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Lots of news coming out of SDCC. I'll just pop into a few stories I thought looked interesting, starting with the world of print comics…
X-MEN. Lots of hubbub about a new X-Men book with the old "Uncanny" moniker. But overall, the X-books have been bland-to-tepid for quite some time now, so maybe they think that using the uncanny adjective will remind people that X-Men used to be the only comic that mattered. And speaking of that bygone era, Chris Claremont is coming back for X-Men Black: Magneto, the first of a series of one-shots that will also focus on X-villains Emma Frost, Mojo, Mystique, and Juggernaut, with all five issues tied together by a back-up feature about Apocalypse.
FANTASTIC FOUR #1. The first family of superhero comics will be returning in August, after having been missing for three years. The cover to issue #1 will be by Joe Quesada, and we're promised in early issues appearances by Galactus and prominent roles for Fantastikids Franklin and Valeria. The creative team will be Dan Slott, fresh off a decade-long run on Amazing Spider-Man, and one of the best artists in the business, Sara Pichelli. The first arc will feature a new big villain. Ben and Johnny have been searching for the missing Richardses (Reed, Sue, Franklin and Val) in the pages of Marvel Two-In-One (a series much, much better than I thought it would be), and it looks like that book will roll into FF #1, which will lead to a big family reunion in issue #3. That issue will also include the short-lived Fantastic Four of the 1990s, which was Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider, as well as several other Marvel characters. IF I POST THE OCVER: Oh, and an absolutely beautiful cover by Esad Ribic.
THE MAXX VS. BATMAN. Sam Kieth and William Messner-Loebs' creator-owned character is part of an IDW/DC Comics crossover series. DC seems to work well with other publishers—why can't Marvel?
MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES BY BRUBAKER AND PHILLIPS. The brilliant creators of Criminal and the recent Kill or Be Killed series, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, are creating their first original graphic novel. It will be published by Image Comics, and will look at celebrity junkie culture.
JAMES BOND 007. Dynamite has been producing some pretty solid Bond miniseries, so it's worth checking out the ongoing that will launch in November, written by Greg Pak and drawn by Marc Laming.
COMIXOLOGY IS NOW A PUBLISHER. The digital distributor will now produce its own line of original, creator-owned, digital-only books. The early announcements include The Dark, a biopunk tale by long-time veteran author Mark Sable and artist Kristian Donaldson; Goliath Girls by Sam Humphries and Alti Firmansyah (three chicks in a dystopian monster-plauged future adopt a baby monster); Grave Danger by Tim Seeley/Mike Norton (about an agency that hunts witches, vampires, etc.); Hit Reblog: Comics That Caught Fire, telling true stories about webcomic creators' experiences in web-publishing; and Teenage Wasteland by Magdalene Visaggio/Jen Vaughn, about superhero highschoolers; and others.
JESSICA JONES. And speaking of digital comics. Kelly Thompson and Mattia de Lulis will release a digital JJ book, coming soon.
CAPCOM WOLVERINE. When Wolverine "returns" from the dead in September, he's going to have claws that heat up, inspired by the video game Marvel vs. Capcom.
LODGER. The creators of the Eisner Award-winning Stray Bullets series, David and Maria Lapham, will issue a new series from IDW Comics about a woman hunting a serial killer who murdered her mother.
MARVEL ANIMATION. It makes sense: This new season of animated shorts between episodes of Spider-Man and Avengers will be joined by Black Panther's Quest, which will feature Tiger Shark (isn't Wakanda landlocked?), Killmonger, and White Wolf, with a vocal appearance by Stan Lee. Other animated characters will include Kamala "Ms. Marvel" Kahn, Gwen Stacy's Ghost-Spider, Anya "Spider-Girl" Corazon and Falcon. Coming in September to Disney XD.
SNOWPIERCER. I had high hopes for this TNT adaptation of the terrific 2013 movie adaptation of a comic book about a future world where the Earth is so cold that people have to live on a train that constantly moves in a giant circular track. The director of the pilot, Scott Derrickson, has a solid pedigree (most recently the Doctor Strange movie), and he had said that the script was the best he'd ever read. However, Derrickson recently quit the project and the writer, Josh Friedman, was removed from it, all due to conflict with the new show runner. Too bad. I was really looking forward to this.
FIREFLY. And in a reverse adaptation, BOOM! Studios will be publishing in September a prequel comic about the cult classic TV show by Joss Whedon. The creative team will be Greg Pak and Dan McDaid.
DCU COMING THIS FALL. DC Comics' "premium" streaming service will debut in September with season one of the live action "Titans" show. 'Smatter? Couldn't Warner Bros get you on a platform people actually watch? Seriously, though, the increased fragmentation of the pay-to-view market is getting ridiculous, and the people who will be hurt the most are working class fans.
THE BOYS. Yeah, it's going to series on Amazon. Jack Quaid is playing Wee Hughie and Karl Urban is team leader Butcher. I hope to hell this isn't a sanitized version. And I'm optimistic, as it is being produced by the same team who unflinchingly adapted Preacher.
LOCKE AND KEY. I loved this comic, which is why I keep writing about the struggle to get a series to production. It looks like Netflix finally locked it down, and we'll see a 10-episode adaptation of the IDW comic, created by Joe "Stephen King's son" Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.
CREEPSHOW. A new series will stream via the on-demand "Shudder" channel (owned by AMC), and will be created by the director and exec producer of AMC's The Walking Dead.
