NEW YORK | Buoyed by his characteristically soaring spirit, the surging crowd around him and a pair of canes, Pete Seeger walked through the streets of Manhattan leading an Occupy Movement protest in 2011.
Though he would later admit the attention embarrassed him, the moment brought back many feelings and memories as he instructed yet another generation of young people how to effect change through song and determination — as he had done over the last seven decades as a history-sifting singer and ever-so-gentle rabble-rouser.
"Be wary of great leaders," he told The Associated Press two days after the march. "Hope that there are many, many small leaders."
The banjo-picking troubadour who sang for migrant workers, college students and star-struck presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage died Monday at the age of 94. Seeger's grandson, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, said his grandfather died peacefully in his sleep around 9:30 p.m. at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he had been for six days. Family members were with him.
With his lanky frame, use-worn banjo and full white beard, Seeger was an iconic figure in folk music who outlived his peers. He performed with the great minstrel Woody Guthrie in his younger days and wrote or co-wrote "If I Had a Hammer," ''Turn, Turn, Turn," ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides with an affable air and his fingers poised over the strings of his banjo.
In 2011, the canes kept Seeger from carrying his beloved instrument while he walked nearly 2 miles with hundreds of protesters swirling around him holding signs and guitars. With a simple gesture — extending his friendship — Seeger gave the protesters and even their opponents a moment of brotherhood the short-lived movement sorely needed.
"He reached out and shook my hand and said, 'Thank you, thank you, this is beautiful,'" Rodriguez-Seeger said. "That really did it for me. The cops recognized what we were about. They wanted to help our march. They actually wanted to protect our march because they saw something beautiful. It's very hard to be anti-something beautiful."
With The Weavers, a quartet organized in 1948, Seeger helped set the stage for a national folk revival. The group — Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman — churned out hit recordings of "Goodnight Irene," ''Tzena, Tzena" and "On Top of Old Smokey."
Seeger also was credited with popularizing "We Shall Overcome," which he printed in his publication "People's Song" in 1948. He later said his only contribution to the anthem of the civil rights movement was changing the second word from "will" to "shall," which he said "opens up the mouth better."
Seeger called the 1950s, years when he was denied broadcast exposure, the high point of his career. He was on the road touring college campuses, spreading the music he, Guthrie, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter and others had created or preserved.
"The most important job I did was go from college to college to college to college, one after the other, usually small ones," he told The Associated Press in 2006. " ... And I showed the kids there's a lot of great music in this country they never played on the radio."
His scheduled return to commercial network television on the highly rated Smothers Brothers variety show in 1967 was hailed as a nail in the coffin of the blacklist. But CBS cut out his Vietnam protest song, "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy," and Seeger accused the network of censorship.
He finally got to sing it five months later in a stirring return appearance, although one station, in Detroit, cut the song's last stanza: "Now every time I read the papers/That old feelin' comes on/We're waist deep in the Big Muddy/And the big fool says to push on."
He appeared in the movies "To Hear My Banjo Play" in 1946 and "Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon" in 1970. A reunion concert of the original Weavers in 1980 was filmed as a documentary titled "Wasn't That a Time."
Official Washington sang along — the audience must sing was the rule at a Seeger concert — when it lionized him at the Kennedy Center in 1994. President Bill Clinton hailed him as "an inconvenient artist who dared to sing things as he saw them."
Seeger was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as an early influence. Ten years later, Bruce Springsteen honored him with "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," a rollicking reinterpretation of songs sung by Seeger. While pleased with the album, Seeger said he wished it was "more serious." A 2009 concert at Madison Square Garden to mark Seeger's 90th birthday featured Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and Emmylou Harris among the performers.
Nonetheless, in 1997 he won a Grammy for best traditional folk album, "Pete."
Seeger was born in New York City on May 3, 1919, into an artistic family whose roots traced to religious dissenters of colonial America. His mother, Constance, played violin and taught; his father, Charles, a musicologist, was a consultant to the Resettlement Administration, which gave artists work during the Depression. His uncle Alan Seeger, the poet, wrote "I Have a Rendezvous With Death."
Pete Seeger said he fell in love with folk music when he was 16, at a music festival in North Carolina in 1935. His half-brother, Mike Seeger, and half-sister, Peggy Seeger, also became noted performers.
He learned the five-string banjo, an instrument he rescued from obscurity and played the rest of his life in a long-necked version of his own design. On the skin of Seeger's banjo was the phrase, "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender" — a nod to his old pal Guthrie, who emblazoned his guitar with "This machine kills fascists."
"The sociology professor said, 'Don't think that you can change the world. The only thing you can do is study it,'" Seeger said in October 2011.
The Hudson River was a particular concern of Seeger's. He took the sloop Clearwater, built by volunteers in 1969, up and down the Hudson, singing to raise money to clean the water and fight polluters.
"Can't prove a damn thing, but I look upon myself as old grandpa," Seeger told the AP in 2008 when asked to reflect on his legacy. "There's not dozens of people now doing what I try to do, not hundreds, but literally thousands. ... The idea of using music to try to get the world together is now all over the place."


Charles Liu, a senior fellow at Peking University, debates Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at CSIS.
The South China Sea is one of the most hotly-contested and lucrative regions in the world.
In July, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled in a landmark case in favour of the Philippines, which rejected the Chinese claim to almost the entire South China Sea. China called the ruling ill-founded and non-binding.
As the row in the maritime area continues to heat up, will this lead to war? Or are claims of a possible conflagration exaggerated?
In this week's Arena, we debate the issue with Charles Liu, a senior fellow at the Peking University Centre on China and Global Affairs and the founder of Hao Capital, and Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia and director of the China Power Project, at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Editor's note: This interview was recorded before Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced the end of military cooperation with the United States on October 8, 2016.
China's territorial claims are driven by a sense of historical victimisation.
Ahead of regional summit, the Philippines says Beijing should respect international tribunal's South China Sea verdict.


This year, the success story of Boston College men’s basketball appears to be the team’s ability to rally after slow starts. Prior to the Eagles’ matchup against Colgate on Wednesday, BC overcame six- and eight-point deficits against Maine and Sacred Heart, respectively, before winning both games by 20 points. Wednesday was no different by any means. The Eagles were down by 14 points at the end of the first half, but made the necessary adjustments in the latter portion of play to come away with an 83-79 victory.
Down 15 with just 15 minutes remaining in the second half, the Thanksgiving crowd in Conte Forum was ready to call it quits. Then came Jerome Robinson. The preseason All-ACC Second Team guard pulled off a phenomenal sequence of plays that led to a tie game in just nine minutes of game time. First, he swatted away a potential layup off the glass and made a 3-pointer on the other end. Later, after a Colgate (2-2) airball, Robinson hit another one from deep, bringing BC (5-1) within seven of the Raiders. A sweet drive from the junior was sandwiched between another great series by Robinson—one in which he stole the ball, hit a triple, and then picked up another steal that led to a pair of Teddy Hawkins free throws that gave the Eagles the lead. Colgate took a timeout, but came back onto the court looking defeated and scared. Robinson capped off his 12-point outburst in just four minutes and ended with a game-high 26. He had completely taken charge of the game—literally. In his final highlight play of the game, Robinson took a charge on what surely would have been a Colgate layup, keeping the momentum on BC’s side for good. In the second half, Robinson was in his own world.
Once again, Ky Bowman’s athleticism was on full display. The former Alabama football recruit had a commanding presence in the ways he was able to control the game on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. After the team had scored just two points in the first six minutes of play, Bowman hit a beautiful baseline 10-footer on the run to get the offense going.
Most notably, he intercepted a Colgate pass midway through the second half, and sprinted to the other end of the floor, where he threw down a punishing one-handed slam. Bowman also made a tremendous hustle play when diving out of bounds to save a loose ball that was tossed back to Robinson. On defense, he had two steals, and was the heart and soul of BC’s full-court press that halted the high flying Colgate offense. The 6-foot-1 point guard was also the only player in the game with multiple blocks. With less than a minute left in a still competitive game, Bowman sent a hook shot flying out of bounds that drew high fives from his teammates. The star guard went above and beyond his expectations in this one, and finished with 19 points.
When any ACC team enters the break down 14 points to a Patriot League foe, let alone at home, the coach is often the one held accountable. But they’re also the one that’s praised if their team claws its way back to victory. Although Robinson led the way during a 28-7 run in the second half, it was BC head coach Jim Christian who kept his players in check, and never let them lose their heads against the Raiders. Timeouts were called strategically, and timely traps and presses were implemented. Christian also made sure to keep his foot on the gas even after taking the lead late in the game, helping BC reach its first double-digit lead of the evening with less than five minutes remaining in the contest.
All other BC students had already made their trips home for Thanksgiving break, but BC decided to do some traveling of its own. The Eagles were called for the violation on five separate occassions throughout the game, and whether or not it was a matter of strict officiating, it was ugly, to say the least. Overall, BC finished with 17 turnovers, one more than Colgate. The main culprits were some of the game’s best performers. Robinson coughed up the ball five times, while Hawkins would have had a triple-double in points, rebounds, and turnovers had he given up the ball another four times.
Just like it has all season, BC started off Wednesday’s game looking sluggish. The team scored the first bucket of the game, but then allowed the Raiders to go on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. The Eagles continued to sag off the 3-point line, as Colgate finished the first half with eight makes from beyond the arc, and proceed to shoot a total of 42 treys over the course of the game. Colgate’s 24 points off 3-pointers in the first half were just three shy of BC’s total scoring output in the period. The Eagles were fortunate not to be down by even more, as a couple of the Raiders’ misses came on open looks, where the ball rattled in and out of the hoop.
It seems like Christian is intent on keeping his core five in games for as long as possible this season. Only three players made it off the bench for BC, scoring an embarrassing one combined point in the first half on a free throw from Steffon Mitchell. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Johncarlos Reyes only saw two minutes of action, picking up two fouls which may have limited his time on the floor. His playing time has gone down in each game this season after scoring 12 points in the season opener. On the other hand, freshman Luka Kraljevic received some playing time and snagged a couple of rebounds. But even he was only awarded four minutes over the course of the game. Christian’s bench was brutally outscored, 25-5. The fourth-year man needs to figure out his team’s depth going forward, as injuries and fatigue are practically inevitable come conference play.


