
The club has given a fresh start to a man who became homeless and saw his family relationships fall apart due to his drug use. The club has trialled a charity employment scheme at Elland Road.
It is schemes such as this which endear the club to everyone in the city, including those who are not particularly fond of football.
The club deserves every credit for this scheme.