CLOAK AND DAGGER. The freeform series has been renewed for a season 2, and it will feature the ex-cop vigilante antihero Mayhem.
BLOODSHOT. Are you reading the Valiant Bloodshot comics? No? Well, you're stupid. They're really cool. And the Bloodshot movie, starring Vin Diesel (questionable choice), has staked out February 21, 2020, as its opening date.
TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES. The feature film based on the rebooted Cartoon Network kids' cartoon will feature a cameo by none other than Stan Lee himself.
OLD GUARD. Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández's creator-owned comic is going to film, with Gina "Silver and Black" (the Spider-Man movie about Sable and Black Cat) Prince-Bythewood attached as director for a 2019 release.
BATMAN YEAR ONE. Supposedly, Matt "Cloverfield" Reeves solo Batman movie will be based on the Frank Miller/David Mazzucchelli miniseries that is, unquestionably, one of the best and most influential batcomics of all time. Sure, DC. Now you can ruin it for me.


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Atalanta has Italian Cup and Champions League to play for
MILAN (AP) — For one club, winning the Italian Cup would salvage a disappointing season. For the other, it's not even the top priority.
Fourth-place Atalanta plays Lazio in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday at Stadio Olimpico, giving the competition a new champion after four years of Juventus domination.
Atalanta has won the competition only once, back in 1963, and has only reached the final on two other occasions — in 1987 and 1996. However, the team from the small northern city of Bergamo has other ambitions, like qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in its history.
"Personally I want both to qualify for the Champions League and the cup," Atalanta defender Gianluca Mancini said. "I can't and I won't choose."
Atalanta has played in the Europa League for the past two years, but this season they lost in the playoff round on penalties. The club's only other appearances in European competitions came in the UEFA Cup (1989-90 and 1990-91) and the Cup Winners' Cup (1963-64 and 1987-88).
For coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the choice between winning the Italian Cup and qualifying for Europe's premier club competition is a no-brainer.
"I've said it before, I would choose a place in the Champions League," Gasperini said. "Trophies aren't just cups in a display case, for Atalanta playing for that cup (the Champions League) would be really important.
"So I've always said Champions League, but lifting a trophy is not something that happens every day."
Atalanta beat Juventus 3-0 in the quarterfinals, ending the defending champion's hopes of a fifth straight league and cup double. It then beat Fiorentina 6-4 on aggregate in the semifinals.
The first match against Fiorentina kicked off an ongoing 11-match unbeaten streak, which has lifted Atalanta up to fourth place in Serie A and the final Champions League qualifying berth.
Atalanta has a three-point advantage over AC Milan and Roma with two matches remaining.
Lazio is seven points behind and its Champions League hopes ended two weeks ago with a loss to Atalanta — its second of the season.
Lazio has won the Italian Cup six times. Five of those victories have come in the past 21 years, making it the most successful club in the competition over that time.
The Rome club has also lost in three finals, including twice to Juventus in the previous four editions.
Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi was in charge for the 2017 loss. Both he and Gasperini have never won the Italian Cup as a coach, although Inzaghi won it as a player with Lazio three times.
"We fear Lazio, which has a lot of quality and so much choice up front," Mancini said. "But I think Lazio also fears us, so the final will be a 50-50 match."
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

subset: commoncrawl


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Hi there, i am back again and I have a fun new layout to share. I have a thing for layered paper pieces and so I decided to go with a wonky and messy square today. The colors in the Field Notes Collection are awesome, I am scrapping a picture from my hubby today, but I grabbed the soft pinks and yellows. I really don´t mind to scrap my boy photos with girly stuff.
I started this Layout with a gessoed sheet of the Foundation paper, Stencils, Iridescent Glaze and the Art Crayons. I guess you already know that these little Crayons are my favorite things to play with… did you know that you can mix them with the different glazes?
With that said, I scribbled some of the black Art Crayon on a piece of plastic and added Iridescent Glaze to it. Then I used the pallet knife to mix them together. You´ll get a beautiful shade of grey with a lot of shimmer in it. Just beautiful!
I grabbed three different Stencils, from the new Release, and started to add the Iridescent grey on the Paper. I used my pallet knife for it. I started with some circles in one corner, some hearts and some flowers were added too. I let enough space between the shapes because I knew I wanted to color the foundation paper around them too.
Once everything was dry I grabbed some more Art Crayons and some flowers from the Icon pack as my color guide. So I started to mix the Art Crayons together until I was happy with the shades I created.
I added a lot of water around the dried glaze and started to bring the Art Crayons pigment into it. I added a few layers of the colors, because I wanted to have a messy watercolor look. You´ll get that look/effect when you let each layer dry completely. I played with the water and the Art Crayons… until I was totally happy.
Then I went ahead and used a square paper as a template. I cut the paper I created in wonky triangles and added some of the patterned papers from the 12×12 Paper pad too. I really love how this turned out, and yes, they are wonky and not straight, but that was exactly the look I wanted. I also added four layers of tissue paper to each of the triangles and stitched them together.
Once I was done with the stitching part I started to look to other embellishments I wanted to use. I grabbed some flowers, butterflies and stickers. But I also stamped some leaves on some matching patterned papers. Fussy cut them out and added them to the mix of elements. I really love this tone on tone thing. You can never go wrong with that.
I laid everything on another sheet of the foundation paper and after I was totally sure about the placement I started to glue the things down. I used some 3D dots for more dimension and I also ruffled up the edges from the messy triangles and flowers/leaves; just because I love the look of it.
