text:
Last year a client asked the following question:
I recall that earlier in 2010 an accountant at your firm suggested that I could reduce my payroll taxes if I change my business status to a S-corp. I don't recall if that was officially done, although I recall providing some information for paperwork.
Recent surveys show that the survival rate of new businesses average about 20% over a five-year period. In other words, if you start 100 new businesses today, 20 of them will still be in business five years from today. The other 80 will have gone out of business sometime during that five-year period. These are generally well-known statistics. What isn't as well known, however, is that of the 80% of new businesses that failed, over 60% were profitable when they went down!
How can that be? It sounds counter-intuitive that a profitable business would fail. However, it becomes easier to understand when you consider the impact of "payment terms." Payment terms are a measure of the number of days between the time a service is provided or a liability is incurred and the time payment is actually made. What are the average "effective" payment terms in a typical small business?


text:
LPL Financial announced its intent Wednesday to acquire Concord Capital Partners. The company provides technology and open architecture investment management products and services to trust companies and has $10 billion in assets under administration.
As a result of this acquisition, LPL Financial says it will have the ability to support both the brokerage and trust business lines of the financial institutions with which it does business. It will create wealth management solution for financial institutions that the company believes "will redefine the market."
"It's an adjacent market for LPL Financial; not one that we are currently in," says Dan Arnold, divisional president and managing director for LPL Financial Institution Services. "Concord is unique in that it offers open architecture capabilities to the trust industry, which is something new and has a tremendous opportunity for growth.
Arnold says the acquisition will help expand the capabilities LPL Financial is able to offer its institutional clients. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011, and integration won't be much of an issue, he says, since Concord will be a business unit of LPL Financial, but will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity and a separate technology platform.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Orlando Limousine Services (a division of Elegance Transportation Inc.) was established in 1995 with a vision to become the leading Limousine Rental Transportation Agency in Orlando by providing a one-stop Limo Service for all your Orlando Limo Transport needs. This vision combined with our unwavering focus on Customer Service has been the backbone of our services and has helped us become a Top Limousine Rental Agency in Orlando.
We offer a wide variety of luxury Limousine Rental services in the beautiful city of Orlando and the sunshine state of Florida. You can reserve our Limousines for corporate events, weddings, proms as well as leisure outings across Orlando. Our professional, courteous staff ensures a safe, dependable service to create a memorable and comfortable Orlando Limousine experience. Trained, well-dressed drivers who are punctual and well informed operate all our Orlando Limousines and services such as opening doors, helping with luggage, curbside assistance, airport gate greeting, and suit & tie attire are all standard.
Our entire fleet are fully licensed and insured. Our many partnerships with some of the premier industry associations such as the LCT, GCLA, Lincoln, Ford and Mercedes Benz, keep us informed of the latest innovations in passenger safety.
Whether by the hour or by the trip, we offer consistent and competitive pricing year round that can fit your budget. Credit card transactions are no problem at Elegance Transportation. We accept all corporate or personal American Express, Visa, Discover, Master Card accounts and Cash.
We are dedicated to developing and maintaining long-term relationships with our clients, providing them with the most reliable, safe and luxurious ground transportation possible. From the first time you contact us to the last moment we finish at your final destination you will be pleasantly surprised by your experience with us.
We also welcome corporate accounts, production companies, travel agencies, large scaled events, or other high volume accounts. Please contact us for your business inquiries by emailing us at: email@example.com
We have an impeccable record of top-class Orlando Limousine service and will be glad to serve you by creating a customized Limousine Plan for your transport.


text:
CV - 47382Back to CV list Add To Basket
|CV reference number: 47382
|CV Headline
General farm worker seeking full time position valid tele handler ticket cattle and tractor experience. I worked on a dairy farm as tractor driver/calf rearer for nearly 4 years before being made redundant in 2012 . I'm looking for a full time permanent position.
|Qualifications and Experience
|Relevant qualifications
|NDA, NVQ Level 1,2,3
|Other qualifications
First diploma in agriculture and national diploma in agriculture completed at moreton morrel college
|Equipment experience
|Tractor, Tracked machine, Telehandler/fork lift, Fencing
|Other equipment experience
Cultivating with a SL400 operating a jcb Tele handler loading lorries and tractors
|Livestock experience
|Dairy, Beef, Sheep, Lambing
|Other livestock experience
4 years experience with dairy where I was in charge of calf rearing on an all year round calving unit and 16 months on a beef farm working closely with the head stockman.
|Type of farming wanted
|Mixed Farming
|Driving License
|Full Car Licence, tractor
|Personal information
|First language
|Other languages
|Pen picture
5'6 around 12 stone
|Relevant health problems
No known health problems.
|Other Information
I'm tattooed but doesn't affect my work. I also smoke but trying to quit and I never smoke in sheds or on machinery unless given permission to.
|Marital status
Girlfriend 2 children and 2 working spaniels
|Where are you currently living?
|Do you have the right to work in the UK?
|Farming background
Oct 09 - June 12 tractor driver/calf rearer working with 200 cows plus followers. June 12 - April 16 working for a ground works/agricultural contractor using 360s dumpers and tractors. April 16 to july 17 working with 140 pedigree Simmentals and tractor driving.
Catch up with friends and family walk my dog shooting and fishing.
|Start: 01/12/2019, Finish: Not Specified
|Type of job
|Preferred region
|Where would you like to work?


