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With Arizona public schools struggling to raise students' standardized test scores, the Legislature in 1994 began a grand experiment: charter schools.
They were exempted from state procurement or conflict-of-interest laws and the oversight of elected boards. With less regulation, charters could succeed where traditional public schools had failed, proponents argued.
Today, about 16 percent of Arizona students attend a charter school. And one of the state's big chains, Basis, operates some of the best public schools in the country.
But not all charters are academic powerhouses, and some have turned into cash cows through multi-million-dollar business deals between charter schools and their founders.
With funding for Arizona traditional public schools ranking near the bottom nationally, charter school critics say the state can ill afford to let profiteers line their pockets with funds that should go to the classroom. Some argue charters should have to be as transparent about their spending as traditional public schools.
This series examines the finances of some of Arizona's most prominent charter schools to reveal how they spend the tax dollars they receive, who profits from the operations and what those deals mean for the future of education.
Reporters at The Arizona Republic were honored with the George Polk Award for Education Reporting for their investigative work.
Charter schools have become more popular in recent years. Reporter Craig Harris talks about investigating Arizona's charter schools. Arizona Republic
► BASIS SCHOOLS seeks big donations to pay its teachers: There are 20 Basis schools in Arizona with more than 900 teachers. They all are part of Basis Charter Schools, a tax-exempt non-profit corporation.
But none of the teachers actually works for Basis Schools.
Long before the groundswell of demands for higher teacher pay in Arizona, the high-profile charter school found a novel way to boost teachers' income: push parents to pay.
► AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY founder makes millions on schools: American Leadership Academy has grown to a dozen campuses with more than 8,000 students in Florence, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.
Because of Arizona's light regulations for charter schools, the school's founder has made about $37 million on real estate deals associated with the schools — though he disputes the figure. The taxpayer money was allocated to the businessman's charter schools and then awarded to his companies through no-bid contracts.
Related: Charter gives teachers raise; refuses to let public comment on budget
► PRIMAVERA online charter school CEO takes $8.8 million payout from for-profit charter company: By most academic measures, Primavera online charter school is a failure. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 215-to-1 — 12 times the state average — allowing little or no individualized attention.
On recently released state standardized tests, less than a quarter of its students passed math and about a third passed English, both below the state average. And 49 percent of Primavera students end up dropping out, 10 times the state average.
But by another measure, Primavera is an unmitigated success: making money.
► EDDIE FARNSWORTH, school operator and lawmaker, set to make millions after Charter Board vote: The East Valley charter-school owner was poised for a payday of up to $30 million after the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools approved the transfer of his for-profit charter-school chain to a newly formed non-profit company.
The board OK'd Farnsworth's request to transfer the charter from the for-profit Benjamin Franklin Charter School, which operates four campuses, to a Queen Creek non-profit company with the same name.
That move will allow Farnsworth, a longtime GOP state representative, to sell the campuses — paid for with state tax dollars — to the non-profit company.
MORE: Lawmaker's votes helped lay the groundwork for charter profit
► EDKEY INC. racked up big debt to expand. Now 5,600 kids face uncertainty: The Arizona charter school chain began eyeing expansion in 2013.
In addition to schools that focus on the arts, dual-language learning, college prep and online education, Edkey executives wanted to keep serving more of the students other big charter operators were overlooking: deaf students, those in rural areas, homeless kids and refugees.
Over the next three years, Edkey borrowed $93 million to refurbish facilities and refinance debt.
It quickly added 1,700 new students. And while expansion brought in more state funding, it has not paid for itself.
► PARENTS WITH COMPLAINTS at Arizona's charter schools find nowhere to turn: A lack of independent oversight leaves students and families without recourse to challenge charter school officials' actions.
Arizona's charter schools are primarily run by private companies. They must have a governing board, but school owners get to pick who's on the board.
Beyond the school, parents can only turn to the state Charter Board. And regulators there, because of limited resources and limited authority, rarely investigate such complaints against schools, an Arizona Republic investigation shows.
♦ American Leadership Academy paid millions to businesses owned by its founder: The $46.8 million in payments to companies owned or co-owned by the charter school chain's founder Glenn Way or his relatives in total made up more than half of ALA's 2019 fiscal budget. This story is for subscribers.
♦ Arizona approves new charter school tied to Primavera CEO: Despite the public online school that already exists failing almost every academic measure, Primavera received state approval to open another school.
♦ Primavera CEO pays himself another $1.3 million: The CEO's multimillion-dollar payments to himself spurred calls for more oversight of charter schools, but he's still getting big payments.
♦ Farnsworth nets $13.9 million in charter school sale: Ownership will shift to a newly formed nonprofit company, but the deal won't be the state lawmaker's last payday from the schools he's owned for decades.
♦ State may close Pointe charter schools: Students weren't given the AIMS science test, and the charter operator has had a host of other problems.
♦ Charter group adopts new ethics after Republic inquiry: The Republic had revealed the charter association official used inside information to benefit a student-recruitment business he owned with his wife.
♦ Glendale charter school drops student because of his disability, mom alleges: Heritage Elementary again is facing controversy after a mom claims her special needs, 6-year-old was kicked out.
♦ 'A serious error': Charter official will return cash from insider deal: The Arizona Charter Schools Association will force its No. 2 executive to return cash from an insider deal after a Republic investigation.
♦ Teachers accuse principal, vice principal of sexual harassment: Top school execs at Heritage, a Glendale charter, are accused of sexual harassment; staff say principal put pics of ex-teachers in office shower.
♦ Charter enrollment policies changed after report finds 'illegal' practices: An ACLU report exposing "illegal or exclusionary" enrollment practices in Arizona has forced documentation and policy changes at nearly 100 charter schools.
FUNDING: Arizona school funding: How it works
CHARTERS VS. DISTRICTS: Who gets more money?
FAILURES AND SUCCESSES: A history of Arizona education funding ideas
FINANCES: 1 in 4 charters show significant financial red flags
PERFORMANCE: Are charter students outperforming the state average?
COMPLAINTS: Charter board makes complaints against schools hard to find
Charter school enrollment is growing in Arizona, but what's the difference between a charter and your neighborhood district school? azcentral.com Wochit
EDITORIAL BOARD: How the double standard on charter school finances cheats you
AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY: We're not the villain in this charter-school war
ALLHANDS: Basis schools aren't the only ones asking parents to pony up
ROBERTS: Rent increase could force one of central Phoenix's best schools to close
MONTINI: Meanwhile ... more Arizona charter school scandals were exposed
ALLHANDS: Do charter schools cherry pick students? AzMERIT data says no
ROBERTS: Why are charter schools paying a bounty (with public funds) for students?


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FAA workers will join forces with a top IT firm to compete in one of the largest A-76 competitions in government.
Information technology contractor Harris Corp. will join 2,700 Federal Aviation Administration workers in a public-private job competition involving 58 flight service stations throughout the United States, officials announced Monday.
Under the arrangement, rare for such competitions, Harris and FAA flight service specialists will vie as a team against other companies in the competition. Together, the two entities will form the "most efficient organization," (MEO) and submit the in-house bid.
"[Harris] has a lot of expertise, and we're looking for them to be our systems integrator for equipment," said Robert McMullen, FAA program manager for the MEO. "What we want to do is win, and we feel they're the one that can help us do that."
The pairing combines the FAA's veteran workforce with Harris, a Florida-based firm that holds several IT contracts with the agency and currently supplies technical equipment at some flight service stations. Flight service specialists provide weather briefings to pilots and assist with search and rescue activities.
Observers expect the arrangement to boost the prospects of FAA workers in the competition, which has piqued the interest of contractor heavyweights Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, among other firms. The FAA is including equipment at the 58 stations in the nationwide competition, meaning technical improvements will play a a significant role in the competition.
"It's really important for the MEO because of the technology piece," said Kate Breen, a former specialist who is now an official with the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists, a union that represents 2,200 specialists. "We're not in a position right now where we can go look for new technology, and there's nobody better than Harris for that," she said.
If the in-house team wins, Harris would integrate the technical equipment used by flight service specialists. Legally, the company would be a subcontractor to the MEO, according to McMullen.
Flight service specialists at seven stations already use a Harris system known as the Operation and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS) to plan flights and conduct weather briefings. The technology impressed officials with the MEO, who felt it made Harris stand out from other firms that expressed interest in teaming with the FAA workers.
"Over the last couple of months we met with all the usual players," said McMullen. "Harris was the only one that brought proven technology to the table in OASIS."
The in-house workers also considered submitting their bid without a private sector partner, as federal workers typically do in public-private job competitions. But the FAA's tight competition deadlines-technical proposals are due by August-convinced the in-house team to pursue an industry partner, according to McMullen.
Federal workers have teamed with private firms in competitions before, but the practice is extremely rare. Some agencies have been discouraged by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which bars agencies from entering into a contractual relationship with a private firm before a contract has been awarded.
But the FAA is exempt from the FAR. The agency is governed by its own acquisition rules, which encourage teaming arrangements, according to McMullen. Office of Management and Budget rules, contained in OMB Circular A-76, also encourage in-house teams to partner with the private sector.
The in-house group has a "teaming agreement" with Harris, according to McMullen. "[Harris] is taking a chance with us that we're going to win, and if we win they become the systems integrator," he said. "It's similar to private industry, where you put your team together and if you win, the team is in place."
Harris is pleased with the arrangement, said Al Dukes, president of the civil programs business unit in the firm's Government Communications Systems Division. "This builds on the significant and ongoing relationship that has evolved between Harris and the FAA over the past 20 years," he said in a statement.
The FAA will evaluate bids using "best value" criteria, meaning cost will be less important than it is in some job competitions. Although federal employee unions generally have been critical of the "best value" approach, McMullen said it could benefit workers at the FAA. "I think what it does is prevent somebody from coming in and low-balling [a bid]," he said.
McMullen expects three to four industry teams to bid against the MEO in the competition.
Some bidders may propose closing or consolidating some of the 58 flight service stations in order to craft a more competitive proposal. The FAA spent $514 million operating the stations in fiscal 2002, according to agency documents.
McMullen said Harris would have input into the content of the MEO bid, including whether they propose closing any stations. ICF Consulting, a Fairfax, Va.-based firm, is providing consulting support to the MEO.
The FAA took no position on the MEO's announcement. "The so-called MEO can do what it wants to, and that's not something the FAA will comment on," FAA spokesman William Shumann said.

