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Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, poses before taking part in the show ''Elysee 2017'' on French television channel TF1 in Paris, France, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Feferberg/Pool
PARIS A new Odoxa survey of voter intentions said centrist Emmanuel Macron would win the French presidency in a May 7 vote, but that his share of the vote would be 59 percent, down four percentage points from its previous survey.
The survey, carried out over April 26-27 and published on Friday, saw his far right rival Marine Le Pen on 41 percent, up four points compared with the previous survey on April 24-25.
The poll showed that 40 percent of supporters of the defeated first-round French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon would vote Emmanuel Macron, while half of Francois Fillon voters would do the same.
More than 40 percent of Melenchon voters plan to abstain, the poll also showed.
(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Andrew Callus) |
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Charles Robert Pinkerton, 37, of Morgantown, died in a crash Monday in Fayette County, Pa., according to Pennsylvania State Police. Pinkerton was riding his motorcycle along Morgantown Road when he lost control and was launched from the bike hitting a passenger vehicle.
Start the conversation, or Read more at West Virginia Metro. |
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: Shares in Facebook, the world's largest social media company, on Monday suffered the biggest one-day drop of its stocks in four years. Facebook shares declined 7 per cent on Wall Street, following reported data leakage of its 50 million users for alleged political purposes. Losses for Facebook shares came after US and British media reported that the data of more than 50 million Facebook users were inappropriately used by a British data analysis company, Cambridge Analytica, in activities allegedly connected with US President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign.Mr Trump's campaign reportedly used the firm's data during the primaries but not during the general election and Federal Election Commission numbers showed the firm collected $5.9 million in 2016 from his campaign, Xinhua cited California-based The Mercury News daily as saying.Cambridge Analytica received user data from a Facebook app years ago that purported to be a psychological research tool, though the firm was not authorised to have that information.Facebook admitted that an estimated 270,000 people had downloaded the app and shared their personal details with it. Last Friday, Facebook said in an official post that it had suspended "Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), including their political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica", from its website.It said the two companies had failed to delete user data acquired in 2015 in violation of Facebook rules. |
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Ashley Benson made sure to turn heads as she stepped out in New York on Monday.
The Pretty Little Liars actress, 27, went for a sunny look by donning a bright orange satin suit.
She left the long jacket open over a nude top and the pants were high waisted and flared.
Sunny look: Ashley Benson made sure to turn heads as she stepped out in New York on Monday in a bright orange satin suit
The suit featured black piping on the pockets and hems while the pants featured thin black stripes down the side.
Ashley matched the detailing by carrying a small black Yves St. Laurent purse on a gold shoulder chain.
She completed the look with a pair of open-toed sandals.
Head turner: The Pretty Little Liars actress, 27, left the long jacket open over a nude top and the pants were high waisted and flared. She completed the look with a pair of open-toed sandals
Shiny style: The suit featured black piping on the pockets and hems while the pants featured thin black stripes down the side
Striking: Ashley left her blonde hair loose with a center parting that revealed her darker roots. She sported dark red lip color and black mascara and accessorized with long dangly earrings
The actress left her blonde hair loose with a center parting that revealed her darker roots.
She sported dark red lip color and black mascara and accessorized with long dangly earrings.
Meanwhile, her popular television series is wrapping up its seventh season on Freeform.
And earlier on Monday she shared a snap to her Instagram showing herself with co-star Shay Mitchell doing publicity for the final season of Pretty Little Liars. |
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WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. (AP) Prosecutors say a Minnesota man lived in his house with the decomposing bodies of his mother and twin brother for about a year.
Sixty-year-old Robert James Kuefler of White Bear Lake is charged with interference with a dead body or scene of death because he neglected to tell authorities they died of natural causes, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press .
The bodies were found last year. Kuefler was charged this week. Police say he told them his mother, 94-year-old Evelyn Kuefler, died in August 2015 and his brother, Richard Kuefler, died before that and he couldn't bring himself to bury them.
The complaint says his mother's body was decayed and skeletal and his brother's body was "mummified."
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Robert Kuefler didn't return a message left by The Associated Press.
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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com |
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NEW YORK CITY — The Weinstein Co. filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday with a buyout offer in hand from a private equity firm, the latest twist in its efforts to survive the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down co-founder Harvey Weinstein, shook Hollywood and triggered a movement that spread out to convulse other industries.
The company also announced it was releasing any victims of or witnesses to Weinstein's alleged misconduct from non-disclosure agreements preventing them from speaking out. That step had long been sought by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who filed a lawsuit against the company last month on behalf of its employees.
The Weinstein Co. said it has entered into a “stalking horse” agreement with an affiliate of Dallas-based Lantern Capital Partners as part of its bankruptcy protection filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. That means Lantern has agreed to buy the company, subject to approval from the court.
The company made the filing about two weeks after negotiations to sell the company to a group of investors fell apart. Lantern, which had been one of those investors, has now offered to buy most of the assets of the company and keep on its employees, the Weinstein Co. said.
Other bidders also could emerge, particularly those interested in the company's lucrative 277-film library, which includes award-winning films from big-name directors like Quentin Tarantino and horror releases from its Dimension label. Free of liabilities, the company's assets could increase in value in a bankruptcy.
The movie and TV studio becomes the first high-profile company to be forced into bankruptcy in the nationwide outcry over workplace sexual misconduct. Dozens of prominent men in entertainment, media, finance, politics and other realms have seen their careers derailed, but no other company has seen its very survival as tightly intertwined with the fate of one man as the Weinstein Co.
In more fallout over the scandal, New York's governor directed the state attorney general to review the 2015 decision by the Manhattan district attorney's office not to prosecute a 2015 case involving an Italian model who said Weinstein groped her.
Weinstein, who was fired as CEO of his company in October, has denied any allegations of non-consensual sex.
Hanging in the balance is the fate of more than 100 employees and several lawsuits filed by Weinstein's accusers.
Under bankruptcy protection, those lawsuits will be halted and no new legal claims can be brought against the company. Secured creditors will get priority for payment over the women suing the company.
However, the lawsuit filed by Schneiderman's office will not be automatically halted because it was filed by a law enforcement agency.
The bankruptcy process also will bring the company's finances into public view, including the extent of its debt. Negotiations to sell the company to a group of investors led by businesswoman Maria Contreras-Sweet fell apart earlier this month after the buyers claimed they discovered up to $64 million in undisclosed liabilities, including $27 million in residuals and profit participation. Those liabilities come on top of $225 million in debt, which the buyers had said they would be prepared to take on as part of a $500 million acquisition deal.
The Weinstein Co. already had been struggling financially before the scandal erupted in October with a news stories in The New York Times and The New Yorker. Brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein started the company in 2005 after leaving Miramax, the company they founded in 1979 and which became a powerhouse in ‘90s indie film with hits like “Pulp Fiction.” After finding success with Oscar winners “The Artist” and “The King's Speech,” the Weinstein Co.'s output and relevance diminished in recent years. The company let go 50 employees in 2016 and continuously shuffled release dates while short of cash.
Several other executives and all but three members of the board of directors also have left the company. Last year, the studio sold distribution rights for the movie “Paddington 2” to Warner Bros. for more than $30 million. |
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Apple targets supply chain efficiency through $1bn green bond
Apple has launched a dedicated funding stream to finance clean energy and environmental projects, through a $1bn green bond.
The technology giant’s second green bond was announced on Tuesday (13 June) and is the first corporate bond offered since US President Donald Trump announced his intentions to withdraw the nation from the Paris Agreement. Apple said the green bond highlights the business commitment to the historic climate accord.
“Leadership from the business community is essential to address the threat of climate change and protect our shared planet,” Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson said.
Apple was listed with more than 900 companies that signed up to the We Are Still In declaration, vowing to meet America’s contribution to the Paris Agreement once Trump pulls the nation out. Companies were joined by more than 120 towns and cities, including Washington, New York and Chicago, to formally examine non-state and sector climate actions and agree to a “societal contribution”.
The green bond proceeds will be used to finance renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects and initiatives at Apple facilities, although a specific focus will be given to the company’s supply chain.
Supplier focus
The company has been focusing on supply chain efficiency in recent months. Apple has tripled the number of supplier sites listed in its energy efficiency programme aimed at reducing onsite emissions, while also introducing a "first-of-its-kind" risk assessment tool covering supply chain risks related to material sourcing, environmental impact and health and safety.
Suppliers will also be encouraged to embrace the circular economy. Apple has pledged to "go deeper" in developing new closed-loop products by using only renewable resources or recycled materials that negate the need to mine materials.
Last year, Apple allocate more than $400m to 16 projects ranging from renewable energy to recycling as part of the first bond – including Liam the robotic recycling arm.
With 93% of Apple’s global facilities running on renewable energy, the company will soon begin to sell electricity generated from solar panels and farms, hydrogen fuel cells and biogas facilities located across the company’s biggest facilities including the Cupertino headquarters. Apple quietly formed its own energy subsidiary over the last year, meaning the company could sell excess electricity to end-users across the US.
Amazon’s approach
Rival tech firm Amazon is also making progress in its clean energy vision. In March, the online retailer pledged to deploy large-scale solar systems across 50 fulfillment and sortation centres globally by 2020.
The company’s chief executive Jeff Bezos showcased the progress being made to hit this target, through a tweet sent on Wednesday.
Rooftop #solar panels at our 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Baltimore now live. 50+ solar FCs will come online by 2020. pic.twitter.com/eUpoxZ0eTt — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) June 14, 2017
By the end of 2017, it is believed that Amazon will have 15 of its facilities equipped with solar arrays, all of which will be operational by 2020, the deadline for deployment goal.
Amazon turned to solar after deploying numerous wind farms, which have helped the company pass an incremental goal of sourcing 40% of its demand from renewable energy. A 50% target has since been set for 2017 and a 100% transition to renewable energy is being targeted, although no timeframe has been established.
Recent renewables projects from Amazon include the development of a 150MW wind farm in Benton County, Indiana, and a 208MW wind farm in North Carolina, which was the first utility-scale wind farm in the state.
Matt Mace |
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A well-guarded par-4, the fourth hole is a tough challenge with par being a very good score indeed.
Shinnecock Hills Hole By Hole Guide: Hole 4
Hole 4: Par-4: 475 yards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
The first of the hole playing into the south-westerly prevailing wind, the 475 yard par-4 fourth is a tough challenge that could ruin some players chances. The wind makes it incredibly difficult to hit the fairway which is a necessity.
A left-to-right dogleg, two bunkers protect the right side of the fairway, whereas going left will leave a longer iron in.
The slightly elevated green is smaller than it appears largely due to the three deep bunkers creating a narrow avenue to target. The challenges continue on the green because it has subtle breaks all over it. |
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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — When it rains, there is no question Bay Area roads become a much more dangerous place.
What is questionable though is just how many drivers do not seem to know what to do when the roads get slick.
And new on KRON4 News at 10, here is how not to be one of “those” drivers.
Watch the above video to see Stanley’s full report.
TONIGHT AT 10
I saw you driving in the rain ….. you were driving fast and crashed… Now, i’ll never be the same. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/UEJTawgG8h — Stanley Roberts (@SRobertsKRON4) April 18, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js |
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IBM
It's smaller than a grain of salt, but it could soon help guarantee that the products you buy are the real deal and not a knockoff.
At IBM's Think 2018 conference, the company announced the creation of the world's smallest computer that despite its size and cost (each will be less than 10 cents to make) can "monitor, analyze, communicate and even act on data." Each computer can hold as many as one million transistors, while network communication is handled by LEDs and a solar cell provides power.
The computer is a cryptographic or trust anchor that can be embedded in objects and devices and, with the help of blockchain's distributed ledger technology, can ensure a product's authenticity from its origin straight to your hands, according to a blog post by IBM research chief Arvind Krishna.
"These technologies pave the way for new solutions that tackle food safety, authenticity of manufactured components, genetically modified products, identification of counterfeit objects and provenance of luxury goods," said Krishna in the post.
IBM says clients could have samples in the next 18 months and within the next five years they'll reach the marketplace. |
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(HELENA) Local veterans got an opportunity to ask questions about their medical care Wednesday evening, during a town hall and health fair at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Fort Harrison.
VA staff was on hand to provide information on the services the agency provides – everything from help applying for benefits to suicide prevention and healthy lifestyle programs.
State and regional administrators also took questions from veterans concerned about how the federal budget and proposed legislation could affect the VA.
Several of the people in attendance asked questions about the future of the Veterans Choice Program, which allows some veterans to receive care from private providers instead of the VA. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a law extending the program, which had been scheduled to expire
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Ralph Gigliotti, director of the VA Rocky Mountain Network, said Congress is working on a long-term fix to make sure veterans are able to choose where they get care. He said he expects legislation to be proposed in the fall.
On the local level, VA Montana leaders encouraged veterans to get in contact with them, to find out about the full range of services they offer. They said over the last few years, they’ve made a number of changes to better meet veterans’ needs.
“We have a new administration now with a lot of great ideas, pulling in a lot of really good consultants, and things are changing rapidly,” said Desiree Blackburn, a social worker and caregiver support program coordinator. “So for a veteran that only comes to the VA and gets care every three years, the VA is going to be a very different, very progressive place for them to come and get their health care.”
VA Montana hosts town halls and health fairs around the state. The next one will be June 22, at the VA clinic in Billings. |
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Despite the clear and present danger that weak passwords pose to organizations, many remain focused on implementing technology based on policy, not the user, to address the problem.
How do you manage password security?
More than half of IT executives surveyed rely on employees alone to monitor their own password behavior, subsequently leaving the company at risk, shining a light on the disconnect between IT policy and human behavior.
The report, for which Ovum surveyed hundreds of IT executives and corporate employees globally, found that 78 percent of IT executives lack the ability to control access to the cloud-based applications used by their employees. Most companies are aware of this lack of visibility and control, yet the majority are not doing enough, if anything at all, to address the situation.
The study also revealed that 76 percent of employees say they experience regular password usage problems and more than a third of users need password-related help desk support at least once every month. At the same time, nearly three-quarters said they would want to use a tool to help store and access passwords without needing to remember each one if their company offered a solution.
Organizations are leaving holes in their security
A lack of control puts excessive reliance on end users. 61 percent of IT executives surveyed rely exclusively on employee education to enforce strong passwords. Employees are essentially on their own, with no technology in place to enforce any password strength requirement.
Outdated manual processes still prevail. IT executives at four in ten companies surveyed still rely on entirely manual processes to manage user passwords for cloud applications.
Defense against password sharing is far too weak. When asked how they guard against unnecessary password sharing, 64 percent of IT execs surveyed had no technology in place, and only 14 percent had automated control facilities in place to know when it is happening.
Weak password systems put users and businesses at risk. More than three-quarters of employees reported that they regularly have problems with password usage or management. Password usage problems are exacerbated by the lack of single sign-on (SSO) in many organizations. In fact, 56 percent of the organizations surveyed did not have SSO available.
Close the password security gap
“This research has clearly identified an urgent need to close the password security gap,” said Andrew Kellett, Principal Analyst, Infrastructure Solutions at Ovum. “Far too many organizations are leaving the responsibility for password management to their employees and don’t have the automated password management technology in place to identify when things are going wrong.”
“In many cases, an organization’s password management practices are overly reliant on manual processes and far too often place an excessive level of trust in employees to use safe password practices,” said Matt Kaplan, GM of LastPass. “The threat posed by human behavior coupled with the absence of technology to underpin policy is leaving companies unnecessarily at risk from weak or shared passwords. Organizations need to focus on solving for both obstacles in order to significantly improve their overall security.” |
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Here’s more evidence to indicate that Elizabeth Warren is gearing up for a 2020 run — emphasis on “gear”:
Action figures? Please tell me this is satire
Apparently not:
Warren’s swag game, from both her campaign as well as supporters, is like few others in politics:
It’s impossible to know the true size of the Warren merchandising-industrial complex. The bulk of it exists beyond the Democratic senator’s control on sites like online marketplace Etsy. And her campaign, which hosts its own online store, declined to disclose the exact amount of money it raises from merchandise sales.
But it’s safe to say no other senator has anything like it.
Warren’s campaign store has expanded beyond traditional political fare such as buttons, bumper stickers, tote bags and T-shirts to offer a line of products that capitalize on the “Nevertheless, she persisted” meme spawned by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s much-publicized admonishment of Warren on the Senate floor earlier this year. |
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The tenant-purchase scheme that enables those in social housing to purchase their home from a local authority must be suspended, a report on the future of council housing has said.
The report, commissioned by the philanthropic body Community Foundation for Ireland, also calls for the removal of successor tenancies - which allow children of sitting tenants to inherit tenancies - and for the construction of smaller council housing units so tenants can downsize after their children have grown up.
A total of 365,350 council housing units have been provided to Irish people since the 19th century, and during the 1960s and 1970s one-third of all house constructions were council dwellings, according to the report. In 2016, council houses accounted for 22 per cent of the total Irish housing stock.
Between 1990 and 2016, 43 per cent of the 82,869 council houses built during that period were sold to tenants, often with a discount of up to 60 per cent on the market value, writes the report.
Two-thirds of all council housing is now privately owned after being bought through the tenant purchase scheme, which has been in place since the 1930s.
This is had made “an important contribution to increasing home ownership” but has significantly reduced the number of council homes available to rent, warns the study.
The authors said increased pressure on tenants securing private rented accommodation is a “key driver of homelessness” and can only be resolved by providing more social housing.
According to the 2016 Census, 8.7 per cent of households and 30.4 per cent of renters in cities are accommodation in council housing.
The report also calls for a “radical restructuring of funding of council housing” and warns that funding housing through central Government grants has made the “up front” costs of delivering council housing expensive.
The authors of the report, Prof Michelle Norris and Dr Aideen Hayden from the UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, argue the European model of funding through loans to local councils discharged over a longer period of time would be more effective and affordable.
Ms Norris told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that loans would provide more stability and move away from the boom/bust system that has operated over the past 30 years.
Historically social housing has been funded from the central exchequer and during times of recession these types of grants can be difficult to afford, she said.
Ms Norris pointed out that exchequer funding for social housing was cut by 82 per cent during the last recession - which was an inefficient model of funding for social housing.
Capital spending on new council housing rapidly declined after the economic crisis in 2007/8, falling from 94 per cent between then and 2013. In 2013, some €55 million was spent on council housing, but this has since increased to €561 million for 2018.
The report also calls for changes to how tenants pay rents. To date rents have been based on income, which is inadequate income for local authorities who are then left with funding problems for maintenance, she said.
“Rents [for social housing] need to rise,” said Ms Norris. “The cost to build the house should be reflected in the rent. That will enable the local authority to repay the loans.” She added that low-income families could receive a rent supplement from the Government.
The report, which will be unveiled on Wednesday afternoon, recommends that local authorities retain more property tax revenue to fund housing provision and that the redistribution of tax from urban authorities, where housing demand is high, to rural local authorities, where the demand is lower, is reduced.
It says there should be “compulsory deduction of council housing rents” from social welfare payments and a requirement for local authorities to “ringfence income rents” to be spent on council housing management and maintenance. |
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Aug 14 (Reuters) - Ironhorse Oil & Gas Inc
* Ironhorse oil & gas inc. And pond technologies inc. Jointly announce proposed business combination and a private placement by pond
* Issue about 79.2 million shares at a deemed issued price of $0.29 per ironhorse share for aggregate ascribed value of about $23 million Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Reporting by Rishika Chatterjee) |
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The Court of Appeal has been asked to grant an injunction preventing an English county council proceeding with adoption of a baby removed from Ireland without the parents having an opportunity to object.
The application follows earlier criticism by the appeal court of the conduct of Irish and English social workers involved in removing the baby and two siblings last September.
That removal came after proceedings taken by the English council here with the co-operation of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.
Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, on behalf of the Court of Appeal, said Irish social workers must “stop immediately” the “wholly unlawful” practice of acting in conjunction with their UK counterparts in seeking the return to Britain of children at the centre of care proceedings without the parents’ knowledge of that application.
If it does not stop, social workers could face contempt of court proceedings, he said.
A practice had grown in recent times whereby UK social workers travel to Ireland to arrange the return of children by applying to the courts here without notice to the parents “thus depriving them of any opportunity” to challenge the proceedings, he said.
It was difficult “to avoid the impression that the childcare system provided for under the Child Care Act 1991 is being circumvented for this purpose”, he said.
His comments were made during an appeal concerning the three children, all under six, brought by their British parents to Ireland last autumn when the youngest was just two days old.
Care orders
The two older children had been subject of interim care orders in the UK and, three days after they left, all three were made wards of court by the English high court.
Concerns was previously expressed by the social services unit of their local county council about the standards of hygiene within the home, parental capacity to manage the children, domestic violence in previous relationships and parental substance abuse, Mr Justice Hogan said.
The same day as the wardship orders were obtained in the UK, the English social services contacted Tusla to say they had also obtained the requisite orders that the children be returned.
Tusla later made an unannounced visit to the home of the family here.
Mr Justice Hogan said it was important to note that “nothing of concern” was found.
With the consent of the parents, the District Court here granted interim care orders to the agency and the children were placed in foster care.
The agency told the parents the UK social services would apply to the High Court here, without notice to the parents, for enforcement of the English court orders for the children’s return.
Rosslare port
The High Court granted an ex-parte (one-side only represented) application by the English council and the three children were handed over by Tusla to English social workers at Rosslare port and brought to the UK. The parents were told afterwards as the English social workers believed they were a flight risk.
After the parents’ challenge to the Irish High Court order was ruled out of time by two days, they went to the three-judge Court of Appeal.
Mr Justice Hogan noted the English council, which did not participate in the Court of Appeal hearing for financial reasons, had said it did not intend to return the children irrespective of the outcome of the appeal.
The English council also began moves to have the youngest child adopted in the UK.
On Wednesday, lawyers for the parents asked the Court of Appeal to grant an injunction preventing the UK council taking any further steps in those adoption proceedings. The council was not represented.
Following arguments from lawyers for the parents and the Attorney General, before the court as an amicus curiae (assistant to the court), the Court of Appeal said it would give its decision as soon as possible given the urgency of the situation. |
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On a gorgeous sunny Saturday morning, dozens of Kansas City area Girl Scouts met up at the Bayer Animal Health North America headquarters, 12707 Shawnee Mission Pkwy, to plant a pollinator patch.
The activity was part of the company’s “Feed a Bee” program on June 3.
The Girl Scout Brownies visited the Shawnee campus to scatter wildflower seeds and to learn about how important pollinators are to our everyday lives.
“Educating young people is one of the best ways to spread the word about the importance of planting diverse, abundant forage for pollinators,” said Scott Wade, Manager of Quality, Health, Safety, Environment (QHSE) for Bayer Crop Science. “We are proud to have hosted these smart young ladies to help us feed the bees and, hopefully, to leave inspired to bring pollinator initiatives to life in their own neighborhoods.”
The girls also participated in hands-on activities that covered all the senses: pollinating paper flowers with Cheetos “pollen,” tasting honey and digging in to plant seeds and flowers.
The girls were awarded an official “Feed a Bee” patch at the end of the program and were given a packet of seeds to encourage them to plant their own wildflower patch.
“It was so much fun,” said Francie Brewster, a 9-year-old Jr. Girl Scout from Kansas City, Mo. “My favorite part was the Cheetos pollen. We got to lick the extra pollen off our fingers. It was also fun to plant the seeds, and hope the bees will come soon to pollinate.”
“Feed a Bee” is one of several programs sponsored by Bayer’s Bee Care Program. Currently in its third year, “Feed a Bee” has rallied more than 900,000 individuals and 117 partner organizations to plant more than 2 billion wildflowers across the U.S., creating and expanding forage areas for pollinators.
The Feed a Bee program is just one of the ways Bayer collaborates with the Girl Scouts to provide girls innovative STEM experiences.
“Like Bayer, the Girl Scouts are committed to making this world a better place. Planting a flower is something everyone can do and we’re thrilled the Girl Scouts are taking part,” said Joy Wheeler, CEO, Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri. “It is an honor to work with Bayer and experience their commitment to engage more girls in STEM.”
There is a social element to the Feed a Bee program as well. Each time #FeedABee is shared, Bayer plants a wildflower.
The goal is to spread forage coast to coast by December 2018. |
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Industrialists demand clarity and say trade must be as frictionless as with customs union
Leading European industrialists, including bosses from BP, Nestlé, E.ON and Royal Mail, have warned Theresa May that time is running out and said businesses want post-Brexit trade with the EU to be as frictionless as with a customs union.
At a private meeting in Downing Street with the prime minister and the Brexit secretary, David Davis, senior business figures from the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) warned that “uncertainty causes less investment”.
May has only committed to ensuring “trade at the UK-EU border should be as frictionless as possible”, a phrase repeated by a Downing Street spokesman after the meeting.
In a joint statement, the business leaders said they had expressed their concerns to May and warned there was an urgent need for clarity.
“The uninterrupted flow of goods is essential to both the EU and UK economies,” the statement said. “This must be frictionless as with a customs union. We need clarity and certainty, because time is running out. Uncertainty causes less investment.”
Brexit: UK may get poorer access than Israel to EU science scheme Read more
No 10 said the meeting had been an “open and productive discussion” and dialogue would continue. A spokesman said May “underlined the importance of ensuring that our future trading arrangements with the EU are as frictionless as possible”, adding that the future economic partnership would go “beyond existing models”.
The meeting was attended by senior members of British and other European businesses, including Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of BP, Vittorio Colao, Vodafone’s outgoing chief executive, Paul Bulcke, chairman of Nestlé, and Moya Greene, the outgoing chief executive of Royal Mail.
Others attended from firms including BMW, the aluminium company Norsk Hydro, the French multinational Capgemini and the energy company Iberdrola, which owns ScottishPower. More than 50 firms are members of the ERT, with combined revenues of more than £1.97tn and 6.8 million employees in Europe.
Downing Street said May “recognised the necessity of providing certainty for businesses”, pointing to the agreement of a transition period at the European council in March. May and Davis also discussed the future of regulatory standards, after a presentation by the Brexit secretary on the progress of the talks.
May appeared to win some backing for her bid for a bespoke deal on data-sharing laws after Brexit. Downing Street said there was “consensus” in the room that a robust agreement on data-sharing was “vital to our future economic and security relationship with the EU”.
In a presentation to the EU negotiating team last week, UK officials asked for the Information Commissioner’s Office to have a seat on the body that applies data laws to companies, with preferential treatment over other non-EU countries after Brexit.
But the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said in a speech that such privileged access was impossible and would impact on the EU’s ability to make its own decisions.
“We cannot, we will not be able to share this decisional autonomy with a third country, undoubtedly a former member state but which no longer wants to be in the same legal ecosystem as us,” he said. |
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The White House late Saturday confirmed plans to withdraw the nomination of a climate change skeptic with ties to the fossil fuel industry to serve as President Donald Trump’s top environmental adviser.
Kathleen Hartnett White was announced last October as Trump’s choice to chair the Council on Environmental Quality. She had served under former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now Trump’s energy secretary, for six years on a commission overseeing the state environmental agency.
But White’s nomination languished in the Senate, and was among a batch of nominations the Senate sent back to the White House at the end of 2017 when Congress closed up for the year. Trump resubmitted White’s nomination in January.
White, who is not a scientist, has compared the work of mainstream climate scientists to “the dogmatic claims of ideologues and clerics.” In a contentious Senate hearing last November, she defended past statements that particulate pollution released by burning fuels is not harmful unless one were to suck on a car’s tailpipe.
Critics of White’s nomination to head the council pointed to her praise of fossil fuels as having improved living conditions around the world and helping to end slavery. She has called carbon dioxide not a pollutant but “a necessary nutrient for plant life.”
During Perry’s tenure as governor of Texas, White often was critical of what she called the Obama administration’s “imperial EPA,” the Environmental Protection Agency, and she opposed stricter limits on air and water pollution.
White was a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think-tank that received funding from Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Chevron and other fossil-fuels companies. White could not immediately be reached late Saturday for comment.
The Washington Post first reported late Saturday on plans by the White House to pull White’s nomination, citing two administration officials who had been briefed on the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House has not formally announced its decision.
A White House official later confirmed the Post report. The official was not authorized to discuss personnel decisions by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump himself has called climate change a hoax and has laid the groundwork for withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accords.
Other top Trump administration officials who question the scientific consensus that carbon released in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels is the primary driver of global warming include Perry, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
U.S. Senator Tom Carper, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said it was “abundantly clear very early on” that heading the Council on Environmental Quality wasn’t the right job for White. Carper called withdrawing White’s nomination “the right thing to do” and urged the Trump administration to nominate a “thoughtful environmental and public health champion to lead this critical office in the federal government.”
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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap |
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Story highlights Oliver Giroud scores scorpion kick goal
Arsenal beats Crystal Palace 2-0
Gunners move up to third in EPL
(CNN) A "scorpion" is suddenly a new danger for English Premier League goalkeepers.
Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford was the first to experience the venom of a scorpion kick in Manchester United's 3-1 win at Old Trafford on December 26.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan connected with a cross that was behind him but the Armenian still managed to flick the ball with the back of his heel into the net.
On Sunday it was Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey that was left with a bitter taste in his mouth after Olivier Giroud produced an equally outrageous scorpion kick to give Arsenal the lead in a 2-0 win that kept Arsene Wenger's side in the Premier League title race.
Giroud attributed his goal to "maximum luck." |
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Newcastle have completed the permanent signing of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Sparta Prague.
The Slovakia international, who made 12 Premier League appearances for the Magpies during a loan spell last season, has signed a four-year contract at St James’ Park after Newcastle activated an option to buy him.
Manager Rafael Benitez told the club’s website: “Ever since he arrived with us on loan he has shown a fantastic attitude and great work ethic, and of course we have been very impressed with his performances for us on the pitch last season.
“This was one of the key positions we had identified we needed to strengthen and had been concerned about, so it is excellent news that we are able now to sign him on a permanent basis.”
Dubravka, capped 10 times by Slovakia, joined Newcastle on loan in January and Benitez gave credit to the club’s board.
“The loan deal with an option to buy was the perfect deal for the club,” he said.
“It is credit to Lee Charnley and also Steve Nickson for putting that in place because it gave me and my staff the opportunity to look at him and work with him and see how he would perform for us before committing to signing him permanently.
“It has been very good business for the club and we now say congratulations to Martin and look forward to having him with us for the long term at Newcastle United.” Benitez will hope this is just the start of a busy summer. |
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With June 2018 clocking in as Britain’s sunniest month since July 2013, both ground-mounted and roof-mounted solar arrays are pumping out the kilowatts.And with the NFU estimating that farmers own or host more than two-thirds of Britain's solar power installations - the records couldn't have been achieved without them.Solar broke the record for weekly output between 21 and 28 June, producing 533 gigawatt hours of power.In another record breaker, solar generated more than 75GWh on five of the seven days during that period. Solar output also achieved more than 8GW for eight consecutive days in a UK first.The NFU's chief adviser for renewable energy and climate change, Dr Jonathan Scurlock said: "At times, solar power has been generating more than a quarter of UK electricity output (nearly 28 per cent at lunchtime on 30 June)."On average over this period, solar has been generating around 7-8% of total UK electricity, breaking weekly and monthly output records and pushing wind power into second place, at about 6-7%."The record breaking stats follows news of farmers looking ahead towards green projects as the future of UK farming looks set to change.Various grants and funding are on offer for farmers to encourage green growth, coupled with future government subsidies post-Brexit leaning towards environmental stewardship.With costs still falling, an increasing number of farmers are finding a good business case for on-site solar PV generation, with or without government support. |
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Gov. Mark Dayton has signed most of a bill authorizing almost $1.5 billion in public construction across Minnesota.