I stapled some last chipboard stickers on the photo and placed my title on top of everything. I love how the black word pops off the page.
I hope you enjoyed this little how to and I hope even more that you´ll will get creative today too!
There is a process video up on my YouTube channel as well, have fun watching it.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a great day
Foundation Paper
Iridescent Glaze
Art Crayons – Warm and Neutral Set
Field Notes
Stencils {Flutter} & {Ink Spill}
Icons {Ephemera}
One of a Kind {black word stickers}
Foil Phrases Chipboard Stickers
12×12 Paper Pad


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Measure D (Commercial Fishing Zone)
Measure D was passed by the citizens of Morro Bay in 1981, creating a Commercial Fishing Zone on Tidelands property along the Embarcadero north of Beach Street. The intent of the measure was that any new development on the Tidelands between Beach Street and Target Rock be primarily to serve licensed commercial fishing or non-commercial recreational fishing activities. Because the zoning change was done through a ballot measure, the only way to change that particular zoning section is through the ballot process.
The Planning Commission's August 16, 2016, agenda included a discussion of Measure D for the purpose of defining the language in the measure. I reached out to the Morro Bay Planning Commission, the Harbor Advisory Board and the Commercial Fishermen's Organization before the meeting to make clear that I support a working group that includes commercial and recreational fishing representatives. This is particularly important because the meeting was scheduled to take place while our fishermen were at sea fishing.
I want to ensure that potential differences or misunderstandings are avoided and that conclusions are reached that are acceptable to everyone. Collaboration is the key to success.
The text of Measure D in full is –
"The City shall not grant any permit, authorization or other approval of any state owned tidelands subject to city lease between Beach Street and Target Rock, unless such development or use is primarily for the purpose of serving or facilitating licensed commercial fishing activities or noncommercial recreational fishing activities, or is clearly incidental thereto. For purposes of illustration only, and not by way of limitation, no approval shall be granted for any new passenger-for-hire boats or supporting facilities, or for any new restaurant, café, gift shop or other retail establishments serving the general public, and any existing such uses shall hereafter be considered nonconforming and shall not be expanded or enlarged."
Police Services
My thoughts on Morro Bay Police services.
- First – Mr Buckingham is doing his job as City Manager by presenting options to the Council. See his email below. Whatever Council decides he will carry out.
- Second – The whole point of being a city is that we are self-governing and independent. We provide services to our residents and visitors.
- Third – We owe it to our police officers to make a decision sooner than later.
- Fourth – Our community needs to have a full and engaged discussion about what services our residents want and what we are willing to pay for.
We have had that discussion. Our community has been in an uproar since the Tribune and KSBY covered the story. I have heard overwhelming support for keeping our police department.
Here is a quote from a letter I received from a friend –
"The police are an integral part of the City of Morro Bay. Having a police department, fire department, and harbor department is what solidifies the unity of our town. These are local men and women who love where they live; therefore, they take care of our community as if it is their own also."
My conclusion – We should not proceed with a study of Management Partners' recommendation. We need to keep our Police Department, our Fire Department and our Harbor Department in house. Stop the discussion right now and let's move on to more productive issues.
Email memo from Dave Buckingham to Council –
Thought I'd send a few notes reference the item agendized Tuesday reference PD and SO.
Writing this so it is suitable for you to forward to folks as desired.
In 2015 the City commissioned a Financial and Organization Study of the city to review Morro Bay's organization, management processes, financial procedures and fiscal situation. That study, completed in May 2015 by "Management Partners", a professional, external consulting firm specializing in municipal management studies, delivered 65 separate recommendations for the City to consider.
One of those recommendations, #29, was to: "Obtain formal proposals from the San Luis Obispo County sheriff on the cost of providing law enforcement service to the City based on two or three service levels. If this option is realistic, prepare to educate the public that service levels will change." In Nov 2015 the City Council determined to wait until 2017 to formally consider this recommendation.
With the recent departure of the City's Police Commander, and pending departure of the Police Chief, the City Council determined to consider whether to consider this question in 2016 instead of waiting until 2017.
Guidance given to staff was to bring an agenda item on this subject to the City Council, likely to be heard on Aug 9, 2016. This item would be to ask this question: "Should the City of Morro Bay conduct research into the question of obtaining a proposal from the SLO County Sheriff Office to provide law enforcement services in the City."
In agendizing this discussion, the City has some general parameters for the future discussion. Some of those include:
– Do not consider seeking proposals for multiple service levels, but limit the question to only one level of service.
– The level of service to be considered must be equal to, or better than, the level of service currently provided by the excellent Morro Bay PD.
– No reduction in number of sworn patrol officers on shift will be considered.
– No reduction in response time will be considered.
– Law Enforcement services for Morro Bay must be based from the current Morro Bay Police Department.
– The Sheriff Office must, by contract, be committed to sustaining a "Morro Bay" police force. That is, officers will generally be assigned to Morro Bay on a semi-permeant basis, perhaps 2-5 years, or more, to be determined.
– The "Morro Bay" unit of the Sheriff will look as feel, as much is as possible, to be a Morro Bay unit including driving Morro Bay police vehicles and having other Morro Bay specific insignia.
– Any future contract should have a set term and include provisions for an orderly end of contract services and return to an internal Police Department should the City determine to cancel the contract.