text:
Here is a little visual for you all to see where we've been the last three weeks:
|Our Summer Trip.
Our first leg took us from Tucson, AZ to Palmdale, CA to visit and pick up my Granny Shanks. She treated us to Hometown buffet where we ate to our hearts' and stomachs' content. Granny couldn't believe how big and independent Lincoln has become since she saw him last – or how messy he could manage to get while feeding himself.
Day 2 of our travels brought us from Palmdale to Reno – my hometown. On the way, we drove through Bishop, CA, and had to make a special stop at the amazingly delicious Schat's Bakery for lunch and some goodies. We brought our sandwiches over to the park across the street. There is a nice grassy-banked stream running through the park with lots of ducks. Squire took a few pieces of bread out of the car to feed the ducks with Lincoln. He threw a piece in the water to demonstrate, but every time he passed a piece of bread to Lincoln to throw, Lincoln simply ate the piece of bread instead. Gran and I loved watching the exchange from the picnic bench.
|Intently watching the ducks he didn't feed, at the park.
While in Reno, Squire and I had a chance to do an Endowment session at the Reno temple with my parents, and my brother, Jeremy and his wife, Heather. It was our first time back inside the Reno temple since we were married there almost 4 years ago. Aunts McKenzie and Riley, and Granny Shanks watched Lincoln and little baby CJ for us while we were inside – for which we were most grateful! After our temple session, we went to Claim Jumper for a famous appetizer/dessert fest. Well, maybe not famous, but certainly worth noting. If you ever get the chance to join us for one of these, let's just say that you'll have to grab fast if you plan on eating anything, otherwise you might just be left picking crumbs from the plate. Lincoln couldn't get enough of the squeaky sound his straw made when he lifted it up and down inside the lid. He was even more entertained by the symphony of straw squeaking when everyone at the table joined him at the same time.
|Lincoln found his "claim" at Claim Jumper!
On Monday, we traveled to Fallen Leaf Lake, just across the road from Lake Tahoe. Lincoln strutted around as one of the guys and "helped" set up the tents and campfires with dad and Grandpa Elsmore, and joined them for horseshoes afterward. Thursday through Saturday, all but 5 of my family members made it to the campgrounds for the Shanks family's first official reunion. Before we took our massive family photo (which I will upload as soon as it become available to me), my mom entertained everyone with her still being able to do the splits. My little sister's boyfriend, Nate, even made his presence known in the family reunion photo. We teased him that now he'd either have to marry McKenzie, or else have his face Sharpied over if things went sour. He smiled real big at the first suggestion, but not so much at the second. ;)
|A secret snapshot of the unsuspecting couple, lacing fingers and chatting.
|Yum, yum, yum!
|Enjoying his ice cream cone, dirt and all!
Squire had a great time going out on Lake Tahoe with my Dad, Uncle Frosty, and other cousins and family to catch fish. My cousin Dallas caught the biggest fish, so he earned official chest beating rights for the rest of the weekend. Squire brought in 7 Coconino Salmon – the whole party brought in 50 fish together.
|Fishing with the fam.
Other highlights from the week included:
- My Mom (Mimi) actually getting to hold and snuggle with Lincoln for a solid 20 min. before he went down for his nap (a rarity indeed) after a chilly swim in Fallen Leaf Lake.
- Squire and I sneaking away on the tandem bike to the quaint little ice cream parlor down the road from our campgrounds and getting "single scoop" ice cream cones that had about a half-gallon of ice cream each.
- Lincoln sneaking chips, corn on the cob, hot dogs and all sorts of other foods from unsuspecting family members' plates throughout the week.
- Going on a hike with my family which started out rough with a very rocky path, (and my frustration at Lincoln insisting on walking through much of the impossible path on his own two tiny feet), but ended up being quite beautiful.
- Watching Lincoln hold his baby cousin CJ. Being "soft" with her by stroking her little head, and jealously grabbing her back to his chest any time someone tried to take her from his arms.
|Lincoln loved holding his baby cousin CJ - I'm hoping his tenderness with her is a sign of things to come from him as a big brother to Baby Hepworth.
- Shanks family girl talk around the campfire in the evenings. Telling you what we talked and laughed so hard we cried about, would require my full confidence in your ability to keep secrets. ;)
- Hearing Granny Shanks tell the story of her life to all her posterity.
- My brother Jeremy giving CJ her baby blessing in the wooded area of our campsite on Saturday morning.
- Getting to spend some time with my cousin Carly and her family Saturday night, before her flight left on Sunday afternoon.
- Playing a glutinous number of games of Monopoly, Risk, and Acquire with my family during the down time.
- Hearing my brother Jeremy laugh like a hyena (and laughing so hard we all cried too) at his suggestion that if we have a baby girl we should name her, "Heifer Hepworth."
We headed out of Reno a day later that we had originally planned as our car started having troubles about 15 minutes before we arrived in Reno the week before. We brought it in to a shop to be fixed the week we were camping, and couldn't pick it up until Monday morning. So, on Tuesday we made our way to Page, AZ.
On the loneliest highway, we made sure to stop for a quick photo in front of the shoe tree as we had taken one on our Honeymoon. The shoe tree was actually featured in the very first post of this blog!
|Squire and I in front of the Shoe Tree on Highway 50 - just shy of 4 years after our honeymoon photo was taken.
Other than the cutesy trip down memory lane at the shoe tree, this drive was a pretty grueling 15 hour long ordeal that Lincoln was not very happy to endure. (Despite any outside appearances or "signs" that this was just the road for him.) ;)
We caved and bought disposables for our 3 week long trip to make our lives simpler (my mom made a substantial contribution to our disposable travel stash too. Thanks, Mom!) We will disposable diaper for trips in the future. It was more convenient for sure. The only thing was, Squire isn't really used to changing Lincoln's disposables and he only managed to diaper one of Lincoln's bum cheeks at one pit stop . . . and we had an explosive poopy mess to clean up at our stop in Beaver. Good thing we brought the diaper wet bags! ;)
We spent two days in Page. Wednesday we went swimming at the "Chains" on Lake Powell.
We even convinced Squire's dad to come swim with us.
Squire challenged me at the Lake, "I bet I can swim farther than you!" He swam
about a 1/10 of the way across the channel, and told me he swam half-way
across. So, of course I had to prove it to him and myself that if he could swim
"half-way," then I could swim the entire way across the Lake Powell channel in
front of the Glen Canyon Dam – so I did. That, my friends, was my very first
and very last time making that trip across Lake Powell. I would have been less
out of breath than I was upon arriving on the other side, but I had to push
myself harder than I would have liked on account of the boat that was driving
in my direction, but didn't seem to notice me! I took a nice long breather on
the wall of the canyon in the water before making a safe return with a nice calm
breast stroke and some fervent prayers in my heart that my travel back would
not involve any more close encounters with boats. The Glen Canyon dam is about
a ¼ of a mile long, and the part of the channel I swam across was even a little
wider than the dam bridge, so I made a solid ½ mile lake swim. Pretty scary, pretty
stupid, and pretty awesome still the same. All in all - it was a nice dam swim! ;)
|"The Chains" Swimming Area, near the Glen Canon Dam on Lake Powell in Page, AZ
The next day we went out to Paria. We went out on Trace Lake where Squire proposed to me. Squire wanted to fish a bit. He was in luck as he caught a ginormous at least 3 foot long Bass – and only on his second cast, too! Sorry. No pictures of the fish. You'll just have to trust my word on this one. Really though, this whole story was almost completely 100% true. ;) I leave it to you to figure out which part(s) are fact and which are fiction.
|Swimming at Trace Lake out at Paria
After our short time in Page, we made our way up to Salt Lake City, Utah to see Squire's cousin Jaymeson get married. We loved getting to see all of Squire's extended family there at the temple and at the reunion later that evening. Lincoln especially enjoyed playing with Squire's cousin Blake's seven year old son, Jaxen. The reception was beautiful and the new couple looked so happy. You can check out some of the pictures from the event at this link if you care to see.
The most exciting part of all? Lincoln looked absolutely adorable with his faux-hawk, in his checkered gingham shorts and button-up white church shirt and converse sneakers at the reception . . . until he fell into the pool. Yes, our child fell in to the pool head first - but not to worry! He was pulled out just a moment later by one foot by his dad to the tune of his Great Grandma Tripp screaming in the background of the whole scene. I'm so glad we packed an extra little play outfit for him.
Other highlights of our trip to Utah included:
- Enjoying a nice long swim in Aunt Blythe and Uncle Kent's heated pool after Lincoln went to bed for the night.
- Hearing all of Squire's family proclaim that Lincoln was a "Mini Squire!" when around my family in the previous week we had heard over and over again how Lincoln was, "A really good mix of you both."
- Stopping to visit Squire's sister-in-law and her son, Dean, for a visit before the reception. Dean and Lincoln enjoyed playing with Dean's jack-in-the-box together. They look very similar those two little cousins!
- We made a stop to visit Birch on our way back from Utah, to check to see if it had rained and if there were any problems up there that needed fixing. On our way down the dirt road, Squire kept Lincoln on his lap as he drove. Grandpa Hepworth taught Lincoln to bubble his lips like a car engine as he sat at the steering wheel. Lincoln loved it and did it too. It was adorable.
- Coming up with more boy and girl names for our bun in the oven on the drive back. Only need half of that list now that we know what we're having! :)
On our drive back from Utah to Page, we also made a stop to visit Great Great Grandma Brinkerhoff in Glendale. With all of the lake swimming we've been doing, Lincoln has sort of picked up the habit of throwing things, as he spent a lot of time throwing rocks into each respective lake. Grandma Brinkerhoff remarked, upon seeing Lincoln's energy and the way he would throw Lincoln Log pieces across her living room (despite our admonishing him to the contrary), that, "I don't think I'd feel very safe alone with him!" Oh, Lincoln.
|Squire and Lincoln with Great Great Grandma Brinkerhoff.
We then spent our last few days in Page visiting Uncle Trace and DeeRae, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Hepworth, and Squire's Uncle Wayne and his kids.
|Squire and Brother Trace, with monkey Lincoln.
Grandpa offered Squire a job to paint their Living room and dining room while we were still in town. Squire took him up on the offer and worked on that for much of the time we had left in Page. Grandma loved the color and Squire had a nice time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa as he painted. Those Grandparents Hepworth,we just really love them.
On Tuesday Grandma Hepworth offered me a gift that will change my life! I'm not even just being dramatic. Grandma Hepworth asked me if I wanted her Bosch bread mixer with blender attachment. "Really?! Are you sure? Are you serious?" pretty much summed up my reaction. I've dreamed of owning a Bosch for a long long time – longer than I've been married. Squire bought me a hand wheat grinder for my birthday, and also bought an attachment for it to connect to a Bosch motor, hoping that we could power our hand wheat grinder by a Bosch in the future – but being able to afford a luxury item like that was years and years away for us. Grandma said she bought it a few years ago, but had only used it a few times and wanted to give it to someone who would use it a lot. I am so incredibly grateful for her generosity. First off, we don't even have a blender right now and haven't for the last year or so – so just having a blender will be great. And, I do make bread or pizza dough about 1-2 times a week as it is – all hand-kneaded, and have done so for the last 4 years. With a Bosch, it will make my bread-making that much more easy, consistent and tasty. And since I have the motor power now, I think I'll be making the larger part – if not all of our sandwich bread, from home-ground wheat. YUM!! Grandma said that the recipe for the wheat bread in the Bosch handbook is really yummy and really easy. I can't wait to try it. I will think of her every time I use it.
Other highlights from our time in Page included:
- Watching Lincoln run around barefoot in Grandma and Grandpa Hepworth's backyard and drop apples into the chicken coop. Lincoln couldn't get enough of those chickens.
- Visiting with Grandma Hepworth. She is a woman after my own heart. I always enjoy talking with her, and find that hours pass easily whenever we get the chance to talk about big things, small things, and everything in between.
- Watching Squire's dad playfully punch Squire in
the arm, and then seeing Lincoln turn to Squire's dad to do the same to him. It
became their little inside joke during our time in Page.
Lincoln punching Grandpa Hepworth one last time before we left Page.
- Seeing how much Lincoln loved to wear Grandpa
Hepworth's cowboy hat. He happily wore it around quite a bit.
Lincoln wearing Grandpa's cowboy hat.
- Visiting the Chains to swim again before we left, and hearing the sound of Lincoln's laughter in the water along with several foreign languages of the tourists who swam nearby.
- Making legit homemade Oreo cookies for the first and last time. Papa Hepworth says he doesn't remember, but he mentioned this recipe for homemade Oreos at least 2 times on the phone to me in the weeks leading up to the trip, and at least 1 time while were in Page. He said when he saw the recipe it "reminded him of me." I got it. I can take a hint. So I made him some. And boy were they good, and boy were they a hassle to make! Haha. I told him he can just tell me outright next time he wants me to bake him something specific when I'm in town. ;)
- Lincoln learned and really solidified a lot of new words this trip. My favorite though has to be, "Cow." Which he says with a pretty guttural "c" sound, and with the "ow" very far back in his throat. He calls all cows, horses, oxen (which he saw in a picture), as well as the occasional dog or goat, "Cow?" He asks because he wants to know if he is right. He is so proud of himself when he is.
And then, on Thursday we made our trip back down to Tucson. Home. It was a really beautiful and unusual feeling - coming home to our little place, even after visiting places that have been home to us over the course of our lives. We are happy to be back after being uprooted for such a long trip, but even more glad we got to see and visit with so many of our family members along the way. It was one seriously long, and seriously awesome Summer trip.
To anyone who read this in its entirety - you deserve an Olympic medal.Though maybe not quite as much as my friend, Jillian Williams, who is actually competing in the Olympics tomorrow (Monday, August 6th.) How cool is that?! Cheers! :)


