Pam Fletcher, who was nearly dropped from the United States Ski Team earlier this season, captured her first World Cup victory today, winning the final women's downhill of the season.
Switzerland's Maria Walliser, who finished third, claimed the season downhill title.
Miss Fletcher, who is 23 years old and from Acton, Mass., went nearly two years without a top-15 finish until placing 13th in a downhill in France in mid-January. She has had two seventh-place finishes in recent weeks. In today's race on Vail Mountain, after starting 30th, she was timed in 1 minute 54.28 seconds.
Canada's Laurie Graham was second in 1:54.60. Miss Walliser was timed in 1:55.08, followed by Canada's Liisa Savijarvi in 1:55.65.
Six Americans finished in the top 15 - the best performance by the American women in four years.
The race was the final downhill for Holly Flanders, the top American woman downhiller of the 1980's, who is retiring after nine seasons with the ski team. Miss Flanders finished 11th in 1:56.23.
''I made a pretty bad mistake up there, but I recovered well from it,'' she said. ''No matter where I placed, I feel I'm going out in a good way.'' ----Steiner Posts Downhill Upset WHISTLER, British Columbia, March 15 (UPI) - Anton Steiner of Austria was the surprise winner at the final World Cup downhill race of the year on an icy course at Whistler Mountain today.
Switzerland's Peter Mueller, the favorite heading into the race, lost his chance to tie Austria's Peter Wirnsberger for the World Cup downhill title, when he crashed off the final jump on the 3,832-meter course, just 200 meters from the finish.
Steiner won in 2 minutes 09.78 seconds. Italy's Michael Mair took the silver with 2:09.89 and Austria's Leonard Stock was third in 2:10.84. The Olympic gold-medal winner, Bill Johnson, of Van Nuys, Calif., had his best race of the year, placing seventh in 2:11.31.


From its best angles, the Tramontana XTR looks like a crazy pod race car from a galaxy far far away, with a see-through canopy and two seats laid out in tandem like a fighter jet. From the side, the proportions are weirdly long, reminiscent of the wacky Youabian Puma, but weird is just what we need in these offensively inoffensive silver-beige times.
When I went to check out the Lane Motor Museum’s Microcar Mania exhibit earlier this year, I was left longing for the era when people used to build truly, wonderfully odd cars.
Thankfully, there’s a few niche automakers out there like Tramontana letting their freak flag fly to the tune of a gigantic Mercedes twin-turbo V12. I spent a little time poking around the XTR at the Circuit of the Americas track day hosted by Scuderia Society and McLaren Houston this weekend, speaking with representatives from the small Spanish marque’s American team about the car.
One very large twin-turbo Mercedes V12, perfectly color-coordinated with the rest of the suspension and engine bay because they can.
We first noticed the Spanish-made Tramontana R several years ago—which, of course, we noted was not pretty. The XTR is their latest, more refined bag of peculiarity that’s a bit sleeker than the R and far better looking from the front.
But thank heavens, it’s still hilariously, delightfully bizarre. You can take the easy road, crinkle your nose in a face and call it ugly, but deep-down you know that this is the strangeness that cars need so hard right now.
Each XTR is handbuilt to a customer’s needs and wants at their factory in Barcelona. Tramontana is just starting to make them, though, so what I saw was the first XTR in the United States. They want to bring over a second car by the end of the year, and crank up production to four or five per year eventually. Needless to say, your neighbors probably won’t have the same car if you end up with one of these.
The XTR is a full-carbon-fiber-bodied car that weights only 2,900 lbs despite having a gigantic Mercedes V12 in the middle. But when the V12 pumps out 720 horsepower, 2900 lbs is nothing to get moving. There are three traction control settings (and an “off” mode) to save your bacon (or not) in various degrees.
That twin-turbo V12 power gets funneled through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is very much like a race car’s insofar as you have to use a clutch to get it going, but not after that. From there, you can terrify the passenger behind you to your heart’s content.
Just don’t expect the passenger to have any room back there. When I sat down to try out the back seat, all 5'4" of me found that the room for my knees was around the driver’s seat.
The seat itself—complete with fabulously insane trim made of gold-treated leather shipped in from Bulgaria—was comfortable. Yet the leg room for that rear seat reminded me of itty bitty supercar seats that are more suited for a small purse and some mail than a full-sized human.
The front seat was much more comfortable, with plenty of room between myself and the pedals. There’s an easy step to help you climb over the side of the car to hop inside, but needless to say, this isn’t a car that’s all that hospitable to anyone in a short dress.
Each interior is custom, with regular-car items like air conditioning and a stereo system available to add to the carbon-fiber-topped ledges that stuck out on either side of the driver’s seat.
Even the XTR’s paint job was amusingly weird. Instead of going the conventional route and having gold vinyl overlaid on the matte black car, they wrapped it in gold chrome first, and then painted the matte black over the gold.
No, that didn’t make sense to me, either. I’m convinced that this was done specifically to make people go “wait, what?” when they notice the black paint raised over the layer of shiny gold. If so, mission accomplished!
This XTR was Tramontana’s more roadgoing version. The bubble canopy and tandem seat layout are meant to provide you unparalleled views of what’s around you on track. The racing version has an even more wide-open bubble with fewer support beams interrupting your view.
The XTR is not conventionally pretty under even the most bizarrely skewed definitions of “pretty,” but I’m definitely glad it exists. I’m tired of seeing too many automakers play it safe and churn out annoyingly similar cars year after year, even at the supercar level. The world needs more patently absurd cars like the Tramontana so we can find the next cool thing.
Experiment! Try odd things! Build them and watch as we ooh, aah, or cringe at how lovely or strange they are! After all, how do we know what’s beautiful if someone doesn’t occasionally miss the mark, or go incredibly function-over-form in a good, wacky way like the XTR?
The XTR’s frunk. Clearly, it’s not a car meant for hauling large things.
Adjustable suspension, because track car.


The leaders don't have much in common, but each is fighting at home to engage in real diplomatic talks rather than military posturing.
Unless you’re someone who relishes the prospect of U.S.-Iran conflict, President Barack Obama’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday didn’t disappoint. Recognizing the opportunity presented by the new Iranian president, the speech marked a return to the conciliation of Obama’s first term, only this time backed up by several years’ worth of economic sanctions.
While it’s easy to dismiss Obama’s reiteration of America’s commitment to the United Nations at the top of the speech as the usual internationalist boilerplate, the importance of robust American participation in multilateral institutions is something that has underpinned his administration’s approach to foreign policy. (For a wide-angle view of the speech, read John Judis’s excellent take.) It’s this approach—pursuing U.S. goals within a broader multilateral framework—that has facilitated the ongoing international effort to pressure and cajole Iran to address concerns over its nuclear program.
Notably, the speech left out the usual “all options on the table” talk that actually serves to diminish, rather than strengthen, the threat of force. A country that keeps an aircraft carrier parked in the Persian Gulf doesn’t have to remind anyone of its options.
As for Iranian President Hassan Rohani, while he couldn’t help but benefit from comparisons to his predecessor, 9/11-truther and Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his speech was a bit of a let down. After several weeks of conciliatory statements and gestures, Rohani delivered a frank, sometimes rambling assertion of Iran's own interests and rights. It was an important reminder that negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (the countries with permanent membership on the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany) will not be easy. Still, even if Rohani’s outreach didn’t match Obama’s, the speech contained an important message that Rohani’s government stands to address the international community's concerns over its nuclear program and to engage constructively over other regional issues, particularly Syria. The real work will begin when the foreign ministers sit down together later this week.
In as much as he meant it to be heard in Iran as well as New York, Rohani’s speech was also a reminder that he has his own hawkish domestic politics to deal with. And he understands that Obama has the same problem.
Some have sought to torpedo Obama’s diplomacy by raising the bar unrealistically high. A group of Republican senators sent the president a letter insisting that Iran must be denied the right to domestic uranium enrichment—broadly understood as a nonstarter for any realistic agreement—and throwing a demand for political reform into the mix. Rather than pause to explore the possibilities of Rohani’s offer, the senators write, “now is the time to increase pressure and stand with the Iranian people,” as if standing with the Iranian people could be accomplished by rejecting the diplomatic initiatives of the man they just elected, and over the presumed preferences of Iran’s own supreme leader.
Then there’s Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who from the moment Rohani was elected has insisted that Iran’s new president is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” The usual groups have followed Netanyahu’s lead in making that case in the U.S.
Observing the hubbub over a possible handshake between Rohani and Obama, which ended up not happening, former Bush administration Middle East policy hand Michael Doran, one of the Obama administration’s fiercest Twitter critics, scoffed, “For the greatest power on Earth, a democracy, to run panting after a two-bit terrorist state is an unseemly spectacle.” While this is obviously a tendentious rendering, it’s quite useful for what it reveals about the hawkish mind-set: In seeking an un-hostile encounter with Rohani, Obama failed to uphold American pride. One can easily imagine the Farsi version of this coming out of the Revolutionary Guard headquarters: For a great historic power such as Iran to run panting after the Great Satan is humiliating for us.
To be clear, no one is claiming that Rohani is some sort of magical peacenik Santa Claus. He’s a member of the Iranian revolutionary elite—indeed, that’s precisely why he is now able to operate with the supreme leader’s support. Nor is anyone insisting that the web of sanctions currently in place should be unwound simply because Rohani has a grandfatherly smile. But, at the very least, it should be obvious that now isn’t the moment to pile on new sanctions. And it’s hard to think of a worse idea than for Congress to pass a resolution authorizing military force against Iran, as Senator Lindsey Graham has said he's preparing to do, right at the moment that Iran’s president is engaged in the most sustained outreach to the United States since the revolution.
A key divide right now is between those who recognize that Iran has politics, and those who don’t. For those who don’t, and who believe that Iran’s government is unified and undifferentiated in its villainy, and that any appearance of disagreement is simply projected onto Iran by naïve Westerners, nothing the U.S. does or doesn’t do really matters.
But others recognize that, even if the range of views within the regime is small, and has grown smaller over recent years, there is still some measure of disagreement over the value of rapprochement with the United States and that Iran’s supreme leader has, against his own inclinations and suspicions, given Rohani some room to run.
Is Rohani serious, or is it all a trick? In the end, there’s only one way to find out: Talk. As Rohani himself has made clear, his time is limited. He has his own skeptics to contend with, and just like Obama’s, they’re waiting to pounce if he doesn’t deliver on his promises.


