STRONG FUNDAMENTALS: The strong demand from India and China are still supportive of log prices, despite having eased by US$15 to US$20 per cubic metre recently, due to improving log production in Sarawak.
KUCHING: Malaysia’s timber sector recieves a favourable outlook given its robust near-term earnings growth due to strong log prices owing to huge demand from India and China as well as the strong plywood prices due to increased demand from Japan for reconstruction.
According to the latest ‘Japan Lumber Report’, there has been a build-up of imported plywood inventory in Japan due to the arrivals of orders placed after the earthquake disaster. The rise in inventory was mainly for thick plywood such as concrete plywood (CP) and structural plywood (SP), which were mainly used in construction activities.
As a result, prices for CP and SP reported by timber companies had weakened recently from its peak of US$630 per cubic metre in May/June to between US$540 and US$560 per cubic metre. “We do not think there will be a further decline in CP and SP prices, as current prices are close to the prices realised prior to the earthquake,” said RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd (RHB Research) analyst Toh Woo Kim.
Toh further stated that the build-up of inventory in Japan and its effect on CP and SP prices were temporary, as it was just a matter of time before reconstruction activities in Japan started to take place. “Once reconstruction activities start, we believe plywood inventory should begin to run down and this will provide positive momentum to CP and SP prices again,” he added.
However, given the current political disagreement over ways to finance the reconstruction process in the country, the timing of reconstruction was likely to be delayed. The research firm believed reconstruction activities would only take place by the fourth quarter of the year, at the earliest.
Based on prices reported by timber companies, prices for thin panel plywood such as floorbase plywood (FB) had remained firm between US$740 and US$780 per cubic metre, compared with its pre-earthquake level of between US$660 and US$710 per cubic metre.
“Unlike CP and SP, there is no inventory build-up for FB plywood in Japan currently. As FB plywood is generally required only for the later part of the reconstruction activities, there have not been any very large and rushed orders from Japanese importers after the earthquake in March,” Toh pointed out.
RHB Research revised its FY11-13 plywood average selling price assumptions for thick panel plywood (CP and SP) from between US$630 and US$650 per cubic metre to between US$570 and US$630 per cubic metre. This had resulted in slight decline of one per cent to seven per cent on its blended plywood ASP assumptions for timber companies.
“Generally, there is no significant impact to our blended plywood ASP assumptions, as the weakness in plywood prices are only in the thick panel segment. In addition, sales mix for the timber companies that mainly export to Japan such as WTK Holdings Bhd (WTK), Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (Ta Ann) and Lingui Development Bhd (Lingui), are mainly concentrated on thin panel plywood,” said RHB Research.
It estimated the impact was the highest for Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd (Jaya Tiasa), as its sales mix was more concentrated on the thick panel segment compared with the other timber companies.
“Overall, we still remain positive on the timber sector as Japan housing starts to improve gradually, even though reconstruction activities have yet to take place. It started to rise at plus 0.3 per cent and plus 6.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in April and May 2011 respectively, after a minus 2.4 per cent y-o-y decline in March 2011,” Toh revealed.
Other than that, the strong demand from India and China are still supportive of log prices, despite having eased by US$15 to US$20 per cubic metre recently, due to improving log production in Sarawak.
Among the risks that were brought into consideration included the lower than expected improvement in Japan’s housing starts and the price discounting from neighbouring countries which would lower cost of production, resulting in lower exports from Malaysia to its major export markets.
Based on the given factors, RHB Research reduced its FY11-13 earnings forecasts for timber companies under its coverage by between 0.8 per cent and 12.4 per cent.
For Jaya Tiasa and Ta Ann, it pointed out that there would also be significant boost to their earnings from the plantation division going forward due to increasing fresh fruit bunch production, apart from the strong earnings contribution from the timber division.
To conclude, RHB Research pegged Jaya Tiasa’s fair value at 10.39 per share, Ta Ann at RM8.38, WTK at RM2.99 and Lingui at RM2.51.


Mansfield Police are seeking the public's help to trace a wanted Mansfield man.
Steven Gillon, aged 35, of Clifton Grove, is wanted in connection with a criminal damage incident in Boughton, Newark, on January 3 this year.
A police spokesman said: "If you see him please contact us immediately on 101, quoting incident number 619 of 3 January 2019, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."


I just returned from Tallahassee where I visited my daughter, Dee, her husband, Ed, and their six children.
They were on a TV fast for 40 days, so I thought I would die of TV starvation, as I am such an addict.
However, we played a lot of card games. With at least six people in the house at all times, there was always someone ready to play.
I taught them a game I had played when I was a teenager and had them addicted to it when I left.
The game rules are simple: Play solitaire the regular way, but play with three or more people. Put your aces in the middle of the table, and let everyone play on them. If you run out of plays, move a card (or cards) off one of your stacks at the same time as the other players move off theirs. This keeps the game going. I call it "Cutthroat Solitaire." It beats the reruns on TV any day.
My other big excitements were eating at The Melting Pot and going to the LeRoy Collins Public Library.
I had to slap my hands to keep from checking out a number of books, but my two granddaughters, Grace and Victoria, did me proud. They both enjoy reading.
That library is part of the Leon County system, as ours is of the Polk County system. They have a "Traveling Book Club" that sounds really neat.
A patron may select a title from his or her list, check the availability calendar online, by phone or in person. When it is your turn, you check out the bag of 10 books, and you and nine of your friends all read the book, and you are responsible for the bag for six weeks. You may renew it once if no other group has it reserved. There are 28 titles, and in addition to the books, the bags contain information on getting discussion started on that particular book.
I intend to pass the list on to Cori, who is the chairwoman for our book club at our library.
I took my little dog, Parker, with me. It took Parker until the north side of Lakeland to stop barking. The next trip with Parker, I think I will invest in a good pair of ear plugs. He enjoys playing with Dee and Ed's black lab, who is about four times his size. He also enjoys the many nice walks he gets from Dee and the three boys in the family.
I'll see you at our Winter Haven Public Library in "dog care!"


Mr. and Mrs. Austin and Nancy Allen of Lubbock, a boy weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces at 3:26 p.m. July 16 at Covenant Women’s and Children’s.
Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Jeannie Salinas of Lubbock, a girl weighing 6 pounds at 10:10 p.m. July 28 at Covenant Women’s and Children’s.
Mr. Paul Arguello and Ms. Cassie Herrera of Lubbock, a girl weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces at 9:20 a.m. Aug. 19 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Roland and Roxann Valdez of Lubbock, a girl weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces at 10:01 p.m. Aug. 19 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Christopher Stewart of Lubbock, a boy weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces at 10:54 a.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Ms. Octavia Revilla of Lubbock, a girl weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces at 2:01 a.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. Raymundo Villarreal Jr. and Mrs. Leeanna Marie Villarreal of Lubbock, a boy weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces at 1:56 p.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Ms. Claudia Santos of Lubbock, a girl weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces at 4:46 p.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Chris and Tamera Villarreal of Lubbock, a boy weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces at 6:58 a.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Chris and Annie Cox of Lubbock, a boy weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce at 1:53 p.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Dee and Brandi Tadlock of Lubbock, a girl weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces at 8:14 a.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Fabian Perez of Lubbock, a girl weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces at 5:32 p.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Stan Lewis of Lubbock, a boy weighing 9 pounds, 12 ounces at 10:27 a.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Acosta of Lubbock, a boy weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces at 9:20 p.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Kobchai and Nusara Songram of Chaiyaphum, Thailand, a boy weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces at 11:32 p.m. Aug. 20 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Luis Garcia of Lubbock, a boy weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces at 8:23 p.m. Aug. 21 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Julian Crandall of Lubbock, a girl weighing 6 pounds at 7:33 p.m. Aug. 21 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez of Lubbock, a boy weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces at 11:37 a.m. Aug. 22 at University Medical Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Drew and Janine Dacy of Lubbock, a boy weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces at 9:52 a.m. Aug. 22 at University Medical Center.


