Standing 8611 meters (28,251 feet) in height, K2 is the second tallest mountain on the planet behind Everest. It also happens to be one of the most difficult and deadliest peaks as well, which has earned it nicknames such as the “Savage Mountain” and the “Mountaineer’s Mountain.” But last week the savage was tamed when a record-setting 28 people managed to successfully summit on a single day.
Located in a remote region of Pakistan’s Karakoram range, K2 is only accessible for a brief period of time each year during the summer. Climbers usually arrive in Base Camp around mid- to late-July with the hope of taking advantage of a narrow weather window to reach the summit. In years past Mother Nature has not been so cooperative, often keeping anyone from reaching the top. Last year, only four climbers managed to climb the mountain and they were the first since 2008 when 11 people were killed in a tragic accident.
2012 has not been a particularly good year for climbers in Pakistan, as unusually cold and wet weather prevented many teams from achieving their goals. But for those climbing on K2 last week the conditions were nearly perfect for making an ascent. As a result, a record number of mountaineers were able to reach the second-highest point on Earth and add one of the toughest mountains in the world to their resume.
So far this season there have been 30 total summits of K2 with a few climbers still hoping to top out in the next few days. To put that in perspective, there were nearly 500 successful summits of Everest this past spring, which is an indication of the difference in difficulty between the two peaks. Everest may be 237 meters (777 feet) taller but K2 is orders of magnitude more challenging.


VILLAGE OF HARTLAND - The village board unanimously shot down a proposal by Neumann Developments Inc. to allow a plan for a 126-unit ranch-style condominium development on 80 acres between Mary Hill subdivision and Winkleman Road.
The board also unanimously decided to change Hartland's comprehensive plan to show that KE will eventually connect on the north side of Highway K, ending a nearly 20 year-long disagreement with the county on where it would go.
Matt Neumann, CEO of Neumann Developments, had proposed that if the village would allow a plan for higher density, and change its comprehensive plan to reflect the county's plan for KE, he would build a long access road off of Highway K, across from Jungbluth Road, that would eventually be a part of the new Highway KE.
Once the board decided on March 26 that they would approve half of the proposal, Neumann said he will look to build a condo development with the maximum number of units that zoning would allow for, which he said is about 96.
But Village Administrator Dave Cox said that number would likely be lower.
"It depends how the village decides to deal with the environmental corridor on the parcel," Cox said.
According to Neumann, even if the development would have more than 90 units, that would not offset the cost of a long access road that meets county highway standards, so he will instead be looking to gain access on Southern Oak Drive in Mary Hill subdivision.
"People are going to be more angry about the next proposal, by a mile ... but I spent a year with this plan, trying to do what I genuinely thought was the right thing to do," Neumann said.
Neumann said approval on his next plan would be easier to obtain as he would not be seeking changes to the village's comprehensive plan.
Going forward, Neumann and Realtor John Siepmann, who owns half of the 80 acres in the development, will plan for a county highway that will run through the property to connect Winkleman and Jungbluth roads in their next proposal.
The county, which would foot the bill for the new road, does not have plans to build the road in at least the next five years, but likely even longer.
Waukesha County Board Chairman Paul Decker, who represents Hartland, said that if Neumann builds on the property, he believes the connection would be made in the next seven to 10 years. If not, the connection could take even longer.
"We're not going to build the road based off speculation that something will go in there or speculation of how much traffic they create," Decker told Lake Country Now. "When the development is in, we will monitor the traffic and go from there."
He said as of now, the area does not create enough traffic to prioritize the plan.
Neumann did not say when he will propose a new condominium plan, though he still intends to.
Around 40 Hartland and village of Merton residents appeared before the board during a public hearing on the proposal, urging the board to deny the increased density of the project.
"There was a long-term plan that was created for the land and density and I’m assuming there was a lot of thought that went into it," resident Bob Pjerach said. "If it's 10 percent or more increase I think that is significant, and I'm against that."
Many residents expressed traffic concerns about the current status of the two intersections between highways K and KE. At Jungbluth Road, residents said hills on both sides of the intersection make it hard to see oncoming traffic. A quarter mile east of that intersection is Winkleman Road, where cars are coming along Highway K at high speeds and there is no side road to pass turning cars.
"All of the points that were made tonight make it clear we are worried about traffic," said Jeff Anson, who is running for village board on April 3. "It is very easy to get into an accident. I believe there shouldn’t be any development there until Waukesha County OK’s the road."
Trustee Ann Walschlager said she believes the development would add 200 cars in an area where it could not be supported.
"The traffic concerns really stretch from Highway K from Arrowhead all the way to Ryan Road," she said. "There are backups by Dorn Road that never used to be there, and Merton Avenue, and people are constantly pulling into Dotty's convenience store.The roads were not made to take that kind of traffic. ... the increased density is out of line."


Yes, Halloween was almost two weeks ago, but Leslie Barrett's strong Halloween costume skills must be recognized.
Two months ago I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, which means the right side of my face is temporarily paralyzed and I can only express emotion on my left. Last week at a party someone pointed out that I normally look like your "not impressed" face. I decided to incorporate my disability into my Halloween costume and dress up as you. This has hands down been the best costume I've ever had. It was the first time in months I got to look like I was intentionally making a face and it has helped me deal with the slow recovery a little better.


The 17th Karmapa can't travel, and China is to blame.
At the end of a cold Himalayan December in 1999, a 14-year old monk made a phenomenal escape from a monastery in Tibet where his every move was patrolled by the Chinese. Fleeing by car, on foot and by horseback, he crossed some of Nepal’s most forbidding terrain and found his way to India, where he settled at the feet of the Dalai Lama, seeking teaching.
Since then, he has been under virtual house arrest by the Indian government, circumscribed in his movements, and now banned from travel to the West, where he has a large following—and to the seat of his Tibetan sect in Sikkim, a once-independent Tibetan Buddhist kingdom that India undermined and incorporated in 1975. The reason for India’s denial of the monk’s freedom of movement seems plain. In a word: it’s China.
The travel ban follows a thinly veiled warning by India’s foreign secretary to the Dalai Lama last week not to say anything provocative on a visit to Ladakh, near the Tibetan border. According to Indian media reports, the Dalai Lama was told that ongoing talks between China and India on a range of subjects could be jeopardized by angering China. The situation echoes China’s annoyance when an American president meets the Dalai Lama.
In the case of the young monk, he is no ordinary refugee in exile. The young lama being grounded by India, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, is the 17th Karmapa, believed by Buddhists in Tibet and China to be the reincarnated leader of the Karma Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism, with many followers in the United States and Europe. In Woodstock, New York, an American home was waiting for him: the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Center, which the young monk’s predecessor, the 16th Karmapa, had visited frequently. The 17th Karmapa Lama was allowed one brief visit to Woodstock in 2008 and was pleased to see its authentic Tibetan art and practice. In Tibetan Buddhism, the words lama and monk are often used interchangeably. Leaders of orders who carry the title of lama—the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama or Karmapa Lama are the heads of formal monastic orders; not all lamas are ordained monks.
Last week, just before another long-planned two-week trip to Woodstock and other US venues, the Karmapa was told by the Indian government that he would not be permitted to leave India. No reason was given by authorities. In May a European trip was also cancelled abruptly without explanation.
"We don’t understand it," said Thomas Schmidt, external affairs director at the Woodstock Buddhist center, known more manageably as KTD. He said that the center had always "tried to keep things in the religious realm" and not get in involved in the international politics of Tibet. Aware of India’s skittishness, Woodstock had not advertised the Karmapa’s proposed trip, as it would normally do in Buddhist publications.
What has happened in recent years is that the young Karmapa, now 25, has come into world focus as a strong personality with a charismatic style whom the Dalai Lama, now in his 70s, seems to be grooming as a successor as leader of the Tibetan diaspora. The two belong to different schools of Tibetan Buddhism, but that does not seem to be a concern. The Dalai Lama has been the cultural, religious and political voice of most exiled Tibetans, a role that transcends sectarianism. A master politician, he has effectively renounced any intention of seeking independence for Tibet, but has argued for autonomy and the preservation of Tibetan culture, now under severe threat from the large-scale movement of ethnic Han Chinese into Tibet and traditional Tibetan areas of China proper. Beijing, labeling him a "splittist" anyway, has refused to meet him.
In the case of the Karmapa, the problem for China is that before he fled Tibet into the exile opposition, the young man was recognized as an incarnate leader of his order by both the Chinese and the Dalai Lama. The Chinese cannot derail this legitimacy easily, as Beijing did with the Panchen Lama—or lamas, since there are now two, one recognized by Tibetans and the other backed by China a rival as leader. The boy the Tibetans recognize disappeared into Chinese custody 15 years ago with his family and has not been seen since.
The Panchen Lama—a title transferred to succeeding reincarnates—was once considered the second-highest ranking Tibetan Buddhist leader after the Dalai Lama. But China’s manufactured rival candidate to the monk recognized by the Dalai Lama would not now be acceptable at any level by most Tibetans, who still back the original reincarnate. That leaves the field for second place open to the 17th Karmapa, and he seems to hold the promise of being a formidable voice. Young and strong, he already has a wide audience among Tibetans as a protégé of the Dalai Lama and could, however unwittingly, inspire Tibetan youth to revive their dreams of stronger resistance to the Chinese, a course the Dalai Lama has told them repeatedly would be suicidal. More important, the Karmapa is rapidly becoming a fresh new face for Tibetan Buddhism internationally.
For the time being, India, which preaches religious freedom and a special relationship with Buddhism, seems to be doing Beijing’s will at keeping the Karmapa out of global view. At Woodstock, the Buddhists are perplexed. "People are getting fed up with this now," Schmidt said. "We have no idea why they are restricting his travel. We are disappointed."