subset: commoncrawl


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Discover the history of flamenco in Triana and enjoy the authentic flamenco show in Seville
Guided Tour 2hrs approx.
Read this information carefully:
Flamenco is one of the most characteristic elements of Spanish culture, especially throughout the southern region of Andalucía. Flamenco was, for many, born in Triana, across the river from Sevilla, mostly in the mines and in the countryside where the gypsies lived from the 15th century, sent there by the Holy Inquisition.
Flamenco dance, as one-third of the quintessential Spanish phenomenon of flamenco, has an extensive historical background that parallels the cultural development of Spain itself. The guide will talk about this and a lot more, before taking you into the show.
Flamenco is an especially Andalusian art, which has crossed borders and has been declared Intangible Cultural Heritage. Do you know its origin? Have you felt the rage of? We offer an exclusive, unique and special place;to live this magnificent show, inside the Triana Market, in a small theater in the heart of the neighborhood where this art was born. Singing, dancing and guitar will flow to all beat to show the essence of flamenco.
Additional information:
Puerta de Jerez
(outside of Haagen Dazs)


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Many evils in this world is caused by our silence.
Was there a time when you were with family, friends or co-workers when you knew you should have said something but you didn't? Perhaps it was out of fear – fear of rejection, ridicule or hurting someone's feelings.
There are times when we are called to use our judgement as to whether it is wise to speak or not. However, when it comes to evil we Christians must always be ready to speak up and out against it. This is difficult since we have been programmed by the media, political correctness in the workplace and to "be tolerant".
St. Catherine of Siena said, "We've had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence." Too long have we been silent.
We Christians are not people of tolerance (to tolerate is allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of something that one does not necessarily like or agree with without interference) we are people of LOVE.
Since we are a people of love we must speak out against anything that goes against love. It is because of our silence that we have divorce, gay "marriage", euthanasia, abortion, corruption, indifference to faith, churches closing, etc.
We cannot be silent anymore. We cannot be complacent with sin or be silent while we see our brothers and sisters lead a life down a path that leads to death and destruction. If we do, we too share in the participation of that/ those sins. To price is too high.
On April 29th we celebrate St. Catherine of Siena's feast day. She is the Patron Saint (among many others) of people ridiculed for their piety. St. Catherine, pray for us! Let us be ridiculed for our love of Christ and love for our brothers and sisters. Intercede for us on our behalf that we may have the graces necessary to be silent no more in the face of evil.
If publishing article online please attribute source Serviam Ministries with link to original article.


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Ian on the Turkish "Pretty Boy Floyd"
After you're done at the Fonotopia blog, head on over to Excavated Shellac. Ian has a beast of an article on a revenge-themed song from 1910 that he says is basically the Turkish version of Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd."
You'll hear this song when we post Fonotopia episode #3, Music of the Ottoman Empire. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!


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Theme Settings
Cider house Lizeaga
- Txotx season from January to April.
- Open all the year
- Dinners every day. In the txotx season, lunch on Saturdays.
- Txotx all year round.
- Bottled cider for sale.
- Parking for cars and coaches.
- Natural cider.
- Euskal Sagardoa designation of origin.
- (+34) 943 46 82 90 - 667549090
- Lizeaga Sagardotegia, Gartziategi Baserria.. 20115 Astigarraga.
- See map43.271367, -1.948203
Products and Experiences
Cider Houses in:
- Astigarraga
- Donostia
- Hernani
- Usurbil
- Aramaio
- Kuartango
- Zerain
- Amorebieta-Etxano
- Askartza
- Lezama
- Urnieta
- Lasarte-Oria
- Oiartzun
- Irun
- Aduna
- Aldatz
- Ataun
- Beruete
- Zubieta
- Azpeitia
- Lesaka
- Aia
- Lekaroz (Baztan)
- Ordizia
- Lekunberri
- Urrugne
- Berriatua
- Donaixti-Ibarre
- Gatika
- Gizaburuaga
- Markina-Xemein
- Zornotza
- Altzaga
High-quality natural cider made from 100% native apples. A cider made from Basque apples, using locally-created varieties that have been improved and nurtured over thousands of years. As well as using local produce, the basis of the Euskal Sagardoa designation of origin is quality: all ciders bearing this certificate must undergo exhaustive physical-chemical analytical tests and tastings.
High-quality natural cider made from 100% native apples, with the confidence that comes from its origins and know-how. A commitment to the future for the industry.
Cider is made by fermenting the natural juice of cider apples, and has been made and drunk in the Basque Country for thousands of years. Natural cider has no added CO2, water or sugars, and is made according to the strict rules governing it. Finding the right mixture of apples together with each cider maker's experience mean there are a wide range of natural ciders for drinkers to enjoy.
A cider that has been improved over the generations and displays the character of its maker, the hand-made product of experience.
Until 159.00€
Enjoy of an authentic trip to the Basque Country! An enogastronomic plan like no other around Donostia – San Sebastian!
A weekend plan to discover our origins and enjoy of our traditional gastronomy. Through this route we offer you a stay of two nights and three days. Choose one of our rural hostals, enjoy of different trips through the basque territory and taste cider along with the different menus that our cider houses offer.
Room distribution.GUIDED TOUR THROUGH CIDER HOUSE CELLAR
Stroll through the Apple field, manufacturing zone and cellar. Cider tasting and Chorizo Pintxo. Discover our cider houses from the hand of the very manufacturer. You'll know the families, traditions and culture of an entire territory through basque cider.DINNER – TRADITIONAL CIDER HOUSE MENU AND CIDER TASTING BY TXOTX
Amongst the experiences we can enjoya round our kitchen, a magic ritual awaits us inside our Cider Cellars: the Txotx Experience!
Cider houses are producers and manufacturers of natural cider, the local drink by excellence. These cider houses are the ones which open us their gates to be able to taste all their cider, followed by a traditional menu of a Cider house, cod omelette, fried cod with peppers and, of course, grilled beef with a dessert of Idiazabal cheese, quince and nuts.
Visit the reconstruction of the San Juan ship, whale ship of the 16th Century. Basque cider has been the drink of those sailors who made long expeditions in search of whales and cod to the New Land, cider has been the drink of farms of the area, and cider houses or taverns of the city. The bottled cider has been the drink of our well known gastronomic societies, and cider is, today, the drink of those who want to enjoy of a good drink of our history.LUNCH - FISH AND GRILLED BEEF AND TASTING OF TXOTX FLAVOURED CIDER
It is said that a basque sailor would drink 3 liters of cider every day during his long trips. The Basque Country has a great sea history and is granted with a great gastronomic tradition in which fish is the protagonist of the main courses.
Hidden amongst our mountains we can see as we enter in basque lands big Stone and Wood farms, strongholds that have been hundreds of years up. The structure of the farm has been through centuries the structure of the farm, the cider factory. Surrounded by big apple fields, these farms have accomplished the function of making the necessary cider for the territory, its sailors and its surroundings.VISIT TO THE CHEESE FACTORY AND TASTING OF IDIAZABAL CHEESE D.O.P
Along with agricultura, shepherdship has been one of the most important Jobs of the Basque Country. Cheese factories of our territory open their home gates to visitors that want to know the making of Idiazabal cheese. Sheep are herded in the fields of these farms, at the feet of basque mountains.
This visit brings the possibility of knowing the work of basque shepherds and tasting the fruits of their labor: a really exceptional cheese. Aside of knowing the herds, the milking systems, milk containers, moulds, pressing and refrigerators, amongst other things.
Discover the world of the Basque Country Cider visiting through some cider houses and knowing their producers!
La The Natural Cider of the Basque Country is a country product made 100% with Apples of the Basque Country and with a certified quality. The apples, taken care with a special attention, grant the personality that we'll be able to taste on bottle or directly from the barrel. In this route that you'll enjoy from the apple field to the bottle you'll taste our History.
- 10.00h: CIDER HOUSE 1 – Apple field. You'll visit an Apple field knowing the old plantation systems, the current ones and looking at the special care that requires the production of the prime material for the Basque Cider – Natural Cider of the Basque Country. You'll taste different varieties of apple and you'll have the opportunity of picking the apple with the tool that is used in this zone: "kizkia" and the basket.
- 11.00h: CIDER HOUSE 2 – Production Zone. After picking the Apple, cleaning it and selecting it, we proceed to smash it and press it. While you enjoy all this process, you'll taste the natural apple syrup obtained in place, the future Basque Cider. You'll go through the chapters of the history of cider making visiting the modern zone and traditional making zone with old machinery.
- 12.00h: CIDER HOUSE 3 – Cellar and Tasting. The made syrup ends its route in the barrel, at Basque cellars. In there it awaits the fermentation in which it will turn it into the Basque Cider. In the third cider house we'll explain this production phase, along with the bottling phase. You'll taste bottled cider. Fine Production to appreciate the process from the syrup to the bottle in your own mouth.
- 13.00h: CIDER HOUSE 4 - Lunch, Traditional Cider House Menu and Cider Tasting. To finish the journey, we'll taste cider directly from the barrels with the traditional cider house menú, as tradition in the basque territory.
A Sea Of Cider is the proposal to get to know our cultural and gastronomic hegemony!
In the 16th Century fishers and sailors made long expeditions to the New Land, to the hunt of whales and the fishing of cod. The drink by excellence of these sailors was cider and, no more no less, each sailor drank 3 liters of cider every day! The biggest part of cider produced in the basque farms was sent to these expeditions. You'll know firsthand this reconstruction of the Saint John whale ship from the 16th Century, sunk in the cold Canadian waters. The ship schematics return to their origins and will sail again from where centuries ago has set sail.
"Txoootx!" is the call to taste Natural Cider directly from the barrels while you enjoy a Traditional Menu of a Cider house.
Today around 100 cider houses in the Basque Country and even if traditionally the Txotx season is from January to May, every time there are more cider houses opening their gates during the entire year. Through the Txotx ritual you'll taste cider from different barrels, in the cellars of our cider houses, followed by a traditional cider house menu. They also offer kids menus and special menus.
- Cod Omelette
- Fried Cod
- Grilled Beef
- Cheese with Quince and Nuts
- Txotx-flavoured Cider
Inside the experiences of the Sagardoa Route we propose you a series of excursions to know our territory through cider. An ancestral product rooted to Basque history, culture and traditions.
A true plan, ideal for the whole family, Friends, couples and office mates.
Choose the one you like!