Gary Sanchez isn’t apologizing for being picked for next week’s Home Run Derby.
The Yankees catcher was called out Tuesday in a bitter rant by the Rays’ Logan Morrison for getting the nod instead of him.
Morrison, in comments made to the Tampa Bay Times, pointed out he has 24 homers (second at the time in the American League behind Aaron Judge’s 28) compared with Sanchez’s 13.
Sanchez was out for a month due to a biceps injury. Still, he has 33 home runs in 105 games since being called up to the Yankees for good last year. Since that day, Aug. 2, Morrison has 28 homers.
Sanchez admitted to initially expressing reluctance to participate in the event.
Morrison is one of five players in the American League — including Didi Gregorius — who are up for the Final Vote, so he still can be selected for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Morrison said he wasn’t “disappointed” in not being invited to the derby … and then reeled off a list of injustices.


ELKHORN, Neb. — The Rutherford Institute has offered to assist the Elkhorn Public Schools should they encounter any fallout as a result of their decision to overturn Principal Jennifer Sinclair’s attempt to purge Manchester Elementary School of any symbol or mention of Christmas, including singing Christmas carols, using items that have red/green colors, and candy canes (which were perceived as problematic because the shape is a ‘J’ for Jesus). The Institute’s “Constitutional Q&A: The Twelve Rules of Christmas” guidelines aim to clear up the legal misunderstanding over the do’s and don’ts of celebrating Christmas by providing basic guidelines for schools, workplaces and elsewhere.
Over the years, The Rutherford Institute has been contacted by parents and teachers alike concerned about schools changing their Christmas concerts to “winter holiday programs” and renaming Christmas “winter festival” or cancelling holiday celebrations altogether to avoid offending those who do not celebrate the various holidays. In one incident, a public school 6th-grade class was asked to make “holiday cards” to send to the troops but were told by school officials that they could not use the words “Merry Christmas” on their cards. Similarly, nativity displays, Christmas carols, Christmas trees, wreaths, candy canes and even the colors red and green have been banned as part of the effort to avoid any reference to Christmas, Christ or God. Teachers at a Connecticut school were instructed to change the wording of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to “Twas the Night Before a Holiday.” A high school principal in Virginia was unsure about whether he could mention Santa or distribute candy canes after a Muslim family objected to them as symbols of Christmas. A public school principal in Minnesota won’t even allow “Season’s Greetings” to be used in school publications. Things are not much better outside the schools: In one West Virginia town, although the manger scene (one of 350 light exhibits in the town's annual Festival of Lights) included shepherds, camels and a guiding star, the main attractions--Jesus, Mary and Joseph--were nowhere to be found. In Chicago, organizers of a German Christkindlmarket were informed that the public Christmas festival was no place for the Christmas story. Officials were concerned that clips of the film “The Nativity Story,” which were to be played at the festival, might offend someone. And in Delaware, a Girl Scout troop was prohibited from carrying signs reading “Merry Christmas” in their town’s annual holiday parade.


Since the nation plunged into economic turmoil, a handful of states have scaled back pay bonuses and subsidies for teachers who earn certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
But factors other than the economy have also played into the cuts, too. Officials in Georgia, for instance, contend that the state wants to turn its teacher-quality focus toward output-based measures of teacher effectiveness, rather than credentials.
Both phenomena are leading some experts to urge districts, teacher associations, and the NBPTS itself to think strategically about how to structure incentives so that board-certified teachers’ expertise is used effectively in school systems, and thus recognized by a wider cross section of stakeholders.
Despite the downturn in state and local support for national-board certification, some districts continue to compensate teachers for seeking, and getting, the credential, especially those that have it in collective bargaining language.
*High-need incentive includes but is not limited to board-certified teachers.
Board certification is an extensive, 10-step process that includes the submission of a portfolio and an analysis of a videotaped recording of teaching. It can take up to three years to acquire the certificate and costs $2,500 to apply.
Surveys conducted by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center for Education Week’s 50-state Quality Counts report found that between 2007 and 2009, the number of states that reported offering incentives for teachers to earn national-board certification fell from 38 to 31, a 20 percent decline.
In Georgia and Ohio, where incentives for national-board certification had been supported through a specific line item in the states’ budgets, funding for several initiatives has been combined and sent to districts to determine how it is spent.
Such cutbacks don’t necessarily mean a lack of state commitment to the program. Though Illinois cut bonus funding by half for 2010, the certification is an important part of the state’s bid for part of $4 billion in federal Race to the Top competitive funds. Still, some say that rolling back the incentives could reduce the number of applicants—and breaks faith with teachers, who typically earn the bonuses over the 10-year life of the credential.
New registrations are down in some states such as Florida, which in 2008 eliminated a stipend to cover the cost of the $2,500 application fee to earn the credential. The situation is still in flux in other bastions of board-certified teachers.
In South Carolina, legislators had resisted efforts by Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, to cut bonuses for board-certified teachers, and had compromised by capping the number of new recipients of the credential at 1,100, said Karen D. Garr, an NBPTS regional outreach director for several Southern states.
But last week, a state legislative subcommittee gave initial approval to a proposal to halt the state’s $7,500 bonus for successful new candidates.
“It’s understandable that states are looking at their budgets and perhaps scaling back on program services in their jurisdictions, and the national board shouldn’t be exempt from those decisions,” said Joseph A. Aguerrebere, the president of the Arlington, Va.-based NBPTS.
Not all the news for NBPTS backers is bad. The state with the most board-certified teachers, North Carolina, has so far staved off cuts. Its program grants a 12 percent annual salary increase for teachers who earn the certification, although there are murmurs that officials might try to require teachers to cover more of the credential’s application cost.
And 15 states saw increases of 20 percent or more in the number of teachers to achieve certification in 2009 compared with the previous year, Mr. Aguerrebere said. Overall numbers, he added, remain steady.
The state cutbacks are increasingly highlighting the role of local support in preserving incentives for teachers to earn the credential.
Nancy Schwartz, a regional NBPTS director for states in the Northwest and the Midwest, said there is still robust support for established programs such as those in Columbus and Toledo, Ohio, that have been broadly supported by the community as a whole.
In particular, bonus language in local bargaining contracts has been crucial for sustaining programs when funding has disappeared at the state level, said Keith B. Geiger, an nbpts project director and a former NEA president. He has not heard of a single district with bargained incentives trying to pare back the bonus.
“People just don’t bargain things out of contracts—which is why we ask them to put them into the contract,” he said.
But it is less common for the contract incentives to be tailored to teachers in high-poverty schools. Mr. Geiger added.
That issue, along with a federal teacher-quality dialogue that is increasingly dominated by an emphasis on teacher effectiveness and equitable placement of good teachers in high-need schools, have raised questions about whether the way state and local bonuses are now structured adequately underscore the potential benefits of supporting the board-certification process.
Mr. Berry of the Center for Teaching Quality added that board certification is still widely conceived of as something that individual teachers do to improve practice, rather than something that could affect school or district culture more broadly.
Crafting incentives that use board-certified teachers, or BCTs, to improve professional development for less-effective colleagues and foster more wide-reaching change isn’t an easy task, because of the strongly egalitarian norms of the profession and the working conditions necessary to help teachers, said Julia Koppich, a San Francisco-based consultant who has studied board-certified teacher distribution.
Teachers, that research found, want to work with others who share their interest, in schools where they can take on additional roles and responsibilities, and with a principal who is supportive of, not threatened by, those prospects, she said.
“We never had the sense that a single BCT could turn around a school,” Ms. Koppich said. “In the absence of these teachers’ being able to move in teams, there was no incentive for them to move into these highly challenging schools, confronted with cultures that were not welcoming of teachers’ taking on other than traditional roles and responsibilities,” she said.
Mr. Aguerrebere said the national board is committed to thinking through how such incentives might be structured. He highlighted its plans to undertake a new leadership credential and teacher-leadership component, as well as an increasingly popular “Take One!” program that allows teachers—particularly those in schools with little exposure to board certification—to participate in the taped analysis of teaching practices.
Some evidence supports the notion that more-targeted incentives might be more attractive to states, too. The EPE Research Center data, for instance, show the number of states offering incentives for board-certified teachers to take positions in high-need schools increased from 10 to 12 between 2007 and 2009.
On the other hand, Florida has effectively canceled one of the few tailored incentives that now exist. Until 2008, legislation in that state guaranteed teachers a 10 percent raise for holding thecredential, and an additional 10 percent bonus for those who performed 20 days of mentoring for other teachers.
But now, depending on the state appropriation, the mentoring bonus is financed only after the first component has been paid out.
Carolyn Guthrie, the executive director of the professional-development office in the Miami-Dade County district in Florida, said that keeping the quality of mentoring consistent was a challenge, but she hopes that funding for the state mentoring piece will be restored.
Library Director Kathryn Dorko and Library Intern Jessica Cain contributed research to this report.
“Credential of NBPTS Has Impact,” June 18, 2008.