There aren’t many ways 2018 could have gone worse for the tech industry. It felt like every week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and friends were apologizing for some major privacy blunder or platform manipulation. Self-driving cars proved they weren’t ready to hit the road and Elon Musk nearly self-destructed on Twitter. Electric scooters swarmed cities only to be vandalized in droves. Tech-stock peaks gave way to market tumbles.
The coming year brings the cleanup and a return to the optimism that technology is really good for the world. By that of course we mean finally playing the much hyped, much delayed Harry Potter augmented-reality game. Also eagerly awaited: 5G arriving in cities, Apple’s iOS getting a facelift and Disney launching its own streaming service. We’re predicting a year of fulfilled promises—including a possibly forced change in companies’ data-collection practices.
Here’s our annual roundup of the tech that will affect us in the year ahead. Our track record is pretty good, so you’ll want to pay attention.
In all 12 generations of iOS, the homescreen has remained a simple grid of app icons. The next version could change that. With iOS 12, Apple reportedly put a dramatic makeover on hold to address the performance and quality issues of iOS 11. This is also the year that Apple will begin allowing developers to bring iOS apps to MacOS.
After years of hype (“Download a feature film in seconds!”), 5G is finally making its U.S. debut. The service providers—AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint—all plan to have mobile 5G live in select cities by the first half of 2019. (In December, AT&T flipped the switch in a few cities, including Atlanta and Charlotte.) Phonemakers Samsung and LG have promised new 5G-compatible handsets this year as well. Apple, however, will likely hold off another year or so.
The new networking standard isn’t just about faster phones, though. Reduced lag between devices and cell towers will enable better augmented and virtual reality, smart-home experiences and even self-driving cars. But just like the rollout of past network technologies, you may not want to buy 5G gear just yet—it will take time for the kinks to be worked out.
It became abundantly clear in 2018 that Facebook has spent the past decade downing our data and getting drunk on power. In 2019, it shall suffer the hangover. Beyond the continuing backlash against Facebook—a sinking stock price and declining use of its services—we’ll see more legal battles and legislation. The attorney general of the District of Columbia just filed a lawsuit against the company for its entanglement with Cambridge Analytica. The Federal Trade Commission has opened a probe into the incident as well as other suspected privacy issues. Even more likely? Bigger suits out of the European Union and its strict General Data Privacy Regulation, like this potential $1.63 billion (U.S.) fine.
Google won’t be immune, either. It faces continued scrutiny from lawmakers around its access to user emails and its privacy lapses. In the wake of the recent high-profile congressional hearings, it’s hardly a stretch to anticipate U.S. privacy legislation in the year ahead.
The first time you’re in an Amazon Go store feels strange. You scan an app as you walk through the turnstile, then grab whatever you want and just … leave. No cashiers, no human interaction, nothing but an emailed receipt itemizing exactly what’s in your bag.
This type of super-convenience store will likely turn up near you soon, either from Amazon or a competitor powered by tech from the likes of Zippin or Standard Cognition. The future of retail involves fewer cashiers—and more cameras tracking your every move. And here’s a side perk/annoyance: ads featuring items you picked up then put back on the shelf. Are you sure you don’t want that bottle of Bain de Soleil?
Thought Pokémon Go was big? Wait until Niantic, the company behind the augmented-reality gaming phenomenon, releases its next project, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. After more than a year of tech development, and with a huge and thrilling magical world to play inside, it’s likely to be unmissable. Seriously, when people can no longer separate the real world from the J.K. Rowling’s imaginary one, it could get nuts.
In 2019, we’ll see lots of other AR experiences that help turn the nifty tech—which can layer digital objects and experiences over the real world—into something you use every day. You’ll come out of the subway, point your camera at the street and let Google Maps’ digital arrow tell you which way to go. In the business world, AR will be used for training, simulation and more. It likely won’t be the year you get a set of AR glasses, but companies like North and Vuzix could make 2019 the first time you see someone else wearing them.
While there will be excitement in 2019 around the IPOs of Uber and Lyft, neither will be overselling its future self-driving taxi services. Nor will you be likely to receive your first drone-delivered pizza. But you could start seeing more autonomy in the wild, in the form of small delivery bots. Think coolers on wheels, but with a mind of their own.
As demonstrated by Starship and Nuro—with dozens more expected to debut at the CES 2019 tech show in Las Vegas in early January—the advantage of these machines is that they can take their sweet time getting from point A to point B. They’ll pose little threat of physical danger, though you might have to dodge them on the sidewalks.
The cable bundle will face its stiffest competition when 2019 brings more reasons than ever to cut the cord. Look for Netflix to make noise in the movie biz and for more channels and companies to launch their own apps.
One of the biggest stories will be Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, which will offer everything from Marvel to Star Wars to Pixar in a single service. Disney’s already pulling that content from other services in preparation. Plus, what will happen to Hulu, which will be majority owned by the Mouse House?
Meanwhile, AT&T’s forthcoming service will try to compete by potentially combining HBO, Harry Potter and the DC superhero franchise, not to mention the library of Warner Bros. TV series. Apple’s long-awaited streaming service will launch as well, and promises to have content far more compelling than Carpool Karaoke—just nothing too risque. Good thing you’re cancelling cable, because you’ll need a lot of money to get everything you’ll want to watch next year.
Every time you ask Siri, Alexa or Google something, your voice is recorded and sent into the cloud—aka computers owned by big tech companies—before you hear a response. AI’s reliance on that connection is problematic for everything from your battery life to your privacy.
Soon, Intel and other mobile-chip designers will unveil processors specifically designed to do more locally. These chips enable what’s called “edge computing.” More AI and machine-learning processes can happen on the device itself (that is, at the “edge” of the network). In time, you’d be able to do more without surrendering your privacy. You could get health alerts from your watch or use Siri on your phone when you’re in airplane mode.
It’s more than just the most popular videogame in the world (though it’s definitely that). Fortnite spent 2018 cementing Twitch as a streaming giant, making bonafide celebrities and e-sports athletes out of its best players, and earning its creator Epic Games a $15 billion valuation. It even made “Fortnite coach” a real job.
In 2019, the Fortnite Effect will be felt across the gaming industry, and beyond, as developers grapple with the concept of video-game-as-social-network—with implications good and bad. Look for studios to try giving their games the ever-changing, massively multiplayer spin that makes Fortnite so enticing.
Whether or not you wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker, there’s a good chance of your health and fitness data being touched by big tech companies in 2019. In the past few months, Amazon has started selling software that mines patient medical records for doctor information, ostensibly to help cut costs. The retail giant also bought an online pharmacy.
Apple is in talks with the Department of Veterans Affairs about software to allow veterans to transfer their health records to iPhones. The Apple Watch’s new electrocardiogram features allow you to easily share heart health information with your doctor. On top of that, insurance companies, like John Hancock, have begun to encourage policy holders to share their fitness tracking data, and more workplace wellness programs, such as Richard Branson’s Virgin Pulse, provide rewards in exchange for tracking.
1) Phones are too big for normal humans to hold and use. 2) Phones would probably be better if they were bigger. Yes, for years these two truisms have been in conflict. In 2019, we might get the best of both.
Samsung is one of several companies that have revealed plans to build a foldable phone, with a phone-sized device opening into a tablet-sized screen. There’s a lot of tech left to work out, as flexible displays aren’t yet easy to build and the devices we’ve seen are large and awkward.
In 2019, these devices will likely be expensive niche products for people wanting to live out their sci-fi dreams, but if foldable phones take off, it would be the biggest thing—literally and figuratively—to happen to smartphones in years. Plus, these flexible displays could eventually show up in your home or your car. Who wouldn’t want a foldaway big-screen TV?


Cloud hosting is a huge business internationally, largely dominated by big players, however a local player is rapidly changing the scene with a growing list of law firms embracing the new, cloud-based solution.
Resolve Technology’s success is due to founder and managing director Simon Falconer, an energetic and highly motivated young entrepreneur who saw a gap in the market when trying to solve an IT problem for a friend’s business.
Simon went on to develop a Deloitte 500 “Fastest Grower” company with clients across the country and a growing rolodex of satisfied law firms.
Resolve’s “secret” is to be both a home-grown legal practice hosting and support solution that recognises the particular requirements of New Zealand law firms, but they’ve also taken advantage of a changing scene in service provision to legal practices, which no longer enjoys the maintenance-based revenue streams that many suppliers relied upon.
“We are not wedded to the ‘break fix’ model which depended upon malfunctioning IT systems for revenues,” says Simon.
Resolve’s ranking in 2014 as the 8th fastest-growing technology company in New Zealand, and 59th in Asia Pacific indicates that their service, approach and unique skill set in a competitive IT service environment is finding favour with local law firms.
The first legal firm to seize the moment and embrace the local hosting platform was high profile boutique firm Chen Palmer, who remains a client today together with a growing raft of 25 law firms to date, but with new firms coming on board regularly.
Resolve’s key difference from other local hosting providers is it’s expansive and specialised knowledge of the local legal industry and how best to provide a suitable safe and convenient hosting platform that transforms IT from a costly capital expense into an affordable operational expense.
Resolve’s legal clients include small, medium and large firms with the company increasingly coming up against the big players in the IT hosting and support market – and winning.
Lawyers are notoriously scrupulous and demanding when it comes to selecting serviceproviders, let alone deciding how and where they host their data and who they’ll put in charge of it, but a growing number of firms are trusting Simon and his team at Resolve with this .
“We have deep knowledge of what law firms are wanting and how the tools and software they use on a daily bases integrates with this environment. We also understand they want their data to stay in New Zealand, to be able to visit and touch their server, and know it’s in trusted hands,” says Simon.
Resolve’s flexibility and nimble approach to the market, combined with their smart cloud-based, niche model means they have been quick to provide high value to law firm clients, something that is increasingly becoming a focus for Resolve as they look to specialise further in the legal sector.
“We are learning more and more everyday about how to service our legal clients above and beyond what they expect and our platform is improving exponentially to service this, says Simon.
As the law and technology continue to move fast, so too is Resolve able to work to bring the best-of-breed technology to the legal workplace, which the company is focused on providing to clients in order to maximise efficiencies and minimise costs.
“The obsolescence of the inhouse server has been one of the biggest changes to have occurred in the IT business since the 1980s,” says Simon.
Simon Falconer’s view is that Resolve stands ahead of the other occupiers in the legal and professional services field as a result of not having to “retrofit” their business model by adopting a new approach beyond the requirement to “fix” inhouse servers, as well as being able to customise their service to local firms.
Resolve’s servers are New Zealand-based across both the north and south islands and comply with NZ Law Society requirements by maintaining the servers within New Zealand.
Resolve has also developed a unique partnership with charitable organisations needing multi-site large scale IT at very low cost.
Resolve work with the Open Home Foundation, providing access to corporate sized IT infrastructure across the whole country at 14 different locations. When the charities’ headquarters’ power goes out, or something breaks in-house, the remainder of the country stays up and running, an issue that many multi-site business just put up with.
As well as supporting several other community care programmes Simon and his wife also provide a respite home for children within the foster care system, which he says is part of the culture of the Resolve team.
“Giving back is part of what is central to our culture,” says Simon.


