PRINCETON, NJ -- Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, declined to 8.8% at the end of November -- down from 9.2% in mid-November and 9.4% at the end of October, and a new low for the year. While the government's unemployment report on Friday will include seasonal adjustments and is less timely than Gallup's Daily monitoring, Gallup modeling suggests that it will also show a decline.
The percentage of part-time workers who want full-time work declined slightly to 8.4% of the workforce in November -- also a new 2010 low. The smaller decline for this measure compared with the unemployment measure suggests that the jobs situation is improving primarily among the unemployed right now.
Underemployment at Lowest Level of 2010
The decline in the unemployment rate and the slight decline in the percentage of part-time workers wanting full-time work combine to bring underemployment down to 17.2%. This is a third consecutive new 2010 low, down from 17.7% in mid-November and 18% at the end of October.
Unemployment Situation Improving
Gallup's unemployment measure reflects what is actually taking place in the U.S. job market as more people are getting hired and fewer are being let go. However, it is not adjusted for seasonal trends, and companies hire more employees during the holiday season. For example, the new pop-up store phenomenon creates added employment for holidays like Halloween and Christmas. As a result, the decline in Gallup's estimate of the unemployment rate is likely more pronounced than what the government will report on Friday. Further, Gallup's Daily tracking is more up-to-date than the government's measure, which is based on mid-month job market conditions.
As a result, and as noted previously, Gallup estimates that the government's unemployment rate for November is likely to show a decline, into the 9.3% to 9.5% range. This is below the 9.6% current government unemployment rate as well as the consensus forecast of 9.7% for November. On the other hand, it appears to be consistent with Wednesday's ADP report showing increased private-sector job growth in November.
If the decline in Gallup's U.S. unemployment measure persists, it suggests that the government's unemployment rate for December could show a further decline when reported in early January. In turn, prospects for an improving jobs situation suggest good things for the nation's retailers -- particularly late in the holiday sales season -- and for the U.S. economy overall going forward.
Gallup.com reports results from these indexes in daily, weekly, and monthly averages and in Gallup.com stories. Complete trend data are always available to view and export in the following charts:
Daily: Employment, Economic Confidence and Job Creation, Consumer Spending
Weekly: Employment, Economic Confidence, Job Creation, Consumer Spending
Read more about Gallup's economic measures.
Gallup classifies American workers as underemployed if they are either unemployed or working part time but wanting full-time work. The findings reflect more than 18,000 phone interviews with U.S. adults aged 18 and older in the workforce, collected over a 30-day period. Gallup's results are not seasonally adjusted and tend to be a precursor of government reports by approximately two weeks.
Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Oct. 31-Nov. 29, 2010, with a random sample of 18,272 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, selected using random-digit-dial sampling.
For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±1 percentage point.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each daily sample includes a minimum quota of 150 cell phone respondents and 850 landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents for gender within region. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, cell phone-only status, cell phone-mostly status, and phone lines. Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2009 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
For more details on Gallup's polling methodology, visit www.gallup.com.


Opera for Android Exits Beta
May 21, 2013, 9:44 AM by Eric M. Zeman
Opera today announced that its WebKit-based Android browser has graduated from beta status and is now available to all from the Google Play Store. The browser had been in testing for the last several months so Opera could fine-tune the WebKit rendering engine. Previously, Opera used its own Presto rendering engine. Opera's customizations include a revised Speed Dial screen, simplified tab management, and deep browsing history support. The browser also offers server-side compressions should users wish to conserve mobile data usage. The browser is free to download and runs on devices with Android 2.3 and up.
Sep 7, 2022
Apple has revealed the iPhone 14 series, with new features, improved specs, and new size options. In place of a Mini option, the iPhone 14 will come in the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen size options as the Pro models.
Feb 9, 2022
Samsung today announced its lineup of flagship phones for 2022: the Galaxy S22 series. The top-end S22 Ultra sees the biggest changes as it essentially absorbs Samsung's Note series with an integrated S Pen stylus and a more Note-like shape and design, instead of the Contour Cut design of the other models.
Jan 14, 2021
Samsung today officially unveiled its Galaxy S21 series of flagship phones for 2021. All three models sport a distinctive new "Contour Cut Camera" design where the metal frame extends around one corner to surround the rear cameras.
Jan 8, 2021
Motorola today unveiled a full lineup of four new affordable phones, including three g-series models ranging from $169 – $299 and one 5G model for $399. All four feature large batteries (4,000 – 5,000 mAh) and large displays (6.5 – 6.8 inches).
Jun 22, 2020
Apple has revealed iOS 14, which brings a number of new features to the OS for Apple's iPhones: Widgets : Apple has promoted Widgets to the main home screen. Just as Android has always allowed, you can now mix re-sizable widgets in with your app icons.
Still kind of flaky
This new non-beta webkit version replaces Opera Mobile as an update (though it is not labeled as Mobile). The previous version is still available from the Amazon app store if anyone has been tricked into this "update" and wants to revert to th...


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american dream dusty rhodes, Augusta Free Press, Dusty Rhodes, dusty rhodes died, news, wrestling, WWE
Wrestling icon Dusty Rhodes passes away at age 69
WWE has confirmed that Virgil Runnels, known to millions of wrestling fans as “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, died on Thursday, with multiple published reports saying the death was the result of complications from a fall in his home early...
Chris Graham, Cody Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes, WWE
Analysis: Will we see Goldust vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 30?
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Hirelings hit marginalized camp in Jawf
JAWF, June 21 (Saba) – The Riyadh’s hirelings targeted on Tuesday a camp of marginalized people in Jawf province with mortars and artillery shells, a local official said.
A fire broke out at the camp, which is located in al-A’adhaba area in al-Moton district, and many tents were burnt, the official said.
No human casualties were reported in the camp. However, the official said all the people who were in the camp, have fled the camp and with no shelter now.


- The price of gold climbs inside a bullish chart pattern as 2023 begins for traders.
- US Dollar weakness supports XAU/USD strength even as holiday mood limits bullish momentum.
- Gold buyers will be looking for clues on the Federal Reserve pivot, may also encourage a softer nonfarm payroll in the US.
The price of gold (XAU/USD) begins 2023 without major surprises as it hovers around $1,825 in the early hours of Monday’s Asian session. While the New Year holidays in several markets appeared to have limited the metal’s immediate moves, the vastly weaker US Dollar kept hope among bright metal buyers ahead of this week’s high-profile data and events in the US. United. Even so, fears emanating from China and worries surrounding global moves in 2023 are probing XAU/USD bulls.
Gold Applauds Mixed US Data Weighing on US Dollar
In 2022, the US Dollar Index (DXY) recorded the biggest annual gain since 2015. Even so, the gauge of the greenback against the six major currencies signaled that the past three months have been in deficit. The reason may have to do with recently weaker data from the United States (US) which fueled expectations of a Federal Reserve (Fed) pause in rate hikes. It should be noted, however, that the strength of the price of gold, due to the weakness of the DXY, seems to have recently been called into question by the fears of Covid emanating from China, as well as by the pessimistic comments of the director Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva.
On Friday, the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index broke through the market consensus of 41.2 and the previous 37.2 reading to print December’s figures of 44.9. Despite this, the activity gauge signaled a contraction for the fourth consecutive month.
Market fears probe XAU/USD bulls
Despite the overall weaker DXY over the past three months, recent fears emanating from worsening coronavirus conditions in China appear to challenge gold buyers, primarily due to Beijing’s status as one of the largest users. of raw materials in the world.
On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared in a televised address to mark the New Year and called for more effort and unity as the country enters a “new phase” in its approach to fighting the pandemic. .
Following this, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the new year is going to be tougher than the year we are leaving behind. The IMF chief also added: “Why? Because the big three economies – the US, EU and China – are all slowing down simultaneously.
Given the global economic fears, XAU/USD bulls may experience further difficulties in thinned markets over the holidays.
Gold traders await Federal Reserve minutes and US nonfarm payrolls
Along with the challenges facing Chinese gold traders and global economic concerns, the cautious mood ahead of the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and monthly US employment data could also challenge the rise of XAU/USD. .
The scheduled events and data become more prominent as there has been a week-long gap since the US signaled major catalysts and the US Dollar declined mostly during the said time frame. Moreover, the receding hawkish bias on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) next move also inflates the importance of the predicted factors.
That said, the FOMC minutes will be closely watched for any hints on the Fed’s pivot as the US central bank has signaled lower rates for longer, which could help the price of gold hold firmer.
On the other hand, weak US employment numbers could help the US dollar remain calm and propel the price of gold.
Gold Price Technical Analysis
The price of gold represents a month-old bullish channel formation on the four-hour chart. Bullion’s bullish momentum also justifies bullish signals on the Moving Average Convergence and Divergence (MACD) indicator, as well as the upbeat Relative Strength Index (RSI) line, located at 14.
It should be noted, however, that the RSI is approaching overbought territory and suggests the XAU/USD pullback, which in turn highlights a three-week horizontal hurdle around $1,825 as the key to watch for buyers. Golden.
Following this, the aforementioned upper trending channel upper line near $1,835 at press time may challenge the metal’s further upside.
In an event that gold bulls ignore the likely overbought RSI and break through resistance at $1,835, the June 2022 peak of around $1,880 will be in focus.
Alternatively, an upward sloping support line from Wednesday limits the immediate drop in gold price near $1,820, a break of which could take the metal towards the 100 exponential moving average (EMA) level. close to the $1,800 threshold.
Even so, gold remains on the bull’s radar unless it stays above the indicated bullish channel support line near $1,785 at the latest.
Therefore, the price of gold is technically strong even though a pullback is brewing lately.
Gold price: four-hour chart