text:
I Forgot the Gospel on Easter Morning
I have country sounds in my life now. And I love them. I hear roosters crowing and a billion birds chirping and I hear wind! Did you know that you can hear wind? Just on a regular day, when it's not stormy? I never noticed that. And, it's Easter and we've got a swing in the yard now. And this morning my kids were already sugared up and saying cute things like, "Easter is about Jesus when he ros-ed from the deck!"
So, I stole away to the front porch swing in the country with the sounds and opened my Bible to the end of Matthew to read about the resurrection. I was expecting a sweet moment in a sweet setting -- singing birds and an empty tomb.
And I read the familiar words…"He is not here, for He has risen…"
Then my eyes drifted down to the less familiar study notes. And I read "...Jesus now lives as the faithful companion, master, and Lord of those who respond to his great commission…"*
And immediately, I heard the enemy say, louder than the roosters and the wind, "You're not responding enough...what are you doing for Jesus, anyway? Remember all the awful things you said and did this week? Remember how many times you loved your inbox more than the Bible? I do. I remember. Let's think about all those times, now. Also, in case you're not sure — you're the worst."
And I believed it for a second. But, I've heard that sound before, so I said, "I feel like I believe you, but I know you're wrong…" and I shut my Bible and whispered, "Jesus...help me remember. Help me remember the truth."
BUT, instead of the voice of Jesus or the whisper of the wind, I heard another sound. I heard my flesh boldly say, "Remember that time last week that you shared about Jesus in that place, and that time last year when you showed that person that truth and remember every day when you x, y, and z for your family? You're doing awesome! You're totally following Jesus! Killing it, actually! You're the best!"
Another lie. A lie that's easier to discount. :)
So I kept praying until the Holy Spirit spoke to me of the truth that puts hope in my heart and a smile on my face and keeps the insidious sounds at bay.
Easter truth.
I belong to Jesus. Not because I'm good enough, but because He was. He was perfectly obedient. He loved others sacrificially. He defeated Satan. He kicked death in the teeth and redeemed my wimpy flesh, and shouts to me that nothing will separate me from His love.
I don't, on my best days, serve Him well enough to be worthy of resurrection. And on my very worst days, there's still future glory and an empty tomb.
Easter is the very best day because Jesus is the very best one and He says that I am His and He is mine.
He loves us so much that I have to tell you about it. And I don't need points for telling you. Jesus earned all the points and He lets me enjoy the prize.
So, I ended my prayer there, when Jesus spoke up. When He reminded me what Easter is about. And I thanked Him for the bird sounds and the country life. And the days before country life when chips and queso were only a half a mile away. And I thanked Him for future happiness and pain-filled tomorrows, whatever they hold, because He is risen and He'll be with me, and not a sound I can hear will make that not true.
Happy Easter :)
*ESV Study Bible


text:
Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup is one of those frugal meals that don't cost much but yet will fill you and provide leftovers.
If you don't have all of the ingredients on hand be sure to check your grocery ads and find the cheapest price. I'm sure you'll have most of the ingredients on hand, making this recipe even cheaper to make.
Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup
- • ½ Cup Butter
- • 1 Onion
- • 2 ½ pounds of Chicken cubed
- • 2 Pkg Frozen Mixed Vegetables (10oz)
- • 4 Potatoes, peeled and cubed
- • 8 Cups of Water
- • 1 cup Milk
- • Salt and Pepper to taste
- • 1 tsp Tabasco
- • 3 Tbsp Chicken Bouillon (or 2 cubes)
- • ½ Cup Flour
- Over medium heat, melt butter in large pot. Add onions and cook until onions are translucent. Add diced chicken and cook chicken until no longer pink and chicken is slightly browned.
- Add mixed vegetables and potatoes
- Add water and milk. Add Salt, Pepper, Tabasco, Chicken Bouillon and Flour
- Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and cook until potatoes are tender.


text: Boost Juice™ is Snow Performance's proprietary mix of 49% methanol and 51% water. It is made in a controlled environment with special care to make sure the ratios are accurate to result in a high performance water-methanol fluid formulated for use in the Boost Cooler™ injection system. If Boost Juice™ is used exclusively in the Boost Cooler™ kit, Snow Performance offers a free lifetime warranty.


text:
Issuit a simple memorable concept/
This brand concept is available for acquisition with the inclusion of the secured domain.
BUILT rarely venture from branding initiatives targeted at the Building, Development and Real Estate industries. Though just every now and then our creatives come up with a cracker that cant be passed over!
ISSUIT represents a simple branding concept adaptable to a host of e-commerce or professional certification services.
Given the millions of iPhone and Android apps, securing a simple and identifiable brand can prove difficult. More so in securing a brand that best describes the application's functionality in a simple and trademarkable play on spelling.


text:
One-on-one music lessons at the California Conservatory of Music offer a great opportunity to work with some of the Bay Area's finest talent. All students at CCM meet weekly with their private instructor for music class at our Santa Clara or Redwood City music studio. Our faculty takes into account the unique learning styles of each student, their musical background, age, and musical goals to create a clear plan and curriculum for the music students to follow.
We strive to give beginning students a solid instrumental technique and a thorough understanding of music. Music lesson students who are beginners can expect to learn the fundamentals of note reading, rhythm, and technique while also exploring their own musical interests and basic repertoire.
More intermediate and advanced students continue their technical and musical development through more ambitious repertoire. Many music students also participate in performances outside of CCM including regional, national, and international competitions, and adjudications such as the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program or ARBSM.
Our school's goal is to spread a love and appreciation of music to students throughout the Bay Area. From San Mateo all the way to San Jose hundreds of music students have chosen The California Conservatory of Music for their guitar lessons, piano lessons, violin lessons, voice lessons, or cello lessons.
If you or your child is interested in music lessons in Menlo Park, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood Shores, Foster City, San Jose, Milpitas, or Sunnyvale, reach out to us at either our Redwood City or our Santa Clara CCM location!


text:
First, Jeremy Piven became ill. Hours later, so did Norbert Leo Butz.
Nearly two weeks ago Mr. Butz, the actor and singer, was rehearsing for a church concert in Summit, N.J., when his manager called to tell him a tale that every theater rat and sushi chef now knows: Mr. Piven, a television star on "Entourage," was about to withdraw from the Broadway revival of "Speed-the-Plow" after a doctor said he had mercury poisoning. Would Mr. Butz want to take over, like, immediately?
Mr. Butz promptly accepted. Then he considered his decision and suddenly felt sick. After throwing up, he stopped second-guessing it. "I make decisions quickly," he said. "I don't want to say there was almost no thought, but it was a pretty impulsive leap."
These days Mr. Butz cannot pause to contemplate anything that is not "Speed-the-Plow." When he is not performing the play, a David Mamet satire about two Hollywood producers and the office temp who upends their lives, he is rehearsing it with his co-stars, Raúl Esparza and Elisabeth Moss, or he is reading the script with his wife and two young daughters. When he is getting a haircut or a massage or going to sleep, he is listening on an iPod to a recording of the play he made with Ms. Moss and Mr. Esparza.
It is not the ideal way to start a show, but it is a process that Mr. Butz says suits him well. "I hate sitting around a table and talking about what a play might mean," he said, speaking from his newly inherited dressing room at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. "I'm the person who's always like, 'Can we get up on our feet and just do it?' "
The producers of "Speed-the-Plow" have been similarly improvising since Mr. Piven, who portrayed the central character of Bobby Gould, left the play after its Dec. 14 performance. Having learned several weeks earlier that Mr. Piven, who had been complaining about feeling exhausted, would likely withdraw after the Golden Globe Awards in January, Jeffrey Richards, the play's lead producer, said he made a conditional offer to William H. Macy, a longtime friend and collaborator of Mr. Mamet's, to take over the role on Jan. 13.
But when Mr. Piven dropped out sooner than expected on a doctor's orders, and Mr. Macy, who lives in Los Angeles, could not start right away, the producers turned to Mr. Butz, 41, whom Mr. Richards had seen recently in Michael Weller's brutal domestic drama "50 Words" in Greenwich Village and who shares a manager with Mr. Esparza.Continue reading the main story
For Mr. Butz, a boyishly handsome scene stealer in musicals like "Thou Shalt Not" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (which won him a Tony Award in 2005), the vacancy at "Speed-the-Plow" represented a role he might never have been offered.
Whatever cachet he may have in the theater world, Mr. Butz said: "If you are opening a play, a play that's really about something, a play that's really about ideas, you have to find a way to sell that play. This is a commercial enterprise, and those parts are going to go to high-profile people."
He added: "I get called to do singing roles in Broadway shows. I don't get a lot of calls to do David Mamet."
For his co-stars the addition of Mr. Butz meant relearning the steps of an intricate dance they had choreographed with Mr. Piven. "Raúl and I are so hyperaware, and we're so on our toes, and we know we have to catch the ball if something happens," Ms. Moss said. "There's no tuning out. You have to be listening every second."
But Neil Pepe, the director of "Speed-the-Plow," said that the strength of Mr. Mamet's words would carry Mr. Butz while he was still absorbing the details of his character. "When you have a compressed process like this, there's no time for breaking it all down," Mr. Pepe said. "You have to just go with your initial impulses, and Norbert's specific instincts on this material are excellent."
With minimal time to focus on the play's precise verbal exchanges, Mr. Butz said he had to concentrate on committing the lines to memory and speaking them with as much energy as he could muster. After one week of rehearsal (during which the role of Bobby was played by Jordan Lage), Mr. Butz began performing "Speed-the-Plow" on Tuesday.
At the Wednesday evening performance (which was preceded by a short speech from a stage manager who elliptically spoke of the "extraordinary circumstances" that brought Mr. Butz to the show), he was not yet off book; a prompter had to remind him of his lines on a couple of occasions, and he read from a script during the play's second and third scenes.
Mr. Butz was nonetheless rewarded at the curtain call with a mighty bear hug from Mr. Esparza. In a later interview Mr. Esparza explained that Mr. Butz had already brought to the show "a real sense of trio."
"Jeremy didn't need to do anything, and the audience would automatically be on his side because he is so well known," Mr. Esparza said. What Mr. Butz contributes is "a theater actor's ability to tell a story well, to play in the ensemble," he added. "He's good at being part of the three of us."
Mr. Richards said on Sunday that Mr. Mamet had not yet seen Mr. Butz in the production.
It is not clear what impact Mr. Butz will have on the box office for "Speed-the-Plow." In the weeks before Mr. Piven's departure attendance at the play ranged from 70 percent to 80 percent of capacity, according to data provided by the Broadway League; in the week after he left attendance dropped to 50 percent. "We were talking about extending, and now it's a matter of surviving," Mr. Esparza said.
If Mr. Butz wants to deflate his ego, he need only look at a sign hanging outside his dressing room. It reads "The New Guy." (Around the Barrymore, though, he is faring better than Mr. Piven, whose face was crossed off a homemade holiday poster that hung in a downstairs green room.)
For his two remaining weeks at "Speed-the-Plow," Mr. Butz said, he is letting slide any questions he might have about his character and focusing on memorizing his lines. "It's thrilling," he said, "to be onstage and to not know, literally, what the next moment is going to bring. To just submit to the not-knowing-ness of it."
And as might be expected, he is paying careful attention to his diet. "I'm eating blueberries, and I'm drinking ginger tea, thinking, 'Well, this will do it,' " Mr. Butz said. "Blueberries are supposed to be good for the memory or whatever. Basically it's just made me more sick to my stomach."Continue reading the main story