Transcend keeps pushing genres with the PF730. Like the earlier Transcend 720, the PF730 ($100, as of 11/25/09) is not only a digital photo frame, but also a video player, an alarm clock, a calendar, and an MP3 player.
The PF730 is quite stylish with its embossed (white or black) frame, and has a bit more of a sophisticated look than the Transcend 720. You might set the PF730 out, say, on the sofa end table, whereas the 720 (which somewhat resembles a radio) would look more at home in the bedroom or on your dorm room desk. The PF730 lacks the FM audio option of the 720, but still has 2GB of internal memory (which could be quite adequate for your entire slideshow collection).
This frame is simple to use: Just plug in your SD, MMC, or MS card, or a USB flash drive; or transfer images from your PC to the frame's internal memory. The unit's remote is large and readable, and the frame is highly responsive to it. The remote covers it all: You can add photos to your Favorites, adjust volume, and set different modes for photo, video, music, calendar, and slideshow functions.
The PF730's 800-by-600 pixel screen looked crisp and displayed natural-looking photos, albeit with a slightly cool color cast. You can, however, punch things up with the effective "vivid" mode (the frame offers standard, vivid, and natural modes). If you rotate the frame, the PF730 rotates the photo, almost instantaneously. You may also appreciate, as I did, the unusual and sometimes goofy slideshow transitions (a thumbnail that bounces in to fill the screen, or a photo emerging in the middle of another photo).
This latest frame is another playful offering from Transcend, and at about $100, it's affordable for a broad audience.


Ryan Seacrest (left) and Simon Cowell at the Kids' Choice Awards in 2005.
With L.A. Reid and Britney Spears exiting their judges posts, Cowell says “we’d be crazy” not to have the teen pop star return.
Season three of X Factor quickly is approaching, with the first round of auditions kicking off March 6 in Los Angeles. So far, replacements have not been named for exiting judges L.A. Reid and Britney Spears, nor have co-hosts Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian been confirmed to return.
“We’re talking to people all the time, and hopefully within a couple of weeks we might announce the first two,” said Cowell of the judges panel.
And while Seacrest is committed to Idol for at least one more season after its current cycle wraps, he is hoping for an onscreen reunion with the Brit that hired him for Idol’s 2002 U.S. debut.
“Would you allow me to guest-host one live X Factor?” he proposed to Cowell, confessing that he misses their banter.
“Yes,” was Cowell’s immediate reply, though there was a disagreement over whether Seacrest would shill for Coca-Cola (American Idol’s sponsor) or Pepsi (X Factor’s sponsor) during the stint.


In the Nifty pack, 20 stocks were trading in the green, while 30 stocks were in the red.
The Nifty index was trading 44.55 points down at 10,835.55.
NEW DELHI: The domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 183.75 points down at 36,029.63 on Tuesday on account of selling in frontline bluechip counters.
Shares of Indo Us BioTech (down 19.38 per cent) , Steel Exchange (down 12.68 per cent), Spice Mobility (down 11.01 per cent), Peninsula Land (down 10.56 per cent) , Baschem Pharma (down 10.50 per cent) , HB Estate Developers (down 9.92 per cent), Jindal Photo (down 9.52 per cent) , Themis Medicare (down 9.43 per cent) , Innovassynth Investments (down 9.41 per cent) and LKP Securities (down 9.29 per cent) were among the worst performers.


Recently I was saddened to see numerous healthy trees cut down on Plant Street. I know this has happened in other parts of New London due to sidewalk replacements.
It's easy to assume this is a normal procedure when sidewalks are dug up and cement is poured! However, on a very recent trip to several historic and beautiful cities along the eastern seaboard I found myself noticing how they handle this "issue." The bottom line: they do not destroy trees! The sidewalks are quirky and often a bit uneven but the trees rule!
I think a lot of the problem seems to be the population of the areas where we visited fight for preservation of buildings, of cultures, of lifestyle and, yes, of trees! We sadly do not.


The free summer concert season that WNY is known for it heating up early this year. WNY'ers scouring the net to find out who is going to be popping in to places like downtown Lockport and Artpark in Lewiston. One popular site (WNYorker.com) has a full listing of rumors and confirmed shows, adding more each day.
So far the Molson Canal Concert Series in Lockport, NY is being very tight lipped about it's lineup. WNYorker has managed to leak some information though, this is how the lineup looks so far.
NYPA Greenway Fund to Hold Open Meeting to Review Projects Submitted for Funding.
The Buffalo and Erie County Greenway Fund Standing Committee will hold a meeting on Tuesday, March 1, at 4:30 p.m. at the Marcy Casino, Hoyt Lake at Delaware Park in Buffalo. The meeting is open to the public and the agenda will include the review of projects that have been submitted for funding.
Representatives for each project will be given the opportunity to make a short presentation, however, there will not be any funding decisions made at the meeting. Funding will be announced at a future meeting, currently scheduled for March 29, 2011.
Friends of the Cotter: Fireboat Edward M.
Approximately 40 junior hockey players from Switzerland and their coaching staff toured the Niagara Falls State Park on Wednesday, giving them some much needed relaxation and an icy view of a world renowned attraction.
The players visited the observation tower, caught an up-close view of Niagara Falls from Prospect Point, and were able to tour the park at their leisure.
The Swiss junior hockey team is in the Buffalo and Niagara areas until Tuesday for the World Junior Hockey Championships.
The real meaning of Christmas transcends the shopping mall and the gifts found beneath the tree. How do you plan to encounter the real meaning of season?
You are invited to join in an experience of peace and joy in Christmas worship at any of our churches located throughout the seven counties of Western New York.
For the locations and worship times of churches near you, visit www.episcopalwny.org/christmas-worship.
Tourists to Niagara Falls, N.Y. now have a new place to welcome them.
The $2.4 Million Niagara U.S.A Visitor Center opened on Friday with a special ribbon cutting.
The Center on Rainbow Boulevard will be open from June until September. The Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation will be in charge of day to day operations.


LA CA¿ADA — Many of the members of the La Cañada High boys' soccer team left the field Friday satisfied following the conclusion of the first week of Rio Hondo League competition.
The Spartans, who shared the league title last season, began league pitted against worthy opponents South Pasadena and Monrovia. La Cañada picked up four out of a possible six points.
La Cañada got a huge performance from senior goalkeeper Graham Labran-Boyd, who finished with 10 saves in a 1-1 tie against visiting Monrovia on Friday.
La Cañada, ranked eighth in the latest CIF Southern Section Division V poll, improved to 8-2-5, 1-0-1 in league. Monrovia is 10-3-4, 1-0-1.
“This was another barnburner,” said La Cañada Coach Alex Harrison, whose team rallied to pick up a 2-1 home victory against South Pasadena on Wednesday. “Graham showed why he's among the top goalkeepers in our league by making some real big saves and why he's a leader.
The Spartans and Wildcats swapped second-half goals in the first of two-head-to-head matchups. The teams will meet again Feb. 5 at Monrovia.
Senior midfielder Filipp Franke gave the Spartans, who split the league crown last season with South Pasadena, a 1-0 lead when he took a nice through ball up the middle from senior midfielder Armaan Zare and lined a shot past Monrovia senior goalkeeper Max Medley in the 44th minute.
The Wildcats knotted it in the 56th minute when a free kick by senior defender Conor Sams was headed in by senior midfielder Frankie Gutierrez past Labran-Boyd.
“The goal 100% of the time is to be focused and you can't go to sleep for even a second,” Labran-Boyd said. “We had a silly foul that led to their goal and we weren't able to get to the back post to cover.
La Cañada and Monrovia each had one golden scoring opportunity following the tying goal. Franke, who scored the winning goal with about three minutes left against South Pasadena, lined a shot just over the crossbar in the 58th minute. LaBran-Boyd then made a nice stop in the 73rd minute against senior striker Danny Hoefferle.
“Both teams had some good shots toward the end of the game,” Harrison said. “We didn't play very good in the first half and we were a little better in the second half.
Labran-Boyd made two tough saves in the first half. He made a diving save in the 26th minute on senior forward Harrison Shepherd and then made a sprawling stop on a shot inside the box by senior midfielder Rafael Moralez.


Her story underscores the challenge in finding a balance in efforts to rein in the excessive costs associated with no-fault insurance without shredding a valuable safety net for the injured.
After a horrific car crash left Ashley Hogan paralyzed from the waist down at age 22, she thought she would be living with her parents for the rest of her life, relying on them for everything.
But thanks to Michigan's no-fault system and its unlimited lifetime benefits, today she has her own wheelchair-accessible house in Midland, about eight hours of daily attendant care and has been able to return to work.
"It’s a great program. Without it, I don’t know where I would be, probably in a nursing home somewhere living off the state," said Hogan, now 26, who broke her back and severed her spine in the September 2013 Jeep accident. “I never thought that I’d be able to take care of myself the way I've been able to."
FREE PRESS SPECIAL REPORT: How aggressive lawyers, costly lawsuits and runaway medical bills make Detroit car insurance unaffordable.
Hogan's story underscores the challenge in finding a balance in efforts to rein in the excessive costs that have made car insurance premiums in Michigan some of the nation's highest, without shredding a valuable safety net for people who are injured. Her benefits would not have been possible with a strict monetary cap on no-fault payouts.
Her ranch house, partly financed by her auto insurance company, was designed to help her live as independently as possible, with features like lowered kitchen countertops and a dishwasher she can use from her wheelchair.
The home also has wider doorways, a wheelchair-ready shower and a lift that connects to the finished basement, where Hogan exercises on a stationary hand-cycle.
"So it is completely accessible for me," said Hogan, who after years of rehabilitation was able to go back to work as a school district secretary. "I’m probably as recovered as I’m going to be. You can always work on arm strength or core strength, but as far as walking and that stuff, I’m probably as far as I’ll get."
Hogan was a passenger in a Jeep that had a rollover accident in Gladwin County after its driver lost control. She sued the driver for driving recklessly.
Her house was built between fall 2015 and spring 2016 with about $275,000 worth of materials, paid for by Hogan's no-fault auto insurer, Auto-Owners Insurance. The construction labor was donated through a program involving the City of Midland, building trades students at Midland High School and Dow High School, and a nonprofit group for those with disabilities called the ARC of Midland.
Auto-Owners agreed that in Hogan's situation, a specially accessible home was an eligible expense for her long-term care. And building a new home was cheaper than trying to modify her parents' existing one.
Hogan contributed nearly $50,000 to the project, including the purchase of the property, from proceeds of a $100,000 settlement from a negligence lawsuit filed against the Jeep driver on her behalf by the Sam Bernstein Law Firm. The firm took a standard one-third cut of that settlement after costs were deducted as its contingency fee.
Auto insurance companies in Michigan are not legally compelled to buy a new house for a catastrophically injured person. This stems from a May 2013 Michigan Supreme Court decision — Admire v. Auto-Owners Insurance — that found if people are injured in crashes, no-fault insurers aren't required to buy all-new vehicles that are accessible for people with disabilities; they only have to pay for modifications to make a person's existing vehicle more accessible. Even though that ruling was specifically about vehicles, lawyers say it has come to apply to accessible houses, as well.
"They won’t make you any better than you would have been before" the accident, said Beth Klein of the Bernstein law firm.
But Auto-Owners voluntarily agreed to pay for the new house's construction materials because the total cost of the project, including the volunteer labor, was cheaper than building modifications to Hogan's parents' house, where she otherwise would have lived.
“It would not have been able to happen after that Supreme Court ruling if not for this partnership, so that was pretty cool," said Jan Lampman, executive director of the Arc of Midland.
“The home is going to last Ashley her entire life and it is completely accessible to her. It’s going to cost the citizens of the world less money to support Ashley in the future because she has this barrier-free home."
The no-fault benefits also paid for Hogan's wheelchair, a standing frame chair and her hand-cycle, which she also can ride outside on the roads. Additionally, the insurance company continues to pay for about eight hours of daily in-home attendant care provided by a home health agency. Insurance also paid a lost-wages benefit before Hogan was able to return to work.
Hogan said she is extremely thankful for Michigan's no-fault system. In no other state would auto insurance have provided so many benefits and helped build her house.
"I really thought I was going to have to go back and live with my parents for the rest of my life at 22, and that was a grim thought, too, because who wants to live with their parents the rest of their lives?" Hogan said. "It was nice to have something there so I was taken care of."
Hogan's ongoing benefits from the accident, such as attendant care, are now reimbursed through no-fault's Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association program. The association pays auto insurance companies once expenses surpass $545,000 for an injured individual.
The association currently assesses auto insurers an annual $160 per-vehicle fee for the program, which gets passed on to motorists.
Klein said that Michigan's uncapped no-fault benefits have helped Hogan and many of her other clients regain dignity in their lives and a measure of independence following devastating accidents.
"If it wasn’t for the no-fault, they wouldn’t be able to have the self-esteem and the confidence and the wherewithal," Klein said.