Fifteen months after Yousry Bissada took over as chief executive officer, it’s still a work in progress. The most visible scars from a crisis that pushed Home Capital to the brink of insolvency last year are beginning to fade. The bunker mentality that weighed on many employees – the ones who didn’t leave – has eased, and the alternative lender is turning a profit while gradually refilling its mortgage-business pipeline.
The company now faces a new array of challenges, including stiffer competition for clients and prospective homeowners who are already feeling increasing financial pressure from rising interest rates. Just as Home Capital looked to be recovering, some of the air pressure went out of major urban housing markets, and there are now more lenders battling for slices of a smaller pie.
Home Capital new chief executive Yousry Bissada is seen in Toronto in this July, 2017, file photo.
That’s partly a response to the vulnerability of Home Capital, which had been Canada’s clear leader in “near-prime” mortgage lending until last year’s troubles, and is now determined to reclaim the top spot. Near-prime customers are those who cannot get mortgages from the major chartered banks for a variety of reasons, such as having a volatile income or a lower credit score.
The question on investors’ minds is no longer one of survival, but rather: How profitable can the new Home Capital be?
Home Capital’s newfound stability has come at a significant cost. It now relies far less on cheap demand deposits brokered by investment dealers to fund its mortgage loans. The Bank of Canada has highlighted the risk in depending on such short-term funding, citing last year’s run on Home Capital’s high-interest savings deposits as evidence, and Home Capital has learned its lesson.
Most of its funding now comes from more stable fixed-term products such as guaranteed investment certificates, but those are more costly to offer. To attract money, it is offering interest rates as high as 3.6 per cent on five-year GICs from its Oaken Financial subsidiary.
Profitability has collapsed: At its peak in fiscal 2014, Home Capital earned nearly $4.50 a share, according to Standard and Poor’s Capital IQ. In the 12 months ended June 30, it earned $1.55.
The lender is also sitting on excess capital, and some shareholders are growing impatient as they await a plan to return some of that cash through dividends or share buybacks. At $12.80, Home Capital’s shares are languishing well below precrisis levels, trading at a steep discount to the lender’s book value, which was $23.40 a share as of June 30.
Mr. Bissada insists that Home Capital’s core business model is still sound. The lender made its name by catering to borrowers who don’t quite fit the profile to qualify for a mortgage at a prime lender, such as a major bank. Many of its clients are new immigrants with short credit histories in Canada, or self-employed workers who find it harder to prove their incomes – both growing demographics. These borrowers also pay higher interest rates on home loans from Home Capital – typically 4.5 per cent or more – to compensate for their riskier profiles.
Home Capital hired outside consultants to do a deep analysis of the market, bolstering Mr. Bissada’s conviction that Home Capital is an “extraordinarily healthy business to keep investing in,” he says, tucking into a sandwich lunch in his office, flanked by chief financial officer Brad Kotush.
When Mr. Bissada joined Home Capital as CEO last August amid an overhaul of its senior management and board, the company was badly damaged. Nearly a third of its 910 staff had resigned after allegations that the company misled investors about fraud in its mortgage broker channel scared off investors, sparking a run on deposits. In the depths of the crisis, Home Capital was forced to tell brokers, “we can’t fund your mortgage. … Go find another lender,” Mr. Bissada says.
Even as Home Capital’s funding stabilized – with help from an equity infusion by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. − Home Capital’s employees were still shell-shocked. “Everybody had PTSD,” Mr. Bissada says. “They were afraid to do anything” and quick to pass on deals, slowing the firm’s recovery.
After recent hiring, Home Capital is back up to 750 staff and issuing new mortgages at a faster pace – $1.23-billion of loans in the second quarter, including some commercial mortgages as it rebuilds a portfolio sold off in desperation last year. But its underwriters are working under more rigid rules, and must be less willing to overlook shortcomings in loan applications simply because the borrower has a hefty down payment. “Every mortgage is looked at in a deeper way to make sure it fits us,” Mr. Bissada says.
The vast majority of Home Capital’s loans are concentrated in Southern Ontario, and Mr. Bissada has plans to invest to improve the company’s presence in cities across the country.
Outside his office hangs a painting of a crumpled piece of paper – a symbol of Home Capital’s long-term goal to be entirely paperless. For now, its style of mortgage lending relies heavily on teams of underwriters manually poring over stacks of documents.
The challenge now is to stay disciplined as competition for alternative mortgages heats up. Multiple new federal measures, including taxes on foreign buyers and tougher qualification rules for borrowers who take out uninsured mortgages, appear to have curbed increases in housing prices and dampened sales in major cities, such as Toronto and Vancouver. As a result, Home Capital has seen more intense competition for a smaller pool of loans among rivals such as Equitable Bank and Laurentian Bank of Canada, but also from other lenders, including credit unions moving more aggressively into the market. First National Financial Corp. recently reintroduced a program to issue near-prime loans and sell them to investors.
Private lenders and mortgage investment corporations have also sprung up with tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to lend. Anecdotally, Mr. Bissada says he thinks private lenders are gaining ground, and a June report by the Bank of Canada showed that private lenders boosted their share of new mortgages in the Greater Toronto Area to 8 per cent since 2017, mostly through short-term loans.
In some ways, competition has made Home Capital less risky: Its average borrower now has a credit score above 700, up from 680 a couple of years ago, as applicants trickle down from large banks that are being more selective. More credit-worthy clients pay lower interest rates on mortgages, however, and that has squeezed Home Capital’s margins. Those same clients often take out loans with Home Capital, then switch to another lender as their credit improves.
There are also concerns about Home Capital’s unwieldy capital structure. Its common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio – a key measure of a firm’s financial buffer against bad loans – is much higher than industry norms, at 23.2 per cent. One shareholder, Kingsferry Capital Management Group Ltd., even publicly released a critical letter pressing Home Capital to buy back $60-million in shares.
Home Capital executives now say streamlining the firm’s capital is an urgent priority. But they must tread carefully under heightened scrutiny from Canada’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. As it stands, Home Capital is unlikely to announce its new capital plan until February at the earliest.
“We’ve had a number of shareholders say, ‘Well, that’s too long.’ We’ve had others that have suggested that they’re happy with the pace,” says Mr. Kotush, the CFO.


The inside of Spilled Grain Brewhouse.
The Best of Craft Beer Awards honored six Minnesota breweries last month for being among the country's best.
The competition, which includes 90 different categories for Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) members to decide on, was held during the weekend of Feb. 8-10 in Bend, Oregon.
A total of 162 breweries from 33 states took home medals in 2019.
One of the breweries walked away with more accolades than most. Spilled Grain Brewhouse in Annandale captured two golds and one silver over that weekend.
It won gold in the 'American-Style Barley Wine or Wheat Wine' category for its False Hope beer, and another gold in the 'Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer or Aged Beer' category for its 2017 False Hope.
The many awards won at Spilled Grain Brewhouse.
The winning beers at Third Street Brewhouse.
Courtesy of Third Street Brewhouse.
Hardware on display at Waconia Brewing.
Courtesy of Waconia Brewing Company.
Waconia Brewing employees are all smiles while showing off what's on tap.
Co-owner and head brewer Jacob Schnabel said the business was started in a unique way.
"Some of the future owner's wives formed a mom's group and used to get together for dinners and get-togethers," he said. "Then one of the husbands had a building open up... the rest is pretty much history."
Jacob said Spilled Grain Brewhouse started to get the wheels turning in early 2014, and was open for business in July of that year. Since then, it has claimed many medals at numerous award shows.
"We brew very traditional styles to try and meet everyone's criteria. We like to keep it fun," Schnabel said. "Honestly, when you venture out (of the metro area), the craft brew scene is the next wave of success in areas like this.
"Tons of breweries all over the place."
Nearby Cold Spring is home to another brewery that claimed two silvers in the Craft Beer Festival. Cold Spring Brewery has a rich history dating back to the late 1800s, according to its website.
The company was sold in 2017 to the Brynwood Partners, a Connecticut-based private equity firm with exisiting investments in a variety of food and beverage companies.
"We have a very rich history here," said Maranda Theis, the taproom manager of the brewery's Third Street Brewhouse.
Third Street Brewhouse is a branch off the bigger tree of Cold Spring Brewery, and medals were awarded for their 'American-Style Amber/Red Ale' and 'American-Style Cream Ale' in 2019. They opened the brewery in 2012.
Since 2017, the company has won seven medals in three different craft beer award contest. Among those, two golds, four silvers and one bronze was awarded.
"We have been brewing on this site since 1874," Theis said. "We expanded our brand to a larger manufacturing company. However, we established (Third Street) to continue our work in the craft beer scene."
In early 2014, the company was started by the DeLange family. The brewery officially opened in October of that year. Head brewer Tom Schufman says the place has a nice "small town taproom" feel to it.
"It's only about a 30 to 40 minute drive from (the metro area) and presents a great small town vibe," Schufman said.
The taproom was created by two DeLange brothers (Bob and Pete) and their wives (Kay and Dee).
Schufman said many customers keep coming back for the traditional taplist and properly fermented brews, which takes about eight weeks. They possess five flagship beers and five or more rotating beers on tap that flow seven days a week.
"We also like to reach a greater audience by having a nice variety of beers," Schufman said. "Generally we like to keep 10 to 13 (beers) on tap."
Before Waconia Brewing opened for business, the city hadn't seen a brewery since 1890, when the last one closed down. Schufman said one of the most popular tap choices is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, which was a 2017 and 2018 bronze medal award winner at the Best of Craft Beer Awards.
Two breweries in Minneapolis (Pryes Brewing Company and Indeed Brewing Company) and one in Duluth (Blacklist Artisan Ales) also won medals in the Best Craft Beer Awards event. Pryes Brewing won silver in the 'Berliner-Style Weisse with Fruit or Flavor Added' category for their Royal Raspberry Sour.
And Indeed Brewing took home gold in the 'Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer' category for their Wooden Soul In The Thicket beer, going up against 46 other entries in the competition. Blacklist Artisan Ales took home a silver for their Classic Wit brew, winning in the 'Belgian-Style Witbier' category.


