On Tuesday, the ACLU of Ohio released a timeline tracing the decline of the country’s first privately- owned prison. Ohio Governor John Kasich first proposed privatizing prisons in March of 2011 as a way to climb out of an $8 billion budget deficit. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction boasted $3 million in savings “for Ohio taxpayers compared to similar state facilities.” However, since being purchased for $72.7 million from the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison corporation in the United States, the prison has racked up countless violations.
In an audit last October, the CCA was slapped with 47 violations including having smaller-than-state standard housing units: “all housing units prove less than the requirement of 25 feet of unencumbered space per occupant.” Later that same year, the CCA failed yet another inspection. And now, according to Think Progress, the CCA’s Lake Erie prison “is reportedly overcrowded at 130% capacity, with single-person cells holding 3 inmates each, according to internal documents obtained by the ACLU.” Since the U.S. leads the world in incarcerations with 2.2 million Americans behind bars, it is no surprise that state budgets are being overwhelmed by prison costs. But instead of trying to legislate prison reform, Gov. Kasich decided to delegate responsibility to private systems that have an incentive to find ways to keep profits up.
The ACLU’s report on the failings of CCA’s Lake Erie Prison highlights the need for an overhaul in the prison system, not privatization of it. And there are ways. Last month, Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a Democrat, introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act, a bill that would begin to alleviate the problem of overcrowded prisons by altering mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenses.


A 53-year-old man was beaten by as many as five assailants and then stabbed to death Wednesday evening, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.
The man, who was not immediately identified, staggered into the C & C Market in the 1100 block of 6th Street about 6:30 p.m. Witnesses told detectives they saw the victim attacked and beaten by five men on the sidewalk near 7th and Ceres Streets in downtown Los Angeles, according to LAPD Lt. Jim Gavin.
The man told the clerk to call 911, then collapsed on the floor. He had been stabbed at least once in the chest. He was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital.
Detectives were continuing to gather evidence and interview witnesses Wednesday night, and officials stressed that the investigation was in its very early stages with little evidence to go on.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Central Homicide Unit at (213) 972-1254 or give information anonymously to Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cellphone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Online tips may be placed at www.LAPDOnline.org; click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.


Eight years. Eight long years. When Grant Davies and Nick Kovac started Endgame Studios in 2003 they couldn’t have imagined how long it would take to release their dream project. Broken promises, regrets, sacrifice. This is Fractured Soul, the cursed project. The game that history couldn’t contain.
It was only when the numbers were placed on the spreadsheet that the intensity of the stakes became clearly defined.
Grant Davies and Nick Kovac left secure jobs at Torus Games in Melbourne with the kind of enthusiasm some would describe as youthful arrogance. They wanted to make new video games. They wanted the freedom and flexibility their day jobs couldn’t provide. But it was only then, battle hardened — broken down by the meetings, the crushing disappointments, the broken promises, the frown lines on their foreheads — that the difficult truth became apparent.
“We were in so much debt,” says Grant.
And not just the kind of debt that sinks companies, or debt that makes corporate, professional life difficult. The kind of debt that had the potential to sink both of them personally.
The kind of debt that had the potential to sink both of them personally.
“The worst case scenario was basically death. Absolute personal bankruptcy.
One video game. Just one. A video game that started life as a simple idea scribbled on a piece of paper in April 2004. A video game released on the 3DS e-shop in September 2012.
Fractured Soul, the Australian video game that took eight years to build.
Grant Davies is on the show floor at PAX East in Boston Massachusetts. He’s demoing Fractured Soul and he is smiling. Considering he spent the majority of the last eight years of his life working on one single video game, he’s about as relaxed and unassuming as any human being could be.
It’s been a long road for Grant, but Endgame studios is tantalisingly close to the endgame.
Fractured Soul. Born alongside four other high concepts, scribbled on A4 paper in response to the announcement of the Nintendo DS. Bare bones ideas created by two young developers bored with work for hire and the restrictions of licensed properties. Two screens. What the hell can we do with two different screens? What can we do with touch? In 2004 these were fresh, pertinent questions and Grant Davies and Nick Kovac thought they had answers.
The idea they liked best was ‘Slidatron’, a dimension bending game aimed at the handheld kids market. Sildatron was the game that, years later, would eventually evolve into Fractured Soul. Both Grant and Nick played a lot of Ikaruga and became a little obsessed with the idea of gaming simultaneously across two different separate universes. Both agreed that using two screens to represent this sort of dynamic made perfect sense. They began with the idea of making a shooter but later thought, ‘hey, we like platformers, let’s make a platformer’.
It made perfect sense. Both Grant and Nick spent the majority of their days at Torus working on licensed platformers. They had the expertise, they had the concept. All systems go.
They had the expertise, they had the concept. All systems go.
They had everything except a publisher.
“We sent our ideas off to the very few publishers we knew,” says Grant. “We didn’t get many replies.
Grant and Nick knew publishers. They even knew a handful of people at those publishers. They just didn’t know the right people and, to begin with, this made things difficult. Almost impossible.
It started auspiciously. Despite Grant and Nick’s inexperience, Slidatron still attracted smatterings of publisher interest. The concept was fresh, the DS was hot. At the time focusing on Slidatron seemed like the best approach.
Seemed. This is when the delays began.
In hindsight Grant refers to Slidatron as a cursed project. Each forward step was accompanied with stress and difficulties. The simplest issues began strange chain reactions that ultimately resulted in mammoth delays.
For example — Film Victoria, a local government funding agency, were quick to get onboard with Grant and Nick’s vision with Slidatron. Both sides filled out the paperwork, said all the right things, but even that relatively simple process hit the proverbial roadblock.
Grant had made the approach for government funding for one simple reason: Slidatron hadn’t attracted any concrete publisher interest and he wanted to take a working demo of the game over to E3 in order to get the right people excited. Both he and Nick saw this funding as a way to kickstart Slidatron as a project. Make the demo, go to E3, find a publisher, finish the project. Rescue the cheerleader, save the world.
Rescue the cheerleader, save the world. It should have been simple.
It should have been simple.
“We got Film Victoria on board but even that was delayed because we had a solicitor that was really dragging his feet. It took ages to get access to the money we needed to build the prototype. So that squeezed the deadline.
The clock was ticking. The hard deadline of E3 approached. Grant and Nick were completely cash starved. The Film Victoria money came in, eventually. But it was too late. The end result was an intense last minute scramble to complete the Slidatron E3 demo.
With two hours sleep, running on raw enthusiasm, Grant and Nick packed frantically. They hopped in a cab and rushed to the airport, praying they’d caught any game breaking bugs.
Little did they know that bugs would be the least of their problems.
Grant finds it difficult to describe precisely what they expected from E3. Both he and Nick had agonised over every decision — how difficult should the demo be? Should it represent a vertical slice of Slidatron, should it focus on one solitary mechanic?
“In almost every aspect we made the wrong decision,” says Grant.
Both he and Nick expected ‘gamers’. People who would appreciate the vision of Slidatron. Publishers are gamers, right? Surely they understand how games work? Slidatron was an innovative platformer with unique mechanics and a marketable aesthetic, but none of that mattered. None of it.
Slidatron was an innovative platformer with unique mechanics and a marketable aesthetic, but none of that mattered.
“It was shocking. It was stunning actually. It really surprised me to get that insight into what the publishing side of the business was like. We had no experience. I was expecting to meet people who would embrace what we had done, but to find out that the publishers really had little idea was surprising and a little bit disappointing as well.
There were multiple strange situations, incredibly positive meetings where Grant and Nick walked out believing they were close to a publishing deal. In their very first meeting one middle-aged rep declared that Slidatron was a bonafine “slam dunk”. Great, let’s move on to the paperwork thought Grant, let’s get this show on the road!
"I was expecting to meet people who would embrace what we had done, but to find out that the publishers really had little idea was surprising and a little bit disappointing as well."
That same publisher ignored Endgame’s emails, didn’t take their phonecalls. They never heard from him again.
Grant and Nick left E3 broken and bewildered.
The year was 2007. Grant and Nick kept their heads above water with work for hire, bit jobs on larger Australian projects. But Slidatron lingered, it never lay dormant long enough to gather dust. Pitches to publishers were made and rejected for reasons that confused Grant: they didn’t like the characters, or the game was too difficult. These were issues that could easily be fixed, thought Grant, just give us the chance.
Game Connection in San Francisco represented a last throw at the dice. A small exhibition designed to help smaller companies network and share contacts, Grant and Nick hoped the event would work in their favour. It was focused, far less chaotic than the scattershot lottery that was E3. Together they polished up their E3 prototype, tweaked the difficulty and headed to San Francisco with the intention of giving Slidatron the send-off it deserved.
These were issues that could easily be fixed, thought Grant, just give us the chance.
But Game Connection went better than either of them could have possibly hoped. Grant and Nick left San Francisco with two very serious offers. Endgame studios had just been dealt a serious curveball. For once they had a ‘good’ problem.
“Little did we know that we were about to make another ill-fated decision,” says Grant.
One deal, from Koch Media, was 100% concrete. That contract was in writing, all it required was signatures. But Koch Media would only agree to distribute Slidatron in Europe, which was a bitter pill. The second deal was global, the kind they’d dreamt of, but there was only verbal confirmation this deal even existed.
Grant and Nick wanted the global deal. Badly enough to take the risk.
Then, of course, it all came apart at the seams.
“Later on the guys said, ‘oh the market is falling apart, now we can only do a budget game and we can only do it for half the original budget’.
Grant and Nick were already in the process of ramping up production. Plans had been put in place; at this stage there was no margin for error or reduced budgets.
Frantic emails were sent back and forth in an attempt to come to some sort of compromise, but eventually the trail went cold. The deal was dead.
But then Grant remembered another conversation, a vague discussion that seemed promising, but he took little for granted nowadays. He remembered that hard lesson: nothing was a ‘slam dunk’ until you had paperwork. Still, it was worth chasing up. A publisher had taken him aside and said, ‘don’t sign anything until you come back to me’. Grant was cynical but with no deal on the table he was desperate.
Incredibly, after turning down a written offer and having a seemingly iron clad verbal fall through at the last minute, Endgame studios were achingly close to yet another deal. Conversations were had, emails went sent. Before they knew it there was another contract on Grant’s desk.
Then, disaster. The US dollar bottomed out; the money being offered by the US based publisher instantly lost a substantial portion of its value. It was no longer enough for Endgame to make the video game they wanted to make.
“We were close to inking a deal. Days or weeks away,” says Grant.
“We said, look the exchange rate has kinda fallen apart since we last spoke, we just can’t do it for that money anymore.
But then in a strange coincedence, after months of ignored phone calls and unanswered meeting requests, Grant randomly bumped into a representative of the publisher at a conference in Lyon.
“I saw him walking around the show, so I just cornered him,” says Grant.
It was a heart-breaking situation with no silver lining. Slidatron’s window of opportunity was rapidly shrinking. It was a brand new IP in a DS market plagued with piracy, a market in the process of migrating towards smartphones and tablets. There was a sea change afoot and Slidatron was caught in a rip. Four years since its inception, and four years from eventual release, Slidatron was caught between two drastically different worlds. And unless something was changed quickly it would vanish without a trace.
Money was tight. At one point Slidatron had the potential to break Endgame studios financially. Beyond that, it had the potential to ruin the founders on a personal level.
“We put a lot of money into this game,” explains Grant. “When you have a publishing deal you have an expectation that you will receive a certain amount of money over the life of the project. With publishing deals they tend to stack a lot of that money towards the end — to make sure you finish the game, to mitigate their risk.
But by mid-2008 Endgame Studios had stabilised its business to the point where making a third major push at Slidatron was a possibility, but Grant wondered if he really had the stamina to endure the cyclical stress and heartbreak that came with it. He believed in the idea, the high concept of Slidatron, but perhaps not the execution. Both Grant and Nick agreed that something drastic had to be done if their dream game was become a reality.
This was the moment when Slidatron evolved into Fractured Soul.
“We thought, Slidatron is an original IP,” explains Grant. “Kids don’t go out and buy and original IP. It would more likely be people our age with disposable income — people who seek out new IPs and are informed.
Slidatron became Fractured Soul. Out went the bespectacled child protagonist, in came a Mega-Man inspired lead. The pace of the action became more frantic, the tone more mature, with the intent of making Fractured Soul appeal to a broader audience in their 20s and 30s. A new Game Design document was rattled up in time for Game Connection in 2008, but the crumbling DS market still couldn’t sustain a new IP, no matter the tone, the protagonist, or the target market.
It came to be a familiar story. Endgame’s timing was brutal. As Fractured Soul began to take shape, the DS market continued to implode. Publishers ran for the hills.
As Fractured Soul began to take shape, the DS market continued to implode. Publishers ran for the hills.
Despite the downturn, Grant and Nick enlisted the help of Film Victoria for a second time, and used those funds to acquire yet another agreement, with N3V. For the first time since the game’s inception, Endgame had a proper publishing deal and the cash to propel Fractured Soul towards completion. Grant and Nick were fully energised. They hurtled towards release with an energy they hadn’t felt since creating the E3 demo.
Then, once again, it all fell apart.
But unlike previous deals there was zero drama. No Sophie’s Choice, no grand conspiracy; just a handheld market in transition, an industry crippled by piracy and a wide scale loss of confidence. When it came time for Endgame’s publisher, N3V, to find distributors for Fractured Soul there was a strange, discomforting silence.
It was the closest Fractured Soul would ever come to receiving a traditional retail release.
The Fractured Soul story does not follow a traditional trajectory. This is normally the part where a good natured investor swoops in, rescuing the game from certain death, or a Kickstarter campaign is launched to paint over the cracks of troubled development, but Fractured Soul’s reality was far more complex. Grant and Nick were left with a finished game and no means to distribute it. The DS market was dead and initial hype for the 3DS dissipated quickly. Any and all pitches for new IP on Nintendo’s (initially) troubled platform were routinely dismissed.
So In 2012, when Endgame finally made the decision to distribute Fractured Soul digitally on the 3DS eShop, it wasn’t done with a flourish. It wasn’t a grand, powerful gesture representative of a sweeping zeitgeist. It wasn’t a glorious moment where the little guy heroically snatched the reins from cruel moustache-twirling publishers. It was the last resort of two men who simply wanted their game to be played.
Grant and Nick’s redemption story came with the reviews. Almost instantly, Fractured Soul became the critical darling it was always destined to be. It was released in September 2012 and reviewers fell in love.
“We were really lucky,” says Grant. “We had 50 reviews giving the game 80 or above, and a few nines as well.
It was this success that drove Endgame to try its luck on Steam Greenlight, where the game currently sits, waiting and hoping for a future release on Steam.
But Fractured Soul’s critical success doesn’t conveniently render a wasted decade meaningful. The heroic, and ultimately dishonest stance would involve writing off eight incredible strenuous years of development as a ‘learning experience’. No regrets. It was meant to be. Yes, Grant and Nick learned a lot during Fractured Soul’s herculean development period, but those lessons are tarnished by very real, anxiety inducing regrets. Eight years it took.
Choosing a verbal agreement for global distribution in the face of an iron clad agreement with Koch Media is Grant’s biggest regret.
“That was the big one,” he says. “It was heartbreaking to make that wrong decision. We would be at Fractured Soul 3 or 4 by now if we had signed that deal. I have regrets about that. Absolutely. The only silver lining is that the game was a better product as a result of us not releasing it at that point. But what did we sacrifice?
What did they sacrifice? Years spent working on sequels, building up the Fractured Soul IP into something commercially viable, something meaningful. Time working on something dazzling and new? What did they sacrifice? It’s a question with real pathos, with the power to fracture psyches. A question with a difficult answer or — perhaps more terrifying — no answer at all.
“Where would Fractured Soul be today? That’s what we reflect on,” says Grant.
Fractured Soul was recently one of six games selected for PAX Australia’s Indie Showcase and was recently given an honorable mention for ‘Best In Play’ at GDC Play. You can vote for it on Steam Greenlight here.


