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A leading figure in the nation’s cattle trade claimed there would be serious emotional and health consequences for many Australians from the federal government’s suspension of cattle exports to Indonesia for up to six months. Prime Minister Julia Gillard also refused to commit the government to compensating farmers and businesses impacted by the trade ban. “I have grave fears for the social wellbeing for these people," Mr Farley said. “AAco is a big corporation. We have a big, strong balance sheet. There are families out there that can only operate their enterprise for about six months of the year because of the seasonality of [the operation]. Now the cash flow is gone. They are doomed," he said. Ms Gillard pointedly declined to be drawn on whether the government was considering compensation for farmers in a radio interview and in a press conference in Darwin yesterday. Mr Farley said the industry body Meat & Livestock Australia needed to find a compensation solution. He said the industry could have solved the issue without imposing a ban on exports. “The government was smart enough to address the banking system in the financial system in the global financial crisis," Mr Farley said. “This is a crisis in the live exporting business in northern Australia . . . they made the decision to ban it and there are consequences to it and the consequences need to be addressed." Ms Gillard said assurances provided by the industry to ensure cattle were treated humanely by Indonesian abattoirs had failed. “The industry has known these issues needed to be dealt with . . . and [though] the industry has responded since the Four Corners report what they have provided so far doesn’t give us the kind of assurance we want that Australian cattle will be treated in a way that all Australians find acceptable,’’ Ms Gillard told the ABC. She accused the industry of being too slow to clean up its act despite knowing of the problems with the Indonesian live cattle trade. The allegation was denied by Meat & Livestock Australia chairman Don Heatly, who said the industry would have acted earlier if it knew about the “grotesque brutality". Ms Gillard said Indonesia didn’t have grounds to challenge the decision in the World Trade Organisation. “Let’s be very clear here: what we have done does not breach WTO rules,’’ she said. Mr Farley, who was disturbed by the television images of cattle being mistreated, said the industry had not invested enough time and energy in live export markets. The Australian Financial Review

The West Australian budget is headed for a forecast $1.79 billion surplus in three years, fuelled by a sharp rebound in royalties from iron ore and other minerals, but debt is still predicted to rise more than $5 billion due to capital works spending. In a pre-election financial update released before the March 9 poll, an anticipated budget deficit in 2013-14 was wiped away by the return of huge mineral wealth. State Treasury officials forecast that mining royalties would add more than $1.86 billion to state budgets during the next three fiscal years, compared with estimates published in the mid-year review in December. WA Treasurer “These figures, when contrasted with those in the mid-year review, clearly show that there’s a lot of volatility underpinning the state’s finances," Mr Buswell said after the release of the figures on Thursday. Nonetheless, the substantial change to WA’s books means opposing political parties will be under less pressure to promote austerity measures than they were with a looming deficit. The forecast gains in royalty revenue are expected to be offset by a $745 million reduction in goods and services tax revenue. A mechanism to distribute GST funds to states and territories works against resource states enjoying strong royalty inflows. All up, changes to the royalty flows, new exchange rate predictions and GST carve-up forecasts mean the winner of the March state election is expected to have $1.3 billion more, over three years, than was predicted in December. “While these projections suggest a better outlook for the general government sector relative to the mid-year review . . . they highlight that the state’s finances are very sensitive to changes in global conditions that are beyond the control of state governments," the pre-election papers say. Mr Buswell said if re-elected the government would continue to work towards large surpluses to protect the bottom line against royalty fluctuations. “I think West Australians understand we are an export economy and royalties are a big part of our revenue stream and that movements in royalties will impact on government aggregates. “Part of the strategy has to be to maintain large budget surpluses. Large budget surpluses give you a buffer and … the capacity to pay down debt." State surpluses are expected to increase from a modest $240 million this financial year to $1.78 billion by 2015-16. Backed by mining royalties, Liberal Premier Debt is still forecast to hit $23.7 billion by 2016 from the current $18.3 billion this financial year, rather than the previously forecast $24.8 billion. The debt levels are largely the result of a big capital works program and had loomed as a key election issue. Mr Buswell justified the high level as debt as necessary. “In terms of debt, the government made a conscious decision to invest in infrastructure, particularly in hospitals… knowing we would have to borrow money," he said. Ratings agencies placed the state’s AAA credit rating on “negative outlook". AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said on Thursday that the rating agency warnings showed that WA governments had not necessarily handled their mineral wealth well. “I think it was an indictment on the governments over the last few years in WA," Mr Oliver said. A “negative outlook" warning from Standard & Poor’s means the agency believes there is a one-in-three chance the rating could be lowered in the next two years. John Nicolaou, chief economist at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA, said resources states still faced structural problems in their budgets. “Revenues in some areas have been flat or declining and in other areas have been very volatile," Mr Nicolaou said. The Australian Financial Review

[Part I] In analyzing the fabric strength of the material that evolutionists have woven together to promote the importance of Archaeopteryx, we must invest some time looking at an important anatomical feature, for it is at this point that we begin to see the threads of evolution unravel. Current evolutionary theory demands that the lungs of certain land-dwelling animals “somehow” evolved into bird lungs. However, birds’ lungs are quite unlike the lungs of other animals because they do not “breathe out.” The lungs of land-dwelling animals work somewhat like a bellows in which the “good” air is inhaled and the “bad” air is exhaled. Birds’ lungs, on the other hand, are unique because they have an opening at each end and thus possess a one-way respiratory system. In birds’ lungs, the new air comes in one end, is stored in special sacs until needed, and then is stored in another sac until it is released out the other end. So how do the millions of years required for evolution mesh with the fact that “air breathers” can survive for only a few moments (at most) if a disruption to their respiratory system occurs? How can you take a “two-way” reptile lung and over a period of minutes evolve it into a fully functional “one-way” bird lung? The simple answer is, you cannot. John Ruben, an expert in respiratory physiology from Oregon State University at Corvallis, addressed the problem of such a hypothetical intermediate. Recently, conventional wisdom has held that birds are direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs [those dinosaurs that are said to have been “beastfooted” and bipedal Saurischians—BH/BT]. [or hole—BH/BT] in taxa transitional between theropods and birds. Such a debilitating condition would have immediately compromised the entire pulmonary ventilatory apparatus and seems unlikely to have been of any selective advantage (1997, 278:1269). To suggest that the “debilitating condition of a diaphragmatic hernia would have immediately compromised the entire pulmonary apparatus” and thus be “unlikely to have been of any selective advantage” is nothing more than scientific “prestige jargon” for stating the obvious: in other words, the animal would not have been able to breathe. We think it is a gross understatement, therefore, to suggest that this “seems unlikely to have been of any selective advantage.” Death—to put it bluntly—is not a good survival mechanism! Overall, dinosaurs can be divided into two groups based on the shape of their pelvis. The Saurischia are “lizard hipped” dinosaurs, whereas Ornithischia are considered “bird hipped.” Strange as it may seem, Archaeopteryx (and thus all modern birds) allegedly evolved from the Saurischia, not the bird-hipped Ornithischia. Evolutionists, therefore, have spent countless hours trying to connect Archaeopteryx with its fellow Saurischian, the theropod—a “beastfooted,” bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur. A comparison of the pelvic bones of modern perching birds and Archaeopteryx reveals that both probably assisted their breathing while perching by means of muscles attached between their pubis and tail. In contrast, the pelvic bones of the theropod dinosaurs look nothing like that of either modern birds or Archaeopteryx, but instead look more similar to those of modern reptiles (like the crocodile, for example). There is no way for the pubis of modern reptiles or the theropod dinosaurs to serve as an attachment point for suprapubic muscles that are needed to assist in breathing during perching. Numerous studies have pointed out that the curvature of Archaeopteryx’s claws, compared to the curvature of modern birds’ claws, puts it firmly in the “perching bird” category (see Feduccia, 1993). In fact, the habits of birds that are similar to Archaeopteryx (such as the earthbound Australian pheasant cuckoo) can be distinguished on the basis of claw curvature. Furthermore, the unusual claws on the wings of Archaeopteryx resemble those of various tree-climbing birds, and differ noticeably from the claws of its supposed dinosaurian relatives. As ornithologist Alan Feduccia put it: “Archaeopteryx probably cannot tell us much about the early origin of feathers and flight in the true protobirds because Archaeopteryx was, in the modern sense, a bird” (1993, 249:792). Our point exactly! Much controversy has occurred in scientific circles regarding whether Archaeopteryx should be classified strictly as a bird or as a “transitional intermediate” between dinosaurs and birds. Many researchers automatically place this animal into the “bird” category based solely on the presence of feathers. As Feduccia noted: “Feathers are unique to birds, and no known structure intermediate between scales and feathers has been identified” (Feduccia, 1980, p. 52). Creationists, of course, have long made that very point. In fact, writing in volume two of their Modern Creation Trilogy on this matter in regard to Archaeopteryx, Henry Morris and John Morris stated: Archaeopteryx is a “mosaic” of useful and functioning structures found also in other creatures, not a “transition” between them. A true transitional structure would be, say, a “sceather”—that is, a half-scale, half-feather—or a “ling”—half-leg, half-wing—or, perhaps a half-evolved heart or liver or eye. Such transitional structures, however, would not survive in any struggle for existence (1996, 2:70). Recent intriguing discoveries have caused researchers to speculate with wild abandon about exactly how Archaeopteryx fits into the dinosaurs-to-birds theory. As you will see later in this article, some evolutionists have haplessly fashioned a fascinating tale of dinosaur-to-bird descendants, only to realize after the fact that they actually have created a huge time-line fiasco for themselves (and for the birds!). Much of this began after several important recent finds in China, in what some believe is ever-increasing evidence that establishes a direct link between dinosaurs and modern birds. The first find, uncovered in the early 1990s, was a newly discovered bird named Confuciusornis from the Yixian formation of Liaoning province in northeastern China. The find, which is considered more modern in form than Archaeopteryx, was described from three partial skeletons, and is said to be roughly half the size of the London specimen of Archaeopteryx (while sharing several common features). In his 1999 book, In Search of Deep Time, zoologist (and senior editor for Nature) Henry Gee noted: Unlike Archaeopteryx, which had a conventional reptilian spout, Confuciusornis had a beak, the earliest record of a beak in the fossil record. In more than 150 years, only seven specimens of Archaeopteryx have ever been found, and each one is treated as a priceless relic. The contrast with Confuciusornis could hardly be greater; in only a few years, hundreds of specimens had been excavated from Liaoning province. Confuciusornis joined a steadily accumulating catalogue of fossil birds unearthed in the 1980s and 1990s from a small number of fossil sites in China, Spain, and other countries. Most fossils came from the mid to late Cretaceous. None were [sic] as old as Archaeopteryx itself, which still remained the oldest bird (pp. 188-189). The exact age of these combined specimens, however, has turned out to be a matter of intense debate among evolutionists, having been reported to be either “as old as” or “older than,” Archaeopteryx (Hou, 1995), or almost the same age (Gee, p. 189). In 1996, two additional finds were discovered. The first was Compsognathus, a small theropod about the size of a chicken (see Gibbons, 1996a, 274:720-721; Corliss, 1998, p. 281). Dated at 121 million years old, Compsognathus is too recent to have given rise to Archaeopteryx. Initially, it was believed to have had a mane of downy feathers running along its neck, back, and tail, which caused Yale paleontologist John Ostrom to state: “If it does have feathers, it could be a descendant of the dinosaur that gave rise to birds” (as quoted in Gibbons, 1996a, 274:720). At first, Dr. Ostrom believed that the structures on the back of Compsognathus were, in fact, some kind of primordial feathers. Later, however, he abandoned that idea as erroneous (see Corliss, 1998, p. 280). Furthermore, University of North Carolina ornithologist Alan Feduccia and University of Kansas paleontologist Larry Martin have suggested that the creature’s anatomy was all wrong and much too distinctly un-bird-like: Feduccia noted: “It’s biophysically impossible to evolve flight from such large bipeds with foreshortened forelimbs and heavy, balancing tails” as Compsognathus (as quoted in Gibbons, 1996a, 274:721). In his 1998 volume, Biological Anomalies: Birds, scientist William R. Corliss concluded: “Compsognathus was too good to be true.... [T]he structures along the fossil’s back were not really feathers. Just what they were remains a mystery” (p. 280, emp. in orig.). That was not the end of the story, however, because the discovery of another fossilized creature was announced later that same year (1996). Sinosauropteryx [Chinese winged lizard] originally was uncovered in China in 1992 and is believed by evolutionists to be about 135 million years old. It differs from Archaeopteryx in that its main toes face away from its other toes rather than all of them pointing forward. This placement allows for better gripping of branches, and thus is viewed as an important advance over Archaeopteryx. However, some have suggested that Sinosauropteryx’s features are due to the manner in which the damaged fossil was reconstructed (a not-too-improbable scenario, as you will see later in this article when we discuss the fossil fraud, Archaeoraptor). The skeleton of Sinosauropteryx was said to be surrounded by a halo of “fuzz,” which resulted in the discovery making headlines on the front page of the respected New York Times and being viewed by many as confirmation of the dinosaurian origins of birds. However, after all the facts were gathered the verdict was somewhat different. Henry Gee stated in regard to the Sinosauropteryx “feathers”: At the time, there was a great deal of debate about the significance of the fibers. They did not really look much like either hairs or feathers. Chen [Chen Pei-Ji from Nanjing, the Chinese scientist who discovered the Sinosauropteryx fossils (see Chen, 1998)—BH/BT] and his colleagues called them “integumentary structures,” in a way to avoid seeming to prejudge the functions or affinities of these structures. Some even supposed that they were not external at all, but internal collagenous struts supporting a lizard-like frill.... The range of types of skin covering in extant tetrapods is rather limited; apart from bare skin, there are scales, hair, or feathers, and that’s it. The not-quite-feathery, not-quite-hairy fibres of Sinosauropteryx may represent a completely different, hitherto unknown variety of vertebrate skin covering.... [T]he significance of fibres of Sinosauropteryx in understanding the origin of birds in particular is hard to estimate.... Sinosauropteryx remained an enigma: were its puzzling integumentary structures peculiar to itself, revealing nothing about the ancestry of feathers, or did they represent a significant discovery that might further understanding of the origin of feathers, and therefore of birds? (1999, pp. 190,191). Since the initial find of Sinosauropteryx, two additional discoveries of the creature have been made (one is a dromaeosaur and the other is a therizinosaur), both of which have the same type of Sinosauropteryx-like fibers. Larry Martin of the University of Kansas (Lawrence) thinks the fine structures may be “frayed collagenous fibers” beneath the skin that have nothing whatsoever to do with either feathers or birds. John Ruben of Oregon State University (Corvallis) dissected a sea snake’s tail and showed that such fibers can indeed look feathery [see Gibbons, 1997, 278:1229]. In an intriguingly titled article (“Plucking the Feathered Dinosaur”) published in Science, Ann Gibbons referred to “roughly a half-dozen Western paleontologists who have seen the specimens” and who admitted that “the structures are not modern feathers” (1997, 278:1229). And now, to add to the confusion, hotly disputed claims from China of the discovery of two species of dinosaurs that allegedly possessed feathers (Protoarchaeopteryx robusta and Caudipteryx zoui) have many evolutionists scratching their heads and reevaluating their time lines altogether. Protoarchaeopteryx, the larger of the two specimens, is about the size of a turkey and has a patch of bird-like feathers at the tip of its tail. Caudipteryx had a fairly short tail, a fan of tail feathers, and a fringe of feathers along the trailing edges of each of its forearms. Two Chinese scientists, Ji Qiang and Ji Shuan, discovered these so-called “feathered dinosaurs” in the same location as the Sinosauropteryx, and suggested in an article in Chinese Geology (and then later in another article in the June 25, 1998 issue of Nature [393:753-761]) that the feathers link these creatures both to theropods and to birds. That same year, in an article in Science, Philip Currie asserted: “You can’t get around the fact that these are feathers on dinosaurs” (as quoted in Gibbons, 1998, 280:2051). In his book, In Search of Deep Time, Gee wrote This time, the nature of the skin was quite unambiguous, because these dinosaurs had unmistakable feathers, rather than enigmatic fibres.... The feathers are like those of birds; each one has a central stalk, and vanes on either side. Given the smallness of these creatures’ arms, it is extremely unlikely that either dinosaur was capable of flight.... The implications of these discoveries are profound: the discovery of feathers in patently non-flying dromaeosaurs demonstrates that feathers existed before the evolution of flight. It can no longer be claimed that the origin of birds is inextricably linked with the origin of flight or denied that the heritage of the birds is closely linked with that of the theropod dinosaurs.... The discovery of these feathered dinosaurs has brought the debate about the origin of birds to a close (1999, pp. 191,192). Even evolutionists who do not accept the dinosaur-to-bird concept of evolution agree that the feathers are real. They stress, however, that the feathers document the fact that the two creatures were birds, not dinosaurs. Larry Martin wrote: “I think they’ve found a group of flightless birds” (as quoted in Gibbons, 1998, 280:2051). The radiometric dating of the sites in which the finds were discovered has presented serious problems as well. In an article in Science, Ann Gibbons reported on this aspect of the controversy. Until recently, many paleontologists thought that Archaeopteryx itself gave rise to opposite birds [birds whose foot bones are fused from the top down, as opposed to modern birds, whose foot bones are fused from the bottom up—BH/BT] which in turn gradually evolved into modern birds.... [Alan] Feduccia and his colleagues now challenge that view with fossils of a bird the size of a sparrow, called Liaoningornis. The specimen, unearthed by a farmer in the Yixian formation in northeastern China’s Liaoning Province, lacks a skull but includes a nearly complete skeleton with foot bones and a keeled sternum that resemble those of modern birds. Yet the Chinese scientists cite radiometric dates of 137 to 142 million years for the volcanic rock of the Yixian formation, which would make the bird almost as old as Archaeopteryx. And the same beds also yielded a magpie-sized primitive bird called Confuciusornis, which shares many traits with both Archaeopteryx and modern birds.... According to Feduccia and Martin, the discoveries imply that by the time of Archaeopteryx, birds had already diverged into two lineages and had a rich history that is missing from the fossil record. One lineage led to modern birds. Another led to Archaeopteryx and the opposite birds, which they view as sister taxa, closely related to each other but distinct from the line that led to modern birds. And both of these bird lineages must have descended from a much earlier ancestral bird. Feduccia reckons that the first bird must have lived about 76 million years before the birdlike dinosaurs of the Cretaceous—a fact that he says raises questions about the dinosaurian origins of birds (1996b, 274:1083, emp. added). Evolutionists admit that radiometric dates for the Yixian formation (estimated at anywhere between 121 million and 142 million years) are controversial. As Feduccia has suggested: “Whatever the date is, we’re getting both types of birds shortly after Archaeopteryx” (as quoted in Gibbons, 1996b, 274:1083). His point is well taken. Ann Gibbons noted in another Science article: “...the Chinese fossil is too recent—121 million years old—for the dinosaur to have given rise to the 150-million-year-old Jurassic bird, Archaeopteryx” (1996a, 274:720). In his article in Science (“The Forward March of the Bird-Dinosaurs Halted?”), Richard Hinchliffe commented on the controversy over the “recent nature” of these fossil finds when he noted that “most theropod dinosaurs and in particular the birdlike dromaesours are all very much later (i.e., more recent—BH/BT) in the fossil record than Archaeopteryx (1997, 278:597). So unless birds perfected time travel millions of years ago, these latest finds do little to support the theory that dinosaurs gave rise to birds. In the February 1998 issue of Scientific American, Kevin Padian and Luis Chiappe, while fully backing the dinosaurian origin of birds, added a sidebar explaining the major points of contention: 1. The hands of theropod dinosaurs and birds differ in important ways.). In his review of an article on “Developmental Patterns and the Identification of Homologies in the Avian Hand” by Ann Burke and Alan Feduccia in the October 24, 1997 issue of Science, Richard Hinchliffe reiterated many of these same problems by pointing out problems with the “dinosaur-to-bird” hypothesis. These included: 1. The much smaller theropod forelimb (relative to body size) in comparison with the Archaeopteryx wing. Such small limbs are not convincing as proto-wings for a “ground-up” origin of flight.). The controversy over the alleged connection between reptiles and birds in the evolutionary scenario increased dramatically with the publication in November 1999 by National Geographic of). It is unlikely that anyone—outside National Geographic’s offices—ever will know the severity of the damage massive debacle transpired (Simons, 2000). [For additional information on how this story unraveled, see also: Dalton, 2000a, 2000b; National Geographic, 2000; Rummo, 2000.] chose to run its submitted to National Geographic, Lewis Simons documented the fact that authors of the original account were told several times of discrepancies in their data and problems with the fossil, but apparently never took the opportunity to establish the accuracy of the specimen (Simons, 2000). The desperate desire to find the long-sought-after “missing link” between dinosaurs and birds overshadowed the truth. As American humorist Mark Twain suggested in Life on the Mississippi: “There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact” (1883, p. 156). In the short span of time that has passed since we mailed Part I of this series, yet another “missing link” has been reported in the scientific and popular media. The paper describing the latest in a long (but failed) series of missing links, “The Distribution of Integumentary Structures in a Feathered Dinosaur” (Qiang, et al., 2001), appeared in the April 26, 2001 issue of Nature. In a review article, Time magazine extolled this latest find as “as good a missing link as anyone could want” (Lemonick, 2001, 157[18]:56). Interestingly, one of the authors of the Nature paper, Ji Qiang, had made the same type of claim regarding an earlier “missing link” known as Caudipteryx zoui, boasting that it represented “a missing link between dinosaurs and birds which we had expected to find” (as quoted in Chang, 1998). University of Kansas biologist Larry Martin was not so quick to agree with Ji Qiang’s expectations regarding “feathered dinosaurs.” In referring to Caudipteryx zoui, Martin suggested that it was merely a flightless bird, and stated: “You have to put this in perspective. To people who wrote the paper, the chicken would be a feathered dinosaur” (as quoted in Chang, 1998). Martin’s words of caution are especially important in light of the last report of “feathers” from Liaoning fossils, since those “feathers” eventually were dismissed as little more than frayed internal fibers of collagen (a structural protein found in connective tissue). With memories of Archaeoraptor still fresh in their minds, Ji Qiang and his colleagues included the following statement in the second paragraph of their latest “feathered dinosaur” report: “Although some specimens from Western Liaoning have been shown to be composites or forgeries, the integrity of the specimen described here is assured because both slabs match up exactly...” (2001, 410:1084). Fossil composition data and X-ray computed tomography results were not included in Qiang’s latest report of this “feathered dinosaur,” so further research will be necessary to determine its authenticity. It is a well-known fact that many fossils from this area of the world have been unwittingly or deliberately subjected to misleading reconstruction. Additionally, Ji Qiang and his team explained that the fossilized bones were brittle and that “most shattered when the specimen was collected by splitting the slab, so many skeletal details cannot be scored adequately” (410:1085). This lack of proper skeletal scoring, and the admission that the tail is “unusual” in that it has “no individual vertebral segments,” make it difficult to determine the exact category in which this specimen should be placed—bird or dinosaur. But if this as-yet-unnamed creature is categorized as a “dinosaur,” then scientists will face an even more daunting task because the date assigned to it suggests that feather “evolution” precedes almost all of the dromaeosaur fossil finds (the theropod from which birds allegedly evolved) [see Padian and Chiappe, 1998, 278[2]:43]. This would indicate that the “insect-catching” theory, the “tree-down” theory, and all other ideas regarding the evolution of feathers for flight, are completely inaccurate. Therefore scientists are left to explain why (and how!) these early dinosaurs “evolved” and maintained feathers that would not be used for flight? Some have suggested that perhaps feathers were used to maintain body temperature. But that then poses the question: Why didn’t other animals (like, for example, crocodiles and snakes) evolve feathers as a means of warmth? Stay tuned; the quest continues.. Lewis Simons, the reporter who was commissioned to investigate the Archaeoraptor fiasco for National Geographic, stated that what he had uncovered was “a tale of misguided secrecy and misplaced confidence, of rampant egos clashing, self-aggrandizement, wishful thinking, naïve assumptions, human error, stubbornness, manipulation, backbiting, lying, corruption, and most of all, abysmal communication” (Simons, 2000, 198[4]:128). It may well be that we routinely witness the same kind of “tale” (albeit admittedly to a much-less-publicized degree) every time a new “missing link” is uncovered and then shown to be either incorrect or fraudulent. The history of science is replete with just such events (to wit, Nebraska Man, Piltdown Man, etc.). Certainly many authentic fossils do exist. However, as the late Colin Patterson (who served with distinction for many years as the senior paleontologist at the British Museum of Natural History in London) admitted in his 1999 book, Evolution: “Fossils may tell us many things, but one thing they can never disclose is whether they were ancestors of anything else” (p. 109). While the “Piltdown Man” hoax was able to fool evolutionists for more than 40H/B, we certainly can understand why. Burke, Ann C. and Alan Feduccia (1997), “Developmental Patterns and the Identification of Homologies in the Avian Hand,” Science, 278:666-669, October 24. Chang, Kenneth (1998), “A Feathered Dinosaur,” [On-line], URL:. Chen, Pei-ji (1998), “An Exceptionally Well-Preserved Theropod Dinosaur from the Yixian Formation of China,” Nature, 391:147-152, January 8. Corliss, William R. (1998), Biological Anomalies: Birds (Glen Arm, MD: The Sourcebook Project). Dalton, R. (2000a), “Feathers Fly Over Chinese Fossil Bird’s Legality and Authenticity,” Nature, 403:689-690, February 17. Dalton, R. (2000b), “Chasing the Dragons,” Nature, 406:930-932, August 31. Feduccia, Allan (1980), The Age of Birds (Cambridge, England: Harvard University Press). Feduccia, Allan (1993), “Evidence from Claw Geometry Indicating Arboreal Habits of Archaeopteryx,” Science, 259:790-793, February 5. Friend, Tim (2000), “Dinosaur-bird Link Smashed in Fossil Flap,” USA Today, [On-line], URL: htty://. Gee, Henry (1999), In Search of Deep Time (New York: Free Press). Gibbons, Ann (1996a), “New Feathered Fossil Brings Dinosaurs and Birds Closer,” Science, 274:720-721, November 1. Gibbons, Ann (1996b), “Early Birds Rise from China Fossil Beds,” Science, 274:1083, November 15. Gibbons, Ann (1997), “Plucking the Feathered Dinosaur,” Science, 278:1229, November 14. Gibbons, Ann (1998), “Dinosaur Fossils, in Fine Feather, Show Links to Birds,” Science, 280:2051, June 26. Hinchliffe, R. (1997), “The Forward March of the Bird-Dinosaurs Halted?,” Science, 278:596-597, October 24. Hou, L., Z. Zhou, L.D. Martin, and A. Feduccia (1995), “A Beaked Bird from the Jurassic of China,” Nature, 377:616-618, October 19. Lemonick, Michael D. (2001), “Down-Covered Dinosaur,” Time, 157[18]:56-57, May 7. MacBeth, Norman (1971), Darwin Retried (Boston, MA: Gambit). Monastersky, Richard (2000), “All Mixed Up Over Birds and Dinosaurs,” Science News, [On-line], URL:. Morris, Henry M. and John D. Morris (1996), The Modern Creation Trilogy—Volume 2 (Green Forest, AR: Master Books). National Geographic (2000), “Archaeoraptor A Composite, Panel of Scientists Determines,” [On-line], URL:, April 4. Olson, Storrs L. (1999), Letter to Dr. Peter Raven, Secretary of the Committee for Research and Exploration, National Geographic Society, [On-line], URL:. org/docs/4159.asp. Padian, K. and L.M. Chiappe (1998), “The Origin of Birds and Their Flight,” Scientific American, 278[2]:38-47, February. Patterson, Colin (1999), Evolution (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press), second edition. Qiang, J., P.J. Currie, M.A. Norell, and J.I. Shuan (1998), “Two Feathered Dinosaurs from Northeastern China,” Nature, 393:753-761, June 25. Recer, P. (1999), From Dinosaur to Bird, [On-line], URL:. Rowe, Timothy, Richard Ketcham, Cambria Denison, Matthew Colbert, Xing Xu and Philip Currie (2001), “Forensic Paleontology: The Archaeoraptor Forgery,” Nature, 410:539-540, March 29. Ruben, J.A., T.D. Jones, N.R. Geist, and W.J. Hillenius (1997), “Lung Structure and Ventilation in Theropod Dinosaurs and Early Birds,” Science, 278:1267-1270, November 14. Rummo, G.J. (2000), “Another ‘Missing Link’ Proven to be a Fraud,” Independent News, November 9. Simons, Lewis M. (2000), “Archaeoraptor Fossil Trail,” National Geographic, 198[4]:128-132, October. Sloan, Christopher P. (1999), “Feathers for T. Rex?,” National Geographic, 196[5]:99-107, November. Twain, Mark (1883), Life on the Mississippi (Boston, MA: J.R. Osgood). Xing, Xu (2000), “Feathers for T-rex?” [Letter to the editor], National Geographic, 197[3]:no page number, March.

'What's the minimum you can do to make a painting?' Royce Weatherly lets his paintings—and oil paint itself—reveal the workings of time. Many of his painstakingly composed, hyperrealist still lifes take decades to complete. He acknowledges and even welcomes the medium’s natural pigment changes and the decay of the objects he depicts. Untitled (Black Walnuts #2), 2012, for example, shows walnuts rotting in their shells, and the blue rim of a coffee cup in another work might turn yellower with age. “I want to see if I make a piece,” the artist says, “that over time, as it yellows, it will become more gray and more like a shadow.” Royce Weatherly.COURTESY ARTHELIX, BROOKLYN. Having worked on and off for years as an installer and conservationist for the Whitney Museum and other institutions, Weatherly, 56, knows a lot about how art materials can age. Born in North Carolina, he got his B.A. in political science and art from Wake Forest University, and then received an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In the 1980s and early ’90s, he was a preparator at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, had a solo show at the then brand-new Gavin Brown’s enterprise, and soon found his work in a handful of private European collections. But then he disappeared from the art scene—or at least from galleries. He moved to Maplewood, New Jersey, where he still lives with his wife and two daughters, working in carpentry and art installation.After a 12-year hiatus, Weatherly made a triumphant return last spring with an exhibition at Bushwick’s Bogart Salon, a space run by his longtime friend, the artist and gallerist Peter Hopkins. The show’s three Morandi-like still lifes of what Weatherly calls “dumb objects”—potatoes, rocks, walnuts, coffee cups—sold out, for $12,000 apiece. According to Hopkins, one buyer was Richard Prince, Weatherly’s friend from the Gladstone years. Prince purchased Untitled (Bupkis), a small 2012 oil on linen depicting spilled coffee in a Greek-deli cup and the cellophane wrapping from a cigarette pack against a white field. Weatherly’s new series of still lifes—one featuring lard and butter—was recently included in an exhibition that opened in April at Hopkins’s latest Bushwick venture, ArtHelix, where the artist is represented. Royce Weatherly, Untitled (Bupkis), 2012. Purchased by artist Richard Prince.COURTESY PRIVATE COLLECTION. When selecting the everyday items that will become the subjects of his meticulous focus, Weatherly says he often asks himself, “‘What’s the minimum you can do to make a painting?’ A flower is too loaded, but a potato is good.” He then sets things up in his basement studio where seashells, coral, and cellophane cluster in careful piles. He paints slowly, over the course of months if not years, building up thin layers of paint to capture the arrangement and any weathering—of subject matter or medium—that occurs with time.“Sometimes an object looks better as it gets older,” Weatherly says. “Everything around it will get richer and deeper. It’s all about slowing down and looking.” Pingback: Royce Weatherly: Making Dumb Objects Speak | Nick Socrates Contemporary Art() Pingback: Royce Weatherly: Making Dumb Objects Speak | Art of JD Parrish() Pingback: Rob Zombie brings Mayhem to Denver, the Colorado Burlesque Festival Returns, and Boring Objects Go Artistic | The CO Creatives() Pingback: Royce Weatherly: Making Dumb Objects Speak | KELLY 2D() Pingback: ARTnews June 2013 | KELLY 2D() Pingback: Royce Weatherly: Making Dumb Objects Speak from ARTnews | KELLY 2D() Pingback: Untitled (Bupkis) | Ang Fierra ni Juana()

With his 2008 debut, A Larum, Johnny Flynn snuck into the collective consciousness with fellow Brit-folksters like Mumford And Sons and Laura Marling. His latest, Been Listening, is soulful and simple. His songs are eclectic, charmingly verbose and, above all, endlessly listenable. Judging by the way the careers of Mumford and Marling have skyrocketed in the past year, good things may be in store for Flynn. The A.V. Club caught up with him to talk about his influences, from Shakespeare to 78s, in anticipation of his show tomorrow at World Cafe Live. The A.V. Club: How did the title track of the new record come about? Johnny Flynn: I was listening to a whole bunch of really old 78s, all of which were just incredibly scratchy. I have loads of that stuff. One of the songs, I could only make out the words “been listening,” and to me, listening is really important. It kind of spun me out on my own take on that song, where I imagined a scenario where all music disappears from the universe and humanity. Society becomes more complicated and more confused. Values are lost. We need an idea of what music is, what connects people. Then, in this scenario, one single song comes to replace all music, and it is the answer. It’s like quantum physics—like one big thing comes and answers everything. AVC: Is that always what writing a song is like for you? JF: It’s always like learning something, or discovering something about the universe. I don’t really write songs. They’re just there anyway, chiseling away at the atmosphere, and suddenly they’re like, “Oh, thanks for coming. Thanks for finding me. We’ll share each other now.” AVC: Why is listening so important to you? JF: I think the truest things come from silence, but everything’s always so clogged up with noise. If everything falls away, and you can truly listen to someone, giving them yourself and generosity, you can truly lose yourself in what they’re saying. Like, not impose your ideas on what they’re saying, but really tune into them. I think it’s just the most joyful way to go about things, even a picture gallery exhibition or listening to music. It’s nice to discover that stuff rather than have ideas about what they might be beforehand. Not listening is the reason for so many misunderstandings and conflicts. AVC: What draws you to older music like those 78s? JF: It’s just good, honest music. There was no A&R guy walking into a studio thinking, “Yeah, we could make this a radio hit.” The music came from people who were just doing what they did, and someone just happened to record them. They were just writing for themselves in the immediate situation, and weren’t conscious of people in other countries 80 years later listening to it, or whatever. It’s just much more of an insight, old music, into these people. Bands that make music now are so much more self-conscious about the whole process. The songs are strange, and old, and ancient, and wise. Sometimes they’re really angry or sad. They’re not rounded-off or neatened-up and made into two-minute-30 Radio 1 playlist hits. They’re just really rough and good. I’m also obsessed with field recordings. That’s my favorite stuff to listen to, just really incidental music. AVC: Is there anywhere you’re especially looking forward to going on this tour, music history-wise? JF: I’m really looking forward to going to Nashville for the first time. I always love going to New York. I’ve been to Chicago once before, but I didn’t get much of a chance to look around. I’ve always wanted to go to blues clubs there. Actually, have you seen that documentary Desperate Man Blues? It’s about a guy who’s spent 60 or 70 years of his life collecting old 78s, finding things that were only pressed locally. He goes out and collects them. It’s a really great film. It’s got great music, and he knows a lot about the history of musicians. He’s discovered musicians a ton of people know about now just by knocking on doors and picking up records from the attics. AVC: I haven’t seen that, but I did see something about a guy digging for hi-life records in Africa, which actually segues perfectly into talking about “Churlish May,” the kind of hi-life song on your record. How did that one come about? JF: My drummer, Dave, is really into a lot of good music, and he’s gotten me into a lot of it. I get really excited about trying different things with music, like different drumming styles, so we went there on that song. It’s not like we were trying to really go there and get a conga player and stuff, but we were just edging into new rhythmic dimensions. AVC: The press release for your record talks about how you had kind of an idyllic Roald Dahl-like childhood, growing up catching trout and living on a farm. Weirdly, “Kentucky Pill,” on your record, reminds me of Roald Dahl, but in another way. Like in the “I’m secretly better than everyone and I will ultimately persevere” Matilda way. Did you mean to go there with that? JF: It’s generally a song about a sense of growing up. It’s about finding yourself to be slightly more dangerous and effective as a human being than you thought you could be. When you’re young, you live in a state of innocence, but eventually you realize that actions have wider consequences than you thought. As you grow up, as you get a sense of time, you stop living in your immediate presence. Your emotional world grows and you can kind of start being hard. It’s an abstract thing, but the song’s about all these situations you experience growing up that stop you from being innocent. It’s about wanting to hurt people and get hurt. AVC: Is that based on any specific personal experience? JF: It’s not explicitly a story from my own life, but it’s about little snippets and things. I used to go cow tipping, for one. I grew up in the country, so that’s par for the course, but then I started thinking about the cows, and that upset me. I realized that they were actually being hurt. AVC: You recorded your first record and part of this record outside Seattle. What made you want to go there? JF: We recorded the first record there with Ryan Hadlock, and we just wanted to go back for the second record. It’s a really nice place to do the record, his studio. It’s an isolated barn out in the middle of nowhere, and it really accentuated who we were. It’s a weird landscape out there. Like, that’s where they filmed Twin Peaks. There are all these Native American place-names, big waterfalls, and huge forests. It’s very far from home for us, which increases the sense of what you’re doing. You’re not in your environment, doing what’s familiar to you. It’s a good way to bring out what you are really trying to say or do. AVC: You toured with a Shakespeare company for a year as an actor. Do you think that experience shaped your songwriting at all? JF: Definitely, yes. Hugely. We toured the world and were very entrenched in the plays we were doing, Twelfth Night and Taming Of The Shrew, which are quite different plays, really. Twelfth Night especially had a big impact on me. There’s such an ambiguity to it, and it’s very poetic. It’s more about learning to say what isn’t there, and how what’s not say is more important than what is. It’s a good lesson in pre-emptive storytelling. Good poetry doesn’t have to say much.

Archive for Thursday, July 30, 2009 Side Pockets closes; blames economy July 30, 2009 As more new businesses pop up in the area, one long-standing Bonner Springs business has finally become a product of the current economy. Side Pockets closed its doors Wednesday, July 22, after being open for almost 4-and-a-half years. With the majority of clientele ranging from plumbers to electricians to construction workers, owner Richard Hawkins said the lack of sales at Side Pockets was reflected in the lack of hours these workers had been receiving of late at their jobs. “As their work has fallen off, a lot of these people are either out of work or working a lot fewer hours,” Hawkins said. “So they don’t have that discretionary income to come here on a regular basis and enjoy our food, our drinks and our pool. And what’s happened is our business has declined from a high three years ago to the point now where we’re probably 38 to 40 percent off of where we were at that time.” That 40 percent drop, Hawkins said, had been enough to close down his bar and grill. He said he had started seeing a decline a year-and-a-half ago, but hadn’t started to worry until this year, when sales began to drop significantly. Though cutbacks were made, last week’s closing was an eventuality he couldn’t have prevented, Hawkins said. “We cut back our payroll, we cut back our overhead, we watched every penny that went out the door, we were as lean as we could be,” Hawkins said. “And yet the economy is such that people didn’t have the money to come out and spend the dollars doing this.” A Side Pockets in Olathe will also be closing its doors, Hawkins said, which still leaves several open in the Kansas City metro area. Some of the Bonner Springs employees will be finding work at one of these locations. For others, the closing has effectively put them out of work and on the hunt for yet another job. “Most of them it’s gonna be too far for them to travel so, consequently, they’ll just have to seek work elsewhere,” Hawkins said. As for Hawkins, he says he will stay afloat. He is co-owner of a Side Pockets in Lenexa and also maintains ownership in Side Pockets Franchise Systems, Inc. He said this may not be the last Bonner Springs has seen of Side Pockets, however. Though too early to tell, possible future uses of the building may include opening up another bar and grill, Hawkins said, or turning it into another Side Pockets once the economy improves. His current situation is one that doesn’t quite defy the idea that people drink more in a recession, but just goes to show that people are more apt to choose the cheaper option of a liquor store than head to their local watering hole when times are tough, Hawkins said. He said it wasn’t a lost cause for anyone interested in opening a new bar at this time, but that it would be hard going, guaranteed. “I think it’s still going to be a tough business market for at least another year, year-and-a-half,” Hawkins said. “And if someone wanted to work through this for that amount of time, and had the wherewithal to do it, than I would say good luck to ‘em.” Hawkins said, for him, that waiting game was one he simply wasn’t interested in playing anymore. “Being 65 years of age, I don’t have the patience to wait for the comeback if you will,” he said. Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content. Commenting has been disabled for this item.

THE glamour girls of motoring were on display as the Autosport International show got underway. The huge event at the NEC has been welcoming the trade for the last two days, but has now opened up to the public. The industry’s latest technology was showcased, including the launch of several new race car projects. British supercar manufacturer Radical unveiled its fastest sports car yet, the 175mph RXC. “It’s been an incredibly exciting day, with so much new technology on display ahead of the new season,” said Ian France, the Autosport International Show Director. “It’s really encouraging to see how strong the motorsport industry is, even with the tough times the economy has been through.” A car auction is being held by Coys at the show, which will sell off a Rolls-Royce owned by former Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury a green Ford Capri S which appeared in the BBC sitcom Only Fools And Horses.

Monica McGrath is an adjunct assistant professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She's the former director of leadership development for the Wharton MBA program and was instrumental in the design and delivery of Wharton's first leadership course for women, "Women in Leadership: Legacies & Opportunities." Marla Driscoll has 20 years of consulting experience in the areas of planning, operations improvement, and IT across a variety of industries. She has been an independent consultant for two years and earned an MBA from Wharton in 2001. Mary Gross is a director with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, where she's head of learning and development. A 2002 Wharton graduate, Gross has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, working in the areas of human resources and finance. McGrath, Driscoll, and Gross recently co-authored a study, Back in the Game: Returning to Business after a Hiatus, which was completed under the advisement of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management and through the support of the Fort? Foundation, an Austin (Tex.)-based nonprofit organization working to advance women in business. Through a survey and focused interviews, the research team examined the challenges these women -- 81% of whom held MBA degrees -- faced when they return to work after "stepping out" of the workforce for a period of time. The authors also provide recommendations that women, as well as employers and universities, can use to facilitate their reentry into business. McGrath, Driscoll, and Gross recently spoke with BusinessWeek Online reporter Jeffrey Gangemi. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation: Q: What motivated you to do the study? McGrath: We did it for two reasons. First, we saw our friends, peers, and students languishing without being able to reenter the workforce. That impacted us on a personal level, so we wanted to see why these bright, energetic, creative women weren't able to find work again. The second reason is that we had our own experiences and assumptions, but we wanted to see if they matched those of other professional women, particularly MBAs. Drawing conclusions would allow us to eventually stimulate change. Q: When should a woman time a step-out? McGrath: Timing is really up to the individual person, but planning for the eventual step-out should be part of the ongoing leadership-development game plan. That's what we're finding that women aren't doing. The best way to prepare is to establish a network before stepping out and maintain it while out. Q: Is it possible to time a step-out to coincide with business school? Gross: Several of our survey respondents did that. There were women who started school as they were stepping out, and there were others that began school after a couple of years of being out to coincide with stepping back in. Business school helps prove to employers that a woman has up-to-date skills, even if she has been out of the workforce for the past five years. Q: What can MBA programs do to help women plan and execute step-outs? Driscoll: About 90% of our survey respondents want their university to supply targeted career resources for alumni returning to work. Because most universities have career resources that are aimed at people just graduating, the issues are often different. McGrath: In reality, career centers aren't offering much support, don't have the resources dedicated to this, nor do they have an educated counseling staff member who knows what the challenges are. Universities need someone to believe that the service is important enough to devote funding to it. Q: What can be done to help universities get the hint? Gross: By presenting our findings to the Fort? membership and at the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) conference, we've generated some interest within university career centers. They are looking to us for guidance. Q: Why do women tend to go into smaller companies when they reenter the workforce? Driscoll: In general, women who work for large corporations have found it difficult to have meaningful balance in their lives. The challenges that they face before they step out evoke such powerful emotion that they often decide that they want nothing to do with a particular industry or company, and they decide to make a shift. About 61% of the women we surveyed switched industries consciously. Q: Isn't it good for business that women join smaller companies? McGrath: It's great for small companies. It's not good for large corporations, because if they're not attracting and retaining the best people, then it adversely affects them. If large corporations are expecting to attract women to their business, then they'll need mentors within business. Q: Why were some of your respondents more successful than others? Driscoll: [Those who were successful] often stayed in contact with their work colleagues, and in some cases, went back to their previous employer to pick up some project work. McGrath: Many women think if there isn't a program in place to help them with part-time or alternative job situations, then it can't exist. In fact, women can work with their employers and within their networks to find or invent these opportunities. Q: How can business schools attract more women? McGrath: If women who attend business school can't get back into their industry after taking time to raise a family, then what good is it? Until the biological imperative [of having children] changes, this is going to be an issue that we need to address. Gross: We all need to take off our blinders and challenge our assumptions. It's easy for a manager to say that a woman can't do a job telecommuting or that they can't manage people unless they're in the office 50 hours a week. Looking for solutions instead of creating walls is something we all need to focus on more. Driscoll: It's time for business schools to put their money where their mouth is and really live up to their commitment to lifelong education. There are decades after students get out of business school, and the schools need to dedicate more resources to improving their services for alumni. Q: What else should we know about this topic? Driscoll: We should raise awareness while people are in business school about how alternative career paths are O.K. McGrath: Men and women alike are finding themselves in their 50s with up to 20 years of work left. Twenty years is a long time that offers the possibility of making significant contributions. MBA programs need to stop ignoring older women in their recruiting. Gross: Many of our survey respondents said they want to talk with people who have done this already. It would be great for universities who have kept a large database to connect alums to each other for networking about these kinds of issues.