Every business depends on forecasting, whether its executives know it or not. How many new franchise stores should we open in 1990? Will we have enough cash on hand in November to pay expenses? Will our current staff be adequate to meet manufacturing demand in 1992? When do we need to reorder widgets? Forecasts are intended to answer those questions.
Until recently, forecasting was the domain of specialists in the dark science of statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. These people pore over the historical numbers generated by a company - monthly sales figures, for example - and then put them in motion, trying to find patterns and models that can be used to predict what might happen a month, a year or a decade ahead.
For especially complex forecasting jobs, like predicting how much the West German economy will benefit from changes in Eastern Europe, it still makes sense to hire a specialist. But many executives are discovering that today's powerful personal computers can handle all but the most complex forecasting chores.
Business Forecast Systems Inc., of Belmont, Mass., (617) 484-5050, has created three programs for personal computers made by the International Business Machines Corporation and compatible machines that allow experts and novices to forecast with exceptional ease. The most sophisticated product, Forecast Master Plus ($695), is aimed at the niche of executives who understand such concepts as multivariate state space and variable parametric regressions and thus do not need much hand-holding.
Lost already? Me too. For those of us who dozed through Statistics 101, the company offers Forecast Pro ($495), a forecasting tool that has a built-in expert system to guide the user. If Forecast Master Plus is thought of as a high-powered telescope, Forecast Pro is a pair of binoculars. And for those who only need a good pair of glasses to sharpen their vision a bit, there is Forecalc, a $149 program that allows users of the Lotus 1-2-3 (up to version 2.2) and Symphony spreadsheets to enter the forecasting field relatively painlessly.
The less expensive programs use fewer analytical tools. And they6 are not meant to create presentation-quality reports. Their relatively crude graphics are a weakness, and executives would do well to take these forecasts and plug them into a leading graphic program like Harvard Graphics before making a presentation.
Expert systems are becoming increasingly important business applications, especially in esoteric areas like statistics. In essence, the programmers have imbued Forecast Pro and Forecalc with a crude form of ''artificial intelligence'' that captures the collective wisdom of experts in the field - in this case the developers themselves, Robert L. Goodrich and Eric A. Stellwagen. Their expertise can then be applied to the user's problems.
For example, the user might define the problem and enter all the raw data needed for the analysis. But that is only a small part of the exercise: choosing the right model from among more than a dozen different forecasting techniques for extrapolating that data can greatly increase the user's confidence in the results.
A small retail business whose sales depend largely on certain holidays would need a smoothing technique, for example, that would take into account seasonality. Forecast Pro will automatically analyze the problem and recommend the optimal forecast model, and experienced users at the Coca-Cola Company and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, among others, have reported that the program seems to pick the right one most of the time.
Many businesses test forecasting packages by feeding in historical data and turning the software loose on a problem whose outcome is already known - the effect of last year's interest rates on sales, for example. Employing different models would presumably yield results of varying accuracy. The expert system in Forecast Pro will even explain why it chooses one method over another.
Both Forecast Pro and Forecalc are intended for users who do not have a background in statistics. Forecalc is a sort of ''one-button'' forecasting machine that works from within a Lotus 1-2-3 or Symphony spreadsheet. Forecast Pro is also relatively easy to use, making extensive use of pull-down menus, but it is not for the cowardly. For those who understand such things, the principal statistical methods employed by Forecast Pro are exponential smoothing, Box-Jenkins and dynamic regression. Forecalc sticks with exponential smoothing.
At this point, we should note that some people will find it most helpful to read the Forecast Pro manual back-to-front. The third and last part of the manual is a statistical reference written by the developers, describing the basic principles in relatively simple English.
The authors favor exponential smoothing as the most general approach for most problems, since it requires less data and since it is easiest to fit to a particular model. Five types of smoothing, in the so-called Holt Winters family, are included in Pro and Forecalc. Pro also includes Box-Jenkins models (''an implementation of the univariate autoregressive integrated moving average procedure described by Box and Jenkins''), which are preferred in cases where there are more data and when the data are relatively stable, and a more complex family of models called dynamic regression.
Executives who decide to work with Forecast Pro or Forecalc should remember that no forecast is ever 100 percent accurate. No manipulation of fusty old numbers can account for the unexpected introduction of a competing product or a change in public taste, say, to orange widgets from green ones.
That's where the most important ''expert system'' of them all -the user - comes into play. An executive can overlay his or her insight, or even gut instincts, atop the computer-generated equations to refine predictions. At the same time, ''there is an advantage in the objective results that these programs produce,'' said Mr. Goodrich in an interview.


BARTOW - A teenage boy is dead following a shooting Sunday in Bartow. The Bartow Police Department has identified the victim as Armando Cortez, 16.
BARTOW - A teenage boy is dead following a shooting Sunday in Bartow.
The Bartow Police Department has identified the victim as Armando Cortez, 16.
According to police, it appears Cortez was attending a birthday party at the Carver Recreational Center at 520 S. Idlewood Ave. When arriving at the party, he was preparing to park his vehicle in the open lot behind the Union Academy school at 1795 E. Walbash Ave. The lot is directly west of the party location and commonly used for parking, police said.
Investigators said that while driving his vehicle into the lot, Cortez was accosted by several unknown Hispanic males and a fight broke out. During the fight, Cortez was shot several times.
The victim was airlifted to Lakeland Medical Center for treatment of his wounds. He died at the hospital.
Bartow police say they do not know the reason for the fight.
According to police, the victim would have been 17 years old on Christmas Day.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bartow Police Department at 863-559-3453 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 800-226-8477.


LONDON (Reuters) - British engine maker Rolls-Royce (RR.L) upgraded its 2018 guidance on a stronger than expected performance across its business, saying that it could cope with the rising cost of fixing a problem with its Trent 1000 engines.
The company, which makes engines for large civil aircraft, military planes, ships, trains and for other industrial uses, said that both profit and cash flow would come in at the upper half of a guided range this year.
Shares in Rolls gained 4.4 percent to 1,031 pence at 0827 GMT, having reversed earlier losses to reach their highest level for over four years. They are up 24 percent in the year to date against a 0.9 percent fall in Britain's bluechip index .FTSE.
The upgrade to guidance comes despite the huge costs Rolls is incurring from durability issues with parts on its Trent 1000 engine which powers the Boeing (BA.N) Dreamliner 787 jet and that has left some planes grounded, angering airline customers.
Chief Executive Warren East has said Rolls was working to fix the problem.
He has spent the last three years overhauling Britain’s best known engineering business, restructuring, selling-off parts and cost-cutting, most recently announcing in June that 4,600 jobs would be axed, and in July that it would sell its commercial marine unit.
His plan to make the business more profitable appears to be working.
The company said on Thursday that it now expected 2018 free cash flow to come in between 450 and 550 million pounds, compared to previous guidance for 350 to 550 million pounds, and operating profit to come in between 400 and 500 million pounds, up from 300 to 500 million pounds.
“Basically what we’re seeing is good performance across all of our business,” East told reporters on Thursday.
Rolls confirmed it was on track to meet the mid-term targets it laid out at its capital markets day in June, including a plan to exceed a target of generating free cash flow of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) by 2020.
“Our immediate reaction to the first-half results is that the Trent 1000 bad news is outweighed by good progress on the metrics that really matter to the equity story,” Jefferies analyst Sandy Morris said.
The company raised its estimates of how much fixing the Trent 1000 problem and compensating airlines would cost next year. It had said that costs would fall next year, but its new estimate put the hit at 450 million pounds, the same level as this year.
Rolls estimated that in total up until 2022, the Trent 1000 and related issues will cost it about 1.3 billion pounds, with it stating on Thursday that it would recognize 554 million pounds of that as an exceptional charge.
“This is just how we account for those cash costs,” said CFO Stephen Daintith.
Despite the Trent 1000 challenge, the civil aerospace division, the company’s largest unit which accounts for half of all revenues, posted improving results in the first-half.
Airlines flying more hours boosted the division, as well as a reduction in the cash loss it incurs from selling engines.
An improving defense margin also helped results, as did strong growth across all the target markets for its power systems business, which sells engines used on ships, yachts, trains, trucks, mining, nuclear power stations and in providing back-up power for data centers and hospitals.


Two years off the endangered species list, bald eagles are becoming less of a rare sight on the South Shore. There are 25 pairs of bald eagles in Massachusetts, said Simon Perkins, staff ornithologist at Mass Audubon, from one pair when it was restored as a species in the state in the early 1980s.
“They’re not common, but they are much less rare than they were 20, 30, 40 years ago,” Perkins said.
Joe Halpin saw one Saturday in his Birchbrow Avenue backyard, where it spent more than an hour in a tree near Wessagusset Beach.
Halpin sees plenty of cardinals, finches and other birds, but this is the first unusual sighting, he said.
Two bald eagles were seen within 15 miles of Boston during the annual Greater Boston Christmas bird count Saturday.
Breeding pairs of bald eagles live around the Quabbin Reservoir in Western Massachusetts and Assawompsett Pond in the Lakeville-Middleboro area.
Near the water is a natural place for eagles in the winter, Perkins said. They need to be near unfrozen bodies of water to hunt food.
The bald eagle is a “striking bird,” Perkins said, with the contrast between white and brown and bright yellow beak and talons.
“It’s our national symbol,” he said.
Mass Audubon will hold the annual Merrimack River Eagle Festival on Feb. 13 at the Joppa Flats and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport.
READ MORE about Mass Audubon.