In order to provide the Council adequate information to make a decision, City staff will conduct limited, very broad coordination discussions with the Sheriff's office. This process will be only to gather initial info to help the Council determine whether or not to investigate this question fully in 2016.
Should the Council determine to investigate this question more fully in the months ahead, Council and Staff will ensure a robust public process to gather input from residents, businesses and other stakeholders, including the Morro Bay Police Officers Association, Police Volunteers, Explorers, etc.
Council will likely consider this question at their Aug 9 meeting. The item on Aug 9 will also include a defined timeline to make a decision, should the Council determine to investigate the question at all.
Dave Buckingham
Water Reclamation Facility
Our first priority is to build a state of the art facility at the lowest possible cost to the citizens of Morro Bay. We must also reclaim and reuse the water that we presently flush out to sea.
It is also important to try to enter into agreement with Cayucos to share a regional facility that will meet the needs of both communities at least cost to our citizens. That depends upon the citizens of Cayucos to be willing to work with us.
I understand the objections that people have who will live near our new WRF. Objections to odor and appearance are valid. We need to take every possible action to prevent loss of property value and quality of life.
We also need to take every possible action to keep the cost down. Our citizens will pay for the new facility with every monthly water bill. Our responsibility to them is to keep the cost down as much as possible.
We have an opportunity here to take a giant step toward developing a sustainable water source – by reclaiming and reusing a million gallons a day that we currently lose. That requires a high level of treatment and that raises the cost of the facility. That cost will, however, be offset by decreased dependence on outside water sources – State water and expensive desalination operations.
My priorities for the new WRF plant are:
- Least cost to the taxpayers
- Sustainable drinking water source
- Least possible impacts of objectionable odor and appearance
Self Help Sales Tax
Our transportation system is in distress. We're not going to get any money from the state or federal government to help us. They do not have the will to help us
We need to be pragmatic. We can rail against a legislature that won't repay money that it borrowed from the Highway Trust fund. We can blame Congress for not coming to grips with our huge infrastructure needs.
But the fact is that we are not getting money for transportation improvements. Sacramento and Washington are dysfunctional.
A healthy transportation system is essential to economic development. Our only source of money for projects that will deal with our transportation problems is ourselves.
This is an opportunity to declare our independence from state and federal impotence.
A nine-year plan to collect ½ cent sales tax will provide a stable financing platform. This will make it possible to make long range plans for transportation improvements.
Morro Bay has budgeted $587,000 this year for street repairs. That is Measure Q money, our City's ½ cent sales tax. The County-wide Self Help Sales Tax initiative will double that amount, an additional $620,000 per year for nine years. Morro Bay has committed to spend the entire $620,000 plus the $587,000 Measure Q money for "Local street reconstruction, rehabilitation and repair."
In addition to street repairs, SLOCOG will allocate additional sales tax revenue to pay for the Morro Bay-Cayucos bike and pedestrian path and will fund a project to improve the traffic flow at the Main Street and Highway 41 intersection. These are promises that are part of the initiative language and cannot be changed.
The average household in Morro Bay earns $55,393 per year and pays $875 per year in sales tax. Proposition 30, a one-quarter cent statewide sales tax approved in 2012, sunsets at the end of this year. That means that Measure J adds only 1/4 cent to what we pay today, and half of that is paid by visitors. In Morro Bay, that means each household would pay $14 more per year in sales tax than at present.
In return, we get $620,000 per year in street repairs, a new intersection at Hwy 41/Main Street and a new walking and biking path from Morro Bay to Cayucos.
So the question that Morro Bay voters have to ask themselves is whether they are willing to pay $14 more per year per
household for nine years to double our street repair budget, build a new paved bike/ped path from here to Cayucos and fix the Main Street/Highway 41 intersection.
I am going to vote for the initiative and I hope that you will too.
Measure J Facts
Will generate $5.6 million for Morro Bay, about $620,000 per year, dedicated to "Local street reconstruction, rehabilitation and repair."
Will fund construction of Hwy 1/41/Main Street intersection improvement in Morro Bay
Will fund the Morro Bay-Cayucos Connector for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Adds one-quarter cent sales tax to what we pay now.
Generates $25 million new dollars per year to fix SLO County streets, roads and highway improvements, half of which would be paid for by visitors to our county.
Can only be used for local projects and transportation priorities.
Must be added to current City transportation budgets – may not be used to supplant funds to be diverted back to the General Fund.
Prohibits Sacramento from taking possession of these locally generated funds
Allows SLO County to compete for State and Federal grants and leverage funds, thereby increasing revenues.
Delivers a Transportation Investment Plan with a list of projects and programs that have the force of law.
Includes an Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee to ensure projects and programs in the Plan are actually funded and/or completed.
Measure will sunset in nine years.
10 percent of the funds go to regional bicycle and pedestrian projects.
Bike SLO County and Robert "Red" Davis endorse Measure J.
The Yes on Measure J Campaign's website is up and accepting donations: http://yesonj-slo.org/facts/
Our Homeless
Morro Bay does not have overnight housing facilities to support our homeless population and that is probably something that is beyond our ability to pay for.
Good government takes care of those who cannot care for themselves. Not all of our homeless population requires care.
I see several different elements in our homeless society:
- Some have lost their homes because of economic pressures. They continue to work and struggle to live as well as they can.
- All they need is a hand to help them regain their status and pride. This is an opportunity for our community to help them through Resource Connection.
- Another assistance is SLO County's Home Sharing program.