BALTIMORE — Before the Yankees improved to 20 games over .500 and put on Drake’s “Passionfruit” — their postgame clubhouse victory song — they had to survive a scare.
Gleyber Torres, their 21-year-old super rookie, got hit with a pitch on the right wrist in the sixth inning of their 8-5 victory over the lowly Orioles on Saturday.
Torres looked to be in significant pain at the time. But after a visit from the trainer, he stayed in the game.
The Bombers (37-17) are on a 111-win pace through the first third of the season. So at this point it’s just about maintaining consistency and staying healthy.
They lead the majors in runs, homers and OPS.
Their lineup, 1 through 9, is relentless.
When some guys slump, other guys step up.
On Saturday, it was Giancarlo Stanton’s turn.
Stanton has mostly underperformed since coming to New York — relative to massive salary and the added expectations that followed after the blockbuster deal with Miami — especially against right-handed pitching. He entered Saturday’s game with a .602 OPS against righties.
But in his second at-bat against Baltimore righty Kevin Gausman, Stanton got a 95-mph fastball out over the plate — in his wheelhouse — and blasted it over the right-field wall for his first homer in 11 games.
Stanton’s hitting mechanics in his unorthodox closed stance — which allowed him to win NL MVP honors last season — have been out of whack with righties on the mound.
Of course, Stanton has had a good game or two before, only to go back into a funk. So even he’s not making too much of this. And the Bombers have been just fine without him producing at an All-Star caliber clip.
But after all those years of being on all those terrible Marlins teams, this feels good.
The Yankees got another multi-hit performance from Miguel Andujar, who leads all rookies with 26 extra-base hits.
Aaron Hicks, who had been in the Twitter doghouse, notched three hits. Brett Gardner and Didi Gregorius contributed two hits apiece. Meanwhile, Torres and the struggling Gary Sanchez each went 0-fer.
The Bombers, though, are capable of playing better baseball. They can clean up their act defensively and on the bases. Their starting pitching, as inconsistent as it has been behind Luis Severino, is capable of getting deeper into games. On Saturday, Masahiro Tanaka surrendered three homers.
Nevertheless, they’ve been more than good enough on most nights. And just imagine if they were able to get someone like Madison Bumgarner to complement Severino at the top of the rotation.
Since starting 9-9, the Yankees are 28-8. They’ve won 11 of their last 12 completed series.
Of course, the Red Sox — despite Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia recently going on the disabled list — are playing just as well. So it’s going to be a fight to the finish, an all-out effort to avoid a matchup with a Shohei Ohtani or a James Paxton in the do-or-die AL wild card game.
Therefore, the Yankees need to keep it up — staying hot with the bats and staying healthy.
Maybe they’ll even get some consistency out of Giancarlo Stanton. Eventually.


MARRIAGE LICENSES Marriage licenses issued at the Stutsman County Recorder’s Office: Kelsey Turcotte and Preston Weisenburger, both New Rockford, N.D. Jamie Herron and Robert Cunningham, both Jamestown. Kristine Hankins, Maricopa, Ariz., and Brandon Dale, Jamestown.
Marriage licenses issued at the Stutsman County Recorder’s Office: Jenni Frieson and Shon Kalis, both Streeter, N.D.


The New York Red Bulls and New York City FC will meet twice in 2019.
The New York Red Bulls, New York City FC and the rest of Major League Soccer announced their 2019 schedules on Monday.
The rivals will meet twice this season, first at Red Bull Arena on July 14 and again at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 24. The addition of FC Cincinnati as the league's 24th team means that no teams, not even division opponents, will meet three times.
The Red Bulls open the season on the road in Columbus on March 2 and play their first home game on March 16 against San Jose.
NYCFC opens the season on the road at Orlando City on March 2 and plays its first home game on March 10 against DC United.
Both teams will host defending champion Atlanta United. The Red Bulls, who lost to Atlanta in the Eastern Conference finals last season, host the defending champions on May 19 in one of the team's 13 nationally-televised games. NYCFC hosts Atlanta on Sept. 25.
The full Red Bulls schedule can be found here.
The full NYCFC schedule can be found here.


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The Fratellis' second album is packed full of boozy music hall singalongs.
The Fratellis certainly aren't to everyone's tastes. The Glaswegians' debut album, Costello Music, and specifically their hit 'Chelsea Dagger', was installed with extra-strength superglue in the nation's pub jukeboxes all through 2006. However, for every fan of the band's boozy singalongs, there were many others who found them distasteful and crass. The nicer reviews described them as "artless but amiable", while sterner critics lamented their "tediously misogynistic" lyrics. John, Barry and Mince, meanwhile, kept on smiling while the album sales racked up.
According to the band, album number two is a more "factual" record. Lead single 'Mistress Mabel' fails to support this assertion, featuring as it does lyrics about a "hem line rat bag" that are about as comprehensible as an Ikea instruction manual printed in Japanese. Fortunately, the track is saved by what sounds like a dozen pianos being bashed with hammers and some of the finest rattling riffs we're likely to hear in 2008. This theme of rubbish words/cracking tunes runs through the core of Here We Stand.
Opener 'My Friend John' gallops out of the blocks like a Grand National winner, but lyrically it's about as exciting as an afternoon watching Countdown with your granny. Lawler's story-telling promises much and often throws out intriguing titbits, but all too often he drifts aimlessly. 'Acid Jazz Singer's tale of an encounter with a mystery female while laid "in the gutter" has promise, but its outcome is the distinctly underwhelming: "I haven't seen her lately man, I have to ring her." The woozy guitar anthem 'Jesus Stole My Baby' features a relatively amusing anecdote about a girl who becomes a "bore" after discovering God, but these occasional moments of interest are few and far between.
Nevertheless, fans of Costello Music are unlikely to be disappointed by this album. 'Look Out Sunshine!' is a four-minute arm-swaying belter that The Kooks would have loved for their recent album, while 'Tell Me Lies' mixes grubby, Jack White-style blues with the band's usual melodic glam. The album's highlight is probably 'Shameless', a track so bombastic and in-your-face that it will require a gaggle of dancing girls performing the Can-Can to do it justice when played live. Not far behind is 'A Heady Tale', the sort of thing the cast of Corrie might belt out round a grand piano on a New Year's Eve special.
Here We Stand certainly isn't the album to silence The Fratellis' critics, but it's genuinely hard to fault their lack of ambition when they're clearly having such a good time. While their musical palette of Slade, T-Rex and The Faces is hardly inspiring, few bands are this proficient at turning those influences into raucous, radio-friendly hits. They probably won't get away with it a third time, but The Fratellis' second outing is a harmless enough romp that will have plenty of music fans high-kicking along come the end of the year.


Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday wrote to chief ministers of all states and union territories seeking their cooperation to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative assemblies and Parliament.
Earlier, he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate steps to pass the Women's Reservation Bill.
"The support of chief ministers in giving rightful places to women in society will give a new direction towards women empowerment," Patnaik wrote in letters to CMs.
Stating that women have a major role to play in building the nation and society, he said, "Empowerment of women is empowerment of the nation. No household, no society, no state, no country has ever moved forward without empowering its women."
Patnaik's letters to chief ministers came a day after the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha took a decision to consult 22 political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, as part of its efforts to build consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill, pending in the Lok Sabha.
BJD delegates would meet leaders of seven national parties and 15 regional parties in this regard, party leaders said.
Though the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2010, it could not be passed in the Lok Sabha.
The legislation lapsed following the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
Meanwhile, the BJD has also decided to put up a proposal regarding the bill during the Winter Session of Parliament which is scheduled to begin in the second week of December.
In this regard, Patnaik has called for a meeting of the party MPs here on December 9, party sources said.
The Odisha Assembly on November 20 had unanimously passed a resolution seeking reservation of one-third seats for women in state assemblies and Parliament.