In early December, California-based Bolt Threads launched its latest product, a knitted hat. Read more here.
This year, for the first time in my life, I’ll be hosting my family for the holidays. Read more here.
Leathermaking is an ancient craft. The oldest leather artefact found so far is a 5,500-year-old shoe from a cave in Armenia, but paintings in Egyptian tombs show that, 7,000 years ago, leather was being turned into all manner of things, from sandals to buckets to military equipment. Read more here.
Meat that doesn’t require the slaughter of animals. Fashion that provides an eco-friendly alternative to leather. Read more here.
Curious about how a GMO is made? How scientists create GMOs is one of the top questions we get about GMOs. This video shows how GMOs are made, through the story of the Hawaiian Rainbow Papaya. Watch here.
Winter is no time to flower, which is why so many plants have evolved the ability to wait for the snow to melt before investing precious resources in blooms. Read more here.
IN THE pharma business, Juno Therapeutics, a small firm based in Seattle, is just a stripling. It is three years old, has not a single drug approval to its name but is nonetheless valued at $2.8 billion. That value is derived from the fact that it is on the forefront of the most promising area […]
One of the world’s newest breed associations has effectively doubled in size overnight after welcoming Spanish cattle into its livestock registration system. The British and Irish Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA) has this week announced that Spanish breeders of pure-bred and crossed Wagyu cattle can benefit fully from going through the WBA registration book, in the hope […]
Some 1,400 Australian Suffolk sheep have been shipped to China to help and improve the genetics of China’s sheep flock, ABC Australia has reported. China’s sheep flock stands at around 250m head and the sheep will be used for meat production. Read more here
Researchers have made an advance in the fight against a deadly virus that affects pigs. The team used advanced genetic techniques to produce pigs that are potentially resilient to African Swine Fever – a highly contagious disease that kills up to two-thirds of infected animals. The new pigs carry a version of a gene that […]
A 2013 documentary claiming to explore how genetically engineered food affects our health and environment, GMO OMG spouts fallacies that anti-GMO activists still love to wield in 2016. The film follows director, producer and father Jeremy Seifert as he examines the relationship between genetically modified food and his three young children. With organic and non-GMO […]
The so-called Arctic apples are genetically altered to suppress browning and may be offered for sale as bagged slices in up to 400 stores in the Midwest and Southern California, according to the company. Read more here.
German conglomerate Bayer, together with Boston biotech startup Ginkgo Bioworks, announced this morning that they’re creating a new company that could make it possible for crops like corn, wheat and rice to produce nitrogen fertilizer. Read more here.
Genetically engineered salmon has reached the dinner table. AquaBounty Technologies, the company in Maynard, Massachusetts, that developed the fish, announced on 4 August that it has sold some 4.5 tonnes of its hotly debated product to customers in Canada. Read more here.
The quest for artificial meat inches forward—the company Memphis Meats announced today it has developed chicken and duck meat from cultured cells of each bird, producing “clean poultry.” Read more here.
You should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but you just might want to look in its genes. Just as humans artificially bred bulldogs from domesticated wolves, they’ve also tampered with equines, selecting particular horses for their pedigrees, athletic abilities, and looks. Read more here.
Tomatoes are already an ideal model species for plant research, but scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) just made them even more useful by cutting the time required to modify their genes by six weeks. Read more here.
More than 100 Nobel laureates have a message for Greenpeace: Quit the G.M.O.-bashing. Genetically modified organisms and foods are a safe way to meet the demands of a ballooning global population, the 109 laureates wrote in aletter posted online and officially unveiled at a news conference on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Opponents, they say, are […]
Nearly 80% of U.S. dairy cows have their horns removed each year to protect their handlers and fellow cattle. But the practice, which is both painful and expensive, has come under increasing scrutiny from animal rights activists. Now, science may be coming to the rescue: A group of researchers announced last week that they successfully edited […]
Almost 2 years ago, a group of 20 scientists began hashing out a consensus on the risks and benefits of genetically engineered (GE) crops. Since the launch of their study, sponsored by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the public debate around the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and whether to label them […]
The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum has both solitary and communal life stages. As long as food is abundant, it lives on its own, but when food is scarce the amoebae seek one another out. Together they form a slug that migrates toward the light and then a fruiting body that disperses spores from atop a […]


State to Partner with Federally Qualified Health Centers and Local Health Departments to Bring Pop-Up Vaccination Sites to Farms and Food Production Facilities
State Will Provide Initial Allocation of 500 Doses to Sun River Health to Vaccinate Workers at Angry Orchard and Other Orange County-Area Facilities Beginning April 21; Migrant Workers Will Be Served
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a new targeted effort to vaccinate workers at New York State farms and food production facilities. The state will coordinate with local health departments and Federally Qualified Health Centers to bring pop-up vaccination sites to workers, including migrant workers, at their places of employment.
The Governor also announced that as part of the new vaccination effort, New York State will provide 500 doses to Sun River Health, a local health care network, to administer to Angry Orchard employees, as well as farm and food production workers from other facilities in the Orange County area. Vaccines will be administered beginning Wednesday, April 21.
"As we continue to expand eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine and establish more pop-up sites to reach New Yorkers in underserved communities, it's critical that we bring the vaccine to every part of the state, not just those with high populations. That's why we're making sure food production workers and farm workers in rural areas, including migrant workers, get vaccinated for COVID-19," Governor Cuomo said. "This new effort to bring the vaccine directly to farmers and food production workers at their places of employment is an important step forward to reaching a population that lives in more remote parts of the state. COVID remains a threat to all of us, but we have the weapon that will win the war — we just need to make sure it's available to everyone who is eligible across New York."
Sun River Health Chief Executive Officer Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH, said, "We are thrilled to support Governor Cuomo in providing access to the COVID-19 vaccines for New York State's agricultural workers. These individuals grow and harvest the food on our tables. The vast majority of New York's essential food production goes on year-round, and much of this work is done indoors. Working with growers and our community partners to overcome the barriers to vaccine access for this vital part of our community is a big step forward in bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic."
New York Farm Bureau State Director Chris Kelder said, "Farm workers are essential to the success of agriculture and to feeding millions of New York's consumers, from St. Lawrence County to Manhattan. It is critical that workers have ongoing access to COVID-19 vaccines to ensure their health and safety as they do their work. Access to vaccines has been the leading priority of New York Farm Bureau and farmers from across the state. We appreciate Governor Cuomo highlighting the importance of this issue and we appreciate Sun River Health, and health care professionals across New York, for their efforts to vaccinate farmworkers."
This new effort to bring the vaccine directly to farmers and food production workers at their places of employment is an important step forward to reaching a population that lives in more remote parts of the state.
The effort to vaccinate food production workers and farmworkers builds on New York's efforts to combat food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FY 2022 Enacted Budget adds $50 million to Nourish New York for a total $85 million investment to extend the program through 2021. This critical program helps people who are food insecure access the nourishment that they need, leveraging the vast agricultural industry of New York State to connect food banks and providers to purchase locally grown and produced food.
Since the Governor launched Nourish NY at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, 21 million pounds of surplus agricultural products have been purchased from New York farmers and delivered to more than 1.3 million households in need across New York State. Purchasing and food distribution using this third round of funding — which was first announced during the Governor's 2021 State of the State Address — are currently underway.
Rural & Migrant Ministry Executive Director Reverend Richard Witt said, "It is important for all of us involved in the food system: farmworkers, farmers, consumers, the health system and the State continue to work diligently to ensure that farmworkers are protected and vaccinated. Today's announcement is a critical step forward."
Rural & Migrant Ministry Catskill Regional Coordinator Juanita Sarmiento said, "I have seen first hand, while translating and helping our local rural and migrant communities with testing and vaccines, the impact of this pandemic. We need to continue to uphold not only the efforts to keep New York healthy but to establish an accessible educational campaign on the importance of the vaccination and testing efforts. I'm glad to see us take these steps forward."
Contact the Governor’s Press Office
Contact us by phone:
New York City: (212) 681 - 4640


Libya might be known for having Africa’s largest oil reserves but it’s coffee that really fuels daily life here. Some scholars suggest that coffee grown in east Africa and Yemen was brought to Venice via Tripoli – so it could be argued that Libyan merchants introduced coffee to Italy. Either way it’s clear that Libyans take their morning cup very seriously: some drink the silty traditional version found elsewhere in the region but most prefer the brew as it was prepared by the former colonial powers across the Mediterranean.
Today, Tripoli’s cafés boast sleek Italian espresso machines and customers can be a discerning bunch. The most popular choice is a nus-nus: a shot of espresso splashed with lightly foamed milk. It helps everyone – from politicians to militiamen and mothers – get through their day and beyond.
It’s also not unusual to see Libyans sipping coffee well into the night. In a country where alcohol has been banned since the late 1960s, socialising is centred around the café. After the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, many young entrepreneurs opened their own. When I lived in downtown Tripoli’s old Italian quarter in 2014, I could have my morning nus-nus to take away from a street kiosk or savour it while sitting under the elegant arches of Algeria Square.
Later that year the country tipped into a civil conflict that continued in various iterations until a ceasefire was agreed last October. A fragile peace prevails for now; elections are planned for December and there are some renewed signs of optimism. Foreign companies are once again taking notice too. Earlier this month the inaugural Libya Coffee Expo took place, drawing 43 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors. Whatever happens, Libyans will always have their nus-nus.
Mary Fitzgerald is a Monocle correspondent based in Marseille and a regular visitor to and expert on Libya.