By Pioneer Staff Report on Jul 12, 2018 at 5:39 p.m.
BEMIDJI The Bemidji Parks and Recreation Department will host sailing lessons from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 18, at the Diamond Point Park Outdoor Program Center. The cost is $32 per participant. The class will include instruction on boat components, rigging, capsize skills, points of sail, trimming and more, a press release said. Children must be accompanied by an adult for all skill levels. For more information, visit www.ci.bemidji.mn.us or call (218) 333-1850.


Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s brother-in-law Sanjay Singh Masani joined the Congress on Saturday, saying the state needs the party chief Kamal Nath not Chouhan as the CM.
Masani is the brother of Chouhan’s wife Sadhna Singh.
He joined the Congress in the presence of its Madhya Pradesh unit president Kamal Nath and another senior state leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and said the state needs a leader like Nath not Chouhan.
“Madhya Pradesh does not need Shivraj but Nath. We all know how Chhindwara has been developed and is identified with Kamal Nath. The state also needs to be identified with him,” Masani said. Kamal Nath represents Chhindwara in the Lok Sabha.
While he lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for ignoring “kaamdars” (those who toil) at the cost of “naamdars” (big names), he said he should not be projected as a family member of Chouhan but only as his relative.
“My name is Sanjay Singh Masani. My family lineage and ‘gotra’ are different,” he said.
Kamal Nath told reporters that all sections of society are affected by Chouhan’s misrule, and the decision of Masani to join the Congress is a reflection of people’s wish to chart a new course of development in the state, he said.
Will farmers' issues derail BJP's campaign in MP?


Sen. Chris Murphy long quest to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen received a boost on Wednesday.
Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, co-authored a resolution that invokes the War Powers Act to cease military support for the campaign in Yemen. The Senate approved the resolution by a vote of 63 to 37; full debate on the matter is expected next week.
Along with Murphy, the resolution was co-authored by Sens. Bernie Sanders, a Democrat from Vermont, and Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah.
Murphy has long pushed for an end to U.S. support for war. Last month, after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Turkey, Murphy reiterated his call for suspension of military support for the Saudi-led campaign.
The war has had devastating humanitarian consequences: Save the Children, a Connecticut-based aid organization, estimates that that 84,701 children under 5 have died in Yemen from untreated cases of malnutrition over the past three and a half years.


The unlucky wedding party that suffered the worst of a nationwide black-out in 2013 has managed to win compensation after wedding hall Castello Dei Baroni, of Wardija, failed to restore back-up power.
On 20 September 2013, Malta was struck by a nationwide power cut – for most meaning an evening without air conditioning but, for some, an outage that caused considerably greater outrage.
Roberta Cutajar, whose wedding reception was brought to a halt when the lights could not be restored after the venue’s generator failed, demanded she be refunded the money she had paid in a consumer complaint to the court.
“You can imagine my disappointment, to say the least, of my wedding ending in such a way,” Cutajar said in her complaint.
Castello Dei Baroni Limited, who had hosted the reception, argued that the outcome could not be attributed to themselves, blaming the persons responsible for the supply of electricity, and refusing to grant a refund of approximately €3,000 which the couple had paid before the incident occurred.
Cutajar added that the venue became dangerous for guests in the dark, given that the area where the reception took place had a large pool in its centre.
Witnesses confirmed that the event was thoroughly disrupted when the generator went on and off at least six times, making a huge amount of noise the whole time.
The band was silenced, and no backup music, such as a CD player, was provided by Castello Dei Baroni.
Food was also apparently delayed, with staff having to use their mobiles for light and with almost no appliances functioning.
The wedding cake had to be cut far away indoors, where the only light was left, which could only be accessed by circumnavigating the pool and climbing six flights of stairs in the dark, a feat made no easier when wearing wedding attire.
Despite the ‘total darkness’, the guests also elected to remain outside due to the stifling heat inside the building.
Eventually, a makeshift spotlight was constructed with the assistance of the bride’s cousin – an electrician – using an extension cord and a 500W bulb borrowed from the cameraman, who had been unable to work in those conditions. He also noted the lack of maintenance that had been performed on the generator.
The court agreed that the venue owners should have been responsible in ensuring that the generator would have functioned properly in such circumstances so that the wedding could continue smoothly.
The Cutajars were awarded €1,915.69, after the court considered that the couple would be eligible for VAT refunds.