Just bought a ton of new Steam games? Maybe you're swapping to a new computer and (for whatever reason) need to re-download your collection? Valve just made it a lot easier to batch-install multiple games.
Spotted by Steam Database, a recent Steam update now lets you right-click and install multiple games at the same time instead of going through the install dialogue for each game individually. All you have to do is select the games you want to install in your library—Shift + mouse click or Control + mouse click depending on how much granularity you need—and then right-click one of the highlighted games and hit Install.
The familiar Steam game installation window will pop up, except instead of a single game it will show you all the ones you've selected and how much cumulative space they'll take up on your drive. If you have second thoughts (or selected a game by accident) you can toggle it right from that dialogue screen.


The Celtics drafted Lester Hudson of Tennessee-Martin in the second round with their only pick in the NBA draft.
Ainge had been critical of point guard Rajon Rondo a couple of days earlier, and while he tried to soften his stance by saying “I love Rajon,” there were all those persistent trade possibilities floating out there. It figured that the Celtics’ president of player personnel would be doing something, anything, rather than sit on his hands.
Ainge, after all, had made several draft-night deals over his tenure. That’s how he picked up Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis and Rondo himself. Two days earlier, Ainge even said, “I wish we had a first round pick,” but it was wishful thinking.
In reality, Ainge doesn’t want to get younger. He’s had his fill. More than half his current roster is comprised of players with five or fewer years of experience and he doesn’t want to be locked into a three-year contract worth several million dollars. What Ainge is planning to do this summer is look for a free agent big man who’ll fit the Kevin-Garnett-Paul Pierce-Ray Allen playing model. NBA teams win with veterans, not youngsters, after all.
So Ainge and his staff sat back and relaxed, waiting for their 58th pick, the lowest pick they’ve ever had during the lottery era. Only once has a player chosen at 50 or below ever made a mark with the Celtics, and no one to this day can explain why Providence’s Ryan Gomes slipped to No. 50. Beyond him, Semih Erden, Orien Greene, Brandon Hunter, Kris Clack and Ben Pepper weren’t exactly Boston’s cup of tea. On the other hand, back in the good old days, Rick Carlisle made it after being picked No. 70, Carlos Clark at 91, Charlie Scott at 106 (after starting in the ABA), Steve Kuberski at 52 and Rick Weitzman at 110.
In Lester Hudson, the Celtics have a player who barely has an outside shot of making it. He’s not exactly a pure point guard but more of a shooter, almost 25 years old, having taken a sort of long and winding road to Tennessee-Martin, where last season he scored 27.5 points per game, second in the NCAA behind only Davidson’s Stephen Curry.
Ainge says Hudson can score over people, that he “instigates,” both with and without the ball. Bottom line, though, is that he was a 58th pick and will be trying to make a team that’s two years removed from winning the championship. He does do a little more than Eddie House, who’s strictly a spot-up shooter, but he also has no experience.
In one respect, he’s more like Leon Powe, a young man who grew up under almost tragic circumstances, living with his grandmother because his mother’s Memphis house burned down. He didn’t even graduate from his high school, but eventually got himself together.
One thing’s certain: he is not the big man the Celtics would like to get, but that wasn’t going to happen through the draft.
So the Celtics will now wade into the free agent waters, which won’t be easy. They’re already in luxury tax territory, don’t have a lot to spend and will be looking at a mid-level (about $5.6 million) player from a pool of big men that includes Doc Rivers favorite Grant Hill, Joe Smith, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, Chris Andersen and Drew Gooden.
The Celtics are also in a bit of a quandary knowing that Powe underwent knee surgery on May 5. Beyond that, Davis is a restricted free agent. Should he receive an astronomical offer from another club, the Celts might choose not to match.
Early this morning, after the draft ended at 12:07, the Celtics staff was already making phone calls trying to secure a few free agents for the team’s upcoming summer camp. Ainge will be on the phone next Wednesday, when the free agency period opens for current NBA players. That’s how he plans to get his team back to the Finals. The 2009 draft was simply a long night with little to do.


MERCEDES is on the hunt for a new partner for Lewis Hamilton after Nico Rosberg's shock retirement - but it seems unlikely to be Australia's Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo had his best season for Red Bull, finishing third behind Rosberg and Hamilton in the Formula One Drivers' Championship.
The 27-year-old is regarded as one of the best talents in the sport alongside 19-year-old teammate Max Verstappen.
But Red Bull boss Christian Horner said both were going nowhere as speculation mounts as to who will replace Rosberg.
"Our drivers are both on long-term contracts,” Horner told the UK Mirror.
Sebastian Vettel has also played down claims he could partner Hamilton at Mercedes in 2017.
Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda said he expected the team to have a replacement for Rosberg before the end of the year.
Another possible replacement is McLaren's Fernando Alonso but like Vettel he is under contract for next year.
"We certainly need a driver for the first test of the new car in February,” Lauda told the BBC.


Britain's Eurovision hopes will no doubt be dashed as bloc voting sweeps a Balkan or Baltic act to victory on Saturday. What patterns do mathematicians spot in the voting?
Eurovision has long been known as a festival of political skulduggery.
Claims that Sir Cliff Richard was robbed of first place in 1968 because of General Franco's scheming is just the latest story in a long history of grumbling about questionable voting practices.
So much so that allegations of vote-rigging have become the subject of intensive academic inquiry. Sociologists, engineers, mathematicians and even a molecular geneticist have been trying to determine whether suspicions of neighbourly back-scratching are well-founded.
In last year's contest, when the UK came second - from bottom - even commentator Terry Wogan's sense of humour failed him. "Over the last few years, the scoring has undoubtedly become ridiculous," he spluttered. "The voting is so influenced by Baltic groups, and Russian groups, it's become unfunny really."
Serbia was the Eurovision 2007 winner - a result predicted by Dr Derek Gatherer, a scientist who's been studying the song contest for the past five years.
"I decided that if I can write computer programmes to study patterns in biological sequence data, then presumably I can also write something that will study patterns in Eurovision," he says.
Dr Gatherer uses a computer to generate thousands of random simulations of Eurovision song contest results, using data on all the votes cast since 1975. These simulations are then compared with the real results. Any unusual voting patterns can be spotted.
"What comes out of this analysis is that there are essentially three large voting blocs within the contest. One of them is centred around the Balkan countries and the former Yugoslavia," he says.
"The second one is slightly to the east and is centred on Russia and the Ukraine, and includes countries like Belarus and Poland, Georgia and Moldova. And then there's one further north which is around Scandinavia. As well as the Scandinavian countries, it consists of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania."
Derek Gatherer's statistical analysis also shows several smaller trading partnerships, including the UK and Ireland.
So Wogan's right. There's obviously something suspicious going on. Actually, that's not necessarily true.
Another academic has been looking at some possible innocent explanations. Dr Michel Vellekoop specialises in mathematical finance at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, and ponders the statistical significance of Eurovision voting in his spare time.
"It may be that some countries will give many points to songs which are in the same language, or in a language which is similar," he says. "Or it may be that there are certain cultural characteristics, which makes a song more interesting to other countries."
Together with a colleague Dr Laura Spierdijk, he has taken a closer look at how individual countries have voted between 1975 and 2003.
After correcting for language, cultural and religious preferences, they found strong evidence of political voting only among Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Other voting patterns, Dr Vellekoop says, can largely be explained by language preferences and shared cultural tastes.
Cyprus and Greece, for example, are commonly accused of favouring each other and of all the countries, statistics suggest they are the most likely to vote for each other. Wogan seemed to sum it up when Cyprus awarded Greece 12 points in last year's contest. "Over the years people say this is ludicrous, this is ridiculous," he laughed. "But still they do it. They just don't care."
But Dr Vellekopp says his statistical analysis shows the reason the two countries give high marks to each other so often is because their people speak the same language and probably like the same kind of music.
Dr Gatherer also dismisses the idea of straightforward and widespread political bias. But neither can cultural preferences be the key, as voting blocs have grown so rapidly in recent years.
"In the 1980s, there were only two or three countries that were involved in observable vote trading partnerships. But from the 1990s onwards it increased dramatically. In 1993, there were six countries involved. In 1998, there were 12 countries, and now we have 31 countries involved."
"People observe it happening when they watch the contest and then they're motivated to go out and do it themselves in subsequent years. So it seems to be some kind of social epidemic that's spread through Europe and has infected almost everybody."
A Eurovirus. Whether you're in the camp of the conspiracy or the cultural theorists, the statistics explore in detail what the naked eye can already see - voting patterns.
Might the UK's Andy Abraham win, even if there's bloc voting?
Based on his analysis, Dr Gatherer will make a prediction for this year's winning entry after the semi-finals later this week. But he says the likely winners and losers are already clear.
"There are seven countries which are not involved in any kind of vote trading at all: Malta, Monaco, France, Israel, Switzerland, Portugal and Germany. They're at a serious disadvantage and are quite unlikely to win the contest, whereas countries at the centre of the larger blocs - like Serbia, Russia, Sweden and Iceland - have a much higher chance."
So what hope for the UK's Andy Abraham with his catchy song Even If?
"We simply won't get a lot of countries voting for us on the basis of bloc voting patterns," Dr Gatherer says. "So although I obviously wish the British entry the best of luck, I think we're labouring under a very difficult handicap."