Amidst a sea of humanity, thunderous drumbeats echo all over downtown Iloilo City to jumpstart the focal celebration. The climax rushes in when soot-painted performers wearing vibrant costumes energetically execute their warrior-like performances. The competing groups depict what only the pigment of the imagination can turn into a highly plausible scenario: The conversion of the native Ati tribe into Christianity.
This is what unfolds annually on the fourth Sunday of January, when the Dinagyang transforms Iloilo City from an urban jungle into a mega street party.
As a festival, the Dinagyang traces its roots in 1967 when an Augustinian priest from Cebu gave a replica image of the Santo Niño (Holy Child Jesus) to a fellow Augustinian priest in Iloilo as a birthday gift. Since then, a novena mass was held every Friday at the San Jose Parish Church.
But “Dinagyang” became a household name almost a decade later when a radio broadcaster insisted using a local every word to distinguish the festival from the well-known Ati-Atihan of Kalibo. With its root word of “dagyang,” it means “merrymaking” in the local dialect of Hiligaynon.
As a theatrical performance, the Dinagyang is anchored on a folkloric story. It begins with the Barter of Panay, the story of how 10 Bornean datus and their families fled a tyrannical ruler in Borneo early in the 13th century and sailed towards the island of Panay. When they arrived, the Borneans bargained with the native Atis to occupy the lowlands. To celebrate the barter,the Borneans painted their bodies with soot and danced with the Atis.
But what is baffling about the theatrical street performance is when the soot-painted warriors, who are depicting the native Atis, hoist up an image of the Holy Child of Jesus while chanting with great conviction: “Viva, Señor Santo Niño!” The Spaniards only came to Philippine shores during the 16th century.
Setting aside historical inaccuracies, the Dinagyang is a much-awaited annual event that draws both Ilonggos and visitors. After all, every one — regardless of social status — converge to celebrate until the wee hours of the morning.
Over the years, the Dinagyang has evolved into a multi-dimensional weekend celebration with fireworks shows, musical concerts, food festivals, exhibits, and lighted float parade.
The Dinagyang has managed to define the changing landscape of Iloilo as well as its people. Foremost, it fosters unity among the government, the religious sector as well as the private sector. It also showcases the talents of the people of Iloilo and boosts its local economy. More importantly, the Dinagyang promotes Iloilo in a holistic manner.


It finally began to look like the end of Tom Brady’s dominance of Buffalo but the Bills are still incompetent on offense.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Bills fans have been waiting for this to happen for years, and Sunday afternoon, it finally began to look like the end of Tom Brady’s dominance of the Bills, and the NFL, is upon us.
Brady is now 41 years old, and at various points this season, Gisele's husband has started to look his age.
Not that he’s Johnny Unitas playing out the string with the Chargers, a shell of his former greatness, because during New England’s 24-12 victory over Buffalo, Brady did surpass the 4,000-yard passing mark for the ninth time.
But at long last, the greatest quarterback in the history of the game is looking fallible, and his reign of terror over the Bills, Jets and Dolphins in the AFC East is nearing its conclusion. Really, I think it is.
Brady could not have been more average, dare I say below average, in this game. Buffalo held him to 126 passing yards, picked off two of his passes, and his only TD pass wouldn’t have happened if not for a heads-up play by wide receiver Julian Edelman.
However, if anyone was thinking the AFC East torch might be passed from Brady to Buffalo’s Josh Allen, sorry, not yet.
Allen’s stock-market season took another dip as he looked overwhelmed at times against Bill Belichick’s defense. He completed 20 of 41 passes for 217 yards with a TD and two picks for a rating of 52.6. He rushed for only 30 yards, and simply wasn’t up to the task of beating the Patriots in his first try.
We all knew this is what it was going to be like with Allen, at least in his rookie year. He is learning and gaining experience each week, but he remains a raw, unmolded talent who has been put in a difficult situation because he is surrounded with such incompetence on offense.
Allen made several questionable decisions, on some plays he held the ball too long in the pocket, and he was wildly inaccurate on a few throws, two of which ended up as interceptions. But he also got no help from his receivers, and while he wasn’t sacked, let’s not make the jump that the line played well, because it didn’t.
One more week to go. One more week for Allen playing with this slop around him. And then when it’s over, we wait with great anticipation to see how general manager Brandon Beane goes about bringing capable players in to help him for that time when, we hope, he finally wrests the torch away from Brady.
Whatever it was that LeSean McCoy said or did before Sunday’s game, it was far weightier than anything he did on the field.
McCoy had yet another terrible day as he gained only 9 yards on six carries and had zero impact on the game. This is nothing new in 2018 as McCoy now has seven games where he rushed for less than 25 yards, three of which were a single-digit total.
If that wasn’t bad enough, we found out after the game that the reason McCoy wasn’t on the field for the first offensive play of the game was due to a disciplinary decision by McDermott.
It must not have been too serious because McCoy was on the field for the second play, but for a guy like McCoy who pays attention to his career stats, it had to hurt that he lost a game start over this, and rookie Keith Ford got to check that box for the first time.
McCoy was asked about his future in Buffalo, which seems like it has one week left. Given the way he has played, it seems ludicrous for the Bills to consider bringing him back in 2019, though he's not buying that.
More: LeSean McCoy lost his job to an undrafted rookie. Are his days in Buffalo almost over?
Another player who is unlikely to be back in 2019 is tight end Charles Clay, and that came into crystal clear focus when he was announced as inactive, a healthy scratch.
To decipher that, it means this: Clay has been terrible all year with 21 catches for 184 yards, he has done nothing impactful, and the Bills need to see if Jason Croom and/or Logan Thomas are worth moving forward with next year.
Cutting Clay would save the Bills $4.5 million on the cap, so that seems prudent. However, one has to wonder what to make of Croom and Thomas. Croom flashes, and he had four catches for 55 yards Sunday, but he also lost his second fumble of the season in a situation where he was fighting for extra yardage and didn’t secure the ball.
Thomas had one ball thrown his way, and he failed to catch it. He has great size and athleticism, but it’s not showing up on game day.
► Player of the game: Sony Michel. The Patriots rookie running back did not play in the first game against the Bills, and now we know why the Patriots couldn’t run the ball that night at New Era Field. Michel gained 116 yards and scored a first-half touchdown.
► Play of the game: Edelman’s 32-yard touchdown catch and run. The Patriots were clinging to a 14-6 lead and had fourth-and-4. Edelman got open over the middle for the first down, and he, Jordan Poyer and Rafael Bush all went to the ground together. However, Edelman was never down, and he knew it, so he popped up and sprinted the final 15 yards to the end zone for the score that broke the game open.
► Unsung hero: Lorenzo Alexander was all over the field as he had a game-high 14 tackles, made a nice interception, and also rushed Brady into a throwaway. At 35, Alexander remains a marvel.
► Injuries: LB Julian Stanford left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury, and WR Deonte Thompson went out in the third quarter with a toe injury. Neither player was able to return.
► What’s next: The Bills close the 2018 season at home Sunday at New Era Field against the Dolphins, who suffered a sickening 17-7 loss to Jacksonville and are now eliminated from playoff contention.