Dayton signed the so-called bonding bill Wednesday but used his line-item veto pen on just one project. Dayton said $1 million for additional reviews of state water regulations would have added needless bureaucracy.
His signature on the borrowing bill cements one major piece of an otherwise unproductive session. Dayton previously vetoed the GOP Legislature's massive budget package and a bill with tax cuts.
The Democratic governor said the bill was too skimpy, especially for upkeep on college and university campuses. And he objected to a provision that uses money from an environmental fund.
Dayton wrote that he still signed the bill because Minnesota communities need the projects and jobs. |
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Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale reaches across a table to shake hands with Kirstjen Nielsen, United States Secretary of Homeland Security during a G7 Foreign and Security Ministers meeting in Toronto on Monday, April 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Canada and its G7 partners are saying “enough is enough” to attacks by Russia and other authoritarian countries in their democratic institutions, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday.
Freeland concluded talks with her G7 counterparts by affirming an organized effort to respond to foreign meddling and the spreading of false information — mainly by Russia. Exactly what that means is a work in progress, but Freeland said the ministers will give their leaders recommendations on how to respond in a forceful, co-ordinated manner when they meet in Charlevoix, Que. in June.
There is a concern in the G7 countries that “authoritarian states are actively working to undermine the democratic systems in our countries and elsewhere,” she said.
“Today we said, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Freeland said there was unanimity among G7 ministers for a concerted effort to tackle Russian disinformation and meddling in the world’s democracies.
Related: G7 warned of Russian threats to western democracy
While she and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson displayed enthusiasm for the G7 effort to take Russia to task for what they are calling a broad range of “malign” behaviour, their American counterpart sounded a less effusive note.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan didn’t bother mentioning the initiative in his closing public remarks.
Sullivan was pinch-hitting for U.S. President Donald Trump’s new pick for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who faces strong opposition to his confirmation, and could not represent his country during the overlapping meeting of G7 foreign and interior ministers, which continues Tuesday.
Sullivan opted instead to highlight the North Korea nuclear crisis in his closing summit remarks, following Pompeo’s secret mission to the Hermit Kingdom two weeks ago to pave the way for a Trump meeting with its leader, Kim Jong Un.
Freeland pushed Russia to the top of a packed agenda that included North Korea, Iran, the ongoing Syrian crisis, and the Venezuela and Rohingya Muslim unrest.
Russia is, of course, a politically charged issue for Trump, with special counsel Robert Mueller investigating allegations of possible collusion between Russia and the campaign that brought the president to power in 2016.
The G7 ministers agreed in their Sunday discussion about the need to address the disruptive influence of Russia, including its interference in foreign elections and its dissemination of fake news.
“What we decided … was that we were going to set up a G7 group that would look at Russian malign behaviour in all its manifestations, whether it’s cyberwar, whether it’s disinformation, assassination attempts, whatever it happens to be and collectively try and call it out,” Johnson said.
“Russia is so unbelievably clever at kind of sowing doubt and confusion and spreading all this fake news and trying to muddy the waters. We think there’s a role for the G7 in just trying to provide some clarity.”
Freeland said she and her fellow ministers talked about “democracy being under attack, and in particular about Russian efforts to destabilize some democracies.”
Sullivan didn’t mention the Russia initiative in his summary of the talks or single out the Kremlin’s use disinformation, but he said the U.S. remains committed to the G7’s endeavour.
He called on Russia to be a “constructive partner” in Syria, where it continues to back the regime of Bashar Assad. He blasted it for the chemical weapon attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the British town of Salisbury. And he called on the Kremlin to give Crimea back to Ukraine and get out of its eastern region.
Sullivan also said co-operation with Russia on a variety of topics is necessary, including fighting terrorism “but that will not prevent us from standing up and confronting and taking action against Russian behaviour that’s contrary to international norms and all that we stand for in the G7.”
Afterwards, a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added additional comment: “The U.S. will support its allies to combat state sponsored disinformation from Russia and other countries. This remains a priority.”
Freeland has framed the clash between democracy and authoritarianism as a defining theme of our time, with Russia as the West’s main foe on that front.
She said all citizens in democratic countries, as well as their governments have a duty to be vigilant against the disruption. She said one of her fellow ministers “pointed out that making the case for democracy can be hard sometimes … because facts can be very boring” and don’t always lead to an interesting narrative.
“Lurid conspiracy theories, on the other hand, are lurid, and exciting. Part of our job, I think, is a collective one of being aware of that fact.”
Related: Trudeau ends 3-country tour with global reputation, alliances intact
Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
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Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale reaches across a table to shake hands with Kirstjen Nielsen, United States Secretary of Homeland Security during a G7 Foreign and Security Ministers meeting in Toronto on Monday, April 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Canada and its G7 partners are saying “enough is enough” to attacks by Russia and other authoritarian countries in their democratic institutions, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday.
Freeland concluded talks with her G7 counterparts by affirming an organized effort to respond to foreign meddling and the spreading of false information — mainly by Russia. Exactly what that means is a work in progress, but Freeland said the ministers will give their leaders recommendations on how to respond in a forceful, co-ordinated manner when they meet in Charlevoix, Que. in June.
There is a concern in the G7 countries that “authoritarian states are actively working to undermine the democratic systems in our countries and elsewhere,” she said.
“Today we said, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Freeland said there was unanimity among G7 ministers for a concerted effort to tackle Russian disinformation and meddling in the world’s democracies.
Related: G7 warned of Russian threats to western democracy
While she and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson displayed enthusiasm for the G7 effort to take Russia to task for what they are calling a broad range of “malign” behaviour, their American counterpart sounded a less effusive note.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan didn’t bother mentioning the initiative in his closing public remarks.
Sullivan was pinch-hitting for U.S. President Donald Trump’s new pick for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who faces strong opposition to his confirmation, and could not represent his country during the overlapping meeting of G7 foreign and interior ministers, which continues Tuesday.
Sullivan opted instead to highlight the North Korea nuclear crisis in his closing summit remarks, following Pompeo’s secret mission to the Hermit Kingdom two weeks ago to pave the way for a Trump meeting with its leader, Kim Jong Un.
Freeland pushed Russia to the top of a packed agenda that included North Korea, Iran, the ongoing Syrian crisis, and the Venezuela and Rohingya Muslim unrest.
Russia is, of course, a politically charged issue for Trump, with special counsel Robert Mueller investigating allegations of possible collusion between Russia and the campaign that brought the president to power in 2016.
The G7 ministers agreed in their Sunday discussion about the need to address the disruptive influence of Russia, including its interference in foreign elections and its dissemination of fake news.
“What we decided … was that we were going to set up a G7 group that would look at Russian malign behaviour in all its manifestations, whether it’s cyberwar, whether it’s disinformation, assassination attempts, whatever it happens to be and collectively try and call it out,” Johnson said.
“Russia is so unbelievably clever at kind of sowing doubt and confusion and spreading all this fake news and trying to muddy the waters. We think there’s a role for the G7 in just trying to provide some clarity.”
Freeland said she and her fellow ministers talked about “democracy being under attack, and in particular about Russian efforts to destabilize some democracies.”
Sullivan didn’t mention the Russia initiative in his summary of the talks or single out the Kremlin’s use disinformation, but he said the U.S. remains committed to the G7’s endeavour.
He called on Russia to be a “constructive partner” in Syria, where it continues to back the regime of Bashar Assad. He blasted it for the chemical weapon attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the British town of Salisbury. And he called on the Kremlin to give Crimea back to Ukraine and get out of its eastern region.
Sullivan also said co-operation with Russia on a variety of topics is necessary, including fighting terrorism “but that will not prevent us from standing up and confronting and taking action against Russian behaviour that’s contrary to international norms and all that we stand for in the G7.”
Afterwards, a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added additional comment: “The U.S. will support its allies to combat state sponsored disinformation from Russia and other countries. This remains a priority.”
Freeland has framed the clash between democracy and authoritarianism as a defining theme of our time, with Russia as the West’s main foe on that front.
She said all citizens in democratic countries, as well as their governments have a duty to be vigilant against the disruption. She said one of her fellow ministers “pointed out that making the case for democracy can be hard sometimes … because facts can be very boring” and don’t always lead to an interesting narrative.
“Lurid conspiracy theories, on the other hand, are lurid, and exciting. Part of our job, I think, is a collective one of being aware of that fact.”
Related: Trudeau ends 3-country tour with global reputation, alliances intact
Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. |
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The first day of school is just around the corner. Teachers in Horry County went back to work Monday and students in Darlington County go back to class as early as Thursday!
To help your family prepare for the upcoming school year, we have hunted down supply lists for a few school districts in the area! While some schools ask parents to check in with their child’s teacher for lists, many schools in the News13 viewing area already have supply lists loaded on their district’s website.
Click on your district on the list below to see what you’ll need this fall: |
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All market is closed after the fourth day of communal tensions in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh. (EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA/FILE) All market is closed after the fourth day of communal tensions in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh. (EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA/FILE)
The Zero Hour discussion in Rajya Sabha had to be suspended on Friday morning as noisy protests over communal clashes at Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh forced an adjournment.
Soon after the House met for the day, Samajwadi Party and AAP MPs entered the Well and started raising slogans, accusing the BJP government in UP of conducting a partial inquiry into the violence in Kasganj district on Republic Day.
SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said, “There is clear evidence on video on who is guilty. Yet atrocities are being committed against minorities in the state. Why are Muslims being arrested then?” Deputy Chairman P J Kurien refused to take up the matter and asked Yadav to give a formal notice, to which he replied, “People are being killed and the country is on fire and you want us to first give a notice?”
As SP and AAP MPs continued to raise slogans in the Well, Congress MP K V P Ramachandra Rao trooped into the Well with a poster that read, “Help Andhra Pradesh”. Although Kurien asked Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad several times to call him back and even threatened action against him, Rao refused to budge. The ruckus forced Kurien to adjourn the House for 45 minutes.
Once the House met again, AAP MPs raised the issue of the sealing of shops in the national capital by civic authorities. The party was backed by TMC MPs and the Congress.
Azad said, “Delhi is the second home of every Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP and it is our duty to protect the people of this city. The government should respond. Their economic policies first damaged business and now this.”
The Opposition, however, relented once Kurien pointed out that the discussion on sealing drive in Delhi was listed during Zero Hour, which was disrupted due to protests AAP participated in.
For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App |
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April 20 Republic First Bancorp Inc-
* Republic First Bancorp Inc reports first quarter financial results
* Q1 earnings per share $0.03
* Q1 revenue rose 35 percent to $20.5 million
* Republic First Bancorp Inc - book value per common share increased to $3.84 as of march 31, 2017 compared to $3.08 as of march 31, 2016
* Republic First Bancorp Inc qtrly net interest income $14.2 million versus $11.3 million last year Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: |
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6-14-17 UPDATE:
WALLA WALLA, WA - Hundreds came out in Walla Walla on Monday, in support of fallen Officer Nick Henzel.
In addition to a pasta feed, the event also featured both a live and silent auction, as well as live music, with all money raised going directly to the family.
It was an impressive turnout made even more impressive by how easily everything came together.
One of Officer Henzel's good friends, Cory McLaughlin, decided he wanted to organize a fundraiser to help the wife and two kids left behind, and he says almost immediately people were stepping up to donate their time and items to be auctioned off.
It's a reaction he says makes him proud to call Walla Walla home.
“I was amazing to see the people who are here today," said McLaughlin. "It was amazing to see the amount of donations that came in relatively unsolicited, most of the stuff we have here today was people finding out about this and just offering to donate to us, so it's been fantastic."
The event raised more than $28,000, twice what organizers were hoping they'd get.
If you weren't able to attend and still want to help, an account has been set up at Baker Boyer Bank in Walla Walla.
There has been a scam going around with people pretending to be raising money for the family, but as of now, the only fund is through that bank.
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5-26-17 UPDATE:
WALLA WALLA, WA - The Walla Walla Police Association has created a memorial account for Officer Nick Henzel at Baker Boyer Bank. Any members of the community who wish to donate can do so at any Baker Boyer Bank branch by directing the donation to the "Nick Henzel Fund".
All donations collected will be given to Henzel's family.
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5-24-17 ORIGINAL STORY:
WALLA WALLA, WA - The following is a statement from the Walla Walla Police Department regarding the death of Officer Nicholas Henzel.
"With great sadness and an extremely heavy heart, the Walla Walla Police Department announces the passing of Officer Nicholas “Nick” Henzel. Officers were informed this morning that Officer Henzel died following medical complications.
"The Walla Walla Police Department appreciates the condolences shared from the community as we work through the grief of Officer Henzel’s unexpected death.
"Officer Nick Henzel has been serving both his country and community since 2000, when he enlisted in the US Air Force. In 2006, Nick was hired by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and served as a patrol deputy until 2012 when he was hired by the City of Walla Walla Police Department.
"Along with his military and law enforcement service, Nick was also active in the community. He volunteered as a wrestling coach and was active in the Fraternal Order of Police “Cops and Kids” program.
"Officer Henzel is survived by his wife, Cristal, and two children.
"Details regarding services for Officer Henzel are pending at this time as are details on how the community can make donations in support of Nick’s family.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Nick’s wife and two children." |
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Marcus Hutchins, the security researcher best known for his role in stopping the spread of the global WannaCry attack, pleaded not guilty to allegedly making and selling other malware on Monday.
Hutchins, also known as MalwareTech, was arrested in Las Vegas earlier this month for his alleged role in creating and distributing malware that steals people's banking information. The charges are related to conduct that allegedly took place between July 2014 and July 2015.
The arraignment was held in a Wisconsin federal court. Hutchins, a UK citizen, will be allowed to return to his cybersecurity work in Los Angeles and travel within the U.S., and will be permitted to use the internet again. His trial is scheduled for October.
A codefendant is listed in the six-count indictment, though his name is not public. At a hearing on August 4, prosecutor Daniel Cowhig said the codefendant is still "at large."
After his arrest, the security research community swelled with support for Hutchins, and many fellow researchers and information security experts said they did not believe he could be involved in criminal activity.
Hutchins became an accidental hero in May when he created a killswitch that helped stop WannaCry from infecting computers worldwide.
The case is set to be a major one in the cybersecurity community. Shortly after his arrest, legal experts said the charges raised an "interesting legal question" as to whether making malware is illegal. |
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Osinbajo to Igbo leaders: Violence and war are terrible things
TEXT OF OPENING REMARKS MADE BY THE ACTING PRESIDENT YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, AT THE MEETING OF THE ACTING PRESIDENT WITH LEADERS OF THOUGHT FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES HELD AT THE OLD BANQUET HALL, STATE HOUSE, ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 2017 Yesterday I kicked off a series of consultations and engagements with Leaders of Thought from Northern Nigeria. It was a useful meeting Today’s meeting, the second in the series, is with you, Leaders of Thought from the Southeast. After this, I will meet with Religious and Traditional Leaders from the North and from the Southeast, on Friday and Monday respectively.
This post was syndicated from The NEWS. Click here to read the full text on the original website.
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Denpasar, Indonesia | AFP |A US man convicted on drugs charges escaped Bali's notorious Kerobokan jail in an early Monday morning jailbreak with another American prisoner who was caught almost immediately, an official said.
The pair made a break from the Indonesian resort island's main prison by cutting a hole in the roof with a hacksaw, authorities said. It was not clear how they obtained the tool.
Police are now scouring the palm-fringed island and handing out pictures of escapee Chrishan Beasley, a 32-year-old arrested in August for carrying five grams of hashish.
Foreigners are regularly arrested for drugs offences on Bali.
Beasley was awaiting a sentencing in his case. It was not immediately clear how much jail time he was facing, but Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drugs laws, with the death penalty available in some trafficking cases.
Beasley's accomplice in the escape, convicted thief Paul Anthony Hoffman, 57, was apprehended before he could make good on the escape.
"Paul was immediately recaptured by the locals who saw him trying to escape while Chrishan, who climbed up before him, managed to run away," Kerobokan chief warden Tonny Nainggolan told AFP.
Hoffman is serving a 20-month sentence for robbing a number of convenience stores at knifepoint.
Kerobokan houses some of the country's most notorious and high-profile inmates, including members of the so-called Bali Nine which plotted to bring heroin into Australia via Bali. Two members of the group have been executed.
Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, where inmates are often held in unsanitary conditions at overcrowded and poorly guarded prisons. |
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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio zoo’s polar bear is off to Chicago to find love.
The Toledo Zoo says its 21-year-old female bear named Nan has been moved to the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago to see if she will breed with the zoo’s male bear.
Nan moved into her new home this week where she’s separated by a fence from her potential mate named Hudson.
The Brookfield Zoo says the bears will spend a little time getting to know each other before moving in together.
The move was arranged by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its polar bear species survival program.
Keepers at the Toledo Zoo say Nan is genetically important because she was born in the wild and discovered as an orphan cub near Barrow, Alaska.
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The U.S government has provided more than $55,000 to Cambodia for the preserving of personal items belonging to prisoners at a Khmer Rouge prison and torture centre in the 1970s.
The project agreement was signed Monday by U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt and Cambodian Secretary of State for Ministry of Culture and Fine Art Chuch Phoeurn. The funding aims to preserve and maintain 3,000 to 5,000 items of clothing, shoes, hats and belts belonging to prisoners who were detained at the Khmer Rouge’s main Tuol Sleng prison facility.
Under the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime, an estimated 17,000 Cambodians were tortured at the centre, known as S-21 prison, and then killed. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died from execution, starvation and inadequate medical care under the rule of the ultra-communist group.
Heidt said the timing of the project is critical since the items are slowly deteriorating. The prisoners’ belongings tell the extremely personal and heartbreaking stories of the victims of the Khmer Rouge and include clothing, hats and other items from both adults and children.
“If you look closely, you even can see that some items still show blood and sweat stains,” Heidt said. “The conservation work will carefully preserve the textiles without removing this historical evidence. Each piece carries its own history and we recognize how important it is to preserve this story for future generations.”
Chuch Phoeurn welcomed the U.S. funding and said the preservation of the belongings is important because they can help educate young Cambodians. He said some of the items will be displayed at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. |
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A boy has died in hospital after collapsing at a bus stop in Edinburgh.
Shoppers and nearby residents described the battle by paramedics to try to save him by giving him CPR.
The boy, thought to be around seven years old, was taken ill at a bus stop on Constitution Street on Saturday evening.
Emergency services were called at about 5:36pm and two ambulances attended the scene where they attempted to resuscitate the child before taking him to hospital. Police were in attendance just minutes later. He was treated at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children but died later that evening.
READ MORE: Child dies after falling ill on Edinburgh street
The reason for the sudden illness is not known but the death is not thought to be suspicious.
Constitution Street was cordoned off for three hours after the incident from Laurie Street to Coatfield Lane with a police officer on duty to redirect traffic.
The bus stop was taped off until around 9pm when police removed the cordon.
It is believed that the boy and his family had been heading home from a nearby soft play centre around the corner on Easter Road. Officers went to bars in the immediate vicinity to request CCTV footage as part of their inquiries.
The family have requested privacy to let them grieve after their loss.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police in Edinburgh were in attendance at Constitution Street around 5:40pm on Saturday 7 April after a child was taken unwell.
“The boy was taken to the Sick Kids Hospital where he sadly died a short time later.
“There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.
“Inquiries are ongoing into the full circumstances and the death is currently being treated as unexplained.” |
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Wisconsin-based guitarist/songwriter Willy Porter &singer/songwriter Carmen Nickerson perform at Live at The Lakefront at Milwaukee’s Discovery World Rotary Amphitheater, July 26,5:30 PM. The duo are excited to bring listeners music from their latest disc, Bonfireto Ash, produced by Grammy award winner Ben Wisch.
Porter and Nickerson are an exciting addition to the indie-duoscene. With their liquid harmonies and unassailable, playful performancechemistry, these two solo artists have joined their unique talents to createmusic that resonates long after the last chord fades.
Porter’sblistering guitar playing and rich songwriting provides the perfectarchitecture to support Nickerson’s lush vocals, complimenting and elevatingPorter’s songs to make them feel both fresh and timeless. The pair firstcollaborated on the 2013 EP Cheeseburgers and Gasoline and again onPorter’s 2015 record Human Kindness. In 2016 the duo performed as thefeatured musical guests on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion.
Bonfireto Ash marks the duo’s first full-length collaboration. This albumcharts experiences that bridge the intimate with the universal. From the headybloom of new love (“Old Red Barn”), to the urgency to save love from skiddingout of reach forever (“Loving On Her Mind”). Music critic for the MilwaukeeJournal Sentinel, Piet Levy, writes, "Ash burns brightest whenPorter and Nickerson share their voices and different perspectives of a lonelyrelationship on "Echo of Love.""
Porterand Nickerson perfect an engaging dialogue through these songs that carriesover into their captivating live shows.
Togetherthese highly accomplished artists take audiences on a singular musical ridefull of heart, grit, energy, and fun that showcases the best of what live musichas to offer.
Website: willyporter.com |
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Reggae star Matisyahu to perform at Paper Mill Island on July 22
Reggae rocker Matisyahu and his band will perform at Paper Mill Island on July 22. (Photo by Nechama Leitner)
GRAMMY-nominated artist Matisyahu will bring his reggae-infused rock to Paper Mill Island in Baldwinsville at 7 p.m. July 22. Tickets range from $25 to $50.
The singer is also promoting his new single “Coming From Afar” featuring Movado, which was released in May and premiered at Billboard.com.
Matisyahu has created his own space in modern music, developing a loyal following that has driven singles such as “One Day” and “King Without a Crown” to international recognition. His newest album, Undercurrent, was released last year via Thirty Tigers and Matisyahu’s own imprint, Fallen Sparks. The album embodies a collaborative and freeform spirit as Matisyahu and his band seamlessly merge instrumental improvisation sessions with lyrics and vocals.
The synergistic energy of the album is especially apparent onstage, where Matisyahu and guitarist Aaron Dugan, bassist Stu Brooks, drummer Joe Tomino and keyboardist Big Yuki bring their creative dynamic to life. Undercurrent has showcased Matisyahu’s improvisational aptitude and live music chutzpah, that has the jam band and festival worlds taking note with his recently announced LOCKN’ Festival set.
The boundary-breaking artist has been busy on tour, dropping a three-part video series on the making of Undercurrent and taking time to speak to Billboard and the Huffington Post about it. He took time at his show in Austin 2017 to record LIVE AT STUBB’S VOL. IV, capturing the freeform essence of his set at the historic venue, where he is set to reappear near the top of the tour.
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The abolition of the 457 visa, which is used by about 95,000 foreign workers, has prompted mixed reactions from industry bodies in Australia.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Tuesday the Federal Government would be scrapping the visa for temporary foreign workers and replacing it with a tighter regime.
The 457 visa will be replaced initially by a new temporary two-year visa specifically designed to recruit the 'best and the brightest' in the national interest.
'The fact remains Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs,' Mr Turnbull said.
While the National Farmer's Federation and Tourism Accommodation Australia welcomed the move, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia and Australian Hotels Association were less supportive.
Scroll down for video
'Australia First' plan: Malcolm Turnbull made the stunning 457 announcement on social media then at a Canberra press conference (pictured) on Tuesday
The National Farmer's Federation welcomed the decision, claiming there were longstanding issues with access to the former 457 visa program (stock image of farmer)
National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said the 457 visa's demise was not disastrous for the farm sector.
'Overseas workers are important in meeting these critical skills shortages however we have had longstanding issues with access to the 457 visa program,' Mr Mahar said.
He said the current program did not recognise many of the skills Australian farmers require because many occupations have their skill levels classified too low to meet the required threshold.
TAA Chair Martin Ferguson said they welcomed the Prime Minister's move to protect Australian jobs through a more streamlined and rigorous visa process.
The Australian Medical Association said they 'cautiously welcomed the move' but were seeking more detail on the impact of the changes on medical workforce shortages.
The Association for Professional Engineers Australia, said they couldn't see any evidence the visa changes would have a positive impact on the profession (stock image of engineers)
The Australian Medical Association said they 'cautiously welcomed the move' but were seeking more detail on the impact of the changes on medical workforce shortages (stock image)
AMA president Dr Michael Gannon said international medical graduates (IMGs) had made a huge contribution to the Australian medical workforce, especially in rural areas and during periods of chronic workforce shortages.
'Australia is presently in the fortunate position of producing sufficient locally-trained medical graduates to meet current and predicted need,' Dr Gannon said.
'It is time to focus our energies on training the hundreds of Australian medical graduates seeking specialist training.
'But we still need to have the flexibility to ensure that under-supplied specialties and geographic locations can access suitably-qualified IMGs when locally trained ones cannot be recruited.'
Chris Walton, chief executive of The Association for Professional Engineers Australia, said they could not see any evidence the visa changes would have a positive impact on the profession.
'At present, unemployment among engineers remains historically high, students are being pushed away from engineering, there are no skill shortages in any engineering discipline, engineering job vacancies remain at all-time lows, and rampant skilled migration is exacerbating the problem,' Mr Walton said.
Both Bill Shorten (pictured left) and Pauline Hanson (right) were quick out of the blocks. Mr Shorten said Malcolm Turnbull didn't care for workers, while Ms Hanson claimed credit for the shock announcement saying she was well ahead of the game
The Australian Hotels Association called on the Federal Government to consider the specific needs of the hospitality sector.
AHA chief executive Stephen Ferguson said retention of chefs and cooks in the skilled occupation list was a must.
Chief executive of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Peta Rutherford said 'the devil would be in the detail' of the new visa classification.
'A lot of rural and remote communities have had wonderful international doctors who have come here on the 457 visa and have provided a strong service to the community. Without them, some of those rural communities would have had no doctor working in them,' Ms Rutherford said.
'We're just conscious of the lag time and also there's still a fair bit of work to go in relation to the workforce distribution,' she said.
Under the government's plan the list of 650 occupation classifications that qualify for a temporary visa will be reduced by 200.
The new visas will require applicants to have previous work experience.
The Australian Hotels Association said retention of chefs and cooks in the skilled occupation list was a must (stock image of hotel chef)
CEO of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Peta Rutherford said 'a lot of rural and remote communities' had experienced wonderful international doctors through the visa
A second four-year visa will require a higher standard of English language skills as well as a proper criminal check.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the new two-year visa would not allow permanent residency, but anyone currently on a 457 visa would not be affected by the new arrangements.
Mr Shorten slammed the plan, tweeting: 'Make no mistake, the only job Malcolm Turnbull cares about saving is his own.'
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson took some credit for the policy change.
'The government will deny their tough talk on immigration and plan to ban 457 visas is because of One Nation but we all know the truth!' the senator tweeted.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said restructuring the program would make it more sustainable and provided a chance to hit the 'reset button' on temporary skilled migration.
It would also give business the confidence to continue to access skills from overseas workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said there were still jobs in regional areas that Australians did not want to 'whether it is packing offal in an abattoir or boning out skulls'.
Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey dismissed the new arrangements, saying it was unlikely there would be any real change.
'What we really need is a root and branch review, so that migrant exploitation and wage theft is properly tackled and Australian standards are both maintained and improved.' |
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The abolition of the 457 visa, which is used by about 95,000 foreign workers, has prompted mixed reactions from industry bodies in Australia.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Tuesday the Federal Government would be scrapping the visa for temporary foreign workers and replacing it with a tighter regime.
The 457 visa will be replaced initially by a new temporary two-year visa specifically designed to recruit the 'best and the brightest' in the national interest.
'The fact remains Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs,' Mr Turnbull said.
While the National Farmer's Federation and Tourism Accommodation Australia welcomed the move, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia and Australian Hotels Association were less supportive.
Scroll down for video
'Australia First' plan: Malcolm Turnbull made the stunning 457 announcement on social media then at a Canberra press conference (pictured) on Tuesday
The National Farmer's Federation welcomed the decision, claiming there were longstanding issues with access to the former 457 visa program (stock image of farmer)
National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said the 457 visa's demise was not disastrous for the farm sector.
'Overseas workers are important in meeting these critical skills shortages however we have had longstanding issues with access to the 457 visa program,' Mr Mahar said.
He said the current program did not recognise many of the skills Australian farmers require because many occupations have their skill levels classified too low to meet the required threshold.
TAA Chair Martin Ferguson said they welcomed the Prime Minister's move to protect Australian jobs through a more streamlined and rigorous visa process.
The Australian Medical Association said they 'cautiously welcomed the move' but were seeking more detail on the impact of the changes on medical workforce shortages.
The Association for Professional Engineers Australia, said they couldn't see any evidence the visa changes would have a positive impact on the profession (stock image of engineers)
The Australian Medical Association said they 'cautiously welcomed the move' but were seeking more detail on the impact of the changes on medical workforce shortages (stock image)
AMA president Dr Michael Gannon said international medical graduates (IMGs) had made a huge contribution to the Australian medical workforce, especially in rural areas and during periods of chronic workforce shortages.
'Australia is presently in the fortunate position of producing sufficient locally-trained medical graduates to meet current and predicted need,' Dr Gannon said.
'It is time to focus our energies on training the hundreds of Australian medical graduates seeking specialist training.
'But we still need to have the flexibility to ensure that under-supplied specialties and geographic locations can access suitably-qualified IMGs when locally trained ones cannot be recruited.'
Chris Walton, chief executive of The Association for Professional Engineers Australia, said they could not see any evidence the visa changes would have a positive impact on the profession.
'At present, unemployment among engineers remains historically high, students are being pushed away from engineering, there are no skill shortages in any engineering discipline, engineering job vacancies remain at all-time lows, and rampant skilled migration is exacerbating the problem,' Mr Walton said.
Both Bill Shorten (pictured left) and Pauline Hanson (right) were quick out of the blocks. Mr Shorten said Malcolm Turnbull didn't care for workers, while Ms Hanson claimed credit for the shock announcement saying she was well ahead of the game
The Australian Hotels Association called on the Federal Government to consider the specific needs of the hospitality sector.
AHA chief executive Stephen Ferguson said retention of chefs and cooks in the skilled occupation list was a must.
Chief executive of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Peta Rutherford said 'the devil would be in the detail' of the new visa classification.
'A lot of rural and remote communities have had wonderful international doctors who have come here on the 457 visa and have provided a strong service to the community. Without them, some of those rural communities would have had no doctor working in them,' Ms Rutherford said.
'We're just conscious of the lag time and also there's still a fair bit of work to go in relation to the workforce distribution,' she said.
Under the government's plan the list of 650 occupation classifications that qualify for a temporary visa will be reduced by 200.
The new visas will require applicants to have previous work experience.
The Australian Hotels Association said retention of chefs and cooks in the skilled occupation list was a must (stock image of hotel chef)
CEO of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Peta Rutherford said 'a lot of rural and remote communities' had experienced wonderful international doctors through the visa
A second four-year visa will require a higher standard of English language skills as well as a proper criminal check.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the new two-year visa would not allow permanent residency, but anyone currently on a 457 visa would not be affected by the new arrangements.
Mr Shorten slammed the plan, tweeting: 'Make no mistake, the only job Malcolm Turnbull cares about saving is his own.'
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson took some credit for the policy change.
'The government will deny their tough talk on immigration and plan to ban 457 visas is because of One Nation but we all know the truth!' the senator tweeted.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said restructuring the program would make it more sustainable and provided a chance to hit the 'reset button' on temporary skilled migration.