Are cell phones, video games, and other technology gadgets to blame for students’ poor critical thinking skills? Educators in Texas think so, because fewer than half of North Texas students pass the short-response section of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), The Dallas Morning News reports.
Most of the TAKS consist of multiple choice questions, asking students only to fill in a bubble—a task they seem to ace. But students from low-performing districts to high-achieving ones stumble on the short-response section.
Some educators and testing experts say the low scores reveal a lack of critical thinking and communication skills. They also point to students’ shorter attention spans, on which they blame cell phones, video games, and less recreational reading. And teachers are frustrated because they feel pressured to teach skills most emphasized on the tests but an even bigger undertaking is how to engage uninterested students. “They can read but they can’t think critically about what they’ve read and apply it to the world around them,” says Sue Warriner, a 7th grade English teacher. The biggest challenge is “making it relevant,” she adds.
This fourty-year old mom and teacher says bologna! Children are more adept at problem solving, thinking critically and let me add, multi-tasking, than ever. How we stimulate this ability is up to us. To those who blame technology, this cartoon sums it up.
This is ridiculous. Students can't complete short answers because they aren't taught how to write or think critically, not because of cell phones or video games. Having taught in Texas, I can tell you that many school districts have no idea how to do anything beyond teaching directly to the TAKS test. The only scapegoat on their list that is true is "less reading for fun," which is something that schools can encourage through a number of programs.
These kinds of tired, failed arguments need to be put aside so that educators can spend more time figure out how to embrace and integrate these technologies into their classroom. Then they'll be able to solve some of their problem of "being relevant" to the students!
As a teacher of 40+ years, I believe there is a need for the combination of technology and directed dialogue. I don't believe students do enough real discussion of a topic, nor do they know how to in too many instances.
As educators we must learn to motivate and engage students to keep going deeper and deeper, not merely print what they found on the Internet site. It is much more work, but the end product is worth it.
Perhaps this answer is to engage them using the technologies that they are so well-versed in. Imagine using cell phones for journalism units (video cameras and word processors in our pockets!). Cell phones offer classrooms without internet connections to do research on the web. The possibilities are endless.
Think outside the box to engage today's students. I dare say that the problem is that they have embraced technology as much as it is that so many of the rest of us have not. Do a google search for "cell phones in the classroom." You'll see what I mean!
I agree with Lindsay! We must engage students with technologies they are well-versed in (or need to be for 21st century, flat world).
I am a teacher and a mother and sadly what I find is that many of our educators do not know how to use collaborative technologies of today and so do not know how powerful they can be in helping students to create creative, critical, higher-level content that is real and relevant.
Proficiency at these technologies will not hinder their performance on short answer test questions...it will improve it!
When will we stop teaching to the test and begin to facilitate the natural love of learning innate in our children? Isn't it better that they learn how to think and express themselves well?
Our lives and those of our children will forever be interwoven with technology. It is now the challenge of parents and educators to redefine how we approach teaching critical intellectual/life skills. The outside world has irreversibly intruded into our lives and classrooms, thus it has become incumbent upon us to rise to the task of re-thinking curricula in that light. Our students will be the better for it.
I think students need quiet time to concentrate, reflect and meditate on their thoughts. How do you hear yourself thinking with all that information "noise" everywhere?
Taking time to write stuff down with an old-fashioned pen and paper does a world of good. Just like thinking before speaking and avoiding embarrassments or mistakes, children need to settle down to put their thoughts down.
It also cuts down on stress. Children need that more than every. Being "wired" every waking minute can drive anyone batty- just like being a telephone operator 24/7 or having your thoughts interfered with most of the time- why must our children have to deal with grown up problems so early in life. High school is ok- prepping for college to be so wired, but not the lower grades.
Could it be that the problem is that changing to classrooms that incorporate new technology in ways that support learning and deep thinking requires us as adults to learn and to think deeply about what it is that we want to teach, and how best to use the new array of tools to do so? Naaaaah.
As the editor of a writers' newsletter, I too see the spinoff of texting and IM. Queries to me often are wrought with shortcut lingo, which gives me the impression that the writer is whisking off a piece that hasn't been proofed, edited or thought through. Technology is grand. I adore it. However, kids are used to quick answer, shallow thinking effort. Technology exacerbates the problem, but isn't the cause. I agree, however, that recreational reading is needed sorely to groom deep thinking.
We need technology in every classroom for every student and staff member, and this need is increasing daily. And teachers, just like the rest of the people in the world, need to be given time, support, and education in how to use it. It is not simply a matter of blaming teachers for not using technology. Escorting a classroom of students to a computer lab 1x per week to do a Powerpoint is not where we need to be, but it is, more often than not, where we are.
I agree with many of the posters here. The article, from the Dallas Morning News doesn't clearly correlate or prove that the technology caused less critical thinking--if that's even the issue. So often assertions are made without proof or evidence. Using technology in classrooms can increase opportunities for dialogue. How ironic--we are all using this message board, similar to IM Chat, but asynchronous, to communicate, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information. Those all sound like the top levels of Bloom's taxonomy to me!


Roger Ailes forever changed conservative media and with it political discourse in America.
Roger Ailes, who died Thursday, forever changed media, and with it political discourse in America.
Ailes birthed conservative television news coverage in the mid-1990s by launching Fox News and encouraged the careers of numerous pundits, such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. He left Fox News Channel defiantly last July following allegations of sexual harassment at the network. He was expected to resurface to repair his legacy, possibly bringing his style back to the airwaves or in political circles in some way.
By the time Ailes left the network, the future of conservative media had begun a fundamental shift with the Fox brand of journalism giving way to upstart online outlets such as Breitbart, IJR (Independent Journal Review) and The Blaze, founded by Fox News alum Glenn Beck. Many of them leaning farther right and attracting a legion of followers that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House.
Still, even with an abrupt ending -- the Palm Beach County, Fla. medical examiner ruling Ailes' cause of death bleeding on the brain brought on by a fall -- his legacy at the intersection of media and politics remains historically consequential. Ailes, who recently purchased a $36 million mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., apparently hit his head after falling in the bathroom of the residence on May 10, according to a Palm Beach police event report.
"Roger played a huge role in shaping America’s media over the last thirty years," said Rupert Murdoch, chairman of 21st Century Fox, who hired Ailes as Fox News' first CEO. "He will be remembered by the many people on both sides of the camera that he discovered, nurtured and promoted. ... (and) we will always be enormously grateful for the great business he built."
Ailes, 77, an Ohio native, began his television career in the early 1960s as a producer at The Mike Douglas Show in Cleveland. He shifted to politics working as an adviser to Richard Nixon in 1968. "He really brought the instinct of a political operative to television," said Mark Feldstein, a broadcast journalism professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a former journalist at NBC.
During the Nixon presidential campaign, Ailes had infomercials of the candidate filmed meeting with hand-picked town hall audiences to make him seem more likable, Feldstein says.
He also advised subsequent presidents including Ronald Reagan and then George H.W. Bush, during the airing of the infamous Willie Horton accusing Democratic candidate and then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis of being soft on crime. "He wasn't perfect, but Roger Ailes was my friend & I loved him. Not sure I would have been President w/o his great talent, loyal help. RIP, tweeted former President George H.W. Bush.
Before Fox News, Ailes founded what would become MSNBC while president of CNBC. "He helped invent two new kinds of niche programming on cable television that made huge profits and forced the competition to change and respond," Feldstein said.
Fox News remains the most-watched channel on cable TV, despite the heavy punches it has endured in recent months. It remains the inspiration for a host of online conservative startups all of which trace their editorial inspirations to Ailes' formula of matching bombastic rhetoric and selectively chosen facts to conservatively viewers convinced of liberal bias.
In the mid-90s, "everyone covered the news the same way. He said, 'We can do news in a different way'," said Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Farleigh Dickinson University and author of Fox News & American Politics: How One Channel Shapes American Politics & Society. "That's everywhere now. Everyone gets the news their own way."
Ailes first pitched an idea of creating a conservative news network to Nixon and approached Joseph Coors in the 1970s for financing of the idea. It wasn’t until he met media mogul Rupert Murdoch that the idea came to fruition in the mid-1990s.
With Fox News, Ailes tapped into conservatives’ resentment toward the fourth estate that existed for decades, with many believing that President Nixon was a victim of the liberal media. “Unlike others, he actually did something about it,” said Bruce Bartlett, a former political consultant and author of The Truth Matters: A Citizen’s Guide to Separating Facts from Lies and Stopping Fake News in Its Tracks, forthcoming in October.
“What’s really important in what Ailes did is that he was effective politically and culturally, but also enormously profitable,” Bartlett said. “This can’t be underestimated."
Beyond being the voice of the GOP establishment, Fox News also gradually mainstreamed right-wing ideas, often in coded language, that appealed to working-class white Americans. The tactic proved to be enormously successful. Fox now generates more than $1 billion in annual profit for 21st Century Fox.
A huge fan of Fox News, Trump channeled much of the network’s political messaging and, mixed it with populist promises of bringing jobs back, snatched crucial victories in swing states that had previously voted Democratic. “Trump is the perfect Fox spokesman. If he (wasn't) the president, he’d have his own show,” Bartlett says.
His transformation of Fox News into a hyper-partisan news outlet changed how we think of a TV news network, says Kyle Pope, editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journalism Review. “He clearly created the partisan right-wing media in America in modern incarnation. And he took it to a different level,” he said.
Still, Ailes’ death seems to mark the end of a thriving era for the traditional conservative media that is challenged by business mishaps, changing media consumption habits and shifting demographics.
Fox News is undergoing tumultuous changes brought on by sexual harassment scandals involving Ailes and others, while its parent company 21st Century Fox struggles to deal with the growing wave of lawsuits. The network's parent, 21st Century Fox so far has paid $45 million in settlements related to sexual harassment cases against Ailes, the company reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier this month.
Just two weeks ago the network's co-president Bill Shine resigned, as more women have come forward with their tales and allegations of harassment at Fox News. Upon Shine's departure, Murdoch promoted Suzanne Scott and Jay Wallace, who both joined Fox News in 1996, as division heads -- Scott of programming, Wallace of news. Marianne Gambelli was recently named as Fox News’ president of advertising sales and Amy Listerman, as chief financial officer.
All this follows the firing last month of its top talent, Bill O'Reilly, The New York Times reported that he was the subject of sexual harassment complaints by former female colleagues. Even before that, several key talents, including Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren, jumped ship, Van Susteren leaving last September for MSNBC, Kelly in January and landing at NBC where is expected to return to the air next month.
In the wake of O'Reilly's departure, Fox moved Tucker Carlson Tonight into The O'Reilly Factor's old spot at 8 ET/PT and roundtable talk show, The Five, from last afternoon to 9 p.m., Carlson's previous slot.
Ratings-wise, the reshuffled lineup earned similar viewership ratings to those in O'Reilly's time at the outset. But just lately, there have been signs of potential weakness.
So far in 2017, Fox has slightly lost some viewership share, falling from 52% to 51%, according to Pivotal Research Group, which uses Nielsen data. But in the week ending May 14, Fox News lost some ground to MSNBC, which saw its share for the week rise to 31% from 22%.
"Fox viewership is way down," Cassino said. "You can see they are not massaging the message of support for Trump. They are just ignoring it and talking about Clinton and Obama scandals instead as a way to keep the party together and it is costing them."
Such moves are needed as Fox's executives face the harsh reality of cable TV's evolving business models, in which pay-TV distributors are increasingly unwilling to pay hefty fees for content. While Fox is not in any immediate danger of having its channel dropped, the fact that its audience heavily skews toward older viewers is not lost on advertisers and pay-TV executives.
And his legacy could have another footnote at Fox. Federal investigators reportedly are investigating Fox over settlements paid to individuals who filed sexual harassment suits against Ailes. And his name is mentioned in several other discrimination suits filed against Fox including one by 13 former and current Fox employees.
As it attempts to rebound, don't expect Fox News to stray far from Ailes' original vision, Feldstein says. "I don't think they will fundamentally change. Ailes invented the recipe for Fox News to mint money: doctrinaire conservative politics with leggy blonds and flashy graphics," he said.
"As long as Fox News continues to follow that basic formula they are going to make lots of money," Feldstein said. "They may go down a little bit in the ratings, maybe not. There is a clear demographic in this country that likes and wants that."
Ailes' death was announced in a statement by his wife, Elizabeth Ailes, to The Drudge Report.