- Some enjoy the transient lifestyle and want to live unfettered by social conventions.
- They turn aside offers to help because they feel that they do not need help.
- They do need to be monitored and cultivated so that they do not engage in antisocial activities.
- Some are addicted to drugs or alcohol and do not have the ability to cope with their addiction.
- If they want to quit their addiction, we can put them into programs that will help them.
- If they are not willing to seek help, we cannot help them.
- If they engage in criminal actions, they need to be dealt with. Police presence is necessary to control their actions and protect the rest of the community.
- Some are mentally impaired.
- They need to be cared for in suitable institutions by people who know how to take care of them.
Homelessness is not a crime. Every citizen has the right to be anywhere that the law allows. Anti-social actions, however, are not okay.
If transient people obey the law and do not threaten public health or safety, we accept their presence. If, however, you ever feel threatened or fearful of someone's actions, you should call for help immediately. All of our police officers know every one of our homeless people and they know how to talk to them and how to deal with them.
Affordable Housing
Living on the California coast is never going to be cheap. There is never going to be enough coastal land to meet the demand for it, and that is what drives prices up.
Another thing that drives up prices is permitting fees. Anyone who builds a house pays tens of thousands of dollars in fees. Those fees are supposed to cover the cost of additional infrastructure that new housing brings to the community.
I don't know how you get around those fees. They reimburse the city for the cost of expanding water and sewer lines, sidewalks, street maintenance, and there is no other source of funds to pay for those costs.
We should look at intelligent infill of our existing lots within city limits – the Cloisters development is an excellent example of providing open space between clusters of housing; allowing residential units to be built in commercial zones as second story homes above ground-level businesses; requiring builders to set aside a reasonable number of low-income affordable housing; restricting the number of short-term vacation rentals to make more houses available for long-term rentals.
We need to keep in mind that Measure F, voted by Morro Bay residents in 1984, caps the city's population at no more than 12,200 residents. This cap can be exceeded only by popular vote, another initiative measure.
Home sharing is a program that the City is investigating under the guidance of Anne Wyatt, Program Coordinator of HomeShareSLO. The premise is that a person living alone might have space for another person to move in and share living arrangements. This can work to the benefit of both parties.
We are not the only city struggling to make housing affordable to the workforce that wants to live here. I would like to have staff and Council actively look for innovative and creative ways that other cities are pursuing to make housing as affordable as we can do it.
Improving Our Business Climate
I believe that we have room to improve the relationship between City government and the business community.
Here are comments from Morro Bay business owners:
- If you want to change something you face the monster.
- City looks at business as the golden goose for fees and fines.
- Business friendly = partner who helps to overcome roadblocks, but MB does not do that.
- Compliance officers are adversarial rather than helpful.
- Staff does not look at the big picture or understand specific business requirements.
- Council and staff do not listen to industry recommendations.
- Not consistent with enforcement.
- Lack of respect towards businesses and owners for what we do individually and as a group for the entire community.
City Council develops a list of goals each year for Staff to work to accomplish. We need to prioritize a new goal for our City Manager:
- Work with the business community to improve the City's business climate
- Become a partner who helps to overcome roadblocks
- Listen to industry recommendations
- Respect business owners for what they do for the community
- Develop a fast-track business-permitting process
- Develop a simple and equitable sign ordinance
- Simplify the Master Fee Schedule for business operations
- Train compliance inspectors to be helpful rather than adversarial
- Work with and respond to Chamber, TBID and Merchant Association recommendations with an attitude to improve operations and relationships
I have also asked the Chamber of Commerce to develop expertise and act as an ombudsman to help businesses negotiate the City permitting process.
Retention and care of our existing businesses is vital to our city's survival. It is all very good to court new development, but first we should take care of what we already have.
The Business Walk statistics show a clear correlation between short-term leases and declining business success. Can the City encourage landlords to give long-term leases?
The City gets a sizable amount of its revenue, 15% of total income, from sales tax. We need to promote businesses and development projects that increase sales tax revenue.
We have some unique assets in Morro Bay that can be expanded to promote business opportunities:
- Miles of clean beaches
- Picturesque waterfront properties
- Maritime industries both commercial and recreational
- World class golf course
- Natural history museum
- Two state parks
- National estuary program
We have projects in the pipeline that will provide business opportunities
- Citywide broadband
- Community pool at the high school
- MBHS performing arts center
- Embarcadero aquarium
- Marine haulout facility on the Embarcadero
- Maritime Museum
- Power plant development
- Development of the corridor along Morro Bay Blvd from Centennial Parkway to Main Street
- Wastewater treatment plant property development
- Tri-W property has potential for a small commercial development plus hundreds of acres of open space for recreational purposes
All of these potential developments need to be coordinated through the General Plan update process to provide best possible outcomes for housing, transportation and commercial opportunities.
Some key things that we need to develop to help our business community:
- User-friendly comprehensible sign ordinance
- Updated general plan and zoning ordinance
- Skilled employee training – work with Cuesta College to identify needs and training opportunities
- Affordable housing for head of household job opportunities
These are all things that I will work for as a member of City Council.
Code Enforcement
Our current Municipal Code is more than twenty years old. It was written by people who no longer work in City government. It needs to be updated to meet the needs of our citizens in today's world.
When we seek to regulate activities, the first thing we should consider is:
Is there harm being done?
Certainly the City has a responsibility to regulate issues related to public health and safety. Regulating aesthetics, though, is a slippery slope.