If everybody's wearing an electric sleep mask, why didn't we focus on finding the reason everybody needs an electric sleep mask?
So what is this Oculus Rift thing Facebook just purchased?
It's a virtual reality video game headset. It's like a very fancy Nintendo Virtual Boy. Completely cuts off your periphery and everything. If your stove is on fire while you're in there, it's going to remain that way for quite some time.
Is it, you know, impressive?
Yes. I tried a first person shooting game on it once. You get legitimately afraid when you're being shot at. I cried a little.
But is it $2 billion impressive?
I mean, I'd be throwing that money somewhere else.
Is that why people are so goddamn angry? People seem pretty goddamn angry.
They are. But the answer to your question is yes and no. It is, in the grand scheme of things, a monumental waste of time and money. It is a video game. But even video game people are upset.
Facebook has not really been a friend to the video game industry. Well, really, they haven't been much of an unconditional friend to any industry.
They created a platform that allowed for massive growth in social gaming, which created that monstrous Farmville company Zynga. Facebook had, overnight, become enablers for the world's 5 million unemployed aunts and uncles that play it all day.
Then they decided they didn't want all of that mobile game sharing because, you know, it is obnoxious as hell, having Jeff from middle school ask for 50 coins so he can keep playing Candy Crush.
So Facebook changed the algorithm to devalue that kind of sharing and this effectively killed Zynga as a company. One could argue that this is Facebook's prerogative and it's their ecosystem. That would be fair. One could also argue that sharing is now the currency of the social web and this would be like the Treasury coming and saying, "Hey, everybody, $20 bills are useless now! Enjoy your day!"
And they've done this to a bunch of industries, most of them unsavory, like those hacks over at Upworthy.
Yeah, what is it with them?
That's an interesting point, though. Basically, you're saying they didn't want gaming to work because it felt "anti-social" when people were abusing notifications to ramp up their market share. But now they've bought a company that makes a product which literally closes off all access to the world around you — and they're deeming that a social affair?
I'm not necessarily saying that.
Are you not necessarily saying that because you don't want Facebook to devalue Esquire's place in their algorithm, which places emphasis on news content?
So, really, all reporting on this is couched in that? Isn't this what people talk about when they talk about money buying exponential power?
Hey, know what I love? Ritz crackers. Just plain old Ritz crackers.
That still doesn't fully answer it, though. Why would an average consumer be against this purchase?
Well, if this takes off — and with the marketing power of a multi-billion dollar company with a young user base, it should — we're then putting our children in electric sleep masks all day.
Then we get into the dissolution of society thing and that gets tricky. Everyone wearing a headset means we are essentially handing off our brains to a separate entity in a more entertaining reality. And that's why people write sci-fi books. That's how we got Robocop.
Well, that seems like an overreaction.
It is an overreaction. Parents will just mercilessly mess with their children at that point, and they'd absolutely deserve it.
So is this the thing so ridiculous-looking that people will eventually go outside with their hands and feet and arms and legs and maybe throw a ball to another person, maybe talk about why we're here — why we'd actually require something that can entirely shut off the world, even in our periphery — and how to make the outside better instead of just letting the hot media vomit wash all over us, like the heat of a sewer grate in the winter — nice, but not actually, and really shameful, if you think about it?
Do You Remember Life Before Facebook?


Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gladden are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Kristi Jean, to Bradley Ryan Kerr, son of Mr. and Mrs. Randy Kerr.
Kristi is the granddaughter of Mrs. Bobbie Gladden, the late Roy Gladden, Ms. Jean Tennyson, and Mr. and Mrs. Clark Hutchins Sr. She is a 2006 graduate of Etowah High School and a 2010 graduate of Wallace State Community College, where she earned a degree in Occupational Therapy. She is employed by NHC Healthcare of Cool Springs, Tennessee.
Brad is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kerr, Mrs. Mary Smith and the late Doyle Smith and the late Bill Oliver. He is a 2004 graduate of Westbrook Christian School. Brad completed the Diesel Mechanics program at Wallace State Community College and studied Business at Gadsden State Community College. He is employed as the manager of Bean’s Diesel Performance.
The ceremony will be October 12, 2013. Invitations will be sent. The couple will then reside in Murfreesboro, Tenn.


THE development of a nation is measured not so much by its infrastructures alone but also by the development of its legislation (laws) and subsequent enforcement.
As a citizen of Solomon Islands, ask yourself how far have we come in terms of our development and what can you, as an individual citizen do?
Although as citizens, you and I do not have the power to make laws [our Constitution gave Parliament the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Solomon Islands] there are avenues that we can use to give our views and/or contributions on new laws or proposed amendments to existing laws.
Submissions made to the Bills and Legislation Committee (“the Committee”) is one such avenue.
The Committee is responsible for reviewing draft Bills before they are introduced into Parliament. In its review process, the Committee calls for public submissions through newspaper advertisements or by contacting organisations and individuals with known interest in the Bill to appear before it in person.
Once consultations and inquiry into the Bills are complete, the Committee will make its report to Parliament containing the observation and recommendations arising from the consultations.
Currently there are 8 Bills in Parliament namely; (1) The Anti-Corruption Bill 2017, (2) The Constitution (Amendment) (Dual Citizenship) Bill 2017, (3) The Citizenship Bill 2017, (4) The Strata Titles Bill 2017, (5) The Prescription of Ministers (Amendment) Bill 2017, (6) The Legal Profession Bill 2017, (7) The Whistle-blowers Protection Bill 2016; and (8) The Constitution (Amendment) (Electoral Reform) Bill 2018.
On Wednesday 14th February 2018, the Committee advertised in the Solomon Star newspaper a call for submissions from individuals, groups and organisations who wish to express their views, knowledge or experiences on the Anti-Corruption Bill 2017 and the Constitution (Amendment)(Electoral Reform) Bill 2018.
Transparency Solomon Islands was given an opportunity through this call to the public for submissions, and we made our submission to the Committee on the Anti-Corruption Bill 2017.
We later received an invitation from the Committee to submit on the Constitution (Amendment) (Electoral Reform) Bill 2018.
For this article, TSI wishes to share our submission on the Anti-Corruption Bill 2017.
We believe that we need to continuously bring to the fore this issue of fighting corruption and the fact that not only is it important to have anti-corruption laws, but such laws must be robust to help in the fight against corruption.
Strong laws that will enable the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities of individuals and authorities to whom this legislation applies.
Laws that will contribute to the improvement of our ranking in the Corruption Perception Index. Last year 2017 Solomon Islands scored very badly [ Score 39, Rank 85] of the 180 countries assessed.
Much of that can be attributed to our leaders, dilly-dulling over the anti-corruption bills after assuring the people of this country, of their commitment to fight corruption, since 2015.
In their dilly-dulling they have now gone as far as including clauses to protect themselves and their cronies from being investigated and excluding clauses that would make a difference and have a real impact on corruption in this country, using the Constitution as an excuse.
If it is already there, why put in the Bill – simply to protect their corrupt conducts being investigated.
Below is an extract from our submission to the Bills and Legislative Committee.
TSI is of the view that, given our country’s urgent need to have an Anti-Corruption legislation in place, the Bill in its current form is adequate for passage. There are however three (3) issues that TSI would like to submit on, namely (i) Section 6 – Application of the Bill, (ii) Custom as Defense, and (iii) Unexplained Wealth.
(1) This Act does not apply in relation to conduct that occurred before this Act commenced.
For reasons of this inquiry, it is also vital to understand the inherent powers vested by the Constitution in Parliament. The Constitution empowered the parliament to make retrospective laws, this is by virtue of section 59 which provided that Parliament is permitted to make laws for ‘the peace, order and good government of Solomon Islands’. Section 59(3) further provides that ‘Parliament may … make laws, subject to section 10(4) of this Constitution with retrospective effect’.
TSI strongly believes that, for the purposes of the Commission’s inquiry into this Bill, it is essential that the Commission must ask the question of whether there are new offences being created by the Bill and how it applies in view of s10(4) of the Constitution and the general rule at common law in regards to presumption against retrospective operation.
TSI strongly believes that only if we can ask this question and honestly answer it, can we rightly say that we need s6 to ensure that we avoid holding someone guilty of a conduct that was not deemed an offence at the time the conduct occurred.
For ease of reference we would like to outline the new offences created by the Bill. These can be found in Part 5 – General offences (s51 – s54).
These offences relate only to conducts/acts that impedes the functions of the Commission and not conducts/acts that occurred before the Anti-Corruption Act comes into effect. Sections 51 looks at the offence of providing misleading information or documents to the Commission or its officers.
Section 52 looks at the offence of impersonating an authorised officer. Section 53 looks at the offence of obstructing or threatening an authorised officer and section 54 looks at the offence of disclosure of confidential information.
Whilst we must not ignore the fact that the rule at common law stipulates that a statute ought not be given a retrospective effect, the inherent powers vested by the Constitution in Parliament empowers Parliament to pass statutes with retrospective effects.
TSI understands or knows that the SI Parliament has passed laws in the past with retrospective operation. One such example is the Members of Parliament (Entitlements)(Amendment) Regulations 2009, were published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 45 of 2009 on 6 July 2009 and made to come into force with retrospective effect on 1st April 2009.
We ask “Is the parliament going to pass laws and pass them retrospectively only if it benefits Members of Parliament and put in this provision in any law that threatens their benefit or that which is not beneficial to them?”.
In conclusion with regards to Issue 1, TSI is of the view that there is no justification to include section 6, as the Bill does not offend against section 10(4) of the Constitution.
The only effect of s6 will be to prevent the new Anti-Corruption Commission from investigating and prosecuting historical offences, which they would otherwise do according to the law that was in force at the time the offences were allegedly committed.
It will not change any rights and liabilities of people affected by the amendments. It will only shield past criminal action from scrutiny by the Commission. Section 6 must be removed.
The second issue that TSI would like to submit on is the inclusion of custom as a defence.
The inclusion of custom in the current proposed amendments to the Penal Code means that in the event that a person is charged with the offence of bribery, it is a defence to a prosecution that the defendant acted (ie:-promised, offered and/or gave the benefit) in accordance with custom.
The defence of custom is a good example of bad law, particularly when one considers its application in the context of Solomon Islands where wantokism or nepotism is a common and prevalent factor that contribute much to corrupt practices in the country.
Given the broad inferences that ‘custom’ in Solomon Islands context can imply, TSI strongly submits that the provisions in the proposed amendments to the Penal Code making references to the defence of custom must be removed.
The inclusion of custom undermines the purposes of the bribery offences. Furthermore, this defence is susceptible to abuse and may discourage prosecutions for charges of corruption initiated on the basis of the bribery offences.
In conclusion with regards to Issue 2, TSI submits that the defence of custom be removed from being used as a defence to prosecution of Bribery offences in PART X of the revised Penal Code.
The final issue that TSI would like to submit on is a call to include ‘Unexplained Wealth’ in the Bill.
TSI is of the view that the accumulation of unexplained wealth by public officials must be included in the Bill.
Corruption is rife in our country. Although it would be impossible to claim that we can eradicate corruption instantaneously, having a strong piece of legislation that would adequately address corruption offences is a step in the right direction of combatting corruption.
Solomon Islands is party to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Article 20 of the UNCAC criminalised unexplained/illicit wealth.
Our government is sworn to serve the interest of our people and country. It is time that we must avoid painting a glamorous picture of SI adhering to the United Nations Charters whilst in our domestic levels, it is anything but.
TSI would like to remind the Commission that during your inquiry into the Bill, bear in mind that it is the ‘position’ held by the public official that necessitates having such provision in our anti-corruption legislation. This is to deter and avoid abuse of such a public office.
If indeed we are serious about tackling corruption, we must include ‘unexplained wealth’ in the Bill.
With regards to issue 3, TSI submits that ‘unexplained wealth must be included in the Bill.
In conclusion, TSI would like to once again commend the Commission for carrying out this inquiry giving TSI the opportunity to make this submission.
TSI submits that we need to have in place a robust piece of legislation to combat corruption.
Having said that, TSI would like to strongly reiterate our submission on the three issues raised as follows; (i) That section 6 of the Anti-Corruption Bill 2017 must be removed, (ii) That defence of custom to prosecution of bribery offences must be removed from the proposed amendments to Part X of the revised Penal Code and (iii) That ‘unexplained wealth’ of public officials must be included in this Bill.
Transparency Solomon Islands wishes to remind our fifty Members of Parliament the of the Civil Society Organisation, concerned individuals, citizen and the deaf and dumb group using sign language of their plea to you to be their champion, asking you to pass the anti-corruption bill without Clause 6 and custom as defence and inclusion of unexplained wealth, during the marking of the International Anti-Corruption Day 2017.