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Coinbase.com a.k.a Coinbase Consumer is a digital currency brokerage - you use it to buy or sell cryptocurrency in exchange for fiat currency (i.e. USD or your local currency). Coinbase Consumer can also act as a custodian, storing your digital currency for you after you purchase it. Coinbase Consumer is available in 32 countries.
Wallet is a user-custodied digital currency wallet and DApp browser. This means that with Wallet, the private keys (that represent ownership of the cryptocurrency) are stored directly on your device and not with a centralized exchange like Coinbase Consumer. You do not need a Coinbase Consumer account to use Wallet and you can download Wallet from anywhere in the world.
Coinbase Wallet is a software product that gives you access to a wide spectrum of decentralized innovation - buy and store ERC-20 tokens, participate in airdrops and ICOs, collect rare digital art and other collectibles, browse decentralized apps (DApps), shop at stores that accept cryptocurrency, and send crypto to anyone around the world.
If you're looking to simply invest in digital currency - Coinbase Consumer at coinbase.com remains the easiest place to buy, sell, and manage your digital currency.
Yes, you can. Every wallet uses a private key to secure its assets which you can import into Coinbase Wallet. Just look for the 12 word recovery phrase or mnemonic in the settings menu of your current wallet and then use that same 12 word phrase to sign into Coinbase Wallet.
For customer support or user feedback, contact us at [email protected]. For developer issues, visit our developer section, Discord developer forum, or mail us at [email protected].
The easiest and most secure crypto wallet


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Bryan Cranston stars in this drama focused on a mid-life crisis gone bad for an underachieving high school chemistry teacher who becomes a drug dealer after he discovers that he has lung cancer.
Bryan Cranston stars in this drama focused on a mid-life crisis gone bad for an underachieving high school chemistry teacher who becomes a drug dealer after he discovers that he has lung cancer.
Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally mess up together.
Prisoner of War
The 2nd Mass comes face to face with Skitters and Mechs when Tom and Hal lead a mission to finally attempt rescuing Ben and the other captured teens. Tom's search for answers to nagging questions could jeopardize the plan to save the teenagers from the harnesses that is presented by the 2nd Mass' latest recruit Dr. Michael Harris.
The show tells the story of the murder of a young girl in Seattle and the subsequent police investigation. I have been waiting for this one to air for a while, not to mention the awesome Michelle Forbes has a role on it.
Live And Learn
After an unprovoked and devastating alien invasion of Earth leaves the planet in tatters the remaining humans must learn to work together and fight the aliens if they are to continue to exist, Former history professor Tom Mason as Second In Command of the 2nd Mass must juggle his duties as leader with his duties as a father to his 3 sons, One of whom is being held captive by the aliens.
Fire and Blood
As tragic news spreads across the Seven Kingdoms, Bran and Rickon share a prophetic dream, Catelyn interrogates Jaime about her son's fall, and Robb's destiny is forever changed.
With Sansa's life in danger, Ned makes a fateful decision. Catelyn brokers an unsavory deal with the slippery Walder Frey. Tyrion acquires a mistress and is forced by his father to fight on the front lines. Robb wins his first major victory and captures a prized prisoner.
The Pointy End
In the aftermath of Ned's capture, Syrio and Arya face off against Lannister guards, while Cersei manipulates Sansa to her own ends. Robb rallies his father's northern allies against Tywin Lannister and heads south to war.


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Bob Shallit
The Mill at Broadway targets millennials as home buyers
Home construction has begun at The Mill at Broadway, an innovative urban infill project in Sacramento that's as notable for its youthful vibe as its grand scope.
The community, just to the south of Broadway between Third and Fifth streets, eventually will have 1,000 residences, a park, a public market and a walking and biking trail – on 32 acres of formerly industrial property.
Now it's mostly dirt and sidewalks. But Bardis Homes last week started trenching and laying water/sewer lines for its first 10 model housing units – a mix of single-family detached townhomes and duplex-style residences, connected either side by side or one atop another.
Those 10 model homes – part of the project's initial 282 residences – should be finished by August, when a grand opening is scheduled. The prices: from just under $200,000 for the smallest duplex-style unit to about $400,000 for the largest townhomes.
Work also is underway to convert an aging truck-loading dock on Fifth Street into what initially will be a sales office and later the site of a public market with coffee shops and other retail operations.
The goal: to create a hip, vibrant, energy-efficient community that also reflects the property's historic role as a wood processing site, Setzer Forest Products Inc. Developers plan to keep some reminders of the Setzer operation – including a 35-foot-high cylindrical sawdust burner – as a community icon.
"We're not building from scratch but from the rich history that's here. We're not just creating another cookie-cutter suburban community," said Kevin Smith, project manager with San Diego-based developer Ranch Capital LLC.
It's an ambitious undertaking. When was the last time a major subdivision was built so close to Sacramento's central city?
But perhaps the Mill at Broadway's most intriguing element is its aim to sell homes primarily to young buyers from the "millennial" generation, those born starting in the early 1980s and a group generally considered averse to taking on mortgages.
The pitch is subtle. A video on the project's website – millatbroadway.com – shows attractive young people jogging, hiking, biking and engaged in creative pursuits, while extolling the virtues of living for the moment and downplaying material success.
"Beauty, risk, love and passion," the narrator says at one point. "These are what we stay alive for."
The video doesn't once mention the words home buying.
The idea is to show that the project's backers understand the millennial lifestyle, said the video's creator and narrator, 28-year-old Russell Breton of Vision Launchers, the Sacramento firm in charge of branding the Mill at Broadway project.
Other marketing efforts will be more direct. The message: You can own a home as cheaply as renting; you can build up equity; and without any yards or a pool to maintain, you can drop everything at a moment's notice to travel and have adventures. As Breton put it, "buying a house doesn't mean you're selling your soul."
Smith, the project manager, said his firm researched demographic trends after being brought on by the Setzer family, the property's longtime owner. The conclusion: Millennials had to be the project's primary customers, along with downsizing empty-nesters.
Initially, Smith was approached by home builders who wanted to put in large, single-family lots on the 32-acre property. "We saw that as responding to the market of the past instead of the market of the future," he said.
He opted instead to take a chance on Bardis Homes, a new venture formed by cousins Rachel Bardis and Katherine Bardis, whose fathers have been involved in the Reynen & Bardis home-building company.
Rachel, 39, ran a home-building company more than a decade ago. Katherine, a 27-year-old recent grad of University of Pacific's McGeorge law school, worked with her cousin on a five-home project in the Pocket area in south Sacramento. They'll build the first 282 homes at the Mill.
"They got what we were talking about," Smith said.
The cousins introduced Smith to the Vision Launchers team. Also working on the project: Artists Sofia Lacin✔ and Hennessy Christophel, who are painting murals at the project's future entrance near Broadway and Third. Both are millennials.
More 20- and 30-somethings will be brought in this summer when eight interior designers are asked to put their personal spin on the model homes.
Normally model homes all have a similar look, aimed at mass appeal. Not these.
"It's a big risk to bring in various designers and say, 'Show us what you would do here,'" Rachel Bardis said. "But we don't want sameness. We don't want mundaneness."
Her cousin said the project itself will be anything but mundane.
"I do everything by feeling, and this just feels right," Katherine said. "You're close to the city and you can wake up, roll out of bed and go get your coffee and a sandwich. It's a feeling of living within a city but also having a community."
Call The Bee's Bob Shallit, (916) 321-1017.