Jun. 20, 2017, 9:34 a.m.
Voting Tuesday in the bitterly fought Georgia election to fill a House seat vacated by Tom Price, President Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services, is taking place more than 2,000 miles from California.
Yet Californians are deeply invested in the race, which has become a referendum on the Trump administration and could chart the path for Democrats nationwide to rebuild their power base in one-time GOP strongholds such as Orange County.
More donors to the campaigns of Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel are from California than any other state, including Georgia. San Francisco has played front and center in campaign attacks. Liberal Hollywood celebs have lent their star power.


PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- The US Air Force has teamed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor residents exposed to contaminated water from the now-closed Pease base.
The Portsmouth Herald reports that Air Force Secretary Deborah James said Thursday that officials are developing a plan for health monitoring near the Portsmouth base, with the CDC taking the lead.
James says the Air Force regrets that sometimes communities "get contaminated to a certain degree." But she says the military branch is prepared to "take the right action and clean it up."


1. West De Pere (9-0): Held Bay Port to a season-low point total Friday. Last ranking: 1.
2. Wrightstown (8-1): Showed resilience during a four-overtime loss to unbeaten Melrose-Mindoro last Tuesday. Last ranking: 2.
3. Bay Port (7-3): Pulled even atop the FRCC by beating De Pere Thursday. Last ranking: 7.
4. De Pere (8-2): Will be looking to bounce back from first conference loss. Last ranking: 3.
5. Ashwaubenon (7-2): Balanced squad with three players averaging double-digit points. Last ranking: 4.
6. Luxemburg-Casco (8-1): Riding seven-game winning streak since loss to Wrightstown. Last ranking: 8.
7. Pulaski (6-3): Shooting 32.9 percent from 3-point range and has four players with at least 10 treys. Last ranking: 6.
8. Kewaunee (8-2): Hung tough in loss to undefeated Laconia Wednesday. Last ranking: 5.
9. G.B. Notre Dame (6-4): Received a confidence boost by rallying to beat previously unbeaten Hortonville Thursday. Last ranking: 9.
10. Seymour (8-4): Junior Jenna Krause returned to lineup last week after missing eight games with a hand injury. Last ranking: 10.
Mara Allen, Oconto: The 6-foot-1 sophomore tallied 11 points, 14 rebounds and three assists in a three-point victory Thursday against Oneida Nation. She scored a team-high 14 points Friday in the title game of the Gresham Holiday Tournament.
Morgan Meerstein, N.E.W. Lutheran: The senior guard scored a game-high 20 points in an overtime win against Manawa on Tuesday and followed it up Wednesday with a 14-point performance to help the Blazers win the Marion Holiday Invite.
Maddie Re, Bay Port: The Truman State recruit continues to be a rebounding machine. She grabbed 19 rebounds in posting a double-double during a win Thursday against De Pere and came back Friday with 14 rebounds against West De Pere.
Maddie Reitz, G.B. Notre Dame: The 5-foot-11 junior scored a game-high 22 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists Thursday to power the Tritons to an overtime win at previously undefeated Hortonville.
Raven VandenLangenberg, Seymour: The 5-foot-8 junior helped the Thunder rally from a 15-2 deficit at the start of Wednesday’s game at Oshkosh West by recording 16 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Peshtigo at Wausaukee, Thursday: The undefeated Rangers will get their first big test of the season when they attempt to end Peshtigo’s 43-game M&O Conference winning streak.
Bay Port at Pulaski, Friday: The Pirates will be looking to redeem an FRCC loss to the Red Raiders from Dec. 1. Bay Port also faces a tough test Tuesday when it hosts a young Ashwaubenon team on the rise.
1. Bay Port (5-2): Has won five of last six games. Junior forward Jack Plumb has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle. Last ranking: 1.
2. Pulaski (6-1): The Red Raiders are riding a five-game winning streak and averaging 71 points during that span. Last ranking: 3.
3. De Pere (5-2): Tied with Bay Port and Pulaski atop the Fox River Classic Conference standings at 3-0. Last ranking: 6.
4. Southern Door (6-1): Suffered its first loss of the season against Sturgeon Bay. Last ranking: 2.
5. Luxemburg-Casco (5-2): Had won five straight before a loss to Waupun at the Shawano Classic on Wednesday. Last ranking: 4.
6. G.B. Southwest (5-2): Only losses have come against the Pirates and Redbirds. Last ranking: 7.
7. West De Pere (7-3): Halted a two-game losing streak with a 60-59 win Friday at Madison West. Last ranking: 5.
8. G.B. Notre Dame (5-2): Beat Green Bay West and Green Bay East at the Green Bay City Classic and has won three straight since back-to-back losses to Southwest and Pulaski. Last ranking: 8.
9. Peshtigo (6-1): Only undefeated team in Marinette-Oconto Conference play. Averaging 71.1 points. Last ranking: 10.
10. Sturgeon Bay (5-2): Had a huge 67-43 win against Southern Door before Christmas to move into a tie for first with the Eagles in the Packerland Conference. Last ranking: NR.
Will Pytleski, G.B. Southwest: Had 28 points against East and a game-high 27 against West, including four 3-pointers.
Crimsen Powless, Oneida Nation: Scored 25 points against Crandon at the Gresham Holiday tournament and followed with 17 against Gresham.
Matthew Rader, G.B. Notre Dame: Had 26 points and eight rebounds while shooting 10-for-11 against West and 13 points and eight rebounds against East.
Derek Zwick, Wrightstown: Put up 27 points and eight rebounds against Sturgeon Bay at the Shawano Shootout.
Travis Giese, Crivitz: Scored 22 points and shot 8-for-12 in a win over Wabeno/Laona. The junior is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 49 percent.
Appleton Xavier at West De Pere, Tuesday: The teams are tied with Seymour atop the Bay standings at 2-0. Xavier enters undefeated overall at 8-0.
G.B. West and G.B. East, Tuesday: The rivals face off for the first time this season. The Red Devils won both games last season.
G.B. Southwest at Pulaski, Thursday: The Red Raiders have won 14 straight against the Trojans.


The Axe is coming back to Stanford.
The No. 6 Cardinal football team won Stanford’s annual rivalry game handily, defeating California by a final score of 48-14. Stanford (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) scored 31 points in the first half to zero for the Golden Bears (5-6, 3-5), playing a strong game on both sides of the ball throughout.
Tension between the two teams bubbled to the surface early in the game, as both benches emptied during the coin toss and faced each other down at the center of the field. The players exchanged taunts and provocations, and both teams were flagged with personal foul penalties. Stanford sophomore wideout Jamal-Rashad Patterson was ejected after aiming a blow at Cal defensive back C.J. Moncrease, who provoked Patterson by spitting at him.
Stanford set the tone early in the game, on Cal’s first drive. On the third play of the game, Cal quarterback Brock Mansion fumbled the ball and it was pounced on by redshirt junior defensive end Matt Masifilo to give Stanford its first possession of the game deep inside Cal territory.
However, Stanford was unable to fully capitalize on its early opportunity. Indeed, the Card failed to gain any offensive yardage on its first drive — it gained 15 yards on a pass interference penalty. A field goal from senior kicker Nate Whitaker gave Stanford its first points of the day.
On their next drive, the Golden Bears appeared ready to match Stanford and recover from their early miscue. After a kickoff return to the Cal 34-yard line, Mansion and running back Shane Vereen led the Golden Bears deep into Stanford territory. Mansion lofted up a pass into the Cardinal red zone that was easily picked off by Sherman at the Cardinal’s own five-yard line.
“Turnovers cost us down in the red zone — us getting in the red zone and turning the ball over, and then turning the ball over in their end zone to give them a short field,” Tedford said.
After the Sherman interception, Stanford redshirt sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck marched his offense down the field, scoring its first touchdown of the game on a short run from sophomore running back Stepfan Taylor. The biggest play of the drive was a scramble Luck turned into a 58-yard gain down the left sideline, dodging and battering through several Cal defenders before finally running out of bounds all the way down at the Cal 21-yard line. The run included a memorable stiff-arm on Cal defensive back Sean Cattouse.
Stanford proceeded to score touchdowns on its next five drives, more or less imposing its will on Cal’s porous defense. The Cardinal employed a highly balanced attack, mixing its signature power running game with throws from Luck at short and long range. Its 467 total offensive yards were almost perfectly split between 235 passing yards and 232 rushing yards. The performance was especially notable because it followed a weak showing last weekend against Arizona State, where the Card mustered only 17 points.
Stanford’s defense played opportunistically, forcing three turnovers. The Cardinal held the Bears to 6-of-14 third down conversions, forced one turnover on downs and limited the offense to 299 yards overall. Mansion, who started the season as Cal’s backup quarterback, had a rough day under center, going 19-37 for 173 passing yards, including two interceptions and one touchdown pass.
Comparatively, Luck had a very strong game to lead the Stanford offense, going 16-20 for 235 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. Luck was also first on the team in rushing with three carries for 72 yards.
After the game, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh called Luck the “best college football player in the country.” His teammates had similar words of praise.
The win was also significant for Stanford as it broke a recent string of futility in Big Game matchups. Cal had won the last two Big Games and seven of the last eight, and there’s no doubt the rivalry added an extra dimension to the game for both teams.
Last year’s close Big Game also played into Luck’s motivation. Stanford had opportunities to win that game, but eventually fell, 34-28, after a Luck interception late in the game.
Each team moves forward with very different postseason possibilities. Stanford is unlikely to drop in the polls after beating the Golden Bears, and will be a strong contender for a BCS at-large berth if it beats Oregon State at home next Saturday. On the other side, Cal needs a win next weekend against Washington to get to six wins and bowl eligibility.
“We are going to win that game, and we are going to go to a bowl game,” Cattouse said.
While several factors will influence Stanford’s final bowl placement, the players don’t appear to be dwelling too much on which bowl game they will play.
Asked where Stanford deserves to go in the postseason, Sherman said, “Whatever they give us, to tell you the truth. You always feel like you deserve it, but another team could be just as deserving.