New limits on microloans to kill off most micro lenders in Russia, say expertsBusiness & Economy July 25, 3:45
Lavrov says astonished to watch mass hysteria among US politiciansRussian Politics & Diplomacy July 25, 1:35
Lavrov comments on Syrian de-escalation zone agreementRussian Politics & Diplomacy July 24, 20:15
Iraq calls for closer cooperation with RussiaWorld July 24, 19:09
Russia develops laser-guided automatic landing system for dronesMilitary & Defense July 24, 18:22
Communist propaganda ban not aiming to dismantle Soviet WWII memorials, vows Polish envoyWorld July 24, 18:16
Situation with Siemens won’t affect Russian companies — energy ministerBusiness & Economy July 24, 18:11
Russian energy minister says oil prices may grow in 2017Business & Economy July 24, 17:31
Putin fills in Normandy Four on Russia’s approaches to key Minsk accord provisionsRussian Politics & Diplomacy July 24, 16:57
International law needs to be seriously reformed, said State Duma deputy Alexander Sidyakin of the United Russia party during an international parliamentary forum in Moscow on Thursday. He added that international law contained two conflicting principles — the principle of territorial integrity and the principle of nationalities' right to self-determination.
“I support the proposal for holding an international conference to negotiate reforms of major international institutions, which make decisions today and draw up an agenda determining, among other things, global security,” Sidyakin said, adding that it was impossible to talk about sustainable development of institutions of international law without a serious reform.
“This refers also to the United Nations' Security Council, comprising five states [permanent members of the UN Council — Britain, China, Russia, the United States and France],” he said. “It is unclear why India, Brazil, Spain and South Africa are not in the UN Council [as permanent members] now. It is not clear why the UN Council refuses without any criticism at all to consider the attack on the Russian embassy in Kiev.”


As she was about to check out, the cashier asked her to pay a huge tip for the grocery bill and the internet was not having it.
It's quite reasonable to offer a certain amount of tips to service workers. It's a common practice in America, especially considering the minimum wage is still very low in many states. However, recently tablet tipping has become widespread in many retail stores and is receiving a lot of backlash on the internet. Ev, @incrediboii, was one among the many who hated tablet tipping and she shared one of her shocking experiences on TikTok. In the video, Ev spoke about how a grocery store tried to collect a 25% tip from her and people were astounded by how they expected a tip despite not doing any kind of service.
Ev made this video as a stitch with Minna (@livingminnaly) who also shared the same opinion about tablet tipping. Minna posted a video saying that she decided not to unnecessarily tip battling with the people pleaser in her. For people who thought she was stingy, Minna said, "For service, I will definitely pay 20 to 25% on all of it - restaurants, coffee, beauty services and things like that. But the tablet tipping culture has gotten so out of control." She pointed out how even if she shopped for a small greeting card, she was suggested to tip 20% on the bill. She highlighted that it wasn't okay for customers to compensate for the low wages that businesses pay to the employees.
Following Minna's lead, Ev too expressed her disapproval of unnecessary tipping and captioned her video, "No more! Hold the line." So, when Ev and her boyfriend were visiting a grocery store called Tiny Grocery in Austin, they just picked up a few things like cheese, wine, and cured meat. They were going to have a little date night and had to shop for it. "I expected it to be more expensive than your regular grocery store," said Ev. But what she didn't expect when the cashier rang her up was, being asked for a 25% tip during the checkout. Ev was so flabbergasted that she gave the cashier a shocked look.
The woman simply bought the stuff she needed and left the place still in a state of astonishment. She couldn't believe that she was expected to give a $10 tip for a $40 grocery bill. Ev said that she couldn't get this incident out of her mind for days. Not just Minna and Ev but there are many people out there who believe that such unfair tipping for a service that wasn't provided is absolutely unnecessary. Some of them expressed their disappointment in the comments section and rallied around Ev's viewpoint.
"I would have laughed because I’m a server part-time and like, you scanned my food items I was the one that walked around and got them myself!" commented @katue.1. "My Botox/lip filler NURSE PRACTITIONER had a tipping option. Like what?? You make $125k a year," wrote @cj_gillis85. "I recently purchased my wedding dress at a boutique, and they asked me for a tip when I paid. Outrageous," commented @vannanori. "I’ll tip for delivery and for being served by a waiter/waitress. Tipping has gotten out of hand!" wrote @oliviaincolor.


Community Unity Dinner to laud Carol Everhart Dec. 3
The Rehoboth Beach Main Street team is proud to introduce the 2023 Citizen of the Year, Carol Everhart.
All are invited to come and celebrate with her at this year's 29th Annual Community Unity Dinner, set for 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 3, at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, 229 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach.
Everhart is the well-known president/CEO for the Rehoboth-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, located in downtown Rehoboth Beach. For over 30 years, Everhart has been of service to hundreds of thousands of guests, and generations of locals and visitors alike. Through her hard work and dedication, she has supported and helped countless small businesses and organizations, and created successful events to draw people to the downtown areas.
Everhart came to the chamber with combined experience in the events, recreation, paralegal and creative consulting fields. She has not only been a strong supportive voice at the city, county and state levels with issues of legislation in all areas, but also been recognized as one of the top 50 most influential people in Delaware. Community members are grateful for her time, inspiring ideas, creativity, generosity and leadership.
Also, Jenny Burton will be receiving the Champion Award for 2023, recognizing her volunteerism, effort, dedication and commitment in supporting the downtown business community throughout the past six years through Rehoboth Beach Main Street.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door for an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner complete with rolls, salad, desserts, nonalcoholic beverages and ice cream bar. Guests can pay an additional $5 for unlimited wine and Dogfish Head beer.
Entertainment includes a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, along with entertainment by the Sussex Dance Academy dancers and the Cape Jazz Band.


“We heard they are from Mexico.” That is the first line when we meet Mayor, one of the narrators of “The Book of Unknown Americans,” the novel that hundreds of Titans are reading as part of the university’s One Book, One CSUF program.
“That line stuck with me,” said Cristina Henriquez, author of the novel, who met over Zoom with more than 400 readers last week. “Who’s we? Who are they? Are they from Mexico?”
It took Henriquez five years and about 20 drafts to complete her novel.
“Twice, I almost put it aside,” she said. “I originally started it as a short story and sent it out to different magazines. The editors kept saying, ‘There seems to be more of a story here.’ So I decided to dig deeper.”
The narrative focuses on different families who share the same apartment building in Delaware. Most are immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America.
“People ask if this is an immigration story and I say ‘no.’ It’s about immigrants — the people, not the systems and policies,” Henriquez said. “Although the characters are not based on specific people I know, some of the actions or characteristics of people in the story are things my family has experienced.
“My father immigrated to the United States from Panama in 1971,” she explained. “His idea was to get his degree in chemical engineering and return. Then he met my mother … so he stayed. He’s a citizen now and has lived here for 40 years.”
She recalls frequently visiting her father’s family in Panama, where her grandparents would leave their front door open and friends and neighbors felt free to drop in any time.
“There was such a sense of life,” she said. “People would be sitting, visiting and laughing, sharing stories, jokes. To me, that feels like home — a sense of belonging. I became a very keen observer during those trips. Many of the characters in the story have been uprooted from their homes and are trying to re-create that sense of family and community in the United States.”
Henriquez decided to set her story in Delaware because that’s where she’s from, and she wanted to set her story in a place she knew and loved.
“I plotted out the apartment where the families lived, specific details about what each unit would look like — I call it ‘world building.’ Then I knew they’d need to get food, but this place was sort of in the middle of nowhere, so I had them shop at a gas station that also sold groceries since they didn’t know where else to go.”
One of the first scenes in the book involves the Riveras, a family who recently arrived from Mexico, shopping in the gas station/grocery store and trying to figure out what the different foods are.
The character that Henriquez feels closest to is Mayor — a 16-year-old boy who sees the new family moving in and wonders about them. He is immediately focused on an attractive young girl, Maribel. In fact, Maribel is the reason this new family, the Riveras, is here. A beautiful teenager, she suffers from a traumatic brain injury.
“I wanted there to be a medical reason for the Riveras to come to the United States … and I’m a sucker for a love story,” she said. “I wanted Mayor, from the first time he saw Maribel, to appreciate her and not focus on her injury.”
The book hits many cultural touchstones — the role of food, religion, language, education and work, as well as coping with misunderstandings, poverty and a sense of loss.
“I guess I could say the story is about people who live in an apartment in Delaware and how their lives intersect,” Henriquez said. “I want readers to recognize there is humanity in every person … everybody has a story. One reader told me that she used to see the same group of Mexican men standing by a bus stop near the freeway and she never paid much attention to them. After reading the book, she wondered what their hopes and fears and dreams are.
“I’ll bet they have a story.”
CSUF launched its One Book, One CSUF program this year, as part of the Titans Together initiative. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community supporters are invited to read the same book and gather virtually throughout the year to explore the topics raised in the book. With a student body of about 40,000 students, the campus is one of the most diverse in the country.
Contact: Valerie Orleans, email@example.com


NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- As the coronavirus pandemic rages on in New York City, fitness experts are recommending a major change to your routine: cover your nose and mouth on that outdoor run.
"Our job is to make sure we are doing what's best for the greater good, and I think wearing the protection, it doesn't hurt," New York Road Runners President and CEO Michael Capiraso said.
The recommendation reflects a rapidly evolving view. On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recommended all New Yorkers wear a face covering outside when social distancing was not possible.
"At first I wasn't sure," Capiraso said. "I don't usually run with something like this...But I tried it out, and there were a few times where I may have taken it down and back up. But the last few days, I've been doing my entire run with it on there, and it's been perfectly fine."
On a brisk, sunny Thursday morning in Central Park, a handful of the runners and cyclists were wearing some sort of face covering, but many others still went without one. One rule most appeared to follow, though, keeping that recommended six feet of distance.
"New Yorkers are getting it," New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver said. "The world is getting it."
Silver said he had no plans to recommend shutting down the parks, like New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy did in his state. But he is urging park goers to exercise good judgment by using the park off peak or perhaps even choosing a different route.
"People are teleworking, but you notice a big increase after 6 p.m.," he said. "I ran last night. A little too many people for me not wearing their face coverings, so I was very uncomfortable. So I cut my run short."
He said he now typically runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, around lunchtime when the park is less crowded.
The parks department is also offering at-home fitness videos for people who prefer to do their exercise and meditation indoors, and the NYRR is hosting some events as well, including a virtual 5K and at home classes.
"You can go out anytime and do it from now to the end of the month," Capiraso said.
The NYRR has also been active in the fight against COVID-19, donating $100,00 Mayor Bill de Blasio's fund to help feed healthcare workers.
They also donated gloves and rain ponchos, many of which went unused after the NYC Half Marathon was canceled in March. Capiraso is hoping for the best, that the 50th Anniversary of NYC Marathon will still happen come November.


3 Mins Read
American consumers have new meat-free chicken options for the dinner table thank to U.K.-based vegan fried chick*n brand VFC, which has officially expanded into the U.S. market via online retail partners including GTFO and Vejii. The announcement comes after the company closed a $10.2 million seed round last month earmarked for global growth.
VFC’s products, included fillets, bites, and popcorn vegan chicken, are created using wheat protein and feature a Southern-style crispy cornflake coating that will be familiar to US consumers. The company cites high protein levels and comparable taste to longtime favourite fast food brands.
Veganuary co-founder Matthew Glover and chef/restaurateur Adam Lyons co-founded VFC in 2020 to prove that there is no need to include animals in the food system. With activism at its core, the brand has placed a blanket ban on the term ‘plant-based’ being used in its communications, preferring vegan instead.
VFC is prolific about its mission to disrupt the meat industry in the U.S. The company cites the ongoing climate crisis and cruel factory farming system as primary motivations for developing an alternative to fried chicken. It goes so far as to say that its products are a way of “sticking it to [KFC’s]The Colonel”.
“I am a businessman turned activist and love great food, and VFC is very much a marriage of the three,” Matthew Glover, co-founder of VFC said. “There are many ways to dismantle unjust systems, and we intend VFC to be part of the movement that puts an end to factory farming for good.”
VFC claims that so far, it has saved close to 75,000 chickens entering the food system. It aims to significantly increase this number as it makes its mark in the fried chicken-loving U.S.
“The U.S. gave the world KFC, and we’re keen to return the favour with VFC – an alternative which is kinder to animals and our planet,” added Glover.
A growing appetite for vegan chicken
The U.S. appears to be acquiring a taste for meat-free chicken. Earlier this month it was revealed that TiNDLE, Next Gen Foods’ flagship brand, has scooped a record $100 million Series A. Investment was raised for continued development, ahead of planned U.S. distribution. The chicken will be available across 50 states, with new products being formulated alongside.
The Super Bowl, which aired earlier this month, saw consumers eat an estimated 160 million vegan chicken wings, according to Compassion in World Farming who conducted the research. Last year’s Super Bowl event saw almost 1.5 billion conventional chicken wings consumed.
Even big names, including VFC’s target, KFC, have been getting in on the plant-based chicken game. Timed to coincide with Glover’s Veganuary project, KFC U.S. announced all of its locations would serve Beyond Chicken products, claiming it was “time”. However, they are all cooked in the same oil as regular animal meat, making them unsuitable for vegan consumers.
All photos by VFC.


NASA just released video of a rocket being test fired that was constructed from some of the most complex 3D printed parts ever used. The rocket is being tested for their new heavy payload manned vehicle Space Launch System being developed to replace the now defunct Space Shuttle Program.
rocket parts 3d printing NASA
NASA seems to really be on a 3D printing bender lately. While any company can potentially benefit from the lower costs, fast turn around and development of previously impossible complex parts involved with 3D printing and rapid prototyping, for NASA it’s actually vital to their survival. But businesses are driven by profit and financed with private funds. Because NASA has no profit motive and is financed entirely by the US government, they are under an incredible strain to produce an ever-increasing number of technological advancements for an ever decreasing amount of money.
NASA budgetThe general public tends to believe that as a government agency NASA has all of the money it could ever need to develop new rockets, in fact in a poll from 1997 many Americans incorrectly guessed that NASA required about 20% of the entire US budget. The reality is far more depressing, at the time NASA’s budget was only about 1% of the total US budget. Sadly, as of this year it’s fallen to a staggering low of 0.48%. NASA has been heavily exploring additive manufacturing because it really have no other options. Being able to reduce the costs involved with space flight is simply good for their budget.
When they decided to end the aging Space Shuttle program, the need for a replacement was obvious. However in a post recession world they needed to develop a program that would be considerably more cost-effective, and have a longer shelf life. While the Space Launch System (SLS) is controversial because it is more expensive to develop than other options, it is being designed to be highly adaptable to multiple types of missions. The SLS could be used for docking with the International Space Station all the way to facilitating a manned mission to Mars. An engine that powerful isn’t going to be cheap to develop, but laying a solid foundation that allows for future enhancement not simply replacement is necessary. Especially if the depressing trend of hemorrhaging federal funding continues.
NASA says that the 3D printed fuel injection system contained in the rocket that NASA just test fired at Alabama’s er is one of the most complex rocket engine parts ever designed. It was printed using a Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process that uses an extremely powerful laser to liquefy a very fine metal powder into highly complex and durable parts. The process has been used selectively by the automotive and aerospace industries for a few years now, however it has only recently been used for a new line of advanced rocket engines. According to the engineers who are developing the rocket’s injector had NASA attempted to manufacture it using traditional methods it would have required 163 separate parts, however the 3D printing process required the production of only two components. Not only is that going to drastically reduce the cost of development, but less individual parts reduces the chances of catastrophic failure.
For the development of the injectors, NASA teamed up with two industrial 3D printing companies; Valencia, California’s Solid Concepts and Direct Manufacturing out of Austin, Texas, each producing a single prototype. The injectors are similar in design to the RS-25 engines on the original Space Shuttle that will need to be used for the first few SLS launches. It’s going to take four of the massive RS-25’s to get the SLS into low Earth orbit. Replacing an engine that large and complex isn’t going to be easy.
“One of our goals is to collaborate with a variety of companies and establish standards for this new manufacturing process,” Marshall’s propulsion engineer Jason Turpin explained. “We are working with industry to learn how to take advantage of additive manufacturing in every stage of space hardware construction from design to operations in space. We are applying everything we learn about making rocket engine components to the Space Launch System and other space hardware.”
rocket testfire 3d printing
The test engines containing the 3D printed injectors were test fired for five seconds, each producing 20,000 pounds of thrust and reaching almost 6,000 degrees fahrenheit. Or really, really hot for our European readers. Here is a video of the rocket’s test fire
When it comes to 3D printing, NASA is not messing around. Not only are they testing the feasibility of 3D printing their rocket engines, but they’re currently testing other less essential, but still vital components.
NASA has always been a forward thinking organisation, not only in terms of technology, science and space exploration, but in terms of maintaining the safe and secure development of their various missions when their budgets are often treated as political footballs. Exploring 3D printing isn’t just about NASA using new technology that’s available to them, it is also pretty clearly about securing a future where NASA can do what it’s always done, launch big awesome machines into space, only now on a tighter budget.
Jarrett Neil Ridlinghafer
Founder & CEO/CTO
Synapse Synergy Group, Inc.