We are a seaside community. Lots of people here own boats and park them at their homes. The same is true with RVs. Is there harm being done? Or is it an aesthetics issue?
What about surfboards? Kayaks sitting in the driveway? Wetsuits hanging out to dry?
Are these an eyesore or are they signs of a healthy and active lifestyle, something that we promote in MB. One person's eyesore is another person's lifestyle.
In the end we need to have a code that both serves our needs and reflects our values.
By all means protect health and safety, but in all other areas, consider also the needs and lifestyles of our citizens.
Open Space and Growth
First, we need to keep in mind that Measure F,
voted by Morro Bay residents in 1984, caps the city's population at no more
than 12,200 residents. This number can be exceeded only by popular vote,
another initiative measure to modify the limitation.
Morro Bay is surrounded by open space – water to the west, State Parks to the south and southeast, Tri-W
agricultural land to our north and east and Chevron property north and
northeast of us.
Tri-W– 396 acres, is constricted by Measure H to remain open space except for 13 commercially zoned acres adjacent to
Highway 1 and Morro Bay Boulevard.
Ten acres or so on the eastern side of the Tri-W property will probably be annexed into the City to build a Water Reclamation Facility. This site is out of sight of the highway. The property owner has asked the City to annex the entire 396 acres.
Chevron property – 3,300 acres
• Chevron has 3,300 acres divided into 41 parcels that are sold, on the market, or soon will be on the market.
• The company has floated an idea that Morro Bay might annex some of the property that abuts our current boundary.
• The company wants to discuss possibilities for conserving part of the property.
• Chevron has communicated with several conservation groups, including Morro Bay Open Space Alliance, the Cayucos Land Conservancy, the Land Conservancy of SLO, and the Trust for Public Lands, as well as officials in SLO County (Bruce Gibson, County Parks) and MB City (Jamie Irons, Noah Smukler, and Scot Graham).
• Chevron will work through GPAC to engage with Morro Bay.
• The Cayucos CSD has already made an offer on two large parcels for their wastewater treatment plant.
• A third lot north of Toro Creek, on the east end of the property, was also sold.
Parcels adjacent to the City are ripe for annexation or sphere of influence designation. (It should be noted that three parcels are already within our City boundary –
· West side of Hwy 1 from North Point to Toro Creek;
· East side of Hwy 1 from Chevron driveway to Toro Creek;
· Ten acres between Main Street and Del Mar Park.)
During the August, 2016, GPAC meeting, I led a consensus to include the entire Chevron property within Morro Bay's Planning Area. This is less than sphere of influence and much less than annexation. It provides notice that the City is interested in the property and wants to influence its future development, perhaps moving up to sphere of influence designation or annexation.
Chevron and GPAC members are willing to entertain consideration of the entire Chevron property south of Toro Creek as open space, with trails, campgrounds and recreational opportunities.
We also have three potential development possibilities within city limits.
- Morro Bay Power Plant
- Existing Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Chevron property in North Morro Bay between Main Street and Del Mar Park
We do not know what the future holds for these properties.
We do not own the MBPP property. Whoever owns the property in the future will propose development that must be approved by the City and the Coastal Commission and will be subject to General Plan requirements.
Cayucos Sanitary District owns part of the WWTP property. We will have to negotiate with them to take ownership and then ask the community how we want that property to be developed, in accordance with our General Plan.
Chevron wants to divest the ten acres in North Morro Bay. Whoever takes ownership may have to deal with hazardous material abatement. It is currently zoned R-3, multifamily residential, up to 20 units per acre – which could be condominiums, townhouse or apartments. The General Plan update will address zoning that takes into consideration community wishes.
Whenever we do develop new housing, we have to look at intelligent infill. The Cloisters development is an excellent example of providing open space between clusters of housing – open space that provides green space, recreation and wildlife support.
Just keep in mind that however we develop future housing units in our city, we are capped at a maximum population of 12,200. That is the will of the people and the rule of law and we respect that.
If you agree with me, I would be grateful for your vote on November 8th!
Tell me your Top 3 issues for Morro Bay
Instead of accepting monetary contributions for my campaign,
I would rather ask for your endorsement. If you want to add your good name to my campaign, select the button below.


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CAEB announces dance contest for May 15
April 29, 2015
An earlier version of this story falsely reported that the end-of-the-year banquet will be held on May 5. In fact, it will be held on May 15.
The Associated Student Body Clubs and Events Board announced a dance competition that will take place at the end-of-the-year banquet that they will be throwing on May 15.
The banquet will include a dance competition, and the winner will win $100 for their club.
At least two participants from the club must participate to be eligible to win the cash prize. If the club's adviser participates in the contest, the winner's reward will increase by $50.
LeslieAnn Dameron, CAEB director of activities, outlined the competition.
"You can choreograph a dance with any style, but dirty dancing will be subjected to middle school rules, and you will be booted off the floor.
"We are not looking for talent, we're looking for effort. I would like to remind everyone that moving is not dancing, dancing is grooving."
Public Information Officer Scott Crow and Student Personnel Assistant Frankie Johnson will be guest speaking at the event.
Club participants need to reserve a spot to attend the event.
The event will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The board voted to give two incentive points to clubs for every member who volunteers to help out to clean the closet in the board meeting room that they share with the Associated Student Body Student Senate.
Tamara Dunning, who is acting as ASB Student Senate president, said that she would like for CAEB to contact Senate before going through with cleaning out the closet.