When All Else Fails, Get Your Kid On, for Free!
Is there Such a Thing as Positive Addiction? Dr. Glasser Thinks So, But Do You?
A comment on a post last week got me thinking, when are we really taught the difference between healthy anger and abuse? How do we express our anger appropriately?
Anger is a very scary emotion and often silently prohibited in society. We don’t like to be ‘out of control’ in an angry way, and often times we hide our anger to ourselves and others because it scares us.


Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we shake our head at the size of the fields in Del Mar’s two stakes on Sunday.
Saturday’s surprising news on the firing of Michael Wrona as track announcer at Santa Anita is certainly the buzz of the local racing world. He was popular with most, but some found his style of packing plenty of extra information into a race call as more than they wanted.
A replacement will be announced early this week, perhaps as soon as Monday.
Wrona did reach out to the Times late Saturday, saying he wasn’t up for talking as “my head is spinning and my gut won’t stop churning.” During his tenure, he was classy and friendly and, certainly, everyone wishes him the very best.
As we wrote on Sunday, speculation has Frank Mirahmadi on the short list for the job. He is a Southern Californian who left a good gig at Oaklawn to audition for the Santa Anita’s job when Wrona got it 2016. Mirahmadi currently calls for Aqueduct and Monmouth. Other announcers at Stronach tracks that may have been talked about but were probably unlikely to come, were Pete Aiello at Gulfstream, Dave Rodman at Laurel and Pimlico and Matt Dinerman at Golden Gate.
Ritvo may take some heat over this move and be painted as an autocrat, and there is no doubt he has opinions on every aspect of how the track should be run. But, when you look at his first year as the hands-on guy at Santa Anita, he has not been an ax-wielder, preferring to make most of his changes in process and procedure to increase the track’s productivity.
Wrona’s firing and whoever replaces him will have absolutely no impact on if people will come to, or bet on, the track. This is just a case of Ritvo wanting to go in a different direction.
Ritvo came on the scene as a change agent, saying everything was on the table. He even said he was considering three-day racing. Many executives were fearful of their jobs, but most are still there.
Keith Brackpool, the former chairman of the track, left amid litigation with the Stronach Group. Joe Morris, who functioned as the general manager was fired, mostly because he and Ritvo were doing the same job.
But he has essentially kept his vice presidents the same. He has the same simulcast and ADW director, the same director of racing, same chief lawyer, same broadcasting director, who has added XBTV to her portfolio, and the same marketing manager.
Instead, Ritvo has instituted programs to grow the horse population, added a low takeout pick four, scrapped the traditional pick six for a low cost bet whose sole purpose is to lead to a giant mandatory payout day and he has made other small betting changes.
He has tried changing post times on Sunday and changed back when it didn’t work. The track switched to a large format program, instead of the pocket-sized one for the fall meeting, and it was mostly panned by the racegoers.
A decision on the program is likely to come this week.
Ritvo has promised new barns and battled with trainers over stall space. He tried to strong-arm the CHRB, successfully, but that’s mostly about Northern California. He has endured questionable stewards’ rulings, none of which were in his purview, but nonetheless soured customers.
He’s also truly the man in the middle, in litigation between founder Frank Stronach and his daughter and chief executive, Belinda Stronach, over control of the company. That’s a tough job for even the most adept politician. Add to that, he’s trying to find a palatable way to move the Preakness from Pimlico to Laurel, unless Pimlico is completely rebuilt, but not on Stronach’s dime.
Last year’s Dec. 26 opening day, his first running the track day-to-day, did not go well. A shortage of mutuel clerks angered bettors. There were other glitches that soured the on-track experience. In a month, the track gets another chance and we’re guessing things will be better.
As year two approaches, it seems as if he’s looking at the people through which the customers consume the sport. In addition to Wrona being let go, the on-camera talent at XBTV, an arm of Stronach owned Xpressbet, was reduced as well as one of the paddock inter-track hosts.
Bettors are not a particularly loyal bunch, and Wrona will be a memory, forgotten after the first close beat on a photo finish.
But, Ritvo will remain in the hot seat, not for any personnel moves, but being charged with making this giant piece of real estate as profitable as possible. One way or another, that will be his legacy.
Me, as usual. Apologies to Bob Ike for listing his Sunday pick as being SA instead of DMR. But, I’m guessing you folks figured that out. Had SA on the brain on Saturday.
Two decent stakes races and only eight horses. That’s combined. Both races. The Grade 3 $100,000 Native Diver Stakes, a 1 1/8 mile race I was looking forward too, turned into a travesty when three of the six horses scratched. You knew Kershaw would scratch because he ran on Saturday.
It was a good stretch drive between Battle of Midway and Dabster as Isotherm was content to collect purse money for third, or last. Still, match races are tactical, and, frankly boring. Battle of Midway won by a neck for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and jockey Flavien Prat. He paid $3.20 to win. Goes to say there was no place or show wagering. The $1 exacta paid $1.90. The .50 cent trifecta paid $1.10.
In the Grade 3 $100,000 Cecille B. DeMille Stakes for 2-year-olds going a mile on the turf, the favorite Flying Scotsman ran second until midway in the far turn and won easily by 4 ¼ lengths. It was the same winning connections of Hollendorfer and Prat in this one, too.
Flying Scotsman paid $4.00, $2.80 and $2.10. Rijeka was second and Vantastic finished third.
Del Mar Charts Results for Sunday, November 25.
Winner–Sweet Treat B.m.5 by Candy Ride (ARG) out of Sweet and Savory, by Storm Cat. Bred by Pam & Martin Wygod (KY). Trainer: Doug F. O'Neill. Owner: Besecker, Joseph E. and O'Neill, Doug. Mutuel Pool $143,317 Exacta Pool $63,480 Quinella Pool $3,215 Superfecta Pool $34,060 Trifecta Pool $44,702. Scratched–none.
SWEET TREAT had speed off the rail then angled in, set the pace inside, inched away again on the second turn, came out into the stretch, drifted out some from the whip in the lane and held. TIZWAY THAT WAY stalked inside, came off the rail on the backstretch, went outside a rival on the second turn, came three deep into the stretch and continued willingly late. IPRAY chased three wide then outside a rival or off the rail, also came three deep into the stretch and went on willingly in the late stages. PRINCESS KENDRA saved ground chasing the pace, came out leaving the second turn and into the stretch and lacked a rally. PRINCESS LEIA broke slowly, pulled her way along off the rail and steadied in tight into the first turn, chased outside a rival or off the inside, came out into the stretch and lacked a further response to share fifth. LEA'S REWARD stalked off the rail, bid outside the winner a half mile out, tracked that one again on the second turn, angled to the inside nearing the stretch and weakened. FELLINA between horses early, fell back a bit off the rail, gave way and was eased in the stretch.
Winner–Perfectly Majestic Ch.g.6 by Majesticperfection out of Skatesheba (FR), by Green Tune. Bred by Brereton C. Jones (KY). Trainer: Peter Miller. Owner: David A Bernsen, LLC, Rockingham Ranch and Littlefield, Chad. Mutuel Pool $231,290 Daily Double Pool $45,383 Exacta Pool $116,234 Quinella Pool $4,137 Superfecta Pool $39,874 Trifecta Pool $64,024. Scratched–none.
PERFECTLY MAJESTIC chased a bit off the rail then outside a rival, came out four wide into the stretch, bid outside foes in midstretch then alongside the runner-up under urging and got up nearing the wire. BLACKOUT (FR) stalked just off the inside, came three deep into the stretch, took a short lead between foes in midstretch and fought back inside the winner to the wire. ECKERSLEY in a bit tight just after the start, settled outside a rival, came out into the stretch and finished well. MAESTRO DEARTE saved ground chasing the pace to the stretch and lacked the needed rally. DREAMS OF VALOR had speed three deep then angled in and stalked just off the rail, bid outside the pacesetter leaving the second turn to take the lead into the stretch, fought back inside foes in midstretch and weakened late. ANY QUESTIONS saved ground off the pace, came out into the stretch and could not offer the necessary response. SAWYER'S HILL had speed inside then inched away and set the pace along the rail, dueled inside leaving the second turn and into the stretch and weakened in the final furlong.
Winner–Battle of Midway B.c.4 by Smart Strike out of Rigoletta, by Concerto. Bred by Thor-Bred Stables, LLC (KY). Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer. Owner: Don Alberto Stable and WinStar Farm LLC. Mutuel Pool $123,423 Daily Double Pool $25,147 Exacta Pool $30,549 Quinella Pool $1,719 Trifecta Pool $14,777. Scratched–Gift Box, Kershaw, Roman Rosso (ARG).
50-Cent Pick Three (5-6-4) paid $13.10. Pick Three Pool $48,052.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY taken off the rail on a slim early lead, angled in a bit off the fence on the first turn, regained the advantage into the second turn, angled to the inside on that turn and held on gamely through a long drive under urging. DABSTER prompted the pace outside the winner, put a head in front on the backstretch, fought back alongside that one on the second turn and through the stretch and went gamely to the end. ISOTHERM pulled his way along to stalk the pace off the rail, dropped back into and on the second turn, came out some in the stretch and was not persevered with in the drive.