Thursday, July 27, 2017
Falafel Den reopening in larger Saratoga Springs venue
Falafel Den, owned by Zouhir Lian, has relocated from 6 Phila Street to No.10, which gives him about 400 square feet ofm space compared to the microscopic 100 square feer he has had for the business's first three yeares of operation, And, he will be able to seat people at 15 tablea rather thn just four.
“Hopefully in the future I’m going to have 50,” Lian told local news media on the eve of reopening his business after a four-month hiatus. Falafel Den will again be offering Mediterranean cuisine including gyros, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and, obviously, falafel. Lian also will offer catering services along with eat-in and takeout food.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. Phone: 518-886-9192.
• Go here to visit the Capital Region Brew Trail
• Go here to visit Dowd On Drinks
• Go here to visit Dowd's New York Wines Notebook
Staff William M. Dowd at 3:31 PM


Wall Financial Group’s Michael Wall, Recon Capital Managing Partner Kevin Kelly, UNTL Capital Partner Maged Bishara and AverageJoeOptions.com founder Todd Horwitz on the state of the markets.
ETFTrends.com Publisher Tom Lydon, Needham Growth Fund Co-Manager Chris Retzler and Athena Advisor Services’ Dan Stecich on the outlook for stocks.
CapitalistPig Asset Management’s Jonathan Hoenig on the pros and cons of investing in ETFs.
Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner and Charles Schwab chief investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders give their outlooks for the markets.
S&P Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler, Issuer Advisor Group CEO Patrick Healy and FBN’s Jo Ling Kent give their expectations for Alibaba.
FBN’s Charlie Gasparino with breaking news on Alibaba’s upcoming IPO.
Hedgeye Risk Management CEO Keith McCullough and Merrill Lynch’s Mary Anne Bartels on what’s moving the market.
FOX Business: Capitalism Lives HereStock-index futures indicated the tech-heavy Nasdaq could open higher by more than 1% after heavyweights Apple and Facebook reveal...
FOX Business: Capitalism Lives HereU.S. stock-index futures fell slightly on Wednesday as traders analyzed earnings from a slew of big-names companies. Today's Marke...
FOX Business: Capitalism Lives HereU.S. stock-index futures were little changed on Tuesday as traders eyed a slew of merger activity in the pharmaceutical sector. To...
OneStopOption’s Alan Knuckman on energy leading the stock market.
ETF Outlook for the Week of April 21, 2014:PowerShares QQQ (NYSE:QQQ)It is a big week for earnings, especially the NASDAQ 100 stocks. Of the 100 stocks in the index,...
FOX Business: Capitalism Lives HereU.S. stock-index futures drifted higher on a sleepy Monday morning after Wall Street's best week since July 2013.Today's MarketsAs...
InvestorPlace.com Editor Jeff Reeves on how to simplify your portfolio.
FBN’s Maria Bartiromo, Jo Ling Kent and Liz MacDonald discuss the Nasdaq hitting 5,000.
Eagle Bay Capital Founder J.C. Parets on being bullish in the technology and internet sector.
Recon Capital Managing Partner Kevin Kelly, Wall Financial Group’s Michael Wall and AverageJoeOptions.com founder Todd Horwitz on the outlook for oil prices, stocks and gold.
Eagle Bay Capital founder J.C. Parets and Zor Capital Managing Director Joe Fahmy on the outlook for the markets.
Old Blackheath Companies Managing Partner Jeremy Hill discusses big tech trends that will spillover into the new year, and the markets.
Lerer Hippeau Ventures Managing Director Eric Hippeau explains why tech is a good investment and why Time Warner should be investing in the future of news.


He added that the group has a Walk/Bike Kettering email it uses for sending updates on walking and bicycling activities in Kettering, and more than 250 residents have signed up to receive the emails.
MORE: National Nurses Week: From ballerina to nurse, area woman fulfilling life’s calling
“We sent a Walk/Bike email last month to encourage everyone to relieve some stay-at-home stress by either walking or bicycling — while maintaining social distancing — on the local walking paths or bicycle routes near their home,” Draeger explained. “The email contained information about how to social distance while walking or bicycling, bicycle traffic safety tips, and links to maps of the local bike routes and walking paths.”
The Kettering City Council is still committed to making the city more bicycle friendly. At the last council meeting, Mayor Don Patterson proclaimed May to be Bike Month in the city to help encourage bicycling to be used for both recreation and as an alternate form of transportation.
More than 340 miles of paved trail connect 10 regional counties. Many of those path users are not only walkers and runners, but families out on their bikes or competitive cyclists. Whether using the trails for recreation or transportation, safety on the paths is a top priority for the city.
“Kettering is fortunate to have two of the regional trails pass through our city,” Draeger said.
MORE: Premier Health, CompuNet to offer up to 1,500 coronavirus tests per day
Kettering and Centerville have partnered to build the Hewitt Avenue Bikeway Connector, which will begin at the Iron Horse Bike Trail and continue east to tie into an existing trail.
Centerville signed a cost participation agreement in 2017 for the project prior to Kettering submitting for Transportation Alternative funds from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Planning Commission.
The project was awarded TA funds with construction through MVRPC. The actual construction cost have estimates have come down from $670,000 to $475,000 as more detailed designs have been completed. Construction is estimated to start in the spring of 2022 and should take six months.
Centerville Mayor Brooks Compton said the project will help Centerville and Kettering connect to a larger bicycle network.
“By helping to create bikeway connectors like this one, we are able to capitalize on a great asset in the Miami Valley’s larger bicycle network and ensure our streets contribute to community life and our overall livability,” he said.
MORE: E-bikes are coming soon to Dayton. Here’s when they hit the streets


Talent runs deep on 2013 roster
First scrimmage is Friday at 4 p.m.
Whittingham, Lotulelei, White represent the Utes.
Utes have firepower on offense, defense
Wynn, Hays and Schulz throw for touchdowns, Oliver runs for a pair of scores.
UTAH: International rugby star walked on to the Utah team in the spring of 2011 and was awarded a scholarship ... lettered all three seasons ... first tried out at running back before moving to defensive end.
2013-Backup defensive end played in all 12 games ... also played on special teams ... 13 total tackles included a half sack ... four tackles vs. Oregon State ... three tackles vs. Utah State.
2012-Played in nine games, mostly on special teams ... five tackles ... two tackles against Northern Colorado.
2011-Played in 12 games on special teams ... six tackles and a forced fumble ... two tackles against BYU.
HIGH SCHOOL: Did not play competitive sports until he was 17 years old ... played two years of football as a sophomore and junior at Davis HS (Calif.) in 2005 and 2006 ... all-conference ... captained the USA Rugby Sevens in the 2009 World Games ... became the youngest player to participate in the Rugby World Cup in 2007 at age 19 ... played on the USA's 2008 U20 Junior World Cup team ... competed in the U19 Junior World Cup for Samoa in 2006 and 2007, and played on the 2007 men's seven's national team ... also played rugby for the French club Biarritz Olympique, San Francisco Golden Gate and Northern Virginia RFC ... led the Utah rugby club team to a win in the inaugural USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship in 2010 ... also played basketball, participating in the U16 Junior Olympics Basketball Tournament in San Diego in 2004.
PERSONAL: Son of Arona and Alofisa Palamo ... father was the captain of the Samoa rugby team and played rugby collegiately at UC-Davis ... the youngest of three siblings ... brothers Seta and Toshi Palamo have also played for USA Rugby ... scheduled to graduate this summer with a bachelor's degree ... full name is Thretton Davis Palamo (pronounced threaten pa-LA-mo) ... born Sept. 22, 1988.


Stop the Criminalization of Immigrants, End Racial Profiling!
Demand that Governor Brewer Veto SB 1070
This week, Arizona could make history and protect human rights by VETOING one of the worst anti-immigrant and racially targeted laws our nation has seen in decades.
SB 1070 was passed by the Arizona state legislature and awaits the signature of Governor Jan Brewer.
Raise your voice now for justice & equality: We are all Arizona
Click here to read and sign the petition to tell Governor Brewer to VETO SB 1070.
In no small coincidence, on Thursday, April 15,the Department of Homeland Security carried out multiple massive raids in Arizona, terrorizing hundreds of workers, families, and children. Over 800 ICE agents were joined by U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement, causing fear and panic across several Arizona communities while the state legislature passed SB 1070, which permanently criminalizes the immigrant community.
With one click, help our sister communities in Arizona to stop DHS attacks on our rights and the new Arizona law. Click here to tell Gov. Brewer to veto SB 1070, the anti-immigrant racial profiling law.
If signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, SB 1070 would:
We are ALL Arizona
The repercussions of such a law will be devastating for immigrants and all communities of color in Arizona. Moreover, SB 1070 will have dangerous consequences, setting a national precedent for states and federal law, permanently criminalizing immigrants.
The DHS raid and SB 1070 law in Arizona are a turning point in our fight for socially just immigration reforms. The "immigration blueprint" announced by Senators Schumer and Graham last month is a proposal that allows such criminalization of immigrants. It promises to "fill gaps in apprehension capabilities" that will likely lead to the use of local police nationally to terrorize immigrant communities.
The VETO of SB 1070 will send a historic signal to Congress, the Obama Administration and the country that the further criminalization of immigrant workers, families and communities will not solve the problem.
Tell Gov. Brewer to VETO SB 1070 and raise your voice for socially just immigration reforms that uplift human rights and dignity.
Thanks to folks at presente.org for their support of the petition process.