Citigroup Inc. has agreed to pay $180 million to settle charges tied to two hedge funds that the SEC said were improperly marketed and sold by private bankers and Smith Barney brokers in the run-up to the financial crisis.
Citigroup's alternative investment unit and brokers at the firm misrepresented the two funds, the Falcon Strategies Fund and ASTA/MAT funds, as low-risk, safe bond substitutes to advisory clients, despite the fact that the funds' own marketing materials said they should not be used as bond substitutes.
From 2002 to 2007, the firm raised almost $3 billion from around 4,000 investors in both funds, which resulted in billions of dollars in losses when the funds collapsed in 2008, the SEC said.
A spokeswoman for Citigroup, Danielle Romero-Apsilos, said in an email the firm was “pleased to have resolved this matter.” The firm did not admit or deny the SEC's allegations.
The Smith Barney unit was acquired by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in 2009 as part of a joint venture. A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, Christine Jockle, declined to comment, noting that the allegations occurred prior to the acquisition.
The SEC placed a significant portion of the blame on Citigroup's alternative investment unit, which was acting as the fund manager for both funds, and was responsible for almost all the fund-related communications with investors and advisers, including crafting the sales pitches to investors. In some cases, the unit misled advisers about the safety of the fund, according to the settlement.
“The fund manager and the fund managers' staff played a significant role in drafting and disseminating information regarding the funds to investors and financial advisers without sufficient review or oversight to ensure that the information given to investors was accurate,” the SEC said.
In one case, Citigroup Private Bank had an internal risk rating that noted the funds had “significant risk to principal,” but that rating was never shared with the majority of investors and financial advisers, according to the SEC.
Robert Pearce, a securities attorney with an eponymous firm who said he represented investors in around 100 cases tied to the funds, said that after they imploded in 2008, numerous Citigroup financial advisers and private bankers complained to the firm's executive officers, including Sallie Krawcheck, who was then CEO of Citi's wealth management business. He said shares in the fund were generally sold in $500,000 blocks, and marketed to and sold by some of the top brokers at Smith Barney.
Whether to compensate investors in the funds became a source of tension between Ms. Krawcheck and other senior executives at Citigroup as she advocated for the firm to repay some of the losses in the funds, according to a report from The New York Times in 2008.


Tightening security screws in the US serves the ultimate goal – to implant the atmosphere of fear in the American society. It serves to raise sales of security equipment, independent journalist Charlie McGrath told RT.
The latest initiative of the US Department of Homeland Security is to develop laser-based security scanners capable of identifying any chemical substance in human body. Independent journalist Charlie McGrath sees it as a further erosion of the basic human rights in favor of Military-Industrial Complex profits.
Officials insist the scanners will be used to detect explosives at airports and border crossings. They say that if a person has nothing to hide he won’t mind subjecting to the procedure.
But some experts are prompting concern for civil liberties in America.
“There is no threat of terror, that is a canard,” states categorically the founder of Wide Awake News Charlie McGrath. He explained that as an American he has a 662,000:1 chance of winning an Olympic medal. While taking a bath he has a 685,000:1 chance of drowning in that bath. Walking outside he has a 2.3 million:1 chance of being struck dead by lightning. But the chance of being killed by a terrorist amounts to 3.2million:1 for an average person on our planet.
“What we see built out of 9/11, the Patriot Act… and every other peace of the so-called legislation protecting people is the enriching of the financial super-elite in the Security Industrial Complex,” states Charlie McGrath.
The journalist predicts that the American society will soon be under the eye of Big Brother, explaining that the declared security reasons behind governmental initiatives have no grounds whatsoever.
“All this talk of fearing Ahmadinejad coming out of every closet and from underneath of everybody’s bed is nothing but a fear tactic so that we can enrich a very few people on this planet,” McGrath proclaimed.
The reason why Americans should be concerned with the laser security scanners is that this “humiliation on steroids” is going to be paid for with the taxpayers’ money, reminds McGrath.
“Since introduction of the Patriot Act we’ve seen non-stop legislation eroding our liberties one after another,” McGrath claims. “It has come to point we’re just coming used to it. But we need to understand that with every passing piece of legislation, every piece of equipment installed every other day, we’re becoming more and more a Stasi-style police state,” he concluded.
McGrath assures that the equipment installed to be on the guard of security in airports and other public places will definitely make it into everyday life of Americans. He recalled military drones that were once made for the army and CIA operations overseas, but now are flying American skies to protect security at home.