VNRs, b-roll, and other broadcast PR content can also go to traditional media sites.
A decade ago, perhaps one in 50 Americans sought their news online. Today, that number has grown to almost 30% of Americans, according to the Pew Research Center, a DC-based research group that studies media trends.
As a result, PR pros today need to not only be effective producing and pitching video for traditional broadcast media, but also must pay attention to their online progeny.
"Clients ask if they should also be developing content for the Web," says Larry Thomas, COO of Medialink. "We respond that if you're doing one and not the other, you are not doing enough."
Developing video packages for Web media is similar in nature to doing so for broadcast, with a few minor differences.
"If reporters were able to go out and grab shots on their own, they'd go," Thomas says. "Where you offer value is when they don't have access or don't have it in a timely manner. It's the same for broadcast and Web."
But, as 48% of Americans spend at least 30 minutes digesting news from TV, and only 9% of those spend that time when getting news online, according to Pew, video for Web media needs to be much shorter.
"People absorb news differently online," says Shoba Purushothaman, CEO of The NewsMarket. "But even though our advice is to pitch shorter, snappier video packages, the more video you offer up, the more likely you will be to permeate the online universe."
The NewsMarket recently worked with Johnson & Johnson to promote a series of video elements that also debuted in March as part of its online annual report. Nestled amid an array of interactive features, sound, and Web effects, the report - more akin in format to a magazine than traditional annual report - is professionally produced video.
"J&J is not just one story, but many stories," says Nancy Walker, VP of corporate communications. "We used real people, telling real stories in their own voices. I think that sense of sincerity really comes through."
The approach was to develop video content with not just media in mind, she adds. "Let's face it, with a Web 2.0 world coming, people want to see what's real and authentic, whether it's an editor, analyst, or investor."
Since the debut, J&J notched 45 unique Web uses of the clips, including CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
While broadcast PR providers and corporations are increasingly targeting Web sites of the traditional news sources, perspective from the media varies.
At TheStreet.com TV, which currently offers 12 channels of financial news and lifestyle content, executive producer Sandy Brown says his team produces the "lion's share" of the footage internally. He adds that he is primarily interested only in b-roll and executive sound bites.
"My only caveat is we look for CEOs and CFOs of companies with a certain market capitalization," he adds. "If someone comes to us with an SVP or junior VP, and keeps doing it, it gets annoying. No means no."
Meanwhile, a local broadcast affiliate's Web editor in Minneapolis will likely be more accepting. "Smaller operations with limited budgets have the higher likelihood of running your content," says Thomas.
Ultimately, there is no one rule as to whether a news Web site will accept a VNR or just prefer b-roll. It depends on the outlet and the relationship, says Bev Yehuda, VP, media relations/media strategy, MultiVu.
However, making sure the content is not too commercial is still key to success.
"A news Web site will adopt longer formats and more informative segments," she says, "but just as their traditional counterparts, they do rely on journalistic integrity."
In order to appeal to traditional news Web sites, Yehuda recommends offering the many different elements and assets that a site may require, including b-roll, sound bites, a scripted package, photos, and background material. And make all material available in formats that the editor prefers.
Yehuda also suggests developing both a b-roll and scripted segments. This allows footage to be used by both traditional and online media.


The Federal Reserve Board today announced a batch of final and interim rules designed to increase the transparency of the mortgage origination and disclosure processes. The Fed is also proposing a number of rules to improve the clarity and accountability around reverse and jumbo mortgage origination.
John Walsh became acting comptroller of currency on Sunday, succeeding John Dugan as he completes his five-year term at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Dugan's departure from the OCC, unveiled earlier in July, was expected on August 14.
National home prices rose in June from the same time in 2009, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year increases, according to the latest report from real estate services and data provider CoreLogic [stock CLGX][/stock]. National prices, including distressed sales, rose by 1.4% in June from a year earlier. The yearly appreciation slowed from the 3.7% increase in May from one year earlier. The May increase was revised up from the initial 2.9% estimate.
Fifth Third Mortgage Co., the mortgage unit of Fifth Third Bancorp [stock FITB][/stock], so far converted 70% of its trial Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) plans into permanent modifications. "Fifth Third Bank is determined to keep customers in their homes," said Steve Alonso, executive vice president of consumer lending, mortgage and business banking for Fifth Third Bank. "We are working tirelessly to convert eligible customers in the government's Home Affordable Modification Program."
Loss mitigation technology, lending solution and document services provider Mortgage Cadence is partnering with an investor to help fund the expansion of its product offerings. The company tapped Monitor Clipper Partners to provide an undisclosed amount of capital as a strategic partner.
Foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation efforts at government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were led by short sales and modifications in May, according to the latest report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing guidance that would restrict the government-sponsored enterprise (GSEs) from investing in mortgages with private transfer fee covenants. The proposed guidance, which is available for public comment, would apply to GSEs Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs).
CIT Group [stock CIT][/stock], a commercial lender that provides financing to small and medium businesses, refinanced $3bn of its first lien debt and prepaid some $1bn balance of the debt with corporate cash. The company said it has now repaid $4.5bn — or 60% — of its original first lien debt and has refinanced the balance at a lower cost and with more flexible terms.
The number of initial unemployment insurance claims grew by 2,000 to 484,000 in the week ending August 7, swelling more than expected after last week's initial figure was revised upward. The four-week moving average rose to 473,500, from the previous week's revised average of 459,250, according to new data today from the US Department of Labor (DOL).


The Obama administration is trying to keep the Syrian war simmering, hoping that Clinton will take office in 2017, said Jim Jatras, former US diplomat. She’ll want to dig in with both feet in support of so-called ‘moderates’ against Assad, he added.
RT asked Jim Jatras, former US diplomat, whether it is possible that this incident with Syrian rebels threatening American soldiers could be a turning point in the country’s conflict.
“We have US Special Operations personnel accompanying the Turks – let’s call them ally Number 1 - in their incursion into Syria. We know that the primary target is not ISIS/ISIL/DAESH for the Turks, it’s the Kurds, who are also American allies – let’s call that ally Number 2. Now we have so-called ally Number 3 – the Free Syrian Army elements threatening these Americans, who are operating with ally Number 1, that they are going to slaughter them. They don’t want the Americans and Christians here. [The subgroup] that did this supposedly is Ahrar al-Sham, which is a really nasty piece of work. It is as Wahhabist, as radical, as violent as Al-Nusra [Front,] or ISIS. But I guess they are part of the moderates here… If you’re going to put it in a work of fiction, it would not be deemed to be plausible to the reader,” Jatras said.
In his view, though, it’s unlikely to happen under the Obama administration.
“The Obama administration shows all signs of trying to keep the Syrian war simmering until they hope Hillary Clinton can take office in January 2017. And, of course, she’ll want to dig in with both feet in support of these so-called moderates against the Assad government. I just don’t see any signs in reappraisal here,” Jatras added.
Joshua Landis from the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma argues that it’s the US support for the Kurds that could have triggered the US-backed rebels to push American soldiers out of their positions.
“Many of these Arab fighters see the Kurds as enemies who are fighting over the same national territory,” he said.
“There has been a widespread sense that the US is in a war against Sunni Islam; that it has signed the agreement with Iran; that it overthrew Saddam Hussein,” he continued.
“Even the fight against ISIS many of them see as the war against Islam; America should be fighting against the [Shiites] and Assad’s government, they should not be fighting against Sunnis,” he said, adding that it’s a widespread belief.
“We know from various documentaries that the schools in Idlib and the other areas, where the rebels predominate and where Al-Qaeda is very strong, are teaching to young people to lionize [Osama] bin Laden, the blowing up of the World Trade Center, and the fight against America. So this is part of what is going on in rebel-controlled Syria – not all militias, but perhaps more than America really thinks,” he told RT.
Meanwhile, Ruptly video news agency has obtained footage apparently showing an American flag flying over a Kurdish position in Tal Abyad, a Syrian town on the border with Turkey.
There have also been reports that US flags are being flown in the town held by the Kurdish YPG, allegedly as a warning from America to Turkey not to attack the Kurds.
— RT (@RT_com) 16 сентября 2016 г.
“They’ve put their trust on the US. Clearly, the government of Iraq, the government of Turkey, and the government of Iran, and the government of Syria have no interest in pursuing or protecting their sovereign rights. They’ve put their money on the US, and as we’ve seen over the last couple of months… given the right political circumstances, the US would sell them down the river, sell them out, not back them up, and abandon them. I think they are calculating that if they raise this flag, it would potentially give Turkey, in particular, pause in launching any kind of airstrikes,” Johnson said.