Winner–Weekly Call B.c.2 by Will Take Charge out of Summer Soiree, by War Front. Bred by Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY). Trainer: Doug F. O'Neill. Owner: Zedan Racing Stables Inc. Mutuel Pool $293,422 Daily Double Pool $20,800 Exacta Pool $139,254 Quinella Pool $5,231 Superfecta Pool $69,973 Trifecta Pool $96,116. Scratched–Knight's Cross.
50-Cent Pick Three (6-4-6) paid $6.30. Pick Three Pool $31,522.
WEEKLY CALL bumped between horses after the start, angled in on the first turn, chased insider then between foes on the second turn, swung four wide into the stretch, rallied under urging and got up three wide late. CARBON ZERO saved ground chasing the pace, came out into the stretch, bid between horses in deep stretch to put a head in front and was edged late. YOU MUST CHILL dueled inside, regained the advantage into the second turn, inched clear in the stretch, fought back inside in the final furlong and held third. SALAH bumped between horses early, chased off the rail then a bit off the fence leaving the backstretch, came out three deep into the stretch, angled inward in midstretch, advanced inside in the drive then went outside a rival late to just miss the show. SURPRISE FASHION came in and was bumped early, chased between horses then outside a rival, swung four wide into the stretch and was outfinished. FORTNITE DANCE stalked a bit off the rail, bid three deep between horses then three wide on the second turn, was fanned four wide into the stretch, drifted in and weakened some in the final furlong. INDY JONES stalked three deep, bid four wide a half mile out, fell back some on the second turn, was fanned five wide into the stretch and weakened. GLEYBER dueled outside a rival then between foes leaving the backstretch and on the second turn, drifted three wide into the stretch and weakened.
Winner–Lucky Student Ch.m.8 by Game Plan out of Corissa's Birthday, by Half Term. Bred by Academic Farms (CA). Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer. Owner: Hollendorfer, LLC, Team Green LLC and Todaro, George. Mutuel Pool $197,159 Daily Double Pool $26,420 Exacta Pool $107,006 Quinella Pool $4,326 Superfecta Pool $54,741 Trifecta Pool $76,523. Claimed–Sought More Pep by Bill Dory. Trainer: Dallas Keen. Claimed–Devil's Beauty by A and J Racing and Tsujimoto, Stuart. Trainer: Vann Belvoir. Scratched–Lovely Linda.
50-Cent Pick Three (4-6-8) paid $15.70. Pick Three Pool $36,108. 50-Cent Pick Four (6-1/2/3/4-6-5/8) 4 correct paid $26.95. Pick Four Pool $164,666. 50-Cent Pick Five (5-6-1/2/3/4-6-5/8) 5 correct paid $289.55. Pick Five Pool $457,323.
LUCKY STUDENT angled in and pressed the pace outside a rival, took the lead into the stretch, kicked away and won clear under urging and steady handling late. KRISTIE'S HEART stalked four wide then three deep on the turn, came out four wide into the stretch and edged rivals late for the place. SOUGHT MORE PEP had good early speed and dueled a bit off the rail then inside on the turn and into the stretch and just held third. SWALLOWS INN GAL broke a bit slowly, was in a bit tight early, stalked between horses, came out three deep into the stretch and was edged for the show. RESKY BUSINESS saved ground chasing the pace throughout and lacked the needed rally. DEVIL'S BEAUTY stalked the pace inside, came out into the stretch and weakened. DRESSED IN PRADA bobbled at the start, stalked between horses then chased outside a rival on the turn and also weakened. HONOR MAKER settled outside then off the rail, came four wide into the stretch and gave way.
Winner–Flying Scotsman Ch.r.2 by English Channel out of Padmore, by French Deputy. Bred by Calumet Farm (KY). Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer. Owner: Calumet Farm. Mutuel Pool $259,455 Daily Double Pool $23,212 Exacta Pool $93,559 Quinella Pool $4,371 Superfecta Pool $39,371 Trifecta Pool $60,999. Scratched–Irish Heatwave.
50-Cent Pick Three (6-8-6) paid $15.80. Pick Three Pool $50,609.
FLYING SCOTSMAN angled in and stalked a bit of the rail, bid outside the pacesetter on the second turn, took the lead in upper stretch and drew clear under urging. RIJEKA (IRE) saved ground chasing the pace, tugged his way up inside leaving the backstretch, came out for room into the stretch and edged a rival for the place. VANTASTIC sped to the early lead, set the pace a bit off the rail then inside, fought back along the fence leaving the second turn, was not a match for the winner in the final furlong and was edged for second. TAKEO SQUARED taken out into the first turn to stalk three deep, continued outside the runner-up on the second turn and three wide into the stretch and weakened. SAYIN GRACE stalked outside a rival then between foes on the first turn and backstretch, fell back and angled in on the second turn and also weakened.
Winner–Qahira B.f.2 by Cairo Prince out of Motel Lass, by Bates Motel. Bred by Nekia Farm & Hunter Valley Farm (KY). Trainer: Bob Baffert. Owner: Baoma Corporation. Mutuel Pool $283,964 Daily Double Pool $32,619 Exacta Pool $131,330 Quinella Pool $6,159 Superfecta Pool $74,794 Trifecta Pool $99,378. Scratched–none.
50-Cent Pick Three (8-6-9) paid $8.90. Pick Three Pool $39,117.
QAHIRA had speed outside then dueled three deep, battled outside a rival leaving the turn, took the lead into the stretch and drew clear under some urging and steady handling late. SLEWGOODTOBETRUE stalked four wide then outside on the turn and three deep into the stretch and was clearly second best. BIZWHACKS went up inside to duel for the lead, battled inside on the turn, came a bit off the fence into the stretch and bested the others. CLAUDELLE chased a bit off the rail, came out into the stretch and lacked a rally. POSIT close up stalking the pace a bit off the rail to the stretch, weakened in the drive. TIZWELLWITHMYSOUL chased outside on the backstretch and turn, came three deep into the stretch and lacked a further response. FIGHT NIGHT had good early speed a bit off the rail, dueled between horses, fell back some leaving the turn and weakened. TO THE MORNING broke slowly, went up between horses then angled in and chased inside and weakened in the stretch. HAPPY TUNE broke a bit slowly, chased between foes, angled in some on the turn and had little left for the stretch. SUPREMA a bit slow to begin, settled inside, came out on the turn and into the stretch and gave way.
Winner–The Hunted Ch.g.3 by Unusual Heat out of Lethal Hunter, by Jade Hunter. Bred by M. Auerbach, L.L.C. (CA). Trainer: Richard Baltas. Owner: M. Auerbach LLC, Ciaglia Racing LLC and Little Red Feather Racing. Mutuel Pool $341,289 Daily Double Pool $32,542 Exacta Pool $145,454 Quinella Pool $5,266 Superfecta Pool $77,423 Trifecta Pool $93,681. Scratched–Elwood J, Jet Set Ruler.
50-Cent Pick Three (6-9-8) paid $11.80. Pick Three Pool $41,432. 50-Cent Consolation Pick Three (6-9-5) paid $2.30.
THE HUNTED angled in and stalked outside a rival, bid alongside the pacesetter on the second turn, took a short lead leaving that turn, inched away into the stretch, kicked clear under some urging, drifted in a bit in midstretch then drifted out some in the final furlong and held. ACCLIMATE pulled along the inside early then saved ground stalking the pace, came out into the stretch and finished willingly. HOT PERFECTION settled off the pace inside, came out leaving the second turn and into the stretch, split rivals in the drive and got up for third outside a foe late. PUSH THROUGH saved ground stalking the pace, continued inside in the stretch and was edged late for the show. SHAYMIN broke a bit slowly, chased outside a rival, swung four wide into the stretch and was outfinished for a minor share. SIX POINT RACK pulled between horses then stalked outside a rival, came three deep into the stretch and lacked the needed rally. DUKE OF FALLBROOK chased three deep then outside a rival on the backstretch, angled in on the second turn and did not rally. CARVILLE had speed outside foes then angled in and set the pace inside, dueled along the rail leaving the second turn and weakened in the drive.
Winner–Littlebitamedal Dbb.c.3 by Violence out of Littlebitabling, by Carson City. Bred by Angie Gail Moore (MD). Trainer: Art Sherman. Owner: Akin, Zvika, Caples, Mika, Gumina, Jilda, Harkins, Robert, Myers, Gordon, Myers, Jeannetta Louise, S. Mutuel Pool $263,710 Daily Double Pool $83,274 Exacta Pool $135,482 Quinella Pool $5,400 Superfecta Pool $99,693 Trifecta Pool $110,052. Scratched–Spanish Bay, Thefourfortyfourth.
$2 Pick Six Jackpot (6-5/8-4/6-9-5/6/8-10) . Pick Six Jackpot Carryover $155,879. 50-Cent Pick Three (9-8-10) paid $31.15. Pick Three Pool $104,186. 50-Cent Consolation Pick Three (9-5-10) paid $8.00. 50-Cent Pick Four (4/6-9-5/6/8-10) 4 correct paid $52.55. Pick Four Pool $566,060. 50-Cent Pick Five (5/8-4/6-9-5/6/8-10) 5 correct paid $157.75. Pick Five Pool $383,382. $2 Pick Six (6-5/8-4/6-9-5/6/8-10) 5 out of 6 paid $22.00. $2 Pick Six (6-5/8-4/6-9-5/6/8-10) 6 correct paid $1,523.40. Pick Six Pool $169,744. $1 Place Pick All 9 correct paid $159.20. Place Pick All Pool $21,733.
LITTLEBITAMEDAL stalked outside then four wide into the turn, bid three deep into the stretch, took the lead in upper stretch, kicked clear under urging, drifted to the inside in the final sixteenth and held sway. IRON CURTAIN close up stalking the pace a bit off the rail, angled in on the turn, came out into the stretch and bested the others. MOON JUICE stalked between horses then off the rail on the turn, angled to the inside nearing the stretch, came back out in upper stretch and picked up the show. JONAS chased off the rail, went outside a rival on the turn and four wide into the stretch and lacked a rally. ASTONISHING TWEET sped to a clear early lead, angled in and set the pace a bit off the rail, drifted to the inside in the stretch and weakened. MALACHIM chased outside then off the rail on the turn, came a bit wide into the stretch and lacked a further response. SOUGHT BAI stalked between horses then a bit off the rail, went three deep leaving the turn and into the stretch and had little left for the drive. MIKEYS GLORY broke a bit slowly, settled just off the rail, angled in leaving the turn and also had little left for the lane. FLEETWOOD saved ground chasing the pace, dropped back on the turn, was between horses a quarter mile out and gave way.