It would also give business the confidence to continue to access skills from overseas workers.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said there were still jobs in regional areas that Australians did not want to 'whether it is packing offal in an abattoir or boning out skulls'.
Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey dismissed the new arrangements, saying it was unlikely there would be any real change.
'What we really need is a root and branch review, so that migrant exploitation and wage theft is properly tackled and Australian standards are both maintained and improved.' |
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Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports is reporting that players will be allowed to express themselves more freely during the new “Players Weekend,” scheduled for August 25-27 this season. The idea was negotiated between the league and the players’ union.
Players will be allowed to personalize the name on the back of their jerseys, though it will need to be approved beforehand. They can wear colored spikes, gloves and wristbands, as long as the colors don’t interfere with an umpire’s ability to make a call and aren’t white. And a player can personalize a patch on his uniform, highlighting “an individual or organization that was instrumental to his development.”
Major League Baseball will then sell the uniforms from the “Players Weekend,” donating the proceeds to the Youth Development Foundation.
If the weekend goes well, Passan suggests the league could be inclined to relax some rules pertaining to uniforms in the future.
Follow @Baer_Bill |
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The best bit about it is how the whole idea came to be. It wasn't a designer's dream or anything romantic like that - nope, it was all born out of necessity. More to the point, a man's need to have more room for his dog inside the world's most capable EV.If that dog lover happens to know a guy who used to work as a designer for major car manufacturers, then his wish is one step closer to reality. The sketches for the Model S conversion looked so good, that not only was building the vehicle decided, but it would also spawn an entire limited series instead of settling for a one-off.“Design is the most important reason for purchase globally - regardless of the purchase price, gender or age of the buyer”, Van Roij of Niels van Roij Design, the company charged with penning the new vehicle, says. “So, we’ve invested a lot of time in the design process of our Shooting Brake".Well, it's safe to say it shows. We might not have a clear view of the final product at the moment, but since it's essentially a Model S with a different top part of its rear end, it's not that hard to imagine based on these renderings. One thing we'd like to point out: the EV's taillights have absolutely no problem working on this body shape as well.Based on the press release published by the design company, it seems like the picture showing the car from the side is very close to what the final product would look like. The chromed strips around the windows stay, as will the slight kick-up in the window line over the rear wheels. One thing that should make a lot of people happy is the size of the rear window, which looks like it'll actually offer a decent visibility for a change.The exact phase of the conversion is unknown at the moment, but it should be pretty far off. We know the cuts have been made and the new tailgate installed, so they should be down to detailing by now. The car is scheduled to be released this March, so there's not that much time left. Tesla never announced the intention of offering a wagon model - especially now that the Model X is available - so your only chance of ever owning an electric wagon with Tesla hardware is for this little endeavor to work and, most importantly, expand. |
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Authorities seize equipment from self-proclaimed deminers near the Thai border earlier this week. Photo supplied
‘Deminers’ presence puzzles
A border patrol company confiscated demining equipment from a group of unidentified men working in a prohibited border zone on Sunday on suspicions that the men were actually attempting to illegally claim land.
Yem Sambo, military commander of the border patrol unit, said he saw smoke coming from the forest while on patrol in Banteay Meanchey’s O’Chrou district.
Cambodian and Thai authorities have disagreed over who the land belongs to in the past, leading to a temporary moratorium on its use until the dispute is settled.
“At first, I thought that it was a forest fire, but when my team and I arrived, we found a group of people searching for landmines in the area,” Sambo said.
When Sambo’s unit confronted the group, a man identified as Meas Peun declared himself the deputy chief of Cambodia-Thai border relations.
He showed Sambo a document purportedly signed by a three-star general permitting him to clear landmines in the area.
“I told them that generally the government announces to us when demining at the controversial border area,” Sambo said, explaining that he subsequently confiscated the equipment and took photos, but did not make any arrests.
Sambo said many people come to the area to clear the land and claim it as their own, a plot he believes the unidentified men were engaged in.
Khoun Choeun, border unit 503 commander, could not be reached for comment. |
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Source: The Inter-Rationale
by Steve Trinward
"What if President-elect Donald Trump has been looking at the Cabinet as a chance to shrink government? If so, he would be appointing skeptics, instead of insiders, in order to get a real evaluation of what should be cut and which first, to mitigate the pain for those now dependent on them, but to ultimately trim the size and scope of their fiefdoms. Consider that one of the biggest problems we face in the ever-expanding government control over our lives comes from career bureaucrats, who make policy decisions and issue edicts on pretty much a daily basis — based mostly on their own whims, not on legitimate laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the reigning President. This has led to expansions of power in every realm from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Drug Enforcement Administration. … Now contemplate the fact that most of the names Trump has mentioned so far, whether for Cabinet position or agency head, have been someone from outside the usual suspects." (01/02/17)
http://rationalreview.com/archives/242666 |
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A woman who was sexually assaulted by a jail guard while she was a work-release inmate at the Kenosha County Detention Center is suing the county along with the former guard.
The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks unspecified damages.
The guard, Jonathan Kwiatkowski, is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for his sexual assault of the woman and another inmate, having pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree sexual assault and one count of misconduct in public office. |
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THOMASVILLE, N.C. – Sunday’s shooting massacre in Las Vegas has sparked a national conversation on the use of bump stocks.
They are add-on devices that make semi-automatic weapons fire more rapidly.
Lawmakers and the National Rifle Association are now pushing to see if they are illegal and possibly banning them.
However, a lot of people are asking, “what are bump stocks?”
SCB Guns and Ammo in Thomasville doesn’t sell bump stocks, but they have answered plenty of questions about them.
“[It is a] piece of plastic with a track milled into it,” said Jeffrey Lewallen, who works at the store. “Some people can get it to run really well, some people can’t. It takes practice.”
Bump stocks are legal and you can buy them for a few hundred bucks.
“Once there’s a big scare, everyone tries to panic-buy. So, it runs everything out of stock, which is why the prices get jacked up even more,” Lewallen said.
It is a simple device that turns a semi-automatic weapon into what is essentially a fully automatic firearm.
“Basically, it uses the inertia of the firearm, so when your gun recoils after you shoot, the stock actually bounces and causes your finger to hit the trigger again. So, the stock is just riding back and forth, just using physics and whatever happens from the gun itself. So there’s no actual modifications to the gun, it’s just using what’s happening while you’re shooting,” said Lewallen.
It’s a device police say the shooter on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas used Sunday night.
“It’s bad that it gives the whole [gun] community a bad name rather than that person. That person was the one who decided to use that item. He could’ve used a car,” Lewallen said. |
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You is shaping up to be quite the TV comeback vehicle.
Just a few weeks after news broke that Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley would be making his return to television in Lifetime's adaptation of Caroline Kepnes' best-selling novel of the same name, E! News can confirm that Shay Mitchell will be following up her seven-season run on Pretty Little Liars with a series regular role in the psychological thriller.
Billed as a 21st century love story, You tells the story of Joe (Badgley), a bookstore manager who uses the hyper-connectivity of today's technology to make the woman of dreams, an aspiring writer named Beck (Elizabeth Lail) fall in love with him, removing every obstacle—and person—in his way. (Think Dan Humphrey, but from the darkest timeline.) |
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U.S. stocks bounced back from their recent losses Monday after the Chinese government said that country's economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the first quarter. Banks jumped as interest rates recovered.
On Monday:
The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 20.06 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,349.01.
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 183.67 points, or 0.9 percent, to 20,636.92.
The Nasdaq composite gained 51.64 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,856.79.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 15.94 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,361.18.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 110.18 points, or 4.9 percent.
The Dow is up 874.32 points, or 4.4 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 473.67 points, or 8.8 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 4.05 points, or 0.3 percent. |
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ORLANDO — A couple moving a gas grill in an SUV was injured on Sunday when one of them lit a cigarette and an explosion happened.
Orlando police released photos of the Kia Sorento that showed extensive damage to the SUV with the roof blown out and the airbags deployed. The windshield was lying on the ground. All of the other glass was blown from the vehicle.
A gas grill being transported inside this car exploded when passenger lit a cigarette. 2 in car sustained burns; not life threatening. pic.twitter.com/76OaeJiCiv — Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) August 13, 2017
Police said the couple in the SUV sustained burns but their injuries were not life threatening.
The grill was turned on and the propane tank was open and connected, according to the Orlando Sentinel, The wife lit a cigarette and the SUV exploded according to police. After the explosion, the vehicle crashed into a pole |
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Ebonyi State Governor, Engr David Umahi has given N500,000 to the crippled man brutalised by soldiers in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Mr Chijioke Oraku, a native of Ikwo Local Government Area was dehumanised by the two soldiers penultimate week for wearing army camouflage.
The video of the brutalisation went viral and attracted national outrage that made the Army authorities to demote the soldiers and sentence them to 21 days in detention.
Umahi, who received Oraku during the state’s Executive Council meeting in Abakaliki on Tuesday, noted that the sanctions meted to the soldiers were mild going by the fact that they “did not behave like human beings.”
The governor however asked his Senior Special Adviser and Welfare Matters, Rev. Father Abraham Nwali, to interact with Oruka, on ways the state government could properly rehabilitate him.
He also ordered the release of N500,000 to the brutalised man for the continuation of his treatment and temporary upkeep.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Emma Anya, said, the governor said: “We believe that 21 day imprisonment is not enough. The soldiers did not behave like human beings and to be demoted is not enough.
“I suggest to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Buratai, that those soldiers should be sacked from the army and be prosecuted immediately.”
Umahi, who however thanked Burutai for taking the actions against the soldiers, directed the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Benard Odoh, to write a letter demanding the dismissal and prosecution of the soldiers.
He was also full of praises for his Anambra State counterpart, Willie Obiano, for his quick intervention in this matter.
The governor said: “I want to thank the Governor of Anambra State for his quick intervention in this matter. I was very happy when he reacted immediately and rehabilitated the young man. I also want to commend the Chief of Army Staff for the disciplinary action so far taken against those two soldiers. I thank the people of Anambra and Ebonyi who followed up on this matter.
“But we are going to take a picture of him (Oruku) and send to the COAS to demand the sacking and prosecution of those soldiers who carried such unprofessional act.
“I believe that the army has to be disciplined in their conduct. We must insist that discipline is maintained in our society.
“If enough punishment is not meted on those two soldiers, they would still carry out the same act.”
When asked what area the government could be of help to him, Oruka expressed his desire to be in the Army. |
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KUALA LUMPUR: Following the success of its second accelerator programme in Hong Kong, SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator invites applications from international FinTech start-up and scale-up companies to participate in its first FinTech accelerator in Malaysia – a free, 12-week programme aimed at helping promising FinTech companies grow their business in Asia.
SuperCharger makes the move to Malaysia with founding partner, Standard Chartered Bank, in collaboration with local partners, Allianz Malaysia and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). The programme provides participating FinTech companies with market entry resources, outstanding mentorship and unrivalled strategic counsel from industry experts and venture capitalists.
SuperCharger is searching for FinTech companies that will shape the digital economy with next generation solutions. Applicants across all verticals of FinTech, including WealthTech, InsurTech, payments and alternative lending, and TechFin, including AI, distributed ledger and cloud-based applications, are welcome to apply to the no-fee, no-equity programme.
Standard Chartered's Global Head of Data, Technology Strategy and Innovation, Shameek Kundu said: "Standard Chartered Bank is proud to partner with MDEC and Allianz to bring the SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator Programme to Malaysia. Malaysia is a key market for us and has established itself as a global centre for Islamic Finance. These initiatives give us the opportunity to uncover the brightest FinTech companies which will help us deliver the best finance solutions for our customers."
Datuk Ng Wan Peng, Chief Operating Officer of MDEC, said: "It's very encouraging to see a number of early adopters fully embrace digitisation in the finance industry, having recognised its potential and risks in the context of their existing business models.
"MDEC has helped several financial institutions to work with start-ups and co-develop FinTech solutions that have helped them develop their own in-house innovation framework. However, many are still lagging behind and they need to change and embrace disruption. We are confident that our partnership with Standard Chartered and Allianz Malaysia will drive the country's transition towards a digital economy."
Allianz Malaysia Berhad's Chief Executive Officer, Zakri Khir, said: "FinTech companies have a growing influence on financial services and we are very keen to partner with some of these start-up companies to come up with new and exciting products and solutions for our customers.
"We are confident that our partnership with Standard Chartered and MDEC will help Allianz Malaysia tap into some of the best innovations and ideas made available by FinTech companies today."
SuperCharger was first launched in Hong Kong in 2015 to discover, train and scale promising fintech companies focused on Asia. To date, 16 companies have undergone the programme.
SuperCharger's expansion into Malaysia comes at a time when the country is experiencing a flurry of activity in FinTech. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) admitted start-ups into its regulatory sandbox for the first time earlier this year and the Securities Commission continues to push for supportive regulation on new innovations, like equity crowdfunding.
Moreover, Malaysia is exploring how to become a conduit for new financial innovations, including growing interest in Sharia-compliant FinTech services.
Alumnus of the 2017 cohort of SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator Hong Kong, KYC-Chain's Founder and CEO Edmund Lovell, said: "The SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator has given us tremendous networking and collaboration opportunities which have resulted in concrete outcomes.
"We are currently collaborating on a proof of concept project with Standard Chartered which could potentially transform the bank's global client onboarding process through the application of blockchain technology.
"The partnership with Standard Chartered has made an impact on our business because we had to build bank-level infrastructure, security, availability and reliability while also being focused on what the customer needs."
SuperCharger FinTech Accelerator is open for applications until Aug 18. FinTech companies may apply online via the official application page. The programme will commence in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 25 and conclude with Demo Day in December. |
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ValueAct Capital Management LP made its first foray in Japan by taking a 5% stake in medical-device maker Olympus Corp., the latest example of U.S.-based activist shareholders playing a bigger role in Asia.
The ValueAct investment represents a bet that Olympus has room to increase its profit and win a higher valuation from investors. Though best known among consumers for its cameras, the company gets nearly 80% of its revenue from endoscopes and other medical-imaging technology.
... |
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“Wake Up” because Arcade Fire is coming to the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday, October 22nd. Listen all week to X107.5 for your chance to win a pair of tickets to see them perform their hits live, including “Neighborhood,” “Ready to Start” and songs from their newest album “Everything Now.” But “I Give You Power” to go to AXS.COM to buy tickets now!! |
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Dec 11 (Reuters) - Acer Therapeutics Inc:
* ACER THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES PROPOSED UNDERWRITTEN PUBLIC OFFERING OF COMMON STOCK
* ACER THERAPEUTICS INC - INTENDS TO USE NET PROCEEDS FROM OFFERING TO FUND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, TO SEEK REGULATORY APPROVAL FOR EDSIVO
* ACER THERAPEUTICS INC - ALSO INTENDS TO USE NET PROCEEDS FROM OFFERING TO INVEST IN PRE-COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR EDSIVO, AMONG OTHERS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: |
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Ariel Winter has deleted her Twitter account.
The 'Modern Family' star says she has made the decision to "delete all social media" and has already started the process of wiping her online pages.
She told fans about her plans using the Instagram Story function but at the time of writing, her Instagram account is still active but when an attempt is made to access her Twitter account, the message "Sorry, that page doesn't exist!" is displayed.
Ariel's decision comes only a few months after she admitted she wants to take a break from the spotlight.
She explained: "One day you did something great, and the next day you're like plastered as a thousand other things. It's a really difficult industry ... I mean, we're blessed to be in [it], and be able to make content that we love and that other people love, but it's also an industry. It is true. it builds you up, and it can tear you down just as fast ...
"Having every little aspect of your life in the public eye, it's really hard, because it gives more room for criticism, and I just want to live. So I think I try and stay out of it as much as possible, unless I need to be in it. I don't really go anywhere to be seen or anything like that. I'll go to a red carpet, if I'm in [the movie], or if I'm supporting my boyfriend or my friends. But otherwise I usually just stay home." |
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LANSING, Mich. -- Jessica Moore is being credited for helping struggling students succeed as a member of Wayne County's Van Buren Public Schools.
Moore provides math intervention to fifth graders at Owen Intermediate School.
She said her students motivate her to do her best every day.
“Each student in my building could be my own child and they deserve the world.”
Jessica Moore has been named this week's Excellence in Education Award winner. |
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BRASILIA, March 30 Brazil's central government posted a primary budget deficit of 26.263 billion reais ($8.39 billion) in February, above market expectations, as a slow economic recovery complicates policymakers' efforts to meet the fiscal deficit goal.
The central government - which includes federal ministries, social security and the central bank - had been expected to post a deficit of 20.1 billion reais, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 10 economists.
($1 = 3.1312 reais) (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) |
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Fittingly, Jack Morris reached the Hall of Fame in extra innings.
Morris was elected to the Hall by its Modern Era committee on Sunday along with former Detroit Tigers teammate Alan Trammell, completing a joint journey from Motown to Cooperstown.
The big-game pitcher and star shortstop were picked by 16 voters who considered 10 candidates whose biggest contributions came from 1970-87. Morris got 14 votes and Trammell drew 13, one more than the minimum needed.
They will be enshrined on July 29, and fitting they’ll go in together. They both began their big league careers in 1977 with Detroit and played 13 seasons alongside each other with the Tigers.
“The time that I’ve spent wondering if this day would ever come seems to be vanished and erased right now because it did come, and it’s amazing,” the 62-year-old Morris said during a conference call.
Trammell felt overwhelmed.
“I came to realization that it might not happen, and I was OK with that. I really was,” he said. “If people thought it was a tad short, I could live with that.”
Former catcher Ted Simmons fell one vote shy, and former players’ union head Marvin Miller was five short of the 12 needed.
“It’s not a big surprise,” Miller’s son, Peter, said from Japan. “I think my father’s place in history is understood by all baseball players, all baseball fans and the general public.”
Morris had 254 wins and seven more in the postseason, including his 10-inning shutout in a 1-0 win for Minnesota over Atlanta in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
“No question it was my defining moment in baseball,” Morris said. “I never thought I was in trouble and I knew I could get out of it if I was. So I had the best mindset I’ve ever had in my entire on that night.”
Morris also pitched for World Series winners in Detroit — with Trammell, in 1984 — and Toronto in 1992. His 3.90 career ERA tops Red Ruffing’s 3.80 as the highest of any pitcher in the Hall.
“For years my earned run average has been an issue for a lot of people that thought it was not good enough for Hall of Fame honors, but I never once thought about pitching for an ERA. I always thought about completing games, starting games, eating up innings and trying to win games more importantly than anything else,” he said. “Today’s generation is different. In my heart of hearts I don’t think for a second that guys that are pitching, the elite guys especially that are pitching in the game today, could not do what we did. I know they could. But they haven’t been conditioned to it, both physically and mentally.”
His 175 complete games included 20 in 1983. The entire big league total this year was 59, and no pitcher had more than five. He said sabermetrics should not be used to evaluate his era.
“Now I’m getting analyzed by a bunch of numbers and things that didn’t exist when I played, he said. “Had they existed maybe I would have had a better understanding of what it would have meant to not pitch through pain, to not go deeper into games on nights that I told my manager, ‘I’m fine’ when I wasn’t. But I don’t regret doing that, because if you go to the wall and never try to push down the wall, you’ll never know if you can.”
Now 59, Trammell was a steady presence in the middle of the diamond while playing all 20 of his seasons in Detroit, 19 of them next to double-play partner Lou Whitaker.
Trammell was the 1984 World Series MVP, hitting .450 as the Tigers trounced San Diego in five games and finished off a season in which they started out 35-5.
A six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover, Trammell scored 1,231 runs and drove in 1,003. He batted .285 with 185 home runs and a .352 on-base average — he walked 850 times and struck out 874.
Trammell never came close to election during his 15 tries in Hall voting by Baseball Writers’ Association of America members, peaking at 40.9 percent in 2016. Starting at 22 percent in his first Hall ballot appearance in 2000, Morris reached at high of 67.7 percent in 2003, his next to last appearance.
Trammell’s next visit to the Hall will certainly last longer than his first trip to the shrine in upstate New York. That was in 1995, when the Tigers played the Cubs in the Hall of Fame exhibition game.
Wearing his No. 3 jersey, Trammell jogged the couple blocks and hurried through the Hall in 30 minutes while the teams were limbering up at Doubleday Field.
“I definitely want to come back some day,” he said that afternoon, “but I probably wouldn’t go through it in my uniform.”
Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant also were on the ballot.
Miller, who headed the players’ union from 1966-82 was on the ballot for the seventh time. Miller sent a letter to the BBWAA in 2008, four years before he died, saying he didn’t want to be considered anymore.
The BBWAA annual vote on players will be announced Jan. 24. Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel are among 19 first-time candidates, and Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are among the holdovers.
___
AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this report.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. |
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Fittingly, Jack Morris reached the Hall of Fame in extra innings.
Morris was elected to the Hall by its Modern Era committee on Sunday along with former Detroit Tigers teammate Alan Trammell, completing a joint journey from Motown to Cooperstown.
The big-game pitcher and star shortstop were picked by 16 voters who considered 10 candidates whose biggest contributions came from 1970-87. Morris got 14 votes and Trammell drew 13, one more than the minimum needed.
They will be enshrined on July 29, and fitting they’ll go in together. They both began their big league careers in 1977 with Detroit and played 13 seasons alongside each other with the Tigers.
“The time that I’ve spent wondering if this day would ever come seems to be vanished and erased right now because it did come, and it’s amazing,” the 62-year-old Morris said during a conference call.
Trammell felt overwhelmed.
“I came to realization that it might not happen, and I was OK with that. I really was,” he said. “If people thought it was a tad short, I could live with that.”
Former catcher Ted Simmons fell one vote shy, and former players’ union head Marvin Miller was five short of the 12 needed.
“It’s not a big surprise,” Miller’s son, Peter, said from Japan. “I think my father’s place in history is understood by all baseball players, all baseball fans and the general public.”
Morris had 254 wins and seven more in the postseason, including his 10-inning shutout in a 1-0 win for Minnesota over Atlanta in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
“No question it was my defining moment in baseball,” Morris said. “I never thought I was in trouble and I knew I could get out of it if I was. So I had the best mindset I’ve ever had in my entire on that night.”
Morris also pitched for World Series winners in Detroit — with Trammell, in 1984 — and Toronto in 1992. His 3.90 career ERA tops Red Ruffing’s 3.80 as the highest of any pitcher in the Hall.
“For years my earned run average has been an issue for a lot of people that thought it was not good enough for Hall of Fame honors, but I never once thought about pitching for an ERA. I always thought about completing games, starting games, eating up innings and trying to win games more importantly than anything else,” he said. “Today’s generation is different. In my heart of hearts I don’t think for a second that guys that are pitching, the elite guys especially that are pitching in the game today, could not do what we did. I know they could. But they haven’t been conditioned to it, both physically and mentally.”
His 175 complete games included 20 in 1983. The entire big league total this year was 59, and no pitcher had more than five. He said sabermetrics should not be used to evaluate his era.
“Now I’m getting analyzed by a bunch of numbers and things that didn’t exist when I played, he said. “Had they existed maybe I would have had a better understanding of what it would have meant to not pitch through pain, to not go deeper into games on nights that I told my manager, ‘I’m fine’ when I wasn’t. But I don’t regret doing that, because if you go to the wall and never try to push down the wall, you’ll never know if you can.”
Now 59, Trammell was a steady presence in the middle of the diamond while playing all 20 of his seasons in Detroit, 19 of them next to double-play partner Lou Whitaker.
Trammell was the 1984 World Series MVP, hitting .450 as the Tigers trounced San Diego in five games and finished off a season in which they started out 35-5.
A six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover, Trammell scored 1,231 runs and drove in 1,003. He batted .285 with 185 home runs and a .352 on-base average — he walked 850 times and struck out 874.
Trammell never came close to election during his 15 tries in Hall voting by Baseball Writers’ Association of America members, peaking at 40.9 percent in 2016. Starting at 22 percent in his first Hall ballot appearance in 2000, Morris reached at high of 67.7 percent in 2003, his next to last appearance.
Trammell’s next visit to the Hall will certainly last longer than his first trip to the shrine in upstate New York. That was in 1995, when the Tigers played the Cubs in the Hall of Fame exhibition game.
Wearing his No. 3 jersey, Trammell jogged the couple blocks and hurried through the Hall in 30 minutes while the teams were limbering up at Doubleday Field.
“I definitely want to come back some day,” he said that afternoon, “but I probably wouldn’t go through it in my uniform.”
Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant also were on the ballot.
Miller, who headed the players’ union from 1966-82 was on the ballot for the seventh time. Miller sent a letter to the BBWAA in 2008, four years before he died, saying he didn’t want to be considered anymore.
The BBWAA annual vote on players will be announced Jan. 24. Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel are among 19 first-time candidates, and Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are among the holdovers.
___
AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this report.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. |
|
The FBI has warned hackers have been impersonating a federal online crime complaint portal to trick victims into divulging their personal and sensitive information in a new phishing scam.
In an alert issued on Thursday (1 February), the agency said it has received "numerous" complaints from citizens reporting they received emails purporting to be from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which allows victims of Internet crimes to file a complaint via their website.
The FBI has identified four variations of the scam that claim the recipient has been a victim of a fraud scheme or a cybercrime, and requests them to provide personal and sensitive information to receive restitution. To make the email seem legitimate, it also includes hyperlinks to news articles that detail the recent arrest of an internet fraudster.
Attached to the fraudulent email is a text document for users to download, complete and return to the threat actors. The .txt file itself is laden with malware designed to further compromise the user's data.
One phishing email involved a fake IC3 social media page that requested recipients to provide personal information to report an internet crime. A second stated the person was eligible to receive restitution as the victim of a recent fraud scheme.
"The perpetrator and his group of co-offenders had over 2000 aliases originating from Russia, Nigeria, Ghana, London, and many more masking their original identities," the hackers' email read. "Our records indicate that you have been a victim of fraud because your contact details were found on several devices belonging to the perpetrator."
It added that the recipient can claim restitution payments of £1.5m ($2m approx).
Another email stated that the recipient was "treated unfairly by various banks and courier companies" and claimed their name was uncovered in a financial company's database that lists victims whose funds were sent to Nigeria and other countries. It also promised the recipient that they will be compensated for "this unfair treatment".
The fourth email claimed to be from the Internet Crime Investigation Center/Cyber Division and even included a fake case reference number. It informed the recipient that their IP address has been found to be a possible victim of a federal cybercrime and asked the recipient to contact the sender via telephone.
"As of December, 2017, the IC3 had received over 100 complaints regarding this scam. No monetary losses have yet to be reported," the FBI said.
The US Department of Homeland Security has also issued an advisory on the phishing campaign. |
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Nine parishioners of Mother Emanuel AME Church were killed after a Bible study on June 17, 2015. (Source: Family/Facebook)
June 17 marks two years since the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in which nine parishioners were shot and killed after a Bible study.
Some 20 several commemorative events to remember the victims and also honor the three survivors of the massacre have been planned.
Rev. Eric Manning says two years later, people are still calling, visiting and sending letters of support for the church.
On Friday, a couple visiting from Greenville placed a fresh bouquet of flowers at the church's front gate.
"It is our most sincere prayer is that as people come they will be able to reflect upon the tragic event of June 17, 2015 but not stay in that period but begin to reflect how they have become better, how they have become stronger," Manning said.
Manning says the two-year anniversary events of the church shooting should be more than just a time of healing and reflection.
"We've been talking about racism, we've been talking about racial relations," he said. "We've been talking about all of these other dynamics and now it's time to begin to put our words into action."
The scheduled events include a unity walk, Bible study on forgiveness, church services, kid-friendly events, church tours and more. This year's theme is "The Light of Hope."
"My prayer is that as the congregation continues to write their next chapter that everyone understands where we are and that we're still trying to heal, we're sill trying to grow, we're sill trying to recover," Manning said.
The commemoration events will conclude with a concert featuring artists from across the community at the church.
"Singing praises unto God and thanking God for continuing to give us the strength to move forward," Manning said.
Manning said the church has an empowerment center next door where clinicians provide support to the families and first responders connected to this shooting throughout the year.
Nine people were killed, including State Sen. and the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Several of the victims were also ministers at the church, including Rev. Sharonda Singleton, retired pastor Dr. Daniel Simmons, and Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. The other victims were Ethel Lance, Cynthia Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Myra Thompson, and Tywanza Sanders.
Polly Sheppard, Felicia Sanders and Sanders' 11-year-old granddaughter survived the shootings. Both Sanders and Sheppard spoke of forgiving the gunman, Dylann Roof, for the crime.
"Forgiveness is a relief," Sanders said in a February 2016 interview. "Dylann Roof doesn't care if I forgive him or not, forgiveness is for me it's not for him.
"I forgave him also," Sheppard says. "I believe God will forgive him too. I believe in repentance I believe God will forgive him too."
Roof was convicted in December of 33 federal charges connected to the shootings on June 17, 2015. In January, he was sentenced to death and is now in a maximum security prison in Indiana awaiting the death penalty.
The “Light of Hope” commemorative events planned are for June 15 through 30. They are listed in order by date.
Thursday, June 15, 2017 – Keynote Lecture, Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC),
Free and Open to the Public
Location: Emanuel AME Church, 110 Calhoun Street
Time: 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Friday, June 16, 2017 – Youth Basketball Tournament
Location: The Charleston Charter School of Math & Science (1002 King Street)
Time: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The Youth Basketball Tournament is an event designed to engage the community’s youth in a time of remembrance and reflection on the lives and legacies of the Emanuel 9, while also celebrating the life of the youngest Emanuel 9 victim – Mr. Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders. Teams from across the community will gather for a day of healthy competition and community-building.
Friday, June 16, 2017 – The Charleston Forum on Race
Location: The Charleston Music Hall (37 John Street)
Time: 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Visit the website at www.thecharlestonforum.com for more information and to register for this event.
Friday, June 16 and Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Tour of the Borough House
Location: 35 Calhoun Street
Time: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The Borough House is an original home of the historic “Borough” community, one of the earliest middle class historic African-American communities. The house is a historic landmark, and contains many artifacts from the early 20th century. Tours will be hosted by heirs of the original owners.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – “The Hate Won’t Win Unity Walk” with Speaker – Mr. Jeff Robinson of the ACLU
Location: King and Calhoun Streets (Start of March)
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
The “Hate Won’t Win Unity Walk” honors the Emanuel 9 who tragically lost their lives on June 17, 2015, and the survivors who lived to tell the story. The walk will bring those of different races, religions, and backgrounds to contest hate and spread love across the world. Although hearts continue to be burdened in memory of loved ones, their legacies will be honored through the walk for peace and equity. The “Unity Walk” is a universal symbol of love to embrace our differences and to inspire conversations and changes in cultural relations around the world. The walk will conclude on the lawn of The Gaillard Center with a brief program and a motivational speech by Mr. Jeff Robinson, Deputy Legal Director and Director of the Trone Center for Justice and Equality – American Civil Liberties, to the families of the Emanuel 9, the survivors, and the community. All are invited to join in the walk to declare and proclaim that “hate won’t win”.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – The Ecumenical Worship Service…In Remembrance of the Emanuel 9 and Recognition of the Survivors
Location: The Gaillard Center (95 Calhoun Street)
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
The Ecumenical Worship Service represents a time of worship for the tri-county community, and will include participation by clergy and choirs from across the community. The keynote speaker will be the Reverend Dr. Joel Gregory, the Chair in Preaching and Evangelism at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University.
***Note: The worship service is open to the public, but a ticket (at no cost) is required for admission. Tickets can be accessed at EventBrite.com.