It's part of a new program this year that allows students to earn college credit through a partnership with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The Beaufort County School District is the second in the country to offer dual-enrollment courses with the university at a high school, according to Battery Creek aviation instructor Tony Petrucci.
Students will earn both a high school elective credit and three college credits for each course.
Col. Jack Snider of Battery Creek helped arrange the partnership.
The goal: Make students college- and career-ready for positions with employers such as Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Charleston's new Boeing plant and Gulfstream's Savannah operations.
"And at the same time, we're exposing them to critical math, science and engineering skills needed to be successful in many of today's career fields," Snider said.
The first course, management for aeronautical science, teaches students about aviation careers, flying and aviation safety.
The second course, project management in aviation operations, teaches them how to manage a project from start to finish, including construction of a small wooden aircraft.
Snider said the courses are capstones to a series of engineering and aviation courses already taught at the school. Those classes are offered through Project Lead the Way, a national engineering curriculum that allows students to earn college credit.
Twelve students participated during the fall semester, and 11 are enrolled this spring.
"They've done very well," Petrucci said. "They have a thirst for it, and we keep the same standards as Embry-Riddle. It gives them a taste for college and a taste for aviation."
Already, Roberson and other students have designed a small wooden air foil that they've used as a model for computer simulations and tested in the wind tunnel.
Petrucci also offers a pilot syllabus, using the simulator to help students gain the skills they need to get a pilot's license on their own, if they choose. Next year, he hopes to offer students the ground-school equivalent to flight school, "where the only thing they would have to do is pick up the flight hours," Petrucci said.
For Roberson, the program has been "an ultimate chance" to get a leg up on college and launch his dream.
"Even if you don't go into aviation, you still get a head-start on college and learn valuable science, math and engineering skills applicable to many career fields," he said.


Ana Popovic rocks YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, Puddle of Mudd plays Revolution Bar and Grill and Adam Lambert serenades The Paramount. All those plus much more to do this week on Long Island!
Ex-Yankee Jorge Posada, Reggae legends The Skatalites, comic Caroline Rhea and much more this week on Long Island!


They are only 1,100 miles away. But to this city's millions, the Falkland Islands and the surging Anglo-Argentine crisis over them might as well be light years away.
The possibility of expanding war over the islands remains unreal and improbable to most Argentines.
Yet over the weekend military authorities were telling the nation that a British attack on the Falklands can be expected momentarily.
The miltary junta was pulling out all stops to whip up war sentiment among the population.
For many Argentines there is, in some measure, a surrealistic touch to the war being waged in the cold waters of the South Atlantic.
A mid-autumn touch of warm Indian summer weather, with only an occasional whiff of cool winds to warn of winter's approach, brought hundreds of thousands of Portenos, as local residents are called, into the streets, the parks, and the playgrounds of this sprawling city on Saturday.
It rained heavily Sunday, however, keeping people indoors. Many complained that scheduled soccer matches, the national pastime, were being postponed.
Soccer stirs people here as nothing else does. This is not a nation with war experience. Its gentle people, good immigrant stock from Italy and Spain, England and Germany, are simply unconditioned to what is taking place out in the cold waters of the South Atlantic.
There are hints of a dawning awareness of these events. After all, it has been five weeks since the Argentine military seized the Falklands and the British sent an armada to dislodge them. But this awareness is at best slow in developing.
Argentines also find it hard to measure the import of the peace talks, now under way at the United Nations in New York.
Those talks, Argentine authorities said, were going poorly because of ''British intransigence.'' In the eyes of the military here, the British are clearly the culprits if peace is not achieved.
But, of course, that is what the whole struggle is all about. The British do not accept Argentine sovereignty -- at least in the way it was exerted April 2 in the seizure of the islands.
To the Argentine government, however, sovereignty is almost Holy Writ. It is not even a precondition for talks; it is rather a fact. Everything else is negotiable. Sovereignty is not.
On this point, the overwhelming majority of Argentines agree. This may eventually prove the starting point for an awareness of the enormity of the Falklands crisis. But despite all the surging developments in the South Atlantic , the full impact of the crisis -- nay, even a partial impact -- has yet to stir the 12 million people in greater Buenos Aires.
Military spokesmen, meanwhile, took verbal potshots at the British decision to extend its air and sea blockade in the South Atlantic to within 12 miles of the Argentine coast.
''This shows the bellicose and belligerent attitude of the British,'' a spokesman complained.
Similar comment echoed through newspapers, radio, and television. And as the weekend began, the government staged a press conference with Navy Capt. Hector Elias Bonzo, commanding officer of the cruiser General Belgrano, which was sunk May 2 by a British submarine. The session, attended by 300 Argentine and foreign newsmen, was admittedly designed to stir support for the Argentine military.
Captain Bonzo, his voice rising in pitched fervor, let it be known that ''the Argentine flag still flies over my ship'' as it lies 4,000 meters below the surface of the South Atlantic.
But he refused to explain what the General Belgrano, a slow, noisy, and antiquated ship, built in 1938, was doing, according to some accounts, all by itself when hit by a British torpedo.
How much impact Captain Bonzo's emotional appearance has had on the Argentine public is hard to determine. Equally difficult to weigh is the impact of events like the General Belgrano's sinking.
They cannot be unaware of some subtle changes taking place here, however. The century-old drugstore, La Franco Inglesa, last week dropped ''Inglesa'' (English) from its name. The subway stop, Canning, is now ''2 de Abril'' after the date of the Falklands' seizure.
Yet British ways and British goods are still in favor here. An Argentine friend of this reporter, suggested the other afternoon in Spanish that we meet ''tomar el five o'clock en el Richmond Tea Room'' -- the traditional hour for afternoon tea in the cavernous emporium on Calle Florida where Argentines have congregated for generations to drink tea in British fashion.


Regular hot coffee can be out of the question as the temperatures climb into the triple digits. Thankfully, plenty of shops around town are putting thought into their iced coffee options and serving more than just yesterday’s leftover brew. Cold-brewing is the most popular method, but there are also a few alternatives.
Here are a few of our favorite places in Austin to cool off while getting a caffeine jolt.
1010 East Cesar Chavez St.
This shop claims to be the first in town to offer nitrogenated coffee, favoring this method for storage purposes and preserving flavor. The microscopic bubbles apparently open up the palate to fully detect the coffee’s subtle nuances. Brewed with Cuvée, Cenote’s iced coffee is evocative of an acidic dark chocolate bar.
This café serves almost exclusively Stumptown coffee, but the Iced Vietnamese Coffee is an exception. A metal coffee filter is filled with Café du Monde coffee grounds with chicory and placed over a glass cupping a few tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk. When the coffee is finished brewing, you stir it with a spoon and pour it into a tall glass full of crushed ice. The hot coffee partially melts the ice and perfectly dilutes the strong brew. Elizabeth Street also uses a Vietnamese trick to counter the bitterness of the chicory, adding a tiny pinch of kosher salt to the grounds. This creamy drink is best enjoyed with one of the café’s excellent French pastries.
This quality coffee shop makes a great cold brewed coffee with Cuvee’s medium roast Meritage blend, but also offers a Japanese style iced coffee that the barista described as "light, crisp, and tea like" Each day Houndstooth offers three single origin coffees, and this style is usually brewed with the lightest roast using a Clever coffee dripper. The resulting coffee has notes of citrus and just a hint of those tongue-tingling tannins typically reserved for teas. Served black over crushed ice cubes, this hot brew method extracts more aromatic compounds and solubles from the coffee than cold brewing methods.
Likely catering to students pulling all-nighters, this campus area coffee shop might brew the strongest iced coffee in town. JP's uses a custom blend to brew iced coffee concentrate using the Toddy method. You can order a regular iced coffee of concentrate diluted with water or an iced mocha or latte. The best cold coffee beverage, however, is the Texas Toddy, made with coffee concentrate, water, vanilla and just a touch of sweetener.
The barista at this South Austin shop proudly called it "the best iced coffee in town." Owner Rob Ovitt takes iced coffee seriously and has experimented with many techniques over the years, settling on a 14-hour cold brew process that yields ready-to-drink iced coffee instead of concentrate. Once Over routinely alters the blend as coffee crops change with the seasons, but it consistently produces a drink with medium acidity and notes of berries and dark chocolate.
You could easily mistake Cuvée’s Black and Blue at Salt & Time for just another beer choice, but it’s actually pure coffee. The Cuvée Coffee bar housed in this butcher shop typically closes at 3 p.m., but you can order the iced coffee anytime the bar is open because it’s on tap. Cuvée Coffee Founder, Mike McKim, describes this nitrogenated coffee as "a step beyond conventional cold brew coffee." The minuscule bubbles create an effervescent creaminess making the addition of cream unnecessary. The distinct head on the drink combined with the carbonated mouth-feel of this high-acid coffee might trick you into thinking its a good stout.
1401 Koenig Ln.; 2200 Manor Rd.
With two locations in town, Thunderbird provides a comfortable spot to get some work done while drinking iced coffee to keep you energized. The shops brew Cuvée’s Meritage blend (also used for the espresso) in a Toddy system to yield a nutty iced coffee that is just slightly bitter. The Thai iced coffee of sweetened condensed milk mixed with iced coffee and two shots of espresso is a novel alternative.