That led to an 11-0 run, with Bell muscling in one shot and dunking another, for a 60-46 lead. With Los Banos sagging on Bell, Wasden nailed a 3-pointer from the right side to cap the run with 4:20 left.
Los Banos didn't back away from the taller Eagles, instead attacking them.
That spirit was illustrated by guard Javelle Beasley at the end of the first quarter. Despite giving up a foot to Enochs' frontcourt, he sliced to the hoop and banked in a layup at the buzzer for a 16-16 tie.
Enochs couldn't handle Andrae Jones (22 points) in the first half. He had 16 first-half points and LB led 30-27 at halftime.
But once Enochs committed to going inside in the second half, it gained the lead.
Bell (19 points), Robertson (14), LB's Rubal Sangha, Davis' Brian Jones, Oakdale's Robert Stout and Calaveras' Devin White were all-tourney selections.


Kolkata, Sept 14 (IBNS): Quess East Bengal FC on Friday negated news reports which claimed that the club wishes to rope in Mohun Bagan FC coach Shankar Lal Chakraborty.
"QEBFC & Quess has always been clear about the club’s adherence to ethical practices and would like to reserve the right to take strong legal action against those who are spreading such malicious stories," the club said in a statement.
"The news story claims that Quess East Bengal FC Chief Coach Alejandro Menendez is keen to have Chakraborty join the team as his assistant. QEBFC CEO, Mr. Sanjit Sen, would like to clarify that these are concocted stories and fabricated reports, without an iota of truth," it said.
The club said Quess and QEBFC has 'great faith' in Sen and Alejandro as change makers and would like to rest all such false claims to rest.


District 35 Superintendent Catherine Wang (left) and Amy Holaday, director of curriculum and instruction, listen to another speaker at the Feb. 7, 2019, school board meeting.
The brutally cold temperatures that engulfed the Chicago area late last month meant Glencoe School District 35 schools were closed for two days.
But instead of having the day off, students and teachers took part in remote learning days.
At the Feb. 7 school board meeting, Superintendent Catherine Wang detailed the educational initiative that had students working away from their classrooms. With the days classified as “remote learning”, the district will not have to make them up later in the year.
“The staff members rallied to consider what kind of tasks they could push out to children and parents so that we could actually say it was a remote learning day and some version of learning was occurring,” Wang told the board.
In kindergarten through second grade, students could take part in a series of activities including writing a thank you note to a postal carrier and counting the spoons and forks in their kitchen. Fourth grade students could read, learn the state capitals in the southwestern states or build a chain reaction machine.
The assignments became more complex for the district’s older students.
“For our fifth through eighth grade students, most of the assignments were posted on Google Classroom or the Schoology portal. Teachers were able to assign lessons connected to the current unit of study,” Wang explained in an email.
The students had to show proof that they completed their assignments when they returned to school.
Ryan Mollet, principal at Central School, said his staff had time to prepare for the remote learning days as the forecast proved to be accurate.
“Of the kids, some appreciated it more than others,” he said.
Wang said a survey would be sent to parents and staff members about the experience. She added tweaks could be made in the future.
Wang added staff members were also on call as they took part in tasks such as professional training and were available to parents and students via email.
Remote learning days became possible under a change in state law in August 2017 that no longer said a school day was defined as five hours of direct supervision by a teacher. However, Wang added there are currently two bills pending in Springfield to bring back the more traditional view of the school day.
In separate action, the board unanimously approved a $5 increase for summer school courses, starting this year.
“A few years ago when our participation was really high we were breaking even, but now with participation a little down from highs, it is not quite break even,” noted Jason Edelheit, the district’s director of finance and operations.
Edelheit said the transportation, student registration and athletic participation fees would remain the same.
The board also approved a series of contracts for upcoming projects this summer at South and West schools including electrical, flooring and painting, among others.
Edelheit said the estimated budget for the entire scope of the work was $2.15 million and the total contract amount now stands at just over $2.025 million.
“Overall hopefully we will be a smidge under our original budget,” Edelheit said.


Detectives investigating the murder of a man have released CCTV images of four suspects they want to trace.
Jordan Taylor, from Hilperton, died from stab wounds after he and a friend were attacked by a man in Trowbridge, on Sunday morning.
Det Insp, Jim Taylor said: "We have forensic evidence which can eliminate these people from our enquiries."
Police have already appealed for one man, seen wearing a green Parka-style jacket, to come forward.
The images of the four men were taken from the same camera around the time of the attack, which happened close to Trowbridge Community Hospital.
They show a smartly-dressed man walking towards Charlotte Street with an umbrella, another man walking from Timbrell Street to Union Street, a third wearing a hoodie top, and a white man in a green Parka-style jacket.
Police added foot patrols were being stepped up and house-to-house inquiries were continuing.


Sara hits 3 home runs against South County on May 9.
West Potomac sophomore Jamie Sara, right, is greeted at home plate by teammates Billy Lescher (22) and Rocky Iboleon (15) after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against West Springfield on May 13. Photo by Craig Sterbutzel.
Earlier in the 2014 season, West Potomac sophomore Jamie Sara was a part-time player with a propensity for striking out.
When the Wolverines hosted Annandale on May 8, Sara played in the field, but head coach Jim Sullivan replaced Sara in the lineup with a designated hitter. The following evening, Sara had what he described as a “terrible” batting-practice session prior to West Potomac’s game against South County. Sara would bat in the No. 8 spot in the order against the Stallions, a spot not usually occupied by hitters with prodigious power.
Whatever adjustments Sara made during the game proved successful as the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder smacked three home runs during a 6-0 victory against the defending Patriot District champions.
On May 13, West Potomac traveled to face first-place West Springfield for the Wolverines’ regular-season Conference 7 finale. In the top of the first inning, Sara, battling cleanup for West Potomac, jumped on the first pitch he saw from Spartans left-hander Tim Yonkers and blasted a two-run bomb toward the parking lot past the fence in left field at Tugwell Yards. It was the third baseman’s fifth home run of the season.
Did Sara know it was gone?
What’s up with No. 13’s recent power surge? Sullivan said he thinks Sara is swinging with more control.
West Potomac senior Michael Barnes started on the mound against West Springfield on May 13. The game was suspended in the fourth inning due to lightning.
Sara’s powerful bat is a welcomed addition for a West Potomac baseball team that entered Tuesday’s contest with West Springfield as the No. 2 seed in Conference 7. The Spartans built a 6-3 lead before play was suspended due to lightning in the fourth inning. The teams were scheduled to finish the game on Wednesday. West Springfield would secure the No. 1 seed with a win over West Potomac or a win over Woodson on Friday during the Spartans’ regular-season finale.
West Potomac entered Tuesday’s game with a 12-6 record, including 8-3 against conference opponents. The Wolverines had won six of their last seven games.
One of the primary reasons for West Potomac’s success has been the pitching duo of Billy Lescher and Michael Barnes.
Early in the season, Sullivan said the Wolverines had their sights set on a conference title. While it is unlikely West Potomac will catch West Springfield in the regular-season standings, the Wolverines can turn their attention to the Conference 7 tournament, which begins Monday, May 19.
West Potomac ‘Unearns’ Victory Over T.C.


Update 10:25 p.m.: CHP reports only minor injury in this accident, which is now cleared.
February 18, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A Ford vehicle has plunged 200 feet over the side and rolled down into a canyon after losing control on rain-slicked I-8 just east of Highway 79. According to California Highway Patrol’s website, at least one person is trapped inside.
A rescue effort is in progress, involving 200 feet of cable down the steep side of the canyon.
February 15, 2011 (Jamul) – A SIG ALERT has been used for an accident that has shut down eastbound Highway 94 at Rancho Jamul Road just east of Jamul Estates. The crash involves a big-rig truck and another vehicle, Incident Page Network reports.
February 11, 2011 (San Diego) -- A jack-knifed semi truck on I-15 north of Rancho Bernardo Road continues to clog traffic during rush hour. The accident, which occurred shortyl after 3 p.m. today, spilled more than 100 gallons of diesel fuel. Three lanes remain closed as of 5:30 p.m. and CHP officers have been dispatched to replace cones after several motorists traveled into lanes that were shut down. A SIG alert remains in effect.
December 21, 2010 (2:30 p.m. update) – Here are updates new since our earlier story today, with the latest hazards and casualties of the storm. Incidents include evacuation of a flooded apartment building, another swift water rescue, traffic accidents, and a sinkhole.
December 17, 2010 (Otay) – CHP is on the scene of a head-on collision reported at 7:22 p.m. on southbound State Route 94 near Otay Lakes Road. Three adults and a child have been seriously injured and a trauma code has been issued, Incident Page Network reports. Both lanes of the two-lane highway are blocked while the Fire Department works to extricate the patients, and a Sig Alert has been issued.
December 14, 2010 (San Diego) – All lanes of I-15 southbound are closed down at the 163 junction due to a fatality accident. At 9:18 p.m., CHP received reports of a motorcyclist down; death was pronounced at the scene. A Sig-Alert was issued at 9:30 p.m. and the San Diego Medical Examiner is en route. No other details are yet available.
November 20, 2010 (San Diego) – Rain-slicked highways this evening are the scenes of numerous vehicular accidents, including serious accidents on highways 67, 52, 8, 15 and 805 as well as surface streets.
November 6, 2010 (Alpine) – A vehicle reported as a runaway rolled over on the center divide on westbound I-8 freeway near Lake Jennings at 1 p.m., knocking the 60-year-old woman driving unconscious. Several children were also reportedly in the vehicle. According to CHP’s incident report page, the car may have suffered brake failure as the driver repeatedly applied the brakes but could not slow the vehicle down.
October 26, 2010 (San Diego) 9:45 a.m.-- A collision involving several vehicles on I-8 near San Diego State University has prompted a SIG ALERT to be issued. The accident has resulted in several injuries, blockage of an offramp at College and some lanes on I-8 westbound, as well as a vehicle up an embankment.
October 5, 2010 (Carroll Canyon) – All southbound lanes on I-15 are closed due to a truck carrying a backhoe that struck the Carroll Canyon Bridge at 12:32 p.m. The truck cleared the bridge, but the backhoe struck a beam. After striking the bridge, the backhoe fell off onto a van in a roll-over collision.
September 17, 2010 (El Cajon) -- Construction crews from the California Department of Transportation will be removing bridge falsework on the State Route 52 (SR-52) Sunny Side Gateway Project. Crews will close Prospect Avenue between Graves and Magnolia avenues Sunday through Wednesday evenings from 9 until 5 the next morning.