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Going vegan to pacify allergies
I am truly grateful to Angela for being so open about the various conditions, reactions, tests and surgeries that she had to endure, before finding the cure, which has made it disappear completely! I am humbled by her willpower, strength, determination and positive outlook.
What allergies do you have?
Lactose Intolerance, which means I can't have dairy.
Immunoglobulin E (IgE)–mediated Gastrointestinal Allergies means that I cannot consume any dairy and meat (except chicken and turkey), onions, bananas, strawberries, fermented foods and olive oil.
How long have you had these allergies?
I've had the problems from the allergies for as long as I can remember. But I had it medically documented in 2014.
How do the allergies effect you in terms of daily living?
I cannot leave the house or travel unless I plan out bathroom stops. Living overseas for more than 7 years and wanting to travel was not only restricted, but caused me a lot of strife when I wanted to hang out with my friends.
If I ate any of the items listed above, I would bleed internally as it (tried to) process through my stomach. This would turn into an acidic runny stool that would inflame until it created haemorrhoids.
I was always anaemic. I would feel nauseous, experience headaches, and get rashes or go numb in areas of my face. My body could not digest any of these items and therefore it would find way for me to get rid of it as quick as possible.
What did you eat before finding out you had these allergies?
Everything I wanted. I never said no to trying foods.
Did your diet change after you discovered that you were allergic to these things?
Yes. It changed drastically.
Slowly, after food testing, biopsies, and surgery, I had to become Vegan. It was a slow process to fully understand the vegan lifestyle, but It was needed and in the end, welcomed.
Did you see any health professionals, other than your GP?
Yes, I have seen a German professional (when we were stationed overseas) who specialised in Gastroenterology / Hepatology - Hematology / Oncology -Endocrinology / Diabetology / Angiology - Infectious Diseases - Internal Intensive Medicine - Rheumatology / Clinical Immunology.
What did the health professionals say?
First I had tested positive for helicobacter pylori, and looking over my records, it came to light that I had it for 7 years! I tested positive in 2007 but the doctors hadn't told me.
After eradicating that, I was tested for Lactose. Then went in for back to back hemorrhoidectomy surgeries with biopsies from my colon and intestines.
We also did several food tests, such as, limiting what I ate for a few days at a time e.g. I would eat only rice for days or just potatoes. After that I would have dual colonoscopy and an endoscopy and they would test my urine and bowel movements.
It was a gruelling process, but one that was needed. I was tired of living with pain and seclusion.
After months of probes, needles, sonograms, CAT scans, and drinking/eating certain things; the doctor formed 2 options. Either go Vegan or live in a clinic for a few months while they do more tests to figure out exactly how many more foods I am allergic to. I chose to go Vegan and figure out myself which more items resulted in bigger reactions.
I am a parent and could not up and leave for a while. I do plan on seeing my GP soon to ask for the new blood allergy test.
What made you decide to shift to a vegan diet?
Vegans have no meat and no dairy, which were two of my biggest allergies/Intolerance.
What did you notice as a result of eating vegan?
No more pain! No more bleeding! No more haemorrhoids! I am still finding small items that do bother me, but it's nowhere near the amount that it used to! I have to make sure that I watch out for casein which is hidden in some items.
How quickly did you notice these changes?
It was immediate.
Would you consider going back to how you used to eat?
No, never again! I have slip ups like anyone who was changing a lifestyle would, but I would never would I go back.
I love coming up with new vegan recipes that suit me.
It's fun. I know it won't hurt me, and I am able to do much more with my family and friends.
Have your family and friends been supportive?
I have found that I have the greatest support system ever! My friends were the first ones to encourage me to seek help; before and after the tests and surgeries. They bought me so many vegan cookbooks and found me vegan items locally and online. I can not express how amazing my girlfriends were and are. They were amazing (non-vegans) who embraced me and helped me go vegan, which is what I needed to do, to achieve a better quality of life. We even had brunches geared around what I could eat. I love their support. My daughters and husband are not vegan but they will eat what I make. My youngest is showing signs of having similar issues, so she usually asks if what's been made is Vegan or not. Naturally, she wants to avoid her stomach hurting.
It's been less than one year. We have so much to learn, and we also, have so much to teach. I'm thrilled with the Vegan Life.
Related posts
Going vegan to pacify Crohn's disease
Shifting to a vegan diet for a better quality of life - recurring problems with ear, nose and throat
An unexpected bonus - eating vegan meant less colds, flu and cold sores
Going vegan after being diagnosed with cancer for the third time
Going vegan for fertility and more
Shifting to a vegan diet after being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 30
Dr. Barnard's take on the benefits of eating a plant-based diet
What does the NHS say about following a vegan diet?
The beautiful truth
Alicia Silverstone discusses the visibly noticeable benefits of going vegan
"Vegan diet reverses diabetes symptoms. People that ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet."
- Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent


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If this doesn't make sense just chalk it up to a weird dream I had about blackness in the middle of a nap on a Tuesday afternoon.
If this doesn't make sense just chalk it up to a weird dream I had about blackness in the middle of a nap on a Tuesday afternoon.
This is fucking brilliant. I've never thought about the foundation that Jesse laid for us, and that is a shame. I'm a lot older than you and I have really seen Jesse in action. There were times when Americans were taken hostage in the middle east, and placed in some precarious situations. You know who those fools listened to? Reagan, Bush, Cheney? No. Jesse! Jesse had to go over there on some Jack Bauer 24 shit to free an American soldier.
You can see this is from the BBC. America has defined Jesse by his shortcomings. This is tragic. I can't believe I bought into this bullshit. I actually saw this happen and I should know better, but I was following along with the mainstream. Al Sharpton is another one who is in this category. Thanks for bringing this to the forefront. Jesse is an American treasure and should be treated as such.
Great Post!
Love this. Thank you for chronicling and breaking it down.
Yeah you're crazy. CRAZY LIKE A FOX! A black fox.
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What Kind of Coffee Do We Have?
June 20, 2010
When you visit the shop, you'll notice that we don't have a sign board that indicates the types of coffees that we offer.Ā This is by design, as we would prefer to have a discussion about what coffee flavors you like, and then marry those flavor preferences with the coffees we offer.Ā I've often wondered how useful it is to read, "today's special brew: Guatemala", as if every Guatemalan coffee tastes the same and every customer knows exactly what a Guatemalan coffee should taste like.Ā Certainly neither of those expectations can be true, so we use a different approach.
However, this blog gives us a viable platform to discuss the coffees that we currently offer.Ā To start, we roast 6 different coffees for sale at Echo Coffee. Each coffee/roast has a drink it was specifically designed and developed for, however, we will gladly alter the default choice for customers seeking a different flavor profile.
For drip coffee drinkers, the default choice is our Titus Blend. For the Titus blend, my #1 goal is drinkability. The coffee should be easy and pleasing to drink, and drinking one cup should make you want to drink a second cup (whether you need a second cup or not…that's a different story). In developing the blend, I sought a balance between acidity and sweetness, with a slight slant toward sweetness, particularly chocolate notes. Currently, the Titus Blend is composed of beans from Kenya, Brazil, and El Salvador. However, the coffee origins in the blend will change throughout the season (the blend has already changed three times, since it was developed, due to origin coffees that are no longer available). Regardless of seasonality, I will do our very best to maintain a consistent flavor profile for the Titus Blend.
For iced coffee drinkers, the default choice is a single origin Cameroon Boyo.Ā This coffee is certified 100% organic, and features a bright, citrus fruity taste, which I find refreshing for an iced coffee.Ā We brew it hot at double strength, then cool it, so that it isn't diluted or weak when poured over iced.Ā Some people prefer this coffee hot, and it is available upon request as a drip coffee.
For straight espresso, macchiato, and cappuccino drinkers, the default choice is a single origin El Salvador Bourbon.Ā This amazing coffee is so round, complete, and complex it belies the fact that it is a single origin coffee.Ā The crema is sweet and thick, like chocolate butter, yet it presents a wonderful brightness and berry fruit flavor as well.
For latte drinkers, the default choice is our Titus Blend, roasted for espresso.Ā The Titus Blend shines in a latte, as the sweet, rich flavors are able to combine with the additional milk in a latte, and create a drink that seems disappear before you realize it.Ā As an espresso, the Titus Blend does tip more toward a sweet tooth lover's drink, and for some it may be too sweet.Ā If you find the Titus Blend is too sweet in your latte, the El Salvador makes an excellent latte, while backing down the sweetness.Ā Likewise, some straight espresso and/or cappuccino drinkers find the Titus Blend to be their espresso of choice.Ā Either way, we'll be happy to make your drink your way.
For decaf drinkers, we offer a very good decaf from Brazil for both drip and espresso.Ā The very nature of decaf coffee means that it cannot have as complex and rich a flavor profile as a regular coffee, but we have found a decaf that seems to belie that common expectation.Ā Most decaf drinkers are amazed that, "it doesn't taste like decaf."Ā The flavor profile is a bit brighter and more acidic than the Titus or El Salvdor, while maintaining good body.Ā If you are in the mood for coffee, but don't want the caffeine, it's a worthy choice.
Finally, we offer the El Salvador Bourbon, in a lighter roast for drip coffee.Ā For those coffee purists seeking a wonderful single origin coffee, or those drip coffee drinkers that may find the Titus Blend just a little too sweet, this is an excellent choice.


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The 10th and final principle of the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating is, "Honor Your Health---with Gentle Nutrition."
Notice that this is not the first principle. It's the last. When you've completed all 9 of the other principles, that's when you're ready to start paying attention to nutrition.
Most people get it backwards. We focus first on what we think we should be eating or not be eating and we start down the rabbit hole. We eat our "healthy snack" at a designated snack time when we're not hungry. We wait until our designated "lunch" time to eat an totally unfulfilling vinegar salad that's burning our lips and leaving us starving. Then, we go to the bathroom to berate ourselves for getting something "calorie dense" in our salads. And suddenly, you hate the pants you bought two days ago because you look fat or something and you need to wash your hair again tonight, probably because of that "calorie dense" item in your vinegar salad. And, then maybe, you go home from work, skip your workout and eat ice cream all night, vowing to start the Paleo diet and attend two crossfit classes next week.
But... if you've been reading this blog you know that you never have to diet again. You can eat when you're hungry, not eat when you're full. You're cool with getting "calorie dense" options in your salad and even, dare I say, creamy dressing. You've made peace with food and you don't care what the food police have to say. You stopped wearing those pants that are too small for you because you respect your body the way it is now. You had a lovely walk this morning after your chocolate croissant because it helps you manage your stress at your job which is the real reason you ate ice cream and didn't like your hair in the afternoon. You have also invested in a hair cut you like instead of crossfit classes because you realized you hated going to that anyway.
But.. maybe this is just my story... err.. I mean my "friend's" story?
The critical switch between chronically dieting and intuitive eating is SELF LOVE.
When you stop tuning out of your body like its the Taylor Swift song you've been listening on repeat for too long, you can start to actually take care of yourself. And that's the coaching process for Phenomenal Jane. I'll take you on the journey from vinegar salads to the life you love.
Because it's not about hating how you look or berating yourself for decisions you've made around food.
It's about, well, shaking it off.