text:
Abodian Signs
Geometric Arrow Acrylic House Number
Our bold geometric arrow design looks striking on the wall. Definitely a stand out in the neighbour hood. Available in both black and grey.
Size: 24cm x 24cm
5mm Depth Commercial Grade Acrylic
Free UK Delivery
Mounting Choices: Adhesive Pads or Stand Off Mounting
What are the fixing choices and are these included?
You have the choice of two types of fixings, everything you need is included including instructions and a template guide;
Adhesive Pads: These acrylic pads are custom made for us they are super strong, weatherproof, frost proof and easy to use. Simply peel and stick Adhesive pads are only suitable for smooth surfaces i.e. render if you have brick or pebbledash etc please choose stand off mounting. Full instructions are included.
Stand Off Mounting: Our stand off mounting option allows the sign to stand "proud" from the surface. Your sign is provided with two centred adjacent holes, stand off mounts are included as well as rawlplugs and screws. Full instructions are included.
How to customise your sign:
Please enter the text you would like printed in the address box. To help us, please us commas to differentiate between text areas.
For just a number: 14
For just a house name: Middleton Cottage
For a number and road name: 14, Newton Crescent
For a flat: Flat, 5, Hollybrook House
For more complicated text: Flat 2, Newton House, 4, Morecroft Road
Please note we can make nearly any name, number, road etc combination work as stand. If your address is particularly complicated (for example Welsh road names) please ask us for a proof and we can send that over to ensure you are happy with the layout.


text:
Important Information Related To The Screening Process Of SBA 8a Application
We regularly speak about in enterprise starting or creating a company, but there's one other facet to that coin. Although the group doesn't supply the loans immediately, they play the function of guarantor for multiple banks in addition to personal lenders who provide these funds primarily based on relevant pointers. Katie Latchford is a freelance writer who is constantly researching the latest financial advances in areas corresponding to unsecured loans , bank cards, family finance and shopper rights.
The Smaller Struggle Crops Corporation was shaped in 1942 to help with minor companies, improve their financial strength and allow them to more totally participate in the war effort. The SBA decides the phrases and situations of the loans and authorizes the lenders as well as banks to offer cash to the businesses.
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau, more than seven out of every 10 women-owned businesses and firms are operated … Read More


text:
As you know from my blog last week on the golf swing, The Golf Swing, this silly game is a tough gig. We all know the saying, you can't teach an old dog, new tricks and luckily I'm only 32 years young so I wouldn't say I'm an old dog just yet. It's now a case of: You can't teach a new dog, with an injured brain, old tricks. Well it's much, much harder indeed. If you're housing an injured brain, you may be under the perception that this is completely true and acquisition of new skills would be just a figment of your imagination, but I'm here to tell you not to listen to that fixed mindset of yours.
It may be much harder to master a skill and takes many more man hours to do so but if you really want to, with repetition, too right you can do it. Here's how I'm going about achieving this goal of getting back out on the course to compete with my buddies:
So my goal is to get back to playing a consistent game of golf. This will take time and practice, as well as lots more time and lots more practice.
As you know from my blog on repetition, all I need to do is repeat the same movement many times over and I'll get better at it… won't I? Well not exactly, because if we learn to perform a new skill in the wrong matter, we need to unlearn that skill, and then relearn it in the right way. Think of it like sleeping overnight out the front of the Apple store to buy tickets to an ACDC concert. If you're at the wrong place, you'll have to find the right place and line up again.
Once you're in the right line at the right store, you can then practice repetition all the way to the front of the queue. If you don't get the metaphor here, I simply mean that we need to repeat the skill in the right manner or else we'll have to unlearn the wrong skill to relearn the right skill. Get it now? No? Ok well that's the best I can do.
Back to golf.
At this point, it's best to take on a coach to tell you that you should have employed them right from the start instead of trying to wing it.
Most mornings, after my 6am gym session, I will drive to the local club and hit a bucket or two of balls in the range. I started just concentrating on one aspect of the swing until I could master that part, then I moved onto the next part. If I were to try and think of everything at once I would get overwhelmed and not think of anything at all.
This is still a work in progress as my golf swing is still hit and miss… geez… I'm on fire with my pun game today… but I am only getting better. That's all I care about. Once I've mastered each part, it will then be about linking each action together and fine-tuning it. That's enough from me; I'm off to the driving range to try my luck at this new golf fad. I read in someone's blog last week that it'd be easy.
|+61 423 312 347