Bruno Mars is just days away from headlining the Super Bowl halftime show -- whether he's ready for it or not.
"I've never had to do a press conference before I perform, so it just got real, I guess!" he joked at a press conference at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater in New York City on Thursday.
When asked how he felt about accepting the invitation to headline the halftime show -- by Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, reporting for omg! Insider, no less -- Mars told her, "We were all watching you as a band last year when you performed with Beyonce, and we wondering just like, what if one day we get the call to do that," he said, later noting that his favorite halftime acts to date also include Prince, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. "It definitely came soon."
Mars noted that he began rehearsing two nights ago, and was faced with the reality of the New Jersey/New York winter elements. "There was a lot of things that happened -- the microphone turns into a popsicle!" he explained. I'm grabbing the mic and it's frozen! Just stuff like that that were taking into consideration, and getting some heaters on everything." But how will he keep his signature hairdo intact? "I got three gallons of hairspray in this thing, so I'm good!"
While he won't be giving away any secrets about his set list -- "it's only a couple days away, they can hold tight," he told reporters -- Mars will stay true to his usual laid-back big-band aesthetic. "No matter where I perform, it's my job to uplift the people -- whether I'm performing at a graduation party, wedding, bar mitzvah, GRAMMYs, Super Bowl, I'm gonna give it all I got," he said of the gig. "I don't trapeze and all that stuff. I hope to get people dancing and get people smiling. if you ever come to my shows, it's just us up there with these songs and our instruments. I hope that's enough." Yet, when asked if he'll be shouting out to his Hispanic roots, he responded, "You're gonna see that on Sunday."
Mars also explained how he chose his co-performers. "The first band I thought of was the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- I've been a fan of theirs for such a long time, I admire their career," he recalled when NFL presented him with the opportunity. "They're a soulful band -- and not just musically, but as people. I sat down with Flea, and he's so passionate about music. Even to this day, doing it for so long, he's still so passionate about creating music and performing. I want to surround myself with guys like that forever, and it's an honor to share the stage with them. They're one of my personal favorite bands of all time."
He thanked the NFL for the rare chance to headline the televised event. "I still feel like a new artist -- the NFL is such a prestigious stage, and they're giving the new guy a shot. No, I haven't been able to take it in, but I will. Come Sunday, I will."
Mars didn't disclose which football team he's hoping will win, but he spoke on his general team affiliations: "Being from Hawaii, we always watched the UH [University of Hawaii] Warriors, so that was our team growing up. And whoever's got the most Polynesians on their team, that's who we're rooting for."
While there was a grand piano onstage (Beyonce performed live at last year's press conference, following her national anthem lip sync controversy at the presidential inauguration), Mars didn't sing after his Q&A session.
The conference also introduced Renee Fleming, who will perform the national anthem with top military singers and the New Jersey Symphony, while wearing an outfit designed by Vera Wang. The opera singer and upstate New York native added, "I want to thank Rochester for preparing me for singing in the cold!"
Sunday's Super Bowl will also feature a performance by Queen Latifah. Football legends Phil Simms and Broadway Joe Namath will be present for the game's coin toss.


We thought we were the only ones that got excited about cardboard boxes. But no, it seems like the fever for this boring business is building this morning after Rock-Tenn Co., maker of packaging for food and consumer products, said Sunday it agreed to purchase Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. for $3.5 billion in cash and stock.
The excitement seems to be extending to others in the box business. Packaging Corp. of America is up 2.5%. International Paper is up 3.7%. MeadWestvaco Corp., which makes packaging and specialty paper is up 4%.
We view this consolidation as positive for the North American containerboard industry, especially considering Smurfit-Stone’s penchant for discounting. We expect a North American price increase in containerboard in Q2/11. Our top picks are International Paper (IP-NYSE, Outperform) and Packaging Corp. (PKG-NYSE, Outperform). We also recommend Cascades (CASTSX, Outperform).


This time in October is when volunteer leaders honor the power of pro bono, a global campaign that celebrates and activates pro bono service across all professions that use their talents to make a difference. Organized by Taproot, the leading national advocate for pro bono service, and inspired by the American Bar Association's National Celebration of Pro Bono, Pro Bono Week is an opportunity to highlight the global network of pro bono champions who mobilize volunteers around the world.
Since Pro Bono Week was first launched three years ago, the popularity of this form of service has risen to the point where it’s become the fastest-growing employee-volunteering program. According to Daryl Brewster, CEO of CECP, a coalition of 150 CEOs of the world’s largest companies focused on societal engagement, the percentage of companies offering pro bono service increased from 40 percent in 2012 to more than half last year.
This year, the focus of Pro Bono Week is on the innovative ways that pro bono service builds new communities. By drawing business professionals and corporations into causes they would otherwise not be exposed to, pro bono service offers creative paths for collaboration and can spur community service ideas. This unique form of service also allows social change organizations to tap expertise they don't typically have the resources to access, creating a huge impact on a nonprofit’s bottom line.
The value of pro bono service is profound in many ways for everyone involved, but how does this contribution translate into dollars? This year, Taproot partnered with CECP to assess the 2015 standard for the value of pro bono service, using data included in the 2015 Salary Guides produced annually by professional staffing firm Robert Half. The final assessment they arrived at is $150 per hour, which is an increase of 25 percent from the previous estimate for the hourly value of pro bono. This compares to $23.07 per hour for more traditional volunteering, which is the estimated value of volunteer time according to the 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Building on decades of classroom visits, Dow created the Dow STEM Ambassadors program, which in less than a year is a 1,300-strong cadre of volunteers around the globe. The program creates a structure around employee volunteerism to better meet student, teacher, employee and corporate needs. These efforts help support Change the Equation, which works at the intersection of business and education to ensure that all students are STEM literate by collaborating with schools, communities, and states to adopt and implement excellent STEM policies and programs. The Ambassadors program allows employees to tell the Dow story to a captive audience of students, teachers and parents, and the company considers it a linchpin in its commitment to positively impact the lives of a billion people across the world over the next decade via employee engagement.
Xerox is another company supporting Change the Equation through pro bono service, in part through a 50-years long tradition of employees providing hands-on learning experiences in classrooms. Supporting STEM learning serves Xerox’s own mission of building a diverse workforce for engineering and increasing the interest of Millennials in pursuing careers in STEM and specifically working at Xerox. Today, the Xerox Science Consultant program puts greater emphasis on bridging gaps in STEM learning opportunities between affluent and urban schools.
This year, Salesforce employees have already delivered more than 18,000 hours of pro bono service across a range of efforts, including a collaboration to capture data for a domestic violence campaign, creating a toolkit for prosecuting terrorism in Asia, a website launch to enhance breast cancer treatment, and a project to prevent the spread of ebola in our hospitals.
Over the past four years, Deloitte professionals delivered more than 1,000 pro bono projects, providing capacity-building business solutions across the breadth of Deloitte’s Consulting, Tax, and Advisory services. One of the sponsors of Pro Bono Week, Deloitte positions its pro bono and skills-based volunteering programs as key components to its commitment to youth education, inspiring future leaders, and to its approach to creating opportunities for veterans.
Nielsen Cares calculates its global impact as $10 million delivered through pro bono and in-kind projects around the world across its four priority cause areas: hunger and nutrition, technology, education and diversity and inclusion. This includes efforts such as creating a national food insecurity metric to increase food bank efficiency and reach in Chicago; teaching Mexico City students survey methodologies and opinion measurement techniques; integrating supply chain and distribution processes to increase efficiency for food bank in Hong Kong; and helping a social services organization in Bucharest assess and improve their program operations.
If you want your company to step up to the opportunities of pro bono service, Taproot Foundation’s online marketplace Taproot+ connects pro bono professionals with nonprofit organizations, helping to meet a wide variety of needs such as developing a social media strategy, migrating accounting records from Excel to Quickbooks, or developing brand messaging. In its first year alone, Taproot+ has delivered $2 million in donated professional services.
Consider donating your business skills for good. Learn more here.
Encourage three social change organizations you care about (maybe your own!) to check out Taproot+, where these organizations can connect with skilled volunteers today.
Has your experience with pro bono service help build communities? Follow @taprootfound on Twitter and tell your story, using #PBW15.
Thank your organization’s skilled-volunteers by posting a referral on their LinkedIn page or writing a short blog about an outstanding contributor.
Post a message to one of Taproot’s global partner organizations to acknowledge their work around the world. Learn more here.