Where are the manuals, and the GT?
Though it's tamer, we recommend the four-cylinder Legacy for its gas mileage and bargain price. There's more power to be had from the flat six, but it starts some $7000 higher, and doesn't deliver a big performance dividend.
The 2015 Subaru Legacy smooths over its ruffles, and out-domestics some American family sedans with a big back seat, excellent gas mileage and standard all-wheel drive.
The 2015 Subaru Legacy is no niche vehicle. You may not have put it in the same thought bubble as the Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, or Ford Fusion--but now, you should.
We have. The Car Connection has named the Legacy our Best Car To Buy 2015.
It's taken a decade or so, but Subaru's gradual upsizing and mainstreaming of its cars has paid off impressively in the new Legacy. The company that once brought you offbeat cars like the Baja and SVX now has a legitimate leader in the brutally competitive family-sedan class.
The new Legacy is more conventionally handsome and appealing than a Camry, a Malibu, a 200 or a Passat. It's more spacious than the Accord, the Altima, and the Fusion. Add in good gas mileage and a recent run of great crash-test scores, and the Legacy now throws a few elbows of its own in the mid-size segment.
The Legacy is Subaru's flagship car, but it acts more like an Avalon than a Lexus LS. It's not too large, not too frilly, not at all pretentious. It blends in purposefully with its surroundings: witness the six-sided grille, the granite countertop of the modern family car. It's a subtle social signal that's everywhere, from the Fusion to the Hyundai Genesis.
The Legacy's cabin shifts in lockstep with the sheetmetal toward a handsome, functional median. It's a clean, easily readable design with a band of metallic or woodgrain trim that distinguishes upper-trim levels from base versions.
The 2015 Subaru Legacy is one sedan we'd have expected to drop its optional six-cylinder engine--given Subaru's great turbo fours. That's not the case, though we'd still suggest the four-cylinder still is the bargain that smart shoppers will seek. Legacy 2.5i sedans are powered by a 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder that needs to be worked hard when more than just a driver is aboard, but good sound deadening filters off a lot of the byproduct. Legacy 3.6R sedans come with a 256-hp 3.6-liter flat-six engine, which isn't as strong or responsive as we'd like. In part, it's because the Legacy puts smoothness first: it blends ratios seamlessly, steers without any hiccups in its electric-generated effort, and damps out rough roads with real grace.
Gas mileage is excellent. Legacy four-cylinders now are rated at 30 mpg combined, the best in a smaller niche of family sedans with all-wheel drive. Still, its 36-mpg highway rating is up there with the 37-mpg Altima. The six-cylinder's less impressive, at 23 mpg combined.
By dialing up the Legacy's width and wheelbase, Subaru's found more interior space than any other mid-sizer--a technical distinction maybe, but a great use of space nonetheless. The Legacy has 119.6 cubic feet of passenger and trunk space, which slides in just beneath the Feds' 120-cubic-foot definition of a "large" car. Front-seat space is great, but the seats need a lot of incline to provide leg support. The back seat's space is better arranged than all its competition save for the Accord, and trunk space is good, as is in-car storage.
The Legacy has already earned top 'good' results in every category from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) -- and the Top Safety Pick+ award -- as well as five stars in every category and subcategory of testing from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It's one of the few models we give a perfect '10' to in Safety.
Among other features, the Legacy's new infotainment system wipes Subaru's slate clean. We've spent a lot of time with their former system; it's poorly thought out and difficult to use. The new system comes at least with a pretty 6.2-inch multi-function touchscreen, one that's controlled via big tiles and icons, and has swipe and tap gesture control. It behaves a lot like GM's MyLink and IntelliLink systems, down to the ability to set favorites across any media, from Bluetooth streaming to AM to XM favorites. The stock system also includes an iPod/USB port, HD radio, an auxiliary input, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming, and integration for Pandora and Aha streaming services.
Finally, pricing is giving buyers something to consider, too--the Legacy's $22,420 base sticker is spot-on, especially with its standard rearview camera and Bluetooth with audio streaming. The $30,390 3.6R is very well equipped, though we're not sure anything more than a mid-range four-cylinder is all Subaru fans will need.
With a little stretch here and a reimagined bit there, the Legacy feels primed for the big time. It's a bit larger where it needs to be, a lot more muted where it has to be, and it's full of features in a way Subaru is really just getting the hang of. In all, we think that makes the Legacy a Nissan Altima equivalent, a legitimate Honda Accord alternative, a sublime counterpoint to the engaging but jiggly Ford Fusion. The latter two duked it out for our Best Car To Buy 2013 title, with the Fusion the winner.
No surprises here: the Subaru Legacy has the six-sided grille and the silhouette of a handsome mainstream sedan.
The Legacy is Subaru's flagship car, and that speaks to the pragmatic core of the brand...said someone in a PowerPoint at some point, I'm sure. It's not too large, not too frilly, not at all pretentious.
In styling, the Legacy is empty of empty-headed details, pointedly flared instead of pointlessly flaired. Everything just falls into line here, from the raked windshield to the mildly sculpted fenders and lower bodywork. The logo lies inside a six-sided grille--you've seen it everywhere from the Hyundai Sonata to the Ford Fusion. Apparently, if you don't have six sides, you're nowheresville, population one. The side view is as rational as the one on a Hyundai Genesis, without reaching for some elusive upscale look.
From the decklid, you'll have to hunt for the badges before you can definitively name what you're seeing--though to be fair, that's the case with a half-dozen cars in the same class.
Where the details reveal themselves to be Subaru in origin, they're pretty purposeful. The best example: The sideview mirrors are set back behind a small triangle of glass, for better aerodynamics and better visibility.
The Legacy's cabin shifts in lockstep with the sheetmetal toward a handsome, functional median. It's a clean, easily readable design with a band of metallic or woodgrain trim that distinguishes upper-trim levels from base versions. Gauges are lit in blue, with a small LCD display wedged between the dials for a quick read of directions or audio status. The vents are stacked higher on the dash, to make room for a touchscreen interface that sits above a panel of knobs and switches rendered in old-school-Japanese metallic plastic. It's buttoned-down, and you have to look--really look--inside the Legacy for the inexpensive bits of trim.
Acceleration isn't everything: the beautifully balanced Legacy pays a higher dividend with its capable handling.
The 2015 Subaru Legacy is one sedan we'd have expected to drop its optional six-cylinder engine--given Subaru's great turbo fours. That's not the case, though we'd still suggest the four-cylinder is the bargain that classically frugal Subaru shoppers will seek.
The four-cylinder makes perfect sense in a car like the Legacy, one wraps itself in a layer of predictable, clear responses. It measures out its responses, with perfectly smooth steering feel, a stepless transmission that blurs acceleration, and a suspension that snubs roughed-up roads. Like the Nissan Altima and Honda Accord, the Legacy feels more traditional than a Ford Fusion, and as "premium" as any Volvo.
The flip side of the Legacy's muted responses is that it's tough to get it excited when wanted. The four-cylinder's tame responses are granted, a part of the high-economy bargain. The six-cylinder takes more stoking than it should, for a few reasons--cautious transmission programming, relatively lean torque down low, and gradual throttle uptake.
The base powertrain turns in the best gas mileage, and it's happy to get worked hard. The 2.5-liter flat four-cylinder turns out 175 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque, teamed solely to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and all-wheel drive. In solo commuter duty, it's fine for mid-8-second acceleration; with two or more aboard, the four-cylinder needs to be wrung out, especially up mild climbs. Extra sound deadening goes a long way to tamp out the wall of noise waiting at the other side of the gas pedal.
The six-cylinder shaves a second or so off the four's acceleration times. It's not obviously fast, though it is unstrained. With 256 hp and 247 lb-ft of torque, the Subaru 3.6-liter flat-six engine gets beat by about 50 pound-feet of torque by GM's turbo four. There’s no turbo lurch here, no double-gearchange down, just a seamless sweep that comes off as maybe less dramatic than it should.
The six-cylinders also come with a CVT, a different one derived in this case from the WRX sport sedan, one capable of handling the higher torque. With either setup, the Legacy gets a set of steering-wheel paddle shifters and six programmed points on its infinite ratio curve--you'd call them "gears" in a conventional automatic or manual, but CVTs use belts and pulleys instead. The paddles can pull more emotion out of either engine, though it takes more than a click or two down before things get interesting. Unlike other applications, there's no SI-Drive setup in the Legacy--no more aggressive throttle or steering programs, no eight-point shift pattern. There's room here for an easy upgrade.
Between the all-wheel-drive's new torque-vectoring feature--it can shift power front to back, and use the brakes on an inside wheel to tighten a cornering line--the Legacy's default mode is calm, cool and collected. It skims gracefully around winding roads without any of the traction-control drama that's obvious in some overpowered front-drivers. Its electric power steering is a nice compromise of increasing weight off-center, but not excessive weight on-center. It tracks very well, and doesn't weight up unnaturally or step off center too quickly. It just flows with the same ease as the compliant ride. The Legacy is settled, but also absorbent--not squishy and listless like a base Camry, not borderline stiff as in any Fusion.
The Legacy has excellent space for five passengers, and a high-quality feel inside its quiet cabin.
Subaru has gradually upsized its vehicle lineup, to counter the generic size creep going on all across the auto spectrum. The current Honda Civic has the same wheelbase as the original Ford Taurus; today's Forester wagon is the size of the early-2000s Outback.
The new Legacy expands its footprint, too. Subaru says it's the biggest and roomiest sedan it's ever offered, and also promises the biggest cabin in the family-sedan segment. The numbers ring true, even though the Legacy's about the same length overall as the last edition.
By the numbers, the 2015 Legacy is 188.8 inches in overall length, and it rides on a 108.3-inch wheelbase. It's a couple of inches wider than before, with 1.6 inches more in wheelbase. At the same time, leg room is up, to 42.9 inches front, 38.1 inches rear.
The bulk is fairly well disguised but it's there. The Legacy has 119.6 cubic feet of passenger and trunk space, which slides in just beneath the Feds' 120-cubic-foot definition of a "large" car. And as a result, curb weight is up to about 3,500 pounds in base trim or 3,700 pounds in six-cylinder guise.
A quick comparison puts the Legacy squarely in the ballpark with the Ford Fusion and Honda Accord. The Fusion has a 112.2-inch wheelbase, weight about the same, and has 118.8 cubic feet of interior volume. It nets out with 44.3 inches of front leg room, 38.3 inches of rear leg room--but it also loses some of that volume and leg room to a more sloped roofline. The Accord is closest to the Legacy's specs, with an inch more wheelbase and a zero-sum gain in front and rear legroom.
A bit smaller are the Nissan Altima, which gives front seat passengers two inches more in legroom carved right out of the back-seat space, and 2 cubic feet less interior volume; and the Chevy Malibu which doesn't seem so small, but is down in every critical measure against the Legacy--most noticeably off 1.3 inches in rear seat legroom and 3 cubic feet of space.
Subaru splits out that space in a very functional way. The front seats are mounted a little higher than before, and with power adjustment, they have a very wide range to accommodate a lot of drivers. The seats themselves? In cloth or leather, they could use more side bolstering, and really need a lot of tilt in the cushion to feel adequately supportive.
The console that divides the front seats has a big pair of cupholders and a shallow, covered bin that holds a power point and two USB ports--aside from the console bin, deep enough to hold an iPad.
The Legacy's back seat has a better setup than the Fusion; the Altima has better cushioning but the Subaru's rear bench has a less sunken feel, maybe a perception issue stemming from the brighter colors and trim in our primary test car. You could probably put three adults across in back for short trips and still have a working relationship with them afterward.
And unlike the base Accord, the Legacy's rear seat still has 60/40-split folding rear seatbacks. Once folded down, the seats expose a large cutout that expands the 15.0 cubic feet of trunk space. The trunklid itself is nicely squared and cut widely, so loading wider objects should be a snap.
The Legacy's cabin is quieter than ever, thanks to a new acoustic windshield, thicker panels, liquid-filled engine mounts, and more noise insulation throughout.
The Legacy has pegged the Top Safety Pick+ meter, and it's a perfect five-star NHTSA performer.
The 2015 Legacy has already earned top 'good' results in every category from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) -- and the Top Safety Pick+ award, as well as nothing but top five-star results from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In the IIHS battery of frontal and side crash tests—including the roof strength and rear (seat-based) tests—the 2015 Subaru Legacy earned nothing but top results in every single subcategory. Last year's models had a very good yet imperfect report card, with the second-best 'acceptable' rating in the front small overlap category.
Along with the standard safety gear--it includes all-wheel drive and a rearview camera--the Legacy can be configured with a bundle of the latest active-safety technology. The bundle includes blind-spot monitors, lane-departure warnings, and rear cross-traffic alerts. It also comes standard with airbags in the front of the bottom seat cushion, to help prevent submarining in an accident. And we really appreciate the Legacy's excellent visibility; its stiff body structure is delivered with slimmer roof pillars, a boon to rearward visibility.The safety thoughtfulness goes as far as a feature we never knew existed on any Subaru. A car-mounted touchpad lets drivers set a code that allows the keyless-entry fob to be left in the car. If you're off chasing waterfalls or mudrunning, you can leave the fob behind in the car, and just tap the code for re-entry.
The Legacy also introduces the latest version of its EyeSight driver-assistance system. It has smaller, better cameras that are better able to handle glare, have 40 percent better detection range, and can now recognize brake lights ahead in traffic. Subaru also says its system will be less expensive to repair after an accident--since the cameras are mounted inside the windshield, they're protected better from impacts.
A big infotainment upgrade and standard all-wheel drive give the Legacy a great edge, especially in base versions.
When it arrives in showrooms this summer, the 2015 Subaru Legacy will have some strong-selling crossovers and cars at its back. It'll share showrooms with the recent Impreza sedan, its hot WRX and STI spin-offs, and the Forester and XV Crosstrek crossover wagons, not to mention its own Outback wagon spin-off due a little later this year.
The new Legacy will be priced to go up against the most brutally competitive set of family sedans, some available with all-wheel drive, some not. The 2015 Legacy 2.5i carries a base price of $22,420, and comes with a rearview camera, power accessories, and cruise control. Moving up to the $24,290 Legacy 2.5i Premium adds a 10-way power driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, and an all-weather package, as well as Bluetooth hands-free text messaging and a 7.0-inch touch screen for the infotainment system. The Legacy 2.5i Limited, at $27,290, upgrades to leather seats, 18-inch wheels, a harman/kardon audio system and heated rear seats.
The infotainment system that makes its debut in the new Legacy wipes the Subaru slate clean. We've spent a lot of time with their former system; it's poorly thought out and difficult to use. The new system comes at least with a pretty 6.2-inch multi-function touchscreen, one that's controlled via big tiles and icons, and has swipe and tap gesture control. It behaves a lot like GM's MyLink and IntelliLink systems, down to the ability to set favorites across any media, from Bluetooth streaming to AM to XM favorites.
The stock system also includes an iPod/USB port, HD radio, an auxiliary input, Bluetooth hands-free calling and audio streaming, and integration for Pandora and Aha streaming services. Upgraded systems and those with optional navigation have two USB ports and voice-command recognition with a good grasp of natural language. Depending on which system you get, there's a separate reconfigurable display (up to five inches across) in front of the driver.
At the top of the range, the six-cylinder Legacy 3.6R Limited starts at $30,390. It comes with the 2.5i Limited's gear, as well as stainless exhaust tips and HID headlights. There are a handful of options, too, ranging from $1,195 for the Moonroof Package up to $2,990 for a package that adds moonroof, navigation, keyless start and Subaru’s EyeSight collision avoidance system.
A combined EPA rating of 30 mpg for the four-cylinder Legacy puts this Subaru near the top of the segment.
With a combined EPA rating of 30 miles per gallon, the four-cylinder Subaru Legacy is among the most efficient mid-size sedans with all-wheel drive. Broken out by test, the Legacy achieves 26 mpg city, 36 highway in 2.5i trim, numbers that put it slightly below the best front-drive vehicles in the segment, the Nissan Altima and Honda accord.
Helping the four-cylinder Legacy earn those excellent ratings are active grille shutters, which close to smooth airflow at higher speeds, and a weight-saving aluminum hood.
Six-cylinders are quite a bit more drinky, getting 20/29 mpg or 23 mpg combined.
Pros: A competent vehicle in good and bad weather. Excellent ride quality, equal to some luxury cars. Reliability has been excellent so far, but I have only 10k miles on the odometer. Fuel economy is... Pros: A competent vehicle in good and bad weather. Excellent ride quality, equal to some luxury cars. Reliability has been excellent so far, but I have only 10k miles on the odometer. Fuel economy is reasonable - about 26mpg - almost all in the city. That's the EPA number also. 36 mpg on highway may be somewhat optimistic, although I have gotten 34 mpg. Cloth seats are comfortable. I opted out of the expensive navigation system and use a small Garmin unit instead, which is updated far more frequently than what Subaru does. Also offers some additional information. We like the car so much that my wife and I have identical Legacy sedans, except for the color. Acceleration is very good at slow speeds, but the 4-cyl engine is not a rocket when passing on the highway.
Cons: The boxer engine tends to be on the noisier side, especially when accelerating. Even at idle it is louder than my Accord used to be. Of course, some people may like loud engine. Gas pedal is very touchy, so smooth starts from a stop takes some practice. The onboard computer is optimistic about average MPG, usually at least 1.5 mpg higher than actual calculations during gas purchases. Dealer service is very good at Clear Lake Subaru, and new car prices appear to be better than average.
This car is a secret to most buyers. It has style ,comfort , great gas mileage. If looking for a mid size car give it a test drive you will be suprised.
The best legacy ever. It drives well and is really quiet cabin. Easy dashboard layout and spacious rear seats. Good boot space and good driver seat position and space.
Infotainment center was very poorly designed, but otherwise the car is beautiful!
Although the car is beautiful on the outside and has a quite impressive looking interior, the infotainment center is very poorly designed. I never thought it would be so difficult to change the channel with... Although the car is beautiful on the outside and has a quite impressive looking interior, the infotainment center is very poorly designed. I never thought it would be so difficult to change the channel with SiriusXM. I had put an after-market SiriusXM receiver in my old car, and I GREATLY prefer that interface to the one I paid extra for built into this car. I cannot even tell you how many times I've nearly gotten into an accident just trying to figure out how to simply change the station. Also, it would be beneficial for them to have some sort of ECO mode or something along those lines. During the summer in perfect driving conditions, there is no need to have the AWD sucking up so much gas. I don't think I ever come anywhere near the MPG listed for the car. I know there are a lot of stop signs/lights, traffic, and small back roads in my daily commute which is probably why I get such poor fuel efficiency, but in these sort of situations I wish I had a way to disengage the AWD or at least make it more fuel efficient.
Looking for a different year of the Subaru Legacy?