text:
Better Car People Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is hereby incorporated by reference into the Better Car People, LLC Terms and Conditions (bettercarpeople.com/assets/files/BCP_TOS.pdf) (the "Terms and Conditions"), and applies to information collected by Better Car People, LLC and its affiliates (collectively, "BCP") in connection with your use of BCP's websites (the "Sites") and our services, which include providing you an electronic means to communicate with automobile dealers (the "Services"). In this Privacy Policy, the words "you," "your," and "customer" are used to mean you, an individual user from whom BCP has collected personal information through the Sites, including for purposes of assisting in communicating electronically with an automobile dealer and obtaining information about automobiles and related services. Other capitalized terms used but not defined in this Privacy Policy are defined in the Terms and Conditions. As a provider of services and products that involve compiling personal information, BCP takes your privacy very seriously. We may not collect all of the types of information described below, however, this policy explains how we handle and protect your personal information.
Information we collect
BCP collects information that helps us to serve your needs, provide you with personalized customer service and fulfill our legal and regulatory obligations. Depending on the services that we provide to you and any services that you might request, we collect information such as [(1) information about your relationship with us, such as products purchased through BCP and your transaction histories, (2) information necessary to provide customer service such as demographic information, gender, location and preferences when such information is linked to other information that identifies you. Your personal information is also used to identify you and maintain the security and privacy of your transactions.
Registering with us; information you provide
We collect personal information from you when you register with us and when you voluntarily submit or post information about yourself using certain features of the Sites (such as comments to blogs or personal stories you submit). You may register with us through the Sites or through our customer service centers by providing or confirming certain personal or contact information (e.g., email address, phone number, gender, date of birth) to one of our benefit advisors.
Surveys; user submissions
If you provide information or feedback to us through online surveys, various forms and features of the Services or other interactive forms, including posting comments to blogs, submitting stories to us, or sending us comments, we use this information to operate and enhance the Sites and to better understand your needs and to provide quality products, services and other opportunities. We plan to use any information we obtain from you to help us continually improve our customers' experiences.
Technical information and cookies
When you use the Sites, we may automatically record certain information from your web browser and/or your computer or other device that you use to access the Sites, using different types of technology, including cookies, standard log files, "clear gifs" or "web beacons." These technologies generally consist of a text file that is transferred to your computer's hard drive for record-keeping purposes and to enhance the quality of your visit to the Sites. This "automatically collected" information may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address, device model and/or type, device address or ID, web browser, operating system, the content you view on the Sites, actions you take using the Sites, and the dates and times that you use the Sites, as well as search queries you may have used to find the Sites. We may use persistent cookies (that remain in place after you exit the Site to help us recognize you when you return) and session cookies that will be deleted when you exit the Sites. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, but doing so will limit system performance and may even cause certain features of the Sites to malfunction or not work at all. Social Security Numbers and Taxpayer Identification Numbers. In certain circumstances we receive Social Security Numbers or Taxpayer Identification Numbers in connection with an individual's prospective, current or former employment with BCP. It is the policy of BCP to protect the confidentiality of Social Security Numbers and Taxpayer Identification Numbers. We use these types of data to carry out our business needs and to comply with local, state and national governmental requirements. We do not use this information for internal identification purposes.
BCP has adopted administrative, physical and technical safeguards and procedures to restrict access to this information to those employees or agents who need to use it for our business purposes and to protect it from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, and destruction. We may disclose this information to third parties, such as a third party provider of contact information verification services, who agree to protect this information and to keep it confidential and secure. When we dispose of records containing personal information we will use a means, such as shredding, that renders the information unreadable. Our employees periodically undergo training regarding the safeguarding of personally identifiable information, including Social Security Numbers.
Information about children
Because of the nature of our business we do not solicit or intentionally receive information from children under the age of 18. Parents and legal guardians are permitted to provide us with information about their children.
Use of personal information
Any personally identifiable information you give us will be used for our general commercial purposes, including to provide, support, develop, and enhance the features of the Sites and the Services, and to provide any product, service or other information that you request. We may use your information to provide applications and services to you, and to display customized content. We may also use personal information for certain auditing, research and analysis activities to operate and improve BCP' technologies and services. Your personal information may also be used to set up, process, or contact you regarding your account. We may use your email address to contact you to respond to your inquiries or to provide information on products or services to you. You can elect not to receive emails from us either by "unsubscribing" to an email that you receive or by contacting us as indicated below. When we use your personal information, it may be processed on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries, and your information may be processed on a server that lies outside your own country. When we use personal information in certain of our internal marketing efforts, we provide you with choices (see "Choices" below).
Sharing of your personal information
We are not in the business of selling your information! Nonetheless, we may disclose certain personal information to third parties in connection with the operation of our business in a variety of circumstances, including the following:
In general we may disclose information about you to unaffiliated third parties if: (1) you request or authorize it, (2) the information is provided to help complete a transaction for you, (3) the information is provided to comply with the law, applicable regulations, court orders or subpoenas, to enforce our Terms and Conditions or other agreements, or to protect our rights, property or safety or the rights, property or safety of our users or others (e.g., to a consumer reporting agency for fraud protection etc.), (4) the disclosure is done as part of a purchase, transfer or sale of services or assets (e.g., in the event that some or all of our assets are acquired by another party, customer information may be one of the transferred assets), (5) the information is provided to our agents, outside vendors or service providers to perform functions on our behalf (e.g., analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, providing customer service, processing orders, etc.), or (6) to others as described in this Privacy Policy.
Service providers
We may disclose your personal information to other companies that help us process or service your inquiries or correspond with you. For example, we may provide your personal information to a service provider to verify your mailing address, phone number and email address. The companies we hire to process or service your information or to correspond with you are not allowed to use your personal information for their own purposes and are contractually obligated to maintain strict confidentiality and security with respect to your personal information.
Marketing use
We do not disclose your personal information to third parties for their own marketing uses. We may use your information to provide you with information about third parties' goods or services unless you tell us not to. (See "Choices" below)
Other users
By their nature, certain features of the Services enable you to post and communicate information that will be publicly available to other users in a variety of ways. For example, if you submit a comment to a blog posting, it may be published on the Sites and elsewhere (as provided in the Terms of Service). Any personally identifiable information that you voluntarily choose to include in a public area of the Sites, such as any User Submissions that you post, will be made available to other users who access that content. Once you make your personally identifiable information available to others in any of these ways, it may be collected and used by the recipients without restriction. Note that if and to the extent that BCP provides you with tools to configure, restrict, or limit access to such postings, we cannot guarantee that use of these features will prevent access to information you post, whether surreptitiously or otherwise.
Legal obligations
The use and disclosure of certain "non-public personal financial and health information" is regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 ("GLBA"), and your disclosure of such information to us and our business associates is governed by the terms of GLBA.
Aggregate information
BCP may disclose aggregated, non-personally-identifiable information to interested third parties to assist such parties in understanding the usage, viewing, and demographic patterns for certain programs, content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality on the Sites or in connection with providing the Services.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and preventing the unauthorized access and use of your personal information. BCP employs and maintains administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect your personal information, and to restrict access to those employees and contractors who need to know your personal information to provide products and services to you. Any employee or contractor who violates our Privacy Policy may be subject to disciplinary action. Please note that this is not a guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed in connection with a breach of any of our administrative, physical, or technical safeguards. We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to BCP, and you do so at your own risk.
While we take steps to protect your personal information and to keep it secure, you also play a role in protecting your information. You can help to maintain the security of your online transactions by not sharing your log-in information with anyone. If we receive instructions using your log-in information we will assume that the instructions have been authorized by you.
Contact us; updating your information
If you want to correct or update your personal information, you may log in to your user account on our website, or contact us by email at email@example.com or by mail at: Customer Service Better Car People, LLC 204 East Franklin St. Monroe, NC 28112
We will share your messages with those within our organization that are most capable of addressing the issues contained in your message. We preserve the content of your e-mail, your e-mail address and our response so that we can efficiently respond to any questions you might have. We also do this in an effort to meet legal and regulatory requirements. We will use reasonable efforts to respect your request not to be contacted by e-mail. Sites we link to.
If you choose to use any of the links that we provide to our partner companies, sponsors, and other third party resources, you will leave our website and navigate to a new website. Protection of your privacy at websites other than ours will be governed by the privacy policy of those sites. Take the time to read the privacy policies on those sites. Because third party websites are not under our control, we cannot be responsible for the privacy practices of such websites or pages and we do not endorse any of third party websites or pages, the services or products described or offered on those sites or pages, or any of the content contained on those sites or pages.
Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy at any time, with our without advance notice. In the event there are significant changes to this Privacy Policy, we will display a prominent notice in the privacy portion of the BCP website and let you know the effective date of the changes. In the event we make a material change to our information privacy practices that affect the personal information already stored in our database, we will post the revised privacy policy and new effective date in the privacy portion of the BCP website and may take other steps to advise you about the changes. If you have any questions or comments or receive any unwanted e-mail from this site, please contact our webmaster via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Last updated: June 26, 2014


text:
Amazon's Kindle for iOS app got an update today to prepare for iOS 7's upcoming release. According to the change log, the update is required before users update to iOS 7. Failure to install the new version of the app prior to updating to iOS 7 could cause users to have to login again and re-download their books.
While this issue isn't as signficant as losing all of your Google Authenticator tokens, it could be a bit of an annoyance for users to have to re-download their reading material.
The Kindle update is available on the App Store now.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


text:
India's Amazon Blink
Amazon India has finally curated its first fashion studio Blink. The studio has been already generated by professionals in Gurugram, Delhi and is rumored to be Amazon's third fashion studio in the world followed by London and New York. In the midst of high functioning festive season, the 44,000 sq.ft studio is expected to facilitate the venture of the fashion retailers associated with Amazon with amenities such as prominent quality images and videos.
The Blink studio feeds all the top brands like Forever 21, Marks & Spencer and Calvin Klein and carries over 15,000 worthy brands. Billions of dollars have already summed up from Amazon's venture, it will be interesting to capture the offline venture's massive results. Amazon has never let down the market industry, so shoppers have a high expectation!
"At Amazon, we are always thinking about how we will raise the bar, how we will redefine the way the customer discovers, engages with and shops for fashion online. All of our efforts we've made for this studio in terms of technology, scale and talent are designed to deliver high-quality imagery that inspires and educates our customers," said Arun Sirdeshmukh, head, Amazon Fashion India, in a statement.
"We have photographers, models, stylists, video editors and other resources. We are constantly looking at new ways of collaboration," added Sirdeshmukh. "With this studio, we will continue to strengthen our relationships across the entire industry – with brands, designers and creative talent. This is part of our plan to innovate in how fashion is displayed on the site and be the best possible place for fashion brands to present themselves online."
"We run several businesses under the Amazon Fashion umbrella; there is jewelry, footwear, clothing, accessories and luggage and so on. Each of those businesses, quarter on quarter grow between 80-100%, while growth in H1 (first half of 2017) was 90% (for the entire fashion category)," Sirdeshmukh said.
The studio comprises of 16 photography bays, ramp, presentation area and work spaces, hence it will authorize the fashion brand partners to generate, edit images, videos and curate out of the box content with assistance from Amazon. The studio can be taken on lease by the high end brands to extant their latest approach and ingenious outlook. Wider platform is introduced to launch a new collection of a fashion brand and can also be exercised to mart their creations through fashion shows and other such events.
"We have photographers, models, stylists, video editors, and other resources. We are constantly looking at new ways of collaboration," said Sirdeshmukh. (RR)


text:
Inspiring you to sit at His feet by providing authentic examples of Christian living and biblical resources.
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her."
Luke 10: 41-42
For daily inspiration and encouragement follow us on Instagram


text:
Chemistry with Vernier with Go Direct Packages
We offer different packages to meet your needs and budget. The starter package is great way to get started, and the deluxe package includes all the sensors needed for the experiments in the lab book.
Select a package option below to see the sensors that are included.
Deluxe Package (8 Products)Order Code: GDP-CH-DXPrice: $702
Starter Package (4 Products)Order Code: GDP-CH-STPrice: $316
Free Software
Graphical Analysis™ 4 for Chrome™, iOS, Android™, Windows®, and macOS®
Collect, share, and analyze sensor data with our free software. Graphical Analysis 4 app facilitates student understanding with real-time graphs of experimental data and intuitive analysis tools.
Lab Book
Chemistry with Vernier
Chemistry with Vernier is the foundational chemistry book for high school and college courses with more than 36 experiments in thermochemistry, gas laws, acid-base reactions, equilibrium, electrochemistry, electrolytes, states of matter, and more.
The electronic version of the lab book includes a searchable PDF of the entire book, word-processing files for student experiments, teacher information files including sample data and graphs, a complete materials and supplies list, and other supplemental resources. The printed lab book includes everything in the electronic version, plus a printed copy of the book.
A site license is included. You only need one copy of either the electronic version or printed lab book for your entire school or college department.
Ordering Information
Request a Quote
All prices do not include taxes, duties, or shipping and handling.