"Honestly, what we done in the past, it is sometimes hard to get members on our sister board to actually come out and clean," said CAEB President Jeremy Diefenbacher.
Diefenbacher said that CAEB will need to vote on the item within the meeting before presenting it to the Senate.
Joseph Daniels is news editor and is currently on his second semester writing for the Current. He is a journalism major, and is currently working on his...


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For its annual "Art of Illinois" show at Gallery Seven, in the historic Gaylord Building of Lockport, the gallery is seeking visual artists over 18 years of age, living in Illinois, to exhibit their work.
Exhibit dates are Oct. 2 to Oct. 31. A reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 5.
The Art of Illinois 2019," a juried fine art show, is accepting submissions of 2D and 3D work until Aug. 15. All media except film/video are welcome. Notifications of acceptance will be sent the week of Aug. 28.
For the prospectus, visit galleryseven.net .


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My best friend suggested this book for me, and I read it because of her. But let me tell you, that's not the reason I enjoyed it. I will keep beating myself up for not reading the author's name on this book (or rather, not paying attention to it), otherwise I would never have put it off. Gail Carson Levine is on my auto-buy list. She is one of the few on there, since I don't generally take an author into account when I read a book. Okay, that's a lie, I do take them into account, but not enough to just buy it if it has their name on it, except for the few on my auto-buy list. Gail Carson Levine is the author of Ella Enchanted and Fairest, two of my favorite books. I am thrilled to be officially reviewing one of her books on my blog. So here we go!
Brave and adventurous, Princess Meryl dreams of fighting dragons and protecting the kingdom of Bamarre. Shy and fearful, Princess Addie is content to stay within the safety of the castle walls. The one thing that the sisters share is their unwavering love for each other.The tables are turned, however, when the Grey Death leaves Meryl fatally ill. To save her sister, meek Princess Addie must find the courage to set out on a dangerous quest filled with dragons, unknown magic, and death itself. Time is running out, and the sisters' lives—and the future of the kingdom of Bamarre—hang in the balance.


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Staff member
PCARS Coordinator
Premium Member
- Sep 11, 2016
- 13,137
- 9,211
Dear fellow AOR drivers,
AOR Project CARS 2 RX Lites
AOR Project CARS 2 RX Lites
As we await the final GT3 rounds in season 11, and whilst most of us are eagerly waiting to decorate our Christmas trees! or hunting for those last minute Christmas presents!, we wanted to do something special and unique during the coming festive period. We've came up with something that has never been tried in AOR before...racing in the snow!!
This short 4 round event will see us travel back in time (6 months) to Bathurst Mount Panorama, and then travel back to the present date to race at Snetterton, Silverstone and finally, Bannocbrea Road Circuit.
A typical race will consists of a 20 minutes practice session, 10 minutes qualification and 30 minutes race.
Sign-ups are open right now and the first round will be on Thursday 27th of December 2018, with the last race in the new year on Wednesday 16th of January 2019.
We hope you all have a great holiday and we would love to see you racing with us in this brand new snow championship. Do you have what it takes to emulate the great Tommi Makinen and win the prestigious title of "AOR Project CARS Snow Champion 2019" !?
Your AOR Project CARS 2 Team
Important links below!
> League Rules
> League Information
> Race Calendar
Sign-up links:
> PC Sign-up Thread
> PS4 Sign-up Thread
> XB1 Sign-up Thread
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Since the fall of 2003 "D. and D. catering" has provided food services to the Anglo-American School of Moscow.
In the North Cafeteria we serve breakfast, lunch and snacks to middle and high school students, teachers and parents.
We serve lunch in the South Cafeteria to elementary school students. and take lunches for Pre-K to their classrooms.
Our team features 10 cooks, 12 service staff, 4 cleaners and 3 managers.
Grades Pre-K to 5 students are provided a weekly menu with four meal choices.
A Hot Meat Dish with garnish
B Hot Vegetarian Dish with garnish
C Meat Sandwich (or Salad)
D Vegetarian Sandwich (or Salad)
Choices of drinks and dessert, as well as fresh veggies, are included in each meal.
How much is a meal? The price for a meal is 150 rubles.
How do I pay? Cafeteria services for ES students are available in a prepayment mode only. .
Where do I find the menus? Weekly menus are available on the school website.
Please click "Lunch Menus" under the Quick Link section of the homepage. www.aas.ru
The North Cafeteria is open from 07:30 to 18:00 on school days.
We serve breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages throughout the school day.
Weekly menus are posted on the AAS website.
How much is a meal? Each item is sold individually. Price examples: Drinks 30-50 rub, Sandwich 75rub,
Pizza slice 50 rubles, Hot lunch (90-120 rub), Soup 40 rub, Pastry 35 rub, Fresh juice 50 rub.
How do I pay? You can either pay cash in Rublers or join the "Prepayment Plan" and put money on your badge.
The badge is then scanned at the cashier and your account debited for the purchase.
…are always welcome in the cafeteria! However, if you decide to have lunch during the rush hours (11:30 to 12:30), you might be asked to sit in the Faculty Dining Room as our students are filling the canteen to the top!
Please note, as a further benefit to the AAS Community, the Cafeteria offers catering services for your private event, baked goods for your birthday parties, take-home pizzas for those 'don't-want-to-cook' nights, pre-ordered Thanksgiving dinners, and lots more!