In sports, business, politics, and life, the importance of self-confidence is repeated as one of the key components to success. Boston University School of Management Professors George Hollenbeck and Tim Hall define self-confidence as “our judgment as to whether or not we can do something.” They highlight that judgment is the result of our thinking and is based on our perceptions. In addition, they emphasize that self-confidence is task-specific. This aspect of self-confidence underscored by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard in their Situational Leadership model, whereby a manager provides more direction to an employee with limited experience (and thus less confidence) for a specific task. In understanding self-confidence, Hollenbeck and Hall also show the importance that it can be changed over time.
How do hospitality managers build their self-confidence? Boston University School of Hospitality Administration seniors take a capstone course in leadership. Each semester, the seniors conduct field interviews to learn how these executives built their self-confidence. The following discussion reports findings from the student surveys collected since 2005. Students met with a wide range of hospitality leaders in operational and corporate positions, from hotel department heads and executive committee members, to restaurant general managers, upscale and luxury hotel property general managers, entrepreneurs, restaurant owners, contract food service companies, and senior-level hotel and hospitality corporation leaders. Participants ran the gamut of experience, including managers near the beginning of their careers and seasoned veterans with decades of experience and success. Over eight years, graduating hospitality seniors conducted more than 450 interviews. Whenever possible, interviews were conducted in person, at the interviewee’s place of business and the student did not have a close, personal connection to the manager. Although the student may work for the same company, the interviewee was someone he or she did not know well (e.g., not a family member, close family friend, or someone who worked directly with him/her). The majority of the hospitality managers interviewed were from the New England / New York area.
Several common themes developed from the industry interviews about the building of self-confidence. The top source for self-confidence in hospitality: experience. Many felt “there is no substitute for experience.” World-class salesman Dale Carnegie agreed in the value of gaining experience—Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. By working in a job, becoming good at it, performing the functions well, and being successful, one can enhance one’s self-confidence in that particular role.
Second, in connection to experience, many managers attributed their confidence and success by building upon small wins. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, calls this baby steps: “Start small, keep at it, and stay consistent until you’re ready to pick up the pace.” This reason was particularly prevalent when managers reminisced about their experiences shortly after graduating college. One restaurant manager, after discovering a poor corporate culture, implemented an employee “family meal” every night at 5. This simple action increased employee morale and enabled him to learn more about his staff.
A director of sales & marketing found out that he was going to miss his sales quota by a huge number. Instead of trying to fix everything at once (an impossibility), he set small sales goals for each month and by the end of the year only missed his target by a small amount. A hotel manager for a five-diamond hotel identified building small wins with his first job as a bell person. Being responsible for making guests feel welcome, he had to learn how to make small talk with famous people, politicians, and presidents of corporations as he carried their luggage and provided an overview of the hotel operations and services.
Fourth, many of the managers recognized the importance of others who helped build their self-confidence. The three main sources of support came from bosses, family members, and mentors (who may or may not have been their direct supervisor). Most interviewees highlight at least one of these people, and many identified two or all three sources as helping them to gain confidence. Often the supervisor provided moral support—a belief that the manager could accomplish the task, trusted them, and gave them the opportunity for success. For example, a relatively new restaurant chain manager’s boss told her he believed in her and let her handle a large event. That belief boosted her confidence that she could take on the new challenge successfully.
Several managers reiterated that their boss’s emotional support and confidence in their ability to succeed helped raise their self-confidence. A director of housekeeping relied on support and advice from the director of operations when dealing with an upset guest for the first time. The director of operation’s explanations and expectations gave her a clear understanding, giving her much more self-confidence when dealing with unhappy customers in the future. A general manager of a luxury hotel feeds off the high level of success and confidence from his senior corporate managers, boosting his own confidence since they believe in him. President Theodore Roosevelt reiterated this attribute: believe you can and you’re halfway there.
The fifth pattern that emerged from the research is that learning from failure developed self-confidence. James Burke, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson, fiercely believes you can’t build a business without making mistakes. Earlier in his career, he was once congratulated by the Chairman of the Board for the failure of a business line. Burke recalled the advice from Mr. Johnson, “Business is all about making decisions. You don’t make decisions without making mistakes. I just want to congratulate for that mistake. Don’t ever make that mistake again, but please make sure you make other mistakes.” Burke took that lesson to heart and taught it to those who worked for him.
Many of the hospitality professionals interviewed openly discussed their mistakes and how they learned from their failures. This factor was specifically mentioned by almost two-thirds of the interviewees. Learning from their mistakes and overcoming their failures were important building blocks for increasing self-confidence and enabling future successes. An entrepreneur learned to carefully check invoices and pay attention to details, after he was once fired for not balancing invoices. A restaurant GM’s career accelerated when he learned to own his mistakes instead of fearing them; in the process he also lost his arrogance. One room’s division manager talked about how second-guessing his decisions caused his employees to not follow him. By following Burke’s mantra of making decisions, right or wrong, and moving forward, he would learn from the results and become a better leader.
Trust in others—which is a large part of self-confidence since in this industry you cannot just pull off fabulous events by yourself.
Every mistake is an opportunity to learn.
Set small goals and achieve them one at a time.
No one is infallible, everyone makes mistakes, so keep taking chances, learning from your missteps.
Self-confidence is something that is not given or taught, but something that you have to gain through experience.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you don’t know how to do something, it’s better than not doing it at all.
The important thing is to build your confidence by doing things you’re good at. From there, you can slowly build your way up to difficult tasks that you previously dreaded.
You become successful when you make others successful.
The first step to building someone’s self confidence is to give that person knowledge and respect.
Remember, it’s the little chutes and ladders along the way that make the game fun.
Confidence is a precursor to strong leadership, especially in a group. Be supportive of situational leadership. Have someone who understands your weaknesses to bring out the best in each other.
Many students were unsure of undertaking this task—perhaps due to their lack of self-confidence in interviewing hospitality leaders. However, the overwhelming response after the task was successfully completed was that it was a worthwhile exercise. Reflecting on the assignment and the lessons from meeting with their interviewees, every student offered their own insights. Several revealed a better understanding of the importance of self-confidence in the hospitality industry. Even the illusion of self-confidence (“fake it ’til you make it”) is important for employees and customers to believe in you until you have real confidence to believe in yourself; the corollary to that is it is okay to have self-doubt as long as you keep trying new ventures. Working with others, setting goals and “level-five leadership” (Jim Collins’ research illustrating the combination of humility and fierce resolve among effective leaders) were additional concepts that emerged. Making mistakes, admitting failure, and using those experiences going forward were also themes many students highlighted. Although there were many more observations and personal reflections, a final important point students mentioned was that to be effective leaders themselves, it was important to build self-confidence for their subordinates, passing on their own experience and lessons to their staff.
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Family, Team or Something Else?
Federal Minimum Wage Debate: Are Gubernatorial Politics Behind a Hotel Line Employee Wage?
Delivering Food to the Front Door: A New, Or Very Old, Convenience?


SINGAPORE - A disagreement between two Channel 8 actresses has rocked the local entertainment scene, with one ending their friendship and sending a text message to their mutual friends about it.
According to reports in Shin Min Daily News, Hong Huifang recently sent out a lengthy text message saying she is no longer friends with Pan Lingling.
The message, which was sent to fellow actors such as Chen Hanwei and Chen Xiuhuan, apparently detailed how Hong felt bullied by Pan on several occasions, and how Hong's son with fellow actor Zheng Geping, Calvert Tay, was also being subject to such treatment from Pan.
The straw that broke the camel's back seems to have happened at a gathering about a month ago, when Pan allegedly made some comments about Tay's personal life, which upset Hong.
When the daily reached out to Hong, she confirmed sending the message and replied with a Chinese saying which suggested that the ill feelings between the two actresses had been brewing for some time.
The publication also reached out to Pan, who replied in Chinese: "Let time water down everything."
Neither actress could be reached for comment. When The Straits Times contacted former Mediacorp actor Huang Shinan, who is married to Pan, he said he did not know what the disagreement was and added: "They were both at a birthday gathering last month."
The two actresses have known each other for more than 20 years and have worked together as early as 1988 in the drama The Golden Quest.
Both are currently in the drama Reach For The Skies, which is showing on Channel 8.


Andrew Harmstone is a portfolio manager for the Global Multi-Asset team at Morgan Stanley. He joined the firm in 2008 and has 34 years of industry experience. Prior to joining the firm, Andrew worked at Bear Stearns as head of European Equity Quantitative Research. He received an MA in Business Economics from University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from University of Wisconsin.


What is climate change adaptation?
There are two main policy responses to climate change: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation addresses the root causes, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation seeks to lower the risks posed by the consequences of climatic changes. Both approaches will be necessary, because even if emissions are dramatically decreased in the next decade, adaptation will still be needed to deal with the global changes that have already been set in motion.
Humans have been adapting to their environments throughout history by developing practices, cultures and livelihoods suited to local conditions – from the Mediterranean siesta to the Vietnamese practice of building homes on stilts to protect against monsoonal rains. However, climate change raises the possibility that existing societies will experience climatic shifts (in temperature, storm frequency, flooding and other factors) that previous experience has not prepared them for.
Adaptation measures may be planned in advance or put in place spontaneously in response to a local pressure. They include large-scale infrastructure changes – such as building defences to protect against sea-level rise or improving the quality of road surfaces to withstand hotter temperatures – as well behavioural shifts such as individuals using less water, farmers planting different crops and more households and businesses buying flood insurance.
The IPCC describes vulnerability to climate change as being determined by three factors: exposure to hazards (such as reduced rainfall), sensitivity to those hazards (such as an economy dominated by rain-fed agriculture), and the capacity to adapt to those hazards (for example, whether farmers have the money or skills to grow more drought-resistant crops). Adaptation measures can help reduce vulnerability – for example by lowering sensitivity or building adaptive capacity – as well as allowing populations to benefit from opportunities of climatic changes, such as growing new crops in areas that were previously unsuitable.
Low-income countries tend to be more vulnerable to climate risks and some adaptation measures – such as increasing access to education and health facilities – will overlap with existing development programmes. But adaptation goes beyond just development to include measures to address additional risks specifically caused by climate change, such as raising the height of sea defences. It is still unclear how expensive these measures will be or who will pay for them, but the World Bank suggests adaptation could cost the same again as the world currently spends on development assistance.
• This article was written by Susannah Fisher of the Grantham Research Institute at LSE in conjunction with the Guardian.
• What is the Stern review?
• Which nations are most responsible for climate change?


LONDON (Reuters) - Fish and chips, scampi and prawn cocktail are all on the menu at chippie owner Daniel Sutton’s newest branch, with one caveat: “There’s no fish in our fish,” he says.
Sutton began serving “vegan fish and chips” at one of his east London chip shops as an experiment earlier this year, but did not expect such high demand.
“We thought we’d produce something vegan and see how it goes. It went really well, so we introduced a full menu,” Sutton said.
With orders for the new menu flooding in, Sutton opens the doors this week to London’s first dedicated vegan chippie.
The new branch will help cope with capacity, Sutton says, and allows the entire kitchen including the deep fat fryers to be meat and dairy free.
It is also a chance to profit from increasing demand for vegan and alternative restaurants, especially in trendy east London, he said.
The “vegan fish” is made from banana blossom marinated in seaweed and the sea plant samphire to give it a fishy taste, then deep fried. Vegan “prawns” made of Japanese potato starch are battered and served as scampi.
Curious customers sampled the food during a test run for the new branch on Monday.
“It’s delicious,” said Cat Thomas, a 32-year-old fundraising manager.
“I don’t think it tastes like fish, but I’d definitely eat it more. It tastes healthier than fish and chips, and is still good fried food that you could eat on a hangover,” she said.
Sutton is not yet sure how much of a profit he could turn.
“It’s not cheap” buying vegan-friendly ingredients, he said, without elaborating on the costs of making battered banana blossom.
The vegan fish costs 5.50 pounds per serving. Vegan burgers and sausages are also on the menu to cover the full spectrum of vegan fast food.
Customers, who included vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters, enjoyed their meals on Monday, but some on the high street were sceptical about the concept.
“I’d definitely visit, but it feels like a lot of vegan food is becoming less healthy, with fast food places opening up and serving burgers and fish and chips,” said 30-year-old Jen Shelo, a vegetarian social care worker.