HOPEWELL — City Council will hold a special meeting Thursday evening to discuss candidates for city attorney.
Council is expected to convene and then go into closed session to discuss who will succeed Stefan M. Calos as city attorney. Once the closed session is complete, councilors will reconvene into an open meeting and announce either they have an appointee or need to continue discussions on the position.
Calos, a Hopewell native, and his law firm, Sands Anderson, have a contract with Hopewell to serve as the city’s top legal adviser. Last year, Calos announced his intent to step down from that position, but he agreed to stay on until the city hired his successor. In his resignation letter that was submitted to the council in July of 2017, Calos cited several incidences that "made it untenable" for him to continue serving as the city attorney.
One of the main incidences was a disagreement between Calos and one of the councilors over the necessity of Hopewell issuing a request for proposal for legal services before retaining Calos for that position.
Calos and his firm have represented Hopewell as city attorney since 2015.
The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Municipal Building’s council chambers.


At the beginning of this century there were 35 furniture manufacturers in Slovakia, employing more than 3,000 people and hauling their production in bulk to western Europe and to the U.S. Some of these companies have carpentered a solid chassis for today's Slovak furniture industry.
While the industry branched out into some ten big-time furniture manufacturers, there is one single trunk that provides them with the lumber necessary for furniture production. It is Bučina (or beech forest in English) a.s., which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Based in Zvolen in central Slovakia, Bučina started as a landmark producer - literally. But from producing telegraphic posts and railway crossties, the company has gradually evolved into a dominant Slovak producer of semi-finished products for the furniture industry.
While fully supplying domestic producers, Bučina increasingly is branching out into the export market. Today, 35 percent of the company's production is exported, of which 17 percent goes to the EU, and the rest heads to neighboring central European countries, Latvia, Uzbekistan, or the Far East, said Jarmila Hotrová, marketing director for Bučina Trade a.s., Bučina's daughter company which handles all of Bučina's trade.
But Bučina is facing competition from abroad. According to František Marko, the marketing director for the furniture trading company M.I.T. Topoľčany, the furniture market recently has been inundated with cheap Polish and Romanian goods.
But he believes the situation is temporary, since the way to success in the furniture market is better quality. Marko, whose firm represents 9 Slovak producers - including Mier Topoľčany, IDEA Nitra, ISIDA Partizánske, ELMOS Bánovce nad Bebravou, Tatran Uhrovec and four producers associated in the Tatra nábytkárne group - pointed out that some Slovak producers are already able to provide quality comparable with the best produced in the West.
Viera Urbanová, marketing officer for the the Swedish furniture manufacturer and vendor IKEA, agreed, quoting the example of Spartan Trnava, which has become the most successful Slovak furniture exporter thanks to its contract with IKEA.
Bučina and other firms in the industry weathered tough times in 1992 and 1993, when performance in the furniture industry dipped due to the fact that eastern markets were truncated, from 1994 on production has been on the rise again, Hotrová said. Bučina has responded to changing market conditions by investing into new technologies that allowed the firm to increase its rate of production and quality. Last year the company invested over 200 mil. Sk ($6 mil.) in these new technologies, Hotrová added.
It has also changed its basic product portfolio. Bučina recently introduced a line of finished products: custom-made wooden family houses which are built and supplied by another Bučina daughter company, Bučina Domeko.
These houses, complying with ISO 9000 standards, were developed in cooperation with the German research institute LGA Nürnberg, which also monitors the production quality.
Bučina aims at increasing its share on both domestic and foreign markets, Hotrová said.
But in order to improve quantity, Bučina has to focus on quality, she added, meaning that the company is striving to put an even larger portion of its production in compliance with ISO 9000 standards.
Bučina has also received several Slovak Gold prizes, awarded annually to high-quality products.
Research and development for Bučina is provided by research institutions such as Lignotesting, the State Wood Reasearch Institute or Zvolen Technical University. The company tries to involve partners from abroad in these projects, Hotrová said, yet since 1996 Bučina does not have its own research and development department.


Emeli Sande tops the list of the UK’s best-selling albums of 2012 so far.
The list, published today (November 29) by The Official Charts Company, also includes Adele’s ’21’, Lana Del Rey’s ‘Born To Die’ and a surprise or two – Paloma Faith’s ‘Fall To Grace’ comes in at number nine. Sande’s album has sold 928,000 copies so far and is expected to reach a million sales before the year’s end. Check out the full list below.
Also revealed are the year’s best-selling compilations. Seven out of ten are in the ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ series, with ‘Now That’s What I Call Music 82’ and ‘Now That’s What I Call Music 81’ in first and second place respectively.


The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that federal limits on the effects of air pollution across state boundaries are legal, striking down a challenge from Texas and a number of other states and industry coalitions.
The state of Texas, which has fought the federal government over several environmental regulations, lost a major battle Tuesday, as U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled in a 6-2 vote to reinstate a regulation that aims to limit the effects of air pollution across state boundaries.
Texas was one of a number of states, joined by industry and labor groups, that had sued the Environmental Protection Agency over the Cross-State Pollution Rule in 2011.
Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling means that Texas and 26 other "upwind" states in the South, Midwest and Appalachia will have to reduce some of their emissions that contribute to air pollution in East Coast states like New York. Coal plants are among those likely be the most affected, particularly as they are already dealing with new limits on their carbon dioxide emissions.
"This is a big decision," said David Spence, a professor of business and law at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in federal environmental law. "It's one of many things that is putting pressure on coal-fired power."
He added that the EPA, whose attempts to regulate cross-state air pollution date back to the Clinton administration, has gained some clarity. Nearly 15 years of legal challenges to such rules are now over; the only way they could change now is if a presidential administration orders the EPA to go in a different direction.
In their legal challenge of the rule, industry and labor groups had argued that the EPA's consideration of cost-effectiveness in deciding how states should limit their emissions was unfair. Texas added that the agency had not given states enough time or guidance to follow the new regulations.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had agreed and ordered the EPA to go back to the drawing board. But the Supreme Court reversed the court’s decision and dismissed both complaints, calling the agency's use of cost-effectiveness "permissible, workable, and equitable."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, added that nothing in the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to give the extra guidance or time that Texas had insisted was necessary to follow the rules. “EPA is not obliged … to postpone its action even a single day,” she wrote.
Environmental groups hailed the ruling as a victory for clean air, noting that the EPA estimates the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule would save 30,000 lives a year. But Texas and other states that challenged it, including Louisiana and Alabama, said it would devastate their economies. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s swing vote on many issues, and Chief Justice John Roberts, one of the court’s most conservative justices, joined the court’s four more liberal justices in ruling in favor of the EPA.
Abbott has sued the EPA multiple times. A federal court dismissed a lawsuit last year that challenged the agency for taking over Texas’ greenhouse gas permitting program. The state lost another lawsuit protesting the EPA’s definition of greenhouse gases as a danger to public health and welfare, and the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.
The fate of another challenge by Texas and industry groups to EPA regulations will soon be decided. The Supreme Court heard arguments in February against the agency’s greenhouse gas permitting rules and will issue a ruling in the coming months.
*Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the United Mine Workers of America as an industry group.


In his short life, 10-year-old Tanner Denton inspired children and adults with his smile and positive attitude.
The Jefferson Elementary fourth-grader died in December after a battle with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare kidney disease that slowly scars the kidneys to the point they can no longer function.
But Tanner's courageous attitude lives on through a CD that was started in January 2013 to help raise money for his kidney transplant. The CD, titled "Kid Needz," will be released Thursday, Jan. 23, in a party from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Newt's, 116 E. Warren St., Shelby. Songs from the CD will be performed by the musicians who wrote them, and Tanner's parents, Melanie and Travis, will be there.
"People in the community donated to have the CD produced," said Justin Harper, singer, songwriter and music teacher at Jefferson and James Love elementaries. "Music can help. We can all come together and meet the need of somebody with this project."
Harper said that Melanie shared with him that just one of the medical bills totaled $6,250.
"We have 400 CDs to sell for a donation of $10," Harper said. "That would be $4,000, but the need is greater. It would be ideal to get $6,250 out of these."
The CD includes a song written and performed by Tanner, "Life is Like a Ferris Wheel." The rest of the songs on the CD were submitted by musicians from Cleveland County, Texas and Michigan. Harper sponsored a songwriting contest to collect songs for the CD, and the prize was a studio recording session.
Two high school songwriters, Caleb Lail and Billy Hall, won the grand prize of having their songs fully produced for the CD. Caleb, a member of Shelby High School orchestra, plays mandolin and guitar. Billy is involved with Burns High School�s Drama Department, and uses his rapping talent for his ministry. These two songs were produced by Harper with the help of Jeff Nichter, a recent music industry graduate of Appalachian State and Aaron Meier of Stepping Stone Sound in Shelby.
Other songs on the album were written by John �Marty� Glover, Chris Beach, Al Dunkleman and Jonathan Robinson.
- David Tribble, a singer/songwriter from Texas who ranks #1 on the charts in his city. His song, �Be Amazing,� is an uplifting tune with a strong beat.
- Steve Hodnett, originally from Forest City currently resides in New England. His song, �What We Want,� is about separating ourselves from our wants and being joyful for having our needs fulfilled.
All proceeds from the CD will go to help Tanner's family with medical expenses.
For more information, contact Harper at 704-600-5138 or his website, songharper.com.


If you're going to try to rob someone, don't crash your getaway car into a tractor. And if you do, don't crash into the forklift end. And if you do crash into the forklift end, get out before the owner lifts your car.
This video, purportedly filmed in Norway by nosy German tourists, shows the aftermath of a theft gone bad. The alleged thief was apparently caught red-handed in a burglary and attempted to flee in his old Mercedes. Instead of making it out he crashed into the big John Deere.
Rather than let the burglar go, the owner, Harald Mikkelsen, used the fork-lift front attachment on his farm equipment to raise the front of the vehicle so it couldn't pull away. The thief stayed in the vehicle for 45 minutes, puffing a cigarette, somehow never realizing he could just jump out and leave.
Police arrested the man and Mikkelsen's become a national hero.