The biggest, Chegg.com, has scored $2.2 million in funding. The idea: sell cheaper books to students, bypass the textbook monopolies—and make money The college textbook market has functioned as a near-perfect monopoly. Consider: How often does someone have the authority to order consumers to purchase a product with a limited number of vendors? University professors have just that power, requiring students to purchase particular books for their courses. The often obscure titles must typically be purchased from the college bookstore, which obtains them through special order. With limited competition, at best, prices for new textbooks can easily climb to $100, and have tripled since the mid-1980s (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/12/06, "Textbook Costs Stir Concern"). Now a group of small Web sites is trying to provide students with a cheaper alternative for textbooks and other school supplies, such as computers. The largest of the sites, Chegg.com, has just received $2.2 million in funding, BusinessWeek.com has learned. The company, based in Santa Clara, Calif., raised the money from Gabriel Venture Partners and angel investor Mike Maples. Maples also participated in an earlier angel round. Chegg allows students to buy and sell used textbooks and other school-related goods and services for free. It's a huge market, generating $11 billion in revenue and $3 billion in profit a year, according to Rick Bolander, a Gabriel co-founder and a member of the Chegg board. "If we can take just 5% of that market, we'll be very happy," he says. Helping Students Save Chegg provides goods at lower prices than traditional campus outlets. The margins on used textbooks are often as high as 40%, according to Chegg Chief Executive Osman Rashid. It's just one example of rising education costs (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/10/06, "America's Priciest Dorms"). By eliminating the middleman, the student buyer and seller can split the profit margin among themselves, Rashid says. He added that a $100 textbook that might be resold at the campus bookstore for $70 would go for about $50 on Chegg. "The used textbook business has been wildly profitable for retailers. Our whole notion is to save some money for students," says Rashid, an electrical engineer who previously worked as a sales executive for Chordiant Software (CHRD). One Chegg user says her book expenses have dropped to $200—from $500 to $600—since she began using the site in September. "It's a really great way for students to find textbooks, tutors, or jobs. The prices are cheaper than other sites," says Stacy Lynn Austin, a junior who is studying journalism and creative writing at New York University. Chegg has its roots in a site known as Cheggpost.com. It was founded in 2001 at Iowa State University by Josh Carlson, a student at the university. It incorporated as Chegg in 2004, with Carlson and Rashid Aayush Phumbhra at the helm. It expanded nationally last fall, although it's focusing on certain universities and groups of schools. As for the name, it refers to the "chicken and egg" problem that confronts students who are pressed to come up with the money they need for textbooks that will help them earn a living later in life, according to Rashid. Chegg has been growing through acquisition. It has merged with several smaller sites including UFlipit, Textopedia, and UTank. It's now several times larger than rivals such as Collegemedium.com and DormItem, according to market researcher Alexa Internet. Staying Competitive Chegg faces plenty of challenges, though. Online retailers such as Amazon.com (AMZN) and Half.com sell used textbooks, too. And as a free classified service, Chegg depends heavily on advertising for revenue, which can be particularly tough for a small site. Chegg also charges fees to certain nonstudents who live near campuses and want to sell goods to students. It sells new books and computers at a discount as well, by reaching agreements with wholesalers. How can Chegg hope to compete? Bolander says the company benefits from a lean cost structure and a "hyper-local" business plan. "Everyone from Google (GOOG) to Yahoo! (YHOO) and MSN (MSFT) is going local, and that is an area of strength for us," Bolander says. The issue of rising textbook prices actually sparks global concern. An online organization called the Global Text Project seeks to distribute free digital textbooks in developing countries (see BusinessWeek.com, 12/11/06, "The Worldwide Textbook"). While Chegg still allows users to make a profit on their goods, the era of a monopoly market—with 40% margins—may be drawing to a close.

Love Limbo in Shanghai as Singles Frozen From Home Market Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Tank Zhao is being forced to ditch tradition by taking a bride before buying a home as Shanghai bans unmarried non-locals like him from purchasing property. The 28-year-old software engineer from Fujian province had been looking for an apartment ahead of plans to marry his girlfriend next year, in accordance with the Chinese proverb “Zhu Chao Yin Feng” -- build a nest before attracting the phoenix. He’ll now have to secure the phoenix before the nest. “The policy is unreasonable; we aren’t speculators, we just need a place to live,” said Zhao. “Getting married first goes against our culture. I’ll have to explain to my girlfriend’s family that the Shanghai policy is what it is.” Shanghai last year started limiting locals to owning two homes, while families among the city’s 9 million non-local residents were capped at one.. Chinese males are expected to own a home before they approach their would-be wife’s family for approval to wed. In rural parts of the country, parents extract most of the family’s wealth to build houses for their sons ahead of the marriage; in cities, securing an apartment is the equivalent. New-home prices in China fell for nine straight months through May as government restrictions achieved the goal of cooling the market, according to SouFun Holdings Ltd., the country’s largest real estate website owner. In July, values bucked the trend, posting the biggest gain in more than a year, SouFun said Aug. 1. Stop Rebound “China’s property policies will definitely focus on those first-tier landmark cities,” said Alan Jin, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. “If all the current curbs are not working, the government may have to be more hawkish in the second half. Their bottom line is to stop prices from rebounding.” After stricter implementation of its curbs, Shanghai’s new home sales fell 16 percent in July from a month earlier to 7,025 units, according to data from Century 21 China Real Estate, the country’s second-biggest property brokerage. Sales had surged 24 percent to 8,365 units in June, the highest in 17 months. “The policies did have some impact on the market,” said Huang Hetao, Shanghai-based researcher at Century 21. China’s second-largest city by population, Shanghai had about 23 million residents at the end of 2010, about 9 million of whom were non-locals, according to the nation’s statistics bureau. An influx of construction, information technology, and other workers almost tripled the cost of homes in Shanghai in the past 10 years, according to government data. ‘It’s Discrimination’ Zhang Lei, a blogger from eastern Zhejiang province who has lived in Shanghai for eight years, has set up a “non-local singles anti-purchase restriction alliance” online. The 31-year-old, who says she doesn’t plan on ever getting married, was ready to pay a deposit for a 3 million yuan home ($471,000) in northern Shanghai in June, she said. Then the government crackdown nixed her plan. “This is very, very irritating; it’s discrimination,” said Zhang, who boasts more than 110,000 fans at Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblog portal. “I’ve been making money and waiting for the time that I can finally buy a home. Then all of a sudden the government told us that we couldn’t buy.” Non-Chinese people are allowed to buy one home in Shanghai as long as they show proof that they don’t own other properties in the country and have been employed for a year. Overseas companies are allowed to buy offices in the city if they are registered, according to the housing ministry and currency regulator. Shanghainese Chauvinism “We pay our tax here and make contributions to the city’s development, the same as locals and foreigners,” Zhang said. “Why is it just us that can’t buy?” Shanghai, with its own dialect, has some of China’s strictest population controls. To be defined a “local,” one must be born in the city to Shanghainese parents, be a skilled professional with residence of at least seven years and tax receipts to prove it, or marry a Shanghai local and remain married for 10 years. The residency policies fuel chauvinism by Shanghainese against newcomers and reinforce divisions between the two groups, said Wang Xiaoyu, an associate professor and social critic at Shanghai’s Tongji University. “Had the policies been based on tax payments, it would be closer to concepts of citizens’ rights,” he said. “Instead, we have the idea that locals come first, so people from different places fight with each other over the Internet.” Forged Marriages Previously, unmarried non-local residents were qualified to buy a home as long as they worked and paid tax in the city for a year, according to Lu Qilin, senior research manager at Deo Volente Realty, Shanghai’s third-biggest property brokerage. That changed after Wen ordered the crackdown. Buyers could try forged marriage licenses, and the city government is unlikely to check as long as they aren’t from Shanghai, said Lu. Such licenses cost about 100 yuan, he said. “Compared with what they pay for a property, this is small money,” Lu said. As prices rose last year, some couples faked divorce to skirt the two-property limit. In China, couples are typically wed in a formal process that can be done at short notice, much like renewing a driver’s license. The marriage is then celebrated at a banquet with family and friends that marks society’s recognition of the union, often months after the official event. Deferring Marriage The average age at which Shanghai residents get married has climbed along with housing costs. Shanghai men averaged 32.45 years and females 29.89 years when they wed, according to the city’s statistics bureau. That’s up from 28.64 years for males and 26.43 years for females in 2007. Shanghai’s home-price surge fueled concern a bubble was arising and housing was becoming unaffordable. A standard two-bedroom apartment about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from Shanghai’s center costs about 3 million yuan, versus an average annual wage of 52,655 yuan. China responded in April 2010 with policies to deter speculators and curb price growth. It raised down-payment and mortgage requirements, imposed property taxes for the first time in Shanghai and Chongqing, increased building of low-cost social housing, and implemented purchase restrictions in about 40 cities. As nationwide prices eased in the nine months to May, the government tolerated minor easing of curbs in some cities to ensure economic growth didn’t slow too quickly. China’s economy expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, the slowest pace in three years. Sales Surge China’s central bank cut interest rates in June for the first time in three years, and lowered them again in July. Home sales jumped 41 percent in June, according to government data. The speed of the rebound prompted action. The central government ordered local counterparts that had relaxed housing policies to “strictly implement” them to prevent prices from taking off again, the land and housing ministries said in a jointly issued “urgent notice” on July 20. Real estate curbs are still at a “critical stage,” the government said. China sent eight teams to 16 provinces in late July to check on the implementation of its property curbs, according to a statement on the central government website on July 25. New property curbs may result as the inspection teams return to Beijing, the official China Securities Journal reported Aug. 9. Pent-Up Demand “Real demand is very hard to restrain; you can try administrative measures, but demand from people is there,” said Albert Lau, Shanghai-based China head and managing director at London property broker Savills Plc. “Pent-up demand will be released as soon as they see any positive signals, because people need to live under a roof and get married.” Premier Wen said easing inflation allows more room to adjust monetary policy and positive signs are emerging in the economy, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday, citing Wen’s comments during a two-day inspection tour to the eastern province of Zhejiang. The comments may bolster speculation China will cut banks’ reserve requirements or benchmark interest rates again after inflation slowed to a 30-month low in July, export growth collapsed and new yuan loans trailed estimates. A gauge tracking property shares on the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1 percent at the local close and is up 11 percent this year. Zhao, the information-technology engineer who’s been dating his girlfriend for three years, said he had been facing pressure from her family to buy a home. He’s looking for an apartment, priced around 1.5 million yuan, in eastern Shanghai near his employer. “I’ll now really have to calculate the timing: get a marriage license right away when I see the right property,” he said. “But that’s hard, isn’t it?” To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Bonnie Cao in Shanghai at bcao4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net

The School Improvement Council (SIC) of Okatie Elementary School was honored Saturday as the recipient of the 2014 Dick and Tunky Riley Award for School Improvement Council Excellence. Port Royal Elementary’s SIC was one of four schools to earn honorable mentions. The awards were presented during the South Carolina School Improvement Council Annual Meeting at St. Andrews Middle School in Columbia. The annual Riley Award for SIC Excellence was created in 2002 to recognize the significant contributions made to public education by the nearly 15,000 School Improvement Council members who volunteer in every public school in the state. The award is named in honor of the former South Carolina governor and U.S. Secretary of Education and his late wife, and recognizes the couple’s longstanding commitment to quality public education. “The Okatie Elementary School Improvement Council has done some wonderful work that is well-deserving of this award,” said SC-SIC Board of Trustees Chair Ellen M. Still. “When parents, educators and community members cooperatively come together as an SIC to look at needs of their school and then undertake effective steps to meet them, it has a positive and lasting impact on the lives and futures of their school and students.” Okatie Principal Jamie Pinckney commended the SIC’s work and said the statewide recognition was well deserved. “The Riley Award is a reflection of a unified effort among our school’s staff, our parents and our community, with everybody focused on doing the best we can for our kids,.” she said. In the last school year, the Okatie Elementary SIC took steps to enhance communication with parents on school district issues and decisions, specifically those related to rezoning issues in school’s growing attendance area. SIC members and school administrators participated in the school board’s Bluffton Community Committee, working with other SICs and community members to discuss new school needs, rezoning and community involvement in the process. boxes providing a week’s worth of food each month. Additionally, the SIC worked to improve procedures and safety of student car rider drop-off and pick-up, to include traffic direction, improved signage and a no cell phone use policy. Port Royal Elementary’s SIC partnered with a local church to provide scholarships for a number of needy students to receive after-school care at the nearby YMCA. This partnership also led to the establishment of a school uniform voucher program sponsored by the church, as well as the provision of school supplies for the entire student body for the year. As Port Royal Elementary celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, the SIC worked with the Town Council and the Historic Port Royal Foundation on the challenging process of getting the school listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a decision on the designation by the National Park Service expected this spring. The SIC also believed that the historic and cultural nature of the Town of Port Royal had considerable educational value. Walking field trips called “In Our Own Backyard,” were initiated by the SIC, utilizing a map of designated sites developed for them by the town. “It was tremendous for our district to be home to two of South Carolina’s five state finalists for the 2014 Riley Award,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “So many parents and community members work to support our schools, and these recognitions are a partial reflection of that.” The other three finalists for the Riley Award – and recipients of Honorable Mention recognitions today – were Buena Vista Elementary SIC (Greenville County); Irmo High SIC (School District 5 of Lexington & Richland Counties); and Ridge View High SIC (Richland District 2). In the past year, local School Improvement Council members across South Carolina committed more than 230,000 volunteer hours to their schools at an estimated value of nearly $4 million – a substantial return on the state’s current annual SC-SIC budget allocation of approximately $200 per school..

SALEM — It has hardly been smooth sailing for Salem Harbor workers in recent years. The 630-megawatt power plant was the epicenter of a struggle between the power industry and environmentalists over reducing air pollution. In the last 20 years, Salem Harbor has had five different owners. But plans to install clean-coal technologies and make other improvements to cut toxic emissions from the plant never materialized. Salem Harbor seemed headed for extinction, until Footprint Power of New Jersey bought the plant two years ago. Footprint plans to tear down the old plant and replace it with a new $1 billion gas-fired facility scheduled to open in 2016. Continue reading it below The firm last month agreed to a settlement with the Conservation Law Foundation , a statewide environmental group that had appealed a state permit for the plant, alleging the gas-burning plant would not meet the state’s strict law to reduce greenhouse gases. As part of the settlement, Footprint agreed to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, when the plant also would be closed. Now the plant faces a new obstacle, an appeal filed on March 3 by four Salem residents to the Environmental Appeals Board of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The filing asserts that the new plant would violate the federal Clean Air Act. Footprint plans to close Salem Harbor on May 31, but the new appeal could delay the demolition schedule, according to the company. “The latest appeal could slow the demolition progress, delaying the positive impact the new plant will have on the city and the environment,” Footprint said in a statement to the Globe. Footprint’s new facility would run on the latest power plant technology. It will have about 30 employees, Footprint’s top leader said. “Some of the jobs will be similar to what’s here now,” Peter Furniss, chief executive officer of Footprint, said in an interview at the plant. He cited positions such as watch engineers or a plant operator. “But we’re really working with different technology. If a major problem comes up, you call [General Electric] and say, ‘What’s your monitor saying?’ ” Most of Salem Harbor’s 105 workers will be laid off on May 31. But a handful will be kept on to wind down operations, and some employees could stay on during construction of the new plant, Furniss said. “We will need a core group here, and hopefully they will be from the existing plant. But we haven’t fully fleshed that out yet,” he said. Since Salem Harbor is closing, workers may be eligible for federal job benefits under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Letters explaining benefits available under the Adult and Dislocated Worker Program will be mailed to workers soon, according to Footprint. Separately, Footprint made $500,000 available to help workers train for new jobs. “We wanted people to be able to start on whatever training they would need to help them get to the next step of a career,” Furniss said. Some workers already have started to retrain as truck drivers, fuel burner technicians, or in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning field. “They were pretty much open to helping you retrain for whatever you wanted to pursue,” said Beth Tobin, the plant’s stockroom manager, who has worked at Salem Harbor for 28 years. “But I would tell you, I think everyone wishes we could come back to work at the new plant if they could. But we also realize this is a whole new industry. It will be all high-tech.”Reach Kathy McCabe

In September 2013 we initiated a review to examine the risks and hazards of offshore helicopter operations in the UK, which was conducted in conjunction with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority. A report of the review was published in February 2014 entitled CAP1145: Safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of oil and the exploitation of oil and gas. A progress report to this review was published on 28 January 2015 entitled CAP1243 - Offshore Helicopter Review Progress Report. The review put forward 32 actions and 29 recommendations to helicopter operators, the oil and gas industry, manufacturers and EASA which will improve offshore helicopter safety around the following four main areas: An action from the review was to set up a CAA-led safety governance body for offshore operations, with representation from key organisations from across the industry, named the Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group (OHSAG). The primary purpose of the OHSAG is to: There is a strong collective commitment to deliver positive safety changes by all parties represented in the OHSAG. The majority of the actions and recommendations outlined in the Review to improve safety focus on preventing accidents but some also focus on improving survivability following an incident. Safety improvements overseen by the group so far include: Latest progress against delivery of the Review can be found in CAP 1243 Visit for workforce communications including a helpful dos and don’ts document around clothing policy and a downloadable FAQ sheet on passenger size. Online editions of the ‘Tea Shack News’ publication are also available to view online from the Step Change in Safety website. OHSAG is very conscious of workforce concerns over plans to prevent helicopter operators carrying passengers whose body size means they couldn’t escape through push-out window exits in an emergency. The change is to ensure that everyone onboard can escape in the event of a helicopter capsizing after a ditching or water impact. The Group’s aim is that no one loses their job as a result of the change. While the classifications may present some logistical challenges, we believe the implications for those who travel offshore are manageable within the current helicopter fleet. Following a study of helicopter exits and of the offshore workforce a shoulder width measurement of 22” or over will be classified as ‘extra broad’ (XBR). Every offshore worker will be measured. Step Change has released details of how this measurement will take place. Workers whose shoulder width exceeds 22” will be classified as extra broad on the Vantage seat booking system. Those passengers will be allocated a seat which has direct access to the larger Type III and Type IV window exits. At least 30% of seats on all helicopters fall into this category which we believe is more than the number of passengers that will be classified as extra broad. Information on Step Change’s Passenger Size workgroup is available at the Step Change in Safefy website. Since CAP1145: Safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of oil and the exploitation of oil and gas was published in February 2014, several further reports have followed, including:

[tag: how-to] **Post updated belowThe results of a ballot question in St. **Post updated belowThe results of a ballot question in St. Paul, Minnesota that would change the way voters elect municipal officials remain in a state of limbo Monday. Both sides are awaiting the result of a court challenge that claims the measure passed, in large part, because supporters of the change falsely claimed it was backed by President Barack Obama. The measure to implement Instant Runoff Voting, or IRV, passed narrowly last Tuesday winning just over 52 percent of the vote. IRV is a method of voting that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference—so you can identify a second or even third choice for one office on the same ballot. The ballots are usually counted over more than one round of voting, eliminating the worst performing candidates until one wins a majority. Supporters of the measure, led by the group Fair Vote Minnesota, claimed support from President Obama, the DFL (Minnesota’s Democratic Party) and the League of Women Voters. Opponent Chuck Repke, calls all three claims a lie. “These folks deliberately lied to link their campaign to the DFL and President Obama just to win this election,” Repke, who heads the No Bad Ballots Committee, tells Politics. He says the claims of support emerged on the campaign’s literature just days before Election Day, and Repke says he didn’t have the resources to counter them. The legal challenge is centered on a Minnesota state law that requires candidates and campaigns to have a signed letter from any person or third party they claim support from. “It’s a well known and well understood state law,” Repke insists. “It’s a very odd law, but it’s a law nonetheless,” says Ellen Brown, spokeswoman for the St. Paul Better Ballot campaign. “But we certainly weren’t aware of it.”While the campaign admits that it doesn’t have a signed letter of support from the president, Brown says the campaign was never claiming the president explicitly backed the St. Paul initiative, but rather that he supported IRV in principle. Brown cited a bill introduced in 2002 in the Illinois legislature by then-State Senator Obama, which would have adopted IRV for certain contests in that state. “The people we listed [as supporters] have spoken in favor of IRV in concept,” Brown says. “I would hope the president has other things on his mind than a ballot initiative in St. Paul.” After a hearing last week, a judge has until Monday afternoon to decide whether the complaint filed by Repke’s group should move forward. Repke says he’s confident last Tuesday’s results will eventually be thrown out and a re-vote will be set for 2010. *UPDATE: A Minnesota court decided Monday the complaint against the St. Paul Better Ballot Committee will move forward. Another hearing is set for November 18. Shane D’Aprile is senior editor at Politics magazine. He can be reached at sdaprile@politicsmagazine.com Submit a comment

Gwen Blodgett, 78, of Skowhegan, is weighing nursing home options for her husband of 60 years, Gerald, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Gerald is living at an Alzheimer’s care center in Gardiner, but she knows at some point he won’t be able to care for himself. “You just never know how long it’s going to be,” she said. “That’s why they call it a long goodbye.” When the time comes, Blodgett said, she is leaning toward Cedar Ridge, a 75-bed home in Skowhegan. She’s comfortable with the staff, who she’s seen care for family members and friends over the years. Others whose opinions she knows and trusts — including her neighbor and her hairdresser — have also reported positive experiences at Cedar Ridge. Blodgett doesn’t expect perfection from a nursing home and knows that they all have some problems. “It’s probably unavoidable,” she said. Ceder Ridge is one of five central Maine nursing homes that show no serious deficiencies in a batch of reports recently released on Medicare’s website. The most recent batch of reports, which are published periodically, cover about 40 of Maine’s 107 nursing homes, including five in central Maine. The five central Maine nursing homes, in Augusta, Hartland, Pittsfield and Waterville, had deficiencies, but they were less serious than those found in other areas of the state. The ability to track nursing home problems became easier in July 2012 under a provision in the Affordable Care Act, which requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to publish the full report of each federal nursing home inspection on its website, Nursing Home Compare. The reports help consumers learn which residences have the highest quality healthcare and can also lead to improvements, according to Courtney Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the federal center. With Cedar Ridge’s inspections and ratings online, Blodgett can see what problems have been documented. The most recent inspection found two deficiencies, neither categorized as serious. The first was for having separated seams in the floor of the whirlpool room, while the second was for having a freezer that allowed condensation to drip and freeze on items including sealed bags of frozen Brussels sprouts. Overall, Cedar Ridge gets four of five possible stars from the government, a quality rating of above average. As it turns out, Blodgett’s positive impressions of Cedar Ridge match its positive rating, but that’s not always the case. Causing harm About 40 reports documenting inspector visits between March and August were recently published online by Pro Publica, a journalism and public advocacy organization. The results are published and analyzed under Nursing Home Inspect on Pro Publica’s website. Some are minor, such as a failure to record the temperature of food or a missing thermostat cover. Of about 1,600 deficiencies documented during the last three years, the large majority resulted in no actual harm. Industry leaders say the transparency is welcome, but deficiencies should be put in the proper context. Maine’s rate of serious deficiencies, 0.06 per nursing home, is 10th lowest in the nation, according to a data analysis by Pro Publica. One Waterville administrator said Maine’s good record is the result of effective state oversight and programs that allow residents to take more control over their environment. Federal inspectors visit each of Maine’s 107 nursing homes annually to document deficiencies, categorized into different levels of severity, depending on the level of harm caused. Nursing homes typically respond with a correction plan. The most serious violations documented in the state during that inspection period were at Narraguagus Bay Health Care Facility in Milbridge and Mercy Home in Eagle Lake, two nursing homes rated below average by the federal government, with two of five stars. At Narraguagus Bay, a 35-bed home, a March 20 inspection documented three deficiencies in which harm occurred. According to the report, in November a doctor ordered that one resident walk only with a rolling walker and the assistance of two staff members, because of a high risk of falls. The doctor’s orders were not followed, which resulted in the resident falling in December and again in January. The first fall resulted in bruises and severe pain, while the second resulted in a fractured hip, according to the report. Attempts to contact Narraguagus Bay administrators for comment were unsuccessful. At Mercy Home, a 40-bed residence, an April 17 inspection documented the case of a resident who twisted an ankle on Feb. 5. The next day, when the resident complained of pain, a doctor ordered an X-ray, but one wasn’t made for nine days. The resident complained of high pain levels every day, refused to do a range of motion exercise with the foot, and was only given Tylenol by staff. When an X-ray was finally done on Feb. 14, it showed the resident had a bone fracture, according to the report. A message left for Denise Raymond, Mercy’s administrator, was not immediately returned. Central Maine shines None of the five recently inspected central Maine nursing homes had serious deficiencies. Mary Ford, owner of the 57-bed nursing home Pittsfield Rehab, said Maine’s nursing homes try to avoid serious deficiencies because they know the state response will be swift. “I think Maine has been regulated heavily for a long time, so compliance has been good in our state,” she said. Pittsfield Rehab gets five of five stars from the government, a rating of much above average. A July 12 inspection documented two nonserious deficiencies, for not giving patients showers according to their preferences and not communicating a medication order from a resident’s doctor to that resident’s pharmacist. Ford said the state accepted a correction plan and that the facility is now in full compliance. Sara Sylvester, administrator at Waterville’s 90-bed Oak Grove Center, said there haven’t been any serious deficiencies because comments from an active resident council allow residents to have more control over their lives. In addition to organizing outings and choosing meals, the residents voice concerns about problems with the staff and the home. “If they’re not being treated correctly, if a nurse or an aide is curt with them, those people have to go home,” Sylvester said, “and an investigation has to happen immediately.” The most recent inspection at Oak Grove, on May 9, found five non-serious violations, including a urine odor in one area, a failure to best manage each patient’s drug regimen and failure to cycle out expired calcium vitamins. Sylvester said the state approved a correction plan and Oak Grove, rated above average with four of five stars, is now in full compliance. The Augusta Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Augusta, a 72-bed residence, is also rated above average, with four of five stars. During a May 16 visit, inspectors documented five non-serious violations at the center, including separated bathroom floor seams, failure to update a patient’s care plan to reflect a worsening pressure ulcer and failure to keep an ice machine clean. Administrator Cathleen O’Connor said the state accepted a correction plan and the center is now in full compliance. At Augusta’s MaineGeneral Rehab & Nursing at Graybirch, a May 14 inspection uncovered four non-serious deficiencies, all related to an incident in which a resident left the building and was missing for hours before being brought back by family members. Graybirch has three of five stars from the government, a rating of average. Connie McDonald, Graybirch’s administrator, did not immediately return a call for comment. At Sanfield Rehab & Nursing Center in Hartland, inspectors found four non-serious violations on April 4, including failure to notify a resident’s family about the expiration of a particular Medicare benefit; stains in the kitchen; and failure to update a resident’s medication orders. The federal government rates Sanfield as much above average, with five of five stars. Administrator Sheila Beasley referred questions to Sanfield Rehab’s owner, North Country Associates, but a call to North Country’s chief operating officer, Mary Richards, was not immediately returned. Transparency The nursing home industry welcomes the added transparency, according to Nadine Grosso, vice president of the Maine Health Care Association, which represents nearly every nursing home in the state. She said prospective residents should pay attention to the scope and severity of deficiencies, rather than the number. “For example, if a person in the kitchen forgot to wear a hairnet, is that a big deal in the scheme of things?” she said. Grosso said serious or recurring deficiencies should be taken into account, and the information should be one component of a larger information-gathering strategy. “If they’re looking at a particular facility and they look at a deficiency report and they see something that they now have a question about, it would be really good to go talk to the facility about that,” Grosso said. Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287 Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form. Send questions/comments to the editors.

4.1: Atoms Lesson Objectives - Explain the law of conservation of mass, the law of definite proportions, and the law of multiple proportions. - Describe John Dalton’s atomic theory. Lesson Vocabulary - atom - law of conservation of mass - law of definite proportions - law of multiple proportions Early Atomic Models Democritus was a Greek philosopher who lived from 460 B.C. until 370 B.C. He was among the first known individuals to suggest the idea of the atom as the basic unit of matter. The word atom comes from the Greek word atomos, meaning “indivisible.” Democritus (see Figure below) was indeed ahead of his time, but his ideas were not useful at that time in describing chemical behavior because there was no experimental evidence to support it. His approach was a philosophical one rather than a truly scientific one. Many centuries would pass before the notion of atoms was merged with modern scientific experimentation and thought. Democritus believed that all matter consisted of tiny, indestructible particles called atoms. Beginnings of Atomic Theory By the late 1700s, chemists had accepted the definition of an element as a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means. It was also clear that elements combine with one another to form more complex substances called compounds. The chemical and physical properties of these compounds are different than the properties of the elements from which they were formed. There was some disagreement, however, about whether elements always combined in exactly the same ratio when forming a particular compound. In the 1790s, a greater emphasis began to be placed on the quantitative analysis of chemical reactions. Accurate and reproducible measurements of the masses of reacting elements and the compounds that must always be conserved. The law of conservation of mass is demonstrated in this video: (1:05). The discovery that mass (Figure below). Regardless of its source or its form (solid, liquid, or gas), water always has the exact same elemental composition: 11.19% of its mass is hydrogen and 88.81% of its mass is oxygen. Experiments also began to demonstrate that the same pairs of certain elements could combine to form more than one compound. Consider the elements carbon and oxygen. Combined in one way, they form the familiar compound called carbon dioxide. In every sample of carbon dioxide, there is 32.0 g of oxygen present for every 12.0 g of carbon. By dividing 32.0 by 12.0, this simplifies to an oxygen/carbon mass ratio of 2.66 to 1. Another compound that forms from the combination of carbon and oxygen is called carbon monoxide. Every sample of carbon monoxide contains 16.0 g of oxygen for every 12.0 g of carbon, which simplifies to an oxygen/carbon mass ratio of 1.33 to 1. In other words, a given mass of carbon needs to combine with exactly twice as much oxygen to make carbon dioxide as it would to produce carbon monoxide. Figure below illustrates the law of multiple proportions. Whenever the same two elements form more than one compound, the different masses of one element that combine with the same mass of the other element are in the ratio of small whole numbers. Carbon monoxide, on the left, contains 1.333 g of oxygen for every 1 g of carbon. Carbon dioxide, on the right, contains 2.666 g of oxygen for every gram of carbon. The ratio of oxygen in these two compounds is 1:2, which is a ratio of small whole numbers. Sample Problem 4.1: Calculating Mass Ratios Copper reacts with chlorine to form two compounds. Compound A contains 4.08 g of copper for every 2.28 g of chlorine. Compound B contains 7.53 g of copper for every 8.40 g of chlorine. What is the lowest whole number mass ratio of copper that combines with a given mass of chlorine? Step 1: List the known quantities and plan the problem. Known - Compound A = 4.08 g Cu and 2.28 g Cl - Compound B = 7.53 g Cu and 8.40 g Cl Apply the law of multiple proportions to the two compounds. For each compound, find the grams of copper that combine with 1.00 g of chlorine by dividing the mass of copper by the mass of chlorine. Then, find the ratio of the masses of copper in the two compounds by dividing the larger value by the smaller value. Step 2: Calculate. Compare the masses of copper per gram of chlorine in the two samples. The mass ratio of copper per gram of chlorine in the two compounds is 2:1. Step 3: Think about your result. The ratio is a small whole-number ratio. For a given mass of chlorine, compound A contains twice the mass of copper as does compound B. Dalton's Atomic Theory In 1808, an English chemist and schoolteacher named John Dalton (1766-1844) formulated an atomic theory based on the law of conservation of mass, the law of definite proportions, and the law of multiple proportions. His theory can be summarized in the following statements, illustrated in Figure below. - All matter is composed of extremely small particles called atoms. - Atoms of the same element are identical in terms of size, mass, and other properties. Atoms of one element are different from the atoms of any other element. - Atoms of different elements can chemically combine with one another in simple whole-number ratios to form chemical compounds. - Chemical reactions can be described as the separation, combination, or rearrangement of atoms. Atoms of one element cannot be changed into atoms of a different element as a result of a chemical reaction. Dalton’s atomic theory states that chemical reactions are due to rearrangements of atoms. On the left, hydrogen molecules are shown as two H atoms, while oxygen molecules are shown as two O atoms. The chemical reaction forms water as the atoms rearrange. There are identical numbers of hydrogen and oxygen atoms before and after the reaction. Sizes of Atoms The graphite in your pencil is composed of the element carbon. Imagine taking a small piece of carbon and grinding it until it is a fine dust. Each speck of carbon would still have all of the physical and chemical properties of carbon. Now imagine that you could somehow keep dividing the speck of carbon into smaller and smaller pieces. Eventually, you would reach a point where your carbon sample is as small as it could possibly be. This final particle is called an atom, which is defined as the smallest particle of an element that retains the properties of that element. Atoms, as you probably know, are extremely small. In fact, the graphite in an ordinary pencil contains about 5 × 1020 atoms of carbon. This is an almost incomprehensibly large number. The population of the entire Earth is about 7 × 109 people, meaning that there are about 7 × 1010 times as many carbon atoms in your pencil as there are people on the Earth! For this to be true, atoms must be extremely small. Can we see atoms? It’s not easy, but a modern instrument called a scanning tunneling microscope allows scientists to visualize the atom, as shown in Figure below. Images of individual gold atoms can be seen on the surface of a smooth sheet of gold metal using scanning tunneling microscopy. Lesson Summary - The Greek philosopher Democritus believed that matter is composed of indivisible and indestructible building blocks, which he called atoms. - John Dalton transformed the ideas of Democritus into a scientific atomic theory, which began to explain the law of conservation of mass, the law of definite proportions, and the law of multiple proportions. - Matter cannot be created or destroyed in chemical reactions. - Elements react to form compounds in fixed proportions by mass. - Elements combine with one another in simple whole-number ratios. - An atom is the smallest unit of an element that retains the properties of that element. Lesson Review Questions Recall - Describe the contribution of Democritus to modern atomic theory. - What happens to the total mass of a system during a chemical reaction? - What does “fixed composition” mean with regard to chemical compounds? - What law explains the relationships between different chemical compounds that contain only the elements carbon and oxygen? - What are the four essential points of Dalton’s atomic theory? Apply Concepts - Alchemy is an ancient tradition that predated the modern science of chemistry. One goal of the alchemist was to change base metals such as iron or lead into valuable metals such as gold or silver. Explain, using Dalton’s theory, why alchemists were unable to do this. Think Critically - If an atom of element A has a mass of 2 units, while an atom of element B has a mass of 5 units, what would be the ratio of element A to element B in a compound that had a mass of 11 units? - Sulfur reacts with oxygen to form two compounds. Compound A consists of 1.89 g of sulfur for every 1.89 g of oxygen. Compound B consists of 3.72 g of sulfur for every 5.57 g of oxygen. What is the lowest whole number mass ratio of sulfur that combines with a given mass of oxygen? - Hydrocarbons are a class of organic compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen. Methane, an important hydrocarbon fuel, has a carbon/hydrogen mass ratio of 3:1. An 80-g sample of a hydrocarbon compound is analyzed and found to contain 64 g of carbon. Is the hydrocarbon sample methane? Explain. - The mass of 6.02 × 1023 atoms of iron is 55.85 g. What is the mass of one atom of iron? Further Reading / Supplemental Links - For more information about Dalton's contributions, go to the video Early Ideas About Atoms at.

Claflin student editor wins award as top S.C. collegiate journalist Congressman James E. Clyburn was at Claflin University on Sunday to sign copies of his memoir, Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black. Ministers’ Hall was filled with individuals eager to get their hands on a copy of the newly released book. “Many of you in this room are friends of Jim Clyburn, and you know, as I do, that when he’s passionate about something, his commitment is unwavering,” said Janice Marshall, ’70, a Claflin University Board of Trustees member and the executive director of the James E. Clyburn Research and Scholarship Foundation. “He walks the walk and talks the talk.” “It is fitting that we’re holding today’s celebration here, in Minister’s Hall,” she continued. In addition to Clyburn’s commitment to education, Marshall said, “Historic preservation is another of his passions, and this building was lovingly restored with federal resources he secured.” Clyburn “has always been a steadfast advocate for those without a voice and a committed leader,” Marshall said. “His tenacity, endurance, fortitude, patience and faith provide a living example of what it means to be genuinely Southern and proudly black.” Claflin President Dr. Henry N. Tisdale said Clyburn is a great friend of the institution. “In fact, he’s been a tireless servant and friend of higher education throughout his career as an elected official,” Tisdale said. “I say with tremendous appreciation to the Congressman that Claflin University has benefitted from the commitment and from the friendship. “Through his book, our children and grandchildren, and future generations, will have a source to inspire them to dream big, understanding that a setback can be a setup for something grand.” Clyburn shared with the audience his inspiration for Blessed Experiences and its title. In the book, he tells in his own inspirational words how an African-American boy from the Jim Crow South was able to beat the odds to achieve great success. “The epilogue in this book is a letter to my children, my grandchildren, and all other children and grandchildren similarly challenged,” Clyburn said. “I wrote this book to take into account all of the challenges that I’ve had, and how I have dealt with those challenges in hopes that children coming along will benefit from them.” Clyburn said Blessed Experiences has been nearly 30 years in the making. He wrote the first chapter in 1985. “I set the book aside because I came to the conclusion as I was writing that I had not lived long enough nor had I had enough experiences to write the kind of book I wanted to write,” Clyburn said. “I wanted to write a book that would be motivational, informational, and a book that would tell exactly what … I wanted to pass on to future generations. “I want this book to be a textbook for young people.” The title comes from two episodes in the congressman’s life, he said. “Bill Howell taught me my second year at South Carolina State, and Bill Howell and I were a bit combative in class,” Clyburn said. “One day, we were going back and forth, and he said to me, ‘Young man, you must understand, you will never be any more nor will you ever be any less than what your experiences allow you to be.’ That struck me, and it stuck with me. So I decided that my book had to be about those experiences. But about halfway through the book, I hit a wall and couldn’t write. And I remembered that my father used to spend all day Saturday reading, writing and humming his favorite hymn, Blessed Assurance … so I read the hymn Blessed Assurance. And there it was – I could see what my dad got from that hymn.” The subtitle comes from an episode Clyburn recalled during his early days at the South Carolina State House. A legislator made a comment that Clyburn felt crossed the line. He approached the legislator after the meeting and was told that he needed to understand that the legislator spoke that way because he was a Southerner. “I, too, am a Southern,” Clyburn said, adding that was the working title of his book for many years. “My parents were Southerners, and they didn’t talk that way, they didn’t use that kind of language, they didn’t insult people gratuitously. I wanted to make the case that we, too, are Southerners. … But we are a proud people, proudly black. “The whole thing is to say to every child – black or white – in this state that you have a stake in being a South Carolinian. This state is as much yours as anybody elses, and you should be proud of the contributions you make to this state. Throughout this book, you will see time and time again I make the case for being a genuinely Southern and proud black person. And I never ever stray from that.” Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black is $34.95 and available wherever books are sold. Clyburn said he has plans to write a sequel.

AUSTIN — The Legislature’s top budget writers indicated Thursday that they are pessimistic about the state’s chances of winning in a lawsuit brought by hundreds of school districts, though they said they haven’t seen harm to public schools from budget cuts enacted two years ago. Sen. Tommy Williams and Rep. Jim Pitts said that the state should set aside money in the budget — or leave money unspent — in case the Texas Supreme Court rules against the state late this year or next year. The districts’ suit argues that state school aid formulas are unconstitutionally unequal and their funding inadequate. “We’re looking at … an epic battle on this in 2014,” said Williams, R-The Woodlands. He and Pitts appeared Thursday at a forum sponsored by the Texas Tribune. He added that some school officials have told him the cuts helped them eliminate unneeded staff. “I’ve had some superintendents from very large school districts say, ‘Thank you, I never could’ve fired these administrators unless you cut my funding,’” Williams said. “They won’t say it publicly but they say it privately.” Pitts, a former school board member, said he’s also not seen devastation from the Legislature’s $5.3 billion in school cuts last session. “I have not seen the layoffs,” said Pitts, R-Waxahachie. “I haven’t seen the teachers and the school superintendents having to come to me and say, ‘Oh, woe is me.’” He quickly added, “I’ll probably get the calls now.” Williams said he agrees with an idea floated by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst several weeks ago that budget writers set aside a couple of billion as a reserve against a court loss. Williams said the set-aside might be between $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion. Pitts indicated lawmakers will probably have unspent revenue because of the constitutional cap on spending. He didn’t estimate how much. Pitts, though, said the school lawsuit’s outcome — and Texas’ recent experience with an up and down economy and volatile revenues — gives him pause about Gov. Rick Perry’s call for $1.8 billion in tax relief this session. “I don’t want to tell Texans that we’re going to do a tax relief [package] when we’ve got all these expenses that we need to cover,” he said. Pitts also criticized Perry’s proposal to draw $840 million for the unspecified tax cuts from the state’s rainy day fund. For a tax reduction not to be temporary, “it’s going to have to be a continuous draw on the rainy day.

- Filed Under BONN — Rheinmetall will become contractor on the Canadian Forces Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) project under a 160 million euro ($207 million) contract signed with Textron Systems Canada. Rheinmetall Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of the Düsseldorf, Germany-based company, will earn 120 million euros during the TAPV program’s production phase, performing the final assembly and test of the vehicles. It will also integrate subsystems, such as the remotely controlled weapon station, the vehicle navigation system and the driver vision enhancement system. The production phase is expected to span from July 2014 to March 2016. When fielded, Rheinmetall Canada will provide in-service support (ISS) for the entire TAPV fleet at the same facility, earning another 40 million euros. ISS will start with the initial operational capability when the first 47 vehicles are delivered, which is planned for 2014, and is expected to end in 2021, five years after the last vehicle is delivered. “This partnership with Textron Systems is of strategic importance to Rheinmetall Canada,” said Rheinmetall Canada’s president and CEO, Andreas Knackstedt. “We are extremely pleased to work with Textron Systems delivering state of the art equipment to the Army, and value for taxpayers’ money, while creating highly skilled jobs in Canada.” Rheinmetall Canada will also fulfill a portion of Textron’s participation in Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRB) policy arising from the government’s purchase of 500 Textron TAPV. The Textron TAPV team was selected in June 2012 to manufacture 500 vehicles with an option for up to 100 more. The team also includes Kongsberg Protech Systems Canada and EODC — Engineering Office Deisenroth Canada. As the prime contractor, Ottawa-based Textron Systems Canada will provide the overall program and configuration management, act as design authority for change management, coordinate the vehicle integration activities by Canadian subcontractors, and manage the ISS contract. It will also implement a pan-Canadian IRB program designed to bring new expertise and opportunities to Canadian companies.

[tag: science] Obama health idea could mean better care, savings March 31, 2011 Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Associated Press The Obama administration on Thursday outlined a new approach to medical care that it said could mean higher quality and less risk for patients, while also saving millions of dollars for taxpayers. The plan involves accountable care organizations, which are networks of hospitals, doctors, rehabilitation centers and other providers. They would work together to cut out duplicative tests and procedures, prevent medical errors, and focus on keeping patients healthier and out of the emergency room. "We need to bring the days of fragmented care to an end," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said as she announced a proposed regulation that defines how the networks would operate within Medicare. If things work out, medical providers would share in the savings. If the experiment fails, they're likely to get stuck with part of any additional costs. Sebelius said early estimates are that Medicare could save as much as $960 million over three years. That's not a whole lot for a $550-billion-a-year program, but officials say it's a start. The estimate was prepared by Medicare's office of the actuary, known for its independence. Eagerly awaited by the health care industry, the new approach was called for in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The first networks would open for business next year. Unlike some managed care plans, such as health maintenance organizations, these networks would not lock in patients. "The beneficiary has not lost any choice at all," said Medicare administration Donald Berwick. The U.S. spends about $2.5 trillion a year on health care, more per person than any other advanced country. Yet people in the U.S. lag in some common measures of health and well-being. Researchers estimate that as much as one-third of U.S. spending goes for services that aren't really needed, and that's what the networks are supposed to address. If the idea succeeds in Medicare, it is expected to spread quickly to employer-provided health insurance. Already in some parts of the country, such as the Minneapolis area, insurers, hospitals and doctors have set up similar networks for privately insured patients. But there are risks. The networks could end up costing more money because of the intensive work involved in coordinating among different providers. Medicare recipients now may see four or five different doctors, who never talk to each other or compare notes. There's another potential problem. What if a network of hospitals and doctors acquires monopoly power in its community and starts raising prices? Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney said the administration won't allow that to happen. "We believe there is no area of the economy that can benefit more from collaboration than health care," said Varney. "Those who collaborate to fix prices inappropriately will be prosecuted." Doctors, hospitals and other service providers will decide whether join a local network. They will have to make a three-year commitment to care for a group of at least 5,000 patients. The Justice Department said providers that control less than 30 percent of the market for a given service in their community probably would not face scrutiny for possible anti-competitive concerns. Those with a market share of 50 percent or more would undergo a mandatory review before their network could be approved. For those in between, the department issued a list of things to avoid if they don't want to face questions from the government. Once the government has approved a network, Medicare administrators will monitor performance on costs and quality. If the network succeeds in saving money over what its patients' care would have otherwise cost, Medicare will share a portion of the gains. If it loses money, providers could get stuck with a bill. Providers are required to let their patients know that they are part of an accountable care organization and to get permission to share personal health information within the network. The experiment is focused on traditional fee-for-service Medicare. "We are committed to getting the details right," said Sebelius. "The rules we are proposing today are just the first step in a long process." It's unclear what would happen to the experiment if Obama's health care law is overturned in court or repealed. "I've never seen a time when there was as much positive work being done, although we don't have enough statistical data to show results yet," said Jim Eppel, a senior executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which has several networks of its own. "I think providers in our area have come to the realization that they need to reduce their cost of doing business. This provides a platform for them to do that.

Archived Story Food bank assists neighbors in needBy Staff Reports Published 12:00am Friday, May 19, 2006 The Demopolis Food Pantry was established in the early 1980′s, and was started to help provide food for elderly residents in the local community that were unable to qualify for other food programs. The volunteers, who solely operate the mission, are from several different churches in the area. Trinity Episcopal Church plays an important role in the charity. Food is packed into paper bags and distributed by volunteers every Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. Besides canned goods and non-perishable food items, the food pantry always needs paper bags to distribute the food. New volunteers are welcome to participate, and anyone interested can come by at 8:30 a.m. on any Wednesday. “We are all volunteers and this is a community effort,” Byrd Rish said. Most of the people receiving food from the charity are disabled or are elderly citizens. Eligible recipients are residents of Demopolis, and also meet the income guidelines set out by the USDA. In the late 1980′s, the food pantry was moved to the back room of the Jewish Synagogue, B’Nai Jeshurun, where it is still located. When the group first started, they would distribute food to approximately 12 people every week. The food pantry has grown a great deal since it was first established a number of years ago. In 1997, the organization distributed food to over 4,500 people, and for 2003, the organization had distributed food to over 7,000 people. The Demopolis Food Pantry currently distributes food to approximately 200 people every week. The Demopolis Food Pantry is dependent on contributions to function. Food that is not donated has to be purchased. A large portion of the food the organization provides is purchased from the West Alabama Food Bank and costs 16 cents per pound to buy. The Demopolis Council of Church Women made generous financial contributions to the Demopolis Food Pantry. The Bargain Box, which is operated by the Demopolis Council of Church Women, sells donations they receive from the community, which includes clothes and a wide range of other items from magazines to stuffed animals. The Demopolis Council of Church Women also made contributions to other organizations and causes. “This is a service group and it is all volunteer help. We recently gave $5,000 in scholarships to DHS students,” Iona Watts, Bargain Box volunteer, said. Donations of all kinds (such as clothes and household items) would be helpful, and new volunteers would be greatly appreciated. “We have a drop box for donations and Mondays is work day,” Ion Watts said. The Bargain Box is open on Mondays through Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until noon, and 8:00 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.