Washington, DC (Vocus) May 22, 2010
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Chairman Jim MacPhee, CEO of Kalamazoo County State Bank in Schoolcraft, Mich., and Camden R. Fine, ICBA president and CEO, issued this statement today following Senate passage of S.3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.
“The recent financial and economic crisis clearly demonstrates that some reform of Wall Street is needed to safeguard our financial system and the nation’s taxpayers from a future catastrophe. ICBA appreciates that this legislation includes measures that hold accountable the too-big-to-fail megafirms and nonbanks that were the root cause of this crisis—measures for which ICBA has been a leading proponent. ICBA thanks Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) for his leadership on this legislation and for considering the needs of our nation’s more than 8,000 Main Street community banks.
“ICBA appreciates the Senate's recognition of the differences between Main Street and Wall Street by ensuring megabanks pay their fair share for the risk they pose to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), and ultimately our entire financial system. This is a major victory for ICBA and community banks. This measure will alleviate the disproportional burden on community banks, will reduce the assessments of 98 percent of banks with less than $10 billion in assets and will keep nearly $4.5 billion in community banks and their communities over the next three years—something that is critical to aiding America’s economic recovery. ICBA thanks Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) for their efforts to create much-needed parity between large and small banks.
“ICBA still has grave concerns about a separate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). While we appreciate that community banks will have some exemptions from the proposed CFPB, the changes do not go far enough. We are disappointed that further changes were not included in the legislation. Community banks have always viewed consumer protection as a cornerstone to their business model, so it makes sense that the CFPB focus on those too-big-to-fail and shadow institutions that were at the heart of the financial crisis. ICBA will continue to work for additional revisions to the CFPB.
“ICBA is pleased that the bill maintains the Federal Reserve’s examination authority over state member banks, which allows the regional Federal Reserve Banks to keep their finger on the pulse of the Main Street communities that community banks serve each and every day. These communities have diverse regional economies, and the insights provided by the current system are crucial to the ability of the Federal Reserve to exercise its monetary functions and gauge the impact of banking regulations across various institutions. ICBA thanks Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for their efforts to maintain the Fed’s examination authority.
“While ICBA is pleased with several measures in the Wall Street reform bill, we continue to have critical concerns with language that will inadvertently harm Main Street community banks. ICBA opposes the interchange language that will harm community banks that offer credit and debit card products to their customers. The current interchange system makes it possible for small community bank issuers to serve their customers because card networks apply the same interchange rates for small issuers that they do for large issuers. By reducing interchange fees through government regulation, consumers will face higher costs through annual fees and increasing interest rates, as well as fewer choices as community banks are forced to exit the market, thereby leaving consumers with few options and ultimately forcing them to use cards provided by the megabanks.
“ICBA also has significant concerns with language that was originally intended to ensure that large banks and bank holding companies would have to meet capital standards that are as strict as those that apply to small banks and bank holding companies. However, the language is worded broadly enough so that it excludes capital instruments such as trust preferred securities from the consolidated Tier 1 capital of bank holding companies. This will cause serious harm to community bank holding companies and their underlying banks—the very institutions it originally aimed to avoid burdening. ICBA will work with the House and Senate to ensure that these onerous measures are not included in the final legislation.
“ICBA looks forward to working with the Senate and House to ensure that the final legislation contains meaningful measures that hold Wall Street accountable and allow Main Street community banks to continue to fulfill the needs of their local customers and communities.”
The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nation’s voice for community banks, represents nearly 5,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types throughout the United States and is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and the communities and customers we serve. For more information, visit http://www.icba.org.


With this new 2000L SUB, the Berkeley facility has tripled capacity over the last three years, and now offers cell culture manufacturing in scales from 100L to 3000L, with both SUBs and stainless steel bioreactors. In addition to cGMP manufacturing, the facility provides cell bank manufacturing and storage.
While focused on early-phase, the Berkeley facility operates within the global AGC Biologics integrated platform, with support from each AGC Biologics site. This structure is designed to create a seamless transition from early-phase through commercial production.
"We've carefully assembled an experienced team that is tuned in to the unique needs of customers within the critical early-phase development stage," said Vy Nguyen, site head of AGC Biologics, Berkeley. "We continue to expand capacity and capabilities to meet the diverse requisites within the early-phase manufacturing arena, and we value the opportunity to support companies developing tomorrow's breakthrough treatments."


- iPhone 4S
North and Western Europe were the leading markets in the mobile communications department, but it seems the US have pulled ahead, thanks to the increasing popularity of smartphones and mainly the iPhone. Currently just 5% of the world’s mobile users are located in the US, but 17% of the income from mobile services and 21% of the that from the data traffic services are realized by US operators.
The number are even higher for smartphone sells – 40% of the smartphones sold worldwide are sold in the US. Overall this market is growing with a staggering speed. The US network operators have made $67 billion from data traffic last year and expectations are for this number to reach $80 billion this year. The amount of data used has doubled over the past 12 months too, for the eight time in a row and analyzers are expecting it to double once more in 2012 – quite a realistic forecast, considering the fact, that over 30% of the US users use more than 1GB of data per month. B. A.


Ten minutes before Jamie T took to the stage for his 95-minute set at a house-full Alexandra Palace, the latecomers were getting out of hand. As several hundred people attempted to move from the food court to the main hall, the lack of access began to cause friction. “This is bulls–t,” said one concert-goer, trapped against a wall. “Calm down,” said his friend, “it’ll be worth it”. Upstairs, the ladies had crashed the gentlemen’s toilets. “We’re smashing the patriarchy,” one interloper said. “Because if we don’t,” said her friend, “we’ll miss Jamie T”.
With a resume that encompassed punk, indie rock and a loose-fitting variant of hip hop, over the course of five studio albums the 36-year-old Jamie T has fashioned a vocabulary with which to describe city life in a manner that is both vibrant and resolute. “Sheila goes out with her mate Stella, it gets poured all over a fella,” he sang during a three-song encore that managed to encompass both a night out in a teeming metropolis and the state of a proportion of his audience in the “People’s Palace” of suburban north London. In front of the stage, young women were sat atop the shoulders of their boyfriends. Ropes of lager arced into the air.
Despite the hoopla, though, Jamie T – dressed in jeans, a denim jacket and a black baseball cap – isn’t an especially charismatic performer. Even when beamed onto a giant screen positioned on either side of a vast stage, one could reasonably wonder if the 36-year-old was at all aware of the manic audience that had paid £35 to see him.
When at last he did address the 10,000 people crammed into one of the loveliest venues in the capital, it was only to remind them to look after one another. At other times, he seemed content to crack jokes. Certainly, the claim that his backing group “is the tightest band in the world” can’t possibly have been serious.
While at times – during Back in the Game, say, or Between the Rocks – the night took flight in a manner that seemed designed to electrify, elsewhere, problems of stuttering momentum were highlighted by long pauses between songs that suggested a jam session in a smoke-filled flat in the headliners’ home of Wimbledon that had somehow spilled out into a public gathering.
After more than 15 years on the scene, one could argue that it is to Jamie T’s credit that the dividing line between artist and audience is all but invisible. But in terms of projecting himself into the nooks and crannies of one of the largest indoor venues in the city, the star turn still has much to learn.
Jamie T is on tour in the UK until October 22; tickets: jamie-t.com/live


Tuesday, December 13, 2011
COP 17: Envoys slam SA 'incompetence'
COP 17: Envoys slam SA 'incompetence'
Climate deal 'took delicate touch'
Durban deal - too little, too late
Canada withdraws from Kyoto Protocol
Johannesburg - Envoys at the global climate conference ended on Sunday in Durban left late-night sessions shaking their heads about their South African hosts, saying in rather undiplomatic speech they had let the process go off the rails.
Pretoria, however, hailed its diplomacy as a rousing success, saying SA showed it could punch above its weight in the global arena.
Such is the disconnect between SA, which sees itself as an emerging power championing African causes, and other nations which question its ability to keep pace with global affairs.
The gap is expected to grow larger as Africa's biggest economy tries to exert more authority on the international stage by pressing for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and having one of its former foreign ministers elected head of the AU.
SA has already found itself this year on the wrong side of the mainstream argument over Libya and Ivory Coast.
Western powers also raised their eyebrows when, to please China, Pretoria blocked a visit by the Dalai Lama to attend the 80th birthday of South African hero and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu.
South Africa's diplomacy in Durban, where two weeks of talks failed to finish on time and many delegates had to leave before proceedings concluded, did little to change minds.
Envoys said the Department of International Relations and Co-operation failed to learn crucial lessons from UN negotiations that have been going on for about 20 years on how to push delegates to wind up discussions and start drawing up deals that will be approved.
Many envoys said a deal was only done in Durban despite SA and not because of it.
"There was no leadership; no idea of how to run this thing. It was chaos," said a diplomat from a leading country who asked not to be named.
"South Africa went into this with the idea if we negotiate all through the night on the final day we would get a deal," another diplomat said.
"They should have learned from previous meetings to start high-level talks on the most contentious issues as soon as the ministers arrive so that we would not be here two days after this process was supposed to end," said the diplomat who asked not to be named.
In what may be seen as a vote against the process, Canada on Monday became the first country to announce it would withdraw from the Kyoto protocol on climate change, dealing a symbolic blow to the already troubled global treaty.
While powers such as China and Japan called the move "regrettable", South African foreign ministry spokesperson Clayson Monyela said there was no reason for the hosts of the Durban talks to respond because it was a UN matter.
Nel Marais, managing director of risk consultancy Thabiti Africa, said a reason South Africa's diplomats have trouble keeping up with changing times is that the bureaucracy has been transplanted into government from the ruling ANC, where posts are often given to reward political stature rather than ability.
For many in the ANC, the liberation struggle to end apartheid leads to continued support for African leaders who helped, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, even though they now face global isolation for suspected human rights abuses. It also shapes the ANC worldview.
Foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who chaired the Durban talks, said she wanted to hold open discussions where she would keep a neutral position. Several diplomats said she put off too many pressing matters until the last minute and did not do enough to push for agreements.
Anger started to build on Thursday night when she hosted the first major meeting of ministers a day before the planned end of the talks and let discussions drift into a series of speeches from delegations instead of making it a bargaining session.
It boiled over when two late sessions followed on the next two nights. The culmination was a dispute over language on the legal mechanisms to enforce emissions cuts that threatened to scuttle the entire process on Sunday morning.
Mashabane called for a huddle among the main players to iron out their differences on the plenary floor, in full view of media cameras and within earshot of microphones.
It was either a high stakes gamble or a bit of stagecraft, but either way, many did not approve of a diplomatic scrum where envoys had to force their way in to have a say in the outcome.
"Negotiations should be held around the table and not on the table," the Russian delegation told the plenary session.
"Elbowing doesn't comply with the dignity of diplomats and diplomacy."
Read more on: un | durban | climate change | cop 17