Saturday, June 17 & June 24, 2017 – A Moment of Silence…To Read
Location: John L. Dart Library (1067 King Street)
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation will be providing free books for children in recognition and celebration of the life of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Acts of Amazing Grace 2017
The “Acts of Amazing Grace” is a worldwide virtual project designated to provide people with a targeted opportunity to respond with kindness as a result of the tragic events of June 17, 2015. That night affected lives around the world. People are seeking ways to respond to the hatred with love. Individuals and/or groups are requested to perform any acts of kindness in honor of those persons who lost their lives, the Emanuel 9 families and survivors, and the Mother Emanuel AME Church. Examples of these can be – organized or impromptu – i.e. buy a cup of coffee for a neighbor, organize a food drive, make a donation to a worthy cause, read to a child, etc. An opportunity will be provided to post descriptions of “Acts of Amazing Grace” on the webpage. In addition, an invitation is extended to those who have established organizations, embraced a social justice cause, or created an opportunity to recognize the Emanuel 9 to list their projects with the purpose on the webpage.
Sunday, June 18, 2017 – Morning Worship Service
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 9:30 AM
An invitation is extended to all to join the Mother Emanuel family for its regular Sunday morning worship service.
Monday, June 19, 2017 – The Myra Thompson School Supply Distribution
Location: Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church (51 Bull Street)
Time: 12:00 Noon – 5:00 PM
The family of Mrs. Myra Thompson is sponsoring a school supply distribution for students in grades K-12. Myra Thompson was a committed educator who impacted countless students/young adults across the community. If you are interested in making a donation for the Myra Thompson School Supply Distribution, please call (843) 885-4747.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 – “Calling All Colors: An Event for Youth
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
The event provides middle school students with opportunities for participation in workshops and forums on topics such as diversity, tolerance, respect and inclusion. The event will feature Ms. Alana Simmons (grand-daughter of Reverend Daniel Simmons, Sr. and founder of the organization – “Hate Won’t Win”) and other community organizations. The event is free, but registration is required – Calling all Colors atEventBrite.com or palmettocap.org.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – The Annual Senior Citizens Luncheon
Location: The Francis Marion Hotel
Time: 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM
The luncheon reflects on and remembers the lives of Mrs. Susie Jackson and Mrs. Ethel Lance who were active members of the senior citizens ministry. The luncheon is being convened for the church’s senior citizens, the Emanuel 9 families and survivors.
*** Note: This event is by invitation only.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Press Conference; Special Announcement by Rev. Eric S. C. Manning, Pastor of Emanuel AME Church
Location: 113 Calhoun Street
Time: 12:30 PM
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – The Cynthia Graham Hurd Branch Library Anniversary
Location: Hurd/St. Andrews Regional Library (1735 N. Woodmere Drive)
Time: 2:00 PM
The Charleston County Public Library invites the community to attend the anniversary celebration of the Cynthia Graham Hurd Branch Library.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Mother Emanuel Ecumenical Bible Study
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The Bible Study will be co-led by Reverend Eric S.C. Manning and Reverend Anthony Thompson (the husband of Mrs. Myra Thompson, who led the Bible Study on June 17, 2015). An invitation is extended to the community to join the Mother Emanuel AME and Holy Trinity congregations for a time of Bible Study and fellowship.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Tables of Ten
Location: Various locations in the city of Charleston (The Park at the Battery, Hampton Park, Thomson Park, Alhambra Hall Lawn)
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM
The “Tables of Ten”, a citywide pop-up Bible Study event, will reconvene for its second year. At locations across the city, groups will engage in a special Bible Study in remembrance and reflection of the Emanuel 9 and the June 17, 2015, Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church. Groups will consist of Life Groups, pastors, teachers, community members, etc. For more information regarding this event visit www.TablesofTen.info.
Saturday, June 24, 2017 – The Samaritan’s Feet Project
Location: Charleston Progressive Academy (382 Meeting Street)
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
In partnership with the Samaritan’s Feet International Organization, Mother Emanuel will be hosting a shoe distribution – new tennis shoes – for children/youth in grades K-12. Mother Emanuel will be joined with partners from the Samaritan’s Feet Project, Coca-Cola, and others to provide this ministry for the community.
Sunday, June 25, 2017 – The Commemoration Finale: “Morning Grace” Concert
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The Commemoration Finale, Morning Grace, will feature artists from across the community to include Marjory Wentworth – poet laureate of South Carolina, Charlton Singleton, Ann Caldwell, the Seacoast Church Choir and Band, Lowcountry Voices, Mario Desaussure, and many more. The event is free and open to the public, but a ticket is required. Visit EventBrite.com to get a ticket.
June 1-30, 2017 – Exhibit: The Life and Legacy of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd
Location: Charleston County Public Library (68 Calhoun Street)
Hours: Mon-Thu 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Fri-Sat 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM & Sun 2:00 PM to 5 PM
The Charleston County Library is hosting an exhibit with photos and other artifacts that recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd.
June 17 – 30, 2017 – Quilt and Memorabilia Exhibit
Location: The Arch Building (85 Calhoun Street)
Times: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday; 12 Noon to 5 PM, Sunday
Following June 17, 2015, the church received thousands of memorabilia and hundreds of quilts from around the world. The exhibit will include a sampling of the many items that were gifted to Mother Emanuel.
June 19 – 26, 2017 – Church Tours
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Hours for Tours: 10:00 AM – 12 Noon Monday to Saturday;
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Sunday
The church will open the doors for individual tours during the hours cited. Group tours are required to be scheduled through the church’s office at 843-722-2561.
Copyright 2017 WCSC. All rights reserved. |
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Nine parishioners of Mother Emanuel AME Church were killed after a Bible study on June 17, 2015. (Source: Family/Facebook)
June 17 marks two years since the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in which nine parishioners were shot and killed after a Bible study.
Some 20 several commemorative events to remember the victims and also honor the three survivors of the massacre have been planned.
Rev. Eric Manning says two years later, people are still calling, visiting and sending letters of support for the church.
On Friday, a couple visiting from Greenville placed a fresh bouquet of flowers at the church's front gate.
"It is our most sincere prayer is that as people come they will be able to reflect upon the tragic event of June 17, 2015 but not stay in that period but begin to reflect how they have become better, how they have become stronger," Manning said.
Manning says the two-year anniversary events of the church shooting should be more than just a time of healing and reflection.
"We've been talking about racism, we've been talking about racial relations," he said. "We've been talking about all of these other dynamics and now it's time to begin to put our words into action."
The scheduled events include a unity walk, Bible study on forgiveness, church services, kid-friendly events, church tours and more. This year's theme is "The Light of Hope."
"My prayer is that as the congregation continues to write their next chapter that everyone understands where we are and that we're still trying to heal, we're sill trying to grow, we're sill trying to recover," Manning said.
The commemoration events will conclude with a concert featuring artists from across the community at the church.
"Singing praises unto God and thanking God for continuing to give us the strength to move forward," Manning said.
Manning said the church has an empowerment center next door where clinicians provide support to the families and first responders connected to this shooting throughout the year.
Nine people were killed, including State Sen. and the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Several of the victims were also ministers at the church, including Rev. Sharonda Singleton, retired pastor Dr. Daniel Simmons, and Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. The other victims were Ethel Lance, Cynthia Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Myra Thompson, and Tywanza Sanders.
Polly Sheppard, Felicia Sanders and Sanders' 11-year-old granddaughter survived the shootings. Both Sanders and Sheppard spoke of forgiving the gunman, Dylann Roof, for the crime.
"Forgiveness is a relief," Sanders said in a February 2016 interview. "Dylann Roof doesn't care if I forgive him or not, forgiveness is for me it's not for him.
"I forgave him also," Sheppard says. "I believe God will forgive him too. I believe in repentance I believe God will forgive him too."
Roof was convicted in December of 33 federal charges connected to the shootings on June 17, 2015. In January, he was sentenced to death and is now in a maximum security prison in Indiana awaiting the death penalty.
The “Light of Hope” commemorative events planned are for June 15 through 30. They are listed in order by date.
Thursday, June 15, 2017 – Keynote Lecture, Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC),
Free and Open to the Public
Location: Emanuel AME Church, 110 Calhoun Street
Time: 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Friday, June 16, 2017 – Youth Basketball Tournament
Location: The Charleston Charter School of Math & Science (1002 King Street)
Time: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The Youth Basketball Tournament is an event designed to engage the community’s youth in a time of remembrance and reflection on the lives and legacies of the Emanuel 9, while also celebrating the life of the youngest Emanuel 9 victim – Mr. Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders. Teams from across the community will gather for a day of healthy competition and community-building.
Friday, June 16, 2017 – The Charleston Forum on Race
Location: The Charleston Music Hall (37 John Street)
Time: 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Visit the website at www.thecharlestonforum.com for more information and to register for this event.
Friday, June 16 and Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Tour of the Borough House
Location: 35 Calhoun Street
Time: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The Borough House is an original home of the historic “Borough” community, one of the earliest middle class historic African-American communities. The house is a historic landmark, and contains many artifacts from the early 20th century. Tours will be hosted by heirs of the original owners.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – “The Hate Won’t Win Unity Walk” with Speaker – Mr. Jeff Robinson of the ACLU
Location: King and Calhoun Streets (Start of March)
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
The “Hate Won’t Win Unity Walk” honors the Emanuel 9 who tragically lost their lives on June 17, 2015, and the survivors who lived to tell the story. The walk will bring those of different races, religions, and backgrounds to contest hate and spread love across the world. Although hearts continue to be burdened in memory of loved ones, their legacies will be honored through the walk for peace and equity. The “Unity Walk” is a universal symbol of love to embrace our differences and to inspire conversations and changes in cultural relations around the world. The walk will conclude on the lawn of The Gaillard Center with a brief program and a motivational speech by Mr. Jeff Robinson, Deputy Legal Director and Director of the Trone Center for Justice and Equality – American Civil Liberties, to the families of the Emanuel 9, the survivors, and the community. All are invited to join in the walk to declare and proclaim that “hate won’t win”.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – The Ecumenical Worship Service…In Remembrance of the Emanuel 9 and Recognition of the Survivors
Location: The Gaillard Center (95 Calhoun Street)
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
The Ecumenical Worship Service represents a time of worship for the tri-county community, and will include participation by clergy and choirs from across the community. The keynote speaker will be the Reverend Dr. Joel Gregory, the Chair in Preaching and Evangelism at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University.
***Note: The worship service is open to the public, but a ticket (at no cost) is required for admission. Tickets can be accessed at EventBrite.com.
Saturday, June 17 & June 24, 2017 – A Moment of Silence…To Read
Location: John L. Dart Library (1067 King Street)
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation will be providing free books for children in recognition and celebration of the life of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Acts of Amazing Grace 2017
The “Acts of Amazing Grace” is a worldwide virtual project designated to provide people with a targeted opportunity to respond with kindness as a result of the tragic events of June 17, 2015. That night affected lives around the world. People are seeking ways to respond to the hatred with love. Individuals and/or groups are requested to perform any acts of kindness in honor of those persons who lost their lives, the Emanuel 9 families and survivors, and the Mother Emanuel AME Church. Examples of these can be – organized or impromptu – i.e. buy a cup of coffee for a neighbor, organize a food drive, make a donation to a worthy cause, read to a child, etc. An opportunity will be provided to post descriptions of “Acts of Amazing Grace” on the webpage. In addition, an invitation is extended to those who have established organizations, embraced a social justice cause, or created an opportunity to recognize the Emanuel 9 to list their projects with the purpose on the webpage.
Sunday, June 18, 2017 – Morning Worship Service
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 9:30 AM
An invitation is extended to all to join the Mother Emanuel family for its regular Sunday morning worship service.
Monday, June 19, 2017 – The Myra Thompson School Supply Distribution
Location: Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church (51 Bull Street)
Time: 12:00 Noon – 5:00 PM
The family of Mrs. Myra Thompson is sponsoring a school supply distribution for students in grades K-12. Myra Thompson was a committed educator who impacted countless students/young adults across the community. If you are interested in making a donation for the Myra Thompson School Supply Distribution, please call (843) 885-4747.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 – “Calling All Colors: An Event for Youth
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
The event provides middle school students with opportunities for participation in workshops and forums on topics such as diversity, tolerance, respect and inclusion. The event will feature Ms. Alana Simmons (grand-daughter of Reverend Daniel Simmons, Sr. and founder of the organization – “Hate Won’t Win”) and other community organizations. The event is free, but registration is required – Calling all Colors atEventBrite.com or palmettocap.org.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – The Annual Senior Citizens Luncheon
Location: The Francis Marion Hotel
Time: 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM
The luncheon reflects on and remembers the lives of Mrs. Susie Jackson and Mrs. Ethel Lance who were active members of the senior citizens ministry. The luncheon is being convened for the church’s senior citizens, the Emanuel 9 families and survivors.
*** Note: This event is by invitation only.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Press Conference; Special Announcement by Rev. Eric S. C. Manning, Pastor of Emanuel AME Church
Location: 113 Calhoun Street
Time: 12:30 PM
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – The Cynthia Graham Hurd Branch Library Anniversary
Location: Hurd/St. Andrews Regional Library (1735 N. Woodmere Drive)
Time: 2:00 PM
The Charleston County Public Library invites the community to attend the anniversary celebration of the Cynthia Graham Hurd Branch Library.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Mother Emanuel Ecumenical Bible Study
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The Bible Study will be co-led by Reverend Eric S.C. Manning and Reverend Anthony Thompson (the husband of Mrs. Myra Thompson, who led the Bible Study on June 17, 2015). An invitation is extended to the community to join the Mother Emanuel AME and Holy Trinity congregations for a time of Bible Study and fellowship.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Tables of Ten
Location: Various locations in the city of Charleston (The Park at the Battery, Hampton Park, Thomson Park, Alhambra Hall Lawn)
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM
The “Tables of Ten”, a citywide pop-up Bible Study event, will reconvene for its second year. At locations across the city, groups will engage in a special Bible Study in remembrance and reflection of the Emanuel 9 and the June 17, 2015, Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church. Groups will consist of Life Groups, pastors, teachers, community members, etc. For more information regarding this event visit www.TablesofTen.info.
Saturday, June 24, 2017 – The Samaritan’s Feet Project
Location: Charleston Progressive Academy (382 Meeting Street)
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
In partnership with the Samaritan’s Feet International Organization, Mother Emanuel will be hosting a shoe distribution – new tennis shoes – for children/youth in grades K-12. Mother Emanuel will be joined with partners from the Samaritan’s Feet Project, Coca-Cola, and others to provide this ministry for the community.
Sunday, June 25, 2017 – The Commemoration Finale: “Morning Grace” Concert
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The Commemoration Finale, Morning Grace, will feature artists from across the community to include Marjory Wentworth – poet laureate of South Carolina, Charlton Singleton, Ann Caldwell, the Seacoast Church Choir and Band, Lowcountry Voices, Mario Desaussure, and many more. The event is free and open to the public, but a ticket is required. Visit EventBrite.com to get a ticket.
June 1-30, 2017 – Exhibit: The Life and Legacy of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd
Location: Charleston County Public Library (68 Calhoun Street)
Hours: Mon-Thu 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Fri-Sat 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM & Sun 2:00 PM to 5 PM
The Charleston County Library is hosting an exhibit with photos and other artifacts that recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd.
June 17 – 30, 2017 – Quilt and Memorabilia Exhibit
Location: The Arch Building (85 Calhoun Street)
Times: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday; 12 Noon to 5 PM, Sunday
Following June 17, 2015, the church received thousands of memorabilia and hundreds of quilts from around the world. The exhibit will include a sampling of the many items that were gifted to Mother Emanuel.
June 19 – 26, 2017 – Church Tours
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Hours for Tours: 10:00 AM – 12 Noon Monday to Saturday;
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Sunday
The church will open the doors for individual tours during the hours cited. Group tours are required to be scheduled through the church’s office at 843-722-2561.
Copyright 2017 WCSC. All rights reserved. |
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Nine parishioners of Mother Emanuel AME Church were killed after a Bible study on June 17, 2015. (Source: Family/Facebook)
June 17 marks two years since the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in which nine parishioners were shot and killed after a Bible study.
Some 20 several commemorative events to remember the victims and also honor the three survivors of the massacre have been planned.
Rev. Eric Manning says two years later, people are still calling, visiting and sending letters of support for the church.
On Friday, a couple visiting from Greenville placed a fresh bouquet of flowers at the church's front gate.
"It is our most sincere prayer is that as people come they will be able to reflect upon the tragic event of June 17, 2015 but not stay in that period but begin to reflect how they have become better, how they have become stronger," Manning said.
Manning says the two-year anniversary events of the church shooting should be more than just a time of healing and reflection.
"We've been talking about racism, we've been talking about racial relations," he said. "We've been talking about all of these other dynamics and now it's time to begin to put our words into action."
The scheduled events include a unity walk, Bible study on forgiveness, church services, kid-friendly events, church tours and more. This year's theme is "The Light of Hope."
"My prayer is that as the congregation continues to write their next chapter that everyone understands where we are and that we're still trying to heal, we're sill trying to grow, we're sill trying to recover," Manning said.
The commemoration events will conclude with a concert featuring artists from across the community at the church.
"Singing praises unto God and thanking God for continuing to give us the strength to move forward," Manning said.
Manning said the church has an empowerment center next door where clinicians provide support to the families and first responders connected to this shooting throughout the year.
Nine people were killed, including State Sen. and the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. Several of the victims were also ministers at the church, including Rev. Sharonda Singleton, retired pastor Dr. Daniel Simmons, and Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. The other victims were Ethel Lance, Cynthia Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Myra Thompson, and Tywanza Sanders.
Polly Sheppard, Felicia Sanders and Sanders' 11-year-old granddaughter survived the shootings. Both Sanders and Sheppard spoke of forgiving the gunman, Dylann Roof, for the crime.
"Forgiveness is a relief," Sanders said in a February 2016 interview. "Dylann Roof doesn't care if I forgive him or not, forgiveness is for me it's not for him.
"I forgave him also," Sheppard says. "I believe God will forgive him too. I believe in repentance I believe God will forgive him too."
Roof was convicted in December of 33 federal charges connected to the shootings on June 17, 2015. In January, he was sentenced to death and is now in a maximum security prison in Indiana awaiting the death penalty.
The “Light of Hope” commemorative events planned are for June 15 through 30. They are listed in order by date.
Thursday, June 15, 2017 – Keynote Lecture, Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC),
Free and Open to the Public
Location: Emanuel AME Church, 110 Calhoun Street
Time: 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Friday, June 16, 2017 – Youth Basketball Tournament
Location: The Charleston Charter School of Math & Science (1002 King Street)
Time: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The Youth Basketball Tournament is an event designed to engage the community’s youth in a time of remembrance and reflection on the lives and legacies of the Emanuel 9, while also celebrating the life of the youngest Emanuel 9 victim – Mr. Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders. Teams from across the community will gather for a day of healthy competition and community-building.
Friday, June 16, 2017 – The Charleston Forum on Race
Location: The Charleston Music Hall (37 John Street)
Time: 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Visit the website at www.thecharlestonforum.com for more information and to register for this event.
Friday, June 16 and Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Tour of the Borough House
Location: 35 Calhoun Street
Time: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The Borough House is an original home of the historic “Borough” community, one of the earliest middle class historic African-American communities. The house is a historic landmark, and contains many artifacts from the early 20th century. Tours will be hosted by heirs of the original owners.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – “The Hate Won’t Win Unity Walk” with Speaker – Mr. Jeff Robinson of the ACLU
Location: King and Calhoun Streets (Start of March)
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
The “Hate Won’t Win Unity Walk” honors the Emanuel 9 who tragically lost their lives on June 17, 2015, and the survivors who lived to tell the story. The walk will bring those of different races, religions, and backgrounds to contest hate and spread love across the world. Although hearts continue to be burdened in memory of loved ones, their legacies will be honored through the walk for peace and equity. The “Unity Walk” is a universal symbol of love to embrace our differences and to inspire conversations and changes in cultural relations around the world. The walk will conclude on the lawn of The Gaillard Center with a brief program and a motivational speech by Mr. Jeff Robinson, Deputy Legal Director and Director of the Trone Center for Justice and Equality – American Civil Liberties, to the families of the Emanuel 9, the survivors, and the community. All are invited to join in the walk to declare and proclaim that “hate won’t win”.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – The Ecumenical Worship Service…In Remembrance of the Emanuel 9 and Recognition of the Survivors
Location: The Gaillard Center (95 Calhoun Street)
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
The Ecumenical Worship Service represents a time of worship for the tri-county community, and will include participation by clergy and choirs from across the community. The keynote speaker will be the Reverend Dr. Joel Gregory, the Chair in Preaching and Evangelism at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University.
***Note: The worship service is open to the public, but a ticket (at no cost) is required for admission. Tickets can be accessed at EventBrite.com.
Saturday, June 17 & June 24, 2017 – A Moment of Silence…To Read
Location: John L. Dart Library (1067 King Street)
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
The Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation will be providing free books for children in recognition and celebration of the life of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd.
Saturday, June 17, 2017 – Acts of Amazing Grace 2017
The “Acts of Amazing Grace” is a worldwide virtual project designated to provide people with a targeted opportunity to respond with kindness as a result of the tragic events of June 17, 2015. That night affected lives around the world. People are seeking ways to respond to the hatred with love. Individuals and/or groups are requested to perform any acts of kindness in honor of those persons who lost their lives, the Emanuel 9 families and survivors, and the Mother Emanuel AME Church. Examples of these can be – organized or impromptu – i.e. buy a cup of coffee for a neighbor, organize a food drive, make a donation to a worthy cause, read to a child, etc. An opportunity will be provided to post descriptions of “Acts of Amazing Grace” on the webpage. In addition, an invitation is extended to those who have established organizations, embraced a social justice cause, or created an opportunity to recognize the Emanuel 9 to list their projects with the purpose on the webpage.
Sunday, June 18, 2017 – Morning Worship Service
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 9:30 AM
An invitation is extended to all to join the Mother Emanuel family for its regular Sunday morning worship service.
Monday, June 19, 2017 – The Myra Thompson School Supply Distribution
Location: Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church (51 Bull Street)
Time: 12:00 Noon – 5:00 PM
The family of Mrs. Myra Thompson is sponsoring a school supply distribution for students in grades K-12. Myra Thompson was a committed educator who impacted countless students/young adults across the community. If you are interested in making a donation for the Myra Thompson School Supply Distribution, please call (843) 885-4747.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 – “Calling All Colors: An Event for Youth
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
The event provides middle school students with opportunities for participation in workshops and forums on topics such as diversity, tolerance, respect and inclusion. The event will feature Ms. Alana Simmons (grand-daughter of Reverend Daniel Simmons, Sr. and founder of the organization – “Hate Won’t Win”) and other community organizations. The event is free, but registration is required – Calling all Colors atEventBrite.com or palmettocap.org.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – The Annual Senior Citizens Luncheon
Location: The Francis Marion Hotel
Time: 12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM
The luncheon reflects on and remembers the lives of Mrs. Susie Jackson and Mrs. Ethel Lance who were active members of the senior citizens ministry. The luncheon is being convened for the church’s senior citizens, the Emanuel 9 families and survivors.
*** Note: This event is by invitation only.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Press Conference; Special Announcement by Rev. Eric S. C. Manning, Pastor of Emanuel AME Church
Location: 113 Calhoun Street
Time: 12:30 PM
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – The Cynthia Graham Hurd Branch Library Anniversary
Location: Hurd/St. Andrews Regional Library (1735 N. Woodmere Drive)
Time: 2:00 PM
The Charleston County Public Library invites the community to attend the anniversary celebration of the Cynthia Graham Hurd Branch Library.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Mother Emanuel Ecumenical Bible Study
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The Bible Study will be co-led by Reverend Eric S.C. Manning and Reverend Anthony Thompson (the husband of Mrs. Myra Thompson, who led the Bible Study on June 17, 2015). An invitation is extended to the community to join the Mother Emanuel AME and Holy Trinity congregations for a time of Bible Study and fellowship.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 – Tables of Ten
Location: Various locations in the city of Charleston (The Park at the Battery, Hampton Park, Thomson Park, Alhambra Hall Lawn)
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM
The “Tables of Ten”, a citywide pop-up Bible Study event, will reconvene for its second year. At locations across the city, groups will engage in a special Bible Study in remembrance and reflection of the Emanuel 9 and the June 17, 2015, Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church. Groups will consist of Life Groups, pastors, teachers, community members, etc. For more information regarding this event visit www.TablesofTen.info.
Saturday, June 24, 2017 – The Samaritan’s Feet Project
Location: Charleston Progressive Academy (382 Meeting Street)
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
In partnership with the Samaritan’s Feet International Organization, Mother Emanuel will be hosting a shoe distribution – new tennis shoes – for children/youth in grades K-12. Mother Emanuel will be joined with partners from the Samaritan’s Feet Project, Coca-Cola, and others to provide this ministry for the community.
Sunday, June 25, 2017 – The Commemoration Finale: “Morning Grace” Concert
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The Commemoration Finale, Morning Grace, will feature artists from across the community to include Marjory Wentworth – poet laureate of South Carolina, Charlton Singleton, Ann Caldwell, the Seacoast Church Choir and Band, Lowcountry Voices, Mario Desaussure, and many more. The event is free and open to the public, but a ticket is required. Visit EventBrite.com to get a ticket.
June 1-30, 2017 – Exhibit: The Life and Legacy of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd
Location: Charleston County Public Library (68 Calhoun Street)
Hours: Mon-Thu 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Fri-Sat 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM & Sun 2:00 PM to 5 PM
The Charleston County Library is hosting an exhibit with photos and other artifacts that recognize the accomplishments and contributions of Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd.
June 17 – 30, 2017 – Quilt and Memorabilia Exhibit
Location: The Arch Building (85 Calhoun Street)
Times: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday; 12 Noon to 5 PM, Sunday
Following June 17, 2015, the church received thousands of memorabilia and hundreds of quilts from around the world. The exhibit will include a sampling of the many items that were gifted to Mother Emanuel.
June 19 – 26, 2017 – Church Tours
Location: Emanuel AME Church (110 Calhoun Street)
Hours for Tours: 10:00 AM – 12 Noon Monday to Saturday;
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Sunday
The church will open the doors for individual tours during the hours cited. Group tours are required to be scheduled through the church’s office at 843-722-2561.
Copyright 2017 WCSC. All rights reserved. |
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When Jack Clarke was 8 years old, doctors told his parents that he'd likely never walk or talk again.
On Sunday, he walked across the Drake Knapp Center stage to accept his diploma during the Valley High School graduation ceremony.
One of those cheering him on was Valley Principal Tim Miller. The principal and the student have been eating lunch together off and on for six years — since their time together at Stilwell Junior High.
"He is just such an amazing young guy and has a great love of life," Miller said last week. "He's got such a positive outlook on everything he does and transfers that joy to others."
Clarke's medical problems arose in elementary school after a shunt used to drain excess fluid from around his brain — he was born with a condition called hydrocephalus — became infected.
"Everything that could go wrong went wrong," said his mother, Melissa Clarke-Wharff.
Clarke had six strokes in two weeks and spent a month in a coma.
The second half of his third-grade year was spent at an inpatient medical facility. He doesn't remember much of that time, but he does remember the physical therapy he had to endure while attending fourth-grade classes part-time.
"It about emotionally about broke me," his mother said. "I got my motivation and strength from Jack. I saw he was working for this as well. I just didn’t believe that he wasn’t going to be able to walk."
He eventually had 38 leg surgeries to help him regain mobility.
When is was time for Clarke to move to junior high, his family met with Miller, who was principal of Stilwell at the time.
"I saw Tim’s commitment to Jack. He said, 'This kid's got it, and we're going to bring it out of him,'" Clarke-Wharff said
That's when Miller and Clarke first began spending their lunch period together.
"Every lunch, he was there," Clarke said. "I didn’t really know anybody else besides him. He would mingle with the students. I just found that so cool how he was able to do that."
Miller was transferred to Valley High during Clarke's eighth-grade year. But the friendship and lunches resumed two years later on Clarke's first day at Valley High.
The principal said he sits in the cafeteria each day to be accessible to students. He wasn't in the lunchroom just for Clarke, but Clarke was the bonus, he said.
"All the credit goes to Jack," Miller said. "He has a magnetism about him. Anything that people have done to help him, they’ve done because of the way he is."
That help — from family, friends, teachers and doctors — went a long way to getting Clarke to Sunday's graduation ceremony.
The Valley graduate is heading to Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny next fall.
And he's already got some lunch dates planned this summer with Miller, who is retiring at the end of June.
"We'll see each other one way or another," the principal said. "We said we were going out together."
© Gannett Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved |
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PARIS, April 18 (Reuters) - JP Morgan equity strategists on Tuesday said they still expected independent centrist Emmanuel Macron to win the French presidential election, even though they noted the race had tightened after a rise in polls for far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.
JP Morgan shared the view of other top investment banks by stating that the key negative risk for financial markets was the possibility Melenchon could face far-right, National Front leader Marine Le Pen in the May 7 decisive, second-round vote.
"Should Melenchon and Le Pen both enter the second round, euro zone equities would likely pull back sharply," JP Morgan's team wrote in a note.
"While the likelihood of this outcome has risen, we still believe the base-case scenario should be the second round contest between Macron and Le Pen, with Macron ultimately prevailing," they added.
"If that comes to pass, then the significant outflows from the region over the past year, which we estimate amount to 10-15 percent of assets under management, would likely be reversed," JP Morgan also said.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Mathieu Rosemain) |
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOTV) – What do a Yale graduate, a rock-climbing nanny, and a former model have in common? They all have their sights set on the Bachelor, Arie Luyendyk Jr., their future husband.
The much-anticipated 22nd edition of “The Bachelor” premieres, MONDAY, JAN. 1 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on My ABC WOTV 4.
The 29 women who can be revealed are:
Ali, 27, personal stylist, Dallas, Texas
Amber, 29, business owner, Denver, Colorado
Annaliese, 32, event designer, San Francisco, California
Ashley, 25, real estate agent, West Palm Beach, Florida
Rebecca (Becca), 27, publicist, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rebekah (Bekah), nanny, Los Angeles, California
Bibiana, 30, executive assistant, Miami Beach, Florida
Brianna, 25, sports reporter, Portland, Oregon
Brittane, 27, marketing manager, Los Angeles, California
Brittany, 30, tech recruiter, Austin, Texas
Caroline, 26, realtor, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Chelsea, 29, real estate executive assistant, Portland, Maine
Jacqueline, 26, research coordinator, New York, New York
Jenna, 28, social media manager, Raleigh, North Carolina
Jennifer (Jenny), 25, graphic designer, Chicago, Illinois
Jessica, 26, television host, Santa Monica, California
Kendall, 26, creative director, Los Angeles, California
Krystal, 30, fitness coach, San Diego, California
Lauren B., 25, technology salesperson, Dallas, Texas
Lauren G., 26, executive recruiter, Los Angeles, California
Lauren J., 33, recent master’s graduate, New Roads, Louisiana
Lauren S., 31, social media manager, Dallas, Texas
Maquel, 23, photographer, Orem, Utah
Marikh, 27, restaurant owner, Salt Lake City, Utah
D’Nysha (Nysha), 30, orthopedic nurse, Anderson, South Carolina
Olivia, 23, marketing associate, Chicago, Illinois
Seinne, 27, commercial real estate manager, Newport Beach, California
Tia, 26, physical therapist, Weiner, Arkansas
Valerie, 25, server, Nashville, Tennessee |
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PASADENA, CA (CBS Local) – Flippy, the burger-flipping robot cook, has returned to a California fast food chain. The new and improved Flippy is looking to erase its rocky March debut, when it got a pink slip after just one day on the job.