Annual Report for 1998 California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Workers' Compensation Steve Smith Director of Industrial Relations Richard Gannon Administrative Director Division of Workers' Compensation Peggy Sugarman Chief Deputy Administrative Director Division of Workers' Compensation Executive Summary * Recent History * Division of Workers' Compensation * DWC Audit and Enforcement * California's workers' compensation system changed dramatically during the 1990s. With the passage of reform legislation during 1989 and 1993, continuous implementation of regulatory and administrative changes led to progress toward the goals of reducing overall system costs, improving the efficiency of the program, and increasing benefit levels. Problems remain in the areas of benefit adequacy and equity, and of system efficiency. After several years of rapid growth in the late 1980s and early 1990s, workers' compensation premium costs in California fell significantly from 1993 through 1998. Insurance costs that were approaching five percent of payroll in 1993 dropped first with a legislatively mandated 7 percent reduction as part of the 1993 reform act, and a further reduction of 12 percent in minimum rates declared by the Insurance Commissioner in November 1993. In 1994 minimum premium rates were reduced further?the largest reductions in history?a drop of 16 percent effective October 1. These decreases foreshadowed elimination of the minimum rate law, effective January 1, 1995. Since open rating began, yet not necessarily because of it, a combination of reduced injury and claims rates, price competition, and some reductions in the scope of the law have driven the average employer premium rate to levels last seen in the mid 1970s. While employer premium rates have fallen, benefit levels for disabled workers have increased. Temporary disability benefit levels, as mandated by the statutory changes, have risen sharply?from a maximum of $224 per week in 1989 and $336 per week in 1993?to a current maximum of $490 per week. Currently, California's maximum benefit covers approximately 75 percent of the average weekly wage in the state. This is a significant change from the pre-1993 reform level, when California's temporary disability payment ranked in the bottom two of the 50 states. Despite the improvement, California still ranks 42nd in wage replacement rates for temporary disability. The changes in 1989 were characterized by a desire to raise benefit levels by financing them through increased system efficiencies. In 1993 the goals were more closely related to controlling costs. In the wake of the reform legislation, the Division of Workers' Compensation and other affected agencies implemented sweeping changes in the law and administrative process. At that time, most public attention was on getting costs under control. Access to certain benefits, such as vocational rehabilitation, was pared down or capped in price. Broad definitions of injury and eligibility were somewhat narrowed for psychiatric stress cases, and post-termination injury cases were curtailed. Certification and monitoring of managed care organizations and other initiatives during 1994 began the task of controlling medical costs in California's workers' compensation. In addition, units within the Division of Workers' Compensation were targeted for administrative improvements. The Disability Evaluation Unit concentrated on reducing large backlogs of cases seeking consultative ratings. The Rehabilitation Unit shifted toward more responsibility for resolving disputes. The Claims Adjudication Unit began to address means of reducing unacceptably long delays between requests and actual dates of hearings and trials. The mandated changes in the 1993 law were intended to save $1.5 billion per year, half of the savings paying for increased benefit levels and the rest reducing employers' costs in the system. The cost savings were expected to be accomplished through better management of medical care, reductions in fees paid for medical-legal evaluation reports and the numbers of them allowed, capping case costs for vocational rehabilitation, stricter standards of eligibility for psychiatric injury claims, and reductions of litigation through early intervention by state information and assistance officers. Corollary savings were expected from workers' compensation reforms that affect other government agencies. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health was expected to use funding generated through the reform act to set up units to target workplace safety inspections of the most hazardous workplaces, and to assure that workers' compensation insurance carriers have effective programs of loss control consultation for employers. The period since 1993 has seen dramatic reductions in the reported numbers of injuries and new claims, and in the systems costs paid by employers. From 1990 to 1997, the last year for which injury frequency statistics are available, the rate of injuries leading to time away from work dropped 45 percent. It now appears that the expected savings have been exceeded. Employer costs which were approaching $11 billion per year are now below $9 billion. Much of the current attention of the system relates to assessing and proposing action regarding the adequacy of permanent disability benefits. The challenge for the future is maintaining access to high quality medical care and adequate compensation after workplace injury, without letting costs get out of control. Recent History Recent reform of the workers' compensation system began in 1989, when the Legislature enacted a series of changes that signaled a desire to begin controlling runaway costs and to reduce fraud and abuse. The legislative goal was to redesign the system so that injured workers were assured of adequate and timely compensation, the regulatory structure of workers' compensation insurance was reformed, and a link was renewed between state mandated occupational injury/illness prevention programs and compensating injuries that occurred. 1989 Reform As a result of the 1989 reform effort, the Division of Workers' Compensation was formed from the previous Division of Industrial Accidents. Organizational and regulatory changes included: 1993 Reforms In the early 1990s the Legislature passed several bills which began the process of addressing these concerns. In July 1993 a wide range of system changes were enacted with the intention of reducing the number of claims in the workers' compensation system as well as average costs per claim. To reduce the number of claims, new tools were added to curtail fraud, to make changes decreasing the number of post-termination psychiatric injury cases, and to implement strategies that prevent injuries. The goal of reducing costs per claim was expected to be achieved by introducing managed medical care techniques, by lowering the number and costs of medical-legal evaluations, and by capping the costs of vocational rehabilitation. As a result of these reforms, the state's responsibilities increased in virtually every area of the workers' compensation system. DWC information and assistance officers are now increasingly relied upon to give injured workers help on all aspects of claims, including rehabilitation cases, and information guides are being developed and disseminated. Since the 1993 changes, DWC has been overseeing the operation of medical providers offering managed care, and has been revising the medical fee and medical-legal fee schedules. The division has also begun pilot programs combining the medical aspects of workers' compensation with group health coverage. The demands for medical care cost reduction and control programs have apparently been mediated by overall lower costs in workers' compensation, yet the experience of these programs is extremely valuable for assessing their effectiveness. In 1993 the division was also mandated to revise the permanent disability rating schedule which governs payments to permanently impaired workers. A new schedule encompassing broad changes in the nature of occupations and types of injuries has been in effect since 1997. Much research and debate regarding permanent disability benefits characterize the past few years. In addition to its own responsibilities, DWC is also involved in assuring that related agencies accomplish the objectives of reform. The 1993 legislation decreed deregulation of the premium rate-setting process for workers' compensation insurance. Competition has helped drive down rates over the last few years. But along with price competition among workers' compensation insurers, there may be greater pressures on claims examiners, loss control consultants and others. Care must be taken to assure availability of workers' compensation coverage for all sizes and types of employers, at a reasonable price. Through its regulatory and oversight functions, the division can assure that claims administrators meet standards of claims processing and information provided to injured workers. Other reforms permit groups of employers to self insure their compensation liability for the first time, and allow for alternatives to the formal dispute resolution process of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board for certified construction contractors operating under a collective bargaining agreement. Many of these functions entail monitoring and oversight responsibilities within the division or associated programs of the Department of Industrial Relations. Another important policy change of the 1993 reforms was reconfiguring the Commission on Health and Safety from a grants making organization, oriented toward production of educational materials, to an eight-member labor-management evaluative Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation. Changes During 1998 The year 1998 was a year of change, bringing new law and regulations in California's workers' compensation system. There was clarification of the general prohibition against settling or commuting vocational rehabilitation services unless all compensation was at risk.1 Private firefighters were assured the same workers' compensation protections as those employed by a public agency.2 Protections were enacted against improper use of individually identifiable information held as public records.3 Workers' compensation judges, officially renamed referees in 1993, were now to be workers' compensation administrative law judges.4 They were also formally placed under the oversight of the Code of Judicial Ethics.5 The medical fee schedule was mandated to include physician assistants and nurse practitioners.6 After several years of near-sunsetting of the law, the Legislature permanently added acupuncture to the list of medical treatments available to injured workers.7 Other laws were put into place.8 Regulatory changes were made in several programs, clarifying the provision of vocational rehabilitation services9 and changing audit regulations to attempt a refocus of resources.10 Also, responding to a governor's executive order, benefits from the Uninsured Employers Fund and Subsequent Injury Fund, both originally intended to protect injured workers regardless of immigration status, were to be withheld from aliens.11 The California Economy and Workers' Compensation Labor Force12 In 1985 approximately 12 million Californians were in the labor force and employed, of which 10.8 million were in nonagricultural labor. By 1990 overall employment had grown to 14.3 million. Growth then stalled and by 1993 overall employment had fallen back to 13.9 million. Since then, increasing growth has pushed up total employment to 15.3 million in 1998. (Chart 1) The unemployment rate for the same period began at 7.2 percent in 1985, dropped to a low of 5.1 percent in 1989, then steadily rose to 9.4 percent in 1993. The rate has now fallen for five years and currently stands at 5.9 percent. (Chart 2) Shift in Industry Orientation13 A large portion of the growth in the California labor force in recent years has been in the service industry. From 1985 to 1997, manufacturing employment actually decreased in the state, from 2.0 to 1.9 million, while the service sector increased from 2.6 to 4.1 million. While employment in the service sector increased from 25 to 31 percent of the total, the manufacturing share fell from 19 to 14.5 percent. Wholesale and retail trade increased over 470,000, government increased 350,000 and construction was up 120,000. The shift from blue to white collar employment affects the nature and types of injuries seen in the state's work force. The nature of work force hazards also shifts within broad categories, as more jobs involve high technology, different hazards, and telecommuting. (Chart 3) Injury Rates and Trends The state Division of Labor Statistics and Research (DLSR), in conjunction with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, uses surveys of a stratified sample of California employers to estimate the incidence and frequency of occupational injuries and illnesses statewide. At the present time, there is no compilation of first reports of injury by employers or doctors. The division also maintains a program to document the number and causation of occupational fatalities in the state. Fatalities14 At least 600 Californians die on the job each year. Two out of five of these persons die in transportation-related injuries. About 200 a year die from assaults or violent acts suffered on the job. Approximately another 50 each die from falls, contact with objects and equipment, and exposure to harmful substances or environments. In a typical year, 10-20 persons perish in fires and explosions.15 While the 1996 statewide numbers went below 600 for the first time in five years, all would agree that the record could stand significant improvement. (Chart 4) Injuries and Illnesses By every available measure, there has been a reduction in reported cases of occupational injury and illness in California during the years since 1990. From 1988 to 1997, the rate of disabling cases, involving lost workdays and days away from work, declined 45 percent in California. In mining and manufacturing the rate declined over 50 percent. In the fast growing service sector, California's lost workday rate declined 41 percent over the past decade. (Chart 5) Construction, transportation and public utilities continue to be the most dangerous working environments in terms of injury frequency. Despite the large decreases of recent years, each year over 4 percent of the workers in these industries lose at least a day of work from an occupational injury. (Chart 6) The most recent statistics available to study the demographics of injured workers are from 1996. Sixty-six percent of injured workers were male. (Chart 7) Nearly three-quarters were under 44 years of age, 14 percent under age 24. (Chart 8) About 11 percent of reported lost time injuries happened to those who had been on the job under three months, with a full 30 percent having under one year of service. One-third of those injured had been on the job between one and five years, and 38 percent longer than five years. (Chart 9) Days Away from Work Approximately 27 percent of workers who experience lost time due to an injury stay out 1-2 days, while another 18 percent are out 3-5 days. Approximately one-fourth of injured workers are out of work 6-20 days and 6 percent are out from three weeks to a month. Almost one-quarter of injured workers are still away from work a month after their injury. (Chart 10) Type of Injury The most common lost time injuries are to the trunk, including upper and lower back, accounting for more than 70,000 lost time cases per year. These are followed by 45,000 disabling upper extremity injuries and 36,000 lower extremity cases. (Chart 11) Occupation More than 70,000 private sector operators, fabricators and laborers suffered disabling injuries in 1996 in California, along with 37,000 technical, sales and administrative workers, 32,000 production, craft and repair workers, and 29,000 service workers. (Chart 12) Benefits and Costs Technical Note: Data Sources The estimates of injury frequency and incidence rates of the Division of Labor Statistics and Research are supplemented by other data that focus on claims activity. Not all job-related injuries become claims against an employer or insurer, and it is argued that some claims are filed where there are no occupational injuries. There is currently no single reliable source of information on the number and types of claims for workers' compensation in California. The Workers' Compensation Information System (WCIS) being developed by DWC will serve that vital purpose when it begins collecting and compiling information later this year. Until then, in order to make estimates it is necessary to procure and compile data from several different sources. The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) regularly publishes information that aggregates the claims experience for insured employers.16 The state Office of Self Insurance Plans (SIP) compiles annual report information from several thousand self insured employers in both public and private sectors. Their published information is generally restricted to figures on the cost of medical care and indemnity benefits for self insurers and does not count the number of injuries. The DWC Audit Unit receives an Annual Report of Inventory (ARI) of workers' compensation claims from each claims administrator, and uses this information to identify and select sample sizes for audits.17 The insurance industry supported California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI) surveys its members quarterly to estimate the incidence of new claims and to look at trends over time.18 And the state Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) offices see cases which, for one reason or another, need state assistance, oversight, or dispute resolution. Workers' Compensation Claims DWC estimates that in the insured sector of the market, claims have been cut by a third, dropping from over 900,000 per year in 1990 to just over 600,000 in 1996. (Chart 13) Total statewide employment for the two years is very comparable. Projecting these estimates in the insured sector to the entire work force, it appears that claims in California have dropped from approximately 1.3 million per year to about 900,000. In the insured sector, claims costs (the total of medical care, death benefits and indemnity costs for permanent and temporary disability) are approximately $4 billion per year. (Chart 14) The total employer cost of these claims plus overhead and operating expenses currently stands at approximately $9 billion. (Chart 15) Workers' compensation cases can be categorized by types of benefits received. Medical only cases are ones in which no indemnity or lost time payments are made, meaning either the injured worker only had medical expenses, or the disability lasted less than three days and thus involved no other payments. Temporary total cases are those in which a person is hurt and requires medical attention, is off work for more than three days and collecting lost time payments, and after a period off work returns fully to the prior job without any remaining disability. Permanent partial cases usually include both medical and temporary total disability payments, and also involve a remaining and compensable disability after the healing phase has ended. For the relatively small group each year of permanently and totally disabled, who will not return to work in any capacity, there is an ongoing lost income benefit. And for the dependents of those killed on the job, there are survivors' benefits and funeral allowances. Workers' compensation benefits are of three major types: medical care to relieve the effects of work-related injury, income benefits to replace loss of wages or wage earning capacity, and rehabilitation benefits to help pay for training and rehabilitation costs when a person cannot return to prior employment after an injury. Medical Benefits In 1996 the costs of workers' compensation medical care in California were about $3 billion. (See Chart 16. Note: Cost figure in chart for insured payment in 1996 is at first report and can be expected to grow as claims mature.) Of this amount, approximately half went to doctors, one-quarter went to hospitals, one-seventh reimbursed patients for their direct payments with 6 percent paying for medical-legal evaluations and 4 percent for pharmacy services.19 (Chart 17) Medical expenses are a part of nearly every workers' compensation case, and currently comprise about 29 percent of the system costs. Another 39 percent covers indemnity benefits and vocational rehabilitation services, and 32 percent covers the costs of administration of benefits?including loss adjustment expenses, insurer overhead, operations, commissions and brokerage, profit, taxes and general expenses. Looking only at benefits, medical services take 42 percent and indemnity benefits including vocational rehabilitation 58 percent of all benefits. Among physician speciality areas, California's payments go to: physical therapists, 21 percent; orthopedists, 21 percent; family practice, 16 percent; chiropractors, 16 percent; clinics, 19 percent; and radiology, 7 percent.20 (Chart 18) In the insured sector, workers' compensation medical benefits cost between 0.6 and 1.4 percent of payroll during the period since 1977. (Chart 19) The number of medical only cases dropped 25 percent between 1989 and 1996. (Chart 20) Because indemnity claims fell even faster, medical only claims now are approximately 69 percent of the total number of claims, up from 62 percent in 1990. On average in California, medical only cases now cost about $450 apiece. In the inflation-adjusted figures of 1982 dollars, these claims cost about $275. (Chart 21) Indemnity Benefits The chart (Chart 22) indicates the overall breakdown of costs on the indemnity side for a recent year. Benefits paid out for permanent partial disability awards were nearly the same as those paid out for temporary disability. Temporary Disability Benefits In 1972 the National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws recommended that states index their workers' compensation benefit levels to the state's average wage. In this way, benefit levels would stay constant through inflationary times. Currently 44 states, but not California, set them this way for temporary total disability.21 The National Commission also recommended that states adopt a standard of 100 percent of the state average weekly wage; 34 states meet or exceed that standard. California ranks tied for 42nd among states on the replacement rate of the maximum benefit. (Chart 23) The reforms of 1989 and 1993 granted significant increases in benefit levels for temporary total and fatality cases, and for some permanent partial disability cases. In 1990 temporary total disability benefits were $224 per week, while the state average weekly wage was $473. The maximum benefit was replacing less than half of lost income for the average injured worker. The 1989 reforms contained a two-step increase in the temporary disability rates, raising the maximum to $266 in 1990 and $336 in 1991, a 50 percent total increase. Without legislation to change them, the maximum rates stayed level until a three-step increase was included in the 1993 reform act. In July 1994 maximum rates rose to $406; a year later they were increased to $448, and in July 1996 they were raised to the present $490 per week. (Chart 24) As a percentage of the state average weekly wage, the temporary disability benefit rose from under 50 percent in 1989 to approximately 80 percent in 1996. Without any further benefit level increases, this percentage has now fallen to about 75 percent as average wages have grown. (Chart 25) Temporary disability cases in the insured sector are down from 180,000 to 110,000 per year since 1990, a decrease of 39 percent. The average cost of a temporary disability case has gone from around $1600 in 1982 to over $3700 in 1996, including both medical and indemnity costs. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the cost has risen to about $2300. (Chart 26) The 1996 increase is in part due to the increases in benefit levels for temporary disability in 1995 and 1996. Permanent Total Disability Benefits Weekly payments in permanent total disability cases in California are the same as those for temporary disability, currently up to $490 per week for injuries on or after July 1, 1996. Permanent total disability is often not recognized at the beginning of a claim. The table below shows how the number of cases seen as permanent total disability increases as the time from injury progresses?the first report for a given year occurs six months after the close of policy year, the second and third reports at one year intervals after that. Approximately 400 persons in the insured sector, or 600 statewide, become permanently and totally disabled from job-related injuries each year. Permanent Partial Disability Benefits Maximum benefits paid for permanent partial disability depend on the rating assigned; for disabilities rated under 15 percent, the benefit ranges from a minimum of $70 to a maximum of $140, a level that has been in effect since 1984. The 1989 reforms created a new tier: for those with over 25 percent disability, the maximum rate rose to $148 per week. The 1993 reforms further subdivided the partially disabled into a total of four groups. Currently those with disabilities rating under 15 percent still get $140 maximum, those with 15 to 25 percent receive a maximum of $160 per week, those with 25 to 70 percent disability receive $170 per week, and those with ratings above 70 percent get $230 per week during the period of disability. (Chart 27) Disabled workers at this level are also eligible for a life pension of as much as $154 per week. The number of permanent disability cases in the insured market has declined nearly 50 percent in the past five years, with the largest annual decreases in 1992 and 1993. Currently there are approximately 85,000 such cases per year from insured employer work forces, with an annual cost of approximately $3.5 million. These cases account for the overwhelming majority of costs of workers' compensation; since approximately 1987, permanent disability cases have accounted for about 85 percent of all benefit costs. (Chart 28) Fatality Cases Benefits in fatality cases are according to the number of dependents: Currently the family of a fatally injured worker leaving three or more total dependents receives a maximum of $160,000 plus a burial expense of $5,000. Death benefits for single dependents are now $125,000. Per Labor Code Section 4702(b), death benefits are payable in installments in the same manner and amounts as temporary disability indemnity. Where there are one or more dependent minor children, death benefits beyond the maximum amounts continue at the temporary disability rate until the youngest child reaches age 18. According to frequency and cost statistics published by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, covering insured employers only, fatality cases are costing an average $132,000 each, with about $115,000 in indemnity or survivors' benefits and $17,000 in medical care costs. These figures are from first estimates on policy year 1996 claims. Projecting from the amount of death benefits to dependents of insured employees, approximately $75 million per year is paid out for all fatality cases in California. (Chart 29) Coverage for Workers' Compensation Virtually all California employers are covered by the workers' compensation laws. Private employers must buy insurance coverage from a licensed insurer authorized to sell the coverage, or establish an approved self insurance program through the Office of Self Insurance Plans. Employers buying insurance are generally relieved from liability for workplace injuries, and liability is assumed by the insurance carrier. The Insurance Market Until recently, California's workers' compensation insurance rates were regulated by the Insurance Commissioner under the minimum rate law which stated that "an insurer shall not issue, renew, or continue in force any workers' compensation insurance under a law of this state at premium rates which are less than the rates approved or issued by the Insurance Commissioner."22 Under that system the Commissioner, through its statistical agent, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, gathered and analyzed premium and losses data, classified businesses, did actuarial projections, assessed market conditions and competitive forces and determined final, fully developed, premium rates that included all the costs of benefits and administrative overhead. The reform act of 1989 created an academic commission to study the workers' compensation insurance market, the insurance ratemaking process in California, and the relative effectiveness of ratemaking systems in other states.23 In 1992 the Rate Study Commission recommended and in 1993 the Legislature adopted, effective January 1, 1995, the system currently in use which is known as open rating or competitive ratemaking. Under open rating, the Commissioner sets recommended, nonmandatory pure premium rates that are expected to cover the costs of benefits and loss adjustment expenses. Other administrative overhead and expenses are to be added by individual companies.24 More than 100 private for profit insurers and one public nonprofit insurer sell workers' compensation insurance coverage in California. The State Compensation Insurance Fund is the largest carrier in the state, currently writing about 21 percent of the insured market. According to the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the market share of the top few insurers has increased incrementally over the period beginning just before open rating. In 1994, 43 percent of the market went to the top five carrier groups; by 1997 it was up to 48 percent. In 1994 the top 20 groups took 79 percent of the total trade, and by 1997 the top 20 handled 87 percent of the market. (Chart 30) Traditionally, approximately two-thirds of total payroll in the state has been covered through insurance policies, while the remainder is through self insurance. The portion of payroll insured through insurance rose slightly from 1994 to 1996, from about 66 percent to nearly 70 percent of the total. (Chart 31) Most of the decrease in the self insured market share was in the public sector, as many public employers took advantage of low insurance rates. State agencies may also be considered "permissably uninsured" for workers' compensation.25 Profitability of workers' compensation insurance carriers, as measured by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, has fluctuated greatly in the past decade. (Chart 32) During the 1988 to 1990 period, workers' compensation insurers in California had profit levels of nearly three times the national average. Profit margins fell to equal or less than the national average for 1991 and 1992, then jumped in 1993 to a return on net worth of over 15 percent. With deregulation and open competition, California insurers have experienced lower than average margins since 1994, and in 1997 had the lowest return of any state. From 1988 to 1997, California insurers averaged a return on net worth for workers' compensation of 9.4 percent, compared to a rate of 8.0 percent for all insurance lines combined.26 Costs of Workers' Compensation Coverage The total cost to California's employers for workers' compensation can be estimated by adding together the premium costs for insured employers and the benefit and administrative expense costs for self insurers.27 Information is available on public self insured employers only for the period beginning 1994. System costs peaked in 1993 when the total expenditure for insured and self insured employers was approximately $11 billion. By just two years later, it had dropped to about $8 billion. Currently employer cost is between $8.5 and $9.0 billion. (Chart 33) Among insured employers and using the base of paid costs in 1998, the breakdown of costs is as follows. Medical care takes about 29 percent of the total, and indemnity costs about 37 percent. The remaining 34 percent is for administrative overhead and expenses. (Chart 34) Chart 34a shows a more complete breakdown of the administrative overhead and expenses of California workers' compensation insurers during 1998. Aggregate employers' costs of workers' compensation dropped after 1993 for two years. Since that time there has been growth in these costs?most of the increase in premium is driven by wage increases, growth in the work force, and the movement from self insurance to insurance. As expressed in dollars per hundred dollars of payroll, equivalent to a percentage of payroll, the costs were still falling in 1997 and perhaps into 1998. Average premiums in 1998 are just over half of what they were in 1993, and are now the lowest since the mid 1970s. (Chart 34b Division of Workers' Compensation The Division of Workers' Compensation monitors administration of workers' compensation claims, attempts to minimize disputes, and provides administrative and judicial services to assist in resolving disputes that arise in connection with claims for workers' compensation benefits. Responsibility for the operations of the California workers' compensation system is split between the Division of Workers' Compensation and the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. In 1965, the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation was given the responsibility for overseeing the "conciliation, advisory, educational, medical and rehabilitation services" of the system, as well as for furnishing the WCAB with quarters, equipment & supplies, the recruitment and supervision of workers' compensation judges and the provision of administrative support. This allowed the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to concentrate on judicial deliberations in contested cases, and retain the authority for adopting rules of practice and procedure for judicial proceedings. Over the years, other units were added based on legislative changes. The statutes mandating vocational rehabilitation benefits required the Administrative Director to create a Rehabilitation Unit in 1975. The next year, Information & Assistance officers were added to provide the workers' compensation community and injured workers with help in navigating through the workers' compensation system. The two major workers' compensation reforms of 1989 and 1993 provided additional programs and responsibilities. The Audit Unit was created to audit claims administrators to insure the proper management of claims, and the Managed Care Program was created to certify health care organizations to provide treatment for injured workers under a voluntary managed care system. New mandates required the creation of fee schedules for vocational rehabilitation providers and interpreter services, in addition to the responsibility for creating a fee schedule for in-patient hospital services and pharmaceuticals. The Administrative Director also has ongoing responsibilities for revising the medical treatment fee schedule and the medical-legal fee schedule. The Legislature, concerned over conflicting reports of workers' compensation costs and the adequacy of benefits to injured workers, also mandated that the Administrative Director create a workers' compensation information system. The system will not only provide needed information to policy makers but will replace paper submissions of Employer First Report of Injury and Physician First Report of Injury with electronic submissions using standards set by the International Association of Industrial Accidents Boards & Commissions. The new programs and responsibilities created a need for additional funding and positions within the Division. These needs have been addressed with the submission of several major budget change proposals. Changes in law have also increased the complexity of issues that are presented in the litigation process, requiring funding for additional judges, information officers, disability raters, and support staff. The budget increases, however, were also accompanied by rising costs for facilities and other overhead expenditures, and exacerbated by "across the board" reductions resulting from a scarcity of General Fund dollars in the early 1990's. These fluctuations presented particular challenges, and prompted the Division to explore ways of decreasing overhead costs while increasing efficiency. After an external review of its business process, DWC made changes in its organizational structure to facilitate the goals of improving public service. The changes now being implemented include opening three regional centers, beginning with San Bernardino, to receive all general incoming calls to the division, to provide information and assistance to callers, and to perform disability ratings for unrepresented injured workers. Each of these changes is planned to assist in resolving disputes without litigation. The district office staffs are then freed up to support litigated cases. The restructuring plan also includes transfer of supervision of some staff from separate unit managers to local presiding judges, and forming a headquarters unit to evaluate the work product in the district offices, identify problem areas, develop training curricula and set policy for assigned functions. The first stage of reorganization began in November 1998. Budget The budget for the Division of Workers' Compensation and the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board was raised significantly after the 1989 reform and given another boost after the 1993 legislative changes. Since fiscal year 1994-95, the budget has remained at approximately $90 million for the agencies. (Chart 35) Personnel Division staff work in 25 locations around the state. Most employees are involved in adjudication of disputed workers' compensation cases as judges, legal counsel, hearing reporters, clerks, and disability evaluation specialists. Information and assistance officers in each office help injured workers, employers and others understand the system and directly help workers who are not represented by private attorneys. Rehabilitation specialists in most offices oversee development of plans designed to help injured workers get back to work. Teams of the Audit and Enforcement Unit oversee the process by which claims are paid and attempt to ensure that proper benefits are delivered accurately and in a timely manner. A headquarters staff includes unit managers, attorneys, health care specialists and policy analysts. There are more than 1000 employees in the DWC/WCAB. (Chart 36) The number peaked at just over 1200 authorized positions after the 1993 legislation gave DWC added responsibilities for administration, although these positions were never completely filled during the state recession. Approximately two-thirds of the DWC staff are assigned to the claims adjudication unit, which holds hearings and trials and supervises the settlement and stipulation process of disputed cases. Information and assistance officers are the next largest group with 9 percent, followed by disability evaluators and Rehabilitation Unit staff with 7 and 6 percent respectively. (Chart 37) Claims Adjudication Incoming Workload The Division of Workers' Compensation has seen some reduction in volumes of new cases filed, requests for hearings, and hearings held during the past four years. New filings have dropped 23 percent, although a large segment of this reduction is due to fewer separate cases involving liens for medical care payment. The number of requests for hearings through a Declaration of Readiness to Proceed has stayed more constant, only falling 5 percent over the period. The number of hearings held, however, has gone down by over 100,000 during this period. The composition of new filings at the WCAB has recently changed. Much of the reduction is in the number of new filings for settlement approval. Nearly no new filings involve pre-applications, and in the past two and a half years the number of cases filed as original compromise and release and original stipulations with request for award have decreased. (Chart 38) The number of new applications for adjudication have remained relatively stable during these last 30 months. Approximately one in five new case filings is by an injured worker not represented by an attorney, in pro per. In 1998 there were 40,089 pro per filings, down from the 42,940 in 1997. (Chart 39) In 1998 there were over 230,000 requests for hearings filed with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, a decrease of about one percent from the prior year. A Declaration of Readiness to Proceed must be filed in order to request a hearing before a workers' compensation judge. There has been a small decrease in the numbers of such declaration filings during the past few years, but not the same dramatic decreases as seen in injury rates. (Chart 40) Hearings, Conferences and Trials In 1998 there were 174,549 conferences set for hearing and 64,117 cases set for trials, for a total of 238,666 formal hearings before workers' compensation judges in California. This is a reduction of 6 percent from the prior year. It appears that most of the decrease is from a reduction in the number of continuances and second conferences and trials. The number of initial conferences (Labor Code Section 5502) dropped only 1.2 percent from the prior year, and number of initial trials was down 2.6 percent. (Chart 41) Though the length of time between request and hearing has been substantially shortened in the past few years, there is still much room for improvement. The system goal is to get cases to conference within 30 days of a Declaration of Readiness to Proceed and to trial within 75 days. In the fourth quarter of 1996, it took an average 78 days from request to scheduled hearing, and 184 days to scheduled trial; only 14 percent of hearings were held within 30 days of request, and only 15 percent of trials within 75 days. By the end of 1998, these times had been cut to 62 days for a conference and 121 days for a trial, and 24 percent of conferences and 29 percent of trials were held within their respective time goals. (Chart 42) On average, there were 1.53 hearings per closing case in 1998, compared to 1.47 in 1997. The number of formal trials per case stayed constant at approximately 0.54 during this time. Claims Adjudication Decisions There were 153,886 closing decisions made in 1998, a 6.4 percent reduction from 1997. Over 57 percent of cases were closed with a compromise and release settlement, 33 percent were closed with a stipulated finding and award. Fewer than one in ten cases were closed with a judge's finding and award or finding and order. (Chart 43) By the end of 1998, compromise and release agreements were being finalized within an average of 75 days of the request; in the first quarter of 1997 these had taken over 100 days. For stipulated settlements, the time to final decision dropped from 73 to 50 days during this period. Findings and awards decisions were issued, on average, 314 days from hearing request in the first quarter of 1997, and an average of 228 days by the last quarter of 1998. (Chart 44) Information and Assistance District Office Services The Information and Assistance Unit provides a continuous program of information and assistance to employees, employers, labor unions, insurance carriers, physicians, attorneys and other interested parties concerning the rights, benefits and obligations under California's workers' compensation laws. This unit plays a major role in reducing litigation before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. The offices are often the first contact between injured workers and the DWC, either by phone or in person. During the 1998 calendar year the 46 information and assistance officers at district offices and headquarters responded to more than 392,000 phone calls, handled over 42,000 letters from the public, and assisted another 53,000 injured workers in person. The unit also assisted 35,000 workers by facilitating a medical evaluation of permanent impairment. The unit's activities are supplemented by a centralized toll-free number. Since May 1993 the division has provided pre-recorded information messages and a way to request forms and other printed information from DWC. This advanced system allowed the division to handle multiple calls simultaneously, and currently gives information to as many as 1000 callers daily, a vast improvement over the 40 to 50 calls per day that were previously answered on the 800 number. During 1998 the toll-free information and assistance line handled approximately 240,000 calls. Approximately two-thirds of calls were seeking information on injured worker benefits and claims processes, while 11 percent sought information on workers' compensation insurers, 9 percent on employer rights and responsibilities, 5 percent on medical care fees and information for providers, 5 percent on how to report fraud or complain about claims handling, and 3 percent on locations of WCAB offices. Regional Centers DWC is establishing three regional centers to handle the bulk of initial and general information telephone contacts. In the past, individual district offices had usually one or two information and assistance officers whose job responsibilities involved dealing with persons directly at the counter, speaking with them on the phone, answering correspondence, and conveying information accurately and courteously. Because in-person contacts, often for persons in the midst of litigated claims, assumed urgency over phone calls, contact by phone was a frustrating experience to callers, especially newly injured workers with many inquiries. Callers were often shunted to a menu-driven general information service or to voice mail, or got busy signals, or were put on long holds. The regional centers are intentionally staffed to handle the peaks and valleys of call volumes, and to have real persons answering all phone calls during expanded office hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A new personnel classification, trained program technician, provides initial and general information and can assist callers in getting some specific information on their case. Journey-level information and assistance officers and disability evaluation specialists also staff the regional centers to provide specialized services to incoming callers. Information Materials In response to legislative mandates, the Information and Assistance Unit has developed and is distributing new information pamphlets and packets to employees, including information on other state and federal rights for disabled persons. Division staff are also working closely with the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation and their research and education consultants to produce other worker education materials and useful guides to the system.28 Information and Training Outreach Due to the broad changes brought about by the 1993 reform, DWC considered ways to instruct the workers' compensation community on regulatory and statutory changes that would affect claims handling. The first DWC Educational Conference given in 1993 in five geographic locations was so successful that it has become an annual event. DWC is preparing for its seventh conference in February and March of 2000 in two locations. These programs extend over two days and feature courses on updated case law, audit procedures, new regulations, medical report writing, use of fee schedules, rehabilitation, and other changes that have occurred over the prior year. Partnering with the International Workers' Compensation Foundation, these programs boast enrollment of over 900 participants. Most of the training is given by DWC staff experts, supplemented with guest speakers from the Industrial Medical Council, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, the Commission on Health & Safety & Workers' Compensation and from the community. DWC Rehabilitation The Rehabilitation Unit determines services needed to help injured workers return to suitable gainful employment when unable to work in their former jobs, and resolves disputes regarding rehabilitation benefits and services. The division distributes a pamphlet entitled Help in Returning to Work - 1994, available in English and Spanish, to help workers understand their rights and obligations in the rehabilitation process, as well as identify available remedies in the event of a dispute. In 1998 the Rehabilitation Unit opened 23,804 new files and reopened another 2513 cases. Of cases filed for plan approval, 6,216 were approved unmodified with no determination by the unit, and another 3,481 were approved with a determination. The Rehabilitation Unit disapproved 1,828 filed plans. Of the files closed, 5,430 workers returned to work in a job corresponding to their rehabilitation plan, while another 305 completed their plans with work in a job other than that in the plan objective. Another 8,237 workers completed their rehabilitation plan but were not working at the time of completion. Rehabilitation services were terminated prior to the plan in 37 cases, and while in the plan for another 815 persons. The open caseload decreased from 66,049 to 60,013 files during the year. Regulations regarding the rehabilitation program were revised during 1998. Commonly used rehabilitation terms, such as "modified work" and "alternate work," were defined. Entitlement of employees to living expenses, English language training, vocational rehabilitation temporary disability, and vocational rehabilitation maintenance allowance have been clarified. The Rehabilitation Unit procedures for determining the cost effectiveness of rehabilitation plans outside of California was also addressed. New timeframes for parties to file position statements and for the Rehabilitation Unit to issue determinations are also covered in these regulations.29 As a result of legislative changes in 1997 (AB 237), the counseling fee schedule was changed to allow the qualified rehabilitation representative (QRR) greater flexibility within the $4500 cap during evaluation of vocational feasibility and plan development. Specifically, subject to an overall limit of $4500:: a) up to $3000 may be spent on vocational evaluation, assessment of vocational feasibility, initial interview, vocational testing, counseling and preparation of DWC Form 102; and b) up to $3500 may be spent on plan monitoring, job seeking skills, job placement research and counseling. Also, for employees injured on or after January 1, 1994 who initiate rehabilitation benefits or services on or after January 1, 1998, the period of job placement in a rehabilitation plan may be up to 90 days where the plan exclusively uses the employee's transferable skills and experience for direct placement. Under prior law the limit was a 60 day job placement. The law change is intended to reduce unnecessary efforts and expenses associated with providing extra services to injured workers who are job ready. By eliminating the too-short time period for performing direct placement services and allowing a little more time, via flexibility in the dollar caps on placement activities, more productive time will be spent on directly placing the injured worker in an appropriate new job. This can reduce the amount of dollars spent on vocational rehabilitation services and return workers sooner to productive employment. As part of the administrative reorganization of the DWC, staff were distributed to some district offices that previously did not have a rehabilitation consultant on site. These additions in Anaheim, Riverside and Salinas provide more efficient use of rehabilitation staff and better service to the community. DWC Disability Evaluation The Disability Evaluation Unit recommends permanent disability ratings by assessing physical and mental impairments. The evaluations are used by judges, injured workers, and workers' compensation insurance administrators to provide permanent disability benefits. Passage of reform legislation in 1989 established a new method for determining permanent disability through reliance on reports issued by qualified medical evaluators selected by the Industrial Medical Council. Under the law, the Disability Evaluation Unit is expected to prepare summary evaluations of permanent disability within twenty days of receipt of employer-employee forms and the qualified medical evaluator's report. This program was revamped during the 1993 reform. Most of the summary ratings are done for workers who are not represented by an attorney. Written consults are also requested by parties to workers' compensation cases who seek a formal rating of medical evaluations submitted by physicians. During 1998 the Disability Evaluation Unit staff received nearly 39,548 requests for written consultations on medical reports, and 33,518 unrepresented summary requests. Another 5,554 cases came in with requests for represented summary ratings and other reports. This total of 78,620 incoming files was a decrease of 2.2 percent from the 1997 incoming caseload. (Chart 45) Unit staff issued a total of 110,472 ratings during 1998, an increase of 3.5 percent over 1997. Of these, 58 percent were written consults and nearly 35 percent were unrepresented summary ratings. (Chart 46) The unit also assisted parties to workers' compensation proceedings by doing 29,021 verbal consultations. In 1998, 1,737 ratings were appealed through a request for reconsideration. This accounts for 1.6 percent of all cases rated. In contrast during 1997, 2,095 cases or 2.0 percent were submitted for reconsideration. DWC Audit and Enforcement The Audit and Enforcement Unit, formed under the 1989 reform legislation, promotes prompt payment of workers' compensation benefits to injured workers. The unit audits insurance companies, self insured employers, and third-party administrators to ensure that they have met their obligations under the Labor Code and the Administrative Director's regulations. By assessing penalties and ordering that unpaid compensation be paid, this unit within DWC ensures that proper benefits are delivered accurately and in a timely manner. Penalties range from $100 to a maximum of $5000 per violation. The amount of each penalty is determined by considering the gravity of the violation and the good faith of the claims administrator, as well as the frequency and history, if any, of violations. Audit regulations clarify the responsibilities of claims administrators and specify in detail how mitigating and exacerbating factors are applied to determine the penalty amounts. In addition to these penalties, a civil penalty of up to $100,000 may be assessed if willful improper claims handling is found to constitute a business practice. On April 1 of each year the Audit Unit issues an annual report to the Legislature covering the prior calendar year's results. In 1998 the Audit Unit completed 34 audits and reviewed 6,493 cases. Twenty-nine of the audit subjects were selected randomly, while the remaining five were selected based upon results from a prior audit or following an investigation of claims handling practices resulting from complaints received by DWC. Of the 6,493 cases audited in 1998 by compliance officers, 2,425 were cases in which indemnity benefits were paid or were expected to be paid, 2,283 were medical only cases, 1,621 were cases in which the employer or insurer denied all liability, 108 were selected based on complaints, and 56 were designated as "additional" files. (These are generally companion files to those selected for audit in which it was necessary to audit the companion file to determine if all benefits were provided in the file selected.) In the 1998 audits, the unit issued 7,774 administrative penalty assessments totaling $1,069,285. Unpaid compensation was found in 423 claims and totaled $356,787, an average of $843 per file in which there was unpaid compensation. Most assessments were found in the indemnity, complaint, and denied claims. Very few penalty assessments were found in medical only claims, and the time involved in reviewing them was minimal. As in prior years, the most frequently assessed violations were for failure to issue or late or inaccurate issuance of a benefit notice to the injured worker, and for late or inadequate payment of compensation. Benefit notices are important for keeping injured workers informed of the status of their claim, and failure to provide benefit notices increases the chance of unnecessary litigation. The average number of penalty citations per insurer audited was 229, and the average amount in penalty assessments per audit was $31,454. Penalties carried an average assessment of $138. In 1998 unpaid compensation was found in 16.3 percent of indemnity and complaint cases reviewed. For every claim audited in 1998, 1.2 violations were found and penalized by auditors. Late first temporary disability payments were found in 20 percent of all indemnity files reviewed, compared to 13 percent of files reviewed in 1997. Among cases where liability was denied by claims administrators, auditors found no support for the denial in 1.6 percent of cases, by far the largest percentage since the audit program began. A record amount in penalties for one audit was assessed in 1998 against a large retail grocery chain headquartered in Los Angeles, which was assessed 1,179 penalties totaling $217,530. The non-random audit of this self administered, self insured employer was initiated in 1997 and revealed $106,017 in unpaid compensation in 76 claims. The audit was conducted after a 1996 complaint investigation. Also in 1998, the Audit Unit asked the Administrative Director to issue an Order to Show Cause as to why three civil penalties of $100,000 each should not be assessed against Fremont Compensation Insurance Company pursuant to Labor Code Section 129.5(d). The complaint alleges that three separate adjusting locations of the company have engaged in practices that would warrant imposition of civil penalties. Increased staffing for the Audit Unit is included in the governor's 1999-2000 budget. The full audit report is available on-line at the Division of Workers' Compensation Web site: DWC Claims The Claims Unit authorizes payment of workers' compensation benefits to injured workers under two special programs. Uninsured Employers Fund Claims are paid from the Uninsured Employers Fund (UEF) when illegally uninsured employers fail to pay workers' compensation benefits awarded to their injured employees by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Certain steps must be taken before and after issuance of an award in order to receive benefits from the UEF. Guidelines are available from DWC's Information and Assistance Unit. In 1997 there were 1,366 cases opened before the UEF. In 1998 the number of new cases had fallen to 1,012. (Chart 47) Total benefits paid out during 1997 by the UEF were $19.5 million, while in 1998 there was a slight reduction to $19.3 million. (Chart 48) The UEF receives revenue from uninsured employer recoveries and penalties, inmate without dependent payments, and escheats. In 1997 collections by the Claims Unit came to $4.4 million, while in 1998 the amount was up to $5.3 million. (Chart 49) Subsequent Injuries Fund The Subsequent Injuries Fund (SIF) is a source of additional compensation to injured workers who already had a disability or impairment at the time of injury. For benefits to be paid from the SIF, the combined effect of the injury and the previous disability or impairment must result in a permanent disability of at least seventy percent. The fund enables employers to hire disabled workers without fear of being held liable for the effects of previous disabilities or impairments. SIF benefit checks are issued by State Compensation Insurance Fund after issuance of an award by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and upon authorization by DWC's Claims Unit. In 1997 there were 511 new cases brought to the SIF, and in 1998 there were 482 cases. Total benefit payout for calendar year 1997 was $6.3 million and for 1998 was $7.6 million. The SIF collects revenue from cases in which there are occupational fatalities without any payments to dependents. In 1997 the unit collected $2.7 million from such sources, while in 1998 the amount was slightly higher, $2.9 million. DWC Legal With passage of hundreds of pages of new law in 1993 and subsequent years, the DWC Legal Unit was busy drafting and coordinating new regulations to interpret and clarify the statutory intents of reform. The following is a list of topics of all the regulations issued by the division since 1993 to implement the law: During 1998 the committee received a total of 18 complaints concerning current DWC employees. This is a decline from the 33 complaints filed during 1997. As of the last committee meeting in November 1998, 16 of the 18 complaints had been presented to the committee for review and recommendation, with the other two held over to the first scheduled meeting of 1999. There were four complaints filed in December 1997 that were first heard during 1998. In 8 of the 16 complaints reviewed, the committee found insufficient showing of ethical misconduct to warrant further investigation. The committee recommended formal investigation in 8 cases. Of these, 7 were finalized during 1998. In the cases carried over from 1997, two were found to warrant investigation. The complete committee report may be obtained from the DWC Administrative Director. Petitions for Change of Physician In 1993 the Legislature enacted Labor Code Section 4062.9, which provides that the conclusions of an injured worker's treating physician are presumed to be correct regardless of the conclusions found in a later comprehensive medical examination by a qualified medical examiner. An opposing party can rebut this presumption if a preponderance of medical opinion is provided indicating a different level of impairment. The statute has been interpreted as designed to expedite the resolution of medical issues by reducing the number of physicians involved in a case, particularly with respect to medical level evaluations.30 In the Minniear case, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board found that the presumptions of Labor Code Section 4062.9 applied to all medical issues, not just those of impairment, increasing the standing of the injured worker's treating physician.31 Because Minniear made it more difficult to challenge a treating physician's conclusions regarding an employee's injuries, employers and insurers have increased their efforts to change the treating physician when it is first believed that the physician's conclusions may be favorable to the employee and adverse to the insurer. The Legal Unit is responsible for considering requests for change of physician. During 1997 a total of 637 petitions were filed for orders requiring an employee to select an employer-designated physician. In 1998 the number of requests had grown dramatically to 948, an increase of 49 percent. (Chart 50) The growth in petitions may have some impetus from defendants seeking to remove primary treating physicians, with their presumption of correctness, from a case prior to the filing of a permanent and stationary report. Some of the petitions also allege improper or untimely reporting of the treating physician. The numbers of cases seeking this administrative remedy may have increased following DWC presentations on the remedy at the division's annual educational conference for claims administrators. Division attorneys handling these petitions estimate that approximately 25 to 30 percent of the petitions filed are dismissed for technical defects, requiring less staff time than those petitions which get a full review. Dismissed petitions require an average 30 minutes of staff time. Petitions that are granted or denied after full review involve approximately two hours of staff time. Such review includes the injured worker's medical file, review of opposing written arguments, analysis of the timeframes to determine whether proper procedures have been followed, and legal research for complex issues related to medical treatment. Complex or significant case records can dramatically increase the amount of time needed to review and make a determination?some files require up to four hours for completion. Reconsideration of Ratings The Legal Unit received and processed approximately 1,737 requests for reconsideration of summary ratings in 1998. Including cases left over from prior years, 1,353 requests were denied, 520 were granted, and 402 were closed when cases went before the WCAB. The volume of requests has decreased significantly since the high point of more than 4000 requests for reconsideration in 1995. Other DWC Initiatives Construction Industry Collective Bargaining Agreements Pursuant to Labor Code Section 3201.5, the division oversees the construction carve-out program.32 The program allows unions and employers engaged in construction to create alternatives to the traditional, state-supervised workers' compensation system. The law allows collective bargaining agreements to establish alternative dispute resolution processes that bypass the state workers' compensation administrative law judges, and allows establishment of exclusive lists of medical providers and examiners for injured workers within a specified construction work force. The Administrative Director reviews all collective bargaining agreements negotiated under the provisions of this bill. Through 1998, the Division of Workers' Compensation had issued letters of eligibility to the parties of thirteen collective bargaining agreements. Five of the agreements may be viewed as project labor agreements, which cover all construction employees, regardless of the employer, who work at any time on the covered project. The two original project agreements covered massive reservoir construction projects lasting for several years and employing different workers?and different numbers of workers?during different phases of the construction. Other large project labor agreements now cover the construction of the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and the Inland Feeder project of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The other agreements between unions and contractors are of two types: the first is a single employer and a union engaged in construction; the second involves a construction trade union and multiple employers all participating in a collective bargaining agreement. Building trades involved in these projects include electricians, painters, laborers, pipe trades and carpenters unions. In 1998 approximately 9500 employees were covered by the twelve current agreements Carve-out Participants Twelve programs are certified as eligible and were active during 1998: - An agreement between the District Council of Painters No. 36 and the Los Angeles County Painting and Decorating Contractors Association. Each contractor chooses whether to sign the master carve-out agreement. - An agreement between the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, Local Union No. 342 and Cherne Contracting Corporation for the construction of an oil refinery. - An agreement between the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County and Parsons Constructors, Inc. This is a project labor agreement covering all contractors and subcontractors on the $1.2 billion, multi-year National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. - An agreement between the California Building and Construction Trades Council and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. This is a project labor agreement covering all contractors and subcontractors on the $1.1 billion, multi-year Inland Feeder Project. - contractor chooses whether to sign the master carve-out agreement. - An agreement between the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, and the Contra Costa Water District. This is a series of three project labor agreements covering all contractors and subcontractors on a $200 million, two and one half year dam project called the Los Vaqueros Project. - An agreement between TIMEC Co., Inc., and TIMEC Southern California, Inc., and the International Union of Petroleum and Industrial Workers. - An agreement between the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council No. 16 and a multi-employer group called the Plumbing and Piping Industry Council, Inc. Each contractor chooses whether to sign the master carve-out agreement. - An agreement between the Southern California District of Carpenters and its 19 local unions and six different multi-employer groups consisting of about 1000 contractors. Each contractor chooses whether to sign the master carve-out agreement. - An agreement between the District Council of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and its 20 local unions and a multi-employer group called the National Electrical Contractors Association, consisting of about 300 contractors. Each employer chooses whether to sign the master carve-out agreement. - An agreement between the California Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. This is a project labor agreement covering all contractors and subcontractors on a $2 billion, five-year reservoir construction project in Hemet, California. - An agreement between the Los Angeles Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO and Cherne Construction - ARCO. The Division of Workers' Compensation, as well as other policy makers with responsibility in this area, needs to acquire accurate, credible information concerning the operation of the workers' compensation system, in order to effectively carry out its responsibilities under the law. The Research and Evaluation Unit, formed in 1992 to assist the Administrative Director, is designed to fill this need. The unit is responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating several special projects. Since 1993 the Research Unit: The Workers' Compensation Information System Background The California Legislature enacted sweeping reforms to California's workers' compensation system in 1993. The reform legislation was preceded by a vigorous debate among representatives of injured workers, their employers, insurance companies, and medical providers. All parties agreed that changes were due, but they could not reach agreement on the nature of the problems to be corrected nor on the likely impact of alternative reform proposals. One barrier to well-informed debate was the absence of comprehensive, impartial information about the performance of California's workers' compensation system. Foreseeing that debate about the strengths and weaknesses of the system would continue, the Legislature directed the Division of Workers' Compensation to put together comprehensive information about workers' compensation in California. The result is the WCIS - the Workers' Compensation Information System. The WCIS has been in development since 1995, and its design has been shaped by a broad-based advisory committee. The WCIS has four main objectives: The WCIS will also use information from DWC's existing case tracking system. DWC has extensive computerized files on adjudicated cases and on claims that have been submitted for disability evaluation or for review of vocational rehabilitation plans. This information will be linked with EDI data to help shed light on the differences between adjudicated and non-adjudicated cases. Finally, WCIS will conduct periodic surveys of a sample of injured workers, their employers, and medical providers. These surveys will supplement the standard data, and allow WCIS to address a wide variety of policy questions. Status The first phase of the WCIS has recently been completed, and data has begun to be accepted on a pilot basis. WCIS regulations have been approved by the state Office of Administrative Law effective November 5, 1999. The new regulations require all California claims administrators to begin electronic transmission of First Reports of Injury by March 1, 2000 and electronic versions of benefit notices by July 1, 2000. Claims administrators with significant and documented difficulties with making the change can apply for a one-time variance which would delay reporting until December 31, 2000. DWC Managed Care The Workers' Compensation Health Care Organization (HCO) program was enacted as part of the 1993 workers' compensation reform legislation. The HCO program is designed to help lower employers' workers' compensation costs and assure quality of care for injured workers by bringing managed care techniques into the workers' compensation arena. Under the direction of DWC's medical director, the Managed Care Unit reviews applications from health care organizations and certifies them for the delivery of managed care services under California workers' compensation law. Three types of organizations are eligible to apply for HCO certification: full service Knox-Keene health care service plans licensed by the state Department of Corporations (HMOs); disability insurers licensed by the state Department of Insurance; or Workers' Compensation Health Care Provider Organizations (WCHCPOs). Self insured employers and insurers may contract with a certified HCO to provide medical and disability management services to injured workers. Employees must be provided a choice of at least two HCOs,, those services and providers must be used for between 90 and 365 days after an injury or illness occurs. At the start of 1998 nine HCOs were certified. During the year three more were certified and four certified HCOs withdrew from the program. By the end of 1998 there were eight certified HCOs in the state. Six are WCHCPOs, one is an HMO and one a disability insurer. For a number of reasons, the HCO program was slow to develop. Complex enrollment requirements and other disincentives combined with significant reductions in workers' compensation premiums kept interest in the program relatively low. Financial uncertainties among several large health care companies who owned HCOs caused some of them to withdraw from the program. More recently, there has been renewed interest?four new HCOs were approved for operation in the first half of 1999. Administration of the HCO program is funded through an enrollment fee paid by certified HCOs and applicants. Under legislation passed in 1998 amending Labor Code Section 4600.7, future funding and a full repayment of the original start-up loan from the state general fund is assured by providing an additional per-enrollee surcharge over the next five to eight years. The revised funding mechanism went into effect with new DWC regulations in May 1999. During 1998 the division released a patient satisfaction survey developed expressly for injured workers receiving medical care in the workers' compensation system. One of the first developed in the country for this specific audience, the survey will be used by HCOs and is available for use by employers, claims administrators or medical care providers. Footnotes: 1 Vocational Rehabilitation Services, SB 1965, Chapter 524. Settlement or commutation of prospective vocational rehabilitation services is not allowed, except upon finding that there are good faith issues that if resolved against the employee would defeat the employee's rights to all compensation. 2 Firefighters, AB 2173, Chapter 617. Firefighters employed by a private entity are entitled to the same workers' compensation protections as those employed by a public agency. 3 Privacy of Records, SB 1430, Chapter 624. With respect to public records covered under the Public Records Act, "individually identifiable information" may not be provided to any person or entity who is not a party to the claim unless that person or entity is identified and states the reason for the request. If the purpose of the request is related to pre-employment screening, the Administrative Director must notify the person about whom the information was requested that it has been provided. 4. WCJ New Formal Title, SB 453, Chapter 448. The new name for former workers' compensation judge or referee is workers' compensation administrative law judge. 5. Judicial Ethics, AB 2164, Chapter 95, and SB 453, Chapter 448. All workers' compensation referees must follow the Code of Judicial Ethics. 6. Official Medical Fee Schedule, SB 1940, Chapter 388. Services provided by physician assistants and nurse practitioners must be included in the official medical fee schedule. 7. Acupuncturists, AB 204, Chapter 440. Acupuncture is now added to the list of available medical treatment provided to injured workers. 8. Work experience education, SB 1817, Chapter 541. An educational agency may elect to provide workers' compensation coverage to registered student apprentices, or, for up to three months, to students paid a cash wage or salary by a private employer in supervised work experience education or cooperative vocational education. Public Employees: Death Benefits, AB 2342, Chapter 770. The limitation on death benefits in Labor Code Section 4707(a) does not apply to patrol members, as defined in Government Code Section 20390 of PERS. 9. CCR 10122, 10125.2, 10125.3, 10126, 10127, 10131.1, 10132, 10132.1, 10133.1, 10133.2. 10. DWC Audit Regulations, CCR 10106, 10106.5, 10107, 10108, 10111.1, 10113. 11. UEF and SIF Benefits to Aliens, CCR 15740, 15741. 12. Employment and unemployment rate 13. For more detail on employment trends in California, visit these Web sites maintained by other California state agencies: By industry: By occupation: Top ten growth areas By industry: By occupation: 14. 15. 16. Annual Bureau Bulletin on Policy Year Data, usually around April. 17. Reports of inventory are collected each year by April 1 for the previous calendar year. 18. See Claims Monitoring Survey, CWCI, quarterly, summarized at 19. Estimated from data on insured populations. See WCIRB, California Workers' Compensation Losses and Expenses, June 1997. 20. Estimates based on reported physician speciality, WCIRB, Workers' Compensation Losses and Expenses, June 1997. 21. The states that set maximum levels by statute rather than an automatic adjustment are New York, Minnesota, Tennessee, Georgia, Alaska, Arizona and California. 22. Insurance Code Sections 11736 and 11737 of Division II, Chapter 3, Article 2, in effect through 1993. 23. Insurance Code Section 11746. 24. Insurance Code Section 11730 et seq. 25. Labor Code Section 3700 begins "Every employer except the state shall secure the payment of compensation in one or more of the following ways." 26. National Association of Insurance Commissioners, "Report on Profitability by Line by State in 1997." (December 1998) 27. For purposes of estimating ultimate employer cost, this document uses an administrative overhead and expenses add-on of 15 percent of costs. 28. See, for example, 29. See 8 CCR Sections 10122, 10125.2, 10125.3, 10126, 10127, 10131.1, 10132, 10132.1, 10133.1 and 10133.3. 30. See, for example, Ralph's Grocery Co. v Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (1995) 38 Cal. App 4th 820,831. 31. Minniear v. Mt San Antonio Community College District (1996) 61 CCC 1055. 32. Established by Senate Bill 983 (1993). NOTE: This web page version of the report does not include the 50 full color charts that appeared in the printed version. You can download the charts as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf, 220k). You can also download the narrative portion of the report in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf, 216k) format.