The Town has completed the 2017 program year for the Community Development Block Grant program and is preparing Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the period July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018. The Town was awarded $283,342 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address the goals and objectives of the Town of Barnstable Consolidated Plan for 2015 – 2019. The CAPER is a year-end report that outlines the accomplishments of the Town’s CDBG program and is available review and comments before the Town submits to HUD for approval.
The Draft CAPER will be available for review as of Thursday, August 16, 2018 on the Town website: http://www.townofbarnstable.us/CDBG or in the Planning & Development Dept. (PDD), 367 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Hyannis, MA 02601 between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm Monday through Friday. This location is handicap accessible.
The public is invited to attend a meeting to review the Draft CAPER on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 3:00 pm in the Planning and Development Dept. (PDD) Conference Room, 367 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Hyannis, MA 02601. This location is handicap accessible and reasonable accommodations available upon advance request.
Comments received in the meeting will be summarized in the final submission to HUD. Anyone unable to attend the meeting may submit written comments to the PDD office at the address below.
Or by email: [email protected] with “CDBG Comments” in the subject line.


When Pixar Animation Studios began making features, they wanted to differentiate themselves in more ways than one from other animation companies. In the mid-1990s, it was daring to make a full-length computer-animated feature, but Pixar knew there was another trend of modern animation that they should boldly sidestep. To quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail: no singing.
The Disney Renaissance of the 1990s was marked by Broadway-style songs in Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and more. For a while, Pixar’s filmmakers would compromise with Disney, to the point where a song or two played over the soundtrack in their early films, such as Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. Nearly a quarter-century later, Pixar is the standard-bearer of American animation, only slightly delving into the musical genre with last year’s Coco. Though Pixar’s cautiously utilized songs in their films, they’ve had a very strong association with music, akin to Disney and its relationship with the late Howard Ashman, even if they intended to avoid such associations. With Pixar, many of their recent films have been defined and enhanced by the work of Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino.
Michael Giacchino didn’t get his start with Pixar; he came to renown thanks to his work on the Call of Duty video game series as well as two of JJ Abrams’ TV shows, Alias and Lost. (His work on the latter program is among the finest musical work in TV history, bar none.) But as soon as the opening strains of “The Glory Days” are heard in Brad Bird’s 2004 superhero film The Incredibles, Giacchino stepped into his own as one of the most important factors in any Pixar film’s success.
With the release of Incredibles 2, Giacchino has now composed the score for seven of Pixar’s 20 feature films; only Randy Newman, who scored the studio’s first four films, has worked more for Pixar with eight features under his belt. Though Giacchino got his start later in Pixar’s run, the films he’s scored have the studio’s most distinctive themes. There’s the snappy and swooning sounds of Ratatouille, his vibrant work on Coco, and the two scores he’s produced for Pete Docter’s Pixar features, Inside Out and Up, the latter of which garnered Giacchino a richly deserved Academy Award.
Starting with The Incredibles, Michael Giacchino was able to both recall the work of past great composers as well as make something uniquely his own. Bird originally wanted John Barry to score the film, in homage to his iconic work on the James Bond sequel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; when Barry passed on the gig, Giacchino stepped in. No doubt, the bombastic, retro-styled score feels indebted to the Bond films of the 1960s as well as other jazzy compositions. However, Giacchino steps beyond simply cribbing from the past by creating his own distinct themes within that recognizable era of music.
The brassy quality of the score not only recalls the era of Bird’s youth, but adds an epic quality to the film that’s arguably missing from a lot of superhero movies these days. (Is it a hot take to say that most live-action superhero movies are lacking in the music department? Because they are, and there’s just no excuse.) Both in depicting the superheroic Parr family at their best — as when paterfamilias Bob’s mid-life crisis takes a positive turn in “Life’s Incredible Again” — as well as revealing the villain Syndrome and his vicious plan in “Kronos Unveiled”, Giacchino’s first Pixar score is as exciting and bold a debut as you’ll find among modern composers. With just one film, it became clear that this was a musical talent to…well, listen out for.
Unfortunately for us, the Incredibles 2 score has yet to be released to the public; it’ll be available for purchase on June 29, two weeks after the film opens. On first blush, hearing it within the context of the overall film, Giacchino is going back to the basics that established him as a composer to watch. Though the setup of the film is reversed — Helen Parr/Elastigirl gets to be the hero, while Bob stays at home — the score feels both distinct to the story as well as dipping into a lot of familiar themes. There’s plenty of trumpet-heavy themes, along with more than a — sorry for the pun — dash of saxophones and other woodwinds. It’s maybe not Giacchino’s best score, but feels like a natural continuation of what made his 2004 work stand out so much.
Though Giacchino worked with Brad Bird for the second of five collaborations on Ratatouille, the 2007 character study is tonally much different from the director’s other output. Though there’s a chase sequence or two, the action is much more minimal than in either Incredibles film or Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Yet the score for Ratatouille, including Giacchino’s song “Le Festin,” is symphonically exciting, leaping from high to low emotion deftly.
“Granny Get Your Gun” — one thing that Michael Giacchino has always done is get very clever with the names of the tracks on his scores — starts calmly with almost a rustic charm. That charming, down-home quality, sounding almost like Remy the rat’s internal soundtrack, shifts drastically. It builds in intensity, with screeching brass and strings, matching an early scene where an elderly woman discovers that Remy’s family lives in her ceiling, and tries to blow them all to bits with a shotgun.
The same mix of excitement and urgency is present in “A Real Gourmet Kitchen,” in which Remy finds himself in the middle of the kitchen at Gusteau’s Restaurant in Paris, trying to avoid being found out by the humans inside even as every facet of the kitchen cries out to him. In Ratatouille especially, Giacchino can confidently, comfortably move from emotional peak to valley, and back again; we get the sense in the music alone how much the kitchen excites Remy even as its participants terrify him.
The blend hits a fever pitch in “Dinner Rush,” when Remy, his human friend Alfredo Linguine, and a whole lot of rats must serve, among others, the fearsome critic Anton Ego. This piece alone shifts from the frantic sense of keeping a Parisian kitchen afloat to the thrill to serving “a peasant dish” to a literal tastemaker, to the winsome triumph of making that critic Remy’s fiercest champion. Ratatouille may not be Giacchino’s flashiest score, but it’s as vital a part of the film’s success as any of its other elements.