A 6-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion Sunday afternoon near Cupertino, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The boy was said to be hiking with a large group along the Picchetti Ranch Zinfandel Trail when the animal attacked.
According to Fish and Wildlife, the cat started to drag the boy into the bushes by his head and neck before two men from the group scared it off. The boy was carried back down the trail, where help was called.
Wildlife officials were still looking for the mountain lion as of Monday morning.


At a news conference in Winter Park, he said he wants to end a ban on smokable medical marijuana in Florida.
The Governor said he's filing a stay of decision in an appeal by the state Legislature, which wants to keep that ban in place.
On Thursday, Gov. DeSantis said he's giving state lawmakers until mid-March to reform or rewrite Florida's law on medical marijuana.
"I want the elected Representatives to write the law the way the people intended," said Gov. DeSantis. "So we'll give them a couple weeks in session to address the smoking issue."
He said if the Legislature doesn't reach a decision by then, his office will dismiss the state's appeal, which will open the door for smokable medical marijuana to be legal in Florida.
"This thing should have been implemented, we should have moved on," said Gov. DeSantis. "For someone who has these really tough conditions, I want to do whatever we can to provide relief for these folks."
Gov. DeSantis was joined at the news conference by Orlando attorney and medical marijuana supporter John Morgan, who filed a lawsuit against the state's ban on smokable medical marijuana.
In 2016, more than 71 percent of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing medical use of marijuana.
Since then, the Republican-dominated Legislature has been criticized for the way it's implemented the amendment in state law.
Gov. DeSantis said the current law doesn't reflect the will of voters and that it's not up to him what form of marijuana patients use to treat debilitating illnesses.
The Governor has been very busy since taking office on Jan. 7 and laying out his plan for our state's future.