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In the blink of an eye January, 2015 has come and gone. We know you're busy, so here are the most essential details you ought to know about men's suits… Educate yourself, then take your wardrobe and career to the next level with the personal assistance of The SF Tailor.
1. Given the opportunity, always opt for custom made or bespoke.
Nothing will fit you better. Nothing will give you the same amount of confidence. Don't fool yourself. If you don't have accurate measurements, visit an alterations service and get your stats in minutes… and typically for free.
2. A good fit starts with the shoulders.
If you send unusual measurements when you place an order with The SF Tailor, we will confirm them. We want to craft the best possible fit an online tailor can provide you. We've already minimized the overhead, passing along our cost savings to you.
3. Lapels should match the width of your torso.
Only wear peaked lapel suits if you are relatively fit, as they accentuate your torso. A slender chest needs skinnier lapels.
4. Opt for sleeves a quarter-inch (0.63 cm) longer than your jacket sleeve.
This is a hallmark of a well made, well-thought customized suit. If you're a man of shorter proportions, expose a half-inch (1.27 cm) of shirt cuff. It'll make your arms appear longer.
5. Cuffs look traditional on suit pants and add weight to the fabric.
As an extension of this, your trousers will drape better. Again if you are not average height, trousers that sit high on the waist and 'break' atop shoes also lengthen the body. Uncuff those trouser hems.
6. When wearing a tie, three patterns rarely work together. Choose two solids and a pattern, or a solid and two patterns.
If you don't have the knack or aptitude to pair colors, use a color wheel when mixing and matching. To use the wheel, choose colors that are diagonal or complementary. The colors should form an equilateral triangle (three equal sides).
7. When using a wide spread collar, wear a half Windsor or full Windsor tie knot.
The former is also known as the single Windsor knot. It works well with light- and medium-weight fabrics to produce a neat, triangular knot (smaller than the full Windsor). The technique only brings the tie around the loop on one side, not both. Watch a video demonstration, here.
The full or double Windsor is pictured here. It produces a wide symmetrical triangular knot. Watch a video demonstration, here.
Now that you're better informed, The SF Tailor team can personalize your suits and prime you for your job promotion.


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The current New York Times Magazine has an interesting article which begins with an Upjohn warning. Anita Raghavan, Rajat Gupta's Lust for Zeros (NYT 5/17/13), here. I excerpt that opening:
Late one Friday morning, Rajat Gupta was rushing through security at Philadelphia International Airport, carry-on in tow, when his cellphone rang. When Gupta heard from Goldman Sachs, on whose board he sat, it was often from its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein. But on this morning, it was Gregory K. Palm, his old Harvard Business School classmate and the bank's general counsel, on the line. Palm sounded unusually serious. So Gupta asked if he could call him back from the other side of security.
When he did, Palm quickly made two odd disclosures. First, he told Gupta that he had arranged for a colleague to listen in on their conversation. Then he said, "We are representing the corporation, and not you." Palm wanted to make sure that there was no doubt that this was not a privileged conversation. If the matter evolved into something bigger, their discussion could be handed over to law-enforcement officers.
As Gupta listened, Palm stuck to the script that he worked out beforehand. "What can you tell me about Raj Rajaratnam, and have you ever provided him with information about what we do?" he asked.
Of course Gupta knew Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire head of the Galleon Group hedge fund and No. 236 on the Forbes 400 list. He had worked with him on a number of projects since stepping down from the top job at McKinsey, the consulting giant, in 2003. But Rajaratnam's name had turned radioactive since his arrest, on Oct. 16, 2009, for trading on closely guarded corporate information.
"What are you talking about?" Gupta asked, seemingly taken aback.
Palm explained that Goldman officials had come to believe Gupta may have provided Rajaratnam with crucial information about the firm. Ever cool, Gupta calmly denied that he had given Rajaratnam confidential information about Goldman. Then Gupta said that he and Rajaratnam had indeed been business partners on an investment fund called New Silk Route. Teaming up with Rajaratnam seemed to be his plan for a spectacular career finale — a bid not only to stay vital after stepping down from McKinsey but also to establish himself in the elite circle of billionaires, like the private-equity giant Henry Kravis, that made up his new coterie.
Gupta didn't say all that to Palm, of course. Instead, he explained why it would have been ludicrous for him to give Rajaratnam information: the two had had a falling out over a soured $10 million investment. Gupta told Palm that he had hired accountants and lawyers and was planning to sue his former partner; he would have done so already, he said, were it not for Rajaratnam's arrest. "Why would I help out someone with whom I had a dispute?" he asked rhetorically. He said he was happy to discuss the issue more, but he had to catch a flight to Boston.
Over the course of the day, Palm and Gupta had a number of follow-up conversations. In one, Palm recommended that Gupta get his own lawyer. Gupta eventually retained the renowned defense attorney Gary Naftalis — not out of any real concern, he would later say, but as a precautionary measure. Indeed, Gupta seemed so unconcerned with the call he received that Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, that he never even mentioned it to business associates.There are a lot of prominent players in the article in addition to Gupta, some of which most readers will be familiar with: Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, Jeffrey Skilling, Raj Rajaratnam, Gary Naftalis, Warren Buffett, Mckinsey & Co., Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Henry Kreavis, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Stephen A. Schwarzman, Sandy Weill, Pete Peterson,
This is only the lead to catch the reader's interest with an Upjohn warning. Mr. Gupta was in trouble from the get-go. And the article gives a count account of his trajectory through the stratosphere of great success and then the fall.
For those wanting more on Upjohn itself, here is cut and paste from my Federal Tax Crimes book:
2. Attorney-Client Privilege in a Corporate Setting.
a. General - the Upjohn Case.
The question is who is the client in a corporate setting? Whose communications to a lawyer engaged by the corporation are entitled to this protection? In Upjohn Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court rejected the seemingly objective test that would allow the privilege only to communications by persons within the corporate control group. The Supreme Court instead applied a less formulaic approach based upon factors such as whether the communications to the attorney were otherwise within the scope of the employee's duties to the corporation, whether the employee's superiors within the corporation directed the employee to make the communications in order to assist the attorney in representing the corporation, whether the corporation otherwise kept the information confidential, and whether the information was otherwise available.
The privilege is, of course, the corporation's privilege with respect to communications to a corporation's lawyer. It is not the employee's privilege, even if the employee is a member of a control group (e.g., officer or director). The danger is that the officer may confuse the corporation's privilege with his own privilege, on some misguided notion that the attorney is somehow also the attorney for the officer or director. And, so long as the officer is in the control group, he or she may have some assurance that the corporation will assert the privilege, thus protecting the officer's communications to the attorney, but if the officer is not within the group or leaves the group (e.g., by leaving the corporation, willingly or not so willingly), the then former officer may find that the new control group is not so interested in asserting a privilege to help the former officer.
This phenomenon is aptly shown in the recent accounting scandals (Enron, et al.). Corporations appear increasingly willing to trade their privileges for more favorable treatment by prosecutors investigating or prosecuting the corporation's misdeeds through its officers, usually former officers. Often, because of the Government's prosecution policies for corporations, the Government will be reluctant to charge the corporation because the inevitable effect will be to further harm shareholders or other innocent employees or interested parties that have already been burned by the underlying fraudulent conduct. In order to encourage the Government not to prosecute the corporation, the corporation may be required to waive the privileges (attorney-client, as well as the work product privilege) that might otherwise apply with respect to the underlying conduct. Furthermore, in the event the corporation is charged, its sentencing will be reduced when it discloses all pertinent information. In short, officers of corporations take substantial risk in undertaking risky behavior that the corporation will not act to protect them.
One of the side effects of the corporation's waiver of the attorney-client privilege in order to curry favor with the prosecutors is, to state the obvious, it has waived the privilege. For the attorney-client privilege, any waiver is a waiver in all contexts. Thus, for example, corporations have made disclosures of attorney-client privileged information to the Government subject to a reservation of the privilege; courts have rejected the reservation of the privilege, saying that if that nuance is to be recognized, Congress rather than the courts must do it. Of course, as in other areas where the attorney-client privilege fails, the proponent may still be able to assert work product privilege which is not subject to the unconditional waiver rule.
b. Problems in Internal Investigations.
Delicate issues regarding the attorney-client provisions can arise in any setting where a person may be confused as to whether the lawyer is representing him or her. This is often encountered in the corporate setting, particularly with respect to internal investigations into actions that may have criminal aspects. The entity, often a corporation but other types of entities are included, may have an outside legal team conduct the investigation pursuant to an appropriate attorney-client privilege with the corporation. As noted above, under Upjohn, that privilege may extend to certain high-level officers. But, within its normal contours, it would not apply to many of the persons within the entity that would be interviewed within the scope of the internal investigation. But, in order to avoid confusion in the employee's mind (thus potentially affecting his or her valuable right to remain silent), the better part of wisdom is for the attorney conducting the internal investigation to warn the employee at the outset that the attorney represents the entity and not that individual being interviewed. This warning is commonly referred to as an Upjohn warning, for reasons that should be obvious. Indeed, the Upjohn warning, properly given, can be quite elaborate with several components, which in the aggregate is often referred to in the plural as Upjohn warnings, so I use the plural here.
The Upjohn warnings are particularly important for three reasons. First, most obviously, is to put the interviewee on clear notice that the attorney doing the interview is not the interviewee's attorney and therefore the interviewee cannot rely upon the attorney to protect his or her interests or to keep the statements confidential. Second, and related, the lawyer ethically is bound to make sure the interviewee understands that the lawyer is not representing him or her. Third, although the statements would be at least attorney work product and, in context, even confidential attorney-client communications as to the entity, the entity can make the choice to waive any protections afforded by the attorney-client or work product privileges. Indeed, as noted above, in many criminal investigations where the entity is a potential target, there may be great pressure on the entity to waive these privileges and even where the prosecutor may not be formally exerting the pressure, the entity could believe that waiving the privileges would be in its best interests. The employee's statements could then be delivered up to the prosecutors on a silver platter and be used against the employee. But, by the same token, a prosecutor's ability to use the statements may be compromised if the interview had not been properly warned that the interviewing attorneys were not representing him or her and, where there is murkiness about whether the proper warning had been given, the entity's bargaining power with the prosecutor may be compromised.