“Just after 4pm on Sunday 7 October, Police and other emergency services attended a scene on Warspite Avenue, where a man was located on the road with critical injuries. A team of Detectives are working to establish how he sustained these injuries, but inquiries have established that he has fallen from a vehicle.
The man died last night of his injuries in Wellington Hospital and Police are now in a position to name him.
He was 19-year-old Sosiua Helotu Ula of Wiri, Auckland and Police extend their sympathies to his family and friends.
Wellington Police are still seeking the public’s help identifying anyone who may have witnessed this incident in Porirua on Sunday.
Mr Ula was taken to Wellington Hospital in a critical condition and died last night, Tuesday 9 October.
Mr Ula was described as solidly built, around 185cm (6 foot) tall, with a short black hair cut.
He had a small amount of facial hair on his chin.
Police are seeking to reconstruct Mr Ula’s movements before he sustained his fatal injuries, and are appealing to the public for help.
Police still wanting any sightings of a black Mercedes, registration GPW495.
Police would like to urgently speak to anyone who saw the Mercedes or any other car driving erratically near Waitangirua Mall that day.
Police are appealing for the driver of a red car driving east on Warspite Avenue that nearly had a head on crash with the Mercedes to come forward.
One person was taken into custody in relation to the incident and has been charged with driving while disqualified and supplying methamphetamine.
Anyone with information, no matter how small, can call Wellington Police Crime Squad on (04) 381 2000, or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.


SAINSBURY'S admission that its Christmas sales picked up only when it called a temporary halt to a costly and disruptive investment programme is a revealing one.
Its multi-billion pound investment in overhauling systems and distribution centres is certainly necessary. But the upheaval is taking a heavy toll on performance.
Ensuring that the supply chain works smoothly is a key issue for Sainsbury's - and indeed for its rivals.
Quite simply, if consumers do not find what they want in their local store, they will move on swiftly to a better-stocked rival.
Supply chain director Martin White admits that 15 years of under-investment had left Sainsbury's network 'fossilised' and 'complacent', lagging behind rivals Asda and Tesco.
In a belated attempt to put this right, chief executive Sir Peter Davis decided three years ago to pump huge sums into 'radically changing' the network.
Britain's third-largest grocery chain concedes that the ambitious overhaul has been 'testing'.
Sainsbury faces an enormous task in trying to rectify the neglect of the past. Getting it right is absolutely crucial for the group, which faces increasing competition now that rival Safeway is being taken over by Bradford-based Wm Morrison.
Davis insists that availability in stores has improved. But the retailer's experiences at Hams Hall - one of its flagship new distribution centres in the Midlands - suggest that, to put it kindly, he faces an uphill battle to revive the business.
The 700,000 square feet supply warehouse just outside Birmingham has been plagued by computer glitches and automated crane breakdowns. Suppliers have struggled to get to grips with stringent new delivery specifications.
A state-of-the-art new computer system ritually rejected pallets laden with wrongly-packed stock, prompting Sainsbury to introduce a penalty system on suppliers.
As if that were not enough, when the warehouse went fully electronic in February last year, the supermarket discovered that the building was located in a 'low-power zone' on the National Grid.
As a result, it had to shell out a sizeable amount of cash on a back-up electricity generator to kick in when the power fails.
White concedes that there have been 'teething problems'.
'Yes, some things have gone wrong,' he admits. 'There have been some areas that have worked out really well and others that have worked out less well.' But he insists that Hams Hall has never had to shut down completely.
Hams Hall employs 800 and serves 52 Sainsbury stores as far away as Great Yarmouth and Norwich. It is just one of four new sites the group has opened this year - each of them providing more than 650,000 square feet of space.
Having started with 23 mega distribution sites, White aims eventually to have just 11 serving the company's 520 supermarkets.
On top of its problems in Birmingham, Sainsbury has run into a row with unions over a pay settlement for workers at another distribution centre in Merseyside.
Employees, led by Glen Dyson of the Usdaw union, have already held two 24-hour strikes since Christmas in protest over pay.
Usdaw wants Sainsbury to raise staff wages from £7.55 to £8.00 an hour. The dispute could take a while to resolve, but White expressed confidence that the worst of Hams Hall's problems are behind it.
Having completed a hosted tour around the cavernous warehouse, a quiet sounding-out of staff failed to reveal much in the way of serious discontent.
Although Sainsbury irritatingly insists on calling its centres 'fulfilment factories', White clearly means business.
'Each time we open a new site we learn more,' he says.
He claims that once the warehouse upgrade is complete, Sainsbury's will have an edge over its rivals.
It will need it. Retail research analyst Verdict is predicting a new price war following the Safeway/Morrison marriage.
And if shoppers are unable to fill their trolleys with their favourite products, they will need little prompting to go elsewhere.


In an effort to revive the housing market, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury pledged to buy pools of U.S. home loans called mortgage-backed securities. The government also took over mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In doing this, they flooded the market with cash and allowed lenders to make home loans at cheap rates.


A look at five interesting personal finance posts from other bloggers around the web. This week: Car repairs to watch out for, odd uses for olive oil, ways the web can help your wedding, Bank of America's image problem, and home repair that's easy to do.
[DriverSide] This website for car owners gives a quick and easy list of the repairs to be skeptical about when the mechanic starts insisting you need them.
[Money Crashers] It’s not just for cooking and salads any longer. From diaper rash to furniture polish, here are the weird recipes.
[Mint] From wedding pictures to wedding planners, the Internet offers cost-efficient options where there once were none.
[The Consumerist] Attention BoA customers who pride themselves on never paying a fee for their checking account: You may have an image problem.
[Wise Bread] Even if you’re all thumbs, there are some home repairs that you can still pull off by hardly lifting a finger.


It's Claire’s first day of bus driver training. She admits to being nervous and is pleased when Ashley says he will pop out to the end of the street with Joshua to give his wife a confidence boosting wave as she passes by. True to his word, Ashley patiently waits with son Joshua for Claire to drive-by but as her bus rounds the corner disaster strikes. Joshua slips from Ashley’s grip when he sees Schmeichel bounding across the road. Claire swerves in a dramatic attempt to avoid a collision with the youngster but despite her best efforts she is mortified to her a loud thud before the bus screeches to a halt? After hearing the collision, the residents quickly gather round the scene of the accident. Has her worst nightmare happened on her first day of training?
Shelley remains very much under Charlie’s control as the pair even move the sofa from downstairs into her bedroom so that she can be more comfortable as her enforced confinement continues.
Elsewhere, Jack has a holiday surprise for Vera. He shocks his long suffering wife when he announces he is taking his beloved pigeons to Formby with them as he plans to release them and let them fly home.
Meanwhile, Jamie and Leanne are very definitely a pair again and she makes it very clear to Danny that their affair must stop but there is a spark between the pair as they enjoy a drink in the Rovers with Jamie and Frankie. How long will the illicit lovers be able to resist each other?
Also, it’s speed-dating for the over fifties as Rita, Norris, Blanche and Lena head off to the Weatherfield Arms in search of some rapid romance.


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BOURNEMOUTH’S Arts by the Sea Festival (October 14 -21) is organising a large recycling project with a sculpture made of recycled plastic bottles.
The project called, Save Our Seas – Message in a Bottle, and in a testament to the times we live in, there will be no shortage of material to create the sculpture with.
This eye-catching recycling project has won a Wessex Watermark Award of £400 to help to pay for two workshops during the opening weekend.
‘Message in a Bottle’ is an awareness raising event on the use of plastics in our daily lives, its impact on the sea and is designed to provoke thoughts about how we can make a difference.
The public are invited to think about their own recycling habits and come along during the opening weekend and write their message on a bottle as part of the installation.
Wessex Water’s Flood Risk Coordinator Gillian Sanders will be presenting the cheque to Bournemouth Borough Council ‘s Festival’s Director Andrea Francis on Tuesday 19th September.
The Watermark Award provides funds for environmental projects within the Wessex Water area. Now in its twenty-third year, it has supported over 900 environmental initiatives. Organised by The Conservation Foundation, all projects are judged by a panel chaired by its President - David Bellamy.


Camera IconPotentially flammable cladding has been discovered at Fiona Stanley Hospital and will be removed.Picture: Michael Wilson.
Potentially flammable cladding has been found from Fiona Stanley Hospital, only days after work began to remove similar material at King Edward Memorial Hospital.
In a statement Health Department director general David Russell-Weisz confirmed that aluminium composite panel cladding had been detected at FSH and would be removed.
It was found during a State-wide safety audit of cladding by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London which killed 72 people.
The department is examining cladding from more than 100 buildings.
As part of the audit the Health Department had identified the need to undertake a preliminary fire risk assessment at the Fiona Stanley Hospital site.
The department said the assessment was received last week and identified ACP cladding across the site. Core samples of the ACP cladding were taken for laboratory testing to confirm their material type.
“Immediate action has been taken to ensure the ongoing safety of staff and patients within the hospital,” the statement said.
The department said it would now look at replacement options.
“There is no requirement to relocate staff or patients,” it said.