Dark Souls is harder than a coffin nail, but it's a very successful video game. For that reason we're not too surprised to hear From Software confirm that it's not done with the series, but it's a relief nonetheless.
Masanori Takeuchi is the head of R & D at FromSoftware, he spoke to GameTrailers about the future of the studio.
"Of course, it's not over yet," said Takeuchi, discussing the future of the Demon's Souls/Dark Souls series. "You have to go back to our roots, which is King's Field. We've made many games in that series. We've always been enamored by dark fantasy action RPGs. That's just been our core DNA and I think we'll continue to utilize that."
The studio is also looking to move into other markets, and is considering creating some sort of game for mobile devices.
"[A]s developers, we like to do new things and new challenges will help us mature and grow as a developer," said Takeuchi. "Smart phones and tablets are an interesting challenge for us."
"If we do go down that path, it's not going to be what you see on the market today, more watered down, less 'core' experiences. We like to make games for core gamers, so if we take that approach, it's going to be a core experience on a tablet, something that gamers are going to love."
New game mechanic, if you die in ghost form not only do you lose your souls but your whole SAVE FILE!
and if you die after that, your hard drive formats itself!
Soon there will be a peripheral that makes you feel the pain that your character feels.
and if you die a third time, your console bricks itself, and you need a new console.
I can't imagine playing one of these games on a tablet or a touchscreen phone. They require precision and control, and touch screen controls provide neither.
I can see them making a strategy game with the same dark fantasy theme.
I wonder how the DLC is coming along for Dark Souls?
I reckon in the next one they'll probably have it so that whenever you die somebody from From Software comes around to your house and kicks you in the balls.
I have to say, as much as I loved Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, I'm probably done with it now. I still hope to finish Dark Souls at some point, but I can't see myself going back for a third instalment..
Come on Dark Souls on PC.


Defense Department systems escaped the recent MiniZip virus, according to technicians at the Defense Information Systems Agency.
'The I-Worm.ExplorerZip.pack had less impact than Melissa on DOD,' said Bobbie Stempfley, chief of the DOD Computer Emergency Response Team. I-Worm.ExplorerZip.pack, also known as MiniZip, was a variant of June's I-Worm.ExplorerZip.
MiniZip spreads through Microsoft Messaging Application Programming Interface e-mail. It began appearing last month. The virus overwrites files with seven extensions, including .doc, .ppt and .xls, according to ICSA.net, a computer security association in Carlisle, Pa.
Working with Network Associates Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., and Symantec Corp. of Cupertino, Calif., which hold DOD enterprise licensing contracts for antivirus software, DISA tested and updated software patches that DOD organizations could use to avert MiniZip, Stempfley said.


“Fortunately, the victims were not struck, but at least two vehicles were damaged by gunfire,” the release stated.
The shooting occurred in a parking lot near where a carnival was shutting down, according to Capt. Mike Dixon.
On Saturday at about 12:08 a.m., the Madison County Sheriff’s Office received a call of shots fired at 306 St. Charles in Godfrey. Deputies found there was a house party underway at the home with many people in the area when they arrived. Deputies were told some people attending the party got into a fight with at least two other party-goers and shots were fired. Deputes were able to identify the armed subjects as Pearson and Cook.
While still at the scene, deputies received word that a 23-year-old Alton man was being treated at St. Anthony’s Hopsital for a gunshot wound to the arm. Investigators met with the man, who confirmed he was shot at the party. The man told detectives that shortly after arriving at the party, he was approached by Pearson, who threatened to kill him. Shortly after that, the victim heard gunshots and realized he was shot. The victim was taken to St. Anthony’s Hospital by a friend who was with him at the party.
Detectives developed information and evidence during the investigation that Pearson and Cook were responsible for discharging guns during the Godfrey house party. Cook met with police on Monday and was taken into custody.
Dixon said Pearson may be in the Alton area or in St. Clair County.


Zubair, who was a film producer, said the fact that he is related to Dawood has had adverse effects on his career and he wants to change the perception through "Bigg Boss".
Mumbai: Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar's son-in-law Zubair Khan, who will be seen in "Bigg Boss" as contestant, said he has no connection with the gangster.
"Since 2011 all the buyers, investors and others backed out (from his film projects) as they got to know that I am related to Dawood Ibrahim.
"People were scared of me. This ('Bigg Boss') is an opportunity for me to change the perspective of lot of people in the film industry," Zubair told news agency PTI.
He said he wants to fight against the antisocial elements and is not scared of anyone.
"Since the day I got married I have taken 'panga' (risk). I have been getting threatening calls since then. I don't care. I feel there is one life and death. Change is constant and death is permanent, I know death will come some day, so it is better to fight and then die."
"I don't want to be a coward. My fight is against illegal elements of the society. It's a cause."
The season 11 of the Salman Khan-hosted popular reality TV show will see Zubair as a 'common contestant'.
Asked if he fears being judged by other contestants, Zubair said, "I have made a name for myself. It is not fair (to connect me with Dawood). I have nothing to do with Dawood Ibrahim."
When the makers of "Bigg Boss" approached him first, he thought it was a prank. "I initially felt it was a prank call. I was told that a lot of people recommended my name for 'Bigg Boss' and I am a good person. They convinced me that the call was real... I thought about it and said yes," he said.
Zubair said he wanted to connect with his children through the show.
The reason I agreed "to do the show is my kids. I have been away from them... I am not allowed to meet them," he said. Zubair has been in the entertainment industry for the past 15 years and said he wants to expose the darker side of the movie business.
"I will also raise a lot of industry issues, like the dirty politics in Bollywood. Everyone talks to Dawood bhai, whosoever has problems talks to him, it's just that they don't open up about it," he said.
By participating in "Bigg Boss", which airs on Colors Channel from tonight, Zubair wants to give a fresh start to his life.
"After 12 years of marriage I want to start it all over again," he said.


Vivek Kundra will be president Barack Obama's CIO, the White House announced yesterday.
President Obama said Vivek Kundra would bring a depth of experience in the technology arena and a commitment to lowering the cost of government.
"I have directed him to work to ensure that we are using the spirit of American innovation and the power of technology to improve performance and lower the cost of government operations. As CIO, he will play a key role in making sure our government is running in the most secure, open, and efficient way possible," the president said.
Kundra will direct the policy and strategic planning of federal information technology investments and is responsible for oversight of federal technology spending.
Formerly CTO for Washington DC, Kundra is one of the US's top 25 CTOs. Last year he was named IT Executive of the Year for his pioneering work to drive transparency, engage citizens and lower the cost of government operations. He is also known for his leadership in public safety communications, cyber security and IT portfolio management, the White House said.


Residents have been urged to take shelter indoors as a bushfire threatens homes and lives south of Rosedale, in Victoria's Gippsland region.
Authorities issued an emergency warning shortly before 10:00pm on Friday for people in Fulham, Kilmany, Kilmany South and Pearsondale.
"The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave."
Firefighters were using 12 aircraft including two large airtankers and 26 fire trucks to fight the blaze, which had burned through more than 550 hectares.
A wind change caused the fire to change direction on Friday night, and it was burning in a north-easterly direction towards the Latrobe River and the Princes Highway.
An emergency warning issued for residents in the Stradbroke West, Willung and Willung South shortly before 5:30pm was downgraded to a Watch and Act message about 7:45pm.
The CFA and Victoria Police will investigate the cause of the fire.
A Watch and Act alert was also issued for Strathbogie in the state's north-east, where a grassfire was burning out of control.
Authorities urged residents to leave, warning conditions could get worse quickly.
Firefighters were using 11 aircraft and 30 fire trucks to battle the blaze, which was travelling in a south-easterly direction towards North Creek Road in Merton.
"We've hit it very hard once it was up and running," Mr Cook said.
"I think we've got that under 100 hectares at the moment."
"That fire will burn under reasonably consistent conditions until dark and our crews on the ground and also the air crews are working really hard to try and get that one stitched up before then," he said.
"Fingers crossed that they'll be able to do that."
For the first time in Victoria, firefighters were planning to use helicopters with night vision equipment to waterbomb the Strathbogie blaze through the night.
Unattended camp fires sparked a series of blazes across Victoria on Friday, infuriating fire authorities, who had declared a total fire ban for the entire state and issued extreme fire danger warnings for the Mallee Wimmera, Northern Country and North Central districts.
"This behaviour has the potential to create such a significant impact," said Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp.
"It should not happen and I guess the message we want people to take out of this is you've got to test that fire.
"If it's safe to touch, it's safe to leave."
Victoria has already endured more than 700 fires since the start of December.
Temperatures in many parts of the state exceeded 40 degrees.
The town of Walpeup, near the South Australian border, reached 46 degrees, as did Hopetoun. Melbourne reached 42 degrees.
A cool change travelled east across the state over the course of the day, reaching Melbourne shortly after 4:00pm.
In Melbourne the mercury plunged from 42 to 21 degrees in the space of an hour.
Earlier, temperatures in Geelong dropped from 44 degrees to 31 degrees in 15 minutes.
Much milder conditions were expected over the next few days, according to Richard Russell, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology.
"From going from 15 degrees or so above average temperatures across the state today, southern Victoria can expect temperatures around five degrees below average [on Saturday]," Mr Russell said.
"So very typical of Victoria really."
However, authorities were dismayed at the number of children being left in cars, despite numerous warnings this summer.
Emergency services responded to at least 10 instances today, including two children left in a vehicle in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs.
Ambulance Victoria's Justin Dunlop, who is also the State Controller for Heat, urged Victorians not to become complacent.
"It's never okay to leave a kid, an animal, pet or anyone in a vehicle particularly on a hot day like today," Mr Dunlop said.
"Make sure you look before you lock in case you leave someone behind."
The Emergency Services Minister, Lisa Neville, also pleaded with Victorians to be careful around water, with a spate of recent drownings.
At beaches across the state, 37 people were rescued today, while four boats capsized on Victorian waters.
"Be aware of the conditions," Ms Neville said.
"Take care of yourself. Make sure you don't swim beyond your capability. If you're in a waterway, make sure you understand what's underneath that water," she said.
"We do not want to see another drowning death in Victoria."
Seven people have died in Victorian waters since Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, residents in parts of north-east Victoria were urged to restrict their water use to essential needs after two pumps failed at the Seymour water treatment plant.
Goulburn Valley Water said its staff were working on the issue.