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We are seeking, we are striving, we are in it with all of our heart.
As seekers, we are always asking more of ourselves: asking our body to be more flexible, asking our mind to be more open, asking our heart to be more loving, asking our soul to be more searching. And this is important! We must ask these things of ourselves in order to keep evolving every moment into our truest, most wholehearted, authentic selves. The joy here is that there is always more of ourselves to discover - what a beautiful thing!
But it's easy to forget that we need balance. This week, I am finding that the balance lies in acceptance of who I am now, in this minute. It lies in finding gratitude in the simple facts: I have a body to move. I have a mind to think. I have a heart to love.
When we forget this present-moment-mindfulness (and it's so easy to forget! Especially when we are seeking, striving, learning, growing with all of our being!) we unwittingly lower our self-compassion reserves. When we keep asking our beings for more of who we dream of being, without a baseline of acceptance for who we are, we are actually cultivating a subtle aggression towards ourselves. It sends a little message - "I'm not enough."
So how do we give ourselves space for ultimate growth? How do we show ourselves that we are enough? By balancing these two concepts - acceptance of who we are, right now, and excitement for who we are ever becoming.
And because everything can come back to Disney, I'd like to call this the Moana Complex. (See it - it's Disney for a new generation, and Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs are so catchy!)
In the opening number, "Where You Are," Moana's father is trying to ground her, and he sings, "there comes a day/when you're gonna look around/and realise happiness is where you are."
But Moana, in her wanting song, "How Far I'll Go," is just like any Disney protagonist: she wants "adventure in the great wide somewhere" (to put it in the words of Belle). "See the line where the sky meets the sea - it calls me!"
Moana comes to find that she needs to balance the two concepts: "you can find happiness right where you are" doesn't necessarily mean that she needs to stay at home; and "the line where the sky meets the sea - it calls me" doesn't necessarily mean that she has to stay away. She accepts who she is, in order to move forward into who she is able to be.
What if we really accept ourselves, this very moment? What if we stand fully in our own power, right now, present and aware?
And even more - what if we can go further than acceptance, and we actually celebrate who we are now? Isn't that the optimal place to be? Completely celebrating and loving ourselves, right now, in this very moment, whilst being eager and excited and open and ready for more.
(There I am, asking for more again.)


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Creative design ideas for coffee shop marketing and promotion to get your new or established business noticed.
Creative lobster and discounts & allowances design elements will boost your sales in National Lobster Day marketing.
Candy corn is the most popular candy in the United States and Canada around Halloween. Also called as cupid corn, bunny corn, Indian corn, reindeer corn.
September 16 is Guacamole Day. It's a day to celebrate the delicious Mexican side-dish or dip made of avocados. So get all the creative design ideas on this delicious superfood.


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Home Desktop Site Apply Online
Cambria Mortgage, established in 1991, is one of Minnesota's top non-bank mortgage lenders.
Not a bank, more than a broker. As the actual lender, we don't have to play any middleman games, or charge you more to help pay for blimps, or the thousands of commercials they run all day long. This allows us to offer some of the lowest interest rates and closing costs in the market. Combine this with fully licensed and experienced Loan Officers, and you have a winning combination.
We are proud of our awards and look forward to assisting you in the largest financial transaction of your life.
Joe Metzler, Loan Officer
2016 - Top 300 Loan Officer in the Nation (Origination News)
2015 - Top 100 Loan Officer in the Nation (Origination News)
2014 - Minnesota Loan Officer of the Year (MMA)
2011 - 40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals to Watch (NMPM)
2010 - Top 150 Loan Officer in the Nation based on Dollar Volume (Origination News)
Cambria Mortgage
2012 - Best Mortgage Company in the Twin Cities based on Customer Satisfaction.
2007 - 2014 - Top 25 Mortgage Company in MN
Multiple Reader Choice Awards
Other Loan Officer of the Year Winners
Getting a Mortgage Loan should not seem complicated to the home buyer if done right. The success of your purchase is 10% the company you choose, and 90% the Loan Officer you choose. When selecting a Loan Officer, it is more important than simply calling the bank where your checking account is at, or walking across the hall to your Real Estate Agents higher priced same company lender.
You need a trusted partner. Someone licensed and experienced. Someone who will answer all your question, evaluate your situation, and make the best decision for you and your family.
We strive to:
Local Service - Nationwide
We are part of Lenders One, a national alliance of Mortgage Bankers. As a lenders One partner, we are rated part of the 3rd largest lender in the country, with over 400,000 loans originated, and $40 Billion dollars in closed volume.
As a Direct Mortgage Lender. We will take your application, process the loan, underwrite the loan, approve the loan, and write the check. If needed, we can also act as a mortgage broker. This adds the ability to not only offer all the traditional standard loans, but to offer a complete selection of home loan products to suit just about everyone.
FHA Approved Lender
We are an Approved Lending Institution for FHA, VA, and USDA Government Loans. While we are an approved lender, we are not part of HUD, FHA, the Veterans Administration or the United States Department of Agriculture. We are not acting on behalf of, or under the direction of HUD/FHA, VA, USDA, or the Federal Government in any way. FHA and VA do not lend directly to the public, only through approved lending institutions like Cambria Mortgage.
Experience the Mortgages Unlimited difference
Apply right on your Smartphone, or click to call (651) 552-3681
Cambria Mortgage - St Paul, MN. Office
33 Wentworth Ave E, Suite 290
St Paul, MN 55118
Office (651) 552-3681
Fax (651) 994-6425
E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Check our BBB rating
License Information
Cambria Mortgage. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS)# 322798 Saint Paul Branch - NMLS # 387944. Joe Metzler, Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS # 274132. Lending in MN, WI, and SD only. Offices in St Paul, Eagan, Maple Grove, Bloomington, Elk River, Rochester.
Equal Housing Lender (C) 1998-2018 - Joe Metzler for Cambria Mortgage


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Select a development category to view current and past signature projects. Some projects are currently under construction.
From project inception, Columbia Development functions as a strategic partner, providing a process that expedites creativity and productivity based on its core values of exceptional service and comprehensive planning. It strives to create spaces that reflect the mission of the companies it serves, and focuses on exceeding, rather than just meeting, expectations.
This portfolio reflects the diversity of the firm's development expertise including walk through tours of some of its most evocative projects. Our collective goal is to always deliver on our promise, that is, to create dynamic and inviting spaces that respond to the need for inspiration, functionality, and purpose.


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The second book in the Sanctioned Realm Series is now available on Kindle & in paperback.
A Kindred Reflection
Van's quest to discover what is expected of her new station sets her on a dangerous road studded with hidden enemies. Using her Evergreen ability to control plants, she gains an unfriendly ally and unearths a secret about her past that will change her future.
When that secret drives her friends apart, an unexpected enemy forces Van to decide how much she's willing to give to save her family.
Death is not the end. The Forces awaken. Destruction nears. The key exists, but can the Fist find it in time to save the Sanctioned Realm?
A Dangerous Green
The Sanctioned Realm is being hijacked by a cruel and power hungry king. King Zaranth isn't like other Touched humans who can command animals, plant life, or the ancient elements. His Death Touched ability not only yields him virtually indestructible, but gives him power over the minds of humans he chooses. He's using his involuntary servants to seize the realm and shape it to his own crushing desires.
After Vandara Datore witnesses King Zaranth murder her beloved sister, she vows revenge. She partners with a group of Touched vigilantes called the Fist, who are committed to ending King Zaranth's rule. As an unlikely sword master with magical abilities to control plant life, Van becomes the Fist's favorite weapon. While in search of the King's right-hand witch, Van believes she's closer than ever to gaining her revenge. However, she's about to discover that her enemies are not who she thinks they are… and neither are her friends.
Catch up with the first installment, A Dangerous Green, available in paperback or on Amazon Kindle (the Kindle version is available for free through October 17, 2016).
Please have a look at my other published works: Haunted (FFM); Drama (101 Words); The Shoes (FFM)