FOREST HILLS — Five children and their parents gathered in a room in the back of the North Forest Park Library Monday afternoon, their their heads buried in paper as their teachers walked around them. Tommy Cusack, 10, scribbled furiously as his father, Tom Sr., looked on. When he asked what kind of story the boy wanted to write, Tommy looked up and said calmly, "It's supposed to be action-packed." After a bit more writing, Tommy asked his father, "Can I use the iPad now?" When Tom Sr. said yes, his son put down the paper, picked up the tablet in front of him and started swiping away. The iPad time was not a reward for a few minutes of work. Rather, Tommy, who is autistic, was using the Apple tablet to learn the basics of storytelling as part of a tech-centric enrichment program. The five-week program, run by the Queens Museum of Art's Autism Initiatives, lets autistic children and their parents use the iPads to create stories every week with recorded sound, cartoon images and effects. Jennifer Oppito-Candiano, the Associate Coordinator of Autism Programs for the museum, helps run the iPad storytelling class and says its goals are two-fold; teaching children the basics of storytelling while placing them in a social environment. According to Oppito-Candiano, the iPads are used because they are familiar to the children. “Many students have access to iPads for their communication devices, she said. “We wanted to find a way to help families learn to use the iPads in a creative and educational way.“ Tom Sr., who attended the class with his wife Mary and their twin sons Tommy and Nicky, was a big fan of the program. "It's interactive and educational and fun for kids," said Cusack, who lives in Williston Park, LI. Cusack said the iPads helped draw the kids into the class. "Once they can manipulate something and see the results, they get this sense of excitement," he said. The hour-long classes start off with a greeting exercise, in which every child says hello to another child in the class. The children are then introduced to the week's topic; Monday's was the concept of a problem or conflict in the story. The iPads are off during this point, and are only touched when the children get the all clear from their teachers about midway through the class. Throughout the latter half of the class, parents and teachers help the children craft their interactive stories, which the kids create using Bookabi, a free iPad app that allows kids to add photos and record their voices to the stories. When the stories are done, kids can present their masterpieces, which play back the recorded audio each time a page is flipped, in the front of class. "We wanted to make them feel like they were making a book," Oppito-Candiano said, “and we really wanted them to be able to record sounds.” The program, which was made possible by a grant from the Queens Library, is limited to five families at a time, to ensure each child can get the attention needed. "Kids need that one-on-one attention to help them develop their ideas further," said Michelle Lopez, the class' other instructor. And according to Lopez, the kids did successfully expand their ideas. “A lot of them come in with an idea that they’ve seen somewhere else,” Lopez said. “But after a few weeks they’ve got their own ideas.” Each session is capped at five families, so interested parents cannot join the next class. But for further information on similar programs offered, parents can contact Autism Initiatives at 718-592-9700 ext. 130 or by emailing autisminitiatives@queensmuseum.org.

Relax, stay awhile People going to the Viking Plaza Mall may find themselves lingering a bit longer these days. New improvements are encouraging shoppers to stay awhile: Comfortable chairs, couches, love seats and coffee tables have been placed in 10 locations throughout the mall. Free WiFi access is now available from anywhere in the mall. A children's soft play area was added. Kids can burn off energy climbing on play trucks. There's no need to worry about scraped knees - the enclosed area is covered with thick, soft carpeting. There are also four video screens showing cartoons and kid-friendly movies, along with seating areas for parents to watch their children. Other kid friendly additions include an arcade area and outside kiddy rides. A new entrance was added off South Broadway near JC Penney, along with new signs and lighting, designed to make a more attractive and convenient entry point. Three and a half acres of land between the mall and South Broadway was cleared of trees, making the mall much more visible from that direction. There are also new stores to visit: Famous Footwear is planning a soft opening this month; Northern Lights Art opened in the space once occupied by Bradley's Shoes; and Jo-Ann's Fabrics and Crafts is moving into the former Thrifty White spot. Other stores in the mall have upgraded their look with remodeling projects, including Maurices and Tradehome Shoes. Shoppers are noticing the mall's new-and-improved look, according to managers Ann and Bruce Butler. "We can safely say that visits at the mall have increased tremendously," said Ann Butler. "People are lingering too and that's good." It's also what the new management of the Viking Plaza Mall, Lexington Realty International, envisioned. The company took over management of the mall in January of 2009. Representatives from New Jersey-based Lexington, Alan Retkinski, president, and Ira Einhorn, leasing executive, recently visited the mall to look over the improvements, along with Alex Schleider, one of the owners of the mall. "We want to make the mall a family destination," said Schleider, "a place where people can sit and relax while their spouse goes shopping." While planning the improvements, the mall focused on protecting the environment while enhancing the atmosphere and ambience of the shopping experience, Retkinski said. "We're taking another step forward to create tomorrow's mall," Retkinski said. Many of the ideas to upgrade the mall came from local shoppers, said the Lexington representatives. Just as Schleider, Retkinski and Einhorn were discussing that point with the newspaper, a shopper approached and asked if they were the owners. "I just want you to know how much I appreciate the new seating you have here," he said, shaking their hands. Lexington has invested about $1.2 million in the recent improvements. They hired local companies to do the work and partnered with local businesses on the mall's new look. The furniture, for instance, was provided by Douglas Furniture, and the playland is sponsored by Ellingson Plumbing and Heating. Lexington sees a bright future for the mall. Einhorn said he expects the mall to be 100 percent occupied within six or seven months. "We're getting new stores in and relocating some other stores that will meet both male and female shopping trends," Einhorn said. "Since all the improvements started taking place, many stores have reported increased sales," said Schleider. More improvements are in the planning stages. Benches may be placed outside near a pond to create a restful spot to have lunch or enjoy the weather. Electronic readerboards may be added to the new, streamlined signage on South Broadway and Highway 29 to let people know about big events that are taking place. A future expansion is also possible. By relocating a pond, the mall created an additional 40,000 square feet of buildable space - an ideal spot for a national retailer to move into, Retkinski said, adding that talks are taking place with a number of potential businesses. Meanwhile, shoppers, customers and walkers are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas about the mall with management. According to the Lexington representatives, the goal is to make the mall not just a concrete box to shop in but a place to relax, visit often - and linger.

Amber that contains insects is a rarity. Amber that contains two species of ancient insects engaged in a life-and-death struggle is a phenomenal find. David Coty, Romain Garrouste, Frédéric Legendre, André Nel from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France and colleagues are the first to describe termites and ants in battle preserved in a piece of amber. The discovery was published in the journal Public Library of Science on Aug. 20, 2014. The amber was found in the Totolapa deposit in Chiapas, Mexico. The amber depicts a battle between Azteca ants and Nasutitermes termites that occurred during the Miocene. The insects could be 20 million years old. Evidence of a conflict is substantial including an ant holding a termite in its mouth and a termite that is almost bitten in half. The piece of amber is small. It measures 1.6 centimeters long, one centimeter wide, and 1.2 centimeters high. The researchers used sliced CT scans to provide the resolution necessary to extract the details of the insect conflict form the amber. The amber depicts a raid of army ants on a termite colony. The amber is called a syninclusion because it contains more than one species. Ants and termites continue the same type of combat over territory today. This discovery indicates that ant and termite species that exist at present were living in Mexico between five million years ago and 20 million years ago. The same ant species from the same time period has been documented in amber from Venezuela in 1855. Insects in amber vary in price depending on the insect, where the amber comes from, and the state of preservation of the insect fossil based on the selection presented at the Amberica West website. One might expect this newly discovered piece of amber to fetch more than the usual price due to the uniqueness of two species engaged in battle. The significance of the find is the first hard evidence that ants and termites have been warring against each other for at least five million years and that both species have lived in Mexico for at least that long.

Fairmont State's fourth Festival of Chamber Orchestras to be held during the week of June 12 includes three orchestras rehearsing and performing. The professional Festival Chamber Orchestra will play three concerts, the first at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, in the Turley Center Ballroom; the second at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 17, in the Turley Center Ballroom; and the third at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 19, at Prickett s Fort. The Youth Orchestra and Prep Orchestra will combine for one concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16, in the Turley Center Ballroom, and members of the orchestra will have an opportunity to play with the Festival Orchestra for the June 17 concert. The June 14 concert, conducted by the festival's Artistic Director John Ashton, will feature Cheryl Priebe Bishkoff, oboist, performing Benedetto Marcello's Concerto in C minor. Bishkoff, who has been described as "a musician of incredible artistry" by the Richmond News Leader. Her recent appearances include performances of J.S. Bach's "Oboe d'amore Concerto" at the Bach and Beyond Festival and Beethoven chamber music at the renowned Newport Music Festival. She is currently in her ninth season as principal oboe of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. In addition, she is also principal oboe of the New Hampshire Symphony and the Fredonia (N.Y.) Chamber Players and assistant and principal of the Bethlehem (Pa.) Orchestra. Before her appearances in Rhode Island, Bishkoff served as acting principal of the Buffalo Philharmonic and as principal in many other orchestras, including the Albany (N.Y.) Symphony, the Lancaster (Ohio) Festival Orchestra, the Bedford Festival Symphony Orchestra, the Wheeling (W.Va.) Symphony and the Virginia Symphony. Other works on the program will include "Harmony," a poem for the Chamber Orchestra by award winning composer Andrzej Panufnik, an early symphony by Mozart and the "Italian" Symphony of Felix Mendelssohn. The June 17 concert by the Festival Orchestra will feature Pittsburgh Symphony hornist Zachary Smith playing the 1950 Concerto for Horn and Orchestra by Paul Hindemith. Born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised in Falls Church, Va.,. Other works on the concert will include Felix Mendelssohn's Overture to William Shakespeare's"A Midsummer Night's Dream;" a rather obscure work by Henry Purcell, "The Gordian Knot Untied;" and the Symphony No. 60 "Il Distratto" by Franz Joseph Haydn. During the festival the 40 plus members of the youth orchestras will have an opportunity to take a theory class offered by John Ashton. The class will include a survey of Western music notation and scale and harmonic development from the 10th century on, and will provide a foundation for any of the young musicians who might be considering a career in music. The youth orchestras will be conducted by M. Todd Wilson, assisted by violinist Jenee Wright. Wilson graduated magna cum laude from Fairmont State in 1990 and was granted numerous academic and performance awards. He was a graduate assistant at Ohio University from which he received his Master of Music degrees in Performance and Education. While at Ohio University, Wilson was endowed with the Kinder Orchestral Fellowship. He came to Kanawha County at the invitation of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra as part of the artist in residence program. He served as conductor of the West Virginia Youth Orchestra Strings from 1996 to 2002, and he currently continues his work with young orchestral musicians as the conductor of the Capitol High School Orchestra. Wilson performs with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Huntington Symphony Orchestra, the Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Seneca Chamber Orchestra. He is a frequent performer, adjudicator and clinician in the Kanawha Valley and Ohio Valley region. Wright is a native of Honduras, Central America. She holds an M.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the same institution. Currently she is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pittsburgh in Applied Linguistics. Wright was trained in violin performance at the Victoriano Lopez Escuela de Musica, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. As a performer she has been a member of various orchestras including the Honduras National Symphony, Mobile Symphony, Mobile Opera, Pensacola Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Natchez Opera, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Fairmont State University-Community Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola Opera, Gulfcoast Symphony, Biloxi Opera and the Meridian Symphony. She has also performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Natalie Cole, Bobby Vinton and Robert Plant/Jimmy Page.

The Florida Bar International Law Section (ILS) supported five Florida law school teams that made it to the finals of this year’s Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, held every March in Vienna, Austria. The ILS sponsored a pre-Vis moot dress rehearsal in Miami for teams from Florida International University, University of Miami, University of Florida, Stetson University, and Nova Southeastern University, and gave each of the teams a $2,500 stipend to defray their travel costs. After the last oral arguments were scored in Vienna, three of the ILS-supported teams — UF, UM, and Stetson — came away with significant wins: UF advanced to the round of 64, UM to the final 16, and Stetson to the elite eight. “The International Law Section and its members applaud the efforts of the Florida law school teams at this year’s International Arbitration Competition,” said ILS Chair Richard Lorenzo. “Though the law school teams and their respective members and coaches deserve the credit, the section is honored that it again supported the Florida Pre-Moot Competition and provided each participating law school a $2,500 stipend to help fund their travels and successes in Vienna.” The Vis Moot is one of the centerpieces of the international arbitration community. This year it drew together more than 1,800 students from 295 law schools from 67 countries, as well as practitioners, academics, and arbitrators, for an intense, six-day exercise in oral advocacy. Every year, the competition focuses on a problem drawn from the United Nations Convention on Contracts in the International Sale of Goods. This year, 49 of the teams in the competition were from the U.S., including one from each of the U.S.’s top-10 ranked law schools. After four days of preliminary rounds, UF’s Levin College of Law team fought its way to the round of 64 for only the fourth time since its Vis Moot program started 20 years ago. UM advanced to the single-elimination round of 64 for the second time in its history. It then made it to the final 16 after winning unanimous decisions against formidable opponents from the University of Munster (German) and Queens University (Canada), before falling in a split decision to Columbia University. UM concluded the competition with the third best performance among 49 U.S. schools. In addition, the team won an honorable mention for one of its briefs in the written component of the competition. On its way to the elite eight, the Vis Moot team from Stetson University competed successfully against the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Hungary, India, the Netherlands, and the U.S. Only one other U.S. team made it to the final eight, along with Stetson: Columbia University. Stetson was defeated in that round by Humboldt University of Berlin. No U.S. teams made it to the final four, and the City University of Hong Kong took first place. The Stetson team included Paul Crochet, Meagan Foley, Mike Rothfeldt, Lisa Tanaka, and Alexander Zesch, and coaches Professors Stephanie Vaughan and Joe Morrissey. (Crochet, Foley, and Zesch were recognized as some of the best individual oralists in the competition.) Miami’s Wamiq Chowdhury, who’s aiming for an LL.M. in international arbitration, won an honorable mention as best oralist in the competition. Other Miami team members included Bianca Olivadoti, Carlos E. Nuñez, Gabriela Pirana, and Eftihios Andronis. UM was coached by John H. Rooney and Paula Arias. UF team member Dane Ullian, who placed second in the Florida state competition in February, received an honorable mention in Vienna. Other UF team members included Alexis Leventhal, who served as captain; Julie deBruin; Phil Kegler; and coaches Professors George Dawson and Jeffrey Harrison, and adjunct coach Eduardo Palmer. [Revised: 06-22-2015]

WEBB CITY, MO.--- "Our zinc level is about two times what it should be," said Carl Francis, Webb City City Administrator. Since Webb City was a mining town, zinc has been running through the sewer pipes, flowing into the waste water treatment plant and getting discharged into Center Creek. City officials have been working on a plan for nearly three years with federal and state agencies to try and reduce their metal output from their sewer treatment plant. "We have come up with the idea of taking the wetlands and using it to treat for metals. And you can do that with certain types of vegetation in what's called a bio-cell reactor," said Francis. The bio-cell reactor will be next to the wetlands and will capture metals that come out of the plant. "We will be able to clean them out and dispose of them in hazardous waste sights," he said. Then the water will go into the wetlands and provide vegetation. "Vegetation that will go in there will help remove some of the heavy metals that are a by-product of the mining area," said William Runkle, Webb City Water Utilities Director. "It's going to help us. We believe bring our zinc level down specifically to a manageable level, that will bring us in compliance with our current waste water permit," said Francis. The EPA is working now to cleanup the mine waste in the area the wetlands will go. Runkle says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department is also helping them create a habitat for wildlife. "We are trying to establish a habitat that coincides with the waste water treatment plant," said Runkle. "We're in the process now of going over contractual arrangements to purchase these properties," said Francis. Though the location isn't finalized, the habitat will cover around a thousand acres of land. "We really think that the habitat area will be a big plus for our city, and we hope to build trails and picnic tables and have it there for the enjoyment of all," said Francis. These projects will be funded through a land reclamation lawsuit from decades ago. Construction will begin in the next 12 months and it could take

© The Financial Times Ltd 2015 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd. A friendship that forged a business: Yinon Weiss (left) and Aaron Kletzing A group of RallyPoint members are concerned. Civilians have recently become more active on the so-called “LinkedIn for the US military”, sparking furious debate in an online forum. “RP [RallyPoint] should be a place where we shouldn’t need to defend or explain ourselves to civilians who don’t understand,” writes one. “I would hate to see this site for the military taken over by civilians,” adds another. As a civilian it is hard not to feel you are intruding on this online space that has clearly filled a niche for US military and veterans. Launched to the public 18 months ago by two Harvard MBAs, it now has 300,000 members. As it happens there are just a few thousand civilian members. About two-thirds of the total are active servicemen and women and one-third are veterans. To gain an idea of its traction, Aaron Kletzing, chief operating officer and co-founder, points out that one in seven individuals in the army is a member of RallyPoint. “And the army is the largest branch of the military,” he adds. RallyPoint groups individuals from the same part of the military together, making it easier to connect. As with LinkedIn, there is a careers section, but on RallyPoint the homepage is a feed of recent updates mainly from the discussions part of the website. Here members ask for advice and feedback on a vast array of topics, and attract many replies. They range from questions such as: “Why can’t an enlisted soldier date an officer?” to a post asking whether the second amendment to the US Bill of Rights enshrining the right to bear arms is outdated. “We get a lot of feedback from members. They are very engaged,” says Yinon Weiss, chief executive and co-founder. Mr Kletzing and Mr Weiss’s paths first crossed in 2008 when they were in the army and serving in Iraq. They were in different units. “Mine was quite a regular unit. Yinon’s was . . . a special forces team,” says Mr Kletzing. The units were assigned to the same operation. Both men left the army and their paths diverged. Mr Weiss joined the MBA programme at Harvard Business School but Mr Kletzing was stricken with cancer which he thinks was caused by exposure to hazardous waste while in Iraq. In 2010, however, he was given the all-clear and by 2011 was visiting HBS with other veterans and bumped into Mr Weiss again. “We didn’t recognise each other right away,” says Mr Weiss, who was graduating that year and helping host the veterans’ admissions weekend. The two men began chatting and recalled that they had both served in Iraq and been on the same operation. “Aaron is the only person I’ve ever met who has worked in the same place as me [in the army],” says Mr Weiss. That coincidence helped to forge a friendship that also gave birth to the business. RallyPoint was Mr Kletzing’s idea. A couple of months into his first semester at HBS he talked to Mr Weiss about his vision for an online social media network solely for the US military. Mr Weiss liked the idea but had already begun work for WiTricity, a start-up technology company. The answer was for the two men to give evenings over to putting together a business plan and building a prototype of the planned website. They posted their technical requirements on Elance, a popular global place that connects freelancers with clients, and selected a company from among those who bid for the work. Mr Weiss says the site was technically a failure, but was functional enough to give them something to show people. Meanwhile the plan, which was placed second in the Harvard Business School Business Plan Competition, meant they could also produce a convincing business case for their venture. They approached angel investors and by April 2012 had raised $550,000. Mr Weiss took the decision to resign from his job and Mr Kletzing postponed the final year of his MBA programme so that they could work together on the venture. They began searching for a company that would build a website that worked. This time they used personal recommendations. They made a wise choice and within 90 days RallyPoint had developed a closed beta site that was launched in August 2012. “Initially we invited our friends and immediate network and asked them to invite people they knew,” says Mr Weiss. Feedback was positive and the site was launched to the public in November 2012. RallyPoint’s business model, explains Mr Weiss, is similar to LinkedIn’s in that it is essentially selling advertisers access to people. The pair have recently been in discussion with universities seeking to market courses to veterans, and with Walmart, the US retailer. Marketing has been Mr Kletzing’s role. He says they have an effective system that they can deploy across the web and test what is working in real time. This includes use of Twitter and search-engine marketing. “We’ve experimented with just about everything,” says Mr Kletzing. He says the company is very data driven and they tend to go with what is working. One of the things that is working is the company’s development. RallyPoint now has a vice-president of engineering, board members and a team of advisers. It has been back to investors, raising a further $1m from angels in December 2012 and $5.3m in venture capital in October 2013 which is when RallyPoint’s userbase passed the 100,000 mark. With its membership growing the website appears to be continuing to meet the need first identified by Mr Kletzing in 2011. “That same passion is still what drives us,” he

In the ongoing grocery delivery cold war between Instacart and Amazon, Instacart has fired another salvo, saying that they’re launching Instacart Express, a new component to their service that’s like “Amazon Prime for Groceries,” according to a press release. An Instacart Express membership will cost $99, and with that, users will avoid a delivery fee that’s usually $3.99 for orders over $35, delivered within two hours of ordering. That goes for all the stores Instacart personal shoppers cover, including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway and Instacart Plus, the company’s own bargain-priced shopping option. If you have an order that costs less than $35, or you want delivery within an hour of placing your order, you’ll still have to pay a fee. When asked about the Amazon Prime comparison, Apoorva Mehta, Instacart’s CEO and a former Amazon software engineer, said that his former employer’s delivery service is the best analogy for what Instacart is trying to do with Instacart Express. “People understand and love the convenience of Amazon Prime,” Mehta said in an email. “With Instacart Express we are doing the same — but, for groceries.” According to Mehta, Instacart Express will help frequent users save money on delivery fees, as well as increase their use of Instacart’s service. “When I was at Amazon, I saw firsthand how well the Amazon Prime model helped encourage customers to shop more frequently and to buy more at Amazon,” he said. “We think that same model can be applied in the grocery delivery business.” So does Amazon, if their recent pilot expansion into Los Angeles is any indication. An Amazon “Prime Fresh” membership in Los Angeles costs $299 a year, and provides people with all the benefits of Amazon Prime, as well as free delivery on orders of $35 or more. In Seattle, the only way to get free delivery at the moment is to use Amazon Fresh frequently enough to reach “big radish” status. While Instacart’s future expansion plans are still as non-specific as before, saying that the company plans to be in 10 new cities by the end of next year, Instacart Express will be coming with them at launch, according to Mehta. At some point, Instacart is going to have to get in on turf that Amazon has already covered, and we’ll see how the price and service differences affect things. For now, though, the company is still building its business in the Bay Area, which remains untouched by Amazon Fresh, for now. Previously on GeekWire: Still recovering from ‘painful’ Webvan deal, Sequoia bets again on grocery delivery with $8.5M Instacart investment … Q&A: Instacart CEO on competing with Amazon Fresh and the future of grocery shopping See MoreGeekWire Picks

Kurt and Marlene Dramm have completed the planned ownership transfer of the Dramm Corporation to their son Hans Dramm and daughter Heidi Dramm Becker. Kurt and Marlene Dramm have completed the planned ownership transfer of the Dramm Corporation to their son Hans Dramm and daughter Heidi Dramm Becker. “The Dramm Family has been in continuous businesses including meat, flowers and manufacturing since 1853.” said Kurt Dramm, . Hans Dramm has been named chief executive officer. He also will continue his responsibilities as chief financial officer and as a member of the company's board of directors. “It is wonderful to have the stewardship of the Dramm Corporation continue through the succession to the next generation of family members,” said Hans Dramm, “I’m honored to accept my new responsibilities but also buoyed by our strong history and the support and commitment of our dedicated employees. Since returning to the Dramm fold six years ago, I’ve learned a great deal about Dramm’s special position in the grower and retail lawn and garden sectors... Dramm is grateful for the enduring loyalty and support of our customers and we are committed to maintaining the highest quality products and customer service in the industry. We consider our employees and customers as members of an extended family. Dramm is and will continue to be a family company.” Heidi Dramm Becker has been named executive vice president. Heidi’s responsibilities center on corporate identity and communications and she continues to serve as a member of the board of directors and as the face of the Dramm brand in all of the marketing and advertising materials. “It is an honor and a privilege to play a role in carrying on our family’s history of the Dramm Corporation.” said Heidi Dramm Becker, “As the Dramm Corporation moves into the future, we will continue to build on the tradition and values of the past generations. Values that were put in place by my grandfather and grandmother (John Dramm and Perdita Dramm), my father and mother (Kurt Dramm and Marlene Dramm) and several other family members and employees, all of whom have been 'gardeners of the corporation.'" Kurt Becker, son-in-law, has also been named executive vice president. Kurt continues his responsibilities as director of commercial sales and marketing and serves as a member of the Board of Directors. For further information please go to [1]. Links: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

IF11: The Secrets to Using Digital Tools to Spur Innovation IF11: The Secrets to Using Digital Tools to Spur Innovation Collaboration is critical for sustainable innovation, and there's no shortage of digital tools to help people and their companies make the connection, FMYI President Justin Yuen told attendees at the GreenBiz Innovation Forum. It's important to select a tool that helps your business achieve its goals. Cool tools are good, but it's essential to avoid getting mired in a tool's cool factor and losing sight of your objective. "To me, it's always about the people, not certain technology," Yuen said. "The focus really starts on knowing the audience you want to reach, the information you want to share, but most importantly, the action you want to come out of it. "Obviously there's many, many tools to communicate with folks. There's websites, email, discussion forums -- but my main interest is: How do you bring people together to create action?" Yuen offered his insights as the founder of social collaboration software company FMYI (it stands for For My Information). His firm creates private social networks for firms and organizations that are interested in connecting people for work-related purposes and specific goals. He started the company almost eight years ago in Oregon, following a career at Nike where he managed corporate sustainable development. His goal was to build a business with "minimum environmental impact and maximum societal value." Central to that aim, he said, are two key principles: 1. Collaboration is at the heart of sustainability. Collaboration must occur to fully realize sustainability. 2. Innovation requires implementation of ideas and taking action. Ideas are not worth anything unless they are put into action. The company and Yuen have been wildly successful; FMYI is one of Oregon's fastest growing private firms and Yuen's accolades include being named to the list of 2011 Pivotal Leaders in cleantech. The company's clients have included Aflac, HBO, Hyatt, Sony, Target, Office Depot, Fox, Macy's, Disney and more than 10,000 others. Drawing from that experience, Yuen's advice included tips on: Suitability Sites that work well for teenagers aren't likely to be suitable for the working world. Usability is the key, Yuen said, and the only way to determine that is through vigorously testing the site or the tool.,.

Le Triomphe de l’amour, New Jersey’s chamber music ensemble performing music of the Baroque on period instruments, will present a concert on Saturday, October 30 at the Unitarian Church of Princeton. The concert, titled “Mr. Handel and Friends at Home,” presents music enjoyed in Handel’s house in London. Guest artist Daniela Pierson, baroque violin, joins members of the ensemble Laura Heimes, soprano; John Burkhalter, recorder; Donna Fournier, viola da gamba; and Janet Palumbo, harpsichord. John Burkhalter will present a pre-concert talk at 7:30 pm; the concert begins at 8:00 pm. In his talk, Mr. Burkhalter will discuss the musical practice in 18th-century London of friends gathering to sing and play musical instruments for mutual entertainment. From 1723 until his death in 1759, George Frederic Handel lived at what is now No. 25 Brook Street, London. It was in this house that he composed many of his most celebrated works, including the Messiah, his last major English oratorio, Jeptha, and the Music for the Royal Fireworks. Within his chambers, preliminary rehearsals for the opera Alcina took place as well. Handel's neighbor on Brook Street, Mary Pendarves, later Mrs. Delany, recorded in brilliant letters the musical activities that took place at Mr. Handel’s home as well as at her own town house just down the street. Friends and musicians gathered to perform and to listen to the newest solo compostions, fresh from the pens of Handel and his contemporaries, as well as chamber arrangements of the most popular songs and dances from larger works, engraved and distributed by Handel’s publisher John Walsh. The concert will include instrumental and vocal chamber music by Handel and his contemporaries. Violinist Daniela Pierson will be featured in Handel’s Violin Sonata in E major. Harpsichordist Janet Palumbo will perform Handel’s Harpsichord Suite in D minor and Handel’s most enduring work for solo harpsichord, the “Harmonious Blacksmith” Variations. Carl Friedrich Abel was another German-born composer who spent much of his career in London; his Prelude and Allegro for solo viola da gamba will be performed by Donna Fournier. Mr. Burhkalter, on recorder, will be featured in Walsh’s arrangements of airs from several Handel operas, including Alcina and Julius Caesar. Soprano Laura Heimes will perform airs from Handel’s oratorios and operas, in chamber music arrangements published in London and meant to allow smaller ensembles of musicians to perform these favorite songs in private house concerts. Ms. Heimes will sing “Oh had I Jubal’s lyre” from the oratorio Joshua and “Lusinghe più care d’amore” from Alexander. Also on the program are Thomas Arne’s cantata Cymon and Iphegenia and songs from Comus and his English opera Eliza. Music by Pepusch, Boyce, and Giardini will complete the program. The music on this program will be prepared using original sources in the Roan-Burkhalter collection of rare 17th-18th century musical prints. Violinist Daniela Pierson has performed with Le Triomphe de l’amour many times, thrilling audiences with her expressive and energetic playing. Soprano Laura Heimes has been praised for her “sumptuous tone and shimmering clarity” and has been a featured soloist in concerts from Carnegie Hall to California’s Carmel Bach Festival. She has taught at Westminster Choir College and Swarthmore and has recordings available on several labels. John Burkhalter is a well-known lecturer on cultural history. Janet Palumbo, a founding member of the ensemble, has been featured on Brazilian national television. Le Triomphe de l’amour has recordings available on the Lyrichord and A Casa Disco labels. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 general admission, $18 for senior citizens, and $5 for students. For information, call (609) 252-0522 or visit the ensemble’s website at. This concert is made possible in part by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, A Partner Agency of the National Endowment of the Arts. Back **Denotes member of the Guild for Early Music

Danish architect Henriette Vamberg. Picture: ADAM McLEAN Parking in Wollongong's city centre needs to be rarer and even more expensive to truly revitalise the town, a leading international planner says. Danish "city expert" and urban planner Henriette Vamberg has been visiting Wollongong for the past week to work with the council to make the city more liveable, and some of her ideas may surprise residents who regularly complain about the city's lack of free parking. Hailing from Gehl Architects - the Copenhagen firm which has helped unclog New York's polluted streets, rebuild shaken Christchurch and transform Melbourne's laneways - Ms Vamberg spoke about a number of lessons from other cities at a public forum held at the Wollongong Town Hall this week. Her strongest message: people should walk or ride, not drive in the city centre. A cyclist navigates the streets of Copenhagen, where bike riding is encouraged. "One of the fundamental principles in Copenhagen is that everyone should be able to walk or bicycle in the city centre, and that should be an integrated way of moving," she said. "This deals very much with how to make a lively city, because the more we can see faces outside, the more we feel that the city is populated." "It's about having people visible outside." To provide parking for out-of-town visitors, the Copenhagen council established parking stations outside the city. But, in a move that would have Wollongong residents up in arms, the council raises fees when the parking stations have less than a 5 per cent vacancy to force people to use bikes or public transport. Making parking more expensive may be on the cards. As a result, former parking lots have been transformed into active cafe and restaurant strips, and bike use overtook cars several years ago. The streets are full of bike lanes to make it easy for cyclists to get through the city, and rush-hour lanes allow those riding at a constant 20 kilometres per hour to skip traffic lights completely. While these policies have had striking effects on the health of Copenhagen's citizens and environment - the city saves more than $385 million in health costs each year - Ms Vamberg said this was not why people chose to ride. "Riding is just a way of getting around now, it's nothing to brag about or tell your friends about and you don't have to wear spandex to do it," she said. "People in Copenhagen ride their bikes in summer and even in the dead of winter - so when people say it's too windy, it's too hilly, it's too hot, it's too cold, I just show them these pictures of people riding through the snow. "We had to evaluate what we wanted, do we want to drive into the city centre in a car or do we actually want a city with more space for people?" Wollongong residents advocating for Crown Street Mall to be reopened to traffic may also be surprised by Ms Vamberg's philosophies, which have helped transform Copenhagen from an almost bankrupt and traffic-clogged CBD to a prospering city of open, bustling pedestrian squares. "When the first pedestrian-only street was made in the 1960s, the businesses didn't want it," she said. "But then retailers from other areas started saying they wanted a pedestrian street as well, because they could see the benefits because people were moving slowly through the city and stopping at the stores. "When all this first started in 1962, people said 'we're not Italians, we don't spend time outside drinking coffee all the time'." "But now we say, 'well, we're more Italian than the Italians', because we are so eager to get outdoors." Gehl Architects used similar principles to help revitalise New York's CBD about five years ago, turning traffic-jammed streets like Times Square, Madison Square or Ninth Avenue into pedestrian squares and bicycle lanes. At first, businesses paid to paint the lanes and squares on to the New York roadways but the difference in trade was so profound that the city voted to keep the changes permanently. "There was an 84 per cent increase in stationary activities in Times Square, so businesses are performing better and have increased turnover," she said. "It's been good for economics and good for quality of life." For those who protest that Copenhagen and New York are very different to Wollongong, Ms Vamberg offers the case study of Malmo. Many Wollongong residents may not have heard of the former industrial centre rapidly transforming into a cosmopolitan town, but Ms Vamberg says Sweden's third-largest city has plenty to teach us. Malmo has a population of about 350,000 people, and - like Wollongong - is a satellite city located a 45-minute commute across the bridge to Copenhagen, and previously an industrial centre. "But, now that the industry has started leaving, it is building up an education workforce who want liveability, quality of life and more leisure time." Industrial land is being redeveloped, with one section of the city will house 20,000 extra people and 10,000 more university students over the next 30 years. So far the buildings have been designed by 17 developers and 21 architects to ensure heights and designs are diverse. This has resulted in large and small apartments, allowing people to move between blocks and live in the city from their student days, as professionals and into old age. The lack of cars in the city squares and a large amount of pedestrian activity in parks and promenades means the city centre is safe because of passive surveillance, and wind generators and solar panels make it completely self sufficient for power. Related reading Wollongong Hospital parking angst More parking meters pop up in CBD UOW students shut out residents Thirroul station parking 'solution'

Local library system opts against exit interview policy The James River Valley Library System will not have an exit interview policy for employees, its board of directors decided Wednesday. “Number one, are we big enough to be in need of an exit interview policy?” said Joe Rector, library director. About six employees have left the Library System in the past six months, said Jennifer Senger, the library’s assistant director. The majority of those were due to retirement, and one person moved. “I have gotten calls from at least four people that are employed here, and they have a concern that we have lost 10 people here in the last whatever amount of time,” said Char Freeberg, Library Board member. She said she asked those who called what was going on and whether they had spoken with the library director, and added “I don’t get an answer.” Rector said that was frustrating, because one person who quit was unhappy but would not talk to him about the problem. He also said that sometimes the library system has an issue with turf — “where people have said ‘this is my job and something else is not my job, I wasn’t hired for that.’ But not only that, that people want to control the turf …” Rector emphasized the importance of flexibility and collaboration, so that things still get done when individual employees are absent. “We need the staff to be willing to learn new things and adapt to new things,” Rector said. “… we need to move forward in this organization. We cannot stay exactly where we are.” He encouraged library employees to come to him with problems. Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at (701) 952-8453 or by email at klucin@jamestownsun.com

Ed 50 members. This ensemble recorded its first album Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord at the Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Berkeley, California, hoping to sell 500 copies. "Oh Happy Day" was just one of the eight songs on the album. When radio stations of the San Francisco Bay area started playing "Oh Happy Day", it became very popular. Featuring the lead vocal of Dorothy Combs Morrison, the subsequently released single rocketed to sales of over a million copies within two months. It crossed over to the pop charts making U.S. #4 and UK #2 and #1 in the German Singles Charts in 1969. It then became an international success, selling more than 7 million copies worldwide, and Hawkins was awarded his first Grammy for it. Hawkins' arrangement of the song was eventually covered by The Four Seasons on their 1970 album Half & Half. Altogether Hawkins has won four Grammy Awards: In 2007, Hawkins was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and attended the formal awards show in 2009. Paul Anka's duet partner Odia Coates was also a member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers.