(CNN) - As Puerto Rico continues to recover from last year's Hurricane Maria, there's been a shocking discovery.
Around 20,000 pallets of bottled water sit on an unused runway in the Puerto Rican community of Ceiba.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency brought in the water among emergency supplies in the aftermath of Maria, which killed nearly 3,000 people on the island.
The water has remained relatively untouched. It's unclear why that’s the case.
But critics said the discovery is another example of the U.S. government's poor response to Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico.
The head of Puerto Rico's General Services Administration said the water will likely be returned.


Colorado transportation officials have faced a flurry of legal challenges over the massive proposed project to widen Interstate 70 through northeast Denver — and they acknowledged Thursday that the plan likely will face new court challenges.
But after 14 years, officials finally have a long-sought document in hand: a federal “Record of Decision” that ends a thorough environmental impact study and gives the Colorado Department of Transportation an official green light to plow forward with the $1.2 billion project.
“When you talk about a marathon — this is a marathon,” said Commerce City Councilman René Bullock, a project supporter who joined local, state and federal officials at a news conference at CDOT headquarters.
On the horizon, as soon as early next year, is the start of four or five years of construction along 10 miles of I-70, from Brighton Boulevard to Chambers Road in Aurora. The CDOT-dubbed Central 70 project will gobble up 56 homes and 17 businesses — mostly in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea, where added lanes and new frontage roads will triple I-70’s footprint.
It’s a project that will require feats of engineering, staging and coordination to keep highway traffic moving while nearly 2 miles of a 53-year-old viaduct in that area northeast of downtown are replaced with a significantly widened, below-grade freeway that carries plenty of flood risk. Because of this, controversy over I-70 has enveloped a city storm drainage project plan that would benefit the lowered highway.
A rendering released in August 2016 shows the section of an expanded Interstate 70 that would have a 4-acre cover on top.
In CDOT’s largest concession to community concerns in recent years, officials added plans for a 4-acre parkland cap over the lowered freeway adjacent to Swansea Elementary School.
CDOT chief Shailen Bhatt said Thursday that federal and state officials welcome the chance to defend the project against any legal challenge to widening the six-lane freeway.
And he asserted anew that he sees the project’s hallmarks — one managed express lane in each direction for 10 miles, with another added in a later phase — as the best chance to accommodate the Denver metro area’s growing population within the fiscal handcuffs constraining state funding.
With the Federal Highway Administration’s blessing, CDOT now can move ahead in coming months with a final bid solicitation for four short-listed teams vying for a public-private partnership. The partner will design, finance, build, maintain and operate the expanded highway.
Not everyone’s happy with it, he acknowledged — perhaps an understatement.
Opposition groups have made several attempts to delay or halt the project, with a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club over federal air quality standards still pending.
The public was invited to view the current Colorado Department of Transportation plans to widen Interstate 70 through the Swansea neighborhood in north Denver Thursday night, April 11, 2013 at the Swansea Recreation Center.
Most recently, opponents submitted input on updated air quality impact projections issued by CDOT during a public comment period that ended Saturday.
Indeed, the timing of Thursday’s announcement was curious in two ways.
Last month, federal transportation officials initiated an investigation of a civil rights complaint filed against CDOT by a trio of community groups, including Dutcher’s, and Earthjustice, an environmental law firm.
The investigation is done, but the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration haven’t issued their findings. Cater said Thursday: “We’ve been given an indication that there will be no substantive findings,” which gave his side of the agency enough confidence to issue the I-70 Record of Decision.
That was news to Earthjustice and Dutcher.
The FHA also released its Record of Decision on the eve of a changeover in presidential administrations, from President Barack Obama to Donald Trump.
I-70 has faced knocks beyond the immediate communities it will affect for what some critics see as fatal drawbacks.
A coalition that includes Unite North Metro Denver long has pushed for a “reroute” option that would turn I-70 into a boulevard while rerouting highway traffic to the north along interstates 270 and 76. That idea never received serious study from CDOT — and Bhatt dismissed that option again Thursday as a distraction that would flood the city street grid with much of I-70’s passenger vehicle traffic, even if most large trucks take the detour.
Other critics contend that any widening will only spur more traffic as drivers who had avoided I-70 fill up the extra lanes.
Bhatt said “induced demand” is real — but he contends that the managed lanes will offset that with varying tolls aimed at keeping traffic moving at 55 mph even when the free lanes get congested.
“I am confident that the four lanes we put down, and the potential for us to add a fifth lane, will adequately solve our traffic issues for the next 50 years,” Bhatt said.
The I-70 expansion has strong support from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and other local government leaders across the corridor, though some Denver City Council members have become fierce opponents.
CDOT says it has made 148 commitments and modifications to reduce the impact of the project on Elyria-Swansea and other communities.
The most prominent is the landscaped cover, which will include new street connections across the highway. Others include a 20 percent local hiring target for project contractors, paying to remodel parts of the school, paying for some home improvements in that area to improve air filtration and contributing $2 million toward affordable housing projects.
CDOT also must provide relocation assistance for renters and homeowners displaced by the project — though some community groups have questioned where that assistance will be adequate, given Denver’s rising home prices and high rents.
City Council president Albus Brooks, whose district includes Elyria-Swansea, said he shares concerns about its potential impact on health and quality of life because he lives six blocks from I-70.
But he hasn’t joined the council’s several outspoken opponents in fighting the project.


For the entire summer there has been one constant discussion raging on when it comes to Fortnite and the PS4: Why doesn't the game support cross-play? The typical response from Sony was that it was security related, but Microsoft didn't buy that excuse, especially since it was the PlayStation Network that suffered one of the biggest security breaches during last gen. And that's not to mention that the PS4 allows cross-play with PC gamers, even though PC gaming is known for hacks and cheats. However, after a lot of cajoling and lots of feedback from gamers, Sony finally decided to acquiesce and give the people what they wanted by enabling the one feature that PS4 gamers playing Fortnite have been begging for: cross-play compatibility.
Over on the PlayStation Blog the president and global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, John Kodera, made a post explaining that there will be a cross-play compatibility beta test for Fortnite. In fact, the beta test has already begun!
Yes, starting today the open beta for the Fortnite cross-play compatibility has been enabled, allowing PlayStation 4 owners to play with Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Mac users.
The beta will allow the teams to monitor gameplay, commerce, and progression across all of the platforms interacting with the PlayStation 4.
The reason for all the red tape, delays, and apprehension in allowing cross-play on the PS4? Well, according to Kodera it's to ensure that the companies were mindful of the user experience from a "technical" and "social" perspective.
Kodera also notes that as times have changed the cross-play feature has added "significant value" to the gaming community, and this is seemingly why Sony has apparently changed its policy that prevented cross-play between the PS4 and the Xbox One, and the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch.
The post rounds out by saying that since the cross-play is major policy change for Sony Interactive Entertainment, there will be changes across the entire organization of Sony to support the change. This likely means that more games coming down the pipeline with cross-play compatibility and cross-platform interactivity will likely support the PS4 right from the get-go.
Expectations should be tempered, though. Kodera didn't explicitly say that every game supporting cross-play would be enabled on the PS4, but more-so that the company would address what this all means for future titles landing on the PS4 that may be cross-play enabled.
There was a lot of push-back from Sony initially, with the company first citing security concerns, but Microsoft quickly poked holes in that excuse. Later there were debates about whether it was a good value proposition for PS4 owners, but now we can see that Sony feels that it is a good value for gamers.
Epic had already allowed for cross-play in Fortnite for quite some time, but the company was forced to disable the feature on the PS4... until now. If you have a digital copy of Fortnite on your PS4 and you've been wanting to check out the cross-play features, you can do so right now via the open beta.


British tourists heading for Mediterranean hotspots could be at risk from tropical diseases that are moving north from Africa, scientists are warning.
Climate change means Mediterranean Europe harbours disease-carrying insects such as the tiger mosquito and is ‘now a part-time tropical region’, the scientists will tell a conference today.
The past decade has seen isolated outbreaks of dengue fever in France and Croatia, chikungunya virus in Italy and France, and malaria in Greece.
But experts say as temperatures slowly rise, these outbreaks could become more common.
Dengue and chikungunya have been largely confined to tropical and sub-tropical regions because freezing weather kills the eggs of the tiger mosquito, which carries the viruses that cause them.
But global warming is letting the insect penetrate further north, and it could even move into southern Britain, say scientists attending the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Amsterdam.
Ticks which carry Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are advancing north too, in part due to rising temperatures, said Professor Jan Semenza of the European Centre For Disease Prevention And Control in Stockholm.
In the last 30 years there has been a 400 per cent rise in TBE cases in Europe, with over 2,000 a year now reported.


OKLAHOMA CITY – After losing two games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, many Oklahoma City Thunder fans are worried about the future of the team.
While it may be a little soon to fret, it didn’t stop many people from taking to social media to talk about needed changes.
One of those included Russell Westbrook’s brother, Ray.
The tweet was swiftly deleted and replaced with an apology, saying he was caught up in the game and didn’t really mean what he said.
I would like to take the time out to apologies for my tweet yesterday I was just caught up in to the game and should not have said it.
Game 4 is set for Saturday night in Memphis.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.