Miso Robotics sold burger chain CaliBurger on the idea of replacing its kitchen staff with the patty-flipping robots in 2017. “We really think of ourselves as a technology company that happens to sell cheeseburgers,” CaliBurger founder John Miller said at the time.
However, Flippy’s 2018 debut didn’t go as planned. The automated grill operator couldn’t keep up with the demand customers at the Pasadena restaurant had for a robot-cooked burger. Flippy was shut down on March 9 after its first day when it couldn’t flip enough patties or properly put them on the serving trays.
“We got a little ahead of ourselves,” Miso Robotics CEO David Zito told USA Today, admitting they “were overwhelmed by the response.”
Flippy the robot's burgers may be better than yours https://t.co/xEtdqfgPP4 pic.twitter.com/B4zdDUVxOm — USA TODAY Tech (@usatodaytech) May 25, 2018
After two months on the shelf, Flippy’s creators say the robot is ready for the kitchen again. It’s already handling the chain’s lunch shift, cooking burgers for three hours a day, seven days a week.
“Now he moves like a ninja and is more reliable,” Zito added.
CaliBurger says that it still plans to have the upgraded Flippy robots in 50 of its locations by 2019. Each robot reportedly costs between $60,000 and $100,000.
The robotics company insisted that their robot is not meant to put humans out of work and said humans are still needed to help Flippy operate in the kitchen. “Our mission is to improve working conditions of chefs and line cooks with assistants, not replace them,” Zito said via CBS News. |
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Some of the biggest cities in Canada could soon be free to invest billions of taxpayer dollars in more than just safe-but-boring securities.
Under a law recently passed by the Ontario government, this potential migration of municipal cash could potentially heighten risks for the province’s cities and towns. It could also boost their earnings, which could help pay to fill more potholes and tamp down property tax hikes.
“When fully implemented, these changes would enable municipalities to build more diversified portfolios and thereby, potentially improve their investment returns,” said Conrad Spezowka, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
In May, the provincial legislature passed a law — Bill 68 — that could allow any municipality to “invest money that it does not require immediately in any security” — but only if they “exercise the care, skill, diligence and judgment that a prudent investor would exercise in making such an investment.” This is also known as the “prudent investor standard.”
Currently, cities and towns in Ontario — Canada’s most populous province — must abide by a list of investments that have various restrictions. A municipality can, for instance, buy shares of a Canadian company, but only if they do so through a third-party investing program. As another example, a city could buy an asset-backed security, but only if it has a certain credit rating.
When fully implemented, these changes would enable municipalities to build more diversified portfolios
The third-party investing program for corporate investments — the One Investment Program — is run by the Local Authority Services (LAS), set up by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and the CHUMS Financing Corp., a subsidiary of the Municipal Finance Officers’ Association of Ontario.
Judy Dezell, a director of the LAS, said in a phone interview that municipalities aren’t necessarily looking to invest in a single class of security.
“It’s more that we’re looking at managing risk,” Dezell said. “Because the legal list has narrowed the field of what we can invest in so much, particularly since the credit crisis in 2008, so we’re trying to create a framework … that would allow us to manage risk better in terms of investing.”
The LAS is “currently the only game in town” if Ontario municipalities want to buy corporate equities, Dezell said.
“We can hold … the equities of a company, but we can’t hold their bonds because of this legal list,” she said. “So that’s a little bit of a disconnect there.”
Under the current rules, sizable municipalities like Mississauga and Hamilton are stuck using the province’s list of investments. This is typical for most Canadian municipalities, except in Alberta, which has a mixed system, and in Nova Scotia, a province that only uses the prudent investor standard.
But the status quo in Ontario is producing little in the way of profit for cities. A research paper released in June suggests the province’s municipalities are pouring billions into investments that are returning relatively little.
“As of the end of 2015, the approximate market value of all municipal investments in Ontario was $36 billion,” wrote author Gustavo Carvalho, the 2016-2017 Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. “However, returns were low; all municipalities reported, together, only $587 million in investment income for 2015, or 1.22 percent of their combined revenues and 2.06 percent of their non-property tax revenue.”
Nearly half of Ontario municipal investment income in 2015 could be chalked up to Toronto, Canada’s most populous city.
The province has already passed legislation that would put Toronto on the prudent investor standard, with the new rules to come fully into effect at the start of 2018.
The new prudent investor standard is still not scheduled to come into effect anywhere else in Ontario. The province may ultimately not allow entirely laissez-faire investing either, as the government says there are still more rules to come.
“The future regulation would outline how municipalities would be eligible and invest under the prudent investor standard,” said Spezowka. “Municipalities would have to satisfy requirements set out in the future regulation to be eligible to invest under the prudent investor standard.”
It will also be a buyer-beware situation for municipalities looking to diversify, and the province should pass regulations to make sure cities have the right “tools,” Carvalho says in his report, which notes the bankruptcy of Orange County, Calif., in the 1990s.
“In the end, no regime of municipal investments can account for all possible situations of misconduct, fraud, or incompetence,” he wrote. “Nor would this be a desirable situation; a truly ‘fool-proof’ system would be so restrictive as to make any investments an almost impossible task.”
gzochodne@postmedia.com |
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A family is suing the Boy Scouts of America, claiming the organization discriminated against their 15-year-old son who has low functioning Down Syndrome and autism.
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Logan Blythe has spent years completing as many tasks as possible to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
His sash is filled with more than 20 merit badges he's earned.
In November, the Utah National Parks Council approved Logan's Eagle Scout rank.
"When we actually got the approval, he was so elated and the three people that approved it actually took pictures of it because he was so happy and overjoyed," said Chad Blythe, Logan's father.
He tells FOX 13, just a day later, it was taken away.
"We contacted national, and national said, no," Chad Blythe said.
Logan's low functioning Down syndrome prevents him from doing some of the tasks the Boy Scouts require to earn the Eagle Scout rank.
His father described how Logan's disability impacts his efforts to earn the swimming badge.
"I need to be able to ask, 'Logan, dive to the bottom of the pool buddy, can you grab that?' He won't do it. Why? Because his mental state is the equivalent of a 4-year-old," Chad Blythe said.
Because Logan can't complete those tasks, the family says the Boy Scouts of America won't honor the badges Logan has earned, locally.
Blythe believes the Boy Scouts should make exceptions for children with disabilities.
"There are plenty of instances where there are kids out there that just can't do certain things, that doesn't mean they get excluded from it."
FOX 13 reached out to the Boy Scouts of America for a comment.
They replied with a statement saying, in part, "We worked with the committee and the Blythe family to offer Logan a path to earning alternative merit badges based on his abilities, as well as the option to work toward his Eagle rank past the age of 18."
But the Blythes say that doesn't go far enough, and because of his limitations, Logan can't do what's required to earn the alternative badges.
Logan, who once loved the work he did with the Scouts, hasn't been to a meeting since learning he isn't getting honored with the Eagle rank.
"He won't put on his scout uniform now. He doesn't want to go near it," Chad Blythe said.
The lawsuit seeks damages of at least one dollar. The Blythe's say this isn't about money. They want their son to feel included and have the same opportunities as everyone else.
They fear, even if this leads to a positive resolution, Logan won't go back to the Scouts because this incident has been so traumatic.
The complete statement from the Boy Scouts of America:
"We continue to work closely with our Disabilities Awareness Committee, which is tasked with making sure Scouts with disabilities can actively participate in Scouting activities.
We worked with the committee and the Blythe family to offer Logan a path to earning alternative merit badges based on his abilities, as well as the option to work toward his Eagle rank past the age of 18 by completing the 'Request for Registration Beyond the Age of Eligibility'. This specific request is focused on supporting Scouts with permanent and severe disabilities so as to allow them to continue working toward an Eagle rank indefinitely." |
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The long-suffering teachers of the Oklahoma City Public School District received good news this week when the district board voted to retroactively raise their pay for this school year. This decision wasn’t just good news for the teachers – if we build on this example, it will be good for all Oklahomans.
The heated debate about the imperative of reforming teacher compensation in Oklahoma has never centered on who is truly responsible for how much public school teachers are paid. State legislators don’t make that decision – all they do is set the minimum salary schedule. Local school boards set teacher pay, and they have chosen to spend on everything other than paying teachers. Over the last 25 years, the state has more than doubled appropriations for common education – we appropriate over $1.2 billion more than we did in 1992.
If you prefer to look at spending per student, adjusted for inflation, we spend 26 percent more per student. How much of that increase went to teachers? They got, in real dollars, a 4-percent hike in pay. We can debate whether the money was spent wisely – there’s no doubt the cash didn’t go to pay teachers.
The districts always have the power to pay teachers more than the minimum – which is why some districts pay more than others. But rather than looking hard at their non-instructional spending, they instead want the Legislature to raise the minimum pay scale and then fully fund the cost of the mandated increase. In other words, they will pay teachers more only if you force them and they don’t have to give up anything else. Teachers just aren’t their first priority.
The only way to reform this dysfunctional culture is to stop thinking that the Legislature is responsible for funding and running Oklahoma public schools. The Legislature should have two jobs. First, it should guarantee a base level of funding to all districts to ensure that communities that are too poor to pay for a minimally adequate education can do so. Second, the Legislature should supply the funding for satisfying, ideally, the few mandates they impose on districts. If, as it should, the state requires schools to give its students state exams, the state should pay the cost for writing and administering the tests.
Every school district should aspire to offer far more than the minimum – and most districts will. Local school boards – and the people who elect them – should be primarily responsible for the quality of their schools, which includes providing the funds necessary for an excellent education. The Legislature’s job is to make sure that each district has the freedom to hire, pay, manage, and evaluate teachers the way it thinks best. Oklahomans will flock to districts that choose to invest more in excellent teaching.
But, as vital as it is, freedom won’t pay the bills. The Legislature must also make sure that school districts have the funding capacity to spend more on education. It must reform the laws and constitutional provisions that now inhibit communities from spending property tax dollars on school operations and make it unreasonably difficult for citizens of these communities to decide to tax themselves more to improve the education of their children. I’ve heard many legislators pledge their fealty to the principle of local control. They have the power to make that ideal a living reality. They should use it.
Andrew Spiropoulos is the Robert S. Kerr, Sr. Professor of Constitutional Law at Oklahoma City University and the Milton Friedman Distinguished Fellow at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and should not be attributed to either institution. |
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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women by claiming religious or moral objections, issuing new rules Friday that take another step in rolling back the Obama health care law.
The new policy is a long-expected revision to federal rules that require most companies to cover birth control as preventive care for women, at no additional cost. Preventive services are supposed to be free of charge to employees and their dependents under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Trump’s religious and moral exemption is expected to galvanize both his opponents and religious conservatives that back him, but it’s likely to have a limited impact on America’s largely secular workplaces. Most women no longer pay for birth control, and advocates immediately announced plans to try to block the new rule in court.
Although tens of thousands of women could be affected by Trump’s new policy, the vast majority of companies have no qualms about offering birth control benefits through their health plans. Human resource managers recognize that employers get an economic benefit from helping women space out their pregnancies, since female workers are central to most enterprises.
The administration estimated that some 200 employers who have already voiced objections to the Obama-era policy would qualify for the expanded opt-out, and that 120,000 women would be affected. However, it’s unclear how major religious-affiliated employers such as Catholic hospitals and universities will respond.
Since contraception became a covered preventive benefit, the share of women employees paying their own money for birth control pills has plunged to under 4 percent, from 21 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The Trump administration’s revision broadens a religious exemption that previously applied to houses of worship, religiously affiliated nonprofit groups, and closely-held private companies. Administration officials said the new policy defends religious freedom. Privately owned for-profit companies, as well as publicly-traded for-profit companies will be able to seek an exemption.
Officials also said the administration is tightening oversight of how plans sold under the health law cover abortion. With limited exceptions, abortions can only be paid for through a separate premium collected from enrollees. No public subsidies can be used, except in cases that involve rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother.
Doctors’ groups that were key to derailing Republican plans to repeal the health law outright expressed dismay over the administration’s move on birth control.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the new policy could reverse the recent progress in lowering the nation’s rate of unintended pregnancies.
“Instead of fulfilling its mission ‘to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans,’ HHS leaders under the current administration are focused on turning back the clock on women’s health,” said the organization’s president, Dr. Haywood Brown.
Women’s groups said they would try to stop the administration from carrying out the changes.
“The rules give employers a license to discriminate against women,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center. “We will take immediate legal steps to block these unfair and discriminatory rules.”
Administration officials said the new policy takes effect right away.
(Copyright (c) 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) |
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MORLEY — The battle for first place was tight in both boys and girls big divisions on Saturday at the Mohawk Relays, but Chippewa Hills boys coach Casey […]
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A 28-year-old soccer coach at Vernon Hills High School was charged with sexual assault after allegedly engaging in "unlawful sexual acts" with at least two boys, police said in a statement on Saturday.Cori Beard, of Vernon Hills, is a part-time assistant coach for both the boys and girls soccer teams at Vernon Hills High School, police said. She has been employed by District 128 since 2013.Beard allegedly had a sexual relationship with the boys, who currently attend Vernon Hills High School, between December 2016 and February 2018. Police do not believe the sexual encounters happened on school property.The investigation began when high school administrators contacted police on Thursday about a possible relationship between Beard and a student.When investigators interviewed Beard Thursday night, the investigation expanded to include other students.She was charged with 12 counts of criminal sexual assault and is being held at the Lake County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond. Authorities said more charges involving a third student could be filed.She is scheduled to appear in court on March 13.School District 128 officials have activated their Crisis Team and will make counselors available to students and staff immediately, police said.Vernon Hills parents said the allegations are alarming."My kids will be in high school in a few short years, and it's an eye opener for me," said parent Layne Craft.District 128 released the following statement Saturday:"The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority, and Community High School District 128 regrets the pain some individuals may be experiencing as a result of recent allegations made regarding the conduct of District 128 employee Cori Beard. Beard was employed by District 128 since the 2013-14 school year, most recently as an assistant boys and girls soccer coach at Vernon Hills High School.Upon learning of her possible criminal conduct involving a student, the Administration, working cooperatively with the Police Department, took measures to assure that Beard would have no further contact with students or staff. The District 128 Board of Education will take action on Beard's dismissal at its next meeting.District 128 Administrators are continuing to cooperate with the Vernon Hills Police regarding this investigation. The District is providing counseling services to students and staff, and encourages anyone with information regarding this investigation to contact the Vernon Hills Police Department. Anyone hesitant to bring information forward to the police is encouraged to talk to a VHHS teacher, school official or counselor. They may also have a family member, friend or advocate report information on their behalf."Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact the Vernon Hills Police Department at 847-247-4884 or contact a teacher, counselor or other school official. |
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Police appeal to help build a timeline of events surrounding the murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail
Alesha's body was found by a member of the public in woodland on the Isle of Bute on Monday. |
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The timing is ironic due to its proximity to the recent blocked attempt to acquire Qualcomm, but Broadcom is "in great shape" financially, says Michael Robinson of Money Morning. |
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DETROIT (AP) — Kameron Chatman had 21 points with eight rebounds to lead all five Detroit Mercy starters in double-figure scoring in a 74-60 victory over IUPUI on Friday night.
Chatman, who had four assists and three steals, scored 12 points in the first half when Detroit took a 38-28 lead after shooting 52 percent and leading by as many at 18.
The Titans led the entire game and made 8 of 19 3-point tries. Roschon Prince and Josh McFolley added 14 points with McFolley making four of the Titans' 11 steals. DeShawndre Black scored 13 points and Cole Long 12 with seven assists for the Titans (7-17, 3-8 Horizon).
Jaylen Minnett led the Jaguars (7-15, 4-7), who have lost four straight, with four 3-pointers for his 12 points. IUPUI didn't get closer than seven in the second half.
The victory avenged an 81-66 loss at IUPUI on Jan. 16.
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Assessing Donald Trump’s proposed economic policies in a recent article for the Weekly Standard magazine, economist Irwin Stelzer defended protectionism, but criticized displays of what he called the “Caudillo Capitalism” often seen in authoritarian regimes.
Protectionism has always been part of capitalist theory and practice. Adam Smith, arguably the founder of free trade, clearly defended retaliation against countries that imposed tariffs. Stelzer quotes Smith on lifting tariffs after a period of successfully imposing them: “The recovery of a great foreign market will generally more than compensate the transitory inconvenience of paying dearer during a short time for some sorts of goods.”
If theory allows for tariffs, the real world justifies them. Chinese factories, for example, are heavily subsidized with capital from highly subsidized state banks. Those factories sell goods at prices made even lower by the manipulation of currency. Moreover, the Chinese-made goods Americans buy at Wal-Mart and elsewhere are manufactured by a labor force that works under conditions we find intolerable for U.S. workers.
We also live in a world, Stelzer wrote, where “the price of capital is determined by central banks, and the price of labor is set in an unequal bargain between the workman/seller of labor and the buyer, especially now that the power of trade unions in industries manufacturing tradable goods is not what it once was.”
Moreover, politicians cannot ignore a public sense that the trading system is working against the middle class. But if some form of protectionism is tolerable under the theory of capitalism, the type of “Caudillo Capitalism” that President-elect Donald Trump may instill is not.
How credit scores predict what you will buy next (2:22) For decades, FICO has used big data and mathematical algorithms to calculate people's three-digit credit scores. Now it's using the same technology to predict whether a consumer's likely to buy a product in-store or click on a link online.
Imposing tariffs results from a formal political process, after all. But executives of companies seeking deals like the one Trump gave to the Carrier Corporation UTX, -0.84% are already saying they will stay at Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C. CEO’s may also pander to an interventionist president rather than make the most efficient use of capital. Therein, Stelzer says, “lies the basis of Maduro’s Venezuela, the Castro’s Cuba, Putin’s Russia, and other failed economies.”
Indeed, such pay-to-play behavior is presumably what distressed many voters about the Clinton Foundation, which contributed to Hillary Clinton’s defeat.
Columnist Felix Salmon puts America’s possible direction plainly when he writes that “what we’re experiencing now is a dizzying move to a Russia-style capitalism where, more than ever, success in business is associated with being close to the government and to the family of the president.” The tech summit in December, where technology business leaders gathered at Trump Tower, was a good example, Salmon says, of CEOs knowing how to voice support for the new administration because this type of capitalism is “depressingly common in other parts of the world.”
Salmon predicts that the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month will bring “capitulation” and resignation among business and economic leaders to the realities of Trump’s election and the “rise of isolationism and nativism around the world.” Global elites, Salmon adds, have always succeeded by working with governments, not via principled stances against them.
The transition to a Trump administration is progressing, and yet there is a legitimate sense of unease that the U.S. is entering into a political phase that represents a momentous break with its past. Presidents have not traditionally told CEOs how to run their businesses in the U.S. — that’s one reason why the U.S. is one of the least-corrupt countries in the world. |
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Music Live Review: A Magical Edinburgh Launch by In the Pink By
As a visiting student whose time is wrapping up in Oxford, I’ve started to think back on all the moments that I’ll remember most from my short eight-week stint here. Will it be my fourteenth essay of the term or my twentieth formal hall? Probably not. But amongst the memories that keep coming to mind is one that I didn’t expect to seek out in Oxford – an acapella show. I know you’re probably rolling your eyes because everyone you know is in some kind of acapella group nowadays, but the Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them performance by In The Pink was really more than your average gig. From the music, to the atmosphere, to the sense of community, this group embodied the best of collegiate arts and should be supported proudly by the Oxford community. Now they are raising funds to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and I encourage all of you to chip in to help them best represent our campus music scene.
So how good was this show anyway? Let’s start with the atmosphere. After hearing of the performance from a fellow student in Keble, I decided to make the long trek to The Mad Hatter. Not knowing what to expect, I was warmly greeted upon entry by the group of performers wearing their snappy pink jackets. The small venue was warm and inviting, and the bar offered a wide range of wacky drinks to go along with the Harry Potter theme. By the time the music started, the room was tightly filled and buzzing with energy from the eclectic mix of students, parents, and locals. These women were clearly professional and knew how to run an event that was just as much about the ambiance as it was about the vocals.
Then came the top notch performance. With acts at the beginning, middle, and end of the open mic session, In The Pick commanded the stage with a superb set list that showed off the very best of their entire crew. Solo performances from their newest members added character to the event, giving the audience a chance to see the group’s unique personality. And in an unexpected twist, their open mic sessions brought forward a diverse set of performers from both the university and the community. They ultimately struck the perfect balance of showing off their vocal talent, while also giving the event a uniquely communal flair.
I could ramble on about how much I appreciated all of the effort that clearly went into planning the event, but the obvious point is that these women really care about their small, yet spunky group. We should be proud of the work they put forward to make our community an even more vibrant place. Do make sure to catch one of their performances before your time on campus comes to an end, and I strongly encourage you to contribute to their Edinburgh Fringe Festival performance so that they can represent the best of Oxford’s musical life.
You can check out the Fantastic Beats and Where To Find Them music video, and donate to the girls’ crowdfund here: https://somerville.hubbub.net/p/inthepink-edfringe/supporters/ |
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"Dan's experience in scaling digital product development and audience insights for high-growth organizations is a huge asset to Observer Media," said James Karklins, President of Observer Media. "We have plans to do big things in 2018, with continued expansion of our brands nationally, and I'm thrilled to have such a visionary product leader join our team to bring cutting-edge products to our audience."
Entin noted, "I'm extremely excited by this opportunity to return to my roots and join a growing media company with a strong brand, fantastic content and huge digital upside. Together with James and the rest of the excellent Observer Media leadership team I'm confident we can build great products for our users and advertisers."
Entin brings more than 14 years of experience managing product development and strategy in leading media and content brands. Prior to joining Observer Media, Dan was a VP of Product at Gartner with responsibility for building Peer Insights, a new platform for ratings and reviews of IT software by and for technology professionals, which was one of the fastest growing business units in the company. Dan has also held product management leadership roles at Google, Zagat and About.com where he took several new digital products to market.
About Observer Media
Observer Media is a diversified media, information and services company with interests in digital media such as Observer and Commercial Observer, and information platforms including Realgraph.
About Observer
Observer is a digital media property, chronicling the world's power players in business, policy, entertainment, technology, art, travel, real estate and dining. Through credible, authoritative and thought-leadership content, Observer inspires and challenges an urban audience of global thinkers, business leaders and luxury consumers.
About Commercial Observer
Commercial Observer is a leading commercial real estate media property. Its content, events, and platforms connect and inform industry participants of the key trends and leaders defining the global real estate landscape.
About Realgraph
RealGraph, a digital platform launched in 2017, connects commercial industry real estate professionals and businesses.
CONTACT: Merin Curotto, 212-407-9398, mcurotto@observer.co
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When Amari Hall went through his fifth heart surgery in 15 years in March, his family prayed that it would finally be his last. The Maryland teenager, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, underwent a transplant to replace his own failing heart. In the months since the surgery, he has become a viral sensation, thanks to video his aunt, Charawn Hunter, shot of him dancing in celebration of his new chance at life. Amari’s impromptu dancing came just six days after his transplant, his family told CNN. “We put the music on, and he started dancing,” Hunter said. Nurses caring for Amari joined in on the video, which Hunter posted to her Facebook page last month for friends inspired by the “awesome Amari.” “We would like the world to see how awesome he is,” Hunter wrote. “He loves LeBron, but I know he’s busy, but please help me (in) making his video go viral.” Go viral it did, with the video seen more than six million times as of this week. Hunter continued to post videos of Amari’s progress, including one on May 22, when he was released from the University of Maryland’s Children’s Hospital in Baltimore. “Amari’s breaking out of the hospital,” Hunter wrote on Facebook. The video shows members of Amari’s medical team telling him goodbye. There were plenty of hugs, tears, laughter -- and dancing. “Thank you, everybody. Y’all have been very nice to me. I love you, all of y’all,” Amari said. “I’m gonna miss all of y’all.” “We love you, too,” a woman said off-camera. ‘All his life, he has been a fighter’ Amari first showed signs of his congenital heart defect two days after his birth. A profile of Amari by Save the Heartbeat, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those born with heart defects, indicated that a doctor noticed his unusual breathing as he was being discharged. Doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that the newborn had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a condition in which the left side of a person’s heart is underdeveloped. >> Read more trending stories According to Save the Heartbeat, a healthy heart works like this: The right side of the heart pumps oxygen-depleted blood from the heart to the lungs, which fill it with oxygen. The left side of the heart then pumps the oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body, which uses that oxygen to survive. A newborn’s heart has two small openings that allow blood to move between the two sides of the heart during gestation, but those holes close within days of birth. In a baby with HLHS, blood can bypass the underdeveloped left side of the heart through those openings. When they close, the heart can no longer properly send oxygenated blood to the rest of the body, and the child begins showing symptoms of the defect, which include strained breathing, trouble feeding and an ashy or dusky appearance. Amari had the first of his heart surgeries to save his life at 5 days old, Save the Heartbeat’s profile said. He had multiple additional surgeries before his second birthday. “He missed a lot of his childhood milestones,” his mother, Juaquinna Hall, told CNN. Through multiple hospitalizations, missed school and being away from home and his peers, Amari has remained positive, she said. “All his life, he has been a fighter,” Hall said. Hall recounted the doctor’s visit in December, in which she and her son learned that his troubled heart was failing. “He looked at me, and he said, ‘What are you afraid of? It’s my time. I need to have this done,’” Hall told CNN. It took three months for doctors to find a compatible heart for Amari, who remained positive even as he was being wheeled into the operating room, his mother said. “He made the nurses pray for him,” Hall said. Hunter, who calls Amari her hero for all he has bravely endured, said Wednesday that he is recovering well and adjusting to his new heart. “He is doing well and still dancing,” Hunter said. |
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Thousands of people have signed a petition to prevent the closure of one of the UK’s largest independent Hindu faith schools, the Swaminarayan School in London. The Akshar Educational Trust, which runs the school set up in 1992, had announced its closure last month as part of plans to exit the education sector completely by July 2020. Parents of students associated with the school have now organised a campaign to save the “school of excellence” from closure.
“In a letter to parents, a spokesperson for the school blamed ‘increasing regulatory requirements, difficulties in recruitment and retention of teachers, ready availability of free state-funded Hindu schools, and declining pupil numbers’ for the move. This is simply not true,” notes the Change.org petition, which has attracted nearly 3,500 signatures since last week. “Sensitivity analysis of accounts by experts suggests that with restructuring it is possible for school to run for the foreseeable future,” it notes.
The parents, who have coordinated into a save-the-school campaign, say that many Indian-origin families have moved, relocated and changed their way of life to enable their children to get an education within the ethos and culture of Hinduism at the respected Swaminarayan School in Neasden, north-west London. “Parents are more than happy to consider taking over the running of the school by appointing new teams who will give due consideration to the communities and families that are being disrupted by this announcement,” the parents said in a statement.
The school has been very popular within the large Indian-origin community based in the borough of Brent, many of whom are happy to pay the GBP 4,310 per-term fees to enrol their children. But the trust running it said that mounting pressures in recent years had hampered its ability to invest in the resources required to sustain the improvements needed in the school, both educationally and for its infrastructure.
The institution, opened by Pramukh Swami Maharaj alongside the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir to “promote Hindu and British culture and values and way of life”, has around 400 pupils between the ages of three and 18 currently on its rolls.
The trustees had unveiled plans for closure in two phases in order to allow parents time to apply to other schools. However, parents are furious at the lack of consultation before the announcement was made. “The school is not a business, where a decision like this can just be made and announced… the team of governors and trustees just seem to have had enough and this is now the easiest option for them,” the parents said.
They have received the backing of Indian-origin Labour party MP, Seema Malhotra, who said she is “saddened” by the news of the closure. “The Swaminarayan School has a strong reputation and has been highly valued by parents and the community. I hope that through discussions between parents, teachers, governors and trustees that a solution can be found and the school is able to stay open and continue to flourish,” she said.
Under the UK’s educational system, privately-run faith schools must follow a national curriculum but can have a particular religious character or formal links with a religious organisation. They are allowed to have different admissions criteria and staffing policies from state-funded schools.
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New Delhi: As many as 253 (14 percent) candidates in the fray in Gujarat Assembly elections have declared criminal cases against them, with three candidates facing charges related to murder, 17 related to attempt to murder, and four related to rape, an ADR-Gujarat Election Watch report said on Monday.
The non-profit Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), along with Gujarat Election Watch, has prepared the report by analysing information furnished by 1,815 of the 1,828 candidates.
In the 2012 Gujarat elections, out of 1,283 candidates analysed, 222 (17 percent) had criminal cases declared against them, the report said.
"As many as 154 (8 percent) candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including ones related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women. In the 2012 assembly elections in Gujarat, 92 (7 percent) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves," it said.
It said that seven candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping.
Among the major parties, 46 (25 percent) out of 181 candidates are from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), while 56 (32 percent) out of 176 candidates are from Congress, 17 (12 percent) out of 138 candidates are from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 9 (16 percent) are out of 57 candidates from Nationalist Congress Party, 4 (14 percent) out of 28 candidates from Aam Aadmi Party, and 65 (8 percent) out of 791 Independent candidates analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Out of the 1,815 candidates, 418 (23 percent) are multi-millionaires, and among the major parties, 147 (81 percent) out of 181 candidates are from BJP, 129 (73 percent) out of 176 candidates from Congress, 5 (4 percent) out of 138 candidates from BSP, and 11 (39 percent) out of 28 candidates from AAP, the report said. |
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NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Accompanied for the first time by his wife of more than 50 years, Bill Cosby walked into a courthouse Tuesday morning ahead of closing arguments in his sexual assault retrial.
Camille Cosby had been absent from the courtroom as prosecutors called a series of women to the stand who testified her husband drugged and sexually assaulted them, but she was by his side Tuesday for the trial's conclusion.
The jury that will start deliberating Cosby's fate has heard the comedian described over the past two weeks both as a "serial rapist" and a con artist's victim.
They have seen a half-dozen accusers testify that the man once revered as "America's Dad" had a sordid secret life that involved preying on women for his own sexual gratification. And they have heard from a witness who says his chief accuser talked about framing a high-profile person to score a big payday.
Now, seven men and five women who have been kept in a suburban Philadelphia hotel, away from family, friends and daily routines, will get to have their say in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.
"You now have all of the evidence," Judge Steven O'Neill told them after Cosby's lawyers rested on Monday without calling the 80-year-old comedian to the stand. "Try to relax, so that you're on your game tomorrow."
Jurors could be in for a marathon.
Before going off to deliberate, they will hear both sides rehash the case in lengthy closing arguments, and they will get O'Neill's instructions in the law.
Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault - all stemming from Andrea Constand's allegations that he knocked her out with three pills he called "your friends" and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.
Each count carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Cosby has said he gave Constand 1½ tablets of the over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to help her relax before what he called a consensual sexual encounter.
The jury in Cosby's first trial weighed the evidence for more than 52 hours over six days without reaching a verdict.
This time, both sides have given the retrial jury much more to consider.
Prosecutors were able to call five additional accusers who testified that Cosby also drugged and violated them - including one woman who asked him through her tears, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?"
Cosby's new defense team, led by Michael Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau, countered with a far more robust effort at stoking doubts about Constand's credibility and raising questions about whether Cosby's arrest was even legal.