text:
Stephen Colbert and Carey Mulligan Learn All About The Great Gatsby from LeVar Burton and "Reading Rainbow" (via Hollywood)
"Reading Rainbow" is back! Kind of. Sort of. Not really. To celebrate his super Gatsby themed show, host Stephen Colbert decided to hold a book club (the first rule is you don't read Fight Club) in which he meant to read The Great Gatsby but then totally didn't. Colbert invites Carey Mulligan on the show to tell him about the plot, but since she can't even read and is merely dubbed over by James Franco, LeVar Burton steps in to help with his trusty butterfly in the sky. Head over to the original source to check out all the Gatsby, all the nostalgia, and all the "Star Trek" references.
Maureen Johnson Explores Gender Bias in Book Covers With Her Coverflip Experiment (via The Huffington Post)
YA author Maureen Johnson encounters fan complaints that go a little something like this: I love your books, but I feel embarrassed being seen with them in public because I'm a man and the covers are so girly- what gives MJ? To which she replies, I don't pick the covers and instead my gender determines how they're designed in the first place. In response to these constant queries, she issued a challenge to her fans, to imagine what book covers would like like if they were written by an author of the opposite gender. Thus, coverflip was born.
"Sleepy Hollow" and "In Wonderland" Pilots Get Picked Up, "The Selection" and "Delirium" Get the Axe (via Entertainment Weekly)
Two novel-based pilots that are getting a full season order are those based in the public domain. First up is "Sleepy Hollow," which has Ichabod Crane traveling two-centuries into the future to save humanity from a crime that spans time. Okay then. The second is the "Once Upon a Time" spin-off "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" which follows Alice in Wonderland. The pilots based on dystopian YA novels didn't fare so well. Apparently not even Uther Pendragon himself, Anthony Stewart Head could save The Selection because CW11 refused to pick up the second attempt at a pilot and the same goes for the fabulously penned Delirium whose adaptation wasn't loved either.
Tony Stark Sings About His "Suits That Fly" to Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie" (via StarCrush)
Get ready to die of hilarity. This video features Tony Stark singing about his arc reactor, his nemesis the Mandarin and his girlfriend Pepper Potts to the tune of the Justin Timberlake ditty "Suit & Tie." You would be hard pressed not to get addicted to the chorus: "And as long as I got my suits that fly / Imma put 'em on and soar tonight / Gonna get messed up if we fight / Gonna blow up a few things." Don't forget to keep an eye out for Rhodey as Jay-Z!
Universal Teases Additions to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (via Hypable)
As we previously mentioned, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (where we've spent two LeakyCons) is getting an expansion – including a rolling coaster ride inside the newly built Gringotts! Why they didn't think to do that to begin with is beyond us since it's already basically a roller coaster in the book. A higher up for the park said there will indeed be a dragon on top of Gringotts breathing fire, the ride will be a family ride and the new expansion will feature another restaurant, more shops and a working Hogwart's Express. Check out even more concept art HERE.
Continue to Celebrate All Things Gatsby With Consumerism, Because There Ain't No Party Like a Gatsby Party (via BookRiot)
Want to sort of ruin The Great Gatsby film for everyone who didn't read the book? Then consider buying this t-shirt through skreened.com. It's fun and informative! To continue your Gatsbying, also check out the book report written by a kid who has only seen the movie (in theory), and then check out the best- in relative terms- Gatsby review on GoodReads. Featuring: The Average Gatsby, The Grape Gatsby and Batgatsby.


text:
Business or pleasure—weekday or weekend—booking in advance will save you money. Book now to save on your next stay and enjoy variety, productivity, and comfort at its best.
And, for the most savings, combine your Book Early & Save discount with Your Rate to get up to 20% off—it's our lowest rate, exclusively for IHG® Rewards Club members who book direct.
Join IHG® Rewards Club for free while you book. Use the search tool to find a hotel. Then select Your Rate by IHG® Rewards Club Advance Purchase. You'll be prompted to register as you make your reservation.
Holiday Inn Express has over 2,000 locations worldwide that offer inviting accommodations:


text:
Get to know Senator Mike Wilson...
Mike was born in New Albany, Mississippi, close to Tupelo where Elvis was from. At the age of 5 his father moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee after taking a job at a cotton seed mill. Mike grew up in Memphis but spent many wonderful summers on family farms in Mississippi. In December of 1972 He joined the United States Marine Corps serving his country for 8 ½ years. Upon his honorable discharge from the Marines in July of 1981 he attended college on the GI Bill.
Mike received his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration Management in May of 1986 from California State University at Fullerton. During his college years Mike served with Campus Crusade for Christ as a volunteer leader and Associate Staff Member for their Student Venture High School Ministry at Anaheim High School and Magnolia High School Campuses in Anaheim, California. He served as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Magnolia High School Football Team as well as the Team Chaplain.
Upon graduation from college Mike worked for the largest personal lines insurance broker in Southern California. There as a Sales Agent he was quickly promoted to Sales Manager and ultimately to Branch Manager for their Woodland Hills office in the San Fernando Valley. His leadership and management of over 45 employees within 5 departments helped turn an unprofitable office into one of the top earning branches in the company.
In December of 1989 Mike was invited to join the staff of Calvary Chapel of South Bay in Carson, California. Mike served this church of approximately 2000 adults as the Administrator and As Executive Minister. There he managed a staff of 13 people and oversaw all ministries within the church. He was also responsible for a million dollar annual budget and oversight of all financial expenditures and accounting. While at the church he helped establish a Community Crisis Hotline and a Volunteer Clergy Ride-Along Program under the Police Chaplain of the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department at the Carson station.
In September of 1993 Mike and his family packed up and moved across country to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Here Mike helped establish a small church and worked with the local Christian Radio Station to start a community wide event known as Harvest Festival. In October of 1994 Mike began working for Bowling Green Community Broadcasting, Christian Family Radio, as the Promotions Director and Business Partnership Director. In September of 1997 He was selected by the Board of Directors to become the next General Manager of the radio station. Under Mike's leadership the station grew from one full-power radio station in Bowling Green to 3 full-power stations to include Owensboro and Glasgow, Kentucky as well. Mike increased the community outreach and sponsorship of many community events such as the Community Impact Awards and Faith and Family Nights with the Bowling Green Hot Rods Baseball Team. Mike is currently employed by Davert USA Inc. which is a metal fabricator providing metal manufactured tooling and specialty items to the manufacturing industry and specifically automotive assembly plants like GM, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Kia, BMW, and many more.
Mike is also very involved in the community as a member of The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Ambassador's Club. You will regularly see him at many ribbon cuttings and grand openings of local businesses. He has served on the Agri-Business Committee and the Government Relations Committee. He helped develop the Police Chaplain Program for the Bowling Green Police Department and served as a Police Chaplain for a period of time. He is on the Board of Directors of the Barren River Area District FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He attends Crossland Community Church and also serves on the board of The Bowling Green Area Prayer Breakfast which holds it's annual event on the 1st Tuesday every December. Mike has served as President, Vice President and Secretary of the Greenwood High School Quarterback Club. Mike is very active in the arts and has appeared in numerous plays at The Public Theatre of Kentucky and with Fountain Square Players.
Mike also serves as the Kentucky State Senator in the General Assembly for District 32 which includes all of Warren county and the city of Bowling Green. Formerly known as the Chairman of the Education Committee, Mike was elected by his fellow Senate GOP Caucus members to serve as a member of leadership as Senate Majority Whip. Senator Wilson also served as Co-chair of EAARS, Education Accountability & Assessment, Committee, and is a member of the Education Budget Oversight Committee, the Military and Veterans Affairs / Public Protection Committee, and the Economic Development & Tourism Committee. Mike also serves on the Board of Advisers for Western Kentucky University. He is a board member of The Fund for Transforming Education, a member of the Board of Advisors for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, a Commissioner on the Education Commission of the States, and a Legislative Representative on the Southern Region Education Board, SREB.
Mike has five children, Michael Jr., Dawn, Sam, Grace, and Jessie. Michael has followed the farming side of the family and currently farms about 2000 acres in the Mississippi Delta. Dawn is currently working and attending college in Knoxville, Tennessee. Sam recently graduated from Lindsey Wilson College where he started at the position of inside linebacker of the football team for 4 years and served as a team captain and is now pursuing a music career as a composer of EDM music. Grace graduated from Greenwood High School in 2011. She is an avid singer and actress who has appeared in many plays in the community through The Capitol Arts Youth Theatre and The Public Theatre of Kentucky's Sunburst Youth Theatre. She appeared in Justin Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl" music video and since has been in several others and recently filmed one with The Band Perry and will be filming a TV series this summer in a recurring role. She has lived in in North Hollywood and auditioned for feature films and TV shows as well as commercials. She is now the mother of Bo and living back in Bowling Green. Jessie graduated from South Warren High School and is also an aspiring actress and singer. She has appeared on CMT in country music singing star Kelly Pickler's music video "I Wonder".
Mike will tell you that the most important decision he ever made was in November of 1979 when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. "It changed the whole direction of my life and my belief system about life." Today I realize my life is about serving others and that's what drives me on a daily basis. I am here to make a difference and I want to do that for my family, my friends, and my community.