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Week of Jan 18 - 24
10k @5:25
Legs felt fine, which was a bit surprising after the brisk 20k run the day before.
Ran today because I have to go to Nagano on Wednesday and may not be able to run.
20k @5:29
Legs a bit tired. Did this as a recovery day.
AM: weights and abs in the gym.
Rest. Not back in time to run at the track at night.
24k. 4k warmup @5:30. 20k @4:55 1:38:18 (24:58/24:48/24:40/23:50)
Planned an easy run like most Thursdays, but after 2k decided to go at 5:00 pace since yesterday was a rest day.
Felt ok. Picked up last 2k. Running with the wind the last 8k.
Time: 3:00
Temp: 16C/61F —> 10C/50F
Weight: 61.1kg
Shoes: 300g
20k @5:28. Legs kind of tired.
AM: weights and abs in the gym.
24k. 4k warmup @5:31. 20k @4:45 1:34:52 (24:56/24:41/23:20/21:52)
Last 5k @ 4:27/26/25/20/13
Felt very good. Planned about 4:45 for the last 10k, but decided to pick up the last 5k and felt good enough to hold the pace.
Joachim says to try to finish the long runs at a faster pace, so I did! (To my surprise.)
Time: 3:00
Temp: 10C/50F
Weight: 60.6kg (no lunch, just a gel pack before running. Also carried a gel pack and took it after 12k.) Reminds me that I really prefer running on an empty stomach.
Shoes: 230g (light)
20k @5:40
Legs not sore, although they got tired the last 8k. Was not even checking my watch, just running easy to get the time on my feet. After yesterday, 20k feels like a nice accomplishment. Did not feel the need to go an extra 2k.
Total for Week: 118k/73m 10:23
Looking ahead; 5,000m time trial on Wed. Long run on Sunday. Cut back the following week.
3 hours ago


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An alphabetical list of services and council business.
Build Hamilton, PIM applications, earthquake register and more building information.
Arts events, public & performing art, artist support, Arts Agenda and more.
Community development funding, support, advisory services, profiles, bookable facilities and more.
Current vacancies, how to apply, information for recruitment agencies and our Vision.
Have your say, Community Outcomes, Council submissions, public notices and more.
Hamilton Gardens is one of our city's biggest success stories - read about what's coming next.
Hamiltonians are passionate about the Waikato River – read about what's planned for its future.
Hamilton City Council, in conjunction with Cycling New Zealand, is offering a series of free training courses to encourage people to share their love of biking around our city.
The courses are held through May and June, and people are invited to register their interest in one or more of the courses, with venues to be set once numbers are confirmed.
Courses include:
Participants can enrol in one or more sessions. To register, or for further information firstname.lastname@example.com or phone 07 823 0716.
Hamilton City Council, in conjunction with Cycling New Zealand, is offering a free training course for confident bike riders, to develop a pool of people able to be ride ambassadors for the city.
The initiative is looking for people who want to inspire others to make the most of the city's extensive network of on and off-road biking paths.
The free course is offered in Hamilton 20 April and runs from 9.30am to 3pm. Hamilton City Council City Transport Unit Manager Jason Harrison says the course is aimed at confident riders who have the experience to introduce others to the benefits of riding a bike.
"Hamilton is an ideal city for biking. It's relatively flat and has around 130km of bike paths and cycle lanes including almost 30km of stunning river paths so people on bikes can enjoy rides along the Waikato River," he says. "It's great to be partnering with Cycling New Zealand to offer these programmes, which mean people can become cycling ambassadors and group leaders across Hamilton. Whether you ride for fitness, or just enjoy exploring our city on a bike, we would love you to be involved and help inspire others," Mr Harrison says.
A further Cycling New Zealand course, in association with Waipa District Council, is being held in Cambridge on 27 April.
To register, or for further information, email firstname.lastname@example.com or phone 07 823 0716.
▶ Download or view the Share Your Love of Biking poster (PDF, 1.4MB)
Final designs for the Western Rail Trail biking path will be on display at a public information day on Wednesday 17 February.
Hamilton City Council representatives will be on hand to answer questions about the 2.7km shared path, which will follow the rail line through Frankton and connect Hamilton's south-western suburbs to the central city.
The information day will be held at the Waikato Hockey Clubrooms at Innes Common, with people welcome to drop in at any time between 2pm and 7pm. The final design includes features developed after feedback from a previous open day and from biking groups as well as residents along the route.
"When the Western Rail Trail opens in July it will be a great addition to our city's biking network, and is one of the milestone projects in our Biking Plan," says the Council's Transportation Unit Manager Jason Harrison
"We expect the trail to have around 300 users a day, not just for commuters and visitors, but also for the more than 1600 students within 500 metres of the route."
The path includes signalised crossings as it crosses four main roads, Killarney Road, Fraser Street, Lake Road and Seddon Road, and connects with the wider transport network via Islington Street, Moana Street and Hastings Place.
"With a rail history theme and interpretive signage exploring Frankton's heritage, landscaping, lighting along the trail and drinking fountains, rubbish bins, bike fix-it stations, seating and tables, the Western Rail Trail will be a great new asset for the local community.
"I encourage anyone with an interest in biking around our city to come along and see what the trail will offer," Mr Harrison says.


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Once again it seems, I'm putting in the miles... Last week shooting up in Aberdeenshire, this week Kent! Here's some pics:
Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven - sometimes August just doesn't look like August, but what a wonderfully evocative location. This was shot after a morning filming and swimming (not at the same time) in the open air pool in glorious sunshine - I love this country!
and in Kent for VisitBritain/2012 Olympics - Dressage at Hever Castle
Back in London this week shooting office pics and more 2012 images for VB, then...yep, you guessed it...Scotland again, way up in Caithness.


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You can find or update the current admin username and password in the wa_settings table in the database.
Your friends over here at WebAssist! These Dreamweaver extensions will assist you in building unlimited, custom websites.
These out-of-the-box solutions provide you proven, tested applications that can be up and running now. Build a store, a gallery, or a web-based email solution.


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Published at Saturday, April 27th, 2019 - 11:27:14 AM. Worksheet. By Adrianne David.
A worksheet is paper and pencil. There are no other materials used in conjunction with the worksheet. These include handwriting practice sheets and coloring pages. Sometimes parents like to pull out manipulatives for math worksheets to help the child "build" the answer. I still count these as worksheets. You really only need the manipulatives anyway, and the child will get far more out of the lesson if he writes his own equations rather than writing an answer down on a worksheet. A worksheet is not a printable that is used to enhance a hands on activity. Do you see the difference here? When we use a hands on material like unifix cubes to help solve problems on a worksheets, it's not okay. But if the worksheet (or printable) is used to enhance the activity such as counting mats, it's okay. The worksheet should be an afterthought, not the reason for the manipulatives.
Worksheets are Too Abstract, Young children are still in Piaget's Preoperational Stage, which means they need symbols to represent objects. These young children cannot think abstractly. For example, they need a ball in their hands to understand what a ball is. Seeing the word ball on a worksheet or sometimes even just a picture of a ball, means nothing to them. That's why hands on learning is best because it gives the child a symbol for their thinking. Related: Cognitive Development. Writing on Lines is Not Appropriate. A very popular type of worksheet for this age group is handwriting sheets where the child is expected to trace the letter. These are not developmentally appropriate for young children. Even though huge letters that take up the whole page may be annoying to most adults, it's normal for a child to write this way. Their fine motor skills are not refined enough to focus on tracing small letters. I know worksheets are the easy way to give a child something to do and easy to plan, but sometimes the best things in life are not easy. Happy Learning!.
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Shampoo hair and apply a treatment product generously on damp hair and comb through with a wide tooth comb – both the amika Nourishing Mask or the amika Oil Treatment would be great options. Blast the hair for 5-10 minutes with the positive ion setting on either medium or high heat. This will open the cuticle and allow the treatment to penetrate deeper and repair better. Then rinse it out, dry and style hair on the negative ion setting to close the cuticle and lock the nutrients in.
To create extra volume, use the positive ion setting and turn head upside down while drying. Position the airflow toward the roots for maximum lift. When hair is done drying, toss head back and gently brush hair into place.
For everyday styling, use the negative ion setting to close the cuticle, smooth and de-frizz the hair.
This product comes with lifetime warranty.
(When on sale comes with 1 year warranty)
Click here for warranty T&C.