Cigna Corp. has truly chosen Noelle Eder because the insurance coverage protection titan’s brand-new worldwide principal particulars police officer, environment friendly Sept. 14.
Eder will definitely lead Cigna’s worldwide trendy know-how approach. That consists of managing development in addition to distribution of digital capacities, similar to digital mentoring options in addition to on-line sources, that get in contact with the enterprise’s individuals, purchasers and likewise medical care suppliers.Eder will definitely perform as a participant of Cigna’s enterprise administration group in addition to report to the agency’s Chief Govt Officer in addition to head of state, David M. Cordani.” Noelle brings a definite mixture of organisation acumen, deep technological experience, in addition to customer-centered structure experiences, “Cordani acknowledged in a declaration revealing Eder’s brand-new responsibility Wednesday.Eder modifications Mark Fighter, that left his features as government vice head of state in addition to worldwide CIO at Cigna in June, after 9 years on the agency. Fighter has as a result of signed up along with his college, Faculty of Hartford in Connecticut, as government vice head of state in addition to principal working officer.Eder most only in the near past acted as major information in addition to digital police officer at resort and likewise lodge agency Hilton Worldwide Holdings, the place she supervised framework, cybersecurity, software program software design in addition to merchandise administration. Previously, she operated at Funding One Monetary Corp. as major card shopper expertise officer.Eder is an unbiased supervisor for electrical enterprise Ameren Corp. in St. Louis.Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna reported a 22 %rise in earnings from procedures all through the 2nd quarter of 2020, pushed by decreased software of medical care options as individuals averted remedy all through the COVID-19 pandemic. For the very same issue, Cigna’s medical-loss proportion, which mirrors the % of prices invested in remedy, dropped to 70.5%.


|Still Closed! As tempting as it is to explore the new look|
of the Rushbrook Trail, the city is asking residents to stay
off the trail until the project is complete
With work getting ever so close to completion on the Rushbrook Trail, many Prince Rupert residents are taking to the walkway for their first glimpse of the new and improved walkway to Seal Cove.
And while the interest in the work is welcome, the City of Prince Rupert is still however advising that for now the Trail is still officially Closed.
The City posted an advisory to their Website on Wednesday making note of the situation and asking for the patience of the public to allow for the project to be completed, adding that as it is at the moment there are a number of safety issues still in place that the public should be aware of.
The Notice from the City did not provide for any update as to when the trail may be open, but when it does the City plans for an official opening.
For more items of interest from Prince Rupert City Hall see our Council Discussion archive page.
To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.


Jesse Knutson -
History was made today in Hershey with the first every underwater marathon.
Anson Flake, CEO and Co-Founder of Hydroworx: "We've had over 200 runners come out and support this event, the underwater marathon, the first ever."
Today people gathered at Troegs Brewery in Hershey to witness history as over 200 people ran to raise money for a good cause.
Nicholas Robillard, Air Force Para-rescue: We're out here supporting the eagle fund which has helped me in my journey to my recovery from being injured in Afghanistan without that I wouldn't be the same mentally or physically nor would I be going back to my job."
The goal was to raise $250,000 to help 50 wounded warriors. Anson: "Knowing that every 5000 dollars heals a warrior and that we've broke through that 250k barrier by a lot, that gives me a lot of pleasure."
About a dozen warriors from across the country flew in to be at the event.


As pressure builds to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act, one lawmaker pushed back by formally requesting an analysis of the rulemaking effort and financial consequences under the financial legislative overhaul.[IMAGE]
""Sen. Tim Johnson"":http://johnson.senate.gov/public/ (D-South Dakota) wrote ""two letters"":http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=8a132c27-0eb1-c338-2d46-4626a5743305&Region_id=&Issue_id= to public officials Thursday to make the request, with clear intentions to secure a formal, objective analysis that lends credibility to the financial law and overall rulemaking process.
One letter obliged the ""Government Accountability Office"":http://www.gao.gov/ (GAO) to perform an impact analysis of the U.S. economy in the wake of the financial crisis, attending to factors like long-term unemployment, capital losses, and other setbacks for state, local, and national governments.
The other asked the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov/ and ""Consumer Financial Protection Bureau"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ (CFPB) to deliver reports about their rulemaking processes under Dodd-Frank.[COLUMN_BREAK]
""Repealing or undermining these Wall Street reforms, as some have proposed, would take us back to the same weak financial system that led to the worst economic crisis in generations and whose painful costs continue to devastate many Americans,"" he said in a statement.
He tallied up a list of predicted outcomes from any potential repeal, saying, ""Systemic risks would remain unsupervised. Consumers would have no focused watchdog looking out for them. Investors would be exposed to more Ponzi schemes. Reckless financial firms would undermine those who played by the rules. Taxpayers would be on the hook for more bailouts.""
One of the requests in particular will pledge the CFPB to undertake an analysis and explanation of such long-term programs as ""Know Before You Owe.""
The lawmaker specifically petitioned both the bureau and independent federal agency to present reports about any improvements in rulemaking processes under the ""Financial Stability Oversight Council"":http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/FSOC/Pages/default.aspx, and whether interagency coordination has undergone any facelift in the process.
""Efforts to repeal or undermine these new Wall Street reforms threaten the stability of our financial system at a time when we can least afford it,"" he added.
""These efforts to slow down Wall Street reform prevent responsible businesses, including community banks and credit unions, from having the certainty they deserve with finalized rules that fully honor Congressional intent behind the new law,"" Johnson said.


A partnership between a top magazine publisher and a major ad buyer is advancing magazines' long push to get measured just like most other media: by their audiences, not just paid circulations.
Time Inc. and Starcom MediaVest Group began the partnership last year to find a way to promise advertisers that certain numbers of people would recall their ad campaigns or take action on them. That effort, which they called the Alliance for Magazine Accountability, has now progressed beyond the development phase and is available to any interested Starcom MediaVest client making a big enough buy with Time Inc.
Guaranteeing effectiveness is notable, and more than most media players will do, but the program is also significant because it emphasizes audience over paid circulation.
"Moving forward, all of our clients have the option to participate and replace their traditional circulation guarantee with an ad-audience and ad-performance guarantee," said John Muszynski, chief investment officer at SMGX, a Starcom MediaVest unit where the group's agencies share resources and try new models.
"It was getting everybody to believe that magazines can give an audience guarantee," said Stephanie George, exec VP and chief marketing officer at Time Inc. "We're not this fractured medium that has to be evaluated by just our circulation."
Paid circulation remains an important measure, Ms. George said, and one that's available to any Time Inc. client that wants it. But using the same metric as other media -- audience -- makes it easier for advertisers to stack magazines' reach up against everyone else and consider them for pieces of big multimedia campaigns.


Former Ghana international Emmanuel Armah, nicknamed Armah Senegal, does not agree with calls for Asamoah Gyan to be added to Ghana’s squad for the 2022 World Cup.
The former Hearts of Oak defender believes call-ups should be strictly based on performance and nothing less.
He described calls for Gyan to be invited as “jokes”, highlighting that the veteran striker is currently without a club.
“Which team Asamoah Gyan is playing now? Give me the answer. Then I can also come and play. Let’s put the jokes aside and gather the players for them to be serious. God will bless you when you are serious. If you are not serious God will not bless you,” Armah Senegal said, as quoted by Ghanaweb.
“We have to stop making noise and stop the politics in football. Football is not politics. It is a game of passion. We should not envy the players who are performing but we should rather invite those who are performing in their various leagues. In the final squad, some will make it and others will be dropped.”
He added: “I don’t follow certain things. Those who are talking about it I want to tell them that football is based on your performance. We will use your performance to call you before you play the national team.
“The players that they’ve mentioned their names to rejoin the Black Stars how many league matches have they played? Which team are they playing now?
“They are just joking. To be able to play football your performance must be good. You have to perform at the club level. That will create the chance for you to be called. They are just joking and gossiping. That’s what I can say.”
In August, Gyan was in the news after his interview with the BBC, where he compared his possible return to that of Roger Milla, who came out of retirement to play for Cameroon in the 1994 World Cup.
The 36-year-old was a regular fixture in the Black Stars for almost two decades, having made his international debut in 2003.
However, he has not featured for the national team since playing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.
In the last three years, Gyan has battled with niggling injuries while his time with Ghana Premier League outfit Legon Cities also didn’t go according to plan.
Despite his inactivity, though, he insists he hasn’t retired and has opened his doors to a return to the Black Stars ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.