text:
Follow Us
Cassidy Banks & Keiran Lee
Nothing says summer like a sexy babe in a bikini by the pool. They don't make 'em much sexier than the alluring and exotic Cassidy Banks. Blessed with a set of big natural tits, Cassidy loves nothing more than to wrap her boobies around a nice hard cock. Collapse
Available formats
Niche & Categories
1,522 high quality pictures included


text:
I am an award-winning Charleston-based freelance writer and photographer with a focus on food, humor and travel topics.
If you're not yet familiar with my work, sample the flavors with the pieces in the "Best Of" tab.
I was a professional chef for almost three years while putting myself through college and earning a psychology degree. Combine that with four years of prep and "paying my dues" time in the kitchen prior and you get, um, seven years.
After finishing my psychology degree, I ended up in the corporate world and earned an MBA before finally gathering the courage to give it all up and pursue my lifelong dream of being a writer.
Dream = realized.
Bank account = not quite so robust.
Still, I wouldn't change a thing. As a bottom line and at the end of the day, I'm a storyteller.
One of the few enduring traditions of human culture, stories – when told with the proper cadence, language and skill – have the power to move and inspire our minds, our hearts and even our souls.
This is what propels and motivates me.
That and raw oysters.
* * *
I'm always excited to take on new challenges, work with talented publishers and editors and have money to buy stuff.
Please contact me at vanessa at vanessawolf.com if you have an assignment or project – or would like to use my food photos for commercial purposes – and I'd be honored to discuss that with you.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos have been taken by me.


text:
Governor Cuomo Directs Flags to Half-Staff
Governor Cuomo has directed that flags on state government buildings be flown at half-staff on December 23, 2015 in honor of a New York Air National Guard member who died in Afghanistan on Monday, Dec. 21. New York Air National Guard Technical Sgt. Joseph Lemm, a resident of West Harrison, was killed in an incident outside Bagram Air Base. He was a member of the 105th Security Forces Squadron, which is an element of the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base at Newburgh, N.Y.
"Staff Sgt. Joe Lemm served this nation with the selflessness and bravery that embodies the U.S. Armed forces and the NYPD," Governor Cuomo said. "On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends, fellow officers and service members."
Governor Cuomo has directed that the flags on all state buildings be lowered to half-staff in honor of and in tribute to our state's service members and those stationed in New York who are killed in action or die in a combat zone.
Spanish Translation Traducción al español
Russian Translation Перевод на русский язык
Korean Translation 한국어 번역
Italian Translation Traduzione italiana
Haitian Creole Translation Tradiksyon kreyòl ayisyen
French Translation Traduction française
Chinese Translation 中文翻譯
Next Section
NYC Press Office: 212.681.4640
Albany Press Office: 518.474.8418


text:
I am trying to figure out the proper procedure to overwrite a database with a backup of a database created on a different server. The backup has an identical schema, full text indexes, stored procs, etc. The only thing that differs is the data. The user table current replicates to another database, so I need to restore this database while maintaining this replication. Any tips on how I can do this?
Thanks in advance for your assistance!


text:
Standard Access Control List (ACL) Modification
Network administrators modify a standard Access Control List (ACL) by adding lines. Each new entry you add to the Access Control List (ACL) appears at the bottom of the list.
Unlike the routing table, which looks for the closest match in the list when processing an ACL entry that will be used as the first matching entry. If, for instance, you want to have one host on the 192.168.8.0/24 blocked on your ACL, then there would be a difference. You need to add deny for 192.168.8.200 to your ACL:
Switch1>enable Password: Switch1#configure terminal Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z. Switch1(config)#access-list 50 deny 192.168.8.200 0.0.0.0 Switch1(config)#end Switch1#show access-list 50 Standard IP access list 50 deny 192.168.8.200 permit 192.168.8.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.255 permit 192.168.9.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.255
Notice deny was added to the top of the list, whereas the additional permit was added to the bottom of the list. Additionally, this entry does not include the wildcard bits. The ordering behavior is by design, with any entry for a single host being more important and therefore filtered to the top of the list.
The reduction of the ACE for the single host is also expected. You could add the single host this way, instead of writing out all the zeros in the wildcard mask.
Switch1(config)#access-list 50 deny host 192.168.8.200
You can make a new ACL that will deny the same two Class C address blocks, but permit the first four addresses in the 192.168.8.0/24 range (192.168.8.0-192.168.8.3). Here is the result if you build the ACL in this order.
Switch1#configure terminal Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z. Switch1(config)#access-list 60 deny 192.168.8.0 0.0.0.255 Switch1(config)#access-list 60 deny 192.168.9.0 0.0.0.255 Switch1(config)#access-list 60 permit 192.168.8.0 0.0.0.3 Switch1(config)#end Switch1#show access-list 60 Standard IP access list 60 deny 192.168.8.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.255 deny 192.168.9.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.255 permit 192.168.8.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.3
Because the entries are added to the ACL in the order that you type them, the permit ends up at the bottom of the list. If you test this ACL, an address like 192.168.8.2 would be picked up by the first ACE and would not receive the permit from the third ACE. How do you fix this? Well, you have a few choices:
You can remove the ACL from where it is being used, delete the ACL, create a new one in the correct order, and add it back to where it is being used. This lengthy process actually leaves the system open from the time you remove the ACL from where it is being used, until it is added back. This has been the standard method of managing ACLs.
When working with ACLs this way, you would copy all the steps required into notepad.exe. This includes the steps to remove the old ACL and add the new ACL. After the entire process is staged in notepad.exe, use the copy command to copy and paste into your CLI management application, such as putty.exe.
If your device supports it, you can edit the ACL by using the IP command in the following code. This allows you to put line numbers into your ACL, an option that you do not have when editing the ACL from Global Configuration mode. This makes use of ACL Configuration mode. When putting your line numbers in, you want to leave a gap between the entries in the ACL.
Router1(config)#ip access-list standard 60 Router1(config-ext-nacl)#10 deny 192.168.8.0 0.0.0.255 Router1(config-ext-nacl)#20 deny 192.168.9.0 0.0.0.255 Router1(config-ext-nacl)#30 permit 192.168.8.0 0.0.0.3
With this pre-planning done, you can then add a new ACL entry at the top of the ACL by choosing a number that is less than 10, similar to the following:
Router1>enable Password: Router1#configure terminal Router1(config)# ip access-list standard 60 Router1(config-ext-nacl)#5 permit 192.168.8.0 0.0.0.3 Router1(config-ext-nacl)#end Router1#show access-list 60 Standard IP access list 60 5 permit 192.168.9.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.3 10 deny 192.168.9.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.255 20 deny 192.168.9.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.255 30 permit 192.168.8.0, wildcard bits 0.0.0.3 This allows you to edit the ACL on the fly (that is, without removing it from the interfaces where it is used) without removing the ACL and recreating it, saving you a lot of time and effort, as long as there is a gap in the numbering where you can add your new entry.
Depending on the IOS version and device, you may have other options. If you look at the Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA), you do not have to preplan. So review the following code, where the ASA automatically numbers the lines for you:
ASAFirewall1>enable Password: ASAFirewall1#configure terminal ASAFirewall1(config)# access-list 60 deny 192.168.8.0 255.255.255.0 ASAFirewall1(config)# access-list 60 deny 192.168.9.0 255.255.255.0 ASAFirewall1(config)# exit ASAFirewall1# show access-list 60 access-list 60; 2 elements access-list 60 line 1 standard deny 192.168.8.0 255.255.255.0 (hitcnt=0) 0x318d5521 access-list 60 line 2 standard deny 192.168.9.0 255.255.255.0 (hitcnt=0) 0xba5e90e1 ASAFirewall1#configure terminal ASAFirewall1(config)# access-list 60 line 1 permit 192.168.9.0 255.255.255.248 ASAFirewall1(config)# exit ASAFirewall1# show access-list 60 access-list 60; 3 elements access-list 60 line 1 standard permit 192.168.9.0 255.255.255.248 (hitcnt=0) 0x451bbe48 access-list 60 line 2 standard deny 192.168.8.0 255.255.255.0 (hitcnt=0) 0x318d5521 access-list 60 line 3 standard deny 192.168.9.0 255.255.255.0 (hitcnt=0) 0xba5e90e1
By using the ASA, you can still add lines on the fly or manually number ACL entries. If you want to use the same line again, the ASA will renumber your entire list if it needs to. This is truly the best of both worlds.


text:
Homeland's top cop eyes border threat
March 20, 2009
Top Story
No Comment
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano has dispatched her top cop to border cities under threat from Mexico's insurgent cartels to gather on-the-ground intelligence for an aggressive security operation, drawing people from her agency, the Pentagon, the White House and the Justice Department.
Napolitano announced on Thursday that former Alabama sheriff Edmund "Ted" Sexton is spending two weeks with sheriffs and police from Brownsville to San Diego as she telegraphed the Obama administration's preparations for an offensive expected to enlist National Guard troops and agents from across the federal government.
"This is going to be a major effort," she said. "We are doing a lot now — and we can do more."
Cartel-on-cartel violence in Mexico, she said, "is upticking in the border areas." (Houston Chronicle)


text:
Top Gun Slot Game Review
Top Gun video slot is a five-reel, twenty-line game with features such as a wild, scatter and bonus symbols, free spins, and a bonus game.
This movie-based slot also has amazing sound effects and graphics.
The game will start with a wonderful video intro explaining the bonus round and some great animations and film footages of planes. When it loads up, you will see the set of reels in the aircraft cockpit with buttons which looks like plane controls.
As the reels spin, you are going to hear some of the movie soundtrack and special movie based sound effects like planes taking off and landing when a winning combination is created.
The symbols include the wild game logo, scatter F14, a ship, fighter plane jackpot (five will award a 10,000 prize from any active pay-line), helicopter, target, motor cycle, radar, insignia, and 3 different pilot helmets.
You will definitely some of the animations which are pretty amazing, especially the Maverick helmet that explodes into flames once a combination is completed.
The Top gun logo wild symbol will substitute for the others, except for the scattered F14 to create winning combinations. The F-14 is a scatter as well as a bonus symbol.
You will trigger the free spins in the game once a fighter jet flies over the reels. These free spins will be triggered at random and you could win as much as 10.
The Top Gun Bonus feature will start when three or more of the scattered F-14 icons show up anywhere on the reels. Here, you have to shoot MIGs and earn points or prizes for each one that take down.
You won't earn a prize if you miss and can keep on playing and shooting at MIGs till the feature comes to an end. All wins will be multiplied by the total bet and added to any line wins.
This is an amazing slot with superb gameplay and graphics. You should not miss the chance to play Top Gun Video Slot if you are a fan of the film and Tom Cruise.