Thanks to some confused signals from Carroll County officials, developers Michael Reeves and Henry L. Blevins may have escaped a state effort to remove buried construction debris in their Homedale Road subdivision in South Carroll. But the fact remains that the tree stumps, limbs and other building waste covered by a layer of soil will cause problems for future homeowners there.
County water resources officials have identified about 100 sink holes in Carroll that were caused when rotting stumps and wood could no longer support the tons of soil that covered them. The developers responsible for creating these earthen time bombs are long gone, and the homeowners are now stuck with the expense of filling the holes.
Although burying construction detritus has been illegal in Maryland since 1988, Carroll's inspectors had been turning a blind eye to the practice. After the county's Environmental Affairs Advisory Board became aware of the law and informed inspectors, regulation was stepped up.
Mr. Reeves casts himself as the unfortunate victim of a change in policy. He claims unnamed county officials gave him permission to follow past disposal practices, only then to be cited for violating state law.
He convinced new Commissioner Richard T. Yates -- that professed advocate of quality home construction -- to pen a letter to the Maryland Department of the Environment arguing that county officials had misled Mr. Reeves.
Regardless of who is responsible for the buried waste, homeowners need to be informed about the matter and the potential for problems. Since Mr. Reeves and Mr. Blevins have demonstrated no concern for future home buyers by burying the debris, they are not likely to disclose its existence to them.
If regulations were properly enforced, there would be no problem. The county now finds itself uncomfortably powerless while two developers can sell lots laden with potential problems.
The probability is high that the county government -- read: Carroll's taxpayers -- may be responsible for clearing out the debris and filling the sinkholes. County officials should explore the possibility of having a warning registered with the land records that would accompany transfer of these lots.


LONDON—Prince William and Prince Harry joined the cast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the film’s European premiere Tuesday, delighting fans who braved the London cold for a glimpse of Hollywood stars and British royalty.
But cast and crew were silent on reports that the royal siblings make a cameo appearance in the much-anticipated film.
The tuxedo-clad princes walked the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the black-tie gala, a benefit for their Royal Foundation charity — though without William’s pregnant wife Kate or Harry’s fiancée, Meghan Markle.
Royal officials have refused to comment on reports that the princes recorded a scene playing Stormtroopers in the sci-fi saga when they visited the film’s set in April 2016. At the time they were filmed meeting crew members, battling with light sabers and hugging a Wookie.
Star John Boyega has said the royal duo filmed a scene during their visit to London’s Pinewood Studios, though it’s unclear whether it made the final cut.
Cast members on the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall pleaded ignorance, and director Rian Johnson would not comment on the reported royal cameo.
“I can neither confirm nor deny it,” he said.
London-born star Boyega was joined on the red carpet by fellow cast members including Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Anthony Daniels — who has played C-3PO in the “Star Wars” series since 1977 — and Mark Hamill, who returns as Luke Skywalker.
Hours before the screening, hundreds of fans lined up on one of the coldest days of the year for a glimpse of the stars, the royals and a phalanx of Stormtroopers who marched in formation up the red carpet.
The eighth film in the “Star Wars” series, “The Last Jedi” had its world premiere Sunday in Los Angeles. The adventure is a followup to “The Force Awakens,” which brought the franchise back to movie screens in 2015.
It is the last film to feature Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Fisher died in December 2016 at 60, shortly after completing her final scenes.
Hamill said fans were helping him get through his sadness at Fisher’s death.
“She was so much fun. You’re going to love her tonight, she’s great in the film!” he added.
A previous version of this story did not make clear that the royal set visit was in April 2016.


On Aug. 29, 2012, the Moscow Arbitration Court made a noteworthy ruling in the Eastern Value Partners Limited (Decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court No.A40-60755/1220-388 of 29 August 2012) case concerning interest withholding tax issues and applicability of the double tax treaty between Cyprus and Russia (the Treaty). The court had to examine the back-to-back debt financing received by one Cyprus company (allegedly having some form of presence in Russia) from another Cyprus company. The problematic issue of the case was that the second Cyprus company was not the economic source of financing, as it received the funds on-lent to the first Cyprus company from an affiliate residing in BVI.
The parties did their best to structure the transaction in a way that would attract the attention of the tax authorities. Firstly, the funds were received by the second Cyprus company and on-lent to the first one within the same day. Secondly, the second Cyprus company requested that the borrower repay the loan and interest accrued thereon directly to BVI. In addition, the transaction was the only operation of the second Cyprus company that year. Needless to say that all these elements were used by the Russian tax authorities in order to challenge the applicability of the Treaty, which could result in a 20 percent tax leakage upon repatriation of interest income from Russia to BVI.
Notwithstanding the fact that the court finally ruled in favor of the taxpayer, the tax authorities may be more successful in the future in advancing their argumentation.
(i) The direction of payment of income (i.e. the way the payment is technically structured) should not affect the attribution of this income to the person who has legal and economic power in respect of that income. This implies that the mere fact that the funds were transferred to BVI does not make the BVI affiliate the recipient of the underlying income, which would be rather the second Cyprus company. This is a valid point and indeed the court followed the internationally accepted approach in this respect.
(ii) The court then referred to a newly developed limitation on the benefits provision of the Treaty (new Article 29), which limits access to the Treaty benefits for Cyprus resident companies that are not incorporated under the laws of Cyprus, where the competent authorities of Cyprus and Russia identify on a case-by-case basis that abuse of the Treaty is the sole or one of the major goals for the use of such companies. Since the second Cyprus company was not established outside Cyprus, the Court ruled that the anti-abuse provisions of Article 29 should not apply. This statement is somewhat surprising, bearing in mind that the amendments introduced by the protocol to the Treaty will not apply until Jan. 1, 2013.
(iii) Finally, the court rejected the application of Articles 9 and 11 (5) of the Treaty providing for the possibility to adjust the amount of interest due between associated enterprises to which zero withholding tax could apply, if that amount of interest is not arm's length (i.e. exceeds the level of interest that would have been established between independent enterprises). We concur with the court when it argues that this was of little help for the tax authorities to the extent they were unable to establish that the interest applied by the parties was not commensurate with the terms of borrowing available on the market.
The tax authorities attempted to bring forward another argument, which, in our view could change the outcome of the case. In particular, the tax authorities contended that the second Cyprus company was just an intermediary between the lender residing in BVI and the borrower. They further claimed that the only purpose of this intermediary was to get access to zero withholding tax under the Treaty (which would not have otherwise been available for the ultimate borrower). That is where the above peculiarities concerning the borrowing (i.e. no other transactions at the level of the second Cyprus company, similarity of the terms of the loan from BVI to Cyprus and that between the Cyprus companies) could come into play.
Essentially, the tax authorities attempted to apply a concept that is generally known in international taxation as beneficial ownership. This concept essentially denies extension of the tax treaty benefits to mere intermediaries (nominees, agents and other conduit entities which do not have economic power in respect of income they receive).
It should be noted that the Treaty does not directly support application of the beneficial ownership concept to interest income (this concept is clearly envisaged in respect of dividend income). As to interest and royalty income, the wording of Article 11 (3 and 5) and Article 12 (3 and 5) implies that the respective treaty benefits were probably intended for beneficial owners of the respective types of income only. It is interesting that some countries not only include beneficial ownership wording to their tax treaties but also uphold this concept at the domestic level. Several attempts were made by the Russian Finance Ministry to do the same but the underlying bill remains to be submitted to the parliament.
Meanwhile, both business and tax professionals are looking forward to seeing developments in the case, which could become a landmark for distinguishing between blameless tax planning and abusive treaty shopping.


It's time to either place orders for your favorite local tamales or participate in a tamalada, a tamal-making party.
The sheepskin-lined Ugg boots come out at the first cold snap, sometimes sooner. The boots with shorts phenomenon can be spotted around town.
Blankets, towels, buckets, old shirts and whatever else are covering plants in the yard.
People stop wearing flip-flops. Or do they?
You find any excuse for another bowl of menudo.
The high school soccer season gets underway.
socks are still a thing.
Pet owners dress their dogs in embarrassing, and sometimes unnecessary, outfits to keep warm.
San Antonians get creative with scarves.


WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says labor unions have an open door to his White House, but so far, he’s holding the door a little more ajar for some organizations than others.
Trump has put out the welcome mat for the nation’s construction trades, with whom he’s had relationships during decades of building office towers and hotels. Also invited in have been auto, steel and coal workers who backed him during the 2016 election.
But there’s been no White House invitation for other unions representing the sprawling but shrinking pool of 14.6 million workers who collectively bargain with employers in the labor movement.
But he has not courted all union leaders or advocated for all labor priorities. For example, he’s against a $15-an-hour minimum wage and has let linger a rule expanding overtime pay. Much like President Ronald Reagan did, Trump is not so much pursuing a labor agenda but one that appeals to those who share his “Buy American, Hire American” priorities and happen to be union members.
But even among unions with most-favored status, there’s some skepticism about whether he’s for workers or just the executives who hire them.
Trump got some boos and hisses during his address to the building trades union. And Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, with whom Trump feuded, raises an eyebrow at the talk coming from the White House.
The 2016 election suggests labor is fertile political ground for Trump. Exit polls showed he pulled within 8 percentage points of Democrat Hillary Clinton among union members — the best showing for any GOP nominee since Reagan in 1984.
During his first 100 days, Trump has tried to appeal to those frustrated by seeing U.S. jobs go overseas. For example, he scrapped U.S. plans to participate in an Asia-Pacific trade pact and belittled the North American Free Trade Agreement, although he backed away from a campaign pledge to withdraw from it.
He’s taken to Twitter to criticize American companies with plans to move some operations to other countries and threatened to tax any products they tried to sell in the U.S. He’s pushed a reluctant Republican-controlled Congress to pay for a $1 trillion rebuilding of the nation’s roads and bridges, and he’s green-lighted the Keystone XL pipeline.
But while some unions have received the red carpet treatment, others have been largely ignored at the White House.
Take teachers unions, traditional allies of Democrats. While Education Secretary Betsy DeVos joined Trump for White House sessions with teachers and other educators, neither of the two big teachers unions — the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers — was invited. DeVos did accept an invitation from AFT President Randi Weingarten to tour a school in Ohio.
“Trump in New York was never involved in education. He was a blank slate on education,” Weingarten said.
Trump is picking and choosing among labor unions at a vulnerable time for the movement in American politics. Union membership declined 240,000 in one year to 10.7 percent of the workforce in 2016, about half as much as when the Census Bureau began collecting such statistics in 1983.
“There are some unions that, in fact, he has gone after. Teachers come to mind. Government employees come to mind,” said the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka, referring to the president’s pledges to close or slash spending for the Department of Education and efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
Trump is starting with what he knows, and where labor is concerned, that means building trades go to the top of the list.