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Listening is by far the most important skill for a leader to hone. Have you ever seen a leader who seems unflappable and remains calm in even the most chaotic circumstances? Watch that person closely and you will see the secret to this cool demeanor—focused listening. As a leader, you need to pay attention to the words and actions of others while suspending judgment long enough to allow your intellect to catch up with your instincts. Why? If you speak too soon, you shut off creative impulse. You shut off collaboration. By speaking too soon, you force ideas on your team, even if that is not your intention. When you keep silent long enough to understand fully—not just hear—what someone is saying or doing, you create space for that person to invent, aspire, and contribute. By creating that space, you afford your team a sense of ownership, and you make room for the possibility that someone on your team has the best idea at this moment. By listening carefully, you sharpen all your senses and promote composure among those around you.
Pay Attention
There are many ways to listen; the most obvious is with your ears. However the act of listening is far more nuanced than just hearing words. To do it effectively you must pay careful attention to sounds and much more. The pace, breath, tone, and inflection of the voice all combine to provide the implied meaning, intentions, state-of-mind, and needs of the speaker. Reactions of your fellow listeners can also teach much. When you listen attentively, you shelve your own thoughts, and for a moment there is no judgment, no discrimination, no understanding. Only listening. When you listen deliberately, your mind—which is like a hyperactive dog pulling on a leash—soon starts barking with ideas, assumptions, interpretations, and decisions. If you can hold that dog off for a bit, you can listen with clarity, which leads to hidden insights. Insights that are very useful to a leader.
Listening is not for ears alone. When you practice listening, you sharpen your other senses—sight, smell, taste, and touch. When you listen carefully with your ears, you can sense tone and inflection, cadence and emphasis—all of which combine to provide insight into the meaning of the words spoken. When you apply that same level of attention with your sight, you might notice a flicker in the corner of an eye, a twitch in the corner of a mouth, a shift in stance—all of which combine to provide insights into meaning both overt and covert. You develop a perception skill that few even know exists, let alone master.
Our wonderful human brain can simultaneously process observations made with all our senses. Listening as a practice sharpens that awareness automatically and leads to clearer perception of what is happening with the people on your team and in their environment. This clearer perception leads to competitive advantage because you can identify critical cues about intentions and motivations.
Are You Listening?
Most schools don't teach listening. Neither do most parents. The closest we get to teaching children to listen is concentration games such as I Spy, Where's Waldo? and Memory Match Cards, which emphasize keen observation but not listening per se. Early in childhood, by the third grade in the communities I have seen firsthand, we move our kids' efforts toward serious academic pursuits, which usually involve more than a decade of frenetic preparation for scarce slots among top universities. As a result, we produce well-educated men and women with a singular need to demonstrate that they are the smartest person in the room, who vie to answer first, and who are not very practiced at listening. How many times have you come across this person in your career? Are you one of them?
Some kids growing up in this education system react to competition by becoming a class clown in an attempt to divert academic scrutiny or out of scorn for it. No listening there. Those who cannot compete in the "speed-answer-game" or the corollary "snarky-comment-game" often give up. For them, daydreaming or socializing becomes a deeply ingrained habit. Listening loses out here, too. Other kids end up pursuing non-intellectual competition, usually focused on running or retaining possession of a fast-moving ball. These more athletic youngsters might learn to listen to a coach, but if you have ever coached kids, you know they aren't usually listening; they just get skilled at looking as if they are.
In other words, education, development, and training in every country on earth are invested in sharpening competitive skills. This is indeed necessary for leadership, but it is not sufficient. I have spent much of my life perfecting a competitive instinct. I love competition, thrive on it, and believe it is the fuel that makes a democracy and capitalism possible. What I find disappointing is that in the midst of all the competitive juices flowing in academic, athletic, and professional endeavors, we neglect to develop the most important skill we will ever have—careful listening. It is the doorway to understanding our world and our place in it, and is the source of every great leader's strength.
If this doesn't make sense, consider the fact that a professional baseball coach doesn't win by hitting a home run. A baseball coach wins by getting the team to function well and consistently over the course of nearly one hundred ninety games each season. He assembles a team that has the potential to win. There are key athletes on the team that can hit home runs when needed most. There are those who pitch well at the beginning or at the end of a game. There are others who field the ball well together and make brilliant defensive plays. To guide a team to victory, the baseball coach must have a very clear awareness of the abilities, temperament, and condition of each member of his roster, and an awareness of each of these critical areas is best sharpened by practicing clear and concentrated listening every day on and off the field. With a competitive drive, the coach will make the effort to lead the team well. And, if he listens well and pays attention with all his senses, the coach can consistently lead them to win.
Listen and Learn
Listening is a skill that, like any other, is mastered only through practice. And because listening isn't part of the standard primary or secondary curriculum, we are all sorely in need of practice. Our minds are very busy. You and I and every person trying to lead an organization has a mind that acts like a dog sniffing, chasing, and barking at shadows and leaves rustling in the breeze. Learning to listen meticulously is a lot like training a dog. Want to learn how? Let's practice.
Breathe. Find a quiet place. Sit still and comfortably with a reasonably straight but relaxed spine. Close your eyes. Bring all your awareness to your breath as you inhale and exhale as fully and deeply as you can. Allow your mind and body to relax and settle a bit as you use the breath to bring yourself into the present moment.
Observe. Open your eyes and look down at what is in front of you. With your eyes open, you are less likely to start daydreaming. For this practice to be effective, be sure to stay awake and present. What do you hear? Can you hear traffic? Birds chirping? People talking nearby? Your heartbeat? The blood rushing in your ears? A clock ticking? Your breath? Let your mind roam and listen to everything around you, all while your eyes are open.
Concentrate. With your eyes still open, concentrate on your slow, deep breaths in silence. Listen to each breath carefully as it enters your nostrils, passes through your trachea, fills your lungs, and then reverses. Continue to listen to the inhales, exhales, and subtle spaces in between. These sounds and the sounds of all the activity around you can each be perceived individually and collectively in each breath. Every time your mind wanders away from your breath, just smile, take an extra deep breath, and start again. You are concentrating on one point amidst all the activity around you. Just breathe. You are training your mind to sit still instead of roam.
Awareness. You may get bored listening to your breath. You might become frustrated that you end up in a daydream after each few breaths, even though your eyes are open. You might feel antsy. You might realize you are hungry. No matter what you experience, whenever you notice that you have strayed from your breath, you are having a spark of awareness—you just woke up. Use that awareness and just come back to studying each breath while you observe all the other sounds around you and in you. Practice patience with yourself. Practice calm control. Practice staying present. You are gently training your concentration to come back on command.
Practice. Do this for at least five minutes every morning or evening, whenever you are likely to consistently set time aside. If you enjoy this practice, do it for ten or fifteen minutes every day or try it for five minutes three times a day. After two weeks, apply your honed, concentrated listening to someone speaking to you. If you notice that your mind wanders, becomes bored, or starts coming up with ideas while that person is speaking, use that same spark of awareness to return to the speaker. Come back to their voice, just like you came back to studying breaths. With practice, you will notice that you aren't drifting as much, and you will start to see, hear, and feel cues you may never have noticed before.
Listening Inspires
Leadership is a relationship, and listening is essential to building successful relationships. When people are heard fully and completely, without interruption and without debate until they have finished their point, they are more likely to trust you. They are far more likely to be receptive to whatever ideas you would like them to consider—whether it is a request you are making of them or an opinion you would like to share with them.
Have you ever seen a leader checking email messages on a laptop, BlackBerry, or iPhone during a meeting? Are you one of those leaders? Not only is this enormously disrespectful, it is self-defeating. By not listening and observing, you miss the most valuable information you need to lead, and you simultaneously devalue the speaker and the others in the room. Pay attention to the people in the room or cancel the meeting. Listening isn't just about getting information you need; the act of listening is the primary tool you have to inspire and motivate others.
It doesn't take much effort to become a more effective listener. Consistent practice is essential. If you start now, in a few weeks you will already be a more skilled listener than the majority of people on the planet. The average adult attention span has been conditioned by years of television and Web browsing to last only about twenty seconds.9 So if you can focus your attention for five minutes, then you will be operating fifteen times higher than the average. Not a bad start. Even more valuable, by practicing calm listening every day, your demeanor begins to adjust. You begin to be more deliberate, even in the midst of noise and chaos. You will appear unflappable, which is always inspiring. Your natural levels of passion and enthusiasm will not be dampened—they will be more focused.
People will start to take notice and you will too. What are you waiting for? Try it right now. We are at the end of this post. It is a good time to take five minutes to practice listening. And always remember the ancient wisdom of Epictetus: We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
- Be still and silent.
- Relax your mind and observe.
- Use your breath to focus your attention.
- Let go of expectations and judgments.
- Stay present and focused on your breath.
- Each time you drift from observing your breath, gently guide yourself back to it.
- Do this, in silence, five minutes every day.
- Apply this deliberate awareness to all situations.


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I wanted to share some photos of my new branding pieces. I splurged on some letterpress business cards and notecards last fall, and I'm sooooo very happy with them. They are quite simply, divine. The very talented and lovely Christine from deluxemodern design created all of my new branding. If you're looking for a new look, please check her out. She's immensely talented, and just a gem to work with. She gave life and warmth to my brand, and made it all shine. I took my lovely new design to Kent at Nomadic Press to have my business cards printed. I've had a long time obsession with letterpress, and it's been an aspiration of mine for quite some time to have my own letterpress cards. Kent was awesome. He indulged me in taking some photos of his letterpress equipment at the press check, which I will share soon. I am in love with these little cards. They are truly swoonworthy.
The last two photos are my packaging fluff. I love nothing more than to hear my clients squeal in delight at how pretty their orders are packaged.
Thank you Kent and Christine for helping my business shine!


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Industrial Design
Experiential Marketing
3D Rendering + Animation
Product Design + Interior Design
24/7 Rapid 3d Design Consulting
Affordable Hourly Rates
Any software + Any file format
I specialize in project management of new product lines and start-up company development. I take my clients from ideation to prototyping, branding, pitching, 3d engineering, and into manufacturing. My experience with various manufacturing techniques allows for streamlined designs that are optimally tooled or fabricated.
I also provide creative 3d media assets and fabrication design for
tradeshow booths, exhibits, product releases, concerts, and promotional / experiential marketing events. This includes corporate interior design, architectural art installations, design meetings / presentations, and other interactive experiences.
Copyright © 2019 drewpalumbo - All Rights Reserved.


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LONDON – Britain's Ebola screening procedures should be improved, the country's chief medical officer said Wednesday, after a nurse was cleared to fly hours before she was diagnosed with the disease.
Nurse Pauline Cafferkey flew from London to Glasgow on Sunday after returning from Sierra Leone. Her temperature was taken seven times at Heathrow Airport — once on arrival and six times after she told staff she thought she might have a fever.
Her temperature was found to be within the range defined as acceptable, and she was allowed to fly to Scotland.
Cafferkey developed a fever Monday and is being treated in an isolation unit at a London hospital.
A doctor who flew back from Sierra Leone with Cafferkey, Martin Deahl, has criticized the Heathrow screening, saying there were too few staff and the medical workers were not segregated from other passengers.
Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies said that "the process does seem to have not been as good as we all want to see." But she said Cafferkey had not been showing symptoms and posed little risk to fellow passengers.
She said screening procedures for people returning from West Africa are being reviewed.
Cafferkey is the first person diagnosed with Ebola on British soil.
Doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in north London said she was being treated with an experimental antiviral drug and with plasma from a recovered patient containing Ebola-fighting antibodies.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Michael Jacobs said Cafferkey was sitting up and able to eat, read and talk to her family.
He said the patient was in "a positive frame of mind," although "I'm sure this isn't how she intended to spend New Year's Eve."
Since an Ebola outbreak began in December 2013 in the West African country of Guinea, there have been more than 20,000 cases and more than 7,800 deaths, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.