It was a catch worth lakhs of rupees! Two fishermen brothers in Maharashtras Palghar district netted a ghol fish – known for its medicinal value and in high demand in various countries – and sold it for a whopping Rs 5.5 lakh in a mega auction. Mahesh Meher and Bharat Meher, natives of Morbe village in Palghar, set out for fishing in the Arabian Sea last week and returned on Sunday late night with a huge 30 kg ghol fish. While the siblings were startled to have netted a giant-size fish, they did not realise then that they were going to make a fortune out of their prized catch. The brothers, elated over their precious possession, said after they brought the fish ashore, it got auctioned in just 20 minutes yesterday. An export house bought it for Rs 5.5 lakh, they claimed. The duo said they had set out for fishing last week after a long break due to the 45-day ban on venturing in the waters during the monsoon season. This was really a good catch. We were delighted as it was like striking gold in our fishing net along with other fish varieties, the siblings told reporters at the sea shore in Morbe yesterday. We are into fishing since the last two decades and had only heard about such a huge ghol fish. But, with this fish catch, we actually had a wonderful experience and it also got sold for a good price, they said. Usually, a good quality fish sells for a few thousands of rupees in the market, but the Meher brothers are happy to have earned Rs 5.5 lakh with a single catch. The two fishermen, who were reeling under financial crisis, said now they would be able get their boat and net repaired. The ghol fish, a type of croaker, has a good market in countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is considered among the most-expensive variety of the marine fish. Its heart is known as the sea gold, which is said to have medicinal properties and is an important ingredient in making a variety of medicines.


KYLE, Texas — A Texas mother who stabbed and then decapitated her 5-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Yesterday, March 6, 2020, following a two-week trial, a Hays County jury found 27-year-old Krystle Concepcion Villanueva guilty of capital murder of a child under 10 in the stabbing death of her daughter and guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing her father-in-law. She was sentenced by 428th Judicial District Court Judge Bill Henry to life in prison without parole on the capital murder charge and 20 years on the aggravated assault charge.
On January 5, 2017, Villanueva called police and said she killed her daughter because "she asked for cereal," and that she also stabbed her father-in-law. SWAT officers responding to the call found Villanueva nude in the front room of the home, apparently freshly showered.
Following her arrest, Villanueva was taken by Hays County Sheriff's deputies to a hospital where blood testing revealed the presence of alcohol and marijuana in her system, according to the Hays County District Attorney's Office, which issued a statement following yesterday's verdict.
During the trial, Villanueva's defense team conceded she had killed her daughter and stabbed her father-in-law — claiming, at the time of the attacks, she had been under the delusional belief her daughter and father-in-law had been replaced by clones and had to be killed to bring back her family. In doing so, they urged the jury to find her not guilty by reason of insanity.
"While evidence indicated that Ms. Villanueva had been treated previously for mental problems, the prosecution pointed out that all such treatment coincided with prior drug abuse, and that the symptoms described by Ms. Villanueva at trial had never been observed in her prior to or after her arrest," read the statement from the Hays County District Attorney's Office. "The defendant’s psychiatric expert also conceded on cross-examination that marijuana use can exacerbate existing mental conditions and interfere with treatment."
"The jury returned a verdict of guilty on both counts this afternoon, rejecting the insanity defense," continued the statement.
“A case like this leaves an unforgettable mark on everyone involved, especially the child’s family.” stated Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau, who led the prosecution with assistance from Assistant Criminal District Attorney Michael McCarthy. “Every law enforcement member who worked on this case will forever be traumatized by what Ms. Villanueva did to her innocent daughter. I commend all the investigators and officers who endured this horror with calm professionalism so that justice could be done.”


ASOS has announced the global app roll out of its sizing tool, ASOS Fit Assistant, which works to help customers find their right size the first time.
The Fit Assistant uses machine learning to provide bespoke sizing recommendations on the online retailer’s product pages. Powered by Fit Analytics, ASOS has created a native in-app tool which gives the customer a size recommendation based on previous purchases and returns. If the customer chooses to answer three short questions about their height, weight and fit preference, a more accurate result will be displayed.
Andy Berks, digital product director at ASOS, said: “We want to do all we can to make sure our customers are getting the right size, first time. This is where ASOS Fit Assistant comes in – we can now offer personalised size recommendations across ASOS collections, exclusive labels and fashion favourites.
“Ultimately, we’re here to make our customers’ lives easier, giving them the confidence to shop with us and minimising the risk of disappointment when their ASOS parcel arrives.”


ATLANTA — Miami-based Banyan Street Capital plans to implement large-scale renovations to the retail portion of Peachtree Center, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development located in downtown Atlanta. Situated over the underground Peachtree Center MARTA station, Peachtree Center comprises six office towers, three hotels, three parking garages and the Mall at Peachtree Center. Amy Fingerhut and Sara Pepper of CBRE have been tapped to lease the redeveloped retail center, which is currently home to over 50 restaurants, retailers and service tenants. Along with the addition of new restaurants and shops, renovations to the center will include changes to the indoor mall area and outdoor courtyard. Construction is set to begin this summer. Beck is serving as the architect on the project.
Banyan Street Capital to Redevelop Retail Portion of Peachtree Center in Atlanta


VanGuilder sixth, Bauer 13th at Red Dragon
BEMUS POINT-The Eisenhower Knights cross country teams took part in the Red Dragon Invitational on Saturday, with the girls finishing ninth out of 12 teams and the boys finishing 10th out of 12 at Long Point State Park.
Devin VanGuilder was the lone medal winner for Eisenhower, finishing sixth out of 95 runners in the boys race with a time of 17:26. Julia Bauer just missed out on a top ten finish, coming in 13th out of 85 female runners.
Rounding out the runners for the Lady Knights were Kate Daugharthy (41st, 24:06), Lacey Stanko (43rd, 24:11), Grace Thompson (59th, 25:59), Hannah Bortz (65th, 26:32), and Emily Rutsky (85th, 46:31).
Following VanGuilder in the boys race were Tim Lange (45th, 19:37), Ben Morrison (49th, 19:44), Jacob McCool (56th, 20:17), Derek Lasecki (85th, 24:15), and Jason Morine (88th, 24:38).
“Obviously, we would like to do a little better teamwise,” said Eisenhower coach Darlene Beach. “On the girls side, Kate Daugharthy improved her time from last year as did Jacob McCool for the varsity boys. The kids enjoy running the course and we had nice weather on Saturday.”
The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, competing along with Youngsville at Corry. Eisenhower and Warren will compete at the Sharpsville Invitational on Saturday.


Much has been made of the internal memo to Clear Channel managers from President & CFO Randall Mays that has been published on the website of the Wall Street Journal. But it doesn’t seem to change much from the hold-the-line-on-spending memo that Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan sent out in January. Belts have been tightened and they’ll remain that way until the delayed buyout closes.
Mays’ memo reminds managers that because of certain provisions of the merger agreement, it is “extremely important for us to be as judicious with cash as we possibly can between now and closing.” Potentially, Clear Channel shareholders could be forced to take stock in the new company, CC Media Holdings, if there is an equity gap at closing. As it stands now, the rollover into that new stock is expected to be a voluntary option for current shareholders.
“It is the preference of our board that no one be forced to roll (everyone has the option to roll and the board would prefer that this remain an option rather than a requirement). There is a certain level of cash which we will need to have at closing in order to insure that no one has to do anything that is not of their choosing.
Additionally, the debt provided by the banks to fund the transaction was fixed at the time of signing the amendment to the merger agreement. Thus, any additional cash outlays between now and the deal closing, have to be funded 100% with equity. For those of you that have run levered return models, it is very difficult to make deals attractive when you have to fund them with 100% equity. Post closing this will not be the case and we will go back to our normal procedures so don’t infer anything in this other than there are timing issues with respect to capital before closing,” Mays said in the memo posted by WSJ.
RBR/TVBR observation: This is basically a math problem. In fact, we ran through the math just a few days ago. The parameters for getting the buyout deal to closing are very tight and can’t and won’t be changed. The equity money from Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners is in escrow. The debt money from the banks is in escrow. The debt assumption is capped. So, Randall is right, any shortfall at closing has to come from somewhere and the contract specifies that if there is still a gap after counting in the voluntary rollovers into the new CC Media Holdings stock, it will be filled by involuntary rollovers.
The anticipated Q4 closing is still quite far off. Even strict penny-pinching may not be enough if the ad markets get even worse before closing and Clear Channel’s revenues fall short of expectations. In that case, there could be a gap to fill no matter what they do. Also, in such a situation, the $36 per share buyout would look pretty good and not many shareholders would voluntarily seek CC Media stock, so they would have to be dragged along unwillingly into the new company.
On the other hand, if the economy turns around before the closing date the $36 per share price may look less attractive and the CC Media option may be oversubscribed. As we noted, it’s all math.
What we will be most interested in seeing, though, is what “normal” looks like at Clear Channel once the closing is done.