A few weeks ago, Lil Wayne released Free Weezy Album, a free album (hence the name) that was available exclusively on Tidal. The move was a not-so-subtle dig at his former record label, Cash Money, which has been refusing to release his latest normal album, Tha Carter V. Wayne’s record contract—which he is currently suing to get out of—prevents him from selling any music that isn’t through Cash Money, so he figured dumping this free album on Tidal would be a loophole.
Unfortunately for Lil Wayne, Cash Money does not agree, and TMZ is reporting that it is now suing Tidal for $50 million. Cash Money’s argument is that it owns the rights to all of Lil Wayne’s music—whether he charges for it or not—and that Tidal has broken the law by getting involved. The label even worked in a dig at Tidal’s problems in the lawsuit, saying that releasing this album was “a desperate and illegal attempt to save their struggling streaming service.” Whichever way Cash Money explains this, though, it seems obvious that it’s really just upset that someone released new Lil Wayne music. It hates it when people do that.


Simon “Si” Waronker, the patriarch of the famous musical Waronker clan — son Lenny (producer, pres of Warner and DreamWorks Records), granddaughter Anna (that dog, co-founder Five Foot Two Records), grandson Steve Berman (head of sales & marketing at Interscope/Geffen/A&M) — died in his sleep Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 90.
Si Waronker was born in Los Angeles in 1915 and was a child prodigy on the violin. He wasn’t stupid, either, graduating from high school at thirteen. He studied violin in Philadelphia, France, and Germany, the latter coinciding with the rise of Hitler. After being chased by a Nazi youth gang, he returned to Los Angeles and was orchestra contractor for 20th Century Fox from 1939 until 1955.
In ’55 Waronker started Liberty Records, specializing at first in the film music he knew so well. Liberty’s first release was an orchestral single, “The Girl Upstairs” backed with “Conquest,” by film composer Lionel Newman. Early on he worked at 20th Century Fox from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then ran Liberty from a rented desk in a Beverly Hills office until 5:30 a.m.
When Waronker tried to persuade jazz singer/songwriter Bobby Troupe (“Route 66”) to join Liberty, Troupe was still on another label and talked Waronker into signing his girlfriend singer/actress Julie London (who had previously been married to Jack Webb) instead. The sultry London immediately became the “Liberty Girl” when she had a smash hit with the torchy “Cry Me a River” (Barney Kessel on guitar) and a string of successful albums thereafter.
Songwriter Ross Bagdasarian (Rosemary Clooney’s “Come On-A My House”) joined the label and after some unsuccessful tries as a straight singer became “David Seville” – he came up with the idea of altering tape speed to create a variety of voices, and in 1958 wildly successful recording artists and cartoon stars, the Chipmunks, were born. Chipmunks “Alvin, Simon and Theodore” were named after Liberty executives Alvin Bennett, Waronker, and Theodore Keep.
Other notables and greats on Liberty before Waronker sold the label to Avnet in 1963 for $12 million were a young Henry Mancini (pre-RCA), Billy Ward’s classic doo-wop unit the Dominoes in their later poppier years, exotica legend Martin Denny (Exotica was a #1 album in ’59, Quiet Village and A Taste of Honey were top ten), early rock ‘n’ roll great Eddie Cochran , teen dream Bobby Vee (“Take Good Care of My Baby”), Rock and Roll Trio hellion-turned-pop singer/songwriter Johnny Burnette (“You’re Sixteen”), and surf-hot rod duo Jan and Dean (“Surf City,” “Dead Man’s Curve,” “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena”). Liberty was also the home between ’61 and ’64 of young singer/songwriter named Willie Nelson.
Producer Snuff Garret played a very important role at Liberty. Already a succes in broadcasting in Texas by the age of 20, Garrett wanted to be in the music business, not broadcasting, and through various connections he landed a job as local promotion man (with a drastic pay cut) for Liberty Records in Los Angeles.
Garrett worked hard (“I didn’t go to bed until I was 25 years old,” he says) and held his tongue for about six months until he asked to produce. Garrett’s first production was a single for Johnny Burnette in ‘59, and he had his first hit in ‘60 with Burnette’s “Dreamin’” (No. 11).
With Waronker, another pillar of that era is gone.


Congress moved Tuesday to dismantle a chunk of the rules framework for banks, installed to prevent a recurrence of the 2008 financial crisis that brought millions of lost jobs and foreclosed homes.
The House voted 258-159 to approve legislation rolling back the Dodd-Frank law, notching a legislative win for President Donald Trump, who made gutting the landmark law a campaign promise.
The Republican-led legislation, pushed by Wall Street banks as well as regional banks and smaller institutions, garnered some votes from House Democrats. Similarly, the bill splintered Democrats into two camps when the Senate voted 67-31 to approve it in March.
The bill raises the threshold at which banks are deemed so big and plugged into the financial grid that if one were to fail it would cause major havoc. Those banks are subject to stricter capital and planning requirements. Backers of the legislation are intent on loosening the restraints on them, asserting that would boost lending and the economy.
The legislation is aimed at especially helping small and medium-size banks, including community banks and credit unions. But critics argue that the likelihood of future taxpayer bailouts will be greater once it becomes law. They point to increases in banks’ lending and profits since Dodd-Frank’s enactment in 2010 as debunking the assertion that excessive regulation of the banking industry is stifling growth.
May 22, 2018 7:25 p.m.


Thursday has been declared Taco Truck Night by the founders of a Web site created in response to a new set of regulations for the mobile restaurants recently approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
“To celebrate this year’s May Day we’re announcing Taco Truck Night … Go out, get some carne asada or al pastor and support your hard working taco vendor,” the Web site Saveourtacotrucks.org readers.
The Web site, founded by teachers Aaron Sonderleiter and Chris Rutherford, received national attention when it was mentioned by Time magazine Friday in an article on the dispute over the new county rules.
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance making it possible to punish lunch-truck drivers who park in one spot for more than an hour in an unincorporated area with either a citation or a misdemeanor, at the discretion of the District Attorney’s Office.
Citations will be punishable by fines starting at $100 for the first offense that increase in increments of $100 for each additional offense reported, to a maximum of $500, according to Gerry Hertzberg, an aide to Supervisor Gloria Molina.
If the District Attorney’s Office chooses instead to treat the offense as a misdemeanor, it will be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or six months in jail or both, he said.
Previously, county law had banned parking for more than 30 minutes, but only punished offenders with citations that were considered “the cost of doing business” by some, Hertzberg said.
The new regulations were approved unanimously, but have drawn criticism from taco truck drivers and their supporters.
More than 2,300 people have signed an online petition at Saveourtacotrucks.org, which has a posted goal of reaching 5,000 signatures by Thursday.
“We’re trying to create a better and more livable community,” Molina said.
“Taco trucks create a sense of community on the streets that enclosed, `brick-and-mortar” stores cannot,” according to a suggested letter to Molina posted on the site.


The local candidates for next month’s district council elections have been announced.
Here are the candidates who will be battling it out for the wardsin Market Rasen, Caistor and surrounding areas.
Nancy Barr (Lab); Owen Charles Bierley (Cons); Andrea Maria Clarke (Lab); Angela Theresa Lawrence (Cons).
Steve England (Cons); Caralyne Margaret Grimble (Cons); Malcolm John William Parish (Cons); Diana Meriel Rodgers (Independent); Anjum Sawhney (Independent); Paul Swift (Lib Dem).
Karen Dawn Bacon (Lib Dem); Paul David John Howitt-Cowan (Cons).
Louise Amanda Reece (Lib Dem); Charles Lewis Strange (Cons).
Geoffrey John Barnes (Lab); Stephen Bunney (Lib Dem); June Clark (Lib Dem); Robert David Henri Levison (Lib Dem); Cordelia Emma Julia McCartney Cons); John Carl McNeill (Cons); Colin Saywell (Lab); Lee Martin Simpson (Lab); Thomas Jacob Neil Smith (Cons).
Jeff Summers (Cons); Neil Taylor (Lib Dem).


Does prayer belong in public schools?
Just over a week ago, the House of Representatives said no - barely. In its first vote on school prayer in 27 years, the House narrowly rejected a proposal for a constitutional amendment to allow prayer in schools and religious displays in federal buildings.
But amid all the adult sparring over establishment of religion and freedom of speech, one point seems to have been lost: Lots of students around the United States are already praying while on school grounds - and they're doing it legally.
In the early morning, at lunch, or after the last bell rings, thousands of high school classrooms host gatherings of kids of varying faiths. There, sandwiched in between jobs, team practices, and homework, students congregate to pray about everything from upcoming tests to how to keep their school safe.
It's a phenomenon that may puzzle, anger, or thrill many of their parents, most of whom came of age in schools governed by the 1963 Supreme Court ruling that banned compulsory prayer in public schools and, for practical purposes, forbade religious activities while at school.
But the 1984 Equal Access Act is shaping a younger generation in an equally profound way. By 1990, when the act was upheld by the Supreme Court, federally funded schools were told they had to allow religious meetings if they also hosted other clubs not related to the curriculum. To skirt concerns about impositions on nonparticipants, it stipulated that prayer clubs be voluntary, student-led, and held outside class hours.
Since then, prayer clubs have become a hot ticket. First Priority, a Southern Baptist organization in Tennessee, has helped form clubs in 3,000 schools. Challenge 2000 Alliance, a group of Christian youth organizations, says there are more than 10,000 student-run Christian clubs in US high schools. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has seen prayer "huddles" jump from about 3,400 in 1990 to about 6,500 today.
The rapid proliferation of groups, most of which are Christian, raises some concerns. Students of other faiths may feel left out or pressured to join in. The act's demand that clubs be student-run needs close monitoring to prevent adult manipulation. School officials also need to ensure that club members promote their activities in a way that doesn't offend others.
But in schools where clubs of different faiths operate, students can learn to coexist, to be sensitive to different points of view while still strengthening their own spiritual and moral values. Kids can see that faith doesn't have to be put on the bookshelf while at school, but can be a useful tool in times of need.
* Send comments to newcomba@csps.com or Learning Editor, One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115.