The City Commission on Thursday voted to defer five projects and instead place the funding of median and sidewalk improvements on State of Franklin Road between Roan and Buffalo street at the top of its priority list. Earlier this month commissioners directed the Public Works Department staff to develop a detailed cost estimate, which is between $175,000 and $200,000, if constructed using in-house labor. The project is not included in the fiscal 2014 budget and will require holding off on the other projects to properly fund it. “We’ll be putting in new crosswalks on State of Franklin at Roan, Spring and Buffalo streets and adding center medians between Buffalo and Roan,” Public Works Director Phil Pindzola said. “We’ll also be putting in a new median on Buffalo from State of Franklin to Cherry Street.” The deferred projects include municipal parking lot resurfacing ($150,000); Freedom Hall parking lot resurfacing ($100,000); Walnut Street/State of Franklin intersection improvements ($100,000); Winged Deer Park playground equipment ($50,000); and Carnegie Park playground equipment and parking lot improvements ($20,000). The two parking lot resurfacing projects and the intersection improvements are funded with unspent bond proceeds. The two park projects are funded directly by a general fund transfer and the State of Franklin project will be funded with previously issued bond proceeds. “We are attempting to prioritize pedestrian safety downtown,” Pindzola added. “This also should lower speeds of the motorists traveling through that area. Also, we’ll be eliminating a crosswalk between Spring and Roan. Our studies showed that at night, most pedestrians do not use that crosswalk, so we’re doing this to eliminate a ‘conflict crossing.’ ” Additional lighting also is planned, including lighting at the ground level. Public Works staff will be meeting with the Johnson City Power Board to coordinate construction schedules. Commissioners also discussed flooding at Memorial Park Community Center. Orange sandbags were evident at various doors at the center before and after a significant rain event a few weeks ago. Several commissioners toured the site a few days ago, and before approving a more than $535,000 final payment Thursday to Rentenbach Constructors, commissioners wanted to make sure that flooding issues were not due to faulty design or construction. Mayor Ralph Van Brocklin asked Tommy Burleson, the city’s construction agent, if there was any “culpability” on the part of the contractor. “The culprit is the rain,” Burleson said. “It is not a design issue. The building was constructed for a 100-year flood, but saturated ground from rain events is not allowing water to saturate and to drain into stormwater systems.” Commissioner Jeff Banyas finished, saying he’d just like to see the sandbags “out of there” and that he wanted to make sure the situation was taken care of when City Manager Pete Peterson looked over at Assistant City Manager Charlie Stahl and said, “Charlie, go get a truck and get the sandbags out of there.” It was hard to tell whether he was joking or a bit riled, or both. “It’s not going to be an expensive fix,” Peterson added. He also said the detention pond at the front of the facility “has never overflowed.” On Aug. 8, the Johnson City Press left a telephone message with Development Services Director Angie Carrier, who oversees codes enforcement. She did not return the call but emailed Community Relations about the inquiry. “I’m not sure as the amount of sandbags that he is referring to or how many exits were affected, but in general as long as ingress and egress is not impeded, a code would not be violated,” she wrote. According to the city’s building codes, all buildings “not provided with adequate egress” are unlawful (Title 12, Chapter 1, section 12-107). Meanwhile, a second reading of an ordinance to rezone property located at 920 N. State of Franklin Road from medical services to planned arterial business remains on hold. Earlier this month, commissioners deferred a second reading after agreeing to order a study of potential problems linked with high-vehicle counts and crowded streets neat the proposed 29-acre parcel that would support a $20 million retail development by Nashville’s GBT Realty. City officials said this week the study should be complete in mid-September. The study is not being conducted by the city. It is being done by Nashville’s Gresham, Smith & Partners, the developer’s civil engineer of choice, which also develops site plans for GBT. Mike Hunkler, Gresham, Smith & Partners principal-in-charge, talks about the company’s association with the developer on GS&P’s website: “We became GBT’s civil engineer on multiple projects happening simultaneously and on very fast-paced schedules. Our goal was to complete a set of site-development construction and bid drawings for the initial permitting submittal within two weeks of our notice to proceed. It was, and is, multitasking on steroids.”

Jay Brodsky '00: Bringing a 150-year-old media company into the Internet age By Rachel Farrell Jay Brodsky '00 can tell you what life was like before the World Wide Web went mainstream. Shortly after receiving an applied science degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, Brodsky was working as an operations/marketing manager for Interactive Media in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the time, the most advanced media technology available was a voice-processing product called "audiotex," which allowed Brodsky to create prerecorded messages about the news and make them accessible to users via phone. But when the World Wide Web took over the media landscape, Brodsky's job was turned on its head. "People needed that same sort of news content, but on the Web, instead of the phone," he says. "Suddenly, the Internet made my work make sense." More than a decade later, Brodsky's work hardly resembles that of his audiotex days. Now serving as chief information officer for Atlantic Media Company in Washington D.C., he directs technology efforts for publications such as The Atlantic, National Journal and Government Executive. In the midst of a poor economy and dying media market, Brodsky is tasked with finding ways to use the Web to keep Atlantic Media's publications relevant while holding fast to its roots and mission. The solution, Brodsky says, is remembering why these publications were published in the first place. The Atlantic, for example, was launched in 1857 by a group of Boston-based intellectuals, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who needed an outlet for exchanging ideas. "They [published] it to start a public debate and get people thinking about ideas, sharing their thoughts and having some back-and-forth discussion," he says. So how do you recreate that same environment today? "Blogs. It's today's way of getting intellectuals together to express their opinions." Before joining Atlantic Media in 2007, Brodsky directed technology operations for the digital media operations of National Public Radio for two years and at Tribune Media Services in Chicago for more than 10 years. He enrolled in the Kellogg School's Part Time MBA Program while working full time in order to broaden his skill set and advance his career at the Tribune Company. The degree had an added bonus: Post-graduation, Brodsky used the Kellogg directory to connect with an alumnus, who helped him land a position with NPR. Along with beefing up blog content, Brodsky has spent the past two years supporting The Atlantic's online efforts by posting issues to its free-access Web site. While some industry experts say the move is risky — given its potential to reduce subscription numbers — it has broadened the magazine's readership. Circulation is projected to be up 12 percent, from 400,000 in 2008 to 450,000 in 2009. (By contrast, newspaper circulation dropped 5 percent in 2008, compared to 2 percent in previous years.) In addition, a digital version of The Atlantic is available for download on Amazon Kindle, a wireless reading device. However, Atlantic Media's readers are somewhat divided when it comes to certain features on the Web. For instance, when Andrew Sullivan, one of The Atlantic's most popular bloggers, polled his readers about whether he should add a "comments" section to his blog, 60 percent voted against it. The Atlantic's readers also appear "most interested in words," Brodsky says, as opposed to podcasts or videos, although a video of a reporter interviewing Bill Cosby generated a fair amount of traffic on the Web site. And while more people are reading online versions of the magazines than ever before, there are still a large number of subscribers who prefer to read them in print. "In some cases," Brodsky admits, "[reading a magazine online] isn't quite as compelling as sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and thumbing through the latest issue."

Lobbyists and Nevada business owners are concerned that language in the bill that raises taxes by $836 million could unintentionally end up tripling business taxes, including those on casino companies. Gambling industry lobbyist Greg Ferraro said there is an error in the tax increase just passed by the Legislature and that the industry intends to work with Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, the state Taxation Department and the Tax Commission to clarify that the Legislature did not intend to apply the new 2 percent payroll tax to the payrolls of casino companies. That law was meant to apply to banks and other financial institutions. "It is a mistake that needs to be fixed,"Ferraro said Monday."No one believes it was intended for gaming. I think it was a drafting error." Sierra Pacific Resources, holding company for subsidiaries Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power companies, also is studying the legislation. "It adds a question mark for us. We'll need to investigate it further,"said Karl Walquist, spokesman for the state's largest utility. During the public discussions before the law was approved July 21, the higher payroll tax never was mentioned as applying to the casino industry or any business other than financial institutions. Gambling companies, like most other firms, will pay an 0.7 percent tax on their payrolls starting Oct. 1. Gov. Kenny Guinn has been informed of the problem, but he is not even thinking about calling the Legislature back into session, according to a spokesman. The Legislature adjourned July 22 after a 120-day regular session and two special sessions. Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes said she sees no problem in the new tax law. The law defines financial institutions as companies that are"primarily engaged"in various activities, including those"engaged in the business of lending money"and"providing credit,"according to Erdoes. Though casinos carry out those activities, Erdoes noted, that is not their primary activity.State Taxation Director Chuck Chinnock agrees with Erdoes. He said he has been asked to look into the problem. Chinnock added the Tax Commission will try to develop regulations before Oct. 1 that clarify the intent of the new tax law. The commission would hold public hearings on the regulations. "One of the reasons we have public hearings is to get input as to what was intended by the Legislature,"Chinnock said. Before any regulation is adopted, it must return to the Legislature for review to ensure it meets lawmakers'intent. Members of the Legislative Commission, a group of 12 legislators who meet in periods when the entire Legislature is not in session, conduct reviews of regulations. Sam McMullen, lobbyist for the Nevada Bankers Association, said few outsiders got a look at the final tax plan before it was approved last week. "It never had a hearing. There was no chance for input,"he said."The world is only now looking at the language and seeing what it means and whom it applies to."

PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER Mark Morton, vice president of Lykes Brothers Land Acquisitions Inc., explains various aspects of a proposed distribution center planned in Moore Haven. PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER The goal of the proposed distribution center, according to Mark Morton, is for Florida to take advantage of opportuniities of moving goods to overseas markets via the wider and deeper Panama Cana. PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER Florida stands to profit when work on expanding the Panama Canal is complete, according to Mark Morton, vice president of Lykes Land Investments, Inc., a division of Lykes Brothers. PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER The approximation of railroads and highways are a plus in choosing Moore Haven as the site of a distribution center being proposed by Lykes Brothers and A. Duda and Sons in a joint venture. PHOTO BY STEVE STEINER The projected economic benefits of the proposed Americas Gateway Logistics Center are spelled out. Will a proposed distribution center that has not yet even broken ground prove a source of jobs for residents of Hardee, DeSoto and Highlands counties? Roger Hood, president and CEO of Heartland Workforce, hopes so, even though the facility — the Americas Gateway Logistic Center — will be located in Moore Haven, in Glades County. Even if the center comes to fruition — which Hood said calls for the construction of a 30-million-square-foot distribution center — it could mean a one-way commute from a minimum of 40-plus miles, if one lives in Lake Placid, to more than 80-plus miles if one hails from Wauchula. Hood did not believe that would be a problem. “I would assume because of the size, our residents will get jobs,” Hood said. He further explained that Hardee, DeSoto and Highland counties, as well as Glades, Hendry and Okeechobee counties and some communities in neighboring counties, make up one of only three Rural Areas of Critical Economic Concern in Florida. “The state set aside these areas because of low wages, limited infrastructure and other factors.” The need for jobs in Hardee, DeSoto and Highlands counties, which make up Region 19 of the Florida Department of Economic Development’s 24 regions, is acute. According to the most recent census, the population is 161,073, but only 67,667 residents are in the labor force. Even excluding parents who stay at home, children and the infirm and the elderly, it still translates to approximately 94,000 people without work. The FDEC’s calculations place the average annual wage at $29,769, the lowest in Florida. Average annual wages in neighboring areas ranged between $35,596-$45,111. As part of the proceedings of the Wednesday Heartland Workforce Joint Board Meeting, Mark Morton, vice president of Lykes Land Investments, made a presentation on “Americas Gateway Logistics Center.” This is a joint venture between Lykes Brothers and A. Duda and Sons. According to a handout, the facility will be Florida’s premier land logistics solution, an integrated multi-model hub on 4,700 acres (with a potential additional 2,000 acres) to be located in southern central Florida. It will, said Morton, double exports coming out of Florida. He attributed it to the Panama Canal, currently undergoing widening and deepening of its locks, to accommodate modern cargo vessels. “Florida used to be considered at the end of the supply chain,” Morton said, but no longer. “We’re the closest to the Panama Canal.” That, said Morton, meant Florida, with its ports and air terminals, was closest to South America, east Africa, Australia and parts of Asia. In his PowerPoint presentation, he showed that while American manufacturers only export 1 percent of their goods, an overwhelming majority are located east of the Mississippi River. Morton said it makes sense for those manufacturers to ship their goods to the Americas Gateway Logistics Center, and from there ship them overseas. However, the main concern on the minds of those in attendance was job creation. At the low end of the scale, by 2030, it was projected that 23,858 jobs would be created; these were jobs both directly and indirectly affiliated with the logistics center; of the latter it meant retail, hotels, restaurants, and jobs tied in to the trucking and shipping industries. The most likely scenario was that 64,983 jobs would be created. At its most ultimate scenario, a total of 99,556 jobs would be created by 2030. What is RACEC? A Rural Area Critical of Economic Concern is defined as rural communities, or a region composed of rural communities that have been adversely affected by extraordinary economic events or natural disasters. In this region, the South Central RACEC consists of DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee counties, and the cities of Pahokee, Belle Glade, and South Bay (Palm Beach County), and Immokalee (Collier County). The other two RACECs are Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Wakulla, and Washington counties, and the city of Freeport in Walton County in the northwest region; and Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Putnam, Suwannee, Taylor, and Union counties in the north central region. Reader Comments (0) Submit your comment below: * = Required information

Hilary Krane, '89: Levi's Top Lawyer Hilary Krane, ’89, journeys to the Law School from her home in California to participate in meetings of the Visiting Committee. Passing through the Green Lounge, Krane may have even more reason to be pleased with what she sees than do her fellow committee members. After all, how many of them can look around and see a large percentage of students happily making use of products produced by companies they lead? Krane is senior vice president and general counsel of Levi Strauss and Company, a position she assumed in January of this year. She is one of the twelve members of the company’s managerial governing body, its Worldwide Leadership Team. “It’s gratifying to be allowed to play an important role at an iconic American company with an enormous global footprint, the largest apparel company in the world,” she said. “Not to mention that Levi Strauss is a great organization with admirable values—and my kids think my job is cool.” In addition to heading up the vast network of lawyers required by a Fortune 500 company that does business in 130 countries, Krane advises the Levi Strauss board and the company’s executives. Among her top priorities is protecting the company’s brand, particularly from rampant counterfeiting. “Our brand is really the heart of our business,” she said. “Maintaining its integrity requires constant vigilance, often against the shadiest of characters in the most far-flung places. It’s an even more consuming task than I had expected.” So inculcated has brand protection become in her own life, she said, that she finds herself scrutinizing the backsides of passersby to assure herself that the Levi Strauss-labeled jeans they are wearing are the genuine article. There are reasons beyond corporate pride for Krane to enjoy returning to Chicago. For one thing, it’s her home town. She was born and raised on Dearborn Street. Her father, Howard Krane, ’57, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, chaired the University of Chicago Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1997. It was also in Chicago that Krane spent her formative years as an attorney. After graduation she clerked for Judge Milton Shadur, ’49, of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. It was an experience she describes as “one of the all-time great learning experiences anyone could have.” Then she worked for four years in the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, where a combination of committed mentoring and challenging assignments further propelled her learning. “I was often boxing above my weight class, but I was always supported and taught, so the experience was tremendously valuable,” she recalled. In 1994, a teaching opportunity for her husband, George Bulkeley, required a family move and led her to transfer to Skadden’s San Francisco office. Not long afterward she joined PriceWaterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) as an in-house litigation attorney. When PricewaterhouseCoopers outsourced litigation a couple of years after she arrived there, she was kept on as assistant general counsel, advising the firm and its partners with respect to a broad range of legal issues. Soon she was tapped to head up the legal arm of the company’s worldwide advisory practice, a four-billion-dollar enterprise. She was named a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner in 2000. The exhaustive nationwide search that Levi Strauss conducted for the ideal replacement for its previous general counsel, who had held that position for many years, led to her hiring. She says, “Considering my lack of direct apparel-industry experience in my relative youth, Levi’s made a gutsy call in hiring me," she said. "I’m determined to rise to the challenge.” Discussing the Law School from her Visiting Committee perspective, Krane sees a thematic consistency with her other endeavors. “Knowing your brand and sticking to your values are essential for building a great franchise,” she said. “Just as PriceWaterhouse and Levi’s do, the Law School under Dean Levmore’s able leadership continues to be true to what it stands for. I’m proud to be a graduate and pleased to contribute to furthering the mission of such a vital institution.”

During the fall and spring 2012 and 2013 athletic seasons, Liberty teams claimed 10 of 18 Big South Conference championships, a feat that ultimately helped Liberty secure its 11th Sasser Cup. This is Liberty’s sixth consecutive year bringing home the award, which is the longest streak in Big South history. According bigsouthsports.com, the Sasser Cup is given to the school with the best overall athletic year. The winner is determined by a wieghted point system based on regular season and tournament finishes. Liberty beat out Coastal Carolina by less than one point. “We would be very disappointed if we didn’t win (the Sasser Cup), but it’s always going to be a battle,” Barber said. Despite receiving a fifth seed in the north division for the Big South Championship, the men’s basketball team won four games in five days to capture the conference title. The Flames football team overcame a 0-4 start to gain a share of the Big South Championship. Barber has still managed to take Liberty Athletics to new heights during his tenure. In addition to winning the Sasser Cup six straight years, Liberty is continuing to renovate its athletic facilities and strengthen its programs. “We have a great commitment here at Liberty for athletics, starting with the chancellor down … the school has made a great commitment to us,” Barber said. In addition to the Sasser Cup, Liberty also claimed the Women’s All-Sports Trophy. This is the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time in six seasons Liberty has won the award. With a new baseball stadium, training facilities and practice facilities taking root in the past year, as well as plans for a football stadium renovation and a new softball stadium in the works, Liberty may very well be on its way to becoming one of the top programs in the nation. “I think we’ll have a number of our programs that will be top 20 in the country,” Barber said. “The way Liberty is growing, we may get there sooner than many would expect.”

- Faculty research on predicting SOL scores featured in newspaper November 20, 2013 An article about research by Longwood economics professors Dr. David Lehr and Dr. Melanie Marks appeared in the Nov. 13 issue of the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. The research, which will be presented at a meeting of the Southern Economic Association to be held Nov. 23-25 in Tampa, analyzed 2008-09 SOL pass rates in reading and math for third-graders in nearly every Virginia elementary school at that time. Republished, with permission of the author. Report Finds Ethnicity, Income Best Indicators Posted: November 13, 2013 By EMILY SHARRER Harrisonburg Daily News-Record HARRISONBURG — Ethnicity and family income are the best predictors of student performance on Standards of Learning tests, new research based on Virginia test scores shows. The more black, Hispanic and free- and reduced-price lunch students a school has, the lower the school’s pass rates were, the recently published study from Longwood University economist David Lehr found. What’s more, "commonly cited remedies" for improving test scores — like smaller class sizes, higher teacher salaries and teachers with advanced degrees under their belts — were shown to have little effect on test scores, Lehr said. "The results show that school districts should be very careful with trying to manage the policy variables that they control and thinking that by changing those they’re going to see substantial changes in SOL pass rates," said Lehr, whose son David Lehr and Longwood economics professor Melanie Marks co-authored a paper about the research. "When you change expenditures per pupil, when you change class sizes, when you change the percentage of teachers who are experienced … you’re going to see very little change, we predict." The findings support an oft-quoted claim of Harrisonburg City Schools Superintendent Scott Kizner, who said the city’s high free- and reduced-price lunch population and the large number of students who speak English as a second language have a significant impact on test scores. "This study only reinforces what I have been saying the past four years," Kizner said. "Our high diversity and free-reduced lunch numbers challenges us daily to find unique ways to meet the learning needs of our students." City Has Highest LEP Rate In Harrisonburg, about 34 percent of the division population is limited English proficient. Kizner said about 70 percent of the Hispanic population in the school system is LEP. The division is expected to maintain its standing this year for having the highest percentage of LEP students in Virginia, Kizner said. Rockingham County Schools is less diverse. As of Sept. 30, only 577 students are identified as LEP, which represents 5 percent of the division’s enrollment. In Virginia, 40.1 percent of schoolchildren, or 496,771 kids, qualified for free- or reduced-price meals in 2012-13, according to the Virginia Department of Education. Numbers for 2013-14 are not yet available. In Harrisonburg, 73.4 percent of students are eligible for the meal benefits for 2013-14. That represents 3,952 of the division’s 5,380 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. In Rockingham County Public Schools, 4,631, or nearly 40 percent, of the division’s 11,876 students receive free- or reduced-price meals, based on federal guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. ‘Indicators’ Used Using data from 99 percent of elementary schools in the state — including all of those in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County — Lehr analyzed SOL pass rates in reading and math for third-graders from the 2008-09 school year. That was the most recent year that data was available when the study began. Lehr also looked at 22 indicators — the percent of faculty with a master’s degree, class sizes and average faculty salaries, for instance — to examine their importance in predicting pass rates. "I thought rather than do another attempt at cause and effect, instead how about I show policy makers how they could use these tools to help them predict what will happen to SOL scores when they make policy changes," Lehr said. His findings show that for math and reading, the percentage of students eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch and the number of black students were the two best predictors of pass rates. The higher those percentages in a school’s enrollment, the lower the school’s pass rate turned out to be. The percentage of Hispanic students was also a strong predictor in those subjects, he said. Lehr said that due to a lack of available data, he did not include students who speak English as a second language as a variable. He suspects that a school’s Hispanic enrollment came out as a strong predictor of SOL scores because a high percentage of those students do not speak English as a first language. ‘Good Teaching’ Some school officials, though, questioned the results of the study, noting that several schools with high black, Hispanic and free- and reduced-price lunch enrollments have impressive test scores. Doug Alderfer, assistant superintendent for administration for Rockingham County Schools, said the county’s free- and reduced-price lunch numbers, for example, do not always correlate with SOL scores. Schools like Pleasant Valley, Peak View and South River elementary schools have high numbers of free- and reduced-price lunch eligible students, but historically have done "very, very well" on SOLs, he noted. "My experience has been that good teaching gives you good test scores; that’s really the bottom line," Alderfer said. "We shouldn’t handicap ourselves and say just because kids are economically disadvantaged means they’re going to get low scores. I think I would be foolish to say it doesn’t have some impact, but I think it can be overcome for sure." The solution to remedying test scores may lie in early childhood education, Lehr and Kizner agreed, to ensure students are exposed to vocabulary and books at an early age — things they might not have if they come from a low-income background. "Children need to be taught before age 5," Kizner said. It’s critical that we really begin to have high quality early childhood programs." Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com

- Filed Under A Marion-based low-power radio station is back on the air. As a six-month Federal Communications Commission deadline approached in December, WDCM Radio began providing music to listeners of the approximately 45-watt radio station, Gary Rivers, a consultant for the station said. "The U.S. Open was in danger of losing its license," if the station, which went off the air when a thunderstorm damaged its transmitter in late June, did not return by late December, Rivers, a veteran radio broadcaster said. WDCM's transmitter is located behind Central Ohio Christian Broadcasting ...

By Bonnie Eslinger Daily News Staff Writer Faced with an expected student enrollment surge, the Sequoia Union High School District board tonight is to discuss the possible addition of two small high schools in Menlo Park and Redwood City, and a bond measure to help pay for them. Although the board isn't scheduled to act on either at this meeting, it could decide on Feb. 12 whether to put a bond measure on the June or November ballot, Superintendent James Lianides said. Although no amount has been determined, Lianides said the bond likely would be in the $100 million range. According to the district's most recent forecast, enrollment at its four comprehensive high schools will increase by nearly 24 percent from 2012 to 2020 -- a boost of about 1,800 students. To relieve some of the pressure, district officials are considering establishing two small high schools, one in the "Menlo Park area and the other ... situated between Redwood City and San Carlos," according to notes for tonight's school board meeting. The schools would serve 300 to 400 students, be open to everyone throughout the district and offer "unique instructional programs." "What we really hope to do is develop four to five kinds of options or concepts and then survey parents, students and staff and get a lot of input to hone in on the ones we want to further develop," Lianides told The Daily News on Tuesday. One idea that's been bounced around would be to use the Menlo Park campus for a technical career school where students could also earn community college credit. Students could focus on such areas as computer science or health, Lianides said. He pointed to the success of a Sequoia district program at Canada College for junior and senior students. At tonight's meeting the school board also is to review a draft of a new attendance boundary map that incorporates several changes. East Palo Alto students formerly assigned to Carlmont and Woodside high schools would be given Menlo-Atherton High as their home school. An area of west Atherton that was assigned to Woodside would fall within the Menlo-Atherton High boundary. Students in San Carlos' Heather School attendance area would be assigned to Carlmont High instead of Sequoia High. And the boundary in western Redwood City between Sequoia and Woodside high schools would be shifted to follow several main avenues. While some North Fair Oaks students would be reassigned from Menlo-Atherton High to Sequoia High, the district would split the unincorporated community along Eighth Avenue -- with all the families living between that street and Marsh Road remaining at Menlo-Atherton. That's likely to please parents in that area adjacent to Atherton, some of whom protested the inclusion of East Palo Alto students if it meant their kids wouldn't get in. The boundary map has not been finalized and likely won't be voted on by the board until summer, according to district officials. The district hopes to implement the changes in the fall of 2015.

The latest threat to a disappearing forest — a planned apartment complex and strip mall anchored by a Walmart — is bringing new scrutiny to what might be an even bigger foe to the endangered land: a billion-dollar amusement park in the works for almost a decade. An Orlando-style attraction with a water park, rides, a hotel and conference center, restaurants and acres of parking was approved by voters in 2005 for property near Zoo Miami so long as it did not trample the endangered pine rockland around the proposed development. Miami-Dade County officials are working out details for the public-private partnership with 20th Century Fox, the project’s chief operator, and hope to submit a plan by the end of the year, said County Commissioner Dennis Moss, who represents the area. But part of the deal calls for a highway exit ramp through the fragile forest, according to a June 25 letter from county Mayor Carlos Gimenez to University of Miami President Donna Shalala asking about land needed for the ramp. Now neighbors, environmental watchdogs and federal wildlife managers, who were caught off-guard after UM sold its little-used South Campus property for the shopping center, worry that the rockland forest, among the planet’s most environmentally sensitive lands and home to a rare array of endangered species, could face additional peril. “There’s got to be better coordination between us and the county before they rubber-stamp projects,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Mark Salvato, who called for a meeting with county officials in early August to discuss how the county develops sensitive land. Neighbors, still smarting from news about the Walmart, also have questions. “I can’t imagine anyone saying, ‘We have these incredible natural lands — let’s just turn it into concrete,’ ” said Michael Rosenberg, president of the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations. That board plans to discuss the Walmart project at an Aug. 21 meeting. Moss said the amusement park would not be built on land designated as natural forest or on property protected by the county’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program. “The environmental community would like to conserve everything and I understand that, but at the end of the day we have to create jobs and opportunity for the community,” he said. “It’s a balance.” While plans for the amusement park are far from final, a Fox rendering attached to Gimenez’s letter to UM shows a four-lane exit ramp leading from Florida’s Turnpike at Southwest 168th Street, running south of Coast Guard property through a tract of rockland. Other potential impacts on environmentally sensitive lands in the 20th Century Fox proposal include a 16-acre attraction called Adventure Beach, parking and a 100-acre theme park and sports complex on property currently owned by the U.S. Coast Guard. Some of that development, if it receives final County Commission approval, would take place on land designated by the county as natural forest or endangered. Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Director Jack Kardys said the county would ensure during negotiations with Fox that the forest lands are protected. “It’s unfortunate it’s being talked about in light of the rather negative things I’ve read about the other development there,” he said, referring to the shopping center. “But that’s a whole different ballgame than what we’ve got going on here. The Walmart didn’t have a referendum. The zoo did.” Fox executive Greg Lombardo, who laid out the entertainment giant’s plans to county officials last year, did not respond to telephone and email messages requesting comment. Much of the land around the zoo is either owned or managed by the county’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program, created in 1990 after voters agreed to a two-year tax to pay for the purchase and preservation of endangered rockland, hardwood hammocks and wetlands. Land included in the program can be disturbed only to advance the conservation mission. Management of the land is key to the forest’s success. The plants that thrive on the forest’s coral rock floor need sunlight and air. Before development, seasonal fires naturally kept slash pines under control and the tree canopy airy. But without fire, trees can crowd into the rockland, smothering plants. The forest once covered about 180,000 acres of Florida’s high spiny ridge between Homestead and the Miami River, providing habitat for Florida panthers, eagles, snakes and other wildlife. But as development chopped up the forest, wildlife that ranged across the miles of rockland disappeared. Indigo snakes, which once slithered throughout the Richmond area — the largest intact tract of rockland outside Everglades National Park — haven’t been seen in years. “We’ve got to the point where there’s so few pristine pieces of land that people are upset,” said Laura Reynolds, executive director of Tropical Audubon. “We want them to look at this holistically, and are they going to manage it. They may not even know what’s out there.” Unraveling what happened to a forest that once filled the area — and housed part of a World War II-era blimp base for patrolling the Caribbean — is as much an exercise in parsing environmental laws as understanding long-fought battles over conservation and economic development. Over the years, as federal officials shed the 2,100-acre base, the land was carved into pieces. Today, the old base is home to an unlikely collection of neighbors that includes the zoo, operated by the county’s parks department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Defense and UM’s satellite-tracking CSTARS installation. In 1981 and 1997, federal records show the government gave two parcels totaling about 140 acres to UM. The land sat largely undeveloped over the years, with just a handful of buildings used for research and storage. In 2005, UM asked the county to rezone the land to allow it to build an academic village. Tropical Audubon’s Reynolds said she and other environmentalists objected, but the County Commission approved the rezoning to allow business and residential development. Audubon was unaware that UM had negotiated a new deal to sell the land for the shopping center, even after notices for the new plans were mailed to property owners within a half-mile radius and hammered out over three hours during two local community council meetings. At the community council meetings in September and October 2013, about half a dozen supporters urged the council to approve the plans, with attention focused largely on traffic and jobs. “We estimate it will generate hundreds of jobs both during the construction phase and the permanent phase,” attorney Juan Mayoltold county commissioners before they unanimously approved the project. “You’re on record now with this promise,” Moss responded. “So I expect that the commitments made here in writing will be lived up to.” The shopping center, along with the Fox amusement park, have refocused attention on protected lands in the area. Environmentalists warn the county is being shortsighted in giving up valuable land for low-wage jobs and a strip mall, and has failed to properly manage the forest. In fall 1999, endangered lands program administrators proposed acquiring 665 acres of the Richmond tract and designating the land as environmentally endangered. Ultimately, the county secured only 142 acres. “Only 2 percent [of rockland] is left, and the little that’s left is going to be turned into a Walmart,” said Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association. “It’s one of these issues that people are not going to let go of.” Lack of oversight is partly to blame, Reynolds said. The county hasn’t drafted a management plan for the Richmond tract, which includes both the shopping center and the amusement park, since 1994. And when UM and Palm Beach County-based developer Ram submitted their plans for the shopping center, they relied on a decade-old survey. Botanists later discovered a trove of endangered and rare plants, as well as the Bartram’s hairstreak — a butterfly expected to be added to the endangered species list this summer — outside the areas designated for the preserve. “When [the amusement park] went to the voters, it was specifically phrased that any expansion of the zoo would not be on environmentally sensitive lands, so it’s not right and it shouldn’t go forward,” said Julie Dick, an attorney for the Everglades Law Center. “How many destructive acts do they want to take on here?” On a recent morning, dozens of butterflies flitted through the forest east of the zoo. The atala, a butterfly that nearly vanished in the 1970s and ’80s until a successful drive to replant the butterfly’s host plant, the coontie, led to successful rebound, floated from one coontie to another. Just steps from where Zoo Miami veterinarian Frank Ridgley parked a golf cart, he discovered a patch of deltoid spurge, an endangered plant found only in pine rockland and one of many delicate herbs and wildflowers sprouting from the forest floor. In recent years, zoo biologists have twice found a Rim Rock crowned snake in the forest, a creature so rare that it has been encountered only 20 times in recorded history, he said. “We literally avoid walking in the woods here because anything you walk on is important,” Ridgley said. “Pine rockland is the most bio-diverse habitat in South Florida. Forget the Everglades. . . . This is the ancient forest.” An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Zoo Miami veterinarian Frank Ridgley.

The Chicago Tribune reported Monday that a public elementary school in the city bans students from bringing lunches to school and requires them to purchase food from the cafeteria. Elsa Carmona, principal of Little Village Academy on Chicago's West Side, said she enacted the policy six years ago to fight the poor eating habits she saw among kids who brought in sack lunches. She told the Chicago public school system, it turns out, has no formal policy about this and leaves the decision whether to ban packed lunches up to the principals. A spokesperson said it was unclear how many schools in Chicago had similar policies. The reporter mentions another school where students are allowed to bring lunches, but high-sugar or high-salt items are confiscated. There obviously is a trend toward better nutrition at schools -- a report from Yahoo! cites banned cupcakes in New York, banned beverages in Alabama and banned vending-machine soda in several locations, and the government has raised nutrition standards in all school lunches. But is the Chicago school overreaching? Needless to say, a lot of people are unhappy about this. For kids and parents, it means spending $2.25 per day on a meal, good news for Chartwells-Thompson, the large-scale food contractor that provides the school its lunches. But if parents are letting their kids bring junk to school, is it unreasonable for the school to act? Regardless, as the Tribune notes, a lot of kids are protesting the ban in their own way -- by throwing out the unwanted (i.e. healthy) items they don't feel like eating.

Click Image to Enlarge Isotherm’s Al Faisal, manufacturing supervisor, and Dormer representative Wayne West study the interior of a heat exchanger. Eden Mendez, CNC operator, checks the Hydra drill. The tool has enabled the company to cut production time from 3 days to 6 hours on the hundreds of 26.4-mm-diameter holes required for each end plate. Frequent tool failure can rapidly increase inventory costs, not to mention additional expenses from the resulting damaged parts or lengthy cycle times. This is especially true when the problem tool is used repeatedly for critical workpiece features. Arlington, Texas-based manufacturer Isotherm provides a case in point. The majority of the company’s products require extensive drilling in thick steel—an operation for which its tools were ill-suited. To alleviate wear and breakage problems, the company implemented the Hydra and CDX-Inox model drills from Precision Dormer. In addition to longer tool life and corresponding cost savings, these drills reduced cycle times from days to hours. Isotherm provides large, commercial heat exchangers, pressure vessels and other industrial refrigeration components to petrochemical and marine users throughout the world. The company’s heat exchangers, for example, are used in enormous cooling systems used to maintain temperature in oil-gas separation towers and the giant refrigeration units on commercial fishing vessels. Founded in 1999 with three employees, the company has since expanded to 21 employees and fulfills between $4 and $5 million worth of orders each year. Delivery dates for large-scale heat exchangers often extend months into the future. This is primarily because of the repetitive drilling tasks involved in their manufacture. The company’s model ZC-3624E, for example, consists of hundreds of tubes that are stretched between two flat, round end plates with corresponding holes for each tube. Producing a single unit requires drilling hundreds of these 25.4-mm-diameter holes in the thick, carbon steel end plates. The company had used standard high speed steel (HSS) drills to machine the holes, but these tools couldn’t drill through the 76.2-mm-thick steel in one pass. Rather, using HSS drills for this application required pecking cycles—that is, moving the tool in and out of the workpiece at specified depths as many as 30 times per hole to avoid overheating. Additionally, the HSS drills tended to wear out after approximately 75 holes. Operators had to manually monitor the drills for breakage and switch them out when they failed, and manufacturing of a single end plate frequently required numerous tool changes. Productivity suffered significantly as a result. Even without tool failure, machining each end plate could require three 12-hour shifts. Furthermore, broken tools could damage the part surface, necessitating repair work before installation. Al Faisal, Isotherm’s manufacturing supervisor, considered switching to 25.4-mm-diameter solid carbide drills. These tools last longer than HSS, but their cost was prohibitive. The company’s Precision Dormer representative, Wayne West, offered another solution: Dormer’s Hydra drill. The Hydra consists of a hardened steel body with a replaceable, TiAlN-coated solid carbide head. Multiple head sizes offer a choice of drilling depths ranging to eight times the diameter with no compromise on structural integrity, the manufacturer says. Two head types are available, one for stainless steel and cast iron applications and one for other steels. Rather than throwing away the entire steel body when a drill wears, users discard only the damaged head. Also, the multilayered coating and carbide construction enable the tool to drill continuously through the 76.2-mm end plates without pausing. In fact, the company can machine between 200 and 250 holes using a 1-inch-diameter (25.4-mm) head, and the drill tends to wear out rather than fail. This has enabled Isotherm to reduce average end plate manufacturing time from 3 days to 6 hours—less than a single work shift. The company has also realized cost savings because the tool’s replaceable heads cost less than previously used HSS drills. Mr. West also recommended implementing Dormer’s CDX-Inox solid carbide drill for smaller applications in 316 stainless steel. While these tools don’t include replaceable heads, they do have a multilayered TiAlN coating and a thin margin that reduces contact with the hole surface. Combined with the through-coolant holes, this reduces cutting edge temperatures to prolong tool life and minimize work hardening, the manufacturer says. Also, like the Hydra, the CDX-Inox can drill completely through the end plates without pecking. This reduces the average production for 304.8-mm-diameter plates from 8 hours to less than 2 hours. Since investing in the Dormer tools, Isotherm has pushed its production months ahead of schedule. "We’ve increased manufacturing productivity to the point where we don’t need to send anything to subcontractors, even when we take on high-volume orders," Mr. Faisal says. "Even considering the money we spent on new equipment to bring everything in-house, we save thousands of dollars on each heat exchanger we make."

Last season, the girls of Southwest DeKalb, Columbia and St. Pius all claimed state titles in Class 5A, 4A and 3A, respectively. “This has to be the best county for high school basketball,” SW DeKalb girls’ coach Kathy Walton said. “We wouldn’t be doing what we are doing at Southwest DeKalb if it wasn’t for DeKalb County. “Any of the teams that made it to the state playoffs — Stephenson, Tucker, Miller Grove — could have won state,” Walton said. “It was just fortunate that we were the team that won last year.” The Lady Panthers lost four seniors, including 6-foot-2 center Deja Clay and 6-foot-1 forward Miaya Crowder so Walton believes her team will have to adjust to not having as much height. However, leading scorer and rebounder Tynice Martin and a few other experienced players are back to defend their title. “Tynice has really matured,” Walton said. “I actually think she is coming into her own as a junior.” The Columbia Lady Eagles, who won their final nine games last season, will have a lot of key pieces returning except three seniors, including Miah Spencer, the Class AAAA Player of the Year. The St. Pius Golden Lady Lions only had three players graduate from their 30-3 state championship team. Also Class AAA Player of the Year, Asia Durr, is back along with senior Jasmine Carter for the march towards a repeat. On the boys’ side, Miller Grove is the only defending champion, and the Wolverines are currently five-time defending champions, but Columbia, St. Pius and others appear built for another successful season. “We lost 33 points out of our lineup,” Miller Grove coach Sharman White said. “Hopefully, we can find a way to make those points up and continue to compete and put ourselves in a position to defend our championship. It never gets easy. We understand the bulls eye gets bigger.”

ROLAND "LON" MOOTS JR Specialty: Divorce and family law, personal injury litigation and criminal defense. Mr. Moots may have been born in Ohio, but he definitely calls New Milford and the Greater New Milford community his home. The attorney has been an integral part of the business community since the late 1960s, and has served in numerous civic capacities over the years. Mr. Moots came to New Milford during his third year of law school. He recalled fondly attending church and then taking a walk down the Village Green and thinking, "'What a beautiful place this would be to raise a family." It all came true. He graduated from the University of Miami with an undergraduate degree and from Boston University School of Law in 1969. Upon graduation, he began his career at Cramer & Anderson -- located in an historic house on the west side of Main Street in New Milford -- in 1969 and became a partner there in 1972. He left in April 1983 to start his own business. Mr. Moots and Fred Baker opened Baker Moots law firm in 1983, which became Baker, Moots & Pellegrini two years later when Terry Pellegrini joined the firm. Mr. Moots and Mr. Pellegrini have worked together since. Mr. Moots cited the "Perry Mason" TV show, which his parents watched, as being the source that sparked his interest in law at a young age. His litigation experience includes state and federal courts in Connecticut and, with assistance of out-of-state counsel, such states as New York, Texas, Louisiana and North Carolina. He has argued appeals before the Appellate and Supreme courts of Connecticut. Mr. Moots served as town counsel for more than five years and was formerly, as public defender based in New Milford, in the Connecticut Circuit Court. TERRY PELLEGRINI Specialty: Zoning and land use, commercial and residential real estate, commercial lending and business law. Mr. Pellegrini is widely recognized for his experience in land use and zoning, having practiced in those areas for more than 30 years. He represents numerous commercial and developer clients before the various boards and commissions in New Milford and surrounding communities. He also practices in the areas of residential and commercial real estate and has served as general counsel to the Greater New Milford Board of Realtors for more than 30 years. Mr. Pellegrini has been actively involved in the community for years, serving on the Board of Directors at New Milford Hospital, of which he is past chairman. He also served as town attorney and selectman for the town of New Milford and on the Board of Directors of the New Milford Bank and Trust Company for many years. Some of his past and present clients include New Milford Hospital, New Milford Bank and Trust Company and New Milford Savings Bank. Attorney Barbara McMahon Dratch describes her colleague as possessing "a wealth of information" and having an incredible memory. BARBARA McMAHON DRATCH Specialty: Residential and commercial real estate, business matters including foreclosures, probate law, including estate administration, and estate planning. Mrs. Dratch, a New Milford native, said she always felt called to find a career that didn't fit the traditional gender role women were expected to follow. To that end, she obtained her law degree from the University of Bridgeport, now Quinnipiac, School of Law. Mrs. Dratch has worked at Moots, Pellegrini et al since 1989. Prior, she was a paralegal, having worked at Cramer & Anderson in New Milford from 1961 to 1981, and was involved in fire protection regulatory work. Mrs. Dratch is a member of the National Fire Protection Association and an elected affiliate member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. LYNDA LEE ARNOLD Specialty: Divorce and family law, personal injury litigation and real estate. A New Milford native, Mrs. Arnold went to law school as a second career while raising her children. She joined the firm in 2001 after being employed in Danbury Superior Court as a clerk serving in family matters, civil short calendars and personal injury jury trials. A 1995 graduate of Pace University School of Law, Mrs. Arnold received her undergraduate degree from Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. For a number of years before entering law school, she served as a sign language interpreter for the Danbury Board of Education. She previously served on a committee for the Connecticut Bar Association Family Law Section committee. Specialty: Personal injury litigation, including wrongful death and serious motor vehicle accidents, business litigation, criminal defense, and criminal and civil appeals. While driving around Greater New Milford several years ago, Mr. Gronbach and his wife fell in love with New Milford. He and his wife, who is also an attorney, had a picnic with their children on the Village Green. "I thought, `This would be a great place to live and raise a family,'" he said. They later moved to town and have been here about five years. Mr. Gronbach grew up in lower Westchester County, N.Y., graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and received a juris doctorate in 2001 from Pace University School of Law in White Plains, N.Y. He said early on in his studies he knew he enjoyed the "research, writing and argumentative part of law, not realizing how much I'd enjoy the personal aspect." He celebrates his second year at the local law firm this month. Specialty: Residential and commercial real estate and business law. Mr. Albanese has roots in New Milford. A native of the town, he joined the local firm this year after spending the initial years of his career practicing in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. "I think my New Milford upbringing and my New York training and experience give me a unique perspective, both in my practice and on matters concerning the town," he said. "New Milford is a great place to live and work," he said, "and I'm very happy that the opportunity arose for me to come back and join this firm." "So many young people have no choice but to move wherever it is they are able to secure a job," he explained, "so I consider myself very fortunate to have found a job with such a great firm in close proximity to my friends and family." In addition to focusing on residential and commercial real estate sales and leasing, he also has extensive experience in corporate and small business matters, representing firms of all sizes in both their day-to-day needs and in formation, dissolution, sales and mergers. Mr. Albanese, who earned his undergraduate degree from Fordham University and his law degree from Brooklyn Law School, is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.