The defense's star witness was a former colleague of Constand who says Constand spoke of leveling false sexual assault accusations against a high-profile person for the purpose of filing a civil suit. Constand got a civil settlement of nearly $3.4 million from Cosby.
Both juries also heard from Cosby himself - not on the witness stand, but via an explosive deposition he gave in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand's civil suit against him. In it, Cosby acknowledged he gave the sedative quaaludes to women before sex in the 1970s.
Cosby's lawyers devoted the last two days of their case to travel records they say prove he could not have been at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. They argue that any encounter there with Constand would have happened earlier, outside the statute of limitations.
Cosby's private jet records and travel itineraries produced by Cosby's lawyers do not show any flights in or out of the Philadelphia area in January 2004, but they have large gaps - a total of 17 days that month in which Cosby was not traveling, performing or taping TV appearances.
District Attorney Kevin Steele noted that the records do not account for other ways Cosby could have gotten to Philadelphia.
"You can't tell us whether he got on a commercial flight," Steele said, questioning a defense aviation expert. "You can't tell us whether he got on a train. You can't tell us whether he got in a car and drove to Philadelphia."
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.
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This story has been corrected to show that jury deliberations in the first trial took place over six days, not five.
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Follow Mike Sisak at https://twitter.com/mikesisak .
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For more coverage visit https://www.apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial . |
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Professional athlete is one of the few careers that requires a person to be good both at a job and at a completely unrelated skill: handling attention. You can be the best accountant in the world and still toil in obscurity, but if you are a pitcher who wants to face elite hitters, you must be able to do it with 40,000 people screaming at you and a dozen reporters clamoring to ask you probing questions afterward. Fans stop you on the street, and teammates expect you to make speeches in the clubhouse. Strangers know your salary and receive instantaneous updates about your every bump and bruise, and they have opinions about all these things. You are famous whether you want to be or not.
The Washington Nationals’ ace feeds off that attention.
And the Washington Nationals’ ace would prefer to be left alone.
Most postseason teams have at least one topline No. 1 starter. The Nationals have two. You can shuffle them and deal them in either order. Ideally, when the playoff rotation is announced, Max Scherzer would pitch Game 1 and Stephen Strasburg Game 2. A hamstring tweak in his final regular-season start means Scherzer will be pushed back a game or two—but Strasburg will slide right in, with better pure stuff than any other No. 2 starter in the postseason.
Washington has not won a playoff series since the franchise relocated from Montreal in 2005. This year’s team boasts the best young position player in the game not named Trout, rightfielder Bryce Harper; another MVP candidate, third baseman Anthony Rendon; and a deep rotation behind Scherzer and Strasburg, with lefthander Gio González at No. 3 and Tanner Roark at No. 4. But whether the Nationals succeed in October will depend on their two aces.
As they will on the mound, they follow each other across the NL pitcher leader boards: Scherzer, 33, is second in strikeouts per nine innings, with 12.0; Strasburg, 29, is fifth (10.5); Strasburg is first in fielding-independent pitching, at 2.72, Scherzer is second (2.90); Scherzer has been worth a league-best 7.2 wins above replacement, Strasburg is third (6.4).
This is the one-two punch the team envisioned when it selected Strasburg with the first pick of the 2009 draft and signed Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million deal before the ’15 season. But the pair’s success wasn’t always a foregone conclusion.
Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images
****
Tony Vitello liked the lanky righthander almost immediately. A few hours into his official recruiting visit to Missouri, in his senior year of high school, Max cajoled the coach with the heat-averse palette into ordering the Diablo pasta at a local restaurant. “He spent the rest of the meal laughing at me because I was sweating like crazy,” says Vitello , now the head coach at Tennessee and one of Scherzer’s close friends.
Scherzer does not tread lightly in unfamiliar surroundings or with new acquaintances. The July before the pitcher signed with Washington, leftfielder Jayson Werth was clocked driving 105 mph in a 55-mph zone a few miles northeast of Nationals Park. He eventually served five days in jail the following January. Early in spring training, Scherzer’s first with the team, Werth was serenaded by his new teammate, who had written a rap about the event. “I had to,” says Scherzer through peals of laughter.
He quickly inserted himself into the team culture. He organized a March Madness pool, a rollicking auction-based contest that he generally wins.
Werth: “He thinks he’s good at math.”
Scherzer: “I am good at math. Especially compared to someone who’s been to jail.”
Scherzer counsels young players and drives coaches crazy with incessant chatter on the bench. “He’s inquisitive on every pitch, every swing, every cutoff man hit,” says pitching coach Mike Maddux. “My ears are tired! Sometimes I walk away and get a drink of water.”
Scherzer takes pride in creating an enjoyable atmosphere; the grind of the season is much more tolerable if people are having fun. Of course, fun often comes from winning, and Scherzer knows that better than most.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
****
For Strasburg, atmosphere was secondary. At West Hills High School, he regularly compensated for the weak defense behind him by whiffing double-digit batters. If I have to do it all myself, I will, he decided. By his junior year at San Diego State, he was throwing 102 mph and had the Nationals—who had the first pick in the draft—salivating. He set attendance records nearly everywhere he went in the minors, and ESPN broadcast parts of his Double A debut. He was aghast when reporters began contacting his family without his permission.
Three hundred sixty-four days after he was drafted, Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his major league debut against the Pirates. Hungry writers begged him to open up, but he described his debut as “just another week.” For D.C. fans Strasmas came every five days that season—until August, when he underwent Tommy John surgery.
He came back a year later, and in spring training of 2012, GM Mike Rizzo laid out the team’s plan for Strasburg: He would pitch on a regular schedule and throw 160 innings, and then he would be done, no matter what. Strasburg spent the season alternating between tossing gems (28 starts, 197 K’s) and walking upstairs to Rizzo’s office to plead his case for more action. I’m fine, he insisted. Let me pitch.
The 2012 Strasburg Shutdown became the main topic of conversation for fans in D.C. Armchair GMs criticized the perennial doormat that had the temerity to believe this wouldn’t be its only shot. Pundits questioned Strasburg’s will to win. He began having trouble sleeping. In the end the media coverage became so relentless that the team shut him down a start early. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to accept it, to be honest,” he told reporters after his last outing. “You don’t grow up dreaming of playing in the big leagues to get shut down when the games start to matter.” He watched glumly from the bench as the Cardinals eliminated Washington in five games in the division series.
Between the Tommy John surgery and a series of other, more minor ailments—a strained lat muscle, a left-oblique strain, an upper-back strain, right-elbow soreness, a right-flexor-mass strain—Strasburg has only pitched one postseason game, a five-inning battle in Game 1 of the 2014 NLDS, a 3–2 loss to the Giants. His numbers are spectacular: His lifetime ERA is 3.07, and his strikeout rate—10.54—is third in history, after only Randy Johnson’s and Chris Sale’s. Yet he has never won a game that truly mattered.
In high school he would kick the dirt and throw his glove when he got frustrated. Aztecs coaches taught him to rein himself in, but then they became concerned that he’d become too cool. Today the Nats laud his poker face. But beneath that still surface lurks a mind that is churning.
“The difference between them is that Max says it,” Maddux says. “Stras thinks it.”
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
****
Scherzer has had plenty of time to think about the low point of his career. It was not when the Diamondbacks—the team that had drafted him with the 11th pick three years earlier—traded him to the Tigers in 2009. It was not the next May, when he was demoted to Triple A Toledo to rebuild his mechanics. And it was not even the moment, 18 months later, when manager Jim Leyland trudged to the mound to remove him from a decisive ALCS Game 6 in which he allowed six runs in 21⁄3 innings against the Rangers. The worst days of Scherzer’s career followed that outing, when he reflected on what he had become.
“I had lost the drive to get better,” he says. “I thought just being good was good enough.”
Success on the mound had not come easily for him. At the University of Missouri, Scherzer was all potential, not much polish—high-90s heat but no control over his body. His hat would fly off when his front foot landed. “It was flip a coin if he was gonna have his delivery under control enough to throw strikes,” says Vitello, “much less put it where he wanted to.”
In the majors he relied heavily on his fastball and a solid slider, but his secondary pitches were inconsistent. Some scouts ticketed him for the bullpen. It wasn’t until late 2010 that Scherzer finally felt comfortable on the mound—too comfortable. That was the season of the ALCS flameout. He resolved never to let that happen again.
Scherzer spent that offseason poring over analytics and refining his slider. He increased his strikeout rate by nearly 50%, to better than 11 per nine, and a year later added a curveball. In 2013 he won the AL Cy Young Award.
Now Scherzer tinkers all the time. He devours Strasburg’s outings too. (“I’ll never have a curveball like his,” Scherzer says. “I just try to pay attention to the little things.”) In one of his final regular-season starts—with an eye toward the extended workload he expects in October—Scherzer asked manager Dusty Baker to leave him in the game for 110 pitches no matter how he was doing. He gave up seven runs in seven innings, but declared the outing a success.
“I’ve always said you learn more about yourself after pitch 100 than you do in the first 100,” Scherzer said after the game. “Well, this is time to learn.”
****
Scherzer hit his first career home run in August—a three-run shot against the Marlins after he pulled back a bunt—and returned to the dugout to the silent treatment. He high-fived the air, shouted a string of expletives and then yelled to the position players, “It ain’t that tough!”
Strasburg has hit three career homers, two this season. He usually declines fist bumps. “Do you even enjoy your own walk-up song?” Roark asked him. “Don’t know what it is,” Strasburg said.
Strasburg is no robot. But he generally prefers his punch lines served cold. The first time he and Scherzer played golf together, Scherzer spent much of the outing teasing Strasburg for using a neon-green ball—“a putt-putt ball,” Scherzer calls it. A few days later Scherzer opened his locker. Four dozen putt-putt balls rained down.
Scherzer’s signing could have been difficult for Strasburg. You can have more than one ace, but only one man can start Game 1 of the World Series. Yet people close to Strasburg say that he welcomed his new teammate. Scherzer’s arrival let Strasburg “share the spotlight,” says Rizzo. During his first spring training with Washington, Scherzer posed with Harper on the cover of this magazine alongside the line let’s do some damage. Reporters covering the team now flock to Scherzer.
Strasburg enjoys pressure, but he does not enjoy attention. This distinction is crucial. He is deeply private. “When I first got here, I wasn’t sure he could talk,” says Baker. Strasburg does not speak to the media the day before he starts, and if he could, he would extend that policy to cover every other day as well. He declined to comment for this story. Friends get his permission before going on the record—even to praise him. Scherzer’s presence lets Strasburg stick to what he likes to do: pitch.
Strasburg has realized, however, that while he could get away with keeping to himself as a 21-year-old phenom, he can’t as a 29-year-old veteran. Prospects have always followed him around like ducklings; these days he initiates conversations with them. He occasionally cracks a joke in a press conference. But perhaps his most significant transformation has come from understanding he doesn’t have to do it all alone.
On different days this October, an ace in Nationals red will stride to the mound under the glare of flashbulbs. He will have a long night ahead, between the game and then the frenzy of attention that comes after it. He will grip the ball and prepare to do something that comes naturally—and something else that he had to learn. |
|
Professional athlete is one of the few careers that requires a person to be good both at a job and at a completely unrelated skill: handling attention. You can be the best accountant in the world and still toil in obscurity, but if you are a pitcher who wants to face elite hitters, you must be able to do it with 40,000 people screaming at you and a dozen reporters clamoring to ask you probing questions afterward. Fans stop you on the street, and teammates expect you to make speeches in the clubhouse. Strangers know your salary and receive instantaneous updates about your every bump and bruise, and they have opinions about all these things. You are famous whether you want to be or not.
The Washington Nationals’ ace feeds off that attention.
And the Washington Nationals’ ace would prefer to be left alone.
Most postseason teams have at least one topline No. 1 starter. The Nationals have two. You can shuffle them and deal them in either order. Ideally, when the playoff rotation is announced, Max Scherzer would pitch Game 1 and Stephen Strasburg Game 2. A hamstring tweak in his final regular-season start means Scherzer will be pushed back a game or two—but Strasburg will slide right in, with better pure stuff than any other No. 2 starter in the postseason.
Washington has not won a playoff series since the franchise relocated from Montreal in 2005. This year’s team boasts the best young position player in the game not named Trout, rightfielder Bryce Harper; another MVP candidate, third baseman Anthony Rendon; and a deep rotation behind Scherzer and Strasburg, with lefthander Gio González at No. 3 and Tanner Roark at No. 4. But whether the Nationals succeed in October will depend on their two aces.
As they will on the mound, they follow each other across the NL pitcher leader boards: Scherzer, 33, is second in strikeouts per nine innings, with 12.0; Strasburg, 29, is fifth (10.5); Strasburg is first in fielding-independent pitching, at 2.72, Scherzer is second (2.90); Scherzer has been worth a league-best 7.2 wins above replacement, Strasburg is third (6.4).
This is the one-two punch the team envisioned when it selected Strasburg with the first pick of the 2009 draft and signed Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million deal before the ’15 season. But the pair’s success wasn’t always a foregone conclusion.
Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images
****
Tony Vitello liked the lanky righthander almost immediately. A few hours into his official recruiting visit to Missouri, in his senior year of high school, Max cajoled the coach with the heat-averse palette into ordering the Diablo pasta at a local restaurant. “He spent the rest of the meal laughing at me because I was sweating like crazy,” says Vitello , now the head coach at Tennessee and one of Scherzer’s close friends.
Scherzer does not tread lightly in unfamiliar surroundings or with new acquaintances. The July before the pitcher signed with Washington, leftfielder Jayson Werth was clocked driving 105 mph in a 55-mph zone a few miles northeast of Nationals Park. He eventually served five days in jail the following January. Early in spring training, Scherzer’s first with the team, Werth was serenaded by his new teammate, who had written a rap about the event. “I had to,” says Scherzer through peals of laughter.
He quickly inserted himself into the team culture. He organized a March Madness pool, a rollicking auction-based contest that he generally wins.
Werth: “He thinks he’s good at math.”
Scherzer: “I am good at math. Especially compared to someone who’s been to jail.”
Scherzer counsels young players and drives coaches crazy with incessant chatter on the bench. “He’s inquisitive on every pitch, every swing, every cutoff man hit,” says pitching coach Mike Maddux. “My ears are tired! Sometimes I walk away and get a drink of water.”
Scherzer takes pride in creating an enjoyable atmosphere; the grind of the season is much more tolerable if people are having fun. Of course, fun often comes from winning, and Scherzer knows that better than most.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
****
For Strasburg, atmosphere was secondary. At West Hills High School, he regularly compensated for the weak defense behind him by whiffing double-digit batters. If I have to do it all myself, I will, he decided. By his junior year at San Diego State, he was throwing 102 mph and had the Nationals—who had the first pick in the draft—salivating. He set attendance records nearly everywhere he went in the minors, and ESPN broadcast parts of his Double A debut. He was aghast when reporters began contacting his family without his permission.
Three hundred sixty-four days after he was drafted, Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his major league debut against the Pirates. Hungry writers begged him to open up, but he described his debut as “just another week.” For D.C. fans Strasmas came every five days that season—until August, when he underwent Tommy John surgery.
He came back a year later, and in spring training of 2012, GM Mike Rizzo laid out the team’s plan for Strasburg: He would pitch on a regular schedule and throw 160 innings, and then he would be done, no matter what. Strasburg spent the season alternating between tossing gems (28 starts, 197 K’s) and walking upstairs to Rizzo’s office to plead his case for more action. I’m fine, he insisted. Let me pitch.
The 2012 Strasburg Shutdown became the main topic of conversation for fans in D.C. Armchair GMs criticized the perennial doormat that had the temerity to believe this wouldn’t be its only shot. Pundits questioned Strasburg’s will to win. He began having trouble sleeping. In the end the media coverage became so relentless that the team shut him down a start early. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to accept it, to be honest,” he told reporters after his last outing. “You don’t grow up dreaming of playing in the big leagues to get shut down when the games start to matter.” He watched glumly from the bench as the Cardinals eliminated Washington in five games in the division series.
Between the Tommy John surgery and a series of other, more minor ailments—a strained lat muscle, a left-oblique strain, an upper-back strain, right-elbow soreness, a right-flexor-mass strain—Strasburg has only pitched one postseason game, a five-inning battle in Game 1 of the 2014 NLDS, a 3–2 loss to the Giants. His numbers are spectacular: His lifetime ERA is 3.07, and his strikeout rate—10.54—is third in history, after only Randy Johnson’s and Chris Sale’s. Yet he has never won a game that truly mattered.
In high school he would kick the dirt and throw his glove when he got frustrated. Aztecs coaches taught him to rein himself in, but then they became concerned that he’d become too cool. Today the Nats laud his poker face. But beneath that still surface lurks a mind that is churning.
“The difference between them is that Max says it,” Maddux says. “Stras thinks it.”
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
****
Scherzer has had plenty of time to think about the low point of his career. It was not when the Diamondbacks—the team that had drafted him with the 11th pick three years earlier—traded him to the Tigers in 2009. It was not the next May, when he was demoted to Triple A Toledo to rebuild his mechanics. And it was not even the moment, 18 months later, when manager Jim Leyland trudged to the mound to remove him from a decisive ALCS Game 6 in which he allowed six runs in 21⁄3 innings against the Rangers. The worst days of Scherzer’s career followed that outing, when he reflected on what he had become.
“I had lost the drive to get better,” he says. “I thought just being good was good enough.”
Success on the mound had not come easily for him. At the University of Missouri, Scherzer was all potential, not much polish—high-90s heat but no control over his body. His hat would fly off when his front foot landed. “It was flip a coin if he was gonna have his delivery under control enough to throw strikes,” says Vitello, “much less put it where he wanted to.”
In the majors he relied heavily on his fastball and a solid slider, but his secondary pitches were inconsistent. Some scouts ticketed him for the bullpen. It wasn’t until late 2010 that Scherzer finally felt comfortable on the mound—too comfortable. That was the season of the ALCS flameout. He resolved never to let that happen again.
Scherzer spent that offseason poring over analytics and refining his slider. He increased his strikeout rate by nearly 50%, to better than 11 per nine, and a year later added a curveball. In 2013 he won the AL Cy Young Award.
Now Scherzer tinkers all the time. He devours Strasburg’s outings too. (“I’ll never have a curveball like his,” Scherzer says. “I just try to pay attention to the little things.”) In one of his final regular-season starts—with an eye toward the extended workload he expects in October—Scherzer asked manager Dusty Baker to leave him in the game for 110 pitches no matter how he was doing. He gave up seven runs in seven innings, but declared the outing a success.
“I’ve always said you learn more about yourself after pitch 100 than you do in the first 100,” Scherzer said after the game. “Well, this is time to learn.”
****
Scherzer hit his first career home run in August—a three-run shot against the Marlins after he pulled back a bunt—and returned to the dugout to the silent treatment. He high-fived the air, shouted a string of expletives and then yelled to the position players, “It ain’t that tough!”
Strasburg has hit three career homers, two this season. He usually declines fist bumps. “Do you even enjoy your own walk-up song?” Roark asked him. “Don’t know what it is,” Strasburg said.
Strasburg is no robot. But he generally prefers his punch lines served cold. The first time he and Scherzer played golf together, Scherzer spent much of the outing teasing Strasburg for using a neon-green ball—“a putt-putt ball,” Scherzer calls it. A few days later Scherzer opened his locker. Four dozen putt-putt balls rained down.
Scherzer’s signing could have been difficult for Strasburg. You can have more than one ace, but only one man can start Game 1 of the World Series. Yet people close to Strasburg say that he welcomed his new teammate. Scherzer’s arrival let Strasburg “share the spotlight,” says Rizzo. During his first spring training with Washington, Scherzer posed with Harper on the cover of this magazine alongside the line let’s do some damage. Reporters covering the team now flock to Scherzer.
Strasburg enjoys pressure, but he does not enjoy attention. This distinction is crucial. He is deeply private. “When I first got here, I wasn’t sure he could talk,” says Baker. Strasburg does not speak to the media the day before he starts, and if he could, he would extend that policy to cover every other day as well. He declined to comment for this story. Friends get his permission before going on the record—even to praise him. Scherzer’s presence lets Strasburg stick to what he likes to do: pitch.
Strasburg has realized, however, that while he could get away with keeping to himself as a 21-year-old phenom, he can’t as a 29-year-old veteran. Prospects have always followed him around like ducklings; these days he initiates conversations with them. He occasionally cracks a joke in a press conference. But perhaps his most significant transformation has come from understanding he doesn’t have to do it all alone.
On different days this October, an ace in Nationals red will stride to the mound under the glare of flashbulbs. He will have a long night ahead, between the game and then the frenzy of attention that comes after it. He will grip the ball and prepare to do something that comes naturally—and something else that he had to learn. |
|
Professional athlete is one of the few careers that requires a person to be good both at a job and at a completely unrelated skill: handling attention. You can be the best accountant in the world and still toil in obscurity, but if you are a pitcher who wants to face elite hitters, you must be able to do it with 40,000 people screaming at you and a dozen reporters clamoring to ask you probing questions afterward. Fans stop you on the street, and teammates expect you to make speeches in the clubhouse. Strangers know your salary and receive instantaneous updates about your every bump and bruise, and they have opinions about all these things. You are famous whether you want to be or not.
The Washington Nationals’ ace feeds off that attention.
And the Washington Nationals’ ace would prefer to be left alone.
Most postseason teams have at least one topline No. 1 starter. The Nationals have two. You can shuffle them and deal them in either order. Ideally, when the playoff rotation is announced, Max Scherzer would pitch Game 1 and Stephen Strasburg Game 2. A hamstring tweak in his final regular-season start means Scherzer will be pushed back a game or two—but Strasburg will slide right in, with better pure stuff than any other No. 2 starter in the postseason.
Washington has not won a playoff series since the franchise relocated from Montreal in 2005. This year’s team boasts the best young position player in the game not named Trout, rightfielder Bryce Harper; another MVP candidate, third baseman Anthony Rendon; and a deep rotation behind Scherzer and Strasburg, with lefthander Gio González at No. 3 and Tanner Roark at No. 4. But whether the Nationals succeed in October will depend on their two aces.
As they will on the mound, they follow each other across the NL pitcher leader boards: Scherzer, 33, is second in strikeouts per nine innings, with 12.0; Strasburg, 29, is fifth (10.5); Strasburg is first in fielding-independent pitching, at 2.72, Scherzer is second (2.90); Scherzer has been worth a league-best 7.2 wins above replacement, Strasburg is third (6.4).
This is the one-two punch the team envisioned when it selected Strasburg with the first pick of the 2009 draft and signed Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million deal before the ’15 season. But the pair’s success wasn’t always a foregone conclusion.
Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images
****
Tony Vitello liked the lanky righthander almost immediately. A few hours into his official recruiting visit to Missouri, in his senior year of high school, Max cajoled the coach with the heat-averse palette into ordering the Diablo pasta at a local restaurant. “He spent the rest of the meal laughing at me because I was sweating like crazy,” says Vitello , now the head coach at Tennessee and one of Scherzer’s close friends.
Scherzer does not tread lightly in unfamiliar surroundings or with new acquaintances. The July before the pitcher signed with Washington, leftfielder Jayson Werth was clocked driving 105 mph in a 55-mph zone a few miles northeast of Nationals Park. He eventually served five days in jail the following January. Early in spring training, Scherzer’s first with the team, Werth was serenaded by his new teammate, who had written a rap about the event. “I had to,” says Scherzer through peals of laughter.
He quickly inserted himself into the team culture. He organized a March Madness pool, a rollicking auction-based contest that he generally wins.
Werth: “He thinks he’s good at math.”
Scherzer: “I am good at math. Especially compared to someone who’s been to jail.”
Scherzer counsels young players and drives coaches crazy with incessant chatter on the bench. “He’s inquisitive on every pitch, every swing, every cutoff man hit,” says pitching coach Mike Maddux. “My ears are tired! Sometimes I walk away and get a drink of water.”
Scherzer takes pride in creating an enjoyable atmosphere; the grind of the season is much more tolerable if people are having fun. Of course, fun often comes from winning, and Scherzer knows that better than most.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
****
For Strasburg, atmosphere was secondary. At West Hills High School, he regularly compensated for the weak defense behind him by whiffing double-digit batters. If I have to do it all myself, I will, he decided. By his junior year at San Diego State, he was throwing 102 mph and had the Nationals—who had the first pick in the draft—salivating. He set attendance records nearly everywhere he went in the minors, and ESPN broadcast parts of his Double A debut. He was aghast when reporters began contacting his family without his permission.
Three hundred sixty-four days after he was drafted, Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his major league debut against the Pirates. Hungry writers begged him to open up, but he described his debut as “just another week.” For D.C. fans Strasmas came every five days that season—until August, when he underwent Tommy John surgery.
He came back a year later, and in spring training of 2012, GM Mike Rizzo laid out the team’s plan for Strasburg: He would pitch on a regular schedule and throw 160 innings, and then he would be done, no matter what. Strasburg spent the season alternating between tossing gems (28 starts, 197 K’s) and walking upstairs to Rizzo’s office to plead his case for more action. I’m fine, he insisted. Let me pitch.
The 2012 Strasburg Shutdown became the main topic of conversation for fans in D.C. Armchair GMs criticized the perennial doormat that had the temerity to believe this wouldn’t be its only shot. Pundits questioned Strasburg’s will to win. He began having trouble sleeping. In the end the media coverage became so relentless that the team shut him down a start early. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to accept it, to be honest,” he told reporters after his last outing. “You don’t grow up dreaming of playing in the big leagues to get shut down when the games start to matter.” He watched glumly from the bench as the Cardinals eliminated Washington in five games in the division series.
Between the Tommy John surgery and a series of other, more minor ailments—a strained lat muscle, a left-oblique strain, an upper-back strain, right-elbow soreness, a right-flexor-mass strain—Strasburg has only pitched one postseason game, a five-inning battle in Game 1 of the 2014 NLDS, a 3–2 loss to the Giants. His numbers are spectacular: His lifetime ERA is 3.07, and his strikeout rate—10.54—is third in history, after only Randy Johnson’s and Chris Sale’s. Yet he has never won a game that truly mattered.
In high school he would kick the dirt and throw his glove when he got frustrated. Aztecs coaches taught him to rein himself in, but then they became concerned that he’d become too cool. Today the Nats laud his poker face. But beneath that still surface lurks a mind that is churning.
“The difference between them is that Max says it,” Maddux says. “Stras thinks it.”
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
****
Scherzer has had plenty of time to think about the low point of his career. It was not when the Diamondbacks—the team that had drafted him with the 11th pick three years earlier—traded him to the Tigers in 2009. It was not the next May, when he was demoted to Triple A Toledo to rebuild his mechanics. And it was not even the moment, 18 months later, when manager Jim Leyland trudged to the mound to remove him from a decisive ALCS Game 6 in which he allowed six runs in 21⁄3 innings against the Rangers. The worst days of Scherzer’s career followed that outing, when he reflected on what he had become.
“I had lost the drive to get better,” he says. “I thought just being good was good enough.”
Success on the mound had not come easily for him. At the University of Missouri, Scherzer was all potential, not much polish—high-90s heat but no control over his body. His hat would fly off when his front foot landed. “It was flip a coin if he was gonna have his delivery under control enough to throw strikes,” says Vitello, “much less put it where he wanted to.”
In the majors he relied heavily on his fastball and a solid slider, but his secondary pitches were inconsistent. Some scouts ticketed him for the bullpen. It wasn’t until late 2010 that Scherzer finally felt comfortable on the mound—too comfortable. That was the season of the ALCS flameout. He resolved never to let that happen again.
Scherzer spent that offseason poring over analytics and refining his slider. He increased his strikeout rate by nearly 50%, to better than 11 per nine, and a year later added a curveball. In 2013 he won the AL Cy Young Award.
Now Scherzer tinkers all the time. He devours Strasburg’s outings too. (“I’ll never have a curveball like his,” Scherzer says. “I just try to pay attention to the little things.”) In one of his final regular-season starts—with an eye toward the extended workload he expects in October—Scherzer asked manager Dusty Baker to leave him in the game for 110 pitches no matter how he was doing. He gave up seven runs in seven innings, but declared the outing a success.
“I’ve always said you learn more about yourself after pitch 100 than you do in the first 100,” Scherzer said after the game. “Well, this is time to learn.”
****
Scherzer hit his first career home run in August—a three-run shot against the Marlins after he pulled back a bunt—and returned to the dugout to the silent treatment. He high-fived the air, shouted a string of expletives and then yelled to the position players, “It ain’t that tough!”
Strasburg has hit three career homers, two this season. He usually declines fist bumps. “Do you even enjoy your own walk-up song?” Roark asked him. “Don’t know what it is,” Strasburg said.
Strasburg is no robot. But he generally prefers his punch lines served cold. The first time he and Scherzer played golf together, Scherzer spent much of the outing teasing Strasburg for using a neon-green ball—“a putt-putt ball,” Scherzer calls it. A few days later Scherzer opened his locker. Four dozen putt-putt balls rained down.
Scherzer’s signing could have been difficult for Strasburg. You can have more than one ace, but only one man can start Game 1 of the World Series. Yet people close to Strasburg say that he welcomed his new teammate. Scherzer’s arrival let Strasburg “share the spotlight,” says Rizzo. During his first spring training with Washington, Scherzer posed with Harper on the cover of this magazine alongside the line let’s do some damage. Reporters covering the team now flock to Scherzer.
Strasburg enjoys pressure, but he does not enjoy attention. This distinction is crucial. He is deeply private. “When I first got here, I wasn’t sure he could talk,” says Baker. Strasburg does not speak to the media the day before he starts, and if he could, he would extend that policy to cover every other day as well. He declined to comment for this story. Friends get his permission before going on the record—even to praise him. Scherzer’s presence lets Strasburg stick to what he likes to do: pitch.
Strasburg has realized, however, that while he could get away with keeping to himself as a 21-year-old phenom, he can’t as a 29-year-old veteran. Prospects have always followed him around like ducklings; these days he initiates conversations with them. He occasionally cracks a joke in a press conference. But perhaps his most significant transformation has come from understanding he doesn’t have to do it all alone.
On different days this October, an ace in Nationals red will stride to the mound under the glare of flashbulbs. He will have a long night ahead, between the game and then the frenzy of attention that comes after it. He will grip the ball and prepare to do something that comes naturally—and something else that he had to learn. |
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Juan Mata struck Manchester United’s opening goal (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata says Jose Mourinho’s message at half-time during the side’s win against West Ham was simple; ‘Just try to score’.
The Red Devils won their sixth game in a row after goals from Mata and Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave United a 2-0 win against the Hammers at the London Stadium.
Mata, 28, was a half-time sub in east London and was brought on after Mourinho was frustrated by his side’s performance in the first half against the ten men of Slaven Bilic’s team.
The Spaniard slotted home from Marcus Rashford’s lay-off and he’s revealed what Mourinho told him at half-time before he came on to win the game.
It’s the Red Devils’ sixth win in a row (Picture: Getty)
‘Just try to score,’ said Mata.
‘To create something. There was some spaces in between the defenders so I just tried to stay there to create chances for my team-mates and to try to score.
‘The most important thing is that with the help of everything we were able to win today and to continue this good run of results’
MORE: Jose Mourinho’s tactical masterstroke hands Manchester United their sixth win in a row |
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BY PAUL LAGAN paul@slpmedia.co.uk
N’Golo Kante is as frustrated as the rest of the Chelsea players and fans following their 1-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday and is quick to support under fire terms-mate Tiemoure Bakayoko.
“We didn’t start the game in the best way,” he said.