Friday, April 10, 1998 | 11:37 a.m.
Las Vegas real estate agent Vitina Graham watched the Hollywood premiere of "Lost in Space" last weekend with more than just a passing interest.
More than 30 years ago, as actress Vitina Marcus, she played the endearing and enduring character of Athena The Green Lady on two episodes of the television series on which the movie was based.
When "Lost in Space" the movie knocked "Titanic" from the No. 1 box office spot after a record 15 weeks, she was not surprised.
"It was a fast-paced action-adventure, but the characters were totally different than those in the TV show," Graham, who today sells property for Medallion Realty, said.
"When I came out of the theater, there was a line around the block waiting to see the next show. I knew it had a chance to beat 'Titanic.'"
Asked if she would recommend the film, Graham said: "I think people would want to satisfy their curiosity and see it. The movie definitely is more high tech than we were. We were so low tech."
Even for its time, TV's "Lost in Space" had very simple special effects and costumes. Graham's character, for instance, wore a green sequin body suit and a crown that resembled a clear salad bowl.
Still, at the Lost in Space Convention at the Hollywood Museum last weekend, Graham received a rousing welcome from fans of the show that had a strong cult following.
"I was surprised at all of the young men who said they were fans of my character," Graham said, noting that many had seen the show in reruns or on videotape.
"For years, I have gotten a lot of response from older male fans, especially from England. I signed a lot of photos last weekend."
In Graham's first appearance on the CBS show (which aired on CBS from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, from Sept. 15, 1965, to Sept. 11, 1968), The Green Lady lured Dr. Smith with a high-pitched chant and put the Robinsons off course. In her second appearance, she continued to attempt to romance the pompous and cowardly Smith.
Graham had -- and continues to have -- the deepest respect for actor Jonathan Harris, who played the buffoonish and inept Smith.
"Jonathan and Billy Mumy (young Will Robinson) made the show," Graham said. "On and off screen, Jonathan had the most wonderful gestures and expressions. He possesses a great deal of warmth and humor."
Born in Brooklyn sometime in the 1930s -- she refuses to reveal her age -- Graham was Miss Bensonhurst of 1953.
She began her television career as a member of the June Taylor Dancers on "The Jackie Gleason Show." Her other 1960s television appearances included guest spots on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "Time Tunnel" and "Gunsmoke."
She gave up acting and moved to Las Vegas 25 years ago, became a cocktail waitress and raised two children. Graham got her real estate license in 1986.
Although she has been out of acting for more than a quarter of a century, Graham said that if the "Lost in Space" movie producers decide to make a "Lost 2," she would be happy to return to Hollywood and reprise her television role.


BILLY SHARP is being urged to make up for his recent red card - by firing struggling Doncaster to safety.
The loan signing from Southampton has missed the past three games after being sent off against Brighton last month.
And Doncaster - at home to Huddersfield today - have picked up just one point and scored two goals without him.
Boss Paul Dickov said: “He is frustrated because he let himself down and he let the fans down and he wants to repay them.
“He will lift the fans and the players and it will make the opposition team a little bit weary seeing his name back on the team sheet.
Sharp will go straight back into the Rovers team with Dickov promising changes after the 5-0 mauling at Bournemouth last Saturday.


Part 1 / 'Well, what family doesn’t have its ups and downs?' (With apologies to James Goldman and Katherine Hepburn, or perhaps to King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine).
Allison, Don, and Noah discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent attempts to fix relations with American Jews. Is his “charm offensive” more charm or offensive?


The Anaheim Police Department is reporting that its voice-over specialist/actor/APD reservist is appearing on a popular TV show this week.
Retirement ceremony emcee. Medal of Valor event host. Training video star.
To read more, visit the department’s Behind the Badge blog at anaheimpd.wordpress.com.


The Levitt Shell summer concert series opens Thursday evening, and the Memphis Italian Fest begins. IKEA shuns Nashville.
Two Memphis traditions return Thursday, with the Memphis Italian Festival opening its three-day run in the afternoon and the Levitt Shell's summer concert series beginning hours later.
Atop the list of civic celebrations that define the city's character would have to be the signature Memphis in May events, the conclusion of which we discussed in yesterday's 9:01. Riding close behind, near the top of the list of second-tier happenings, are shell concerts and the food/music that fill East Memphis' Marquette Park for one aromatic weekend each year.
The Italian Festival, which benefits Holy Rosary Parish, has had a sometimes-rocky relationship over the years with its Colonial Acres community. The event's success has come to flood Marquette, at the corner of Park and Mt. Moriah, with visitors and make it the bane of neighbors' existence for a few days.
For the most part, however, even inconvenienced neighbors have come to embrace the 29-year-old festival designed to benefit the Holy Rosary Parish School, located next door to the park. Growing from its original intent, it has morphed into a citywide celebration of Italian-American heritage with everything from grape-stomping to bocce.
Complete festival information, including times and ticket prices, is available at the Memphis Italian Festival website.
In another park, meanwhile, music lovers will be bringing their lawn chairs and picnic baskets to the Levitt Shell for the start of the venue's Orion Free Music Summer Concert Series.
Levitt Shell executive director Anne Pitts recently told The Commercial Appeal's Bob Mehr the shell has exceeded expectations since its rebirth 10 years ago as a destination for music and entertainment in Overton Park.
In the interest of transparency, I must note that I'm quite the Levitt Shell fan. It's a place to go with friends and melt away — not a hard thing to do in the humidity of a Memphis summer night — all your frustrations over a bottle of wine and a cooler of food.
Saxophonist/vocalist Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers kick off a busy schedule of nearly 30 concerts that will run through mid-July. The series then takes a break through the worst of the summer heat before returning with a fall lineup. All concerts are free (except for the ticketed Stars at the Shell on July 13), but donations are accepted.
For the complete concert lineup and other information, visit levittshell.org.
IKEA envy: After taking a Nashville city councilman to task in yesterday's 9:01 for trying to score points off Memphis' airport challenges, may a pox be upon me if I'm guilty of the same thing.
I say that so as not to be misunderstood when I point out the news that trendy furniture maker IKEA has scrapped its plans for a Nashville area store. The Swedish company last year announced a store there on the heels of its first Tennessee store that opened in Memphis in December 2016.
The Tennessean newspaper reports the Nashville store fell victim to a changing business model that will focus on online shopping as opposed to brick and mortar. That brings me to the reason for mentioning this at all.
If IKEA has figured out that less brick and mortar and more online is the way to go (one has to wonder what took them so long), does that portend bad things for the 18-month-old Memphis store?
Jesper Brodin, IKEA's new chief executive, told the Financial Times of London last month that the company has a three-year strategy emphasizing digital solutions in all countries, including home delivery, as well as a move away from stores on the outskirts of cities and more in center-city locations.
No talk of store closings, especially stores that only recently opened, but we'll keep a cautious eye on how a changing business strategy in Sweden affects a store off Germantown Parkway and Interstate 40 in Memphis.
Interactive bike classes: In an effort to help potential users take advantage of the city's new Explore Bike Share program, Revolutions Bicycle Co-Op is hosting a series of 50 free classes to get riders on the road.
The educational partner of Explore Bike Share, Revolutions will offer classes on how to use the Explore program (Bike Share 101) and, on a more basic level, classes on how to ride a bike safely on the streets. The street classes, divided into sessions called "How to Ride in the Street Part 1" and "How to Ride in the Street Part 2," will focus on things like signaling, traffic laws and hazards.
For a complete calendar of times and locations for each of the three classes, visit the Revolutions Facebook page.
What about JT? No, we didn't forget that Justin Timberlake was at FedExForum Wednesday evening. Don't worry, we'll have some commentary on the show in Friday's 9:01.
Mark Giannotto reports former NBA coach Sam Mitchell's plans to join the coaching staff of Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis.
Jennifer Pignolet has details on the $1.05 billion general fund budget for 2018-19 approved by Shelby County Schools.
Here's more detail on the scrapped plans for the Nashville area IKEA store.
Sherra Wright gets a $20 million bond in the Lorenzen Wright murder case, Linda Moore reports.
Memphis Italian Festival, 4 p.m. until 11 p.m., Marquette Park at Park and Mt. Moriah, $8 admission.
Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers, Orion Summer Concert Series, Levitt Shell in Overton Park, 7:30 p.m. Free admission but donations accepted.
Reach Ron Maxey at maxey@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @rmaxey1.


Cynthia David challenged herself to try a plant-based diet for a week and discovered a whole new world of alternative milk, grains and vegetables.
Lobbyists getting legislation passed to ensure consumers see a clear distinction between originals and alternatives.
In addition to several repeats, list reveals 24 new entries from coast to coast.
Cover the marinaded tofu and refrigerate for 8 hours to allow the flavours to develop.
Whole wheat penne gets dressed up with green beans, pancetta and walnuts.
Short of contacting the producer, it’s tough to know if animal products were used to make a wine.
After Baldwin St.’s Kon-nichi-wa closed in June 2017 due to a fire, the owners opened The Shozan Room, but Amy Pataki writes, they’ve departed from a lot of what made their original location great.
These crepes can be prepared quickly without compromising on flavour, writes Ricardo.
Salmon is the perfect protein to go with this tasty pasta, writes Ricardo.
After writing two slow cooker cookbooks, I know a little something about helping out people who are pressed for time.
Break up the mundane and feel like you’re stepping onto a villa on the coast with this capellini with mussels and anchovy persillade.