The Ingushetia case, the first time such an order has been documented in Russia, indicates Russia is restricting access to social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter so they cannot be used to organise anti-government protests.
Protests broke out in Ingushetia, a mainly Muslim region in southern Russia, on Oct. 4 after a deal was agreed delineating Ingushetia’s border with the neighbouring Russian region of Chechnya.
When anti-government protests broke out in Iran in December 2017, authorities in Tehran imposed restrictions on messaging service Telegram and social media platform Instagram, which had both been used to mobilise protesters.


Sun Microsystems Inc. has a busy week planned for the LinuxWorld conference next month.
First up, Sun is expected to release its first general-purpose server — codenamed Big Bear — to run the Linux operating system on Intel Corp. processors, as reported in June by IDG News Service. This move marks a major philosophical shift away from its long-held stance that the Sun Solaris OS and UltraSPARC processors are the best combination for every kind of server.
Sun also will use the LinuxWorld venue here to discuss its second change of heart — the resurrection of Solaris for the Intel architecture, sources said.
Sun decided in January to close a download program for a version of Solaris 8 that runs on Intel chips, as well as cancelling work on the newly-released Solaris 9 OS for the Intel architecture. The move infuriated a large number of users and prompted Sun to meet with a group of fans of Solaris on Intel dubbed The Secret Six to seek a compromise on bringing support back. The talks between Sun and The Secret Six stalled over the last seven months, and the group was largely cut off from communication with the company, causing them to doubt the return of Solaris on Intel, according to its members.
In August, however, Solaris on Intel fans are expected to see their preferred version of the OS return as an option on the Big Bear server, formally called the Cobalt LX50. Sun is expected to offer both its own Sun Linux distribution and Solaris 8, and possibly Solaris 9, on the Intel-based server, sources said. Scott McNealy, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Sun, is scheduled to discuss both the Cobalt LX50 server that will use dual Pentium IIIs and the return of Solaris on Intel during his LinuxWorld keynote address.
Susie Quitter, a Sun spokeswoman, declined to comment on either the Big Bear server or the return of support for Solaris on Intel chips.
Along with bringing a version of Solaris back for Intel servers, Sun is expected to release a reference architecture for Solaris on Intel-based laptops. Some users like to work with the same OS across all their systems and recompile code, for example, while travelling, which makes Solaris for laptop systems handy, said Alan DuBoff, president of consulting company Software Orchestration Inc. and a user of Solaris on Intel.
Sun may also eventually release a version of the OS dubbed Solaris 10 Community Edition. With this version, Sun would give developers a chance to see the source code and help the company with bug tracking, device driver writing and other maintenance tasks, the sources said. This would help reduce some of the support costs for Sun, the burden of which was one of the reasons the company cancelled the Solaris on Intel project. However, Sun’s lawyers have blocked this move thus far, citing concerns about including outside work in a Sun product, sources said.
“If we can get the source code and do some of the work, then all the weight of supporting the OS would not be on them,” DuBoff said.
Another form of cost savings could come as a result of Sun’s decision to make its own Intel-based hardware, one analyst said. Sun could put out a list of the device drivers and hardware configurations it had tested for the Cobalt LX50 and only support those, instead of the entire gamut of Intel hardware and peripherals.
Internal friction within Sun still could prevent Solaris from returning to the Intel platform. Sun has moved its Solaris and Linux efforts under the supervision of Anil Gadre, former vice president of Solaris and now vice president of marketing and operations for software at Sun, combining the OS teams for the first time, sources said. Gadre has been a vocal Linux proponent and attempted to persuade some members of The Secret Six of its merits during a meeting at Sun’s Santa Clara, Calif., campus. The suggestion that the group consider Linux outraged one of The Secret Six, who insisted that the group was there to talk about Solaris.
Sun had been reluctant to have an OS for Intel systems compete with its own UltraSPARC-based servers. The introduction of the Cobalt LX50 could remove some of these concerns, said one user.


Twenty lots are available now, and 21 more are expected in the fall. Crews are now digging a second pond, and a third pond will round out the development, Louie said.
Each of the lots on ponds will have its own dock and little beach cut out next to the dock. You can go into the water and paddleboard or kayak or fish.
Lakeside Retreats will be part of the 800-lot, 590-acre Legacy development, which includes a private, three-hold golf course, community pool, clubhouse and a 24-hour gym. Horseshoe Flats LLC, of Caldwell, is the developer, Louie said.
Jere Webb, associate broker at Downs Realty in Eagle, said the developer may struggle to sell lots at the listed asking prices. Webb said Eagle has about a year’s worth of inventory of homes on lots smaller than an acre and 10 months’ supply of waterfront lots, showing weak demand.
“It will be a tough price point given the present availability of lots in Eagle already on the waterfront, especially given that it’s far west of the preferred area in Eagle,” Webb said.
Jennifer Hickey, Louie’s partner at Boise Real Estate Pros said she’s confident in the pricing because few waterfront lots in Eagle, including several listings he represents, are listed for less than $200,000. She said few listings in the area offer direct water access.
“We have already presold some of the lots, as they are highly sought after,” she said.


On season four, Davos recommends Stannis hire the company to fight for him, but he refuses. Davos then claims that the company has 10,000 soldiers that could fight. Cersei later claims on season seven that the company has 20,000 men and that's the number that's again mentioned on season eight, but the 10,000 is more accurate to that of the novels. In George R.R. Martin's "A Dance With Dragons," it's said that Strickland has "10,000 swords at his command" - which includes "500 knights, each with three horses" and "500 squires, with one mount apiece" - as well as "two dozen elephants."


District Attorney Stan Garnett makes a closing statement in a Boulder District courtroom on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
Defense attorney Kathryn Herold makes a closing statement in a Boulder District courtroom on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
Chief Trial Deputy Catrina Weigel details the attack on Michelle Wilkins as she makes a closing argument in a Boulder District courtroom on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
Chief Trial Deputy Catrina Weigel makes a closing argument in a Boulder District courtroom on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
From left: Defense attorneys Kathryn Herold and Jen Beck stand with Dynel Lane as the jury enters the courtroom before closing statements on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
From left: Defense attorneys Kathryn Herold and Jen Beck sits with Dynel Lane as the jury enters the courtroom before closing statements on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
Defense attorney Kathryn Herold is seen in a Boulder County courtroom before closing statements on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.
From left: Defense attorneys Kathryn Herold and Jen Beck stand with Dynel Lane listens as closing statements are made on Monday. Dynel Lane is charged with attempted murder, unlawful termination of a pregnancy and four counts of felony assault.


Originally Published: June 15, 2018 2:09 p.m.
For anyone who tried driving along Willow Creek Road in Prescott between Sunday and Friday, June 10-15, likely idled in traffic for far longer than they ever wished to.
“This week has been pretty tough with a full pavement reconstruction from Willow Lake Road to Mitchell Road,” said Tim Sherwood, construction services administrator with the City of Prescott.
Fortunately, the worst of the road work in that stretch is over, Sherwood said.
“All of the paving operations on Willow Creek Road are finished,” he said Friday afternoon.
Next week, crews will be raising the utilities (manholes, water valves, etc.) back to grade, “but that’s much, much, much less impact on traffic,” Sherwood said.
Also, according to a news release from the City of Prescott, crews will be striping the roadway over the next two weeks. The impacts are expected to be from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, June 17-28. One lane of traffic will remain open in both directions at all times, however, motorists are asked to be aware of lane restrictions, reduced speeds, and flagging operations throughout the work zone.
To view this week's Roadwork in Brief, CLICK HERE.


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  A man who gunned down a Southwest Airlines employee outside of Oklahoma City’s airport likely killed the victim in retaliation for circumstances that led to the attacker leaving his job with the airline last year, police said Wednesday.
Buie resigned from Southwest Airlines in April 2015. Balderrama said Winchester wasn’t Buie’s immediate supervisor, and though the circumstances surrounding Buie’s departure were not immediately available, he said investigators believe they were the reason behind the attack.
Police found Buie’s red pickup truck in the parking garage about three hours after the shooting. They used a robot to determine he was dead inside it before giving the all-clear.
Michael Winchester was a punter on the University of Oklahoma’s 1985 national championship team.
“Our hearts are truly heavy for the entire Winchester Family. Mike was a former Sooner student athlete as was his son James/daughter Carolyn,” the school’s athletic director, Joe Castiglione, tweeted Tuesday afternoon. He added “daughter Becca was also a student athlete. Please keep this beautiful family in your prayers” in a later tweet.
Associated Press writers Ken A. Miller and Tim Talley contributed to this report.


Source: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 6th Edition. 2011. Chapter 9.