“West Ham scored early in the game. We tried to react, we had some chances, but we didn’t score and we lost to them. We are all disappointed because we wanted to win when we came here.”
One player the fans are starting to question his contribution on the pitch is Tiemoure Bakayoko, a £40million signing from Monaco in the summer.
But Kante is having none of it.
“He played a good game,” said the France midfielder.
“But at half-time the manager decided to change the tactics to put Pedro in because he is more offensive. That’s why he was substituted but he was doing well.
“He is training hard and giving his best. We have to make him play in the best way.”
Is it a case of the team taking responsibility to get best out of him then?
“Yes,” He said.
“But not just Tiemoue, for everyone. We have to work together for the good of the team, for trying to win games. That is what we train to do.
“I think he is having a good time now at Chelsea. He is a professional. If he needs advice, I can give it to him. But it is the same at every club – try to work in training, to understand what the coach wants and give your best in the game. It is the same everywhere.”
Kante made their transition to the Premier League without a qualm.
What does bakayoko need to do?
“Not especially him,” suggested Kante.
“We just want to play how the manager wants and try to apply what the manager wants. To give our best on the pitch when we have the chance to play.”
The 1-0 defeat has, according to head coach Antonio Conte ended Chelsea’s defensive of their Premier League title, so what was missing from their team at the London Stadium?
“The goal from West Ham put us in difficulty and after that we had some chances.
“They were really compact and aggressive. They fought for the victory and deserved to win.
“We tried to fight too but they scored the first goal and they fought to keep the result. They did well.” |
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All cars have to adhere to exactly the same emission limits, regardless of size or shape. So you might expect all diesel cars to be as bad each other – but our tests show huge differences between different brands of cars.
Our emission tests are more realistic than the official ones. This is because the current official tests are based on the outdated and soon to be replaced NEDC cycle, which doesn’t really strain the vehicle being tested. The official rules are also lax and allow for numerous loopholes to be exploited by manufacturers, such as running the car in eco-mode, turning off air-con and over-inflating tyres.
In comparison, Which? tests use much more realistic cycles, including the more strenuous WLTP cycle and a motorway cycle where the car is accelerated to and then sustains motorway speeds. You can find out more about the differences between official and Which? tests by going to our how we test MPG and emissions guide.
As part of our emission tests, we measure how much NOx is produced.
In the graphics below, you’ll find brand averages for the diesel cars tested between 2012 and 2016. These are divided into cars that either officially meet the older and slightly more lax Euro 5 emission limits or the newer, more stringent Euro 6 emission limits.
Cars that meet the Euro 6 emission limits should be the cleanest cars you can buy. But as you can see from our test results, the NOx emissions from the car brands varies enormously. Scroll down to read our analysis of each brand. |
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Former AFL star Brendan Fevola recently announced that he is expecting a baby girl with his fiancée Alex.
And before their brood of five becomes six, the happy couple chose to take a family holiday ahead of the newest bub's arrival.
Brendan and Alex headed to Melbourne International Airport on Sunday, before heading off on a vacation to Bali.
Precious cargo! Brendan Fevola looks after the heavy bags at Melbourne airport as he treats his pregnant fiancée Alex and their three daughters to a relaxing Bali holiday
The couple were travelling with their three children: Leni, 10, Mia, 16, and Lulu, 6.
Getting dropped off at the departure gates, the family had plenty of luggage for their island getaway.
Taking charge, Brendan was seen organising the bags so his pregnant wife didn't have to lug or drag anything heavy.
Family time: Alex, who is 17-weeks pregnant, appeared to be well looked after by her fiancé and her thoughtful children
Man of the hour: Taking charge, Brendan was seen organising the bags so his pregnant wife didn't have to lug or drag anything heavy
Their brood: The couple were travelling with their three children: Leni, 10, Mia, 16, and Lulu, 6
Alex, who is 17-weeks pregnant, appeared to be well looked after by her fiancé and her thoughtful children.
The makeup artist dressed her bump for comfort on the flight, wearing a loose-fitted black T-shirt, harem trousers and white sneakers.
However, she still appeared glam, adding a leather biker jacket and scarf to her look.
Her blonde locks were styled in a straight-sleek look, with her makeup applied flawlessly.
Effortlessly chic! The makeup artist dressed her bump for comfort on the flight, wearing a loose-fitted black T-shirt, harem trousers and white sneakers
She's glowing! Alex added a touch of glam with a leather biker jacket and scarf, while her blonde locks were styled in a straight-sleek look, with her makeup applied flawlessly
Brendan cut a casual figure while travelling, opting for a grey T-shirt, jeans and white sneakers.
The radio host couldn't help but stare lovingly at Alex when they were in the terminal.
After they got to their destination, he has been posting up a storm about his fiancée - even uploading a candid shot of her exposed bump.
They are staying at the lavish Ungasan, Clifftop Resort.
That's sweet! The radio host couldn't help but stare lovingly at Alex when they were in the Melbourne international airport terminal
Keeping it casual! Brendan cut a relaxed figure while travelling, opting for a grey T-shirt, jeans and white sneakers
Brendan announced that he was expecting a baby girl with Alex in May.
'It all happened when we went to America over Easter,' the former AFL star told News Ltd.
He continued: 'Alex was really sick over in America and she thought she was jetlagged. (I said) have a drink, you’ll be right. She said no I actually feel really sick.'
The baby is due in December. |
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TORONTO — The photos are gruesome. Hugo Barrette slumped over unconscious, his rag-doll limbs bent under him awkwardly and his face crushed against the concrete. Barrette on a stretcher, his face a soupy mess of blood and ripped flesh.
The 25-year-old cyclist from Iles-de-la-Madeleine, a tiny Quebec archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, had crashed in World Cup training in Cali, Colombia, in the fall of 2015, roaring through a railing at 80 kilometres an hour.
He'll race in Cali again for the first time this week in a World Cup he said is a victory before he even sets his two wheels on the track.
"It's part of my story," Barrette said. "I've never seen it as such a bad thing. It's just part of my story, and to get past that, I need to go back there and perform at my best and just show what I got, as I've intended to do before I crashed."
Barrette was coming off a breakout three-medal performance at the Pan American Games, and looking forward to the Rio Olympics when he crashed in a training session. The force snapped the steel railing in two, and left Barrette with two broken vertebrae, a shattered nose, broken teeth, head lacerations and a dislocated shoulder. His nose and shredded lip required plastic surgery. Had he not turned his head at the last second, he believes he'd be dead.
Barrette's screams are audible in the video of the scene, which was so traumatic national coach Erin Hartwell considered quitting. Barrette doesn't remember much, saying "Maybe it's a good thing that I lost that part of the story."
Also a good thing: the motivation of making the Olympic team had Barrette back on his bike just two weeks later. There was no time to be hesitant.
And if nothing else, the crash made him take stock of his career. He paused just long enough to appreciate how far he'd come.
"Since I was 16 years old, I never stopped, just all out all the time just to improve to become the best," Barrette said. "I believe I reached an amazing level, a dream-like level, winning everything at Pan Ams (two gold and a bronze), I was living the dream that I had as a little boy.
"But since I was so anchored in that world, I never really realized what I've accomplished. So that crash really made me open my eyes, and made me realize how much I love the sport and how lucky I am to do this. And that's part of why I recovered so fast, because I didn't want to give up at such an amazing time."
Barrette claimed his first World Cup medal, a silver, in Hong Kong just 81 days after his crash. He also qualified for Rio, where he finished 13th in the keirin.
Barrette will be joined on Canada's men's team in Colombia by Stefan Ritter of Edmonton, Joel Archambault of St-Christine, Que., and Patrick St-Louis-Pivin.
Calgary's Kate O'Brien and Laura Brown leads a women's team that includes Amelia Walsh of Ayr, Ont., Steph Roorda of Vancouver, Kinley Gibson of Edmonton and Ariane Bonhomme of Gatineau, Que.
Barrette has nothing special planned for Cali, no plans to take a close look at the crash site. |
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Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, greets Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, outside 10 Downing Street, in central London, Britain April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
BRUSSELS The European Union will only be able to conclude talks on Britain's exit if it stays united, which means the bloc's unity is in Britain's interest, the chairman of EU summits Donald Tusk said on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters before an EU summit to approve EU guidelines for negotiations with Britain, Tusk repeated the 27 countries remaining in the EU wanted a "close and strong future relationship" with London.
"There is absolutely no question about it. But before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past. We will handle it fairly. It is the only possible way to move forward," he said, referring to Britain's financial commitments to the EU budget, made well before the decision to leave.
"We need to remain united as EU 27. It is only then that we will be able to conclude the negotiations, which means that our unity is also in the UK's interest," he said.
Tusk said the EU wanted solid guarantees for all citizens and their families who will be affected by Brexit in Britain and in the EU -- a total of around five million people.
"This must be the number one priority for the EU and the UK. The Commision has already prepared a precise and detailed list of citizens' rights we want to protect," he said.
Tusk said this position had strong support from all EU institutions and the 27 governments.
"I know this is something unique, but I am confident it is something that will not change," he said.
(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Philip Blenkinsop) |
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Mobile Foodshare Schedule EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Mobile Foodshare for December is as follows. This program assists low income individuals/families. Summerfield Townhouses, 156 Plain Drive, 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27. When East Hartford Public Schools have an early dismissal or are closed due to bad weather, Summerfield Foodshare will be canceled that day. Visit https://www.facebook.com/#1!/SummerfieldTownhouses for more information. St. Isaac Jogues, 41 Home Terrace, 1:15 to 2 p.m. Monday: Dec. 18. When East Hartford Schools are closed due to bad weather, Mayberry Foodshare will be canceled that day. Note location change for winter distributions: Main & Burnside Mobile, 12 Rector St., 1:15 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20. When East Hartford Schools are closed due to bad weather, Main & Burnside Mobile will be canceled that day. Polish Christmas Eve Dinner HARTFORD — The Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, Inc. will present its annual Wigilia Celebration on Friday, Dec. 15. A social and cash bar begins at 6 p.m. The Wigilia program, with live music, begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner. The event will be held at the Polish National Home, 60 Charter Oak Ave. This celebration features the time-honored custom of the sharing of the Oplatek, or Christmas wafer, and a five-course traditional, meatless dinner. It will culminate with a sing-along of Koledy, or Christmas carols. The cost is $42 for members. A cordial invitation is extended to any non-members who wish to enjoy a typical Polish Christmas Eve experience Cost for nonmembers is $47 per person. Advanced reservations are required and no tickets will be sold at the door. The reservation deadline is Dec. 11. Make checks payable to the Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, Inc.(PCCGH) and mail to Mrs. Nancy Yiznitsky, 87 Montclair Drive, East Hartford, CT 06118. Call 860-568-2044 with questions about reservations. Additional information can also be obtained by visiting www.polishculturalclub.org or calling 860-659-0356. Senior Center News EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Senior Center, 70 Canterbury St., is hosting the following events. Visit www.easthartfordct.gov or call 860-568-4281 for more information. The senior center is looking for volunteers to help serve the noon meal, work as an office volunteer or join the special events group. Call the above number if you are interested. A Dominoes group will take place at 1 p.m. Fridays. Every Tuesday from 1 to 3:30 p.m., a group meets to knit and crochet. There is no need to sign up, just drop in with your own materials and join in. Do you want to learn to line dance? Drop in on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. to try the latest dances. Do you know that the East Hartford Senior Center serves a hot lunch every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Call 860-569-5654 before noon on the day before you are coming to make a reservation. A full meal is served for a $2.50 donation. Silver Sneakers is coming to the East Hartford Senior Center. If you currently receive or will be eligible for Silver Sneakers, you can take an exercise class at the East Hartford Senior Center for free. This weekly class begins on Wednesday, Jan. 3, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The Strength, Balance and Stability class combines strength training, stretching and core exercises. If you have the Silver Sneakers benefit on your Medigap or Medicare Advantage plan, please call to pre-register. If you are interested in the class and do not have the Silver Sneakers benefit, you can purchase a 10-class punch card for $30 on the first day of class. Blue Skies Big Band is performing at the East Hartford Senior Center on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 6:30 p.m. They will be playing holiday music and big band classics. Tickets are on sale for $5 per person in the Senior Center office. Dessert and coffee are served at the break. Transportation will be provided. When you purchase your ticket be sure to make a ride reservation, if you would like a ride. Winter Concert Schedule EAST HARTFORD — The community is invited to attend one or more of the East Hartford Public Schools' winter concerts that will take place in December, January, and February. The elementary schools will feature the grade five chorus and the instrumental programs at the school. All events are free. Space is limited in the daytime concerts. The East Hartford High School concert will feature the orchestra and all the choirs during the evening. Holiday selections from a variety of cultures and musical styles will be performed. Any questions about the events can be directed to Tracy Kane, Supervisor of the Fine and Performing Arts at 860-622-5971. Visit easthartford.org for specific school locations and snow dates. Community Action Agencies Accepting Energy Assistance Applications AREA — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just released $67,255,113 in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. This amount is 90-percent of LIHEAP funds allocated for the State of Connecticut. Connecticut residents struggling to pay their utility bills this winter can apply for home heating assistance through Connecticut's Community Action Agency Network. The Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are the only nonprofit agencies administering LIHEAP, which provides home heating assistance to Connecticut's most vulnerable residents. Each CAA has application intake sites throughout their service regions. Some sites may include local town halls, and customers should check with their local CAA for a complete site listing. In Connecticut this program is called the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and is housed under the Department of Social Services (DSS). The state's Community Action Agencies administer the $74M+ program locally in all 169 cities and towns. CAAs are now accepting CEAP applications for the 2017-2018 winter season and expect more applications in the coming weeks, especially as temperatures begin to drop. Homeowners and/or renters may apply, and funds may be used to pay for whatever source of heating residents have in their homes. This includes wood, electric, oil, kerosene, or natural gas. CAAs will certify oil deliveries. They began Wednesday, Nov. 15, for those who heat with oil, propane, and deliverable fuels. May 1, 2018, is the last day households can apply for benefits unless the household is utility heated and has a shut off notice for its primary source of heat. May 15, 2018 is the last day a utility heated household with a shut off notice for its primary source of heat can apply for benefits.
Another protection for Connecticut's struggling families is the utility moratorium, or winter hardship, which provides protection for eligible households against heat source shut-offs between November 1st and May 1st. Gas and electric utilities cannot be shut off (summer or winter) if lack of the utility creates a life-threatening situation. If a customer is having trouble paying their utility bills during the winter moratorium period, Community Action Agencies will work with them on affordable utility payment programs, including the Matching Payment Program (MPP) and Below Budget Payment Plans. MPP is a payment incentive program that allows eligible utility customers to maintain year-round electric and gas service and pay an agreed-upon amount each month to pay down the balance on their heating bill. If customers cannot afford the utility payment plan, CAAs work with the customer and can submit a Below Budget Payment Plan based on the household income and expenses. A CEAP benefit to a household automatically makes that household eligible for weatherization services. So, in addition to heating assistance, CAAs will refer customers to those agencies providing weatherization services, which helps minimize energy-related costs and fuel usage in homes through retrofits and home improvement measures. Additionally, there are funds available this year through the CAA for heating system repair and replacement if such services are deemed necessary and as the amount of funds allocated allow. Lastly, when a customer comes to a CAA for energy assistance, the agency will also assist customers in accessing other benefits for which they may be eligible including SNAP and other food programs, financial counseling, child care, and case management. Connecticut's poorest families struggle each and every year to heat their homes in this a state with one of the highest utility rates in the country; customers many times having to choose between heating and eating or heating and paying for their medicines. CEAP allows them to not only cover high home energy costs and keep warm during the cold winter months, but gives low-income families the opportunity to address other critical, basic needs, rather than having to choose between them. Any resident who needs help paying their heating bill this winter should contact their Community Action Agency immediately. For more information on Connecticut's Energy Assistance Program, how to find your local CAA to apply, or to make a donation, visit www.cafca.org or contact the Connecticut Association for Community Action (CAFCA), 144 Clinton Street, New Britain, CT, 06053, 860-832-9438. Leaf Collection EAST HARTFORD — Mayor Marcia A. Leclerc and Public Works Director Tim Bockus announced that the town's annual curbside leaf collection program began on Monday, Nov. 6. The program will feature a one-time vacuuming of leaves placed next to the edge of the road in piles. Leaves were vacuumed Monday through Saturday from Nov. 6 until all leaves are collected once along each street. A second collection pass may occur as weather permits. The leaf collection program will commence on roads in the northwest corner of town in the area of Pitkin Street and then proceed north and east through the Burnham and Goodwin Street areas. Leaves will be vacuumed once along each street, weather permitting. Collection will proceed in a clockwise direction around town. At https://www.easthartfordct.gov/public-works, the Department of Public Works will publish a weekly advisory map. This map will show completed areas as well as the areas where leaf collection is anticipated the following week. Residents will note that these maps are tentative and dependent on weather and the speed of collection and should not be considered a set collection schedule. Progress of the collection is weather dependent and will be affected by rain or snow. Snowfall before mid-December may cause a suspension or cancellation vacuum leaf collection. Town crews will also pick up leaves placed in biodegradable brown paper bags through Dec. 15, weather permitting. Leaves in biodegradable brown paper bags will be collected weekly on the scheduled waste collection days. The use of the brown bags is strongly recommended as early snow may require suspension or cancellation of vacuum leaf collection until the spring. Residents must have all of their bagged leaves at curbside by Dec. 15 to ensure collection. Leaves in plastic bags will not be collected and bags with grass clippings, branches or other foreign matter will not be collected. Residents may also bring their leaves to the Transfer Station on Ecology Drive. Bulky waste permits are not required for residents entering the Transfer Station with leaves only. Normal Transfer Station hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 7:15 A.M. to Noon and 12:30 to 2:45 P.M. and on the first and third Saturdays of the month from 8:00 A.M. to 1:45 P.M. Leaves in plastic bags will not be accepted. The progress of the leaf collection program will be available on the Public Works 24 hour information telephone line, 860-291-7374, or by calling the Highway Services Division at 860-291-7371, Monday through Friday between 7:30 A.M. and 3 p.m. Fiber Crafts EAST HARTFORD — Fiber crafters are invited to gather together at the East Hartford Public Library in an upcoming series of programs at 840 Main St. The library will welcome quilters on Monday nights and other fiber crafters -- knitting, crochet, tatting -- on Wednesday nights, every other week. No experience is necessary. The program will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and no registration is required. These informal gatherings will be a fun and safe space to practice your craft with other crafters, to learn from each other, meet new friends, and find your common thread with others. Facilitating the program will be Elizabeth Morin and Effie Dibenedetto, librarians who enjoy fiber crafts. For dates and more information, visit www.easthartfordct.gov/library or call the library at 860-290-4329. Working Cities Challenge EAST HARTFORD — East Hartford has been selected to participate, competing with nine other towns and cities across Connecticut, in the Working Cities Challenge. Developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, this Challenge is a multiyear, multistate funding initiative that is designed to foster economic growth in smaller industrial cities in New England, with community based efforts to tackle social and economic challenges.
The East Hartford Working Cities Challenge Team has been working on a design to meet the specific economic and social challenges of the Silver Lane Community. Key partners have been the Town of East Hartford, the United Way of Central and Northeastern CT, CT Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), the Department of Labor, Goodwin College, Hall Keen Management of Summerfield Townhomes, and other key industry leaders and residents. Residents may visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/working_cities_community_2017_2018 to take a community survey about employment and education experiences. For more information, contact Paul Mainuli, Director of Business Services for the East Hartford Public Schools at 860-622-5135. 2017 Road Improvement Project Update EAST HARTFORD — The Town of East Hartford's Road Improvement Project is underway. Contractor Tilcon Connecticut, Inc. will continue road improvement activities, including pavement reconstruction, new curbing installation, manhole adjustments, sidewalk ramp construction, pavement marking, etc. throughout the fall. Residents should be advised that no street has been fully completed. Work may return to their street through the fall. The following status update for all 2017 Road Improvement Project streets is as of Aug. 25, 2017. The first layer of paving and curb installation is complete for the following roads. Concrete work is underway for some driveways and accessible ramps. The final surface course paving is scheduled for September: Claremont Street, Deerfield Court, Deerfield Avenue, Edward Street, Franklin Street, Linden Street, Maplewood Avenue, Oakland Avenue, Stanley Street, Sterling Road, Webster Street, and Woodbridge Avenue. Columbus Circle has been reclaimed and will be paved once the road has been graded and compacted. Curbing will then be installed. Drainage work is ongoing on the following roads, and is nearing completion. Then the road will be reclaimed to make the first layer of pavement: Adams Street, Murray Street, Vine Street, Springside Avenue, Rose Street, and Greene Terrace. Drainage work has started on Jayce Street and Park Avenue. Both will be milled and repaved starting in September. Drainage work has also begun on Barbonsel Road and Godar Terrace, both of these streets will be reclaimed and repaved. Questions can be directed to the East Hartford Public Works Department, Engineering Division at 860-291-7380, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Visit http://www.easthartfordct.gov/engineering for more information. Blue Star Flag Flies For Deployed Firefighters EAST HARTFORD — Continuing a long standing tradition, the East Hartford Fire Department is flying the Blue Star Flag at each fire station to recognize the overseas service of two of its members. Lieutenant Nicholas Calsetta and Firefighter/Paramedic Darrel Hanrahan are both deployed overseas with units of the Connecticut Air National Guard. A tradition lasting to the First World War, the Blue Star Banner and its associated flag is a federally recognized symbol indicating that a family member is serving overseas in the Armed Forces. The East Hartford Fire Department has flown the flag for each deployment of a department member since 2010. Visit https://www.legion.org/troops/bluestar for more information about the Blue Star Banner. Mental Illness Support Groups EAST HARTFORD — The Manchester affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will hold a support group on the first Thursday of the month at the Crossroads Community Cathedral, 1492 Silver Lane, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for family members, caregivers and loved ones of individuals living with mental illness. Gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar circumstances. Contact Dama at dayma436@gmail.com or Sandra at 860-461-6695 for more information. Donations Sought: Back-To-School Program EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Social Services Division will be transitioning their Back-to-School Supplies Program to a Back-to-School Shoe Program. Donations are currently being sought for the newly established "Payless Back-to-School Shoe Program." These funds will be used to purchase discounted Payless Shoe gift cards to distribute to the students previously served by the "Back-to-School Supplies Program." The goal of the program is to provide parents with a $25 one time use gift card to Payless ShoeSource. Any individual, organization or group wishing to find out more about this program or make a donation are encouraged to contact Social Services at 860-291-7248. Checks should be made payable to: Payless Back-to-School Shoe Program and are fully tax deductible. Smoke Alarm Installations EAST HARTFORD — The Connecticut American Red Cross and the East Hartford Fire Department are offering free smoke alarms and installation to residents in East Hartford. Installations took place on Friday, Aug. 4. Residents can schedule a visit on the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross's website or by calling 877-287-3327 and choosing option 1 on the menu to request a smoke alarm installation. Visit http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/fire/prevent-home-fire for fire safety tips. New Taxes Billing System EAST HARTFORD — Tax Collector Iris Laurenza is reminding residents that the first installment of real estate, motor vehicle and personal property tax for the fiscal year was due effective July 1. Residents wishing their payment to be marked as on time should complete or postmark payment on or before August 1, 2017. Late payments are subject to an interest charge of 1 1/2 percent per month from the due date of July 1, 2017, with a minimum interest payment of $2. Residents are reminded that failure to receive a tax bill does not excuse residents from paying the tax or added penalties. Residents with questions about vehicles which were sold, stolen or destroyed should contact the East Hartford Assessor's Office at 860-291-7260. Residents requesting a receipt with mailed tax payments should include a self-addressed stamped envelope. |
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Mobile Foodshare Schedule EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Mobile Foodshare for December is as follows. This program assists low income individuals/families. Summerfield Townhouses, 156 Plain Drive, 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27. When East Hartford Public Schools have an early dismissal or are closed due to bad weather, Summerfield Foodshare will be canceled that day. Visit https://www.facebook.com/#1!/SummerfieldTownhouses for more information. St. Isaac Jogues, 41 Home Terrace, 1:15 to 2 p.m. Monday: Dec. 18. When East Hartford Schools are closed due to bad weather, Mayberry Foodshare will be canceled that day. Note location change for winter distributions: Main & Burnside Mobile, 12 Rector St., 1:15 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20. When East Hartford Schools are closed due to bad weather, Main & Burnside Mobile will be canceled that day. Polish Christmas Eve Dinner HARTFORD — The Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, Inc. will present its annual Wigilia Celebration on Friday, Dec. 15. A social and cash bar begins at 6 p.m. The Wigilia program, with live music, begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner. The event will be held at the Polish National Home, 60 Charter Oak Ave. This celebration features the time-honored custom of the sharing of the Oplatek, or Christmas wafer, and a five-course traditional, meatless dinner. It will culminate with a sing-along of Koledy, or Christmas carols. The cost is $42 for members. A cordial invitation is extended to any non-members who wish to enjoy a typical Polish Christmas Eve experience Cost for nonmembers is $47 per person. Advanced reservations are required and no tickets will be sold at the door. The reservation deadline is Dec. 11. Make checks payable to the Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, Inc.(PCCGH) and mail to Mrs. Nancy Yiznitsky, 87 Montclair Drive, East Hartford, CT 06118. Call 860-568-2044 with questions about reservations. Additional information can also be obtained by visiting www.polishculturalclub.org or calling 860-659-0356. Senior Center News EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Senior Center, 70 Canterbury St., is hosting the following events. Visit www.easthartfordct.gov or call 860-568-4281 for more information. The senior center is looking for volunteers to help serve the noon meal, work as an office volunteer or join the special events group. Call the above number if you are interested. A Dominoes group will take place at 1 p.m. Fridays. Every Tuesday from 1 to 3:30 p.m., a group meets to knit and crochet. There is no need to sign up, just drop in with your own materials and join in. Do you want to learn to line dance? Drop in on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. to try the latest dances. Do you know that the East Hartford Senior Center serves a hot lunch every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Call 860-569-5654 before noon on the day before you are coming to make a reservation. A full meal is served for a $2.50 donation. Silver Sneakers is coming to the East Hartford Senior Center. If you currently receive or will be eligible for Silver Sneakers, you can take an exercise class at the East Hartford Senior Center for free. This weekly class begins on Wednesday, Jan. 3, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The Strength, Balance and Stability class combines strength training, stretching and core exercises. If you have the Silver Sneakers benefit on your Medigap or Medicare Advantage plan, please call to pre-register. If you are interested in the class and do not have the Silver Sneakers benefit, you can purchase a 10-class punch card for $30 on the first day of class. Blue Skies Big Band is performing at the East Hartford Senior Center on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 6:30 p.m. They will be playing holiday music and big band classics. Tickets are on sale for $5 per person in the Senior Center office. Dessert and coffee are served at the break. Transportation will be provided. When you purchase your ticket be sure to make a ride reservation, if you would like a ride. Winter Concert Schedule EAST HARTFORD — The community is invited to attend one or more of the East Hartford Public Schools' winter concerts that will take place in December, January, and February. The elementary schools will feature the grade five chorus and the instrumental programs at the school. All events are free. Space is limited in the daytime concerts. The East Hartford High School concert will feature the orchestra and all the choirs during the evening. Holiday selections from a variety of cultures and musical styles will be performed. Any questions about the events can be directed to Tracy Kane, Supervisor of the Fine and Performing Arts at 860-622-5971. Visit easthartford.org for specific school locations and snow dates. Community Action Agencies Accepting Energy Assistance Applications AREA — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just released $67,255,113 in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. This amount is 90-percent of LIHEAP funds allocated for the State of Connecticut. Connecticut residents struggling to pay their utility bills this winter can apply for home heating assistance through Connecticut's Community Action Agency Network. The Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are the only nonprofit agencies administering LIHEAP, which provides home heating assistance to Connecticut's most vulnerable residents. Each CAA has application intake sites throughout their service regions. Some sites may include local town halls, and customers should check with their local CAA for a complete site listing. In Connecticut this program is called the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and is housed under the Department of Social Services (DSS). The state's Community Action Agencies administer the $74M+ program locally in all 169 cities and towns. CAAs are now accepting CEAP applications for the 2017-2018 winter season and expect more applications in the coming weeks, especially as temperatures begin to drop. Homeowners and/or renters may apply, and funds may be used to pay for whatever source of heating residents have in their homes. This includes wood, electric, oil, kerosene, or natural gas. CAAs will certify oil deliveries. They began Wednesday, Nov. 15, for those who heat with oil, propane, and deliverable fuels. May 1, 2018, is the last day households can apply for benefits unless the household is utility heated and has a shut off notice for its primary source of heat. May 15, 2018 is the last day a utility heated household with a shut off notice for its primary source of heat can apply for benefits.
Another protection for Connecticut's struggling families is the utility moratorium, or winter hardship, which provides protection for eligible households against heat source shut-offs between November 1st and May 1st. Gas and electric utilities cannot be shut off (summer or winter) if lack of the utility creates a life-threatening situation. If a customer is having trouble paying their utility bills during the winter moratorium period, Community Action Agencies will work with them on affordable utility payment programs, including the Matching Payment Program (MPP) and Below Budget Payment Plans. MPP is a payment incentive program that allows eligible utility customers to maintain year-round electric and gas service and pay an agreed-upon amount each month to pay down the balance on their heating bill. If customers cannot afford the utility payment plan, CAAs work with the customer and can submit a Below Budget Payment Plan based on the household income and expenses. A CEAP benefit to a household automatically makes that household eligible for weatherization services. So, in addition to heating assistance, CAAs will refer customers to those agencies providing weatherization services, which helps minimize energy-related costs and fuel usage in homes through retrofits and home improvement measures. Additionally, there are funds available this year through the CAA for heating system repair and replacement if such services are deemed necessary and as the amount of funds allocated allow. Lastly, when a customer comes to a CAA for energy assistance, the agency will also assist customers in accessing other benefits for which they may be eligible including SNAP and other food programs, financial counseling, child care, and case management. Connecticut's poorest families struggle each and every year to heat their homes in this a state with one of the highest utility rates in the country; customers many times having to choose between heating and eating or heating and paying for their medicines. CEAP allows them to not only cover high home energy costs and keep warm during the cold winter months, but gives low-income families the opportunity to address other critical, basic needs, rather than having to choose between them. Any resident who needs help paying their heating bill this winter should contact their Community Action Agency immediately. For more information on Connecticut's Energy Assistance Program, how to find your local CAA to apply, or to make a donation, visit www.cafca.org or contact the Connecticut Association for Community Action (CAFCA), 144 Clinton Street, New Britain, CT, 06053, 860-832-9438. Leaf Collection EAST HARTFORD — Mayor Marcia A. Leclerc and Public Works Director Tim Bockus announced that the town's annual curbside leaf collection program began on Monday, Nov. 6. The program will feature a one-time vacuuming of leaves placed next to the edge of the road in piles. Leaves were vacuumed Monday through Saturday from Nov. 6 until all leaves are collected once along each street. A second collection pass may occur as weather permits. The leaf collection program will commence on roads in the northwest corner of town in the area of Pitkin Street and then proceed north and east through the Burnham and Goodwin Street areas. Leaves will be vacuumed once along each street, weather permitting. Collection will proceed in a clockwise direction around town. At https://www.easthartfordct.gov/public-works, the Department of Public Works will publish a weekly advisory map. This map will show completed areas as well as the areas where leaf collection is anticipated the following week. Residents will note that these maps are tentative and dependent on weather and the speed of collection and should not be considered a set collection schedule. Progress of the collection is weather dependent and will be affected by rain or snow. Snowfall before mid-December may cause a suspension or cancellation vacuum leaf collection. Town crews will also pick up leaves placed in biodegradable brown paper bags through Dec. 15, weather permitting. Leaves in biodegradable brown paper bags will be collected weekly on the scheduled waste collection days. The use of the brown bags is strongly recommended as early snow may require suspension or cancellation of vacuum leaf collection until the spring. Residents must have all of their bagged leaves at curbside by Dec. 15 to ensure collection. Leaves in plastic bags will not be collected and bags with grass clippings, branches or other foreign matter will not be collected. Residents may also bring their leaves to the Transfer Station on Ecology Drive. Bulky waste permits are not required for residents entering the Transfer Station with leaves only. Normal Transfer Station hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 7:15 A.M. to Noon and 12:30 to 2:45 P.M. and on the first and third Saturdays of the month from 8:00 A.M. to 1:45 P.M. Leaves in plastic bags will not be accepted. The progress of the leaf collection program will be available on the Public Works 24 hour information telephone line, 860-291-7374, or by calling the Highway Services Division at 860-291-7371, Monday through Friday between 7:30 A.M. and 3 p.m. Fiber Crafts EAST HARTFORD — Fiber crafters are invited to gather together at the East Hartford Public Library in an upcoming series of programs at 840 Main St. The library will welcome quilters on Monday nights and other fiber crafters -- knitting, crochet, tatting -- on Wednesday nights, every other week. No experience is necessary. The program will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and no registration is required. These informal gatherings will be a fun and safe space to practice your craft with other crafters, to learn from each other, meet new friends, and find your common thread with others. Facilitating the program will be Elizabeth Morin and Effie Dibenedetto, librarians who enjoy fiber crafts. For dates and more information, visit www.easthartfordct.gov/library or call the library at 860-290-4329. Working Cities Challenge EAST HARTFORD — East Hartford has been selected to participate, competing with nine other towns and cities across Connecticut, in the Working Cities Challenge. Developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, this Challenge is a multiyear, multistate funding initiative that is designed to foster economic growth in smaller industrial cities in New England, with community based efforts to tackle social and economic challenges.