text:
The four basic arithmetic operators [+, -, *, /} are used in reports.
These can be combined with the equals [=] operator as shown
The following operators are used for the functions listed:
Arithmetic operators are used in many areas of
report and letter design.
How To Calculate Date Ranges in Reports and Letters
shows how these operators are used to print dates in the
past or future. You can use mathematically derived
dates in many other ways as well. See
How To Use Date Ranges in Complex Reports for more
Many fields in your database contain numeric data.
Arithmetic operators can be used to create functions
using these fields. Calculations based on this data
can be printed in your report. Refer to
How To Use Math with Database Fields.
Time fields can be added or subtracted in reports by using
arithmetic operators.
Date fields can be added or subtracted in reports by using
arithmetic operators.
There are many other uses of math operations
in report generation. For instance, when using Lists
and Loops, Totals can be calculated for numeric data
fields. Refer to How To topics on Lists and Loops,
Conditional Expressions, Variables and Totals for
information regarded advanced topics in the use
of math operations.
Remember to review the list of pre-defined reports
for templates that you can use. Collect!'s support
team can design custom reports for you. Refer to
How To Order Custom Reports. As well, there is an
extensive list of report samples that you can view and
choose from. Refer to Report Sample for this.
- How To Calculate Date Ranges in Reports and Letters
- How To Use Math with Database Fields
- How To Use Date Ranges in Complex Reports
- Report Sample to view sample reports and letters
- Report Topics Index for a list of all report and letter topics
Was this page helpful? Do you have any comments on this document? Can we make it better? If so how may we improve this page.
Please click this link to send us your comments:
Office: 755 Goldstream Avenue, Unit 103
Victoria, BC V9B 0H9
USA Mail: 136 E 8th Street #168
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Toll-free: 1-800-661-6722
Phone: 250-391-0466
Fax: 250-474-2622
Email: email@example.com
Web: www.collect.org
Office Hours: Monday to Friday
8:00 to 5:00 Pacific time
Suite 10, 155 Varsity Parade
Varsity Lakes QLD 4227
Phone: +61 7 5630 6517
Fax: +61 7 5630 6531
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web: www.collectsoftware.com.au
Office Hours: Monday to Friday
8:30 to 4:00 Australian Eastern Time
Phone: 001-250-391-0466
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web: www.collectsoftware.eu
Office Hours: Monday to Friday
8:00 to 4:00 Central European Time
Collect! Version 12.8 ReleasedOctober 09, 2019
September 2019 Collect! User NewsletterSeptember 18, 2019
July 2019 Collect! Users NewsletterJuly 09, 2019
Lite Solution
Cloud Solution
Premise Solution
Request the Free Trial
Terms of Use
Support Overview
Policies and Procedures
One-on-One Training
Custom Reporting
Data Conversion
Member Center
Remote Assist
Letter Service Bureaus
Credit Bureaus
Payment Processing
Skip Tracing
Text Messaging
Document Imaging
Off-Site Backup
External Reporting
About Us
Our Clients
News and Events
Contact Us
© 2019 Comtech Systems Inc. All rights reserved. • Use of the Collect! system indicates acceptance of our product terms • Legal Notices
Use of the Collect! website indicates acceptance of our website terms
This document and any attendant software and/or services subject to change without notice.


text:
Kim LefnerHow does a city get itself into financial trouble? Start with high unemployment; add a steep decline in business revenue; continued spending on non-essential programs and heap more taxation on the residents to pay for it. The results equal a depressed economy and increasing levels of debt.
How does a city get itself out of financial trouble? For starters, we need three true fiscal conservatives on the city council. Without three votes, change is unlikely. That's why I'm voting for the slate of Derek Reeve, Jim Reardon and Clint Worthington for city council in November. I urge you to check out their website at: www.teamsjc.org .
Here are a few additional suggestions to help restore fiscal sanity...
Too Big to Fail?
Audit the Ground Water Recovery Plant (GWRP) to find out why we're spending $200,000 more per month to operate it than if we purchased the water from the Metropolitan Water District.
The rationale for building the GWRP was to create our own independent water source, thereby saving money that we would otherwise pay to an outside water agency. However, according to resident John Perry's extensive research, the GWRP has been steadily losing money, not saving it. The only reason I've heard from the city for continuing to dump money into it is that we have too much invested in it already! It's this type of thinking that has grown the federal deficit to staggering levels and mortgaged our children's future.
Despite a 40% increase in water rates already this year, staff and our city council are now proposing an additional increase of up to $22.00 per month, which the council will bring up for a vote on September 21 (mark your calendars!). Objections must be made IN WRITING prior to the meeting. Email them to: firstname.lastname@example.com or mail to: City Council, 32400 Paseo Adelanto. This additional increase can be stopped if more than 50% of property owners oppose it, so please write AND attend the meeting on the 21st.
Pork Barrel Spending
Just say no to paying pricey lobbyists and consultants to obtain more of our tax dollars to spend on non-essential grants and unnecessary programs. Grants are not "free"; they are funded by taxes. In the past two years, the city has spent and/or allocated funds to be spent in the following amounts; $361,000 on lobbyists, up to $184,000 for "open space" consultants, $600,000 on downtown planning consultants, $75,000 on consultants to find out why people don't shop here, $102,000 on "long term vision and strategic plan" consultants, $10,000 on another "long term vision" consultant, etc.
Many of the grants that consultants and lobbyists are paid to obtain require matching funds from our city. These include:
- A Federal Grant for the Ground Water Recovery Plant (GWRP) expansion. Our city's matching share was $500,000. To date, the city has spent around $25 million to build and about $4 million per year to operate the GWRP.
- $500,000 from the "Open Space Bond" approved by council to match a Measure M "Habitat Mitigation" Grant from the OCTA.
- $575,000 for a new access road onto our newly acquired $27.5 million "Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park", plus nearly $100,000 for consultants to design it. Council also approved $1.35 million for the "eastern open space trails" that the RMV Riding Park purchase agreement requires us to build to connect to the seller's (the Ranch's) property.
- A $400,000 grant for a "Gang Reduction and Intervention Program". Our city's share of this was $200,000 for this year.
Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
Redevelopment distorts the free enterprise system by taking from some to give to others. So here's one worth considering; eliminate or scale it back!
The mere mention of this agency causes most people's eyes to glaze over (including mine). But I'll attempt to summarize it briefly because it funnels so many millions of our tax dollars to private developers. The CRA is defined as "a government subdivision created to improve blighted, depressed, deteriorated, or otherwise economically depressed areas; to assist property owners displaced by redevelopment; and to issue bonds or other instruments necessary to fund the programs. Goals are normally accomplished in partnership with private developers".
Some CRA projects may indeed be worthwhile, such as generating tax revenue by helping local businesses succeed. Like many government programs however, the CRA is subject to abuse. For example; developers support politicians who become beholden to the developers. The politicians declare a property blighted, the property is eligible for CRA funding which is given to the developer through a "partnership" with the city to improve the "blighted" property (no matter that the developer will turn a profit without the CRA funding). I'm sure this is why the CRA is referred to by some as a "developer's slush fund".
Councilman Mark Nielsen recently justified this by claiming that we residents get "increased tax revenue" from newly developed CRA property. Indeed, CRA tax increments are higher than what we might collect from residential property taxes. But what Nielsen and city leaders won't tell you is that revenue is trapped in the Redevelopment Agency, where it can only be spent on more redevelopment or affordable housing or simply be confiscated by the State (as happened this year). None of this money can be diverted to general city purposes.
Property owners should be able to develop their property within the allowed zoning. But using tax dollars to subsidize it, especially for projects that will negatively impact or unfairly burden the community seems an unwise (some say unfair) use of public money. And let's not forget the costs of redevelopment through increased water/sewer needs, road improvements and traffic "mitigation", etc. to accommodate the growth. The argument that more development is needed to generate tax revenue creates a vicious cycle of need for evermore development, which threatens our small town historic nature.
These are just a few of the ingredients in the "recipe for overspending" that our city leaders have been following all too well. Fortunately, in November we have an opportunity to change to a more healthy recipe of fiscal responsibility. Your vote is needed.


text:
Norbert Lenz (1900 - 1992)
Painter, illustrator and commercial artist Norbert Lenz was born in Norwalk, Ohio and received his artistic training at both the Huntington Polytechnic Institute and the Cleveland School of Art. During his career Lenz exhibited his paintings and drawings at such institutions as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Butler Institute of American Art. Today the art of Norbert Lenz is held by the Columbus Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Butler Institute of American Art.
Top Hat
Linocut, date not stated; edition of 50. Image size 23½" x 14"; overall size 28" x 22". Numbered 37/50 and boldly signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin. Fine condition.