BELPRE - More than 40 people who have been delinquent in filing or paying their Belpre city income tax are expected to go before city officials in Mayor's Court. "We know things come up and stuff happens, but we have been patient and working with taxpayers for two years and Mayor's Court is the final step," said city auditor Leslie Pittenger. In the coming weeks, Mayor Mike Lorentz and city prosecutor Andrew Webster will hear the cases of the 43 individuals whose paperwork has been filed for city income tax delinquency by Pittenger. Photo by Jolene CraigBelpre city auditor Leslie Pittenger looks over a spreadsheet of the financial reports for the more than 40 delinquent city income tax payers who have appearances in Belpre Mayor’s Court scheduled for failure to pay what they owe the city. "Several of those people have called me and want to settle it before their court date," Pittenger said. "Unfortunately, we have gotten to the point of no return and they must appear." The total amount owed was unavailable. Individual amounts owed range from $40 to $2,000. She added that in the past two years, the city has made numerous attempts to contact and help each individual who was delinquent in paying their city income tax or filing their city income taxes. "These court dates are for the people who did not respond to the letters we sent out inviting people to come to the city building for help filing their paperwork and setting up payment plans to accommodate the individual taxpayers," Pittenger said. "Many of the people who owed the city money responded and are working to pay what they owe." Each business and individual who works or lives within the city limits pays a 1 percent income tax to the city. The money collected through city income tax is placed in the city's general fund, which pays for the police department and fire chief, as well as city sanitation, street lights and the senior center. "Without the city income tax, there would be little the city could provide its citizens and those who spend time here," Pittenger said. The crackdown on individuals delinquent in the city income tax began not long after Pittenger was elected city auditor in 2010. "When I came into office, the city realized we had a number of taxpayers who were delinquent," she said. "In 2011, the city began a series of things to help those people pay off what they owe and get in the right with the city." Income tax revenue in Belpre fell 18 percent from 2008 to 2009, due in part to a reduction in the number of employees in the city as well as a number of residents who have failed to pay their income taxes, Pittenger said. Through the efforts of the city, in 2011, the city income tax collected was $250,000 more than the previous year. The income tax collections increased from $1,227,865 in 2011 to $1,261,364 in 2012. In 2011, the city announced there would need to be four special Mayor's Court sessions to deal with the delinquent city income tax payers. In July last year, the number of warrants for delinquent city income tax payers resulted in more arrests than warrants from any other city department between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2012. "One thing that helped the city go after those who were not paying their taxes was that the city now uses the Regional Income Tax Agency, RITA for short, to do the city income tax collection and processing and that freed up my office to look into those who were not paying," Pittenger said. RITA allows city income tax payers to file online, which the city could never have offered, she added. "For less than what we were paying an employee to do the work in the city building, we have RITA do it and offer better convenience that we could never have done," Pittenger said. 519 Juliana St. , Parkersburg, WV 26101 | 304-485-1891 © 2015. All rights reserved.| Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

The two districts, which have a merged school board, are currently headed by Dr. Loren Thomas, the superintendent of schools. Thomas said that the position is one of great need in the joint district following an unexpected student growth. Last year, vo-tech enrollment grew by 12 percent and two years ago, by 18 percent. The Special Services has also doubled in size in the last three years. In addition, both schools added numerous new programs, according to Thomas. The vo-tech has added many adult programs, such as the Certified Nursing Assistant program and the Phlebotomist program. The Early Learning Center was added to the Childcare program at vo-tech and the autism enrollment went from 15 to 75. At Special Services, a preschool disabilities program and a Deaf or Hard of Hearing program were added. Thomas said that between all of the growing programs at the school, and other school obligations, he spends about 20 hours a month in meetings. “I miss almost one school day a week while in meetings, and then have to spend two to three days catching up, which is a strain on the school,” Thomas said. Thomas said that the board is looking for someone who can run shop while he’s gone. “We need someone who can handle daily management,” he said. “We’re lacking strategic planning, goal setting, helping the principals, and working to have the two schools share services.” Thomas said that the ideal candidate would work in five particular areas: Curriculum, instruction, professional development, technology, and state testing. “The state is updating its standards regularly. While we keep doing a curriculum revision, it’s been impossible to keep up with the staff that we have,” he said. Thomas said that both schools’ budgets are severely restricted and that there will be absolutely no extra cost to the districts for hiring an assistant superintendent. “I plan to fund this by restructuring the current administration,” Thomas said. “I’m going to rearrange what the current jobs are. The titles may change, and some people may pick up responsibilities, but there will be the same number of people working.” Thomas did not say whether or not those workers would take pay cuts, but did say that the board plans to look both internally and externally for potential candidates for the position. “There are about five people between the districts who currently work here and have the certification for the job,” Thomas said. “If we hire an inside person, positions will shift around. If we hire someone from the outside, things will change a little more.” Thomas said that while almost nothing is a given, the only two definite factors in the hiring of an assistant superintendent are that the candidate must have a certain skill set and that there will be no budgetary raise. “I really appreciate the board’s unanimous support of this,” said Thomas. “It’s all about the district functioning better to help the kids.” Thomas expects to put an advertisement for the position out by the end of the month and begin interviews by the end of March. The selected candidate will most likely be appointed in April and will begin working on July 1.

Ten nonprofits have applied to open more than a dozen charter schools in Jefferson Parish, moving Jefferson school officials one step closer in their plans to turn the struggling system around. The organizations include several with established schools in New Orleans, such as the International School of Louisiana, Voices for International Business & Education and Choice Foundation. The list also includes the Jefferson Chamber Foundation, which wants to open an East Jefferson campus as a counterpart to its West Bank site. That school and Jefferson Community School, a middle school for children with discipline problems, are currently the only charters in Jefferson. The Jefferson Parish School Board will decide in December which, if any, applications to approve. Those that win approval could open as early as 2012-13. "I'm hoping it leads to more choice for our parents and better strategies for dealing with areas where we have not been successful," said board President Michael Delesdernier. The system began soliciting charter applications Aug. 24 as part of the reform initiatives of acting schools Superintendent James Meza and the largely new Jefferson Parish School Board. Although Jefferson has seen marginal improvement in student achievement over the past two years, it is still ranked 51st out of 70 Louisiana school districts. Under the state's new system of awarding letter grades, Jefferson received a D, while most of its metro area counterparts -- including the charter-rich Orleans Parish school system -- got Bs. The state-run Recovery School District, which also has several charters in New Orleans, received a D but showed the highest percentage of growth of any school system in the state. Jefferson school officials are largely focusing on schools that would serve poor students who are performing significantly below grade level, students learning English as a second language and overaged and/or expelled students. "Our core mission is to serve at-risk kids and do a better job than historically has been done," said Jacob Landry, who is heading up Jefferson's charter school initiative. "We feel like New Orleans is going to reach a saturation point in terms of opportunities for new schools," he said. School officials are spending this week making sure the applications are complete, and next week, they will begin a rigorous evaluation process. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers, a review agency known for its high standards, will conduct its own independent study and make recommendations based on its findings. Charter school applicants "It will be a lengthy review phase," Landry said. "Our first priority is quality." Among other areas, evaluators want to see that applicants have a clear and compelling mission statement, a proven educational philosophy and instructional approach, a strong and experienced nonprofit board, a plan to recruit and retain staff and students and solid financial and facility plans. The process will include site visits where applicable. Applicants interviews will take place Nov. 7. While some of the applicants have established schools in New Orleans, such as the Choice Foundation's Lafayette Academy, others are new but are working with proven operators, Landry said. Jefferson Charter Foundation, for example, has teamed up with Charter Schools USA, a national group that recently opened a school in Lake Charles and runs successful schools in Florida and Georgia, Landry said. Jefferson Charter wants to open two K-12 schools -- one on the West Bank and another in East Jefferson. International School of Louisiana, which runs K-8 schools in Algiers and the Central Business District, is applying to open similar schools on the West Bank and east bank of Jefferson Parish. Jefferson Foundation Chamber Academy, which opened a West Bank campus last year for high school dropouts and potential dropouts, wants to open a second school in East Jefferson. "Our program is geared to overaged, under-credit students who exhibit non-academic barriers to academic success," said Millie Harris, the academy's development director. Unlike a conventional high school, it offers a flexible schedule to accommodate students with full-time jobs as well as young parents who dropped out to care for their children. In the past year, 32 students -- including several who had quit school -- earned their high school diplomas, Harris said. Some went on to college and/or vocational training. "We've enjoyed working within the district to provide an alternate pathway for at-risk students," Harris said. "And we look forward to working with additional programs, including possible new charter schools, to continue to serve this population."

New Barnstaple chemo unit manager appointed 10:05 19 May 2014 Emma Thoms is the new Macmillan nurse for North Devon. Archant Macmillan has funded the new nurse to manage North Devon District Hospital’s new chemotherapy unit. THE unit manager for the new Chemotherapy Unit at North Devon District Hospital has been recruited thanks to funding from Macmillan. The cancer support charity’s new recruit, Emma Thoms, has begun work in the existing unit but will manage the new unit once it has opened. Emma has moved from Dudley, where she worked for a number of years in the haematology and oncology unit, to take up the role. Her new role will involve working closely with patients to support them through their treatment as well as running the unit along with 15 staff. Emma said: “I really wanted this job and I was so excited to get it. “It is a real privilege to help people at such a tough time in their lives and I get a lot of job satisfaction from it.” Emma has already started making changes to improve waiting times, help patients manage side effects and ensuring people have access to information leaflets. She is also looking to implement a helpline service for people who have worries about side effects during and after treatment. Sian Ward-Edwards, local fundraising manager for Macmillan, said: “We are so thrilled to be able to fund this new role for North Devon and welcome Emma to the team. “I know she has lots of plans that will really make a difference to local people diagnosed with cancer. “Over 98 per cent of Macmillan’s income is from public donations, so it’s thanks to the generosity of the local community that we are able to fund new roles like Emma’s.” Last year Macmillan’s Barnstaple fundraising committee raised £37,000 by organising fundraising events and securing the support of local businesses. Anyone that wants to get involved with Macmillan can contact Sian on sward-edwards@macmillan.org.uk or 07834 192 244.

Emily Spieler, who has served as the School of Law’s dean since 2002, has decided to step down from her position at the end of the academic year. The Edwin W. Hadley Professor of Law, Spieler has brought about transformative change at the School of Law, recruiting outstanding faculty, building innovative interdisciplinary programs, globalizing education and research, enhancing experiential education and advocating for the importance of law, policy and justice across all of Northeastern’s endeavors. “It has been a privilege to serve as the dean at Northeastern,” Spieler said. “I came here because I was attracted to the history and values of this law school, particularly our commitment to education that emphasizes experiential education and the role of law in advancing the public good. I continue to believe that these principles are essential to educating great lawyers, to doing research that matters and to addressing the challenges of the world.” To build the school’s international reach, Spieler has hired faculty who focus on international and immigration law and human rights, expanded the international law curriculum, increased the school’s network of international and domestic co-op employers, raised funds to support students pursuing international experiential learning opportunities, and worked with faculty to found the Program on Human Rights in the Global Economy (now supported by the Ford Foundation). At the end of the 2011–2012 academic year, the school will also launch its first graduate law degree program — an LLM for international students. During Spieler’s tenure, the quality of admitted students dramatically increased. This year, the school welcomes its most accomplished and diverse student body ever. “Under her leadership, the law school has attained national and international recognition for its signature strengths in public interest law and experiential legal education,” said Provost Stephen Director in a message to faculty. “She will leave the law school a significantly stronger and more vital institution.” As dean, Spieler maintained a strong focus on providing the best in experiential education among law schools, anchored in Northeastern’s signature co-op program. In particular, the school extended co-op opportunities outside the United States in international law, human rights and other areas of law. Understanding that the world’s problems can only be solved through interdisciplinary collaboration, Spieler successfully recruited joint faculty with the College of Business Administration and the Bouvé College of Health Sciences. She also built strategic alliances with other higher education institutions, developing dual-degree programs with Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management and Vermont Law School, and strengthening the JD/Master of Public Health program with Tufts University School of Medicine. These partnerships have enabled Northeastern students to pursue joint degrees in law and public health, environmental law and policy and sustainable development, as well as the soon-to-be-launched dual degree in music industry leadership, in cooperation with Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media and Design. The school also has a number of other joint degree programs within the University. Spieler also enhanced the law school’s leadership in public service and public interest law. She supported faculty efforts to build new programs such as the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project and sustain existing programs like the Domestic Violence Institute and the Public Health Advocacy Institute, and led other law school deans to support efforts to expand access to justice both in Massachusetts and nationally. The School of Law was named the top public interest law school in 2008 by The National Jurist and preLaw Magazine, and was recently chosen to receive the Boston Bar Association’s Beacon Award that recognizes “leadership in diversity and inclusion.” Under Spieler’s leadership, the School of Law has gone through a physical transformation as well. New facilities are now equipped with state-of-the-art classrooms, clinics and academic and social gathering places for students and faculty. Provost Director will convene a search committee to conduct a national search for a new dean of the School of Law. Emily Spieler, who has served as the School of Law’s dean since 2002, has decided to step down from her position at the end of the academic year.

Closter to weigh development plan including donation of history-rich home CLOSTER — The fate of a historic home hinges on a vote at the Zoning Board’s Sept. 18 meeting. The owner of the Harold Hess Lustron House, which has been the focus of preservation campaigns in the borough because of its unusual construction and historical relevance, is asking the board for permission to subdivide the property surrounding the home. In return for approval of his plans, the owner has promised to donate the historic home at 421 Durie Avenue to the borough. Otherwise, he plans to raze the home and says he already has a demolition permit in hand. The owner’s aim is to merge the property with the ones next door into a 1.5 acre site and then divide it into four lots: One for the Lustron House, and then two lots for two 2,400-square-foot colonials that could then be sold for around $1.1. million each, said David Watkins, the attorney representing the applicant. A fourth lot, which currently has an existing two-family house, would remain as is. The applicant, Diamond Engineering is owned by Changiz Asfarjani and Afsaneh Kiarash, according to borough officials. Mayor Sophie Heymann has said she would be “delighted” to accept the donation of the home, which the borough has unsuccessfully attempted numerous times to landmark. A zoning board member has said it’s hard to predict which way the board will vote, but generally the board approves most of its cases. A decision is likely to be made at the September meeting. Assuming the vote is favorable, the decision will be formalized in October. Then Watkins said the applican will donate the Lustron House and its property of about 15,000 square feet. The yellow-sided Lustron home is a rare example of post World War II housing, according to history experts. The style was designed by Carl Strandlund, who secured a government loan to produce homes of steel with porcelain coated exterior paneling. His aim was to provide inexpensive housing for returning veterans. He founded the Lustron corporation and built about 2,500 homes in a former aircraft plant in Ohio in 1949 and 1950. The homes were designed to be maintenance free and promoted as fire- and rust proof as well as cheap. “At first, people thought they’d rust away because they were made of steel. But years later, most of them are in really good shape. They are resistant to the weather,” said Tom Fetters, a Lustron House historian from Lombard, Il. who has travelled extensively to examine the homes. In his research, he found that 17 Lustron Houses were built around New Jersey, including one in Newark, Wildwood and at Palisades Amusement Park. There also was a second Lustron House in Closter, located at 22 Division Street, he said. That home was demolished year ago. The home in question was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. But municipal landmark status would protect it from alteration and demolition. Attempts to landmark it were unsuccessful; the last time the council voted it down was in 2013, when the homeowner then selling the home opposed landmark status on the grounds that it would lower the home’s value. He sold it in March to Diamond Engineering for $380,000. Referring to the Zoning Board approval and the subsequent donation, Watkins said, “If this is successful, it’s a good deal for everyone.”

Behind A Halloween Mask, Even 'Good' Kids Can Turn Into Candy Thieves Is there an angel or a devil behind the mask? Scientists say it may not matter in terms of anonymous behavior. Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images hide caption Is there an angel or a devil behind the mask? Scientists say it may not matter in terms of anonymous behavior.Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Vampires and monsters will be out in force tonight, but some of the darkest creatures out there might be your little angels inside those Halloween costumes. It's been more than a quarter-century since psychologists discovered that the cloak of anonymity of Halloween costumes gives children license to steal — not just candy, but real money. In a naturalistic experiment published in 1976 into the behavior of 1,352 children in the Seattle area on Halloween, researchers found that virtually all children were willing to join in the stealing — given the right circumstances. The kids varied in age from 4 and 5 to pre-teens. In an interview this week with The Salt, Scott Fraser, one of the researchers, says the study challenged an idea that was universally believed at the time and is still widely held today: People who do bad things are bad people; actions derive from character. Not so, Fraser says. Given the right circumstances, both children and adults can be induced to violate social norms. The context, not character, is king. Among the chief factors that can turn good kids into thieves: anonymity. And that's what led the researchers to study kids at Halloween, Fraser says. "The basic brainstorm that occurred is that here's a naturally occurring event in our society where children come dressed in costumes," he says. "They would be dressed as ballerinas, holding masks over their eyes — they essentially were anonymous." Fraser was a psychologist at the University of Washington at Seattle at the time; he now teaches at UCLA and USC. The study, which was led by psychologist Edward Diener, was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. So, how'd they do it? The setup was simple. Researchers allowed kids to show up at 27 homes that had been set up for the experiment. A woman welcomed the trick-or-treaters and admired their costumes; she made no effort to identify the children. She then showed them to a table. There were two bowls on the table. One held delectable candies; the other was filled with coins. The woman told the children they were each allowed to take only one piece of candy. If a child asked about the money, he or she was told the money was meant for a charitable cause and was to be picked up soon. The woman then disappeared into another room. Secretly, however, researchers hidden behind closet doors or decorative curtains watched the kids. When the kids were confident that they were anonymous, and especially when they were in large groups, nearly all the children made off with more candy than they were allowed, or with money, or with both. There were 416 separate occasions where children took stuff they were not supposed to take. "In fact we had some groups that came, and they simply turned the bowl over, divided all the candies up, put it in their bags and left," Fraser says. "They robbed us blind." Leadership also played a role. When children came in a group and a single child was told he or she was responsible for making sure the others took only one candy each — but no effort was made to identify the leader — thievery became the norm. The leader knew he or she could act with impunity. And when that happened, nearly all the other kids followed suit. Fraser says that he sees connections between the kids' behavior and the different ways in which adults break rules, up to and including atrocities committed by soldiers in wartime. Given the cloak of anonymity and unethical leadership, wrongdoing becomes the norm. "The first thought that comes to mind when an individual commits a horrendous act is to ascribe some kind of character feature that is particular to that individual and that most people feel they don't possess," Fraser says. "[We think,] 'that's a serial killer who's a psychopath [or] that's a very rude person — but [it's] not me.' " The psychologists found that when the trick-or-treaters came with a supervising adult, when they came individually and when they were asked for their names and addresses before being shown to the table, honesty levels soared. So, if you want masked kids to be honest tonight as they reach their sticky hands into the candy bowl, you may want to trust but verify. Actually, scratch that. Don't trust them..

PUBLIC LIVES PUBLIC LIVES; A Guide in the Public School Maze, Mouse in Hand By LYNDA RICHARDSON Published: August 20, 2002 CLARA HEMPHILL is used to asking tough questions. She was a reporter who covered welfare and poverty for Newsday. (New York magazine called her Miss Misery.) She was in Rome for The Associated Press and CBS, mixing it up with priests and cardinals as well as the mafia. She was sent to wartime Lebanon. It seems this would be great preparation for when Ms. Hemphill began shopping around for where to send her children in the New York City public school system. Yet even she found that penetrating the bureaucracy of the Board of Education was harder than prying information from the Vatican. ''I thought if I'm having trouble, other parents are, too,'' she said on a recent morning. For the last seven years, Ms. Hemphill has made it her business to teach parents about the city's best public schools, writing three guidebooks that have become a sort of bible for urban parents. There's a newly revised edition on the elementary schools. The others are on middle and high schools. Now, she's moving onto the Internet. At this moment, Ms. Hemphill, 48, who has and a no-nonsense manner, is up against a deadline as she leans over her computer in her cubicle at Advocates for Children, a nonprofit agency in Manhattan's garment district. She is the project director of, a new Web site and guide to the city's 1,100 public schools that is to go online Sept. 2. ''I have to fill all this in,'' she mutters as she frowns at blank entries under the survival tips section. ''And this needs a lot of work.'' Looking over her shoulder, you glance through school profiles that are filled with basic facts like average class size and math and reading scores, in addition to attendance and graduation rates. But the site also offers descriptive tidbits (as Zagat's restaurant guides do) focusing on a school's emotional and physical aspects. ''We call it Insideschools because it's casting a flashlight on these dark little corners that nobody from the outside has seen for decades and letting us know about them,'' she says. ''The Board of Education data and school report cards on every school in the district can lag behind by a year. It's like light from a distant star. And some of it is precise and some of it is misleading.'' There are upbeat profiles, like one on Public School 107 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Other profiles are scathing. The Graphic Communication Arts High School on West 49th Street is described as gloomy and prisonlike. Ms. Hemphill says she has has no intention of giving comfort to parents looking for an excuse to bail out on public education, adding that she is a big fan of public schools, particularly of their racial and economic mix. ''I think with energy and perseverance, most educated parents in the city can find good public school alternatives and help the city as a whole,'' she says. Ms. Hemphill is married to a historian, Robert Snyder, who teaches journalism at Rutgers University's Newark campus. They have two children, ages 6 and 9. The family rents a one-bedroom apartment in a rundown building on the Upper East Side. The couple sleeps in what used to be the dining room; her children share the bedroom. She moved to the apartment in 1987 when she was single, after returning from Rome. The children attend the Manhattan New School, a public school about three blocks from their home on East 81st Street, which is in Community School District 2, one of the city's top districts. Ms. Hemphill says her children's school is as good as Brearley or Dalton, nearby private schools. O.K., you can just hear the grumbling parents: Oh, listen to her. She's not living in our neighborhood with its lousy schools. ''I consider myself very privileged,'' she says firmly. ''I feel very lucky, but my aim is to have every school as good as the one my kids go to.'' So what's her take on the unwillingness of many white New Yorkers to even consider public schools as a plausible alternative; or to enroll their children in schools in which they will be in the minority? ''I think a lot of white parents are put off when their child is one, or one of two, white kids in a class,'' she says, pausing. ''I think parents are more concerned about class than race issues. But if more white parents took the plunge, then there would be white kids in the schools.'' ALTHOUGH her children's school is 70 percent white, she insists she would send her children to a school in which they were a minority as long the teaching quality was good. Ms. Hemphill describes her politics as left of center. She was raised in rural northeastern Connecticut. Her father was a college English professor and her mother, a retired regional planner, used to be a reporter for The Minneapolis Tribune. Her grandmother wrote articles for newspapers and magazines after World War I. Though Ms. Hemphill says she reveled in her life as a reporter, she thinks her work now is more meaningful. Still, she's not wide-eyed about winning over loads of converts to public education. ''I don't know, maybe it's not a good enough argument,'' she says bluntly, letting out a laugh. ''I haven't persuaded a lot of people. Friends say, 'Yes, yes, Clara. We've heard you talk about ethnic democracy, but what do you really think?' '' Photo: CLARA HEMPHILL (Librado Romero/The New York Times)

HOME FRONT HOME FRONT; Dancer in 'Cats' Finds a 2nd Act in Law By Betsy Cummings Published: June 27, 2004 AS dance careers go, Hans Kriefall's was somewhat atypical. Like most professional dancers, he spent his childhood obsessed with the profession. ''All I ever wanted to do was dance,'' Mr. Kriefall, 38, said. But it wasn't until college, when many dancers have already spent years at their craft, that he first explored it himself through jazz dancing and ballet classes at Princeton. In 1988, a year after graduating, he landed a part as a dancer in a European tour of ''West Side Story,'' the show that inspired him as a child. Other touring shows followed: ''Me and My Girl,'' ''A Chorus Line'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar.'' In 1995, at 29, he landed his first Broadway performance as Alonzo in ''Cats,'' a role he would perform for four years. But a year and a half into his stint as Alonzo, Mr. Kriefall's attitude toward his career began to change. He did not predict how substantial that change would be. He started to audition for other shows, but nothing interested him. Early in his dance career, Mr. Kriefall (pronounced KRY-fahl) craved the validation that being selected as a performer gave him. But later, he said, ''I realized I didn't care anymore whether I got the job.'' ''If they wanted to hire me, great,'' he continued. ''If not, it was no skin off my nose.'' What to do next, however, was not so apparent. Many dancers face a similar quandary: where to turn professionally when a career has dried up or lost its appeal. Another dancer told Mr. Kriefall about Career Transition for Dancers, an organization with offices in New York and Los Angeles that has helped thousands of dancers to change careers. ''Dancers spend their whole life, from 5 or 6, having tunnel vision about dance and being a Broadway or modern or jazz dancer,'' said Mary Lou Westerfield, national director for policy at Actors' Equity Association, an actors' union that helped found Career Transition for Dancers in 1985. ''We try to get dancers empowered to see if they hadn't been focused on dance what they might have done.'' In Mr. Kriefall's case, that meant taking a series of professional and personality tests and career questionnaires that his caseworker at Career Transition had him complete. Dancers receive such help free if they meet the program's eligibility requirements of 100 weeks of paid performance over seven years. Those who qualify can use the service for life. Since the group was created, 2,700 dancers nationwide have received career counseling services, most of them in New York, and 2,033 of them currently participate in career or other services the group offers, said Alexander J. Dubé, the center's executive director. The age of the average client has recently dropped to the teens and early 20's. ''This is the next generation of dancers, and they understand that when their career comes to an end, they need to have tools to jump-start and move into another career that is as fulfilling as dance,'' Mr. Dubé said. The average dancer ends his career at 29, he added. At the same time that Mr. Kriefall's passion for ''Cats'' was waning, his interest in volunteer work at Actors' Equity was increasing. His career counselor noticed a pattern of legal work through his union activities and suggested that he pursue internships in that field. He interned in the office of State Senator Franz S. Leichter of Manhattan, served on his church's council and continued his work with Actors' Equity. ''No matter where I was working, there was a lawyer engaged at some level being very helpful,'' Mr. Kriefall said. ''I thought I'd like to be one of those people actually offering concrete advice.'' He eventually applied to Columbia Law School and graduated in 2002. His second summer internship was at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton L.L.P. , where he now practices as a lawyer in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. ''Dance is very disciplined, focused and organized. You're an artist within very specific parameters,'' Mr. Kriefall said, suggesting a link between dance and the precision of law. ''Looking back, I miss the expression of dance,'' he said. ''And the great camaraderie that dancers have is different than the relationships that people have in the corporate world. But it's nice to have been able to step away from it. Now when I take dance classes, it's fun because I'm not worried that I can't do splits or my pirouettes are sloppy. I think I'm dancing better now than I used to.'' Photo: After Hans Kriefall lost interest in his career as a Broadway dancer, he went to Columbia Law School. He is now a corporate finance lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton. (Photo by Yoni Brook/The New York Times)

CRIES of “no more cuts” sounded outside County Hall yesterday as around 200 campaigners protested against council budget cuts. Those who rely on support services across Oxfordshire including the homeless and the unemployed united to make their voices heard ahead of the county council cabinet meeting. Protester Richard Hayes turned to Oxford hostel O’Hanlon House, run by Oxford Homeless Pathways, more than three years ago after losing his home. The county council wants to cut its £4m housing-related support budget by £1.5m, or 38 per cent, which will affect the charity and Oxford’s three hostels. Mr Hayes, 65, who now lives in Julian Housing provided by the charity in East Oxford, said: “I would have been desperate if it wasn’t for O’Hanlon House. It was a couple of years ago now. I went bankrupt, lost my house and had nowhere to live and they were really good to me. “It really is so vital.” Retired doctor Anne Watson worked in the health centre in Luther Street, Oxford, which is next to O’Hanlon House, for 15 years. Dr Watson, from West Oxford, said: “I have never had a more wonderful, worthwhile, necessary, rewarding job. “These cuts are appalling. It would be an absolute disaster, they really mustn't go through with it.” Rose Hill single mum Emily Boughton was supported by Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre with debt advice when she lost her job last July. The advice centre in Ashhurst Way stands to lose £14,000 from April 2015, which will result in reduced opening hours and the loss of one of the four staff members. The 36-year-old said: “I have been having massive problems since losing my job and experienced real hardship. I was really stressed so I wasn’t able to work. “I was quite desperate, I literally didn’t have enough to live on – I had to go to the advice centre. “They provide a vital service. I wouldn’t have been able to figure it all out on my own. “Without their help I would never have got through this.” Of the proposals, she added: “I am quite disgusted with them. “Just because I have run into financial trouble doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get the help I need in the community.” Sam Nelson turned to Connection floating support for help when he lost his job at the end of December last year and found his debt mounting up. The charity will be affected by the proposed cut to the housing-related support budget. Carpenter Mr Nelson, 38, from Faringdon, said: “I have had to turn to them for help with my housing. I recently started work, then stopped working. “I think it is an absolute crying shame. I understand 38 per cent is nigh on half – that is an awfully big cut. “It is extremely vital, not just for me but anyone in a vulnerable or difficult position.” -.” Please log in to enable comment sorting 7:13am Wed 29 Jan 14 Andrew:Oxford says... Oh my word. Is it any wonder this poor chap has debt problems?

US Lawmakers Want to Ban Many E-waste Exports Two U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation that would ban the export of broken electronic waste products from the country, in an effort to reduce the recycling of dangerous materials in unsafe overseas facilities. Representatives Gene Green and Mike Thompson introduced the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act late Wednesday. The goal of the legislation is to stop toxic e-waste from going to countries in Africa and Asia, where it is often recycled using hammers and other simple tools, supporters said. The bill would allow the U.S. to export electronic products that are tested and working. Although unlikely to pass this year, the bill has won the support of Dell, Samsung, Apple and Ohio-based e-waste recycler Redemtech. Beginning Thursday, Congress is in recess until after the Nov. 2 elections, although lawmakers are expected to return to Washington, D.C., for a lame-duck session late in the year. Support for an e-waste export ban is growing, even if the legislation doesn't pass this year, said Thompson, a California Democrat. Thompson introduced his first e-waste bill more than a decade ago, he said. The bill is the result of agreement from several interested groups, and when that happens, "you introduce the bill," he said. The Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a group promoting safe e-waste recycling, also expressed support for the bill. E-waste shipped overseas is "literally poisoning people," Barbara Kyle, the group's national coordinator, said at a press conference. Large amounts of U.S. e-waste end up at unsafe overseas recycling facilities, several environmental groups have said. The U.S. Governmental Accountability Office, in a September 2008 report, said harmful e-waste shipments from the U.S. are "virtually unrestricted" because of minimal enforcement and narrow regulations. "For my industry, 'recycling' is a word that gets used quite loosely," said Redemtech President Robert Houghton. "Our industry is defrauding every day [hardware] companies when recyclers promise responsibility, but end up making their money in this toxic trade with recycling sweatshops overseas." With a few exceptions, "responsible recycling" hasn't been available in the U.S. until recently, Houghton added. Most other developed nations have laws restricting e-waste exports, Green said. The bill would help expand the U.S. e-waste recycling industry, he added "It's a green jobs bill and will create jobs here in the U.S. processing these used products in safe ways," Green said. Small U.S. recyclers that use safe methods to process e-waste "have a hard time competing with recycling facilities overseas that have few, if any, labor and environmental standards." The bill would define e-waste that could not be exported by the U.S. to developing nations. Nonhazardous and working electronic products and parts would not be restricted. The bill includes some exemptions to the export restrictions, including products being recalled, and products under warranty being returned to the manufacturing facility that made them. Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com.

Every living thing on Earth uses DNA or RNA to carry its genetic instructions for life. These two nucleic acids have different names because they're built from different sugars: DNA uses deoxyribose sugars for a backbone of its double helix, while RNA uses ribose. But what if other sugars could be used too? Now scientists have shown that at least six other types of sugars can form nucleic acid backbones—and they can be used to store and retrieve genetic information. The researchers built DNA molecules from scratch, but replaced the deoxyribose with six other kinds of sugar, including hexitol, threose, and arabinose. The six types of synthetic genetic chains are called XNAs, or xeno-nucleic acids ("xeno" is Greek for "foreign"). And because XNA shows the possibility of heredity—passing down their genetic information—the researchers say these molecules not only could address fascinating questions about the origin of life, but also could open up the possibility of another kind of life based not on DNA and RNA. Jack Szostak, a geneticist and Nobel laureate at Harvard University, tells PM in an email that the work "is very interesting with respect to the origin of life—in principle, many different polymers could serve the roles of RNA and DNA in living organisms. Why then does modern biology use only RNA and DNA?" How to Make Synthetic DNA This isn't the first time that geneticists have cooked up synthetic nucleic acids in a lab. Some scientists had previously created DNA with new kinds of base pairs beyond the A-T and C-G connections in DNA, and others had already created XNAs that incorporate foreign sugars. John Chaput, a molecular biologist at Arizona State University and an author on the new study in Science, says this work asks a new question: "How can you perform Darwinian evolution on something other than DNA or RNA? Lots of DNA and RNA molecules have been evolved in the laboratory, but going the next step and doing it on other molecules has been very challenging. This is one of the first examples of that." To prove that XNAs could evolve, the researchers first had to create a new kind of enzyme to build the XNAs. Although it's possible to manufacture XNAs by machine, the resulting nucleic acids are short chains that have limited functionality and evolvability. So instead of using the machinated approach, the researchers took thousands of DNA-building enzymes and evolved them into XNA-building enzymes. That required taking thousands of enzymes and mixing them together with XNA building blocks, as well as DNA strands that served as templates for the scaffolding on which to build XNA molecules. If an enzyme turned out to be good at building XNA strands, it was captured using a filtering process and amplified it for the next round of testing; enzymes that were bad at making XNA were washed away. Over many rounds of filtering, the enzyme population evolved to become more adroit at building XNAs—in fact, they could produce polymers XNA chains that lasted were five times longer than machine-made XNAs. "They took enzymes that already existed, and evolved mutants of them that are better at making XNAs," says Floyd Romesberg, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute, who called the technique "impressive." Next, the researchers tried to evolve the XNAs themselves. To do so, they used a similar filtering technique. In this case, the scientists selected for XNAs that could bind to a specific protein; XNAs that did not bind to the proteins were washed away. Those that did bind were transcribed back into DNA so that they could be replicated. After replication, the team transcribed the copies back into XNA. In this way, the XNAs that had evolved to bind the protein were able to pass on that talent to a new generation of XNAs. Synthetic DNA, Synthetic Life? Because the XNAs are able to pass genetic information from one generation to the next and can adapt to the constraints of test tube evolution, Chaput says, XNAs could serve as the building blocks for completely new genetic systems. "Could you create synthetic life with it? That's possible, but it's much further down the road." Szostak agrees, saying that "in the longer run, a very interesting implication is that it may be possible to design and build new forms of life that are based on one or more of these non-natural genetic polymers." But Romesberg emphasized that creating completely new life forms using XNA would be a long and difficult mission. The foremost challenge: Researchers must find an efficient way to reproduce XNAs directly into more XNAs without having to convert them to DNA and back again. Some folks are nervous that releasing XNA into the biosphere could allow it to intermingle with DNA and RNA with unpredictable results. But scientists such as Steven Benner and Markus Schmidt retort that XNAs are foreign enough to be invisible to natural organisms (read more about this issue here). Regardless of whether XNAs can or will be used to create new life forms, the researchers have shown that it is possible to expand evolution into systems based not on DNA or RNA. And the XNAs and their enzymes may also lead to some answers about why life as we know it is based on those to molecules only. Are DNA and RNA the best molecules to store genetic information and catalyze biological reactions, or did they become the building blocks of life by sheer happenstance? Now researchers will have the tools to test the true efficiency against lab-created competitors. Medicine, too, could benefit from XNAs, Romesberg says. Doctors already prescribe biological products such as enzymes and antibodies to treat certain diseases, but these drugs break down quickly in the stomach and the blood stream. Because XNAs are somewhat foreign, they're not broken down as quickly in the body, as it has not evolved enzymes to digest them. The experiment also has implications for looking for life on other planets. "Maybe if you look hard enough out in space, you might find a life form based on XNA," Chaput says.

Office: Theological Hall, Room 011 Telephone: (613) 533-6000, ext.75292 Craig Walker earned his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, where he had taken his earlier degrees in English. He has taught courses in most subjects in the Department of Drama at one time or another. For the 2006-07 academic year, he is Acting Head of the Department. with Theatre Kingston. Les Belles Soeurs, John Lazarus' Village of Idiots, Meltdown theatrical writing by his distinguished colleague and friend, Tim Fort. For six summers, from 2001 -2006, he has also written and directed the touring children's plays performed by The Barefoot Players, a group of Queen's Drama students who are hired through The Drama Dept. and Theatre Kingston to produce and perform for the children of the Kingston area. His other work as a director includes seasons in the 1990s as an Intern Director at The Shaw Festival and an assistant director at The Stratford Festival, and, for the Queen's Department of Drama, directing. His other directing work includes Much Ado About Nothing for DreamNorth Theatre and three plays for the St Lawrence Shakespeare Festival: Romeo and Juliet in 2007, As You Like It in 2008 and Measure for Measure in 2009. On the academic side,, in a version that features parallel Folio and Quarto texts, for The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. His other publications include chapters in the books George F. Walker: Critical Perspectives on Canadian Theatre, Volume Five (Playwrights Canada Press, 2006), Judith Thompson: Critical Perspectives on Canadian Theatre in English, Volume Three (Playwrights Canada Press, 2005), Sharon Pollock: Essays on her Work (Guernica Press, 2000), Compass Points: Navigating the 20th Century (Between the lines, 1999), The Legacy of Northrop Frye (UT Press, 1994), a number of entries in The Literary Encyclopedia, and articles.

24 March 2014Chris Davidson, Director of Development, GI Energy “The battle for life on Earth will be won or lost in cities,” says Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary, Convention of Biological Diversity. While it's true that cities may only occupy 2% of the earth's land, they account for more than 70% of its energy consumption and will house 75% of its population by 2055(1). While it is vital that we protect the planet's natural resources, it is in the cities that the real changes will take place. Following are real-world examples of what London can learn from some of the planet's most eco-friendly cities. This Danish city is regularly cited as one of the world's greenest, thanks to its ambitious plans to make the city entirely reliant on renewable energy sources by 2025, with initiatives that include a mandatory green roof policy for all new developments since 2010(2). The Greater London Authority's Spatial Development Strategy recognizes the benefits of vegetated roofs, but ‘encourages developers to consider them’, rather than making them compulsory(3). A few tweaks to building restrictions could see greenery abounding on London's skyline, as its current sustainable building boom continues. Copenhagen is also famous for its bicycle facilities, and officials hope to get as many as 50% of its citizens on wheels by 2015, by closing major roads to cars and developing even more bike lanes(4). London is well on its way to becoming a cyclists’ paradise, with a 173% increase in bicycle traffic since 2001(5). However, more needs to be done to prioritise bicycles over other traffic (especially since many roads in London see more bicycles per day than they do cars or buses(6)) and to reduce the risk to cyclists from heavy goods vehicles, by fitting them with mirrors and blind spot sensors, by reviewing HGV driver training, and by restricting their access to the city centre. 20 years ago the UN named Mexico City the most polluted city on the planet(7), with air so poisonous that birds fell dead from the sky(8). But now, thanks to the city's outstanding commitment to its ProAire programmes, it is one of the cleanest. Mexico City has taken a diverse and holistic approach to tackling pollution, closing the most polluting factories, banning cars from the metropolitan area one day per week, and launching its Bus Rapid Transit Metro system which, in its first six years, reduced CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes and more than halved citizens’ exposure to particulate matter. This significantly diminished pollution-related health problems(9). The EU's death toll for poor air quality is higher even than that for road accidents, and London faces a stiff fine if it fails to meet European targets to reduce emissions by 2020. A more radical approach is needed, with greater restrictions on private vehicles, and further investment in public transport and cycling infrastructure, to give Londoners inexpensive yet viable alternatives to running a private car. “The target which London is looking to achieve cannot be met just by changing a few light bulbs or turning down the heating by one degree,” Davidson says. “The game has changed.” One of the greenest cities on the planet is Reykjavik, which gets 100% of its electricity and heat derived from renewable energy sources. This is due to Iceland's unique geology, which allows the country to rely on geothermal energy and hydropower for 85% of its electricity, rather than the traditional fossil fuels(10). Fortunately for London's inhabitants, the city isn't located on a tectonic fault line. However, there are other ways in which the city could look to its natural environment to maximize renewable energy production. The GLA already expects architects to incorporate renewable energy technology into new developments(11), but it would be possible to go much further than this. As Davidson states: “There are a host of factors and new technologies to consider, from carefully positioning buildings to maximise natural daylight, to selecting truly renewable forms of heating and cooling, such as Ground Source Energy Systems. The pressure to reduce carbon emissions even further will only increase – and what London does today, the rest of the country will be doing tomorrow.” (1) Sustainable Cities: Building cities for the future; Urban Sustainability Communication Platform 2013/14, December 2013, p.1. (2) Green Roofs Copenhagen, The Technical and Environmental Administration, City of Copenhagen (September 2012), p. 2. (3) The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004), February 2008, p. 210. (4) ecomagination.com: Top 5 Most Sustainable Cities in the World. (5) London's Cycling Revolution, Greater London Authority. (6) London Cycle Census Map, TFL Cycle Traffic Census, EUNOIA (April 2013). (7) Mexico City: ProAire. (8) Mexico City drastically reduced air pollutants since 1990s, Anne-Marie O'Connor, Washington Post (April 1, 2010). (9) Best Practice: Metrobus Bus Rapid Transit System, New York City Global Partners, February 2010, pp. 3-4. (10) Aska Energy – The Independant Icelandis Energy Portal. (11) The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004), February 2008, pp. 205-206. London could establish wind turbines on some of its hills as a means to boost electricity supplies to the National Grid. It might also encourage councils to replace street appliances, such as ticket machines and road signs, with solar-powered alternatives. The government should also consider proposals to build a new flood protection barrier with integrated hydropower turbines, in order to take advantage of the tidal flow of the Thames. ♦ Chris Davidson is the Director of Development of GI Energy, a renewable energy solutions company.: Green building You must be registered and logged in to leave a comment about this article. Forgotten login?