We refer to the letters by Mr Tan Kar Quan and Mr Kelvin Hong (Time for minimum wage pilot tests; and With economic growth, why aren't low-wage workers earning more?; both Dec 7).
A broad spectrum of Singaporean workers has benefited from wage growth in the last decade. Between 2012 and 2017, wages at the 20th percentile grew at 4.2 per cent per annum, faster than the median wage growth of 3.4 per cent in real terms.
The topic of minimum wage is not new. After decades of debate, economists remain divided.
Introduced in 2007, Workfare reflects Singapore's approach of going beyond this debate to find a solution that works for our society. Workfare took inspiration from the Earned Income Tax Credit, which was implemented in the United States and is regarded by some quarters as one of the more effective programmes to uplift low-wage workers.
Workfare payouts are targeted at those with limited household support, with more going to older workers. For example, a 65-year-old worker earning $1,200 monthly would receive $300 more through Workfare each month. Over the past decade, about 830,000 Singaporeans have benefited from the $5.5 billion disbursed through Workfare.
Most Workfare recipients qualify for other forms of social support. The same worker in the example above would receive government transfers comprising Workfare, Silver Support and GST vouchers amounting to nearly six months' salary or $7,000 annually.
In sectors where "cheap outsourcing" reduces the incentive to upskill workers and limits their bargaining power, the tripartite partners have implemented the Progressive Wage Model (PWM).
Unlike a minimum wage, PWM is a ladder, not a floor. Every worker can earn more wages through better skills, enlarged responsibilities and higher productivity. PWM also takes into account sectoral differences and offers a pathway for raising pay which both employers and employees can accept.
Mandatory implementation of PWM in four sectors benefits over 70,000 workers. Thousands more benefit from their employers' voluntary adoption of PWM.
Proponents of a minimum wage share the same strong desire as the Government in wanting to mitigate inequality and better distribute gains in our society.
Workfare and PWM, together with many other support measures, have uplifted low-wage workers, while keeping employment levels high and unemployment low. They are by no means inferior to a minimum wage and continue to be enhanced regularly.


Ariana Grande has admitted she is planning on flying solo for the next year at least.
The 25-year-old pop star recently took to Twitter to shoot down any rumours she is dating anyone, joking she'll be alone forever.
Responding to a fan, who asked: "Who is Ariana dating NOW?!", the 'No Tears Left to Cry' hitmaker replied: "spoiler for the rest of this year / probably my life: it's no one. please refer back to this tweet for future questions. (sic)"
The brunette beauty endured a particularly turbulent time in 2018, including her high-profile split from 'Saturday Night Live' star Pete Davidson and the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller in September.
Taking to the micro-blogging site recently, she wrote: "Farewell 2018.
"I hope this new year brings you all much laughter, clarity and healing."
On New Year's Eve, the 'Dangerous Woman' singer encouraged her 59.9 million followers to "continue to take care" of themselves and others, adding that she values her online relationship with her fans.
She wrote: "my timeline is beautiful rn. proud of u all and the human beings you're growing into. happy nye ! continue to take care of / celebrate each other the way you always do. happy to know u thru the internet & have u in my life. our relationship is real and important to me. love u (sic)"
Meanwhile, Pete recently revealed his reaction to being name-checked in Ariana's song about her exes, 'thank u, next'.
Whilst doing stand-up at Boston's Wilbur Theater on December 31, he quipped: "Here's the thing about the breakup song.
"Usually breakup songs you know who it's about but you don't really know.
His line in the song goes: "Even almost got married. And for Pete, I'm so thankful."
Ariana had previously revealed that her ex-lovers, including dancer Ricky Alvarez and rapper Big Sean, had been sent the song to listen to before it was released.
She said: "They heard it before it came out."


Varese, 26th March 2018 - Following the donation of a piece of medical equipment (the IntelliVue TcG10), from NIWIC to the Tincontro non-profit association and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of “Filippo Del Ponte”, today took place the donation of a number of toys as a present for the children of the paediatric wards.
This event organized by the NIWIC, NRDC-ITA Women's International Club (NIWIC) with the support of the Morale & Welfare Activities Office.
This initiative confirms NIWIC concrete commitment to solidarity and strengthens the relationship with local communities of the Olona valley. This is a very special day - declares a member of the club – the NIWIC and the NRDC-ITA just wanted to help in lifting patients moods with an action as simple as giving toys to children. Happiness and joy are in fact well proved to be very effective in providing a positive benefit both to patients and their families.


Carlmont Junior Soha Said has been struggling with severe injuries throughout her whole soccer career, but she refuses to let that stop her.
In addition to injuries, Said has been dealing with a chronic medical condition since she was born.
“I found out that I had severe scoliosis in the third grade,” said Said. Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person’s spine is curved from side to side.
In the seventh grade the doctor suggested Said wear a back brace until she stopped growing to refrain her spine from getting any worse.
Said wore her back brace until her doctor confirmed that she had finished growing by freshman year.
Unfortunately, the pain in Said’s back hasn’t subsided, but she has become accustomed to it and is able to play through it.
“I love the sport so much and I didn’t want to become one of those people who just gives up. It was hard but, I wasn’t going to let any injury or condition get in the way of something I was passionate about,” said Said.
As a freshman, Said was the top goal scorer on Carlmont’s Varsity team and lead them to the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals.
Unfortunately, sophomore year Said had an ankle injury that caused her to miss Carlmont’s season. Said tore a ligament on the outside of her ankle which took four months of recovery.
After wearing a boot and brace for two months Said had to participate in physical therapy for an additional two months.
Currently Said plays for Juventus Avanza in Redwood city. Avanza is ranked as the number one team in Northern California, and sixth in the Nation.
Said has been in contact with a few colleges and is considering to continue her soccer career after high school.
“I’m looking forward to playing college soccer, it would be a bonus to have that experience,” added Said.


You might think there is little more to add here. But a new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, by Troy Campbell and Aaron Kay of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, teases out a key factor that, while not inconsistent with many of the above explanations, definitely helps us better understand what is going on. Namely, the researchers show that Republicans reject climate science a lot more when they perceive it to support ideologically inconvenient policy solutions (like, say, the EPA's Clean Power Plan) than when they don't. In other words, the authors argue, this "solution aversion" feeds back into conservatives' perception of science itself.
The paper shows the significance of “solution aversion” through a series of four experiments -- the final of which also catches liberals engaging in the behavior. But first, let's look at this phenomenon as it manifests on the right.
In one of the paper's experiments, politically diverse research subjects were separated into two groups, one of whose members read about a climate change solution that involved regulatory action to reduce emissions (much like the EPA's approach), while the other group read about "how the United States could help stop climate change and profit from leading the world in green technology." Afterwards, subjects were asked how much they agreed that humans are causing climate change.
From Campbell and Kay, "Solution Aversion: On the Relation Between Ideology and Motivated Disbelief," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2014, Vol. 107, No. 5, 809–824. Published by the American Psychological Association, reprinted with permission.
A similar result, incidentally, has been found by Yale researcher Dan Kahan and his colleagues: Framing climate solutions around either nuclear power or geoengineering (artificial interference with the climate system in order to slow the rate of warming, a technological fix) also seems to make conservatives more accepting of climate science. This is presumably because these solutions are also perceived as being based on the free market and individual ingenuity, rather than a command and control government regulatory approach.
Thus, the new paper definitely adds to the mountain of evidence suggesting that conservatives reject modern climate science because they think that it implies a series of policies that they find unacceptable. But interestingly, Duke's Campbell and Kay also show in the final study of their paper that liberals, too, can change their views of the facts because they don't like what those facts seem to imply.
In this last experiment, individuals were first asked for their opinions about gun control, and then either read 1) an essay arguing that the availability of weapons helps citizens fight off home intruders (an anti-gun control view) or 2) an essay suggesting that having guns around worsens intruder violence and deaths in home invasions (a pro-gun control view). Finally, the study subjects were asked about how severe they thought the problem of violent break-ins or home invasions actually was.
In other words, gun control supporters -- liberals, we presume -- were less likely to take the problem of violent home invasion seriously if they had previously read an essay suggesting such evidence would favor a pro-gun or anti-gun control point of view. To be sure, whether this actually counts as a case of "science denial" depends on the actual facts at issue -- and there is reason to think that deadly gun violence in home invasions is relatively rare. Nonetheless, gun control supporters did see their views of the problem change depending upon their perception of the solution, suggesting a pretty clear case of "solution aversion."
Granted, the new study has its weaknesses. For instance, we probably shouldn't assume based on this paper that running out and singing the praises of clean energy and green tech, framed as a free-market solution, would actually work to depolarize the climate issue. Other research, for instance, implies that the issues of clean energy and energy efficiency have also become infected with partisan emotions, to a significant extent.
Still, it is very useful to bear in mind that often, when we appear to be debating science and facts, what we're really disagreeing about is something very different.


One of Jamaica’s renowned expressions is ‘Jamaica no problem, mon’, and yet, though the message may be positive in its overture, so often, this atmosphere of joy and high spirits is accompanied by crime and murder on unprecedented levels. Almost as if the horror helps to sweeten the bubbly pot of a country free of problems, mon.
It is quite skewed that an ambience of joy and a jubilant mood can be so linked to violent crime and murder of heart-rending magnitude such as occur at parties and other entertainment events.
‘No problem, mon’ may seem a rather cool and non-combative advertisement, yet it offers no progressive move, no spark of generating love within a people, which, alone, can overcome evil.


Recruiters spend countless hours reviewing resumes and screening candidates. In fact, they spend so much time scanning resumes, they can often do it in one minute or less.
As disappointing as that may be given all the hard work you put into your resume, it's the unfortunate reality…and with such a small amount of time to make an impression, it's no wonder they occasionally get it wrong. You may have been the perfect person for the position, but because you failed to successfully package yourself, your resume and your chances end up meeting their demise with the click of a mouse. Read on to learn the top four reasons your resume may end up in recycle bin or folder.
1. The length: Have you ever read a magazine article, short story, blog, etc. and remember thinking "Get to the point already?" Well, recruiters have this same thought when they read over a three-page resume. Nine times out of 10 they will probably just move it to the rejection stack.
Your resume is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every job you've ever held, every award you have ever received, and every training program, club, or activity you have ever attended. To make the best impression and have the best chance of making the cut, highlight those things on your resume most important to the position at hand.
Don't be afraid to use different resumes for different positions. Taking a few extra minutes on your end to tailor your resume could mean the difference between the hiring manager or the trash being the next recipient of your application.
2. No cover letter: If you are over or under qualified for a position, have a varied work history, or have skills that aren't highlighted on your resume, a cover letter is essential. While you may know your full life story, a recruiter does not.
What may appear as a lack of commitment from having a multitude of experience may be explainable through justification, such as a trailing spouse or time off to care for your family.
Your one size fits all resume may not explain why you are interested in and qualified for a position that isn't an exact title match to your prior roles.
In addition, you may be seeking to return to a staff role from a management role due to personal reasons. It is important to professionally highlight this in your cover letter vs. leaving it to the recruiter's imagination that you can't handle the role, are facing termination, or are desperate.
3. Grammar and spelling: We've all been there at one point or another. We have reviewed a piece of writing, a proposal, or, worse yet, our resume a million times and think we have it perfect. For whatever reason, our eyes and spellchecker let us down and we miss the spelling blunder. The recruiter, however, does not. Your perceived lack of attention to detail is an instant eye catcher to the recruiter — do not pass go; do not collect $200.
4. Achievements vs. job description: One of the biggest and most frequent reasons people fail to be noticed by their resume is job details vs. results orientation. No matter how many big words you use to describe your job duties, if you fail to identify your contributions to past organizations, you may be passed over.
Companies want to know they are getting value for their buck in today's market. It isn't enough just to be qualified for a position. They are looking for employees that can hit the ground running and make contributions fast. By highlighting how you have added to the success of your past employer, you are likely to catch the recruiter's eye and make it to the top of the pile.
What are some resume blunders you have made?