The Republicans continued a sharp assault today on Vice President Al Gore over the veracity of a statement he made last month saying his mother-in-law paid a much higher price for a prescribed arthritis medication than he had to pay for the same drug when it was prescribed for his dog.
In response the Gore campaign released information that on close examination seems to suggest that there was little disparity in the price for similar dosages of the drugs.
Mr. Cheney was referring to news accounts that cast doubt on an anecdote Mr. Gore used last month when he told a group of elderly people in Florida that the arthritis medicine his mother-in-law took cost three times as much as the animal version of the same medicine taken by his dog, Shiloh.
The Boston Globe reported on Monday that Mr. Gore had made the assertion based on figures from a Congressional report, not on his family's actual drug bills.
Today, after enduring barbs on the issue from the Bush campaign for a day and a half, the Gore campaign said the report that Mr. Gore had cited put the wholesale price of Lodine, the arthritis drug for humans, at $1.20 per capsule and Etogesic, the one for dogs, at 42 cents. The Lodine for Mr. Gore's mother-in-law, Margaret Ann Aitcheson, cost $2.13 per capsule , while Shiloh's Etogesic cost 92 cents per capsule, the campaign said.
But the campaign did not specify the size of the doses for humans as compared to that for dogs.
A check of prices for the two drugs at Web sites showed that the cost per milligram of Lodine was lower in some cases than the price per milligram of Etogesic, suggesting that the disparity was generated by the difference in dosages.
A check of Web sites showed Lodine ranged in cost from 0.22 cents a milligram to 0.48 cents per milligram. At a similar Web site for veterinary supplies, Etogesic ranged from 0.25 cents a milligram to 0.51 cents per milligram.
Later Mr. Gore talked about the matter and said the issue was not his mother-in-law.
''The issue is what seniors around the country are paying, and the wholesale price is between two and three times what is charged for pets,'' he said.
''That's the issue,'' he added. ''What's paid varies depending upon what drug store you go to, and it was roughly the same.
But Mr. Cheney, who attacked Mr. Gore on a variety of fronts today, contended that the issue was one of credibility.


Stocks up in Asia, Europe after Fed chairman's speech. Futures point to higher open for US stocks.
Traders work at their desks in front of the DAX index board at Frankfurt's stock exchange Aug. 29, 2011. European and Asian stocks climbed higher, tracking Wall Street's response to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech last week.
Global stocks jumped almost one percent on Monday while the dollar struggled after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke left the door open for further action to stimulate the U.S. economy and fight unemployment.
World shares rose 0.98 percent, with European and Asian markets tracking Friday's 1 percent rise on Wall Street following Bernanke's keynote speech in Jackson Hole.
As the same venue, IMF chief Christine Lagarde added to pressure for policymakers to do more to prop up a flagging global economy, telling officials they must "act now", including forcing European banks to bulk up their capital.
U.S. stock futures predicted a 1 percent rise when the market opens after Hurricane Irene, downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday, caused less damage than feared in the nation's financial centre.
With London markets closed for a holiday, European stocks rose 0.8 percent, with banks shrugging off Lagarde's comments on the sector to trade up 1.1 percent.
Bernanke gave no details on Friday of further action to boost the U.S. recovery but said the central bank's policy panel would meet for two days next month instead of one to discuss additional monetary stimulus, offering some hope to investors of a move then. .
Analysts said a bad run of data before the Fed's meeting may prove crucial.
"The change to a two-day meeting to 'allow a fuller discussion' is something that will likely keep market expectations elevated about the possibility of further monetary policy stimulus," Barclays Capital economist Michael Gapen said in a note to clients.
Both the dollar and euro gained around 1 percent against the Swiss franc, in which investors are now facing negative rates of return following Swiss National Bank moves to flood the market with liquidity.
But the possibility of more monetary stimulus in the U.S. kept the dollar under pressure on a broader front, down 0.2 percent against a trade-weighted basket of currencies.
Against the yen, the greenback traded at 76.61 yen , recoiling from a recent high around 77.69. German government debt also fell in response to the rise for riskier assets.
Debt troubles and political tensions on both sides of the Atlantic make monetary policy the only viable short- to medium-term policy response to slowing growth, said Viktor Shvets, regional strategist at Samsung Securities in Hong Kong.
But following through with another round of bond buying would be harder for the Fed this time around, some analysts say, citing rising core inflation in the U.S. and a split regarding policy within the Fed as obstacles.
"He (Bernanke) has a much, much harder decision this time," said Jim Walker, founder of Asianomics told Reuters television.
"What he's got to do is convince the dissenting voices in the Fed -- and there are now three of them -- that economic growth is so bad that it is time to use even more extraordinary measures."
Japan's Nikkei closed up 0.6 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI , the Asian market seen as most geared to a global recovery, jumped more than 2.8 percent.
"Bernanke said the economic recovery would accelerate and that the central bank would prop up growth if needed. So it's a win-win," said one senior trader at a European investment bank.
"The cyclicals are having a catch-up. If there's going to be a recession, cyclical stocks are the ones that get hit, so (after the Bernanke speech) we're seeing risk going back into names that are exposed to the sharp end of the economy."
Brent crude traded just below $111, dipping as oil refiners and terminals along the U.S. east coast weathered Irene, easing fears of fuel supply disruptions.
NYMEX crude for October delivery was up 0.1 percent. Cash gold fell as much as 1.2 percent to $1,806.29 an ounce and stood at $1,815.25 by 0926 GMT.
In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.2 percent, bucking the trend across Asia, as the latest move by the central bank to mop up excess liquidity and fight inflation hurt banking and property stocks.


Key to understanding the transit disaster in Atlanta is grasping the degree to which racial tensions have shaped the structure and reach of municipal government in the area.
We don’t have that in Atlanta—we have a lot of small government, run by the counties. As a result of that, we’re in a lot of trouble.
And why does Atlanta lack control of its major roads and other transit arteries (to say nothing of the limited scope of the transit system in the area)?
The demographics of the area give us a bit of a clue. Cobb County, a suburban area that sits adjacent to the city and shares some its infrastructure, is 66 percent white. Atlanta proper, by contrast, is 54 percent black.
Coverage of transit debates in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed how deeply race mattered. In suburban Cobb County, the chairman of a local anti-tax organization declared that ‘MARTA-style mass transit would lead to an increase in crime and the construction of low-income housing in Cobb County’ (Atlanta Constitution, 1998).
It’s easy to see how the fragmented, “small” government of the area is—at least in part—a product of these racial fears. Rules and structures that hamper Atlanta’s ability to do anything—like close roads and schools—are useful ways of maintaining existing racial barriers.
None of this is to say that there aren’t legitimate concerns here, or that race is the driving force behind the particular institutional configuration of this area. But it is hard to disentangle this variety of small government conservatism from the white racial parochialism it, to some degree, works to protect.
In any case, what we have in the Atlanta transit disaster is a case study in how racial fear and resentment can mix with politics to produce a status quo that handicaps lawmakers, and leaves them unable to deal with predictable, but serious, events. And given the extent to which racial tension is a fact of life in many urban areas, it’s a lesson worth listening to.


HARRISBURG -- A Midwest rap music legend will perform in Harrisburg at 8 p.m. this Friday, and the Harrisburg businessman bringing him here says this will be the first of several planned concerts.
Twista, who once held the world record for being the world's fastest rapper, will perform along with DJ G-Love at Sk8 Country, 25 Veterans Drive.
"Whenever you think of legends, Twista is a legend in the Midwest," James Hayes, co-owner of Papaw's Pizza and JoJo's in Harrisburg, said. "East Coast had Biggie Smalls, West Coast had Tupac and Midwest has Twista."
Hayes said he and his brother, Nathan Hayes, the other co-owner of Papaw's and JoJo's, realized there was a lack of big-name entertainment venues in Harrisburg.
"My brother and myself were talking about there's nothing in this town, and we definitely need more entertainment in Harrisburg," James Hayes said. "You look all around at other places and they're booming with entertainment."
Hayes said he initially came into contact with G-Love, who also is a promoter, through a mutual friend on Facebook. G-Love is the main promoter of Friday's concert and is a musical artist as well. He'll be performing his hit singles "Ride with Me," "Only Imagine," and more the same night.
Tickets are $30 and $60 for VIP tickets.
"We've got a few of the concert tickets and VIP is almost sold out," Hayes said.
Due to the anticipated need for parking, Hayes said the city of Harrisburg offered the use of nearby property for parking.
"We knew parking would be an issue, and I want to give a shout-out to the city for letting us use the property for free, plus they'll be shutting off the streets around us for the after-party at JoJo's," he said.
Sloan Street will be the only adjoining street near JoJo's that won't be shut down during the after-party, he said.
Harrisburg Mayor John McPeek said city officials were glad to lend a hand to an event that would draw people to the city.
"The city was concerned about parking and since we have 12 acres that isn't being used at this time, I don't see a problem with the concert attendees parking on the city property," McPeek said. "It won't interfere with traffic flow and there is a sidewalk all the way up to the venue so people will be safe. The city wants to accommodate any business wanting to help their business. We hope people from out of town eat at our restaurants and enjoy themselves. Just be safe, that's all that I ask."
Hayes said he is planning additional concerts for the city.
"We listen to more than just rap," he said. "We listen to blues, we listen to country, and we'd like to bring several different performers of several kinds of music to town."
Tickets for Twista and DJ G-Love are available from Hayes, at Papaw's Pizza, JoJo's, through G-Love at (262) 515-6820 or gloveprod1@gmail.com and at Sk8 Country. Doors open at 7 p.m. followed by the concert at 8.