Focus Financial is playing its own version of Broker Protocol ping-pong with some firms dropping out of the Protocol and others joining. Most notably, Focus Financial Partners LLC itself and its largest partner firm, Buckingham Asset Management LLC, left the Protocol in July, causing many industry leaders to speculate that Focus was changing its game plan and was no longer going to poach wirehouse advisors. See: Focus Financial pivots to breakaway strategy with Fidelity recruit. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, says Rajini Kodialam, co-founder of Focus and managing director. She says the company was doing its own internal housecleaning when it made the decision to leave the Protocol and each partner firm is choosing whether it wants to be in the Protocol or not. To see the Protocol list and recent changes, click here Kodialam points out that Lori Van Dusen, principal of LVW Advisors, which oversees more than $3 billion in assets, joined the Protocol in August. See: Broker Protocol signings regain momentum amid new signs that the wirehouses could shut the breakaway portal. Committed to breakaways Before joining Focus, Kodialam served as vice president at American Express Co, and McKinsey & Co,, both in New York, where she worked alongside Focus co-founder Rudy Adolf. She spoke with RIABiz for the first time recently and stressed that Focus’ mission hasn’t changed in the least. “Let me completely say that there’s no change in strategy. We’re extremely committed to breakaways,” Kodialam says. “We’ve had a two-prong strategy with RIAs and breakaways and we’re equally interested in breakaways.” Focus now has $50 billion in assets through 24 partner firms, which employ 750 people in 42 states and the United Kingdom. There are still a host of Focus firms that remain in the Protocol. In addition to LVW Advisors, Lara Shull & May LLC of Falls Church, Va.; JFS Wealth Advisors LLC in Hermitage, Pa.; Sapient Private Wealth Management LLC in Eugene, Ore.; and HoyleCohen Inc. of San Diego are all in the Protocol. Rajini Kodialam: We’re not a regulated entity. We’re not a platform. The Protocol was founded in 2004 by Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and UBS Financial Services Inc. and gives departing brokers a way to move their books of business if they follow certain steps to the letter. See: RIAs drive explosive growth of the Broker Protocol; signatories triple. No need for Protocol Focus doesn’t belong in the Protocol because it’s a holding company and the member firms are the ones who should decide whether or no they want to be signed on to the no-fault treaty, Kodialam says. “The companies that are in the Protocol are regulated entities. And the brokers who join them move from Merrill or Morgan to HighTower [Advisors LLC], and you’re an employee. At Focus, we have a very different structure. We’re not a regulated entity. We’re not a platform. It’s consistent with what we’ve always been.” When asked why Focus joined in the first place, Kodialam says she’s unsure. Industry leaders say Kodialam’s right and there was no reason for Focus to be in the Protocol. Brian Hamburger, founder of MarketCounsel LLC, says all firms should make the decision about the Protocol based on their specific goals. Brian Hamburger: There’s no potential benefit for Focus to be in the Protocol. “I can understand the move by Focus,” he says. “Focus’ model is that it takes an interest in these firms. No one leaving a wirehouse firm is technically joining Focus. There’s no potential benefit for Focus to be in the Protocol.” No worries of poaching Industry sources also speculated that Focus may be exiting the Protocol as a defensive strategy to prevent its own advisors from being poached. But Kodialam points out that the Protocol is for brokers and not for advisors. Once advisors leave a wirehouse and join Focus, they’re no longer a broker and wouldn’t even be part of a protocol. “We don’t depend on the Protocol to keep our people in the firms. We acquire assets and we tie them in with non-competes and non-solicitations,” Kodialam says. “We’re not brokers. We’re an RIA. The Protocol is for an RIA. When you leave you’re a broker, and when you come here, you’re an RIA.” Cherry picking Kodialam says it’s important to her that Focus’ own firms decide on whether they should remain in the Protocol or not. For instance, Buckingham chose to withdraw because the firm realized it was not interested in grabbing wirehouse advisors, Kodialam explains. But Van Dusen’s firm recently joined the Protocol because Van Dusen hopes to poach some giant wirehouse teams. “We’re never going to do the kind of volume the others do from the wirehouses,” Kodialam says. “But that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for quality.” Why is Van Dusen in the Protocol? Van Dusen says that by signing the Protocol she’s hoping to expand her business and feels that there are a wide range of opportunities in the wirehouse channel right now. See: Dynasty Financial wins the account of Lori Van Dusen’s new RIA through Focus Financial. Van Dusen and her 10-member team began operating independently on Oct. 10, 2011, after having left Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Her team came together in the 1990s as part of Citigroup’s Smith Barney. She joined the Protocol because she is hoping to poach some wirehouse teams but also says she’s open to existing RIAs. Right now, her firm has just one location — in Pittsford, N.Y. — but she says opening an office in Naples, Fla., and New York City would make sense. She hopes to open at least one more location in the next year. Van Dusen has a house in Naples and says she feels that would be the perfect location to build a firm and is looking at that area to bring on a new team. Van Dusen has been approached by wirehouse teams and is meeting with them now but maintains it needs to be the perfect fit. She recently made a big hire. See: How a billion-plus RIA in upstate New York bagged top managerial talent from just down the street. “It’s a lovely community and there’s a combination of things that are attractive to me. I’d love to find someone with a deep book of business who seems to philosophically work well with us. I think the danger in something like this is it can create a lot of disruption.” Van Dusen says she believes the decision needs to be a cultural decision first and foremost. “You’ve got to see eye-to-eye in how you’re dealing with things and you can’t say that the client is first and then look for ways to double-dip.” CommentsShare your thoughts and opinions with the author or other readers. Submit your comments:

By MARTHA SMITH Special to the Standard EXETER – Exeter Rescue Corps, located on Ted Rod Road next to the town hall, has a brand new emergency truck parked out front, sparkling like Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels. It was selected by a committee of the squad’s employees who researched the possibilities, put together specifications and reviewed what was in the marketplace. They came up with an outstanding vehicle costing $150,000 – a terrific bargain considering that many trucks with all the bells and whistles go for as much as $250,000. Chief Dennis Colacone, retired from the Rhode Air National Guard and an emergency medical technician at Salve Regina University, is delighted with how things turned out. It’s been clear for some time that the Rescue 2 truck needed to be replaced. After many years of service, it has accumulated over 100,000 miles; the maintenace and insurance costs had become prohibitive. “Basically, the employees bought the [new] truck,” explains Colacone. “I got the full-time employees together as a truck committee and gave them orders to call and make appointments and bring salesmen in” to make presentations. “I said ‘The board will worry about the money.’” The chief notes that he and Capt. Charlie Chappell kept out of the way. “Management stood back. They [squad members] took the initiative and went with it. The guys deserve a lot of credit. They did a great job.” Because they chose the truck, he believes “they have ownership in it; they’ll take care of it as if it’s their own.” He was amazed by the deal they got from PL Custom Emergency Vehicles of Manasquan, N.J. “I thought it would cost $180,000-$190,000.” There are no fancy lights or other non-essentials. The only “extra” they chose was a camera that’s mounted on the interior rearview mirror to show the driver what’s behind the truck when it’s backing up. “We saw it at an EMS conference in Warwick,” says Colacone. “I said ‘put it on.’ It’s almost like a night-vision camera.” It will greatly enhance safety on rescue runs in rural Exeter where boulders are commonplace and lighting is minimal. The truck was purchased through a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When the radios are installed in the new Rescue 2, the old truck will be decommissioned and sold. Martha Smith is an award-winning journalist and author. Retired, she is an independent contractor for SRIN and can be reached at mgs3dachs@cox.net [2]. Links: [1] rescue3.JPG [2] mailto:mgs3dachs@cox.net

Sage Names New Chief Financial Officer ALBANY & TROY, NY – The Sage Colleges is pleased to announce that Patrick Jacobson-Schulte has accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer of The Sage Colleges. Jacobson-Schulte will replace retiring CFO Peter Hughes, Ed.D., who has served as Sage’s vice president for finance and treasurer since 2009. Jacobson-Schulte comes to Sage from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota where he served as the associate vice president for financial management and budget. Prior to this, Jacobson-Schulte was CFO of Saint John’s Preparatory School, and spent 6 years as the director of strategic budgeting and academic planning for the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University in Central Minnesota. "Patrick Jacobson-Schulte’s vision and strategic thinking will be a strong asset to our financial leadership team at The Sage Colleges,” said Sage president Susan C. Scrimshaw. “His depth of knowledge and proactive planning will continue to enhance Sage’s viability and propel our institution and its mission forward into our centennial and beyond.” In his role at St. Cloud State University, Jacobson-Schulte developed a system for projecting income and assigning resources for all university budgets, including the General Fund, Residential Life, Athletics, Student Fee Committee, and Revenue Supported Accounts (total $210M). He also built from the ground up, a system to project revenue and expenditure for a five year horizon; engaged the development of appropriate metrics, including benchmarks with peer institutions to assess performance in all areas of expense; and engaged the campus-wide community in a system of initial allocations and processes for reallocation. “I truly believe that my skills in the area of financial management will lead The Sage Colleges toward a long range financial plan that will closely tie to the goals of its strategic plan, The Sage Road to the Future, all while placing an emphasis on institutional and educational investment,” Jacobson-Schulte stated. “Together we will be looking forward, while remaining cognizant of the past. This will allow The Sage Colleges to continue to strive toward great achievements and hold firm to its foundational values.” Jacobson-Schulte holds an M.B.A. and a B.A. in Economics from St. Cloud State University. He will assume the role of CFO on June. – 0 –

Tung fails to deliver on Chinese medicine plan Most Popular Promotions The plan to make Hong Kong a hub for development of traditional Chinese medicine made a certain amount of sense when it was first outlined in Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's 1998 policy address. Hong Kong, as a successful blend of east and west, seemed well-positioned to popularise Chinese medicine to the rest of the world. It was also reasonable to begin putting the practice on a more equal footing with western medicine in our hospitals, at a time when many major university hospitals all over the world were exploring the benefits of traditional and herbal remedies through clinical trials. Six years after the speech, however, very little visible progress has been made on any of these fronts, and a rethink of the strategy is called for. Perhaps the most pressing issue is solving the dilemma of the 2,000 or so students now enrolled in the city's three degree programmes for traditional Chinese medicine. These students, inspired by the policy address, have invested several hundred thousand dollars and five years of their time to become qualified practitioners, only to find that very few new clinical positions await them upon graduation. The public, through the universities, has also invested millions in their training. But starting from this summer, when the first batch graduates, there is clearly a shortage of jobs for these new licensees. Indeed, the problem became clear years ago, when many began looking towards the mainland for clinical experience to fulfil their degree requirements. Perhaps the government expected a private-sector boom that would absorb these new graduates, but one has not materialised. In the public sector, 18 outpatient clinics were promised for the public hospitals, but only three have been opened. Addressing the gap will probably have to include speeding up creation of the hospital clinics, as well as building up ties with traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong and the mainland to improve chances of placement for the new licensees. The mismatch between graduates and positions available in the field is just a symptom, however, of larger problems with the original, ambitious plan. It was a grand vision backed by very few details and, by world standards, paltry amounts of funding. The most concrete and successful element has probably been the registration and regulation of existing practitioners, and stricter health and safety standards for Chinese medicine marketed in Hong Kong. Other goals - such as making Hong Kong a centre for research, manufacturing and trade of Chinese herbal medicine - are still far from reality. Research of the kind that is being supported by the $500 million Jockey Club Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine will take years to come to fruition. Applying western laboratory research methods to find new and patentable compounds in traditional herbal formulas is largely uncharted territory. No one should expect any marketable products to be forthcoming in the short term, especially when the first projects gained approval only in 2002. But it is also clear that Mr Tung's government has backed away from any bold measures in this area. In 1999, it was made clear there would be no subsidy for the 'Chinese medicine port' that many property developers were keen to bid on. The traditional Chinese medicine hospital that many advocates have lobbied for has clearly been ruled out. And in September, the University Grants Committee chose to fund only half the $200 million needed to build an alternative medicine research centre at the University of Hong Kong. It would seem that the time has come for the government to make clear its plans for development of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. The public would likely accept something much less ambitious and more realistic than what was envisioned six years ago. But at the very least, those who are training to enter the field, and the taxpayers supporting their education, deserve to know where things stand. Related articles For unlimited access to: Existing subscribers, login here

Capt. Mark Olson, Naval Base Kitsap commanding officer, will be relieved by Capt. Pete Dawson on April 15. BREMERTON — Capt. Mark Olson, Naval Base Kitsap commanding officer, will be relieved by Capt. Pete Dawson on April 15. Olson, who assumed command in June 2008, has accepted orders to serve as the next deputy commandant of Naval District Washington, at the nation’s capital. Olson, speaking at a Navy League luncheon, described the complexity and diversity of the Kitsap base. It’s the third-largest Navy base in the U.S., with 13,000 active-duty personnel, 13,000 Department of Defense civilian employees and 10,000 contractors, totaling almost as many people as live in Bremerton. “Twice as many people come to work at Naval Base Kitsap dressed like you [civilians] than dressed like us,” About 54 percent of Kitsap residents are directly or indirectly tied economically to the base, he said. The base houses one of the country’s four nuclear shipyards, one of two nuclear-weapons facilities, the only West Coast dry dock capable of handling a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and the Navy’s largest fuel depot. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only, and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.

America’s Kid Times won five awards in the 2009 National Newspaper Association’s Best of Newspaper In Education Contest, including first place in Innovation Awards: Educational Support, Non-daily Division.The publication, distributed monthly by The Signal, also garnered a second place standing in the Innovation Awards: Best Ideas, Non-daily Division, and three third-place titles in areas of literacy, partnerships and sponsorships.“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Dean Paradise, America’s Kid Times publisher, after the awards were handed out. “I would have been thrilled to have honorable mentions. But to find out we won five and there are only seven categories ... I’m so excited, I couldn’t sleep last night.” Judges called America’s Kid Times “one of the most kid-friendly projects,” citing its “super graphics” and “wonderful creativity” in the awards announced Aug. 4.“We’ve always had those things in mind,” Paradise said. “Between my wife and I, we have five kids who are all older now, but at the time we developed something for our kids. And to see it recognized on a national level — we were just speechless.”Paradise knew that the best way to get children’s attention is to speak directly to them, which America’s Kid Times does, he said.“We wanted to get them excited about reading and writing with subjects and topics that interest them,” he said.An awards ceremony will be held Sept. 26 during the National Newspaper Association’s annual convention and trade show in Mobile, Ala.The idea for America’s Kid Times was planted 10 years ago when Paradise was reading the Sunday paper. His 8-year-old son crawled into his lap and said, “Hey, Pop, give me something to read.”“I thought, ‘Why not just have cartoon news?’” Paradise said. “‘Why not have a business page for kids? Why not have coloring contests?’”Paradise started to meet with cartoonists who had some kid-friendly design ideas.Then, about 18 months ago, Paradise was laid off from his job as a land development engineer. He decided to make his idea a reality. “Crisis makes for change, so my wife and I said, ‘Let’s take the opportunity,’” Paradise said.America’s Kid Times premiered in August 2008 and caught on quickly. By December, the publication had expanded to include a San Fernando Valley edition.It was approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District and now appears in more than 100 elementary schools in the San Fernando Valley. In January, Paradise partnered with The Signal and Signal publisher Ian Lamont.“I have to thank the staff at The Signal for being so supportive. Of course, Ian Lamont — his vision and guidance really brought America’s Kid Times to where it is.”At the convention in September, Paradise will have a visible presence and a mission, he said.“Our goal is to partner with newspapers throughout the country.”

Romeo Downer has preserved childhood memories not in scrapbooks or journals — but through 200-plus paintings of the Caribbean, painted on oil and canvas. The 74-year-old Canyon Country resident, born and raised in Barbados, said his method of memories is simple: “I paint the things I see and the things I love.” Downer was an artist from an early age and honed his drawing skills under the eye of Carl Broodhagen, a Caribbean artist. “I always loved painting as a little boy,” he said. “When you’re good at something, you tend to love it and stick with it.” He worked as a political cartoonist at a Barbados newspaper until he came to California as a 21-year-old. Drawing and painting moved to the backburner as he developed a career as a technical research photographer for Hughes Aircraft Company and raised two sons in Los Angeles. But 15 years ago, Downer retired in the Santa Clarita Valley and took his easel out again. The walls of his two-story home are covered with his work, and the garage and space under the stairs hold what walls can’t. His house is home to nearly 200 pieces of his artwork. “But not all of them are good, though,” he said with a laugh. While Downer has painted family members and California scenery, the majority of his work focuses on images from the Caribbean and his life in Barbados. The people and landscapes aren’t necessarily people and places he knows, but composites of his memories. “Whatever I do just comes together from memories and my photos,” said Downer, who visits the Caribbean at least once a year and dons colorful printed shirts from his home country. “Sometimes you have an idea and things just come out and I just go with it.” His most recent works are a series of four paintings that portray growing up in Barbados: A boy building his own toy truck, a boy drinking water from a neighborhood fountain, a boy riding a scooter, and a boy and girl fishing by the ocean. Downer said a painting can take anywhere from a couple of hours to several weeks, depending on the complexity of the painting. “Sometimes they flow easily and sometimes they don’t,” he said. “It’s a very time-consuming thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s a chore. I adore it. But I need to make the time.” Many of Downer’s paintings show vibrant scenes of dancing women or men playing instruments. One painting of Caribbean women in white dresses — “Dancing Ebonies” — placed first in an art show. But people are tough to paint, he said. “With people, you’re forced to follow certain rules,” Downer said. Some of his work garners blue ribbons, but Downer has a tough time picking a favorite himself. “My favorite is usually the one I’m working on,” he said. “I’ll love it the most.” Lucky for Downer, his hobby also pays off. He has held a handful of exhibits over the years in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Florida and has been able to sell many paintings and garner various ribbons for his work. “I enjoy meeting people,” he said. “Shows are a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding.” He regularly donates paintings to various fundraisers and events as well. When Downer isn’t painting, he is spending time with his sons and grandchildren in Los Angeles, reading or traveling. Beyond the Caribbean, he likes to visit Europe and hopes to travel to Japan. Downer also had the opportunity to illustrate a children’s book called “Rosa’s Paw-Paw Tree,” when the author found his website and contacted him. He’s considered pursuing other projects, like turning his four-piece series on his childhood memories into a 12-piece set that can be made into a calendar. But the retiree isn’t trying to turn his passion into an obligation. “I don’t want to tie myself down to work,” he said. “I just want to go with the flow of things.” See Downer’s work at. smitchell@the-signal.com

False Fronts in the Language Wars Why New Yorker writers and others keep pushing bogus controversies. . And in a recent issue, Joan Acocella, the magazine’s dance critic, fired a volley of grapeshot at the Fifth Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary and at a new history of the controversy by the journalist Henry Hitchings, The Language Wars. Acocella’s points were then reiterated this week in a post by Ryan Bloom on the magazine’s Page-Turner blog. The linguistic blogosphere, for its part, has been incredulous that The New Yorker published these “deeply confused” pieces. As Language Log put it, “Either the topic was not felt to be important enough to merit elementary editorial supervision, or there is no one at the magazine with any competence in the area involved.”. These antagonists, to be sure, are not made entirely out of straw. A few tenured radicals (mostly obscure) are full-strength descriptivists, and a few crotchety critics (such as the late Macdonald, as well as John Simon and Jacques Barzun) are avowed prescriptivists. Yet most writers who have given serious thought to language are neither kind of iptivist, and react to such pigeonholing the way Alison Porchnik does in Annie Hall after Alvy Singer pegs her as “New York Jewish left-wing intellectual, Central Park West, Brandeis University, socialist summer camps” and so on. (“That was wonderful,” she says. “I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype.”) Among the Porchniks are the late, allegedly prescriptivist style mavens Henry Fowler, E.B. White, and William Safire, and such allegedly descriptivist writers on language as Hitchings, Lane Greene, John McWhorter—and me.. Once you understand that prescriptive rules are conventions, most of the iptivist controversies evaporate. One such controversy springs from the commonplace among linguists that most nonstandard forms are in no way lazy, illogical, or inferior. The choice of isn’t over ain’t, dragged over drug, and can’t get any over can’t get no did not emerge from a weighing of their inherent merits, but from the historical accident that the first member of each pair was used in the dialect spoken around London when the written language became standardized. If history had unfolded differently, today’s correct forms could have been incorrect and vice-versa. But the valid observation that there is nothing inherently wrong with ain. Another controversy may be extinguished by a realization that the conventions of linguistic usage are tacit. The rules of standard English are not legislated by a tribunal but emerge as an implicit consensus within a virtual community of writers, readers, and editors. That consensus can change over time in a process as unplanned and uncontrollable as the vagaries of fashion. No official ever decided that respectable men and women were permitted to doff their hats and gloves in the 1960s or to get pierced and tattooed in the 1990s—nor could any authority with powers short of Mao Zedong have stopped these changes. In a similar manner, centuries of respectable writers have shrugged off long-forgotten edicts by self-appointed guardians of the language, from Jonathan Swift’s denunciation of banter, mob, and sham to Strunk and White’s disparaging of to personalize, to contact, and six people (as opposed to six persons). Lexicographers have always understood this. As Johnson wrote, “to enchain syllables, and to lash the wind, are equally the undertakings of pride, unwilling to measure its desires by its strength.” And so lexicographers have always decided what goes into a dictionary by paying attention to the way people use words. In resigning themselves to this role they are, as John McIntyre once suggested, acknowledging the wisdom of Thomas Carlyle’s reply to Margaret Fuller’s statement, “I accept the universe.” “Gad! She’d better.” And yet when Macdonald was writing in The New Yorker half a century ago, he fulminated against the policy of Webster’s Third to define words as most people used and understood them, such as “nauseated” as the primary sense of nauseous. (Note to readers under the age of 75: According to an old prescriptive rule, nauseous may be used only to mean “nauseating.”) Even if nine-tenths of the citizens of the United States were to use a word incorrectly, MacdDonald declared, the remaining tenth would be correct—he did not say by what criterion or on whose authority—and the dictionary should back them up. But a dictionary that followed Macdonald’s advice would be as useless in practice as the Hungarian-English phrasebook in the Monty Python sketch that translated “Can you direct me to the train station?” as Please fondle my bum. Although dictionaries are powerless to prevent linguistic conventions from changing, this does not mean, as dichotomists fear, that they cannot state the conventions in force at a given time. That is the rationale behind the American Heritage Dictionary’s Usage Panel—which I chair—a list of 200 authors, journalists, editors, academics, and other public figures whose writing shows that they choose their words with care. Every year they fill out questionnaires on pronunciation, meaning, and usage, and the Dictionary. The powerlessness of dictionaries to freeze linguistic change does not mean that they are doomed to preside over a race to the bottom. Macdonald worried that the dictionaries of 1988 would list without comment the solecisms mischievious, inviduous, and nuclear pronounced as “nucular.” We now have an additional quarter of a century to test his predictions. Look them up. And now we come to the biggest and most bogus controversy of them all. The fact that many prescriptive rules are worth keeping does not imply that every pet peeve, bit of grammatical folklore, or dimly remembered lesson from Miss Grundy’s classroom is worth keeping. Many prescriptive rules originated for screwball reasons, impede clear and graceful prose, and have been flouted by English’s greatest writers for centuries. The most notorious is the ban on split verbs (including split infinitives), which led Chief Justice and grammatical stickler John Roberts to precipitate a governance crisis in 2009 when he unconsciously edited the oath of office and had Barack Obama “solemnly swear that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully” (rather than “faithfully execute,” the wording stipulated in the Constitution). Bogus rules, which proliferate like urban legends and are just as hard to eradicate, are responsible for vast amounts of ham-fisted copy editing and smarty-pants one-upmanship. Yet when language experts try to debunk the spurious rules, the dichotomizing mindset imagines that they are trying to abolish all standards of good writing. It is as if anyone who proposed repealing a stupid law, like those on miscegenation or Sunday store closings, was labeled an anarchist. What about those who say that correct usage is really a membership card for the ruling classes? In earlier centuries there was some truth to this notion, as Hitchings documents in his engaging history, but today that would be a stretch. Define the 1 percent however you want—the upper echelons of commerce, government, culture, academia, even the British royal family—and you’d be hard-pressed to argue that they are paragons of correct usage and good style. For quite some time now the language connoisseurs have been schoolteachers, writers of letters to the editor, and ink-stained wretches on Grub Street (and their digital descendants). * * * Standards of usage, then, are desirable, even if all of them are arbitrary and mortal and many of them are spurious and discardable. And yet this understanding, widely shared among knowledgeable writers on language, is no match for a good dichotomy—particularly when it furnishes the narrative for an extended snark. Which brings us to the other bookend in The New Yorker’s participation in “the language wars,” in which Joan Acocella tortures quotations from several writers so she can mock them as prescriptivist toffs or descriptivist bohos. The stereotyping begins with her treatment of Henry Watson Fowler, author of the 1926 classic A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, and his campaign against “genteelism” in writing.. In fact, this is not obvious at all. What’s obvious is that Fowler was endorsing an unpretentious style, as every writing manual on both sides of the Atlantic has done ever since. The passage shows no trace of a concern with moral underpinnings, truth and falsehood, decency, fair play, or what it meant to be English, to say nothing of roast beef. E.B. White, co-author with William Strunk of the beloved Elements of Style and an American counterpart to Fowler, also gets the Porchnik treatment. As with the “many people” in Britain who connected Fowler with roast beef, Acocella speaks of “some readers” in America who associated White with “pipe-and-slippers” clubbishness. Neither stylist, she surmises, “had any interest in telling steelworkers how to use English.” She does not divine this lack of interest from anything they wrote, but from “their ease, their wit, and their willingness to prescribe,” qualities that we must assume are unappreciated by steelworkers. Acocella then excerpts White’s “moral observation” that “style takes its final shape more from attitudes of mind than from principles of composition” and his warning that unclarity is “a destroyer of life, of hope.” From these she derives his philosophy of style: “In short, to write well, you had to be a good person.” Could E.B. White, the genial chronicler of rustic life in Maine, and the author of the tender children’s classics Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, really be such a supercilious prig? Actually, the passages that Acocella excerpts are down-to-earth advisories, with no hint of the stuffy moralizing or contempt for the common man she attributes to him. The first encourages writers to trust their readers’ intelligence rather than patronizing them. The second spells out in concrete terms exactly how unclarity can destroy life.” This slaphappy attribution of class snobbery to prescriptivists continues with Acocella’s review of the American Heritage Dictionary, whose founding editor sought to provide “that sensible guidance toward grace and precision which intelligent people seek in a dictionary.” In what way is that elitist? Well, Acocella explains, consider the intended audience: “Intelligent people, dictionary consulters: that’s not everybody.” No, it isn’t, but one wonders what a dictionary would have to do to count as non-elitist by her standards—presumably appeal to unintelligent people who don’t consult dictionaries. The AHD poses other challenges to Acocella’s shoehorn. She classifies it as “unashamedly prescriptive,” which does not obviously jibe with its signature feature of reporting poll results from the Usage Panel and allowing readers to use them as they see fit. But what really flummoxes Acocella is the pair of essays in the front of the dictionary, one by the linguist John Rickford, a scholar of Caribbean creole languages and African-American English, the other by me. Rickford tells us that “language learning and use would be virtually impossible without systematic rules and restrictions; this generalization applies to all varieties of language, including vernaculars.” That’s prescriptivism—no doubt about it. No doubt about it? This is a howler of the first order, as anyone who knows Rickford, understands his essay, or simply reads his title (“Variation and Change in Our Living Language”) could figure out. Rickford protested to The New Yorker that the rules and restrictions he was referring to were descriptive, not prescriptive, but they declined to publish a correction. Acocella then turns to my essay: . The “regular fellow” insinuation advances the familiar class-warfare narrative, with the Yiddishism serving as the descriptivist counterpart to Fowler’s roast beef and White’s pipe and slippers. But the “presumably” is disingenuous: I introduced the term, as I explain in the essay, as a “tribute to William Safire, who called himself a language maven, Yiddish for ‘expert.’ ” In any case, the main accusation continues Acocella’s topsy-turvy understanding of linguistics. Far from declaring that there are no rules, or that all of them are bogus, the essay began from the opposite premise. Here are the opening sentences:. The point of the essay was to explore how prescriptive rules arise and how we can distinguish the bogus rules from the defensible ones. One cause of bogus rules, I suggest, is a phenomenon called pluralistic ignorance, a situation in which, e.g., no writer believes that split infinitives are really ungrammatical but everyone mistakenly believes that everyone else believes they are. I reviewed research showing that pluralistic ignorance can entrench itself when people fear censure for exposing it, as they did during witch hunts, Red scares, and other popular delusions. Acocella got distracted by the analogy, hallucinating the “clear political meaning” that “prescriptivists are witch-hunters, Red-baiters.” (As I wrote in a subsequent letter to The New Yorker, this is like reading an explanation of global warming and mounting an indignant defense of greenhouses.) Acocella then impugns the intellectual integrity of the dictionary’s editors, declaring that to publish my essay together with Rickford’s “is outright self-contradiction,” and “to publish it at all is cowardice, in service of avoiding a charge of élitism.” Not since Saturday Night Live’s Emily Litella thundered against conserving natural racehorses and protecting endangered feces has a polemicist been so incensed by her own misunderstandings. * * * All this raises an obvious question: What’s going on at The New Yorker? How could a magazine that cultivates a reputation for assiduous fact-checking publish a screed that is so filled with blunders, non sequiturs, and fanciful attributions? The article must have had something that resonated with the editors enough for them to have given it a pass. But what was it? One theory is that a magazine like The New Yorker, with its emphasis on formal correctness and its own house style—the most eccentric in the industry, with its diaeresis over the vowels in cooperate and reelect and so on—is bound to be touchy about matters of usage and the need to uphold standards. But another is that The New Yorker’s obtuse coverage of “the language wars” is symptomatic of the problems it has with science. In 1962, Macdonald repeatedly sneered at the “scientific” aspirations of Webster’s Third, such as the embrace of quantification, the separation of fact and value, and the theoretical tools of modern linguistics. “For what Geiger counter,” he asked, “will decide who is in fact educated or cultivated?” Fifty years later, this fear of the pocket-protected could be fortified by a theory: Acocella faults the descriptivists for not drinking the postmodernist Kool-Aid and failing to acknowledge “that there is no such thing as objectivity: every statement is subjective, partial, full of biases and secret messages.” At least the prescriptivists, “with their admission that they held a specific point of view,” are being honest about the whole thing. And here we see a connection to The New Yorker’s attitude toward science, which might be called Postmodernism Lite. Aside from environmentalists and doctors, the magazine tends to treat scientists as a tribe with the rather quaint creed that progress in understanding the world is possible through rigorous theory and empirical discovery. In fact, the magazine likes to imply, they are just another set of factions struggling for power. Science lurches from paradigm to paradigm; ’twas ever so, and all journalists can do is—as the creationists say—teach the controversy. Thus we get a parallel universe in which prescriptivists and descriptivists have done battle for five decades with no clarification of theory and no advancement in our understanding, each side merely waging its own version of class warfare.

The second public school built in Spokane was constructed in 1883 at 4th and Stevens on the present site of Lewis and Clark High School. This four room wooden frame building was named Central School. Two additional rooms were added as the student body grew. The school contained all grade levels for the area. Records show that in 1887, the teacher pay was $65 per month and for custodians, $50 per month. The building was in service for approximately seven years until the school could no longer accommodate the growing student body.A $250,000 school bond was authorized by the voters in July, 1890 for the construction of a high school and four elementary schools. Central School was moved to 5th and Washington to make way for the new high school. The new building was completed on the site of the present Lewis and Clark High School in May 1891 at a cost of $110,000. It was called Central High School until September 1908. It was then referred to as South Central High School when the new North Central High School was opened in September 1908.Shortly after 6:00am on Tuesday, June 21, 1910, fire broke out in South Central High School. The spectacular blaze destroyed the interior of the school but left the remains of the exterior walls standing. While the fire consumed the school, the memorial fountain in front of the school, presented by the class of 1910, continued to spout water. Student records and some of the school's athletic trophies were saved, but all of the school's expensive classroom equipment, contents of the library, and memorabilia from graduating classes lining the halls was lost. It is thought the fire started in the auditorium, but the cause is unknown.Plans to replace South Central High School began immediately. The architect selected was L.L. Rand, who also designed the Spokane Masonic Temple and the Carlyle Hotel. The construction contract was awarded in January, 1911 and the building permit issued in February, 1911. The cornerstone was laid by former President Teddy Roosevelt in the presence of a large crowd of people on April 8, 1911.The first major problem facing the school board after the fire was how to accommodate the South Central students when school opened in September, 1910. A proposal was made to send all South Central students to school with North Central students. Various problems arose, including that of transportation, but the Board finally decided to send junior and seniors of both schools to North Central in the morning and underclassmen in the afternoons. Graduates would receive diplomas stating that they had graduated from their respective schools, North or South Central.When school started in September, the two principals expected that trouble might erupt but this never occurred. To instill joint school spirit, Principal Henry Hart of South Central and Principal R. T. Hargreaves of North Central, flew the orange and black banner of South Central alongside the red and black banner of North Central with a banner of blue and white, symbolizing the joint school colors, flying above. For a year and a half, the two schools worked together in studies, athletics and other school activities as "Spokane High School." Combined teams won the championship in baseball, basketball, track and oratory; the football team did not do too well the first season, but defeated all except Wenatchee the following year.Students continued to attend classes at North Central while work progressed on the new school. It was hoped that the school would be ready for opening in the fall of 1911, but problems in construction and strikes by workers delayed the opening until April, 1912. Meanwhile, the Spokane Daily Chronicle encouraged readers to enter a contest to suggest names for the new high school. North Central Principal Richard T. Hargreaves suggested the names of Lewis and Clark, using one name for each high school, North and South Central. The school board settled for naming the south side school Lewis and Clark.Alumni and students of Spokane/South Central high school were invited to attend the three day grand opening of the magnificent new Tudor-Gothic style school which began on the evening of April 1, 1912, with a concert and reception in the new auditorium. Principal Henry Hart, assisted by the oldest member of the faculty, Mrs. Olive B. Jones, planned the entire event. Tuesday, April 2, included a tour of the new building and reunion gatherings of the various classes from years past, followed by an evening program and reception. The formal dedication of Lewis and Clark High School took place on Wednesday afternoon, April 3, 1912. Everyone who toured the imposing brick building trimmed with terra cotta was impressed with its main entry sheathed in marble and the wide interior hallways covered with marble terrazzo. Called the pride of the city and superior to any other high school west of the Mississippi, the school covered almost the entire block. The total cost of construction for the new Lewis and Clark was $660,000.In May, 1912, Lewis and Clark High School published the first issue of The Lewis and Clark Journal, a title the award-winning publication has retained to the present day. This evolved from the earlier Orange and Black that was first issued by Spokane High School. During the time the two high schools were combined after the 1910 fire, their joint publication was called The Blue and White. The Journal, published monthly during the school year, originally carried articles about school life and each semester featured photographs and information about graduating seniors. By 1920, The Tiger became the annual school publication covering the school year.The first graduating class of the new school gave portraits of Lewis and Clark. Over the years the tradition continued, with classes donating art works that line the halls of the school. Careful restoration of the art has been done while the new addition is being built, to ensure that the renovated halls will once again be a showcase of the school's valuable art collection. Principal Hart encouraged classes from 1921 to 1925 to raise money to purchase an Austin pipe organ that was installed in the auditorium. In 1979, students and faculty members raised money to restore the organ. Hart also persuaded each graduating class from 1924 to 1937 to donate their book deposits to help purchase a play field for the school. With assistance from alumni, Hart Field, located on the south hill between 33rd and 37th west of Grand Boulevard and named for Principal Hart, was purchased. It was understood at the time of the purchase that sometime in the future Lewis and Clark High school might be moved to this site; however, the recent decision to retain the present school and build an addition at its current site has finally laid that idea to rest.Lewis and Clark had become one of the largest high schools in Washington State by 1964 and needed more space. The addition of a field house, opened in 1965, was a major accomplishment for Lewis and Clark's athletic program. The building was named for E. L. "Squinty" Hunter, the most successful basketball coach in the history of the school and athletic director for 39 years.The Administration Building/Annex adjacent to the high school, was designed by architect Rand and constructed in 1908 to house the offices of School District #81 and a gymnasium for the high school. In 1917, the building was expanded to offer more space for the school's programs. For many years, school dances were held in the building. On the main campus, the closing of Howard Street in 1980 was the dream of Spokane Hutchison, LC English teacher and ASB advisor. "Mrs. Hutch" as she was fondly called, spent 10 years in her quest to create a campus for Lewis and Clark students. The area features the stone fountain donated by the Class of 1910, the same fountain that spouted water while old South Central burned.. During the two-year project, students attended classes in the renovated Holley-Mason Building (located two blocks down Howard Street).The "Squinty Hunter" Field House and the administration building were demolished to make way for the renovation and expansion..Lewis and Clark was selected one of the 100 best schools in the United States by state superintendents and prominent educators, a fact that was published in Look magazine, October 1, 1946. In 1925, an article in Colliers magazine said, "When Henry Hart became principal of Lewis and Clark High School, two ideas dominated him…one that education must be given beauty and color and interest, the other that pupils must get the sense of owning. These ideas he has worked out. Boys and girls seem to love the school…it's theirs…and the very building breathes ardor and happiness." Today that feeling is still true, the school is loved by those who attend it and by those who graduated from it. Tiger pride is intact.On November 30, 2001, Lewis and Clark was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 2011, it was featured in a video highlighting Washington's historic sites.

The surgery, an alternative to a transplant, isolates dead tissue and reshapes the heart into a more efficient pump. ST. PETERSBURG - Will Witt was just 47 years old when he suffered his third heart attack. So even though doctors said he might need a heart transplant, the reality didn't sink in until Witt went to see a cardiovascular surgeon a few weeks later. Dr. Vinay Badhwar didn't mince words: Have surgery soon, he told Witt in June, or you'll most likely be dead by Christmas. The good news was that Badhwar and his surgical team at Northside Hospital and Heart Institute in St. Petersburg could offer an alternative to a heart transplant. The procedure, known as a left ventricular reconstruction, is an option for some patients with severe congestive heart failure - typically those who have had one or more heart attacks causing significant damage to the left ventricle, the heart's main pump. While not without serious risks, the operation, which isolates dead tissue and reshapes the heart into a more efficient pump, sounded less dangerous to Witt than a heart transplant. Besides, a heart transplant likely would have meant a long wait for a donor organ. Witt, who was working as a driver for patients at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa after 20 years in the Army, didn't know if he would last that long. So he and his wife, Gale, decided immediately to go ahead with the surgery. Badhwar cleared his schedule and in July, Witt became one of the latest to undergo a procedure that is rapidly becoming popular in Tampa Bay and around the country. Tampa General Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa and St. Petersburg's Bayfront Medical Center and All Children's Hospital's joint heart program are among those offering the surgery, but it is hardly routine. Witt hates hospitals and dislikes most doctors. But today, as he continues to recuperate, he feels fortunate to have had the operation, which will probably give him more time with his wife, his 30-year-old son and granddaughter. "I feel like God has really touched me," Witt said. Even though medical science has made great strides toward improving the survival rate of heart attack victims, heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in the United States. Today, more doctors are focusing their efforts on improving and extending the lives of those who survive heart attacks but have compromised hearts. "As the medical doctors and as physicians in general get better at treating patients with heart disease, you naturally have people who ordinarily would have died who are now surviving," said Cristobal Alvarado, a cardiothoracic surgeon with the LifeLink Transplant Institute. He has been performing left ventricular reconstruction at Tampa General for several years, along with two colleagues there. "Cardiologists tend to try to treat people as best they can with medicine because that is their specialty," Alvarado said. "But as the patients grow in number, they are more willing to consider this type of surgical procedure for their patients because they see that it works. It's just a process of educating everybody - patients, cardiologists and surgeons." Heart failure happens when a heart has been weakened so much by clogged arteries, high blood pressure or other underlying medical conditions that it can't pump efficiently. The victim suffers from shortness of breath, fatigue and leg swelling. It is a rising epidemic, Badhwar says. An estimated 5-million Americans suffer from heart failure, and 250,000 to 500,000 more are diagnosed each year. Only about 3,000 heart transplants are performed each year, in part because of the limited supply of donor organs and in part because of the inherent risk that a person's immune system could reject an organ. "People are left with a chronic disease," says Badhwar, who practices with Cardiac Surgical Associates and is chairman and medical director of the Heart Institute at Northside Hospital. The disease limits patients' quality of life. Some are forced to slow down their physical activity. Others have so much trouble breathing when they lie down, they must sleep sitting up. Because heart transplants are an option for so few, "operations like left ventricular reconstruction may provide patients with new alternatives to the treatment of heart failure," Badhwar said. After suffering his first heart attack in 1988 at age 32, the Army placed Witt on restricted duties. In 1992, Witt suffered his second heart attack. His heart sustained irreparable damage, and the Army decided not to assign Witt to do any work more than 25 miles from a military hospital. The third time, on June 1, Witt was reading the newspaper in his living room. He had complained to his wife that he wasn't feeling very well. He leaned over to hug his wife, who noticed his heart was pounding hard and fast. Witt's wife drove him to the hospital, where he was treated for a heart attack and aneurysm. Witt would eventually need a triple bypass to restore blood to parts of his heart. But Badhwar wanted to do more. After the heart attacks, Witt's heart had stretched to double its normal size. The heart struggled to pump blood, which meant Witt had to severely restrict his physical activity. What's more, the walls of Witt's heart were so weakened that his next aneurysm or heart attack - which could happen at any time - could prove fatal. In the meantime, Witt's heart was functioning at about 18 percent capacity; a normal heart functions at 70 percent capacity. After the left ventricular reconstruction, Witt's heart functioned at about 48 percent capacity. If the recuperation goes well, Badhwar expects Witt will some day be able to do all the things he used to do. The long-term prognosis for heart failure due to the lack of proper blood supply to the heart, which is what Witt suffered from, is not good. Of those who opt to treat the condition with only medications, only about half live more than two years, Badhwar said. Badhwar said heart transplants remain "the gold standard" for treating congestive heart failure. "But it supplants one disease of heart failure for the disease of immunosuppression," Badhwar said. Transplants are typically reserved for the sickest patients, Alvarado said. Left ventricular reconstruction is a good alternative for those who are in the earlier stages of congestive heart failure. "It's less risky and more beneficial," he said. "As with anything else, if you let it go too long, you lose your window of opportunity." - Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Tampa Bay headlines

Michelle HammondFollow on twitter startupsmart.com.au Facebook’s start-up acquisition highlights value of perching on major tech platforms It’s been revealed that Facebook has acquired Friend.ly for an undisclosed sum, in what appears to be a talent buyout. The California-based start-up was founded in 2010 and is led by Ed Baker. Friend.ly is a Facebook application, enabling users to create a more accurate profile by asking them a series of site-generated questions. Users can also compliment each others’ answers. Because the service has access to a Facebook user’s account information, it has a distinct advantage over competitors like Formspring.me. As part of the deal with Facebook, Friend.ly will continue to operate as a separate service, while its 10 staff will work on new projects at Facebook. According to Facebook, Friend.ly has created a “really compelling” way for people to enhance their profile and meet others through answering questions. “We’ve admired the team’s efforts for some time now, and we’re looking forward to having Ed and his colleagues make a big impact on the way millions of people connect and engage with each other on Facebook,” the company said in a statement. Foad Fadaghi, research director at technology analyst firm Telsyte, says as tech giants continue to look for new ways to innovate, there is an opportunity for start-ups. “A good example is the [Apple] App Store where billions of apps have been developed. Likewise, Facebook and some of the others are a great starting point,” Fadaghi says. Fadaghi says start-ups often develop complementary platforms for existing companies, increasing their chances of getting noticed by “the builder of the original mousetrap”. “There are a few incubator-type companies that are focused on that kind of space, such as Startmate,” he says. “A lot of their businesses are not focused on becoming the next Facebook but building something that Facebook does or another IT company does.” “Typically, the guys that start these companies have prior knowledge or experience in the field. They may have even worked for the company they intend to be acquired by.” “It can be difficult for developers who don’t have that prior knowledge [of the original company] to develop the right offering, so I would advise having a member of the board or an advisor that does have that prior knowledge.” Startmate co-founder Niki Scevak agrees that building complementary platforms for existing companies can be a valid entrance strategy for start-ups. “You only have to look at things like YouTube, which started through MySpace... After the initial foothold, they could form more direct relationships with their users,” he says. Other notable examples include online payment system PayPal, developed for eBay, and Twitter third-party app TweetDeck. “Facebook in particular has built their company around providing a platform for other start-ups... They’re aiming to bring that social layer to any application, whether it’s on the web or other devices,” Scevak says. “It’s easier to tap into that distribution platform [than compete with it].”

A graduate of Belvidere High School, Race received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture from Rutgers University in 1951. Upon graduation, Race joined the family's business, operating the farm in partnership with his father until 1967. The farm operation consisted of 220 acres of field crops, 30 acres of small fruits and vegetables and 100 dairy cows. Race continues to farm part-time and the operation now includes one of the largest, exclusively pick-your-own strawberry farms in the area. Race joined the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) in 1967, serving as the Executive Secretary for the State Soil Conservation Committee until his retirement in May 2001. As Executive Secretary, Race was responsible for directing all facets of NJDA's natural resource conservation and management program, including coordination of a statewide network of 16 local soil conservation districts. Race is past president of the National Association of State Soil Conservation Administrators; a member of the New Jersey Commission on Environmental Education, the National Association of Conservation Districts, the International Soil and Water Conservation Society, and the New Jersey Forestry Association as well as many other conservation groups. He served as an advisor to the New Jersey Association of Conservation Districts and is a member of the New Jersey Agricultural Society. A member of the Water Management Committee of the Delaware River Basin Commission representing agricultural concerns, he was instrumental in establishing, and served as chairman of, the Regional Leadership Team for the Northeast Conservation Partnership, serving the New England and Mid-Atlantic states. Race also served as the department's representative to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's State Sludge Disposal Task Force and to a number of similar organizations. Locally, he is a member and past president of the Warren County Board of Agriculture; chairman of the White Township Zoning Board of Adjustment; member and past president of the White Township Board of Education; past chairman of the State Dairy Princess Committee; and past president of the Belvidere Rotary Club. Race was selected to Alpha Zeta, the National Collegiate Honorary Agricultural Fraternity, and received the citation for Outstanding Performance to the State of New Jersey from Governor William T. Cahill in 1971. He also received the 1989 Professional Service Award presented by the National Association of Conservation Districts. Race and his wife Jean will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary this year. They have three children, Amy, Carol and William. In recognition of his tireless service to the agricultural community, the State Board of Agriculture is pleased to present Samuel R. Race with its citation for Distinguished Service to New Jersey Agriculture.

713-942-3461 marcom@stthom.edu The. “We are proud that the Newman Guide has chosen the University of St. Thomas as a faithful Catholic university,” Dr. Robert Ivany, University president, said. “Our academic programs and the spiritual life on campus reflect the values of our Basilian Fathers. The integration of the Catholic intellectual tradition with all of our disciplines is a never-ending goal to which we remain happily committed.”. Dr. Dominic Aquila, vice president of Academic Affairs, said the Guide continues to be a well-researched resource for parents who want to make certain their sons and daughters receive a solid, Catholic liberal arts education. “Our inclusion signifies St. Thomas' faithfulness to its Catholic mission, part of which is making sure a high quality Catholic university education remains affordable to families,” Aquila said. “St. Thomas is unique in that it offers a rich liberal arts core curriculum as the basis for professional major programs, such as nursing, business and education, and an outstanding preparation for medical school." The Guide features profiles of the 28 recommended institutions, including information on academics, residence life, student activities and spiritual life. The profiles are updated after extensive campus visits and/or interviews with faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni. life.” This year, UST was named one of the Best College in the West for 2012 by The Princeton Review, and, for the 19th consecutive year, UST has been named to the top tier of the U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” list of universities offering master’s degrees in the Western region of the United States. For more information, visit TheNewmanGu ...

[tag: science] Blow to dairying and environment TIM CRONSHAWTIM CRONSHAW ECO-N: A spray tank applying the nitrofication inhibitor developed by Lincoln Universty and Ravensdown Relevant offers Dairy farming has lost its best tool for breaking down cow urine and future-proofing land intensification with the recall today of nitrate-reducing products from shelves. This is a blow for the dairy industry, the main farming user, and for efforts to reduce nitrates leaching into water and greenhouse gas emissions from nitrous oxide. low levels of the biodegradable ingredient dicyandiamide,. To assess DCD on farmland, the MPI last December set up a working party of ministry officials, Fonterra and other dairy companies and the fertiliser companies of Ravensdown and Ballance that sell DcN. MPI standards deputy director general Carol Barnao said the working party had been formed once it was known low levels of DCD residues found in milk may present a trade issue, even though there were no food safety concerns. She said consumers had high expectations of New Zealand food and regulations were in place to ensure its quality and safety. tightening testing in line with more demanding markets and in some countries there is no tolerance to residues outside of standards. Milk markets remain sensitive from the incident several years ago when Chinese infants died and thousands left sick drinking melamine-contaminated milk produced by Chinese factories. Barnao said DCD has been innovatively used in farming in a development supported by the MPI to address livestock's impact on the environment and it was one of the more promising ways of reducing nitrate leaching to waterways and greenhouse gas emissions from particularly dairying, as well as promoting pasture growth. Officials will investigate the future use of DCD in farming and the impact of its recall on water quality. nitrous oxide. Farmers will have to rely on other techniques, such as testing, nutrient planning and expert advice, plus precise fertiliser application to keep nitrates down. Campbell said reducing nitrate leaching would continue to be vital for sustainable farming and the effectiveness of nitrification inhibitors was well proven and had helped farmers to face stricter environmental requirements. He said the company would look for the ministry to seek new international standards for DCD, which could be a lengthy process. Ravensdown's's eco-n product makes up about 1 per cent of its annual sales. Other countries use DCD in cropping by applying it to nitrogen fertilisers. Ballance research and development manager Warwick Catto said more research was the key to developing nitrification inhibitors which help farmers reduce environmental impacts and to meet potential international trade requirements. "We still have every confidence in the potential for nitrification inhibitors to play an important role in helping New Zealand farmers to operate within nutrient loss limits.'' Ballance's DCn product is a small part of its sales. Ballance had not sold DCn since July 2012 and had not promoted its use on pastures since late 2010. The co-operative will not reintroduce any DCD-based products to the market until the potential international trade issue of milk residues is solved. Catto said Ballance stopped DCn sales in early last year to review the product and its applications, and incorporated it into its $32 million research and development programme aimed at reducing nutrient and greenhouse gas losses through more efficient fertilisers and new nitrification inhibitors. - The Press Sponsored links New Regent St: Hospitality booming, retail failing >>IMAGE

Data centres in Japan are facing shut downs and companies need to do everything in their power to make sure they stay working. The problem is, as we reported earlier today, there is little power to share about. Talking a bid to manage the fall in power generation capacity caused by Friday’s tragedy. Similarly, Equinix Japan claims it has concerns about the power supply from Tokyo Electric Power Company and is taking measures to protect itself. Kei Furuta, managing director, Equinix Japan, told TechEye: “We have fuelled the generators at our Tokyo data centres to their full capacity, which will provide emergency backup power in the event of any power disruption. We can keep our Tokyo data centres up and running as normal.” He said its local operations team in Japan and its Asia Pacific Network Operations Centre (APNOC) were closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide services to customers. Intel told TechEye: “We’re not in a position to speak on behalf of other organisations. Our operations were largely unaffected. All our employees are safe. “I would suggest that an incident like this serves as a reminder of the need for both disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.” Others remain confident that the sector will be unscathed. After the quake hit on Friday Datacentre Dynamics received correspondence from companies in Japan. One was from research firm Nomura Research Institute where Dr Takao Shiino and senior technical engineer Tom Misaki said although they had also experienced problems with landline communications, their data centre had so far held up. However, an aftershock has just struck the east of Japan, and reports are surfacing that it has shaken buildings in Tokyo. Ambrose McNevin, content director and editor in chief at DatacenterDynamicsFOCUS, told TechEye that so far, the sector had been “relatively unscathed”. “There are reports of broken undersea communication cables which will undoubtedly affect telecoms backbones and data centre communications operations,” he said. “In terms of power loss, Tokyo data centres appear to have operated continuously thanks to standard critical facility back up infrastructure based on battery backed UPS and diesel generators with no reports yet of any major outages.” Meanwhile Google has launched a page tracking the tragedy across several topics. Because of cloud computing, it is unclear what data is where in the world.