The East Hartford Working Cities Challenge Team has been working on a design to meet the specific economic and social challenges of the Silver Lane Community. Key partners have been the Town of East Hartford, the United Way of Central and Northeastern CT, CT Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), the Department of Labor, Goodwin College, Hall Keen Management of Summerfield Townhomes, and other key industry leaders and residents. Residents may visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/working_cities_community_2017_2018 to take a community survey about employment and education experiences. For more information, contact Paul Mainuli, Director of Business Services for the East Hartford Public Schools at 860-622-5135. 2017 Road Improvement Project Update EAST HARTFORD — The Town of East Hartford's Road Improvement Project is underway. Contractor Tilcon Connecticut, Inc. will continue road improvement activities, including pavement reconstruction, new curbing installation, manhole adjustments, sidewalk ramp construction, pavement marking, etc. throughout the fall. Residents should be advised that no street has been fully completed. Work may return to their street through the fall. The following status update for all 2017 Road Improvement Project streets is as of Aug. 25, 2017. The first layer of paving and curb installation is complete for the following roads. Concrete work is underway for some driveways and accessible ramps. The final surface course paving is scheduled for September: Claremont Street, Deerfield Court, Deerfield Avenue, Edward Street, Franklin Street, Linden Street, Maplewood Avenue, Oakland Avenue, Stanley Street, Sterling Road, Webster Street, and Woodbridge Avenue. Columbus Circle has been reclaimed and will be paved once the road has been graded and compacted. Curbing will then be installed. Drainage work is ongoing on the following roads, and is nearing completion. Then the road will be reclaimed to make the first layer of pavement: Adams Street, Murray Street, Vine Street, Springside Avenue, Rose Street, and Greene Terrace. Drainage work has started on Jayce Street and Park Avenue. Both will be milled and repaved starting in September. Drainage work has also begun on Barbonsel Road and Godar Terrace, both of these streets will be reclaimed and repaved. Questions can be directed to the East Hartford Public Works Department, Engineering Division at 860-291-7380, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Visit http://www.easthartfordct.gov/engineering for more information. Blue Star Flag Flies For Deployed Firefighters EAST HARTFORD — Continuing a long standing tradition, the East Hartford Fire Department is flying the Blue Star Flag at each fire station to recognize the overseas service of two of its members. Lieutenant Nicholas Calsetta and Firefighter/Paramedic Darrel Hanrahan are both deployed overseas with units of the Connecticut Air National Guard. A tradition lasting to the First World War, the Blue Star Banner and its associated flag is a federally recognized symbol indicating that a family member is serving overseas in the Armed Forces. The East Hartford Fire Department has flown the flag for each deployment of a department member since 2010. Visit https://www.legion.org/troops/bluestar for more information about the Blue Star Banner. Mental Illness Support Groups EAST HARTFORD — The Manchester affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will hold a support group on the first Thursday of the month at the Crossroads Community Cathedral, 1492 Silver Lane, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for family members, caregivers and loved ones of individuals living with mental illness. Gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar circumstances. Contact Dama at dayma436@gmail.com or Sandra at 860-461-6695 for more information. Donations Sought: Back-To-School Program EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Social Services Division will be transitioning their Back-to-School Supplies Program to a Back-to-School Shoe Program. Donations are currently being sought for the newly established "Payless Back-to-School Shoe Program." These funds will be used to purchase discounted Payless Shoe gift cards to distribute to the students previously served by the "Back-to-School Supplies Program." The goal of the program is to provide parents with a $25 one time use gift card to Payless ShoeSource. Any individual, organization or group wishing to find out more about this program or make a donation are encouraged to contact Social Services at 860-291-7248. Checks should be made payable to: Payless Back-to-School Shoe Program and are fully tax deductible. Smoke Alarm Installations EAST HARTFORD — The Connecticut American Red Cross and the East Hartford Fire Department are offering free smoke alarms and installation to residents in East Hartford. Installations took place on Friday, Aug. 4. Residents can schedule a visit on the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross's website or by calling 877-287-3327 and choosing option 1 on the menu to request a smoke alarm installation. Visit http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/fire/prevent-home-fire for fire safety tips. New Taxes Billing System EAST HARTFORD — Tax Collector Iris Laurenza is reminding residents that the first installment of real estate, motor vehicle and personal property tax for the fiscal year was due effective July 1. Residents wishing their payment to be marked as on time should complete or postmark payment on or before August 1, 2017. Late payments are subject to an interest charge of 1 1/2 percent per month from the due date of July 1, 2017, with a minimum interest payment of $2. Residents are reminded that failure to receive a tax bill does not excuse residents from paying the tax or added penalties. Residents with questions about vehicles which were sold, stolen or destroyed should contact the East Hartford Assessor's Office at 860-291-7260. Residents requesting a receipt with mailed tax payments should include a self-addressed stamped envelope. |
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Mobile Foodshare Schedule EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Mobile Foodshare for December is as follows. This program assists low income individuals/families. Summerfield Townhouses, 156 Plain Drive, 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27. When East Hartford Public Schools have an early dismissal or are closed due to bad weather, Summerfield Foodshare will be canceled that day. Visit https://www.facebook.com/#1!/SummerfieldTownhouses for more information. St. Isaac Jogues, 41 Home Terrace, 1:15 to 2 p.m. Monday: Dec. 18. When East Hartford Schools are closed due to bad weather, Mayberry Foodshare will be canceled that day. Note location change for winter distributions: Main & Burnside Mobile, 12 Rector St., 1:15 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20. When East Hartford Schools are closed due to bad weather, Main & Burnside Mobile will be canceled that day. Polish Christmas Eve Dinner HARTFORD — The Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, Inc. will present its annual Wigilia Celebration on Friday, Dec. 15. A social and cash bar begins at 6 p.m. The Wigilia program, with live music, begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner. The event will be held at the Polish National Home, 60 Charter Oak Ave. This celebration features the time-honored custom of the sharing of the Oplatek, or Christmas wafer, and a five-course traditional, meatless dinner. It will culminate with a sing-along of Koledy, or Christmas carols. The cost is $42 for members. A cordial invitation is extended to any non-members who wish to enjoy a typical Polish Christmas Eve experience Cost for nonmembers is $47 per person. Advanced reservations are required and no tickets will be sold at the door. The reservation deadline is Dec. 11. Make checks payable to the Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford, Inc.(PCCGH) and mail to Mrs. Nancy Yiznitsky, 87 Montclair Drive, East Hartford, CT 06118. Call 860-568-2044 with questions about reservations. Additional information can also be obtained by visiting www.polishculturalclub.org or calling 860-659-0356. Senior Center News EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Senior Center, 70 Canterbury St., is hosting the following events. Visit www.easthartfordct.gov or call 860-568-4281 for more information. The senior center is looking for volunteers to help serve the noon meal, work as an office volunteer or join the special events group. Call the above number if you are interested. A Dominoes group will take place at 1 p.m. Fridays. Every Tuesday from 1 to 3:30 p.m., a group meets to knit and crochet. There is no need to sign up, just drop in with your own materials and join in. Do you want to learn to line dance? Drop in on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. to try the latest dances. Do you know that the East Hartford Senior Center serves a hot lunch every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Call 860-569-5654 before noon on the day before you are coming to make a reservation. A full meal is served for a $2.50 donation. Silver Sneakers is coming to the East Hartford Senior Center. If you currently receive or will be eligible for Silver Sneakers, you can take an exercise class at the East Hartford Senior Center for free. This weekly class begins on Wednesday, Jan. 3, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The Strength, Balance and Stability class combines strength training, stretching and core exercises. If you have the Silver Sneakers benefit on your Medigap or Medicare Advantage plan, please call to pre-register. If you are interested in the class and do not have the Silver Sneakers benefit, you can purchase a 10-class punch card for $30 on the first day of class. Blue Skies Big Band is performing at the East Hartford Senior Center on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 6:30 p.m. They will be playing holiday music and big band classics. Tickets are on sale for $5 per person in the Senior Center office. Dessert and coffee are served at the break. Transportation will be provided. When you purchase your ticket be sure to make a ride reservation, if you would like a ride. Winter Concert Schedule EAST HARTFORD — The community is invited to attend one or more of the East Hartford Public Schools' winter concerts that will take place in December, January, and February. The elementary schools will feature the grade five chorus and the instrumental programs at the school. All events are free. Space is limited in the daytime concerts. The East Hartford High School concert will feature the orchestra and all the choirs during the evening. Holiday selections from a variety of cultures and musical styles will be performed. Any questions about the events can be directed to Tracy Kane, Supervisor of the Fine and Performing Arts at 860-622-5971. Visit easthartford.org for specific school locations and snow dates. Community Action Agencies Accepting Energy Assistance Applications AREA — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just released $67,255,113 in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. This amount is 90-percent of LIHEAP funds allocated for the State of Connecticut. Connecticut residents struggling to pay their utility bills this winter can apply for home heating assistance through Connecticut's Community Action Agency Network. The Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are the only nonprofit agencies administering LIHEAP, which provides home heating assistance to Connecticut's most vulnerable residents. Each CAA has application intake sites throughout their service regions. Some sites may include local town halls, and customers should check with their local CAA for a complete site listing. In Connecticut this program is called the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and is housed under the Department of Social Services (DSS). The state's Community Action Agencies administer the $74M+ program locally in all 169 cities and towns. CAAs are now accepting CEAP applications for the 2017-2018 winter season and expect more applications in the coming weeks, especially as temperatures begin to drop. Homeowners and/or renters may apply, and funds may be used to pay for whatever source of heating residents have in their homes. This includes wood, electric, oil, kerosene, or natural gas. CAAs will certify oil deliveries. They began Wednesday, Nov. 15, for those who heat with oil, propane, and deliverable fuels. May 1, 2018, is the last day households can apply for benefits unless the household is utility heated and has a shut off notice for its primary source of heat. May 15, 2018 is the last day a utility heated household with a shut off notice for its primary source of heat can apply for benefits.
Another protection for Connecticut's struggling families is the utility moratorium, or winter hardship, which provides protection for eligible households against heat source shut-offs between November 1st and May 1st. Gas and electric utilities cannot be shut off (summer or winter) if lack of the utility creates a life-threatening situation. If a customer is having trouble paying their utility bills during the winter moratorium period, Community Action Agencies will work with them on affordable utility payment programs, including the Matching Payment Program (MPP) and Below Budget Payment Plans. MPP is a payment incentive program that allows eligible utility customers to maintain year-round electric and gas service and pay an agreed-upon amount each month to pay down the balance on their heating bill. If customers cannot afford the utility payment plan, CAAs work with the customer and can submit a Below Budget Payment Plan based on the household income and expenses. A CEAP benefit to a household automatically makes that household eligible for weatherization services. So, in addition to heating assistance, CAAs will refer customers to those agencies providing weatherization services, which helps minimize energy-related costs and fuel usage in homes through retrofits and home improvement measures. Additionally, there are funds available this year through the CAA for heating system repair and replacement if such services are deemed necessary and as the amount of funds allocated allow. Lastly, when a customer comes to a CAA for energy assistance, the agency will also assist customers in accessing other benefits for which they may be eligible including SNAP and other food programs, financial counseling, child care, and case management. Connecticut's poorest families struggle each and every year to heat their homes in this a state with one of the highest utility rates in the country; customers many times having to choose between heating and eating or heating and paying for their medicines. CEAP allows them to not only cover high home energy costs and keep warm during the cold winter months, but gives low-income families the opportunity to address other critical, basic needs, rather than having to choose between them. Any resident who needs help paying their heating bill this winter should contact their Community Action Agency immediately. For more information on Connecticut's Energy Assistance Program, how to find your local CAA to apply, or to make a donation, visit www.cafca.org or contact the Connecticut Association for Community Action (CAFCA), 144 Clinton Street, New Britain, CT, 06053, 860-832-9438. Leaf Collection EAST HARTFORD — Mayor Marcia A. Leclerc and Public Works Director Tim Bockus announced that the town's annual curbside leaf collection program began on Monday, Nov. 6. The program will feature a one-time vacuuming of leaves placed next to the edge of the road in piles. Leaves were vacuumed Monday through Saturday from Nov. 6 until all leaves are collected once along each street. A second collection pass may occur as weather permits. The leaf collection program will commence on roads in the northwest corner of town in the area of Pitkin Street and then proceed north and east through the Burnham and Goodwin Street areas. Leaves will be vacuumed once along each street, weather permitting. Collection will proceed in a clockwise direction around town. At https://www.easthartfordct.gov/public-works, the Department of Public Works will publish a weekly advisory map. This map will show completed areas as well as the areas where leaf collection is anticipated the following week. Residents will note that these maps are tentative and dependent on weather and the speed of collection and should not be considered a set collection schedule. Progress of the collection is weather dependent and will be affected by rain or snow. Snowfall before mid-December may cause a suspension or cancellation vacuum leaf collection. Town crews will also pick up leaves placed in biodegradable brown paper bags through Dec. 15, weather permitting. Leaves in biodegradable brown paper bags will be collected weekly on the scheduled waste collection days. The use of the brown bags is strongly recommended as early snow may require suspension or cancellation of vacuum leaf collection until the spring. Residents must have all of their bagged leaves at curbside by Dec. 15 to ensure collection. Leaves in plastic bags will not be collected and bags with grass clippings, branches or other foreign matter will not be collected. Residents may also bring their leaves to the Transfer Station on Ecology Drive. Bulky waste permits are not required for residents entering the Transfer Station with leaves only. Normal Transfer Station hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 7:15 A.M. to Noon and 12:30 to 2:45 P.M. and on the first and third Saturdays of the month from 8:00 A.M. to 1:45 P.M. Leaves in plastic bags will not be accepted. The progress of the leaf collection program will be available on the Public Works 24 hour information telephone line, 860-291-7374, or by calling the Highway Services Division at 860-291-7371, Monday through Friday between 7:30 A.M. and 3 p.m. Fiber Crafts EAST HARTFORD — Fiber crafters are invited to gather together at the East Hartford Public Library in an upcoming series of programs at 840 Main St. The library will welcome quilters on Monday nights and other fiber crafters -- knitting, crochet, tatting -- on Wednesday nights, every other week. No experience is necessary. The program will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and no registration is required. These informal gatherings will be a fun and safe space to practice your craft with other crafters, to learn from each other, meet new friends, and find your common thread with others. Facilitating the program will be Elizabeth Morin and Effie Dibenedetto, librarians who enjoy fiber crafts. For dates and more information, visit www.easthartfordct.gov/library or call the library at 860-290-4329. Working Cities Challenge EAST HARTFORD — East Hartford has been selected to participate, competing with nine other towns and cities across Connecticut, in the Working Cities Challenge. Developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, this Challenge is a multiyear, multistate funding initiative that is designed to foster economic growth in smaller industrial cities in New England, with community based efforts to tackle social and economic challenges.
The East Hartford Working Cities Challenge Team has been working on a design to meet the specific economic and social challenges of the Silver Lane Community. Key partners have been the Town of East Hartford, the United Way of Central and Northeastern CT, CT Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), the Department of Labor, Goodwin College, Hall Keen Management of Summerfield Townhomes, and other key industry leaders and residents. Residents may visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/working_cities_community_2017_2018 to take a community survey about employment and education experiences. For more information, contact Paul Mainuli, Director of Business Services for the East Hartford Public Schools at 860-622-5135. 2017 Road Improvement Project Update EAST HARTFORD — The Town of East Hartford's Road Improvement Project is underway. Contractor Tilcon Connecticut, Inc. will continue road improvement activities, including pavement reconstruction, new curbing installation, manhole adjustments, sidewalk ramp construction, pavement marking, etc. throughout the fall. Residents should be advised that no street has been fully completed. Work may return to their street through the fall. The following status update for all 2017 Road Improvement Project streets is as of Aug. 25, 2017. The first layer of paving and curb installation is complete for the following roads. Concrete work is underway for some driveways and accessible ramps. The final surface course paving is scheduled for September: Claremont Street, Deerfield Court, Deerfield Avenue, Edward Street, Franklin Street, Linden Street, Maplewood Avenue, Oakland Avenue, Stanley Street, Sterling Road, Webster Street, and Woodbridge Avenue. Columbus Circle has been reclaimed and will be paved once the road has been graded and compacted. Curbing will then be installed. Drainage work is ongoing on the following roads, and is nearing completion. Then the road will be reclaimed to make the first layer of pavement: Adams Street, Murray Street, Vine Street, Springside Avenue, Rose Street, and Greene Terrace. Drainage work has started on Jayce Street and Park Avenue. Both will be milled and repaved starting in September. Drainage work has also begun on Barbonsel Road and Godar Terrace, both of these streets will be reclaimed and repaved. Questions can be directed to the East Hartford Public Works Department, Engineering Division at 860-291-7380, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Visit http://www.easthartfordct.gov/engineering for more information. Blue Star Flag Flies For Deployed Firefighters EAST HARTFORD — Continuing a long standing tradition, the East Hartford Fire Department is flying the Blue Star Flag at each fire station to recognize the overseas service of two of its members. Lieutenant Nicholas Calsetta and Firefighter/Paramedic Darrel Hanrahan are both deployed overseas with units of the Connecticut Air National Guard. A tradition lasting to the First World War, the Blue Star Banner and its associated flag is a federally recognized symbol indicating that a family member is serving overseas in the Armed Forces. The East Hartford Fire Department has flown the flag for each deployment of a department member since 2010. Visit https://www.legion.org/troops/bluestar for more information about the Blue Star Banner. Mental Illness Support Groups EAST HARTFORD — The Manchester affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will hold a support group on the first Thursday of the month at the Crossroads Community Cathedral, 1492 Silver Lane, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for family members, caregivers and loved ones of individuals living with mental illness. Gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar circumstances. Contact Dama at dayma436@gmail.com or Sandra at 860-461-6695 for more information. Donations Sought: Back-To-School Program EAST HARTFORD — The East Hartford Social Services Division will be transitioning their Back-to-School Supplies Program to a Back-to-School Shoe Program. Donations are currently being sought for the newly established "Payless Back-to-School Shoe Program." These funds will be used to purchase discounted Payless Shoe gift cards to distribute to the students previously served by the "Back-to-School Supplies Program." The goal of the program is to provide parents with a $25 one time use gift card to Payless ShoeSource. Any individual, organization or group wishing to find out more about this program or make a donation are encouraged to contact Social Services at 860-291-7248. Checks should be made payable to: Payless Back-to-School Shoe Program and are fully tax deductible. Smoke Alarm Installations EAST HARTFORD — The Connecticut American Red Cross and the East Hartford Fire Department are offering free smoke alarms and installation to residents in East Hartford. Installations took place on Friday, Aug. 4. Residents can schedule a visit on the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross's website or by calling 877-287-3327 and choosing option 1 on the menu to request a smoke alarm installation. Visit http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/fire/prevent-home-fire for fire safety tips. New Taxes Billing System EAST HARTFORD — Tax Collector Iris Laurenza is reminding residents that the first installment of real estate, motor vehicle and personal property tax for the fiscal year was due effective July 1. Residents wishing their payment to be marked as on time should complete or postmark payment on or before August 1, 2017. Late payments are subject to an interest charge of 1 1/2 percent per month from the due date of July 1, 2017, with a minimum interest payment of $2. Residents are reminded that failure to receive a tax bill does not excuse residents from paying the tax or added penalties. Residents with questions about vehicles which were sold, stolen or destroyed should contact the East Hartford Assessor's Office at 860-291-7260. Residents requesting a receipt with mailed tax payments should include a self-addressed stamped envelope. |
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Bill Polian remembers walking into the RCA Dome for Peyton Manning’s home debut in 1998, peering into the stands and seeing all those Dan Marino jerseys.
When he wanted an explanation, the future Hall of Fame executive was told Indiana’s football fans started following the Dolphins when former Purdue quarterback Bob Griese was winning Super Bowls and never switched their allegiance. Polian, who attended high school in the Bronx and grew up a die-hard Yankees fan, never completely understood why they wouldn’t support their hometown team.
Within a few short years, Manning and his teammates had converted them.
Suddenly, an oft-empty stadium was selling out so often the organization needed a season-ticket waiting list. And so many fans dressed in royal blue and white, many bearing the familiar No. 18, that television analyst John Madden often dubbed Indy as the home to the most jerseys in any NFL stadium.
On Sunday, Manning will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor and become the first player from the franchise’s Indianapolis era to have his jersey retired.
“He put the sheen on the horseshoe, and the horseshoe, because of him and Jim Irsay and Tony (Dungy), really means something now,” Polian said. “He had a pretty special antenna and connection with fans.”
By almost any measure, Manning had one of the greatest careers in NFL history.
He started 227 consecutive games, including the playoffs, and finished as the league’s career leader in yards passing (71,940) and touchdowns (539). His 6,125 completions and 9,380 attempts are second all-time.
He holds records for most TD passes in a season (55), most yards passing in a season (5,477), most 300-yard games (93), most games with a perfect passer rating (five), most 4,000-yard seasons (14), most come-from behind wins (45), even most interceptions by a rookie (28). His 14 Pro Bowl appearances are tied for the most ever.
His trophy case includes a record five NFL MVP awards and two Super Bowl rings.
For most teams, the numbers would warrant erecting a statue outside the stadium he helped fund and that will happen Saturday. Of course, Manning did more than win on the field: He helped this basketball-crazed state and a city known far and wide for the Indianapolis 500 embrace football.
“Inside the stadium in those early days, it was hit or miss whether or not the other team was going to have as many fans as you did,” said former deputy mayor Steve Campbell, a longtime season-ticket holder who starts a new job with the Colts on Monday. “Two, maybe three years in, inside the stadium, outside the stadium at tailgate areas, that was the moment I think the Colts truly became solidified as Indianapolis’ team and not just the team that came from Baltimore. He was not only an ambassador for the team and the NFL, he was an ambassador for the city.”
It wasn’t a coincidence.
The Louisiana-born kid who grew up a fan of his dad’s team, the New Orleans Saints, and played four seasons of college football at Tennessee felt so at home in the small market of Indianapolis that he warned Polian if he didn’t draft him No. 1 overall in 1998, he’d kick the Colts’ butts for 15 years.
Manning’s football talent was obvious. Polian’s research also indicated he would be an even bigger hit in the community.
Winning and winning big came in time. Manning made an even bigger impact with casual or non-football fans with what he did outside the team complex.
He started the Peyback Foundation to help underprivileged children and left town with his name on a children’s hospital. He made Indianapolis a chic destination for celebrities and their memorabilia. He hosted high school football games at Lucas Oil Stadium and left handwritten notes for people he wanted to thank or who simply needed a pickup.
It wasn’t an act, and it paid dividends in ways Manning may still not completely understand..
“When Peyton was drafted, he wouldn’t accept losing,” Greenwood High School assistant coach Dom Battinau said. “You see these kids now who are winning because of Peyton. You see the metropolitan Indianapolis area was ranked third in high school football talent last year and I think the interest was created from him, from his excitement on the field, his leadership, the way he carried himself and the fact he did it the right way. I think kids kind of take a look at what’s cool and what’s in, and to see this guy winning at a high level and doing it the right way, it was a draw.”
And something everyone turned into some semblance of currency.
When team owner Jim Irsay asked city and state leaders to help build a new stadium to keep the Colts competitive, Irsay and Polian did the heavy politicking. Their trump card, though, always was Manning.
“I still think we would have pursued it because it was the right thing to do for the city,” Campbell said before contemplating what would have happened without Manning. “Our strategy probably would have been a lot different. But I think having an ambassador like Peyton was just what we needed, and I have no idea how it would have turned out without him.”
Manning was released by the Colts in March 2012 and signed with Denver where he continued breaking records for four more years.
But he was never far from the hearts of Indy fans. When he returned to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time in October 2013, the Marino jerseys had been replaced by a sea of No. 18s - some in blue, some in orange, some in both and Manning received a standing ovation before the game started.
Almost 20 years after first joining the Colts, Manning remains one of the rarest athletes of his generation - a transformational figure Polian compared to the likes of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Duke Snider and Frank Gifford.
“They became transcendent athletes, they become identified far more with the community than the team. I’m not sure we’ve had anyone in Indianapolis who was that way before,” Polian said. “He (Manning) wanted to be not only Indy’s quarterback but one of its most productive and giving citizens. It’s ironic with all the records he set, first ballot Hall of Famer and two Super Bowl championships, the Peyback Foundation, the children’s hospital and the revitalization of high school football in Indianapolis are far more important.”
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For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL |
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Bill Polian remembers walking into the RCA Dome for Peyton Manning’s home debut in 1998, peering into the stands and seeing all those Dan Marino jerseys.
When he wanted an explanation, the future Hall of Fame executive was told Indiana’s football fans started following the Dolphins when former Purdue quarterback Bob Griese was winning Super Bowls and never switched their allegiance. Polian, who attended high school in the Bronx and grew up a die-hard Yankees fan, never completely understood why they wouldn’t support their hometown team.
Within a few short years, Manning and his teammates had converted them.
Suddenly, an oft-empty stadium was selling out so often the organization needed a season-ticket waiting list. And so many fans dressed in royal blue and white, many bearing the familiar No. 18, that television analyst John Madden often dubbed Indy as the home to the most jerseys in any NFL stadium.
On Sunday, Manning will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor and become the first player from the franchise’s Indianapolis era to have his jersey retired.
“He put the sheen on the horseshoe, and the horseshoe, because of him and Jim Irsay and Tony (Dungy), really means something now,” Polian said. “He had a pretty special antenna and connection with fans.”
By almost any measure, Manning had one of the greatest careers in NFL history.
He started 227 consecutive games, including the playoffs, and finished as the league’s career leader in yards passing (71,940) and touchdowns (539). His 6,125 completions and 9,380 attempts are second all-time.
He holds records for most TD passes in a season (55), most yards passing in a season (5,477), most 300-yard games (93), most games with a perfect passer rating (five), most 4,000-yard seasons (14), most come-from behind wins (45), even most interceptions by a rookie (28). His 14 Pro Bowl appearances are tied for the most ever.
His trophy case includes a record five NFL MVP awards and two Super Bowl rings.
For most teams, the numbers would warrant erecting a statue outside the stadium he helped fund and that will happen Saturday. Of course, Manning did more than win on the field: He helped this basketball-crazed state and a city known far and wide for the Indianapolis 500 embrace football.
“Inside the stadium in those early days, it was hit or miss whether or not the other team was going to have as many fans as you did,” said former deputy mayor Steve Campbell, a longtime season-ticket holder who starts a new job with the Colts on Monday. “Two, maybe three years in, inside the stadium, outside the stadium at tailgate areas, that was the moment I think the Colts truly became solidified as Indianapolis’ team and not just the team that came from Baltimore. He was not only an ambassador for the team and the NFL, he was an ambassador for the city.”
It wasn’t a coincidence.
The Louisiana-born kid who grew up a fan of his dad’s team, the New Orleans Saints, and played four seasons of college football at Tennessee felt so at home in the small market of Indianapolis that he warned Polian if he didn’t draft him No. 1 overall in 1998, he’d kick the Colts’ butts for 15 years.
Manning’s football talent was obvious. Polian’s research also indicated he would be an even bigger hit in the community.
Winning and winning big came in time. Manning made an even bigger impact with casual or non-football fans with what he did outside the team complex.
He started the Peyback Foundation to help underprivileged children and left town with his name on a children’s hospital. He made Indianapolis a chic destination for celebrities and their memorabilia. He hosted high school football games at Lucas Oil Stadium and left handwritten notes for people he wanted to thank or who simply needed a pickup.
It wasn’t an act, and it paid dividends in ways Manning may still not completely understand..
“When Peyton was drafted, he wouldn’t accept losing,” Greenwood High School assistant coach Dom Battinau said. “You see these kids now who are winning because of Peyton. You see the metropolitan Indianapolis area was ranked third in high school football talent last year and I think the interest was created from him, from his excitement on the field, his leadership, the way he carried himself and the fact he did it the right way. I think kids kind of take a look at what’s cool and what’s in, and to see this guy winning at a high level and doing it the right way, it was a draw.”
And something everyone turned into some semblance of currency.
When team owner Jim Irsay asked city and state leaders to help build a new stadium to keep the Colts competitive, Irsay and Polian did the heavy politicking. Their trump card, though, always was Manning.
“I still think we would have pursued it because it was the right thing to do for the city,” Campbell said before contemplating what would have happened without Manning. “Our strategy probably would have been a lot different. But I think having an ambassador like Peyton was just what we needed, and I have no idea how it would have turned out without him.”
Manning was released by the Colts in March 2012 and signed with Denver where he continued breaking records for four more years.
But he was never far from the hearts of Indy fans. When he returned to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time in October 2013, the Marino jerseys had been replaced by a sea of No. 18s - some in blue, some in orange, some in both and Manning received a standing ovation before the game started.
Almost 20 years after first joining the Colts, Manning remains one of the rarest athletes of his generation - a transformational figure Polian compared to the likes of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Duke Snider and Frank Gifford.
“They became transcendent athletes, they become identified far more with the community than the team. I’m not sure we’ve had anyone in Indianapolis who was that way before,” Polian said. “He (Manning) wanted to be not only Indy’s quarterback but one of its most productive and giving citizens. It’s ironic with all the records he set, first ballot Hall of Famer and two Super Bowl championships, the Peyback Foundation, the children’s hospital and the revitalization of high school football in Indianapolis are far more important.”
___
For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL |
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