EXCLUSIVE: Emmy and Golden Globe-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress Rachel Brosnahan will narrate Bloomberg Philanthropies/RadicalMedia's upcoming climate change documentary Paris to Pittsburgh, which will premiere on National Geographic Wednesday, Dec. 12th at 9PM ET/PT.
Actress Rachel Weisz and RadicalMedia founder Jon Kamen will receive two of the tribute honors at November’s IFP Gotham Awards, the unofficial kickoff to awards season.
The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 26, in its longtime home at Cipriani Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
EXCLUSIVE: "I kept saying to myself, what has happened in America?" recalls a pained Rep. John Lewis of the 1968 assassination of the New York Senator in the new trailer above for Netflix's Bobby Kennedy For President.
Meredith Bennett, who was co-EP of The Colbert Report and moved with its host to CBS and became an EP of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has joined RadicalMedia as Executive in Charge of Operations, Media & Entertainment.
One day after his Netflix documentary Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru debuted at SXSW, Joe Berlinger has another project on the launch pad. The Berlinger and Kevin Huffman co-directed Parole Board: Victims Speak will bow on Lifetime Movie Network on March 22 at 11 PM.


The mayor was suspended, the ump underwent surgery and a group of 7- and 8-year-old ballplayers got an unexpected lesson in unsportsmanlike conduct.
Umpire Tim Nelson says Mayor Jay Farquhar of south suburban Monee broke his jaw in two places with a punch after calling him a drunk as Nelson officiated the kids' baseball game Saturday. Farquhar, who was coaching, said he was trying to defend himself after a "sarcastic" comment he made to Nelson about his game-calling led to a physical altercation.
Will County sheriff's police are investigating and will send their report to the state's attorney's office for review. But after conducting a review of its own, the Monee Baseball and Softball organization already has made its call. Farquhar has been "suspended indefinitely."
"He is not allowed to attend any softball or baseball games," said the group's vice president, Ray Willoughby. "We're there to protect the kids and the integrity of the organization. You can't put your hands on a ref or an umpire. (We) can't make exceptions."
The altercation occurred in a game between a team from Monee and a visiting team from Park Forest. As part of his coaching duties with the Monee team, Farquhar, 50, was standing near Nelson, catching and retrieving pitched balls the batters missed.
Nelson, 56, admits that during the game he knowingly called a foul tip when a batter swung and missed on what would have been strike three so as to give the batter an extra pitch to try to hit.
"This started because I gave a little girl an extra strike," said Nelson, of Richton Park, who was scheduled to undergo jaw surgery Tuesday afternoon. "I'm just trying to make sure the kids have fun."
"There had been a number of unusual calls by the umpire," Farquhar said in a statement given to Monee police and provided to the Tribune by his attorney, Ragan Freitag, a Will County board member. "I then asked the ump a sarcastic question about if he was too drunk to know we are trying to teach kids to play by the rules."
Nelson said Farquhar then turned his back on him.
"As unmanly as a man can be, he turned away from me and said, 'You're nothing but a drunk,'" Nelson said of the mayor.
The University of Illinois student from Monee accused of killing her newborn baby in a residence hall bathroom last month hid her pregnancy from friends, who were stunned to learn she'd allegedly suffocated her infant son after giving birth.
Nelson said he then reached for Farquhar's arm to turn him around and confront him face to face. Farquhar called the gesture a push that necessitated he defend himself "by throwing up my right arm, which made a single contact to his left cheek with my right hand," according to his statement.
"He threw the punch," Nelson said. "I never saw it coming."
Farquhar did not respond to telephone and email requests made by the Tribune for comment.
The baseball and softball group's vice president said Farquhar admitted to throwing the punch.
"We talked to Jay, and he did tell us he punched (Nelson)," Willoughby said.
Court records show that more than a decade ago, Farquhar's ex-wife sought orders of protections against him.
According to online Will County court records, orders of protection were granted against Farquhar by his ex-wife in 2001 and 2002. The petition for the order in 2001 accuses Farquhar of threatening behavior and alleges he "threw (her) on the bed and sat on top of (her)," according to court documents.
An order the woman sought in 2005 was not granted and she dropped the matter.
Farquhar's attorney said the orders have no relevance to the incident at the baseball game.
Darian Garner, head coach of the visiting Park Forest team, was coaching first base when the altercation occurred.
"The mayor was the aggressor," Garner said.
Tim Nelson, 57, shown at his Richton Park home on June 7, 2016, said his jaw was broken during an argument with Jay Farquhar, mayor of Monee, at a youth baseball game in which Nelson was an umpire and Farquhar was a coach.
In response to Farquhar's claim that he was defending himself against the umpire, Garner said, "Oh, no. ... The mayor did call (Nelson) a drunk, so the umpire stepped up toward him. … Then all of a sudden, the mayor punched him."
Garner said the umpire may have made a bad call, but Farquhar started the argument.
"It might have been a bad call, yes or no," Garner said. "When I heard the commotion, I turned around, saw a brief exchange, and very soon afterward, the mayor punched him.
"I do not know if the umpire placed his hand on the mayor," Garner said. "If (Nelson) did touch (Farquhar), it must have been very subtle because I was watching."
Michael Adami, of Park Forest, grandfather of the girl who was at bat, said he was seated about 5 feet behind the umpire, serving as scorekeeper. Farquhar and Nelson had been yelling at each other, Adami said, but it escalated after Farquhar called Nelson a drunk.
Adami said he saw Nelson reach for the mayor while saying, "You don't call me a drunk." Farquhar then punched him, saying something to the effect of "you don't touch me," Adami said.
Farquhar landed a "well-placed" punch "like he was an experienced boxer," he said. "He was a pretty big guy. He was towering over the umpire."
Adami said Nelson had been "encouraging kids" the entire game with calls such as "good swing," "just about a strike" and "good pitch." He said Nelson was treating boys and girls on both teams equally.
Jason Fanello, assistant coach for the Park Forest team, said Nelson "is probably the best umpire in our league."
Nelson said he continued to umpire the game while Farquhar was escorted out. He said he knew his jaw hurt after the game but did not go to the hospital until Sunday night because he assumed all he needed was a shot. Instead, X-rays revealed his jaw is broken in two places, he said, and surgery was scheduled.
Nelson said he attempted to file a complaint with the Monee Police Department but the department would not take it. Police called Nelson "agitated and uncooperative," according to a statement from Ruben Bautista, Monee village administrator, who was fielding calls for the Police Department on Monday.
Will County sheriff's Deputy Chief Tom Budde said Nelson filed a complaint Monday with the sheriff's office.
"(Nelson) did admit that he grabbed the mayor prior to being struck," Budde said.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter.


Prime members get same-day on certain items on orders of at least $35 and are placed by a specific time. Usually noon. Cost is $3.99, plus 99 cents per additional item.
Walmart to Go delivers groceries for a cost of $5-to-$10 per order. Order by noon for delivery before 10 p.m.
eBay Now offers delivery within the hour on certain items for $5 per-order. Order as late as 9 p.m., or 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Google Shopping Express offers Google account members same-day delivery service from certain local stores. Free for the first 6 months, then $4.99 per order. Cutoff time varies by city.
Though Shipt, Target will delivery most items for a fee.


Virginia Madsen was in her early teens when mother Elaine sat down the Midwest youngster and her siblings for a chat.
“She said she wanted to leave the corporate world and become a writer full time. She wanted to follow her dream,” recalled Madsen, sitting in the presidential suite of a swank LoDo hotel, recently.
Despite her mother’s caveats, the 13-year-old was game.
Indeed. Madsen was in town, along with filmmakers Michael and Mark Polish, to promote “The Astronaut Farmer.” And in a bit of scheduling kismet, she stars with Jim Carrey in the brooding thriller “The Number 23” also opening today.
The twin brothers’ movie is very much about a parent pursuing dreams and bringing the kids long for the exhilarating, if bumpy, ride.
And, their tale of Texas rancher Charles Farmer, played with gruff appeal and gentle nuance by Billy Bob Thornton, is the smartest kind of family fare. It speaks to parents and children, coddling neither.
On the movie’s poster, star Thornton sits astride a horse, wearing a silvery space suit and helmet. It’s an odd image – one combining the western frontier with the “final frontier,” with Don Quixote thrown in for evocative measure. Odd, that is, until you remember the Polish brothers, makers of “Twin Falls Idaho,” “Jackpot,” and “Northfork,” are good at treating the askew with matter-fact grace.
Of course, Thornton’s knight errant is tilting at something even grander than windmills. A family tragedy pulls him him away from NASA’s astronaut training program and puts him on the family ranch – roping dogies and shoveling his father’s debts. That turn of events, however, does not wrench away his dreams of space. If anything, his father’s death fuels Charlie’s desire to succeed, to rise above his father’s mortal disappointment.
Thankfully, the Polish brothers didn’t write a role that casts Madsen as yet another version of the wifely cheerleader. Audie is equal partner in guiding a family set on possibility.
Even after her vintage role as Maya in Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” (2005), Madsen still gets too many offers to play the understanding wife, “the good listener who gently loves her man,” she called it.
This weekend’s double-bill should remind the powers that be what it was in Madsen’s critically lauded, Oscar nominated performance that blew us sideways. She brings a grounded intelligence to her roles. Her best characters know themselves well enough to challenge when required and provide aid to anguish when needed.
In “The Number 23,” the loved one in trouble is Carrey’s character Walter Sparrow. But Charlie Farmer also struggles to piece together a psychological puzzle. He just goes at it like a pragmatic Texan might. Instead of plunging into noir misery, he heads into the barn and begins building something.
There’s a lot of their Dad, Del, in Charles Farmer, the Polish brothers admitted.
And what became of Madsen’s mom Elaine’s dream? Well, she’s a screenwriter, a published poet and the winner of an Emmy.
Film critic Lisa Kennedy can be reached at 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com; try the Screen Team blog at denverpostbloghouse.com.