A group of supporters of the Matador Ballroom believe the historic night club can be saved yet, and has proposed a community-driven bond purchasing scheme which has helped similar spaces live on in the city.
The Matador, which has lain dormant since it closed eight years ago, was expected to soon re-open its doors following a lengthy bureaucratic odyssey. After finally having its application accepted by the city to be rezoned so as to allow it to host musical performances, it appeared the Matador, once an infamous after-hours bar, was on track to be reborn as a year-round events space and restaurant, starting next spring.
Then in mid-October, co-owner Paul McCaughey announced he was departing the project and the building where the Matador is housed, at 466 Dovercourt Rd., will be put up for sale. It’s since been listed for $4.9 million.
Despite a history in the community dating back more than 100 years, McCaughey admitted ‘investor fatigue’ had played a role in the seemingly untimely end of the Matador, its final fate likely to be the future site of a residential development.
But after hearing the group’s proposal to issue community bonds, McCaughey tells the Bloor West-Parkdale Neighbourhood Voice he’s intrigued to learn more about the idea in the hopes it can be used to purchase the site and run the Matador’s operations as a nonprofit.
Under the terms of the proposal put forth by Ryan Collins-Swartz and Stephanie Pinnington, from the community investment nonprofit organization Tapestry Capital, bonds of varying dollar amounts would be issued for a fixed term to anyone interested in taking part.
McCaughey, who met with both Collins-Swartz and Pinnington last week, estimates he’ll need $7.5 million to purchase 466 Dovercourt, complete renovations and cover staff and opening costs.
Collins-Swartz and Pinnington, who have been on the search for prospective investors, said the use of community bonds have been successfully employed by other community groups in purchasing real estate for their operations.
They mentioned the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), which has purchased two downtown buildings already making use of community bonds. Toronto Artscape, which builds live and work spaces for artists, has also made use of community bonds in financing site purchases.
While not a product of community bonds, Hugh’s Room, which was also going to close, was eventually saved following intervention from community members and has since been re-christened as a nonprofit.
In the case of the Matador, what makes it an attractive vehicle for community investment is its iconic past, where the likes of Robbie Robertson and Leonard Cohen performed and caroused through the years, leaving their signatures on the Matador’s walls, along with its likely high return of investment since the project has received public support from the mayor’s office, local councillor Ana Bailao and a host of supporters.
“There’s many different ways it can serve a social purpose while serving the community in a positive way, while earning revenues and being able to pay investors back,” said Collins-Swartz.
While McCaughey sees the potential in community bonds, he admits there’s one person he needs to convince that the plan has value: his brother and main investor Gerry.
McCaughey hopes if he can’t delay the sale of the building, then to convince his brother to delay accepting an offer so as to allow for enough time for the community bonds to be issued and fund an eventual purchase.
“We’re at the pinnacle of achieving something that is the epitome of iconic,” he said.


22 Oct 2013, 8:28 a.m.
Here is what Mavericks looks like when you first run it—an empty desktop with a distracting picture and the familiar dock. You’ll probably want to use System Preferences to change the background to a solid color.
The Finder in full-screen view, showing all usable files. Note the multiple tabs, now available in the Finder for the first time.
Safari’s improved sidebar now lets you scroll through every page in your reading list simply by swiping downward on the trackpad. Here the second page on the list is scrolling into view as I finished reading the first page.
Mavericks’ Maps has most of the features you expect, including turn-by-turn directions for driving and walking, but not the public-transport instructions available in Google Maps.
A simple menu lets you report problems in the Maps app, as in this view where the satellite image doesn’t align correctly with the map.
Street addresses in the Contacts app include a link to Maps. Note the new, clean interface in Contacts, without the leather covers and ribbon from older versions.
The Calendar app automatically displays a small map of the location listed in the information panel. Note the clean look of the Calendar, without the silly-looking imitation leather from previous versions.
When the notification center alerts you to the arrival of a new message, you can reply by clicking a Reply button, without opening the Messages app.
When the notification center alerts you about available updates, you can also tell OS X to download updates automatically in the future.
OS X 10.9.2 lets you use FaceTime audio, just like iOS 7 devices, for those times when you don't want your caller to see you.
If a spammer or annoying person is filling your iMessage inbox, you can now block them in Apple OS X Mavericks 10.9.2.
The System Preferences app lets you add login information for multiple networks, now including LinkedIn.
In System Preferences, an App Store panel replaces the old Software Update panel. Note the new option to install system and security updates automatically.
The Notifications preferences now control Safari’s new push notifications, which let web sites send notifications in the way that apps do under Mountain Lion.
Here’s an example of web push notifications in the Notification Center. Web sites need to register with Apple and add special code that can push notifications to OS X.
The Accessibility panel in System Preferences now includes app-specific permissions for applications that click buttons and manipulate other user-interface elements.


Craig Branch of the Apologetics Resource Center notes Clear differences.
Scientology's moral code is based on self-preservation.
"Scientology subscribes to the idea that the end justifies the means," says Branch. "And their end is to overcome the world with Scientology."
Branch believes this contributes to a warped view of ethics in which anything that advances the goals of Scientology is permissible.
Scientology attacks opponents and former members.
One Scientology policy, Fair Game, says a "suppressive" person who is an enemy of the church "may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. [A suppressive] may be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed" (High Command Office Policy Letter, Oct. 18, 1967). Although Scientologists deny that they still openly follow some of Hubbard's more punitive policies, such as Fair Game, many court cases have found that Scientologists still operate under Hubbard's principles of aggression, Branch says.
According to The Daily Appellate Reporter, the California Supreme Court found Scientology guilty of intentional and negligent infliction of severe emotional harm in the case of Larry Wollersheim (1989). The court wrote that Scientology's "policy of Fair Game by its nature was intended to punish the person who dared to leave the Church."
This article is from the September 4 2000 issue.
This article is from the September 4, 2000 print issue. Subscribe to continue reading.


The Leeds United Foundation has announced another high-profile signing in the shape of Ricky Wilson.
Ricky, singer with Leeds indie rockers Kaiser Chiefs, has agreed to become an ambassador for the foundation, United’s official charity.
He said: “Supporting the foundation’s work with the disabled, those with dementia, the unemployed, underprivileged children and the elderly is something I am incredibly proud to do.
“It’s vital that we listen to and help our communities wherever we can and we will do as much as we can to help the Leeds United Foundation.
Leeds boxing champion Josh Warrington and United cult hero Vinnie Jones have also recently signed up as foundation ambassadors.


Ellen Barkin at a film premiere in Los Angeles in 2016.
WEST VILLAGE — Actress Ellen Barkin came face to face with a burglar lurking on the balcony of her West Village home, law-enforcement sources said.
But what really annoyed the Bronx-born movie star was the way NYPD investigators handled the incident.
She tweeted her disappointment to the police commissioner.
"The Big Easy" star spotted the man outside her third-floor balcony near West 12th Street and Sixth Avenue around 6:50 a.m. Wednesday, sources said.
Barkin, 63, proceeded to lock the door on the suspect, leading the burglar to hop down onto a fire escape before fleeing, sources noted.
No property appeared to have been taken, but a bag and jewelry seemed to be in a different location inside the house, sources said.
No arrests had been made as of Thursday, and the suspect was described as weighing about 150 pounds, according to police.


Craig Campbell's "Outskirts of Heaven" is a powerful song, but even the singer is surprised by some of the ways his fans have attached themselves to it. In one case, the ballad literally saved a life.
Craig Campbell added some twang to the Adele hit, "Rolling in the Deep," to put a country spin on the pop tune.
Craig Campbell's young daughter, Preslee, is a star in the making.
Craig Campbell has a very important platform to stand on this election season — but he’s not actually running for office.
Craig Campbell covers Alanis Morissette's fiery 1996 hit "Ironic."
Before he got his break as a solo artist, Craig Campbell toured as part of Luke Bryan's band as his piano player, and while he was on the road, he took the opportunity to mine the singer's experience for any gems of wisdom for an up-and-comer.
Craig Campbell's newest single, "Outskirts of Heaven," is his how he envisions Heaven. The singer further explained how he pictures those pearly white gates during a stop by our Taste of Country Nights studio.
If you want pure belief and an honest answer, children are the best people to ask.
Craig Campbell has started a new series on his social media channels called Woman Cover Wednesday. First up? Maren Morris’ "My Church."
Songs like Craig Campbell’s “Outskirts of Heaven” refocus a country genre that’s easily distracted. The singer’s picture of heaven is familiar and satisfying. His vocal performance is amongst the best of his career.


Professional Office Condo located in upscale West Lafayette Office Park. Space features seven private offices, small reception lobby, large conference & kitchenette. Ample parking to accommodate customers, patients, and/or visitors. Front and rear entrances. Ideal for medical, financial, insurance or brokerage offices.