More than 150,000 people have chosen to switch to smaller energy firms since the Big Six started announcing their price rises, it has been revealed. There has been public and political anger after five of the main electricity and gas suppliers announced above inflation price rises. Since the announcements began in October smaller energy companies have seen an increase in their customer base, one by around 500 per cent in the last seven weeks. Although the smaller companies still only count for around three per cent of the market, an investigation by the BBC showed that around 150,000 had decided to switch. Since the first of the Big Six - British Gas, EDF, EON, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE - announced their bills would be rising the biggest of the independent energy companies, First Utility, has gained 100,000 new customers. However, the company refused to say whether they had lost any customers. Utility Warehouse claims it has received 35,000 applications, meaning that it now has more than half a million customers, while Ebico, a not-for-profit firm, says it has gained 7,000 customers in the last month. Better Energy, who supply gas, said that they now have five times more customers, but still less than 1,500 in total. The company told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours that most of their new customers had come from one of the Big Six. EDF was the only one of the big companies who provided information on their accounts, refusing to reveal how many customers they had but claiming to have gained 350,000 gas and electricity accounts. The other market leaders said their customer data was commercially confidential. Smaller firms OVO Energy and Co-op Energy, also refused to comment on their losses or gains. Green companies also claim to have seen an increase in customers, with Ecotricity saying it had gained 5,000 new customers, Green Star Energy 1,600 new customers taking their total to about 2,200, and LoCo2 claiming they had increased interest from consumers.

The Chancellor defended the Coalition’s plans to cut the deficit and said it was the “rock” that had to be created ensure the UK’s economic credibility. He said: “We provided stability and the foundation for growth.” It comes after a group of economists wrote to a newspaper casting doubt on the Chancellor’s strategy, pointing out that growth is still worryingly low. Mr Osborne countered: “Of course out there, there are some choppy economic conditions but it is very one-sided to say there is no growth in the UK economy. I think you can look at the British economy with confidence.” He pointed to the range of world economic groups that back the Coalition’s plan. And he hinted that today’s report on the British economy by the International Monetary Fund will be positive. But he conceded that he would have wanted the economy to "grow more quickly and [for] more jobs to be created". And as his opponents continue to argue that the Chancellor should think about a Plan B, Mr Osborne conceded that there was “flexibility” is his plans. He said: ." On growth forecasts, he said: ." Mr Osborne accused the BBC of failing to cover good news about new jobs and said the economists who wrote to the Observer were “left wing academics.”

"This. Scott Miller, the lead author on the paper, grew the organism from samples collected by Wood and Hurlbert. Now an assistant professor of biological sciences at The University of Montana, he was working with Wood as a graduate research associate when he first noticed the organism's unusual lime-green color. "I knew right away there was something unusual about its photochemistry," Miller recalls. "We purified the pigments from the strain and saw that they were very similar to those known from a species of blue-green algae called Acaryochloris marina, but different from any found in other higher plants or algae. The primary pigment, called chlorophyll d, is only made by Acaryochloris and it is what enables these species to use infrared light." The new microbe is one of only three organisms known to science that use a combination of near-infrared light and visible light to produce oxygen by photosynthesis. "While there are some bacteria that can use infrared light for photosynthesis, they do not produce oxygen," Wood explains. "Until recently, we thought it was necessary to use visible light to produce oxygen through photosynthesis, but now we know there are at least three organisms that can do this using infrared radiation as well. "All three of these organisms are closely related species of Acaryochloris, but the other two live in the Pacific and must grow on or in an animal or plant to survive in nature," Wood says. "This new microbe opens up a whole new range of possible habitats where oxygen could be produced by photosynthesis using wavelengths of light that exist beyond the visible spectrum." The PNAS article is co-authored by Miller and Wood along with Sunny Augustine and Jeanne Selker of the University of Oregon and Tien Le Olson and Robert E. Blankenship of Arizona State University. Augustine, a postdoctoral associate in Wood's lab, worked with Selker, former director of the UO electron microscopy facility, to compare the cellular structure of the new organism with that of the symbiotic form of Acaryochloris. Blankenship and Olson compared its pigments with those of A. marina, one of the symbiotic species. "Chlorophyll d is a pigment that is intermediate between the chlorophylls found in the more primitive non-oxygen evolving photosynthetic bacteria and the chlorophylls found in oxygen evolving photosynthetic organisms. It may have an important place in the evolution of photosynthesis," says Blankenship, professor and chair of the ASU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Miller says another surprising discovery occurred when the scientists studied the DNA of the new organism. By analyzing sequence data for the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene, which encodes part of the cell's protein synthesis machinery, they demonstrated that chlorophyll d-producing blue-green algae (more technically known as cyanobacteria) have acquired a piece of DNA from a proteobacterium, a distant relative that last shared a common ancestor with cyanobacteria more than two billion years ago. The small subunit ribosomal RNA gene is widely used by scientists to infer the relationships among living organisms, in part because it is generally assumed that it is faithfully transmitted from parent to offspring. However, in the case of this new microbe, it appears that DNA encoding a small portion of the ribosomal gene in a proteobacterium jumped across the vast evolutionary distance that separates the proteobacteria and cyanobacteria, and switched places with the portion of the gene that had originally been inherited from the cyanobacterial parent. "This finding shows that even this popular evolutionary chronometer can be a mosaic of genetic information with radically different origins," Miller says. Using a molecular clock, Miller estimated that the proteobacterial DNA was obtained by an ancestor of modern chlorophyll-d producing cyanobacteria between roughly 10 and 100 million years ago. "The maintenance of this hybrid gene over such a long time period suggests that it has been favored by natural selection," Miller says. The foreign DNA encodes a structural feature of the ribosome that makes large and precise movements during protein synthesis, but its exact function is still unknown. The next challenge, Miller says, will be to determine whether this example of instant evolutionary innovation by genetic exchange has in fact had consequences for ribosome function in these bacteria. The new species of Acaryochloris is the latest in a series of new organisms from the Salton Sea that have been identified as part of Wood's study of the blue-green algae in the lake. With Miller, UO emeritus professor Richard Castenholz, and Canadian oceanographer William Li, she published a paper in the journal Hydrobiologia in 2002 that described five previously unknown species. The Salton Sea covers a surface area of 376 square miles in southeastern California. Its current elevation is about 227 feet below mean sea level, its maximum depth reaches 51 feet and its total volume is about 7.5 million acre-feet. It was formed in the early 1900s, when flow from the Colorado River was inadvertently directed to the Salton Basin. Once the Army Corps of Engineers returned the river to its normal bed, the lake began to evaporate, gradually becoming one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the United States. Because it also receives the agricultural runoff of the Imperial Valley and municipal runoff from Mexicali, Mexico, considerable attention has focused on the fate of the now highly polluted water body. After massive fish kills and avian mortality in the 1990s, federal agencies targeted the lake for one of the nation's largest restoration projects. Wood says the discovery also shows that the Salton Sea, with its high load of nutrients, may provide an environment that allows this novel photosynthetic organism to live a free and independent lifestyle. She notes that the other two species of Acaryochloris live in relatively pure ocean water, but cannot survive there unless they are growing in or on another organism. "I think it is likely that this microbe is descended from symbiotic relatives who got to the Salton Sea as hitchhikers in water containing sport fish that were introduced from the ocean many years ago," Wood explains. She says the Salton Sea may have fostered this species of Acaryochloris' ability to live independently by mimicking the environment created by the original host. In the open ocean, which itself is nutrient poor, the host animal or plant provided a nutrient-rich environment with relatively high amounts of infrared light; in the Salton Sea, the waters themselves create a comparable niche. Wood thinks that the high availability of nutrients in the waters of the Salton Sea is what allowed the microbe to survive without its hosts in the saline lake. At the University of Oregon since 1990, Wood is a member of the UO's Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She has played a key role in changing the scientific world's understanding of how ocean food webs are based on much smaller organisms than previously believed. Wood is an adjunct scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. In 2004, she became a fellow of the Cooperative Institute of Oceanographic Satellite Studies (CIOSS) at Oregon State University.

News Yarmouth church is latest recipient of at-cost weatherization YARMOUTH — After a successful retrofit of a Falmouth Church, a Wilton-based builder is working with the First Parish Congregational Church in Yarmouth to solve its weatherization problems. Last winter, as a part of Upright Frameworks' RaiseME Up campaign, a program where the company did 100 percent of its work at cost, the Foreside Community Church solved an ice dam problem with a weatherization retrofit. “Right after the project they said everyone is thrilled and they said the year went fantastically,” said Josh Wojcik, founder of Upright Frameworks. “I've only heard good feedback.” Bill Hubble, a member of the church and Wojcik's contact last year, said that the 200-year-old church needed the repair and that even though winter has barely started, the congregation immediately noticed an improvement. “We did notice a very obvious change in the climate in the church,” Hubble said. “The ambient warmth in the church immediately increased.” He said he believes that if we experience a winter “like the one four or five years ago,” the church has done a very good job protecting itself. The project at Yarmouth's First Parish Church is along the same lines, with subtle differences, Wojcik said. He said he was contacted by Liz Rensborough, a congregant of the church, this fall because the building was experiencing heating loss through the attic. “We're working mostly on the attic and it's a different scope (than the Foreside Community Church) because the attic is very different, but it's a similar project,” Wojcik said. “We're going to be installing a pressure barrier over one wing of the church.” The pressure barrier, Wojcik said, will resolve a lot of the heating loss that is occurring in the newer part of the building, which he said is in worse shape than the original building built in 1868. Wojcik said this is not surprising because new energy codes do not include requirements for the air sealing, so “new buildings can be very, very leaky.” Although the RaiseME Up campaign has ended, Wojcik will still do the retrofit at cost for church, he said, because he feels it is important for pillars of the community to be maintained. “I did the original RaiseME Up campaign as a way to raise awareness, but I'm a business and I can't do profitless work forever unless I convert myself into a nonprofit,” he said. “But I do want to keep the program going for organizations that I feel are important for our community. Churches are nonprofits and regardless of your religious bent, they are community centers and pillars in every community.” He said he will keep the program going for nonprofits and so far has worked with several historical societies and other churches in addition to the 25 projects completed by the RaiseME Up project last year. “We're trying to help groups that are going to have a ripple effect in the community, so I'm trying to connect with those organizations that I don't want to see go under because they can't afford to take care of problems,” Wojcik said. Work on the church was supposed to begin before Christmas, but weather and the holidays delayed the start date until early this month. Wojcik said he expects the work to take around two weeks.

News Portland Adult Education needs new home after 27 years in ‘temporary’ spot PORTLAND — Portland Adult Education moved its academic classes into a former elementary school building on Douglass Circle in what was intended to be a temporary home. Nearly 27 years ago. Now the public program, which annually serves approximately 2,500 students who are seeking to finish high school or refresh job skills, needs a permanent home. And fast. The nearly 50-year-old West School, where adult education officials have toiled for nearly three decades, is falling apart and can’t continue to be used for the program next year, Director Rob Wood said last week. The only current alternative for the program is to split classes between Portland High School and the vacant Cathedral School in the fall, another temporary solution that would reduce classroom space and squeeze a group that already has a waiting list in the hundreds. Program academic adviser Anja Hanson said it’s important to stabilize the adult education program for students because many consider these classes their path to a better life. Around 200 received high school diplomas or equivalent certifications in a graduation ceremony Thursday night at Merrill Auditorium. “(Many of the students are) in poverty, they’re refugees, they’re already homeless. The uncertainty surrounding what has become an important part of their daily routines has really been disruptive,” she said. “It’s been a revelation how much people count on this program. It’s really very sad how this has affected them, because out of many worries in their lives, this wasn’t something they had to worry about until now.” Wood said the West School “was the best space we could find” for a long time. “Unfortunately, maintenance has been deferred over the years and the building is not in good shape presently,” he said. When the furnace broke in February, a portable furnace had to be trucked in to heat the facility through the remainder of the winter, said Wood. Exacerbating matters, the roof began leaking “extensively” in March. “We don’t have a price tag (to repair the current school), but both the School Department and the city are convinced it’s not worth it,” Woods said. “It’s in the millions of dollars.” Portland Public Schools officials are trying to build public support for an ambitious $71.7 million facilities renovation plan that would upgrade or replace five schools. The project would need to be funded partially by a $39.9 million voter-approved bond. That plan doesn’t include repairs to the West School, which no longer houses traditional elementary-level classes. Wood said Portland Adult Education leaders weren’t expecting to be included in the districtwide facilities upgrade plan and acknowledged that a large, state-of-the-art building like what’s being proposed to replace the deteriorating Fred P. Hall School would likely be more than his program needs. “Our needs are more basic, but we do need a dry, safe, accessible building,” he said. Unless another option emerges this summer, the group will relocate to five available classrooms at Portland High School and four in the now-closed Cathedral School, still owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine. Currently, the adult education program uses 12 classrooms for its academic courses and has a waiting list of 150 prospective students. “With the possibility of using Portland High and Cathedral, I don’t know whether the waiting list could get longer with less space,” Wood said. A plan to house the entire Portland Adult Education operation in the Cathedral School fell apart about a month ago, said Hanson. The annual lease payments to occupy so much of the property would likely have been prohibitive for the Cathedral School to have been a long-term solution, Wood said. Now adult education officials are back to square one, and are seeking suggestions – or offers of space – from the public. “It was really only a month ago that we got word that plans had shifted, so we are feeling a sense of urgency and panic,” Hanson said. “The students have never once complained about the leaking classrooms or the leaking bathrooms. They’ve only expressed concerns about where will we be.”

Though rains from Tropical Storm Beryl flooded north Florida potato fields, grower-shippers say rain damage and the muddy fields didn’t harm the deal’s overall quality and volume. Most north Florida growers were finishing harvest the week of June 4, said Adam Lytch, operations manager for Raleigh, N.C.-based L&M Cos. Inc., which grows and ships reds, whites and yellows from Bunnell, Fla., Hastings, Fla., and Palatka, Fla. Lytch said L&M plans to harvest through June 20 from later plantings. Though the Bunnell region received 10 inches of rain and L&M lost some 40 acres, Lytch said quality remained strong and said the small loss of volume shouldn’t affect the deal. He said other north Florida growing areas received three to four inches of rain. Quoting $16.50 per cwt., Lytch said red potato prices are half what they were last season. “The reds we are digging yesterday and today are the nicest we have dug all season,” he said June 5. “And finally, we are digging potatoes that were not affected whatsoever by the (February) freeze. Movement has been good. We should have consistent production.” Lytch said L&M was about 85% finished with its Bunnell harvest. North Florida production normally starts in late April and runs through early to mid-June. Lytch said L&M plans to start North Carolina production on time around June 18.

Whale Release and Strandings Newfoundland and Lab-rador has been given a donation of $25,000 by Shell Canada. The group was one of 54 organizations selected by online voters to receive a total $1 million in funding from the oil company’s “Fuelling Change” program, supporting environmental organizations operating in Canada. Whale Release and Strandings has been a non-profit group since 2001, developing from the release activities of the Canadian Coast Guard and Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Whale Research Group. A history of the group is available at:. The latest donation is not the first it has received from Shell Canada. Whale Release and Strandings’ Julie Huntington told The Telegram the organization was previously able to buy a boat engine thanks to being selected for a donation from Shell. “(Shell Canada has) been giving out grants for many years. But you used to apply for them and they used to select them,” she said. This year, an online voting system was set up instead of donation recipients being selected in-house by Shell. The problem is, votes were on a token-type system. Votes were handed out in lots — 10 for signing up on the program’s website. More could be earned by entering promotional codes from Shell station receipts. With no Shell stations on the island, Huntington said she did not expect the Newfoundland and Labrador-based organization to win the vote. “We let people know and then somehow ... we were sort of static and then it got a life of its own,” she said. “People started voting for us.” She said everyone working with the organization is thankful for the support. “As we near the end of our centennial year in Canada, we wanted to mark this occasion by recognizing those Canadian environmental projects that are making a difference,” stated Shell Canada president Lorraine Mitchelmore, in an announcement on this year’s “Fuelling Change” funding. “We know that finding solutions to today’s environmental challenges requires the commitment of all Canadians, and today, our customers have spoken.” The work of Whale Release and Strandings is funded in part by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, supplemented by some private and corporate donations. In its day to day operations, the group typically receives a few calls per month (at 1-888-895-3003) for assistance with entangled marine wildlife, including whales, basking sharks and leatherback sea turtles. In addition to rescue calls, it conducts education sessions at schools and with local fishermen on the topic of safe disentanglement of marine animals from, for example, fishing nets. The group was part of the first Whale Festival, organized with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Parks Canada, held in late-June 2011. The $25,000 from Shell will go towards the purchase of a new boat, trailer and safety equipment for Whale Release and Strandings. “It’s a good Christmas gift,” Huntington said. “It also shows that people are interested in whales and interested in making sure that they’re protected.” afitzpatrick@thetelegram.com

Standard & Poor’s and Morningstar analysts made their 2011 mutual fund winners and losers picks in late December after examining the overall fund universe as well as individual fund performance within it. Not surprisingly, there were some surprises. For example, portfolios that were heavily weighted with emerging markets stocks suffered some of the largest losses, despite all the positive talk around emerging nations such as China, India and Brazil. In contrast, a highly concentrated fund with just 22 holdings and no new stocks purchased in the last 75 years was a top performer. First, the mutual fund winners, as selected by S&P Capital IQ’s mutual fund analysts using their MarketScope Advisor screening tool. All three fund picks have a five-star ranking from S&P Capital IQ. They earned this top ranking for their relatively strong, risk-adjusted track records, long management tenures, low costs and recent ownership of stocks considered to be undervalued: ING Corporate Leaders Trust Fund (LEXCX) SunAmerica Focused Dividend Strategy Portfolio; A (FDSAX) “S&P Capital IQ has star coverage of over 4,600 domestic equity and global equity mutual funds, excluding those targeted only for institutional investors,” wrote S&P Capital IQ Mutual Fund Analyst Todd Rosenbluth in a note. “As we review the best performing funds thus far in 2011, we find that just 693 of them (15%) have a total return greater than 2.7%, and an even smaller number of those, 167, currently have a five-star ranking.” The Sequoia Fund, up 13.6% this year, received the S&P Capital IQ Mutual Fund Excellence Gold Award earlier this year for the consistency of its top ranking in the one-year period ended August 2011. “With management's long-term investment strategy, evidenced by its below-average 23% turnover rate, little has likely changed since then,” Rosenbluth said. The fund has relatively high exposure to health care stocks, including Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which is a strong buy, “and we think its 20%-plus cash equivalent stake has limited the fund's volatility.” ING Corporate Leaders Trust Fund, up 12.5% year to date, is on pace to be the top-performing domestic large-cap value fund in S&P Capital IQ’s universe for the second straight year, after rising 21.2% in 2010. Recent top 10 holdings include Exxon Mobil, Honeywell and Praxair. “However,” Rosenbluth warns, “investors should be cognizant that the fund is highly concentrated, with just 22 holdings, as no new stocks have been purchased in this passively managed trust since its formation more than 75 years ago.” SunAmerica Focused Dividend Strategy Portfolio, up 12.4%, is a multi-cap core fund “that could easily have been missed in late 2010, based on its below-average performance that year,” according to Rosenbluth. However, he said, the fund's three- and five-year record under current management has been relatively strong, its Sharpe ratio is above average, its expense ratio is just 0.95% and its dividend focus benefited in 2011 as investors sought out yield in the face of market volatility. And now for the losers, as selected by Morningstar’s Premium Fund Screener in an examination of mutual funds with $5 billion or more in assets and losses at 15% or greater during the past year. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock (VEIEX) “Given the recent travails of foreign markets, foreign-stock funds of all types dominate the list, with emerging-markets-heavy portfolios incurring some of the largest losses,” wrote Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance. “Of the $5 billion-plus club, Janus Overseas was the biggest loser by a mile. Yet a small smattering of domestic-stock funds also made our laggard list.” Fairholme's Bruce Berkowitz “had a bad year of nearly epic proportions in 2011,” according to Benz. This disappointment came after he generated a nearly unbroken string of top-quartile results from 2000 through 2010 and won Morningstar's Fund Manager of the decade. “Most of the stocks in this financials-heavy portfolio have suffered losses ranging from bad to horrible, and Berkowitz has had to spend down his once-robust cash cushion to pay off departing shareholders,” Benz wrote. Janus Overseas’ many risks came home to roost in 2011, Benz said. “Its above-average emerging-markets stake and emphasis on smaller stocks were painful in a market environment that favored blue chips from developed markets. Even the fund's U.S. holdings–which might have helped hold performance aloft–are struggling turnaround plays such as Delta Airlines and Ford.” The Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock index fund's painful results “illustrate that investors in pure emerging-markets funds have had nowhere to hide,” Benz wrote. “As Morningstar senior analyst Gregg Wolper notes in his recent report, China has suffered from worries over slowing growth and rising inflation, while the Brazilian market has struggled owing to growth worries as well as the ushering in of a new government. The performance downturn has no doubt been a cold bucket of water for new investors lured by the emerging-markets growth story as well as very strong returns in 2009 and 2010.” What’s the lesson for investors from these winners and losers? “For many U.S. mutual funds, 2011 will be a forgettable year, as they either treaded water or lost ground compared to a broader benchmark. But we think the lesson for investors should be to not necessarily chase the prior year's winning funds,” S&P Capital IQ's Rosenbluth said. “Rather, they should try to understand the investment strategy and determine if the fund's sector and stock exposure is consistent with their preferred asset allocation needs.”

Austin Gordon spent the last ten years serving overseas in three different deployments with the North Dakota National Guard, while attending Valley City State University and raising a family of three with his wife Nicole. He said traveling with the Guard gave him much to learn and much to experience. Gordon, staff sergeant, was first deployed to Kosovo in 2000, two years after he joined the military. His engineer battalion spent six months there, doing construction on the camp and a little work in the surrounding areas. Almost ten years later, Gordon noticed quite a difference when he served in Kosovo again during his third deployment. While in Kosovo the first time, Gordon said electricity was shut off to the towns and the people of Kuwait looked strangely at the soldiers, wondering what they were doing when they were gathering supplies in Kuwait City. Ten years later, Gordon said the electricity situation seemed to be better, and “the people were great, they were friendly.” Between those years, he also spent a year serving in Kuwait and Iraq. Gordon originally decided to join the military as a way to pay for college, and also because his dad was in the Guard. In between his first two deployments, Gordon attended Valley City State University. He joined the National Guard in August 1998 and started at VCSU in 1999, where he attended one year before being deployed to Kosovo in 2000. After returning to the United States, Gordon attended VCSU another year, was deployed again, and then got one more year of college done after coming back from his second deployment. Still in the active reserves of the National Guard, Gordon recalls being nervous when he first started. “I started going to drills before I went to basic training, so I knew a lot of the guys there when my dad was in the unit with them, so it was alright then,” Gordon said. But once he started basic training, he became nervous “because then that’s a new environment and something you’re not really used to.” “It was a little nerve-racking the first month, and you get into a routine, and once you get a routine down, it’s pretty easy going,” he said. Once Gordon was deployed, it wasn’t easy for him to maintain communication with his family and friends in the U.S. Right away during his deployment, they only had access to phones about once every couple of weeks, and even then, “the phones are hit and miss. Sometimes they’d work, and sometimes they would go out in the middle of the sentence,” he said. And often time, they spent hours standing in line to use the phone, only to get a minute of talking time. The soldiers eventually gained internet access, which was also hit and miss at first. “It wasn’t like being at home and being on the internet and phone,” Gordon said. Towards the end of his deployment, the service to the phones and internet became better and more efficient. When they did have down time, Gordon and others played a lot of card games and Xbox and PlayStation to entertain themselves. “You rely on each other to make the time go by fast,” he said. “So if one person’s having a bad day, you learn to help them out; they help you out.” During his travels overseas, Gordon was exposed to a difference of cultures, including food. He said the food he ate overseas wasn’t the greatest but it was better than an MRE (Meals-Ready-to-Eat). “It worked out good — you’d get sick of the food so you wouldn’t eat as much; it was a good diet program,” Gordon said with a laugh. “They did the best they could with what they had,” he added. When asked what cultural differences he noticed between the U.S. and other countires while overseas, Gordon said people of Kuwait “didn’t have rules and laws like we did. People smoked where they wanted, and safety wasn’t a concern.” After coming back to the United States, Gordon and his family had to adjust to the change. He said there were times of struggle, but they worked through it. When he left for his first deployment, his oldest daughter was only 6-8 months old, so it took a lot of adjusting for her when Gordon returned. The time he’d come back after his second deployment, they had three kids by then: two daughters, MaKayla and Alexxys and son, Seth. Getting back into his old routine also helped Gordon. “I went to work probably two weeks after I got back (from his first deployment) just to help transition back to normal lifestyle,” he said. He worked for Mark and Linda Moser at the old Corner Convenience store. “They welcomed me back, and that helped a lot to get back to work, cause they were great to work for, and they had understood everything,” he said. One way Gordon said his service and experiences influenced him was that he learned not to take things for granted. “You go to places like Iraq and Kosovo, and you see where a lot of times people don’t have running water and electricity.” “We missed the small things like fast food and stuff, and a lot of those people don’t even have food to eat sometimes,” he said. Gordon’s experiences also resulted in friendships. “You develop friendships with guys that you won’t stay in touch so much, but you know when you see them, you can sit down and it’s like you don’t miss a beat,” he said. “You still laugh and joke about the things you did.” Still in the active reserves, Gordon spends his days working for F.E.I. and raising his family in Valley City. Links: [1] mailto:trnews1@times-online.com [2]

Vascular specialists turn smokers away Consultants at a hospital in Scotland have said they will refuse to accept general practitioner (GP) referrals of patients who smoke, according to a story by Christina Kenny for Pulse. The hospital, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI), which is part of NHS (National Health Service) Lothian, says that medical intervention for vascular disease could be avoided altogether if patients stopped smoking and adopted healthier lifestyles. Zahid Reza, a consultant vascular surgeon at ERI, was quoted as saying that his clinic was refusing to accept GP referrals of patients who continued to smoke, unless it was an emergency. “Evidence shows that they would not do well with the treatment,” he was quoted as telling the Scotsman newspaper. “In around 80 percent of cases, a smoker’s condition will improve just simply by stopping smoking and making other lifestyle changes. “Some patients have written to their MP demanding to see a consultant. I have written back to the MP to explain our position.” NHS Lothian has apparently denied the existence of a ‘blanket ban’ on refusing referrals, saying that each patient was treated on a case-by-case basis. Nevertheless, patient groups are said to have attacked the decision, describing it as ‘shocking’. Dr Jean Turner, a former GP who heads the Scotland Patients Association, said that she was “extremely disappointed”. “You should not refuse to see anybody and certainly not penalize patients who are smoking,” she said. “It is very God-like and highly unfair to refuse to see people referred from general practitioners. “If I was a GP I would be very angry. It’s not for a doctor to make a judgment. Doctors are there to see if they can help and relieve symptoms.” The full story and comments are at: Category: Breaking News

Global smartphone penetration to jump 25% in 2014 12 June 2014 [18:30] - TODAY.AZ report found that just under a quarter of the world's total population will use smartphones this year, and by 2017, more than a third of all people around the globe will be smartphone users. The research firm notes that its estimates for smartphone users account for the number of individuals who own and use smartphones, regardless of the number of smartphones each of those individuals might have. The U.S. and many Western markets already have high levels of smartphone users, a trend that is likely to spread to many other markets. "By 2015, we estimate that 15 countries worldwide will have seen more than half their populations adopt smartphones," Monica Peart, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer, said in a statement. "The embrace of mobile technology among nearly 500 million people in these countries will have wide-ranging influence on media usage, e-commerce and marketing." Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region will lead the way in smartphone usage, totaling 951 million users, or more than half of all global smartphone users, eMarketer estimates. China, the world's most populous country and the largest smartphone market by volume, will have a majority of its population using smartphones by 2018, eMarketer predicted. However, its smartphone user base is already by far the largest in the world at 521.7 million this year, according to eMarketer. Interestingly, eMarketer expects that more than 50 percent of Americans will own smartphone this year. Canada will pass that mark next year, the firm said. However, last year several research firms announced that smartphone penetration in the U.S. had crossed the 50 percent mark. For instance, in June 2013, the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project reported that 58 percent of U.S. cell phone owners said that their phone operates on a smartphone platform. Separately, Nielsen reported in June 2013 that 61 percent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. owned a smartphone during the March to May 2013 period. An eMarketer spokesman told FierceWireless that the Nielsen study measured smartphone penetration against total mobile subscribers and the Pew study measured against cell phone owners, "whereas eMarketer's figure denotes smartphone users as a percentage of total population, whether or not they have a mobile phone." Meanwhile, eMarketer said the U.S. remains the second-largest smartphone market in the world, behind China, and will have 163.9 million smartphone users in 2014. The U.S. will retain that status until 2016, when India will take over the second spot, the firm predicted. /AzerTAc/ URL: Tweet Print version Views: 831

With more than six million Internet users across the UAE, online ordering is fast becoming a preferred mechanism for food delivery among consumers, said a leading player in the sector. The UAE’s high mobile and smart phone p Bahrain’s leading telecommunications provider Batelco has launched the Nano Sim Cards in the Kingdom which are required for the latest generation of smartphones. The new Nano Sim, which is 40 per cent smaller than its predec The Bahrain eGovernment Authority (eGA) has outlined its new strategy for the (2012-2016) period with focus on delivering high-quality services and improving public communication with government entities through social networks. Unveiling Samsung Electronics aims to increase its market share in the Gulf region from the current 20 per cent to 30 per cent next year with the launch of a new range of phones, said its top official. "With the use of smartphones set to increase to Telecom company 2Connect has announced the launch of 'smart residential' telephony into people's homes in Bahrain. 'Residential lines, offered through dedicated fibre optic cables for the first time in the country, mean a t Etisalat, UAE’s leading telecom services provider, will conduct a series of roadshows at malls across the UAE, where consumers can get hands on experience of the new BlackBerry Storm smart phone. The roadshows will enable customers to Apple Inc's iPhone outsold all smartphones in the United States in July, its first full month on sale, accounting for 1.8 percent of all US mobile handset sales, research group iSuppli said. ISuppli reiterated its forecast that Apple would Consumer demand for Smart Phone technology throughout the Middle East is growing at over 50 per cent annually and will reach almost 18 million mobile devices by 2010, up from 6.3 million last year, according to industry researchers Gartner.

"It hasn't always been this way," says Dr. Charlie Evans, emergency room doctor, chief of staff and CEO of Pacific Redwood Medical Group that runs the emergency room and hospitalist services at UVMC. "In the early '90s we had a psychiatric health facility where people could go to get evaluated," he said, referring to the county's former locked mental health facility commonly known as the PHF - or "puff" unit. "Now we have two to three patients per day in our 14-bed unit in the emergency room. There's quite a bit of difference between being in a psychiatric unit and in an emergency room, with all the critical events happening there all the time." The emergency department is under an obligation by federal law to do a medical screening exam, the main function performed to evaluate psychiatric patients, on anyone who comes in. With no full-time psychiatrists on staff, care is provided through psychiatric crisis workers whose caseloads are high, frequently leading to decisions being made without the consultation of a psychiatrist. "In urban areas like San Francisco they will have a psychiatric emergency department allowing them to do evaluations on the spot. We don't have that level of service here," Evans says. When an individual is brought to the emergency room as a danger to himself or to others (on a "5150," which is the California Code number) by the police, family, friends or Integrated Care Management Solutions, (contracted out by Ortner Management Systems, the county's mental health contract service) he or she is taken into triage for vital signs and a questionnaire. Afterward, he or she is admitted to the ER unit to be evaluated by a medical provider, all of whom are board certified and have specialty training in psychiatric emergencies. With the presenting complaint being psychiatric in nature, a care manager is contacted. In the situation where the police bring in the individual, the care manager is notified beforehand, allowing for arrival prior to or at least at the same time as the patient. "Since ICMS has been in charge, care mangers for psychiatric patients arrive in a more timely fashion than before, within 30 to 60 minutes," says Evans. The care manager will perform an extensive interview, gleaning information about patient history and medical history and compliance. Family members may be contacted as well as other professionals involved. Then a recommendation is made: either to be sent home or to be hospitalized at a psychiatric facility. If sent home, it is the responsibility of ICMS for follow-up treatment and if it is determined he or she is a danger to him- or herself or others, the wait for a bed in an out-of-county psychiatric facility can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. With no psychiatric facilities in the county, a patient will be held in the emergency room until a placement can be found out of county in facilities located in Yuba City, Vallejo, St. Helena or Contra Costa County. "I can think of no worse place for a psychiatric patient to be housed waiting crisis evaluation than in an emergency room," says Evans. With little likelihood of getting psychiatrists on staff, UVMC is working to make changes to provide better care and services. Part of the $41 million expansion project will include two separate independent rooms for psychiatric patients, one of which will be dedicated to the late Dr. Doug Rosoff. Since many repeat patients are not taking their medications, physicians on staff are making efforts to determine what meds are prescribed and restart them at appropriate doses. "Any medical care today is really about approaching a patient with a team of professionals. ICMS and Redwood Quality Management have been very good about getting all the agencies that touch psychiatric patients in the same room to communicate how we are all doing; this includes law enforcement, community programs like Manzanita, hospitals and clinics," Evans said. Redwood Quality Management is the contract organization handling the county's underage mental health patients. "A lot of this problem is intensified by the fact that medical records for psychiatric patients are protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT, and nobody wants to share information for fear they will be in violation. We are working to coordinate care to be able to share that information legally," says Evans. Another big concern is that some psychiatric patients are violent, threatening medical staff, and there have been at least three major incidents of assault on the staff. In one case, a patient tackled a physician and took him down. In order to deal with this, the hospital has hired full time, 24/7 security guards, a policy that has been in place for six months. They have taken additional measures to ensure safety. Patients are put into gowns once in the ER, one reason being to detect weapons. Verbal abuse can lead to extreme disturbances, with a patient in one room yelling about delusions while another in an adjacent room is having a heart attack. "Homelessness and alcoholism and drug addiction are also a part of the scenario; trying to solve a mental health problem with a patient who does not have access to food, clothing or shelter, also under influence of drugs and/or alcohol, can be daunting. "This is not a problem that is going to go away in the near future; what we are doing in Mendocino County is we are problem solving out of the box with good open communication among the ER staff, law enforcement and other agencies creating better case management systems," Evans says. The sheer number is stretching the resources of the hospital and being proactive, treating individuals before they get a 5150, would hopefully bring the numbers down so more adequate care could be provided, he explains, adding that the volume makes it difficult, hindering the way the ER is run. Dr. Mark Montgomery, vice president of operations at Ortner Management Group, explains that it has contracted with the non-profit Integrated Care Management Solutions, an access/crisis center for the whole county that provides crisis response to emergency rooms, walk-in counseling, mental health treatment, medication support and care management services. With two locations, one at 564 S. Dora in Ukiah and one in Fort Bragg, there are licensed care managers, including those with an MFCC, those working toward master's degrees and those with a bachelor of arts degree who have worked many years in the mental health field with crisis response. A psychiatrist is available 24 hours a day for consultation with the workers. "Every case is run through a consultation with a psychiatrist, and when in the ER with a health professional there as well," he says. The facility on South Dora offers 24-hour walk-in crisis services providing a place to be safe if someone is having a bad day and is in need of counseling. Care managers are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week. The county crisis number, 1-800-555-5906, is a direct line to the facility and a community member will be directed to those services if he or she is over the age of 25, and referred to Redwood Quality Management if between the ages of 0 to 24. One phone call is all that is necessary to make the proper connection and start the process. ICMS has the capacity to provide outpatient medication support for specialty mental health, those community members who are chronic and persistently mentally ill. Dr. Evans says," All of us are touched by mental health problems; there are very few families with members who have not had a mental health crisis, and it is typically those who have had family problems who open their hearts to what is happening. I don't pretend to have the solution, but it is the responsibility of all of us, as individuals, as a community, to work toward one."

KIEV, Ukraine, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Ukraine's new government said that it is willing to initiate "wide-ranging reforms," in exchange for financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF said the country had made a formal request for financial assistance and that they were aware of the urgency of the situation and were acting accordingly. “We will be ready to engage, ready to help,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said this weekend. “We, of course, try to go further and play the catalytic role that the IMF typically plays in such situations.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. was considering providing $1 billion in loan guarantees, to complement the IMF's efforts. He said they were also looking at directly infusing money into the Ukrainian economy. “Personally, I don’t think it is enough for us to be heralding the advent of democracy and to applaud the courage and conviction of the people who brought about this transition and then just not do anything,” he said. “I think that is unconscionable.” But experts say that there has to be legitimate government in place, before a request for assistance can be made and then the government has to agree to stringent economic reforms such a package would come with. “We need to have somebody to talk to, OK?” said Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, answering questions about Ukraine from journalists last weekend in Sydney, Australia. “Any discussion takes two.” According to Washington-based Institute of International Finance, Ukraine's economy is “on the verge of collapse.” Ondrej Schneider and Lubomir Mitov of the institute said that while all the focus has been on the solving the political crisis, which is still unresolved, delayed economic reform could be potentially disastrous. Analysts say that any package would be around $10 billion to $20 billion in short-term lending. The IMF is sure to ask Ukraine to raise domestic gas prices, cut spending and allow the national currency to float on the international market. [Businessweek] [NYT]

Plastics industry makes its stand Companies are using lobbying and lawsuits to oppose limitations on their grocery bags The industry has latched on to that point in fighting ordinances elsewhere. Most measures have targeted only plastic bags, nearly 88 billion of which were sold in the United States the plastic ones take hundreds of years to break down in landfills. About two-thirds of the 360 million paper and plastic bags Seattle residents use each year end up in the garbage, according to Seattle Public Utilities, even though the city accepts plastic bags in its curbside recycling program. Many places don't because the bags get tangled in recycling equipment. Seattle officials said a fee would encourage more reusable bags, but Adam Parmer, a spokesman for the Coalition to Stop the Bag Tax, said it's the wrong approach to changing behavior. He and the plastic industry support increased recycling. Two groups representing independent and chain supermarkets said they're neutral and want voters to decide. If the measure passes, Hanh Nguyen, 49, a Seattle social worker, said she would bring her own bags to avoid the fee. But she dislikes the charge, saying she already pays enough for other things like gasoline and food. “I understand that it's supposed to help the environment, but still,” Nguyen-cent) bag tax in 2002 cut the use of disposable bags by 90 percent. That tax went up to 22 euro cents in 2007 after bag use crept up. In San Francisco, the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags, officials said all 140 grocery and convenience stores are complying with the 2007 ordinance, saving about 100 million bags a year. Staff writers Tanya Mannes and Mike Lee contributed to this report. Connect with The San Diego Union-Tribune - - - - -

ValueClick, a digital marketing company with interests spread across media, ad tech and affiliate marketing, has announced that it has changed its name to Conversant in a bid to reposition the company as a personalised marketing company. The NASDAQ listed company will roll out an integrated ‘marketing personalisation platform’ under the new brand. The Conversant platform will borrrow parts of the five divisions launched or acquired by ValueClick since 1998, including ValueClick Media, Commission Junction, Greystripe, Dotomi and Mediaplex. However, Commission Junction, acquired by ValueClick in 2003, will now be known as ‘CJ Affiliate, by Conversant’. “Marketing’s ultimate measure of success is to connect with people on a personal level. So for the last 15 years, Conversant has been building a company with the technology and capabilities to make this vision a reality for every marketer,” said John Giuliani, CEO of Conversant. “There’s still a lot of confusion around what’s possible with personalization. Conversant is a strategic partner that offers the knowledge and expertise to help marketers recognize, implement and measure the value of personalization solutions.” The company’s common stock, which has previously traded under the ticker symbol VCLK, will officially begin trading under the new NASDAQ ticker symbol CNVR.

Hartford Won’t Curb Recycling Funding for Pick-up Service Extended Another 6 Months White River Junction — Curbside recycling, which had been on a list of proposed cuts, will live on in Hartford, for a while anyway. The Selectboard voted last night to fund $75,000 for the town’s free program, which carry the program through the end of the calendar year. Town Manager Hunter Rieseberg had recommended the program, which between 40 and 45 percent of eligible Hartford households use, be cut entirely. That proposed move would have freed up $150,000 in the town’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1. “Don’t misconstrue my recommendation not to fund it, that we don’t believe it’s worthwhile,” Rieseberg said during last night’s budget workshop meeting. “But something’s got to give.” The six months of funding would act as a bridge to the implementation in 2014 of Act 148, a statewide solid waste law that was adopted last year that could increase the number of private trash haulers that offer curbside recycling. “It’s safe to say that things are going to be different starting next year,” Rieseberg said, “because of Act 148.” The town’s recycling program is provided biweekly in Hartford by Northeast Waste Services, and it is paid for by taxpayers. Those who don’t opt into the program have the option to transport their recyclables to the town’s transfer station or contract privately. When the Act 148 goes into effect, Rieseberg said, average waste-hauling charges are expected rise by about $16 a month to take into account the garbage haulers’ increased workload. To gauge public interest in the town’s recycling program, Selectboard Vice Chairman F.X. Flinn created an online survey earlier this week that he sent out to residents on the Listserve. Last night, he said the survey recorded 200 responses. Many of them, he said, indicated they wanted to keep the curbside recycling. “There are a lot of people who feel that the recycling program says that ‘Hey, we’re Vermont, we’re green, so it’s an important part of the image we project,’ ” Flinn explained. “There’s a lot of support for this,” he said. “I think it would be a mistake for us to take it out of the budget at this point in the budget process.” The vote was 5-1 in favor of a budget proposal that cuts the full-year funding to six months at a cost of $75,000. Selectman Simon Dennis was the sole dissenting vote. The board settled on the half-year funding idea even though there was uncertainty whether the state mandate would actually kick in at the beginning of next year. If that turns out to be the case, and there’s still desire to fund the program, Selectboard Chairman Ken Parker said the required money could be pulled from a reserve fund. “I don’t want to fund the whole thing for a year and find out Jan. 1 that there’s a law that goes into effect, and the $75,000 could have gone somewhere else,” Parker said. Jon Wolper can be reached at jwolper@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.

City-owned United Medical Center is requesting an additional $15 million from District taxpayers to help finance its turnaround after the previous owner defaulted on its obligations to the city. United Medical Center’s board of directors wrote Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Thursday requesting that the District provide $9 million in direct funding as well as forgive a $6 million loan. Bishop C. Matthews Hudson, the chairman of the board, wrote the funding would help fulfill Gray’s request that the hospital shift toward “ambulatory and physician-centric care.” The hospital, formerly known as Greater Southeast Medical Center, currently specializes in traditional acute care. “The Board, hospital management, and OFCO [Office of the Chief Financial Officer] leadership met to collaboratively determine the financial support needed to maintain hospital operations and fund the restructuring effort,” Hudson wrote. “We came to a consensus that $15 million will be required.” The only hospital east of the Anacostia River, United Medical Center has been plagued with financial problems for years. To prevent it from closing, the District invested $79 million into the hospital when Specialty Hospitals of America acquired it in 2007. In 2010, the city took over the hospital after Specialty failed to make its payments to the city. D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At large), chairman of the Health Committee, has become a chief advocate for keeping the hospital under public control. Catania argues the city has already invested tens of millions to upgrade the hospital as a resource for residents east of Anacostia River. Gray and Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi have pushed for a quick sale, worried the hospital could become a drain on city resources. Neither Gray nor Catania were immediately available to discuss the board’s request. In addition to additional city money, the hospital also plans to request $5 million from the federal government, according to the letter. The hospital maintains its fiscal outlook has improved, including an $8 million profit in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. In October, a report by the Department of Health Care Finance recommended that the hospital readjust its mission to better compete, which prompted Gray to request that it focus more on ambulatory care. “We are not just asking for money, “ Hudson said in a brief interview. “There is a purpose to move the hospital forward.” Still, the request could spark a fierce debate on the council about the hospital’s future. On Tuesday, Catania got into a profanity-laced shouting match with Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) when Barry tried to question Gandhi on the state of the hospital’s finances.

[tag: science] Hospital Malpractice: 2,300 Staph Virus Infection Deaths in Canada In March 2008, Canadian TV network CTV reported on a survey of malpractice and preventable hospital mistakes occurring in hospitals in Canada. In 2006, CTV reported that over 2,300 patients died from complications as a result of contracting the potentially deadly MRSA staph virus. These infections cost the Canadian national health care system $200 Million (which translates to approximately $202 million in U.S. currency). The study, which was undertaken by a Canadian surveillance program, studied 48 hospitals. Their statistics also noted that over 29,000 patients seen by physicians at these hospitals were carrying the staph infection, and that 11,700 contracted new MRSA infections. Pittsburgh Malpractic Case Involves Former Coroner Former Pittsburgh coroner involved in malpractice/wrongful death case Malpractice & Hospitals Malpractice in the News: Medicare hospital patients at risk--lawyers

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the the Borough of Chorley (established 1974). Chorley is located 8.1 miles (13 km) north of Wigan, 10.8 miles (17 km) south west of Blackburn, 11 miles (18 km) north west of Bolton, 12 miles (19 km) south of Preston and 19.5 miles (31 km) north west of Manchester. As in much of Lancashire, the town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry. However it was also a major market town due to its central location to four Lancashire towns. As recently as the 1970s the skyline was dominated by numerous factory chimneys, but most are now demolished: remnants of the industrial past include Morrison's chimney and a few other mill buildings, and the streets of terraced houses for mill workers. Chorley is known as the home of the Chorley cake. In 1837, Chorley joined with other townships (or civil parishes) in the area to become head of the Chorley Poor Law Union which took responsibility for the administration and funding of the Poor Law in the area. Chorley became incorporated as a municipal borough in 1881 by its first mayor William Augustus Smethurst. The town's population remained roughly static in the 20th century, with the 1911 census showing 30,315 people and the 1971 census showing 31,665. Under the Local Government Act 1972, Chorley became the core of the non-metropolitan district of the Borough of Chorley on 1 April 1974. Categories: Lancashire, England | Chorley, Lancashire, England | Chorley (borough), Lancashire, England | Leyland Hundred, Lancashire, England

[tag: legal] . In 1900, eleven years after its foundation, the London Government Act 1899 divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs. These replaced the ancient parish vestries and district boards as the second tier of local government. The colours define the London Boroughs into which the Metropolitan Boroughs were transferred in 1965. The County of London was abolished in 1965 and was replaced by the much larger Greater London, which took in nearly all of Middlesex, along with areas in Surrey, Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire. The area that had formed the county was henceforth known as Inner London and an "Inner London Education Authority" operated in the area until 1990. The 28 metropolitan boroughs were merged to form 12 new Inner London boroughs. Categories: London, England | Greater London, England