Please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com, or find Mr Kari Badibanga in the cafeteria.


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The 'Payroll Raffle' is an opportunity for The One Point team to show their support for The One Point Foundation, in return for the opportunity to win fantastic monthly prizes, with even bigger prizes given on a quarterly basis.
April's top prize winner is Marketing Executive, Ruby Keable, who was presented with a certificate for 'A Weekend Away for 2'.
Our second place winner is our Helpdesk Manager, David Thompson, who has won a bottle of Prosecco.
Congratulations both!🎉
Call us today for a free audit of your IT, telecoms, mobile and digital needs – our team can't wait to help make life easier for you – call 01482 420150


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Honda NSX Mugen RR
Well what do we have here then. Looks like a bloody fast reincarnation of the late Ayrton Senna's daily drive.And Clarkson's favourite car in Gran Turismo. Based on the legendary NSX we see it have a V10 5.0 litre, that is not a BMW.
So its white, has heaps of interesting aerodynamic things, and it is made of alot of carbon fibre. Pretty much the GT series car. With indicators. Hopefully it is shoved full of new and clever stuff that makes it even more awesome than the 1989 first edition.
Now you can see the smallest it of engine in the back, and no one really, well in the normal world, knows what it is. Some say a 2.4, some say a 3.2, both V6's. Worldfancars.com reckons its the 5.0 V10, and I think that is a much better idea. VTEC of course, and none of that i-VTEC hippy shit. The original only weighed 1.3 tonnes, so lots of carbon fibre and this would be pretty light – and a V10 would be mean. Probably isnt though.
The back has the classic NSX light array, a masive spoiler and exaust pipes in the centre, whhc is you know, so race car. Whilst I think this is great (7.8/10) it could be better. It could, say for instance, be the NEW NSX THAT THE HONDA ACCOUNTANTS SAYS COSTS TOO MUCH MONEY. For fucks sake, so stoopid America has caused us to lose iconic cars that were in production. I dont give a toss if you invade countries, make up ways around international torture laws, keep 300 people on a shitty island for no reason and teach intelligent design (???) , but now you have stopped new cars. YOU SUCK. Oh and Honda can have a piece of rage for being soft.


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A golden moment for Tahoe's Olympic history
Tahoe Daily Tribune
TAHOMA – The early-morning snow Friday in Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine State Park was rock hard, like it was at the 1960 VIII Winter Olympic Games.
Impervious to conventional grooming methods of the era, the icy snow was broken up by a newly invented Tucker Tiller pulled by a snowcat to prepare trails between Tahoma and Homewood for the Nordic skiing and biathlon competitions.
"The Soviets thought it was some kind of American trick to make sure the U.S. won," said David Antonucci, the man behind the restoration of the winter trails.
Antonucci discovered an Olympic trail behind his house on a summer day in the late 1990s.
"I knew it was not a road and it was not logging skid trail," he recalled. "So I started asking questions."
On a brisk morning more than a decade later, Antonucci was among the speakers at an opening ceremony marking the golden anniversary of Lake Tahoe's Olympics.
"I have a great feeling of accomplishment and fullfillment," Antonucci said.
John Pang was one of 11 torchbearers who carried the flame from the state park up State Route 89 to Squaw Valley, the site of all but the Nordic competitions 50 years ago.
Perhaps it was mere coincidence that the Meeks Bay fire chief would be the first to handle the torch. He arrived early to practice running on the icy park pathway.
"I hope I don't fall down," said Pang, who did in fact stay on his feet for the first mile leg of the relay.
The official photographer from the 1960 games, Bill Briner, feigned embarrassment when he noticed he was holding a tiny digital camera as he spoke to a crowd of about 70 West Shore community members, history buffs and state employees. "I use a different camera now," he said.
Briner recalled how competitors in the biathlon, a combination of cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship, would wait for the steadiest of moments – between heartbeats – to squeeze the trigger.
Historian and ski writer Robert Frohlich, one of the torchbearers, said it was hard to imagine now "what a sleepy little community it was" when Tahoe was awarded the games in the early 1950s.
Development in Squaw Valley began soon after it received the bid. When Olympic organizers arrived, they were miffed to discover the area slated for the Nordic events had been built upon.
Although some Europeans complained the Tahoma site was too high in elevation and too far from the Olympic Village, the new area proved to have superior terrain because of its hills.
The Ehrman estate donated 1,975 acres to the California State Park System in 1965 with the condition all existing structures would be removed. So there is no evidence on the trails of the Olympic stadium or timing huts. However, there are historical interpretive signs along the way, and on Friday a nearly 20-foot tall replica of the Tower of Nations created by Walt Disney for the Games was placed at the trailhead.
A quarter the size of the tower at the entrance of Squaw Valley, the sculpture has flag insignias of the 30 nations who competed in eighth Winter Olympics. Many more countries will represented at next month's XIX Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C.
"If there were more countries in 1960 I definitely would not have been able to build it in our garage," joked Joe Erman, who made the tower with his father, John.
The Ermans, no relation to the original land-owning Ehrmans, donated their labor.
"I am starting welding company and this was my first big project," Joe Erman said. "My dad clamped and held and I cut and welded every single piece on this. I hadn't done math since (attending North Tahoe) high school. I'm happy I had a good math teacher because I remembered a lot of the equations."
The torch run opened 10 days of Olympic Heritage Celebration events at Squaw Valley and Sugar Pine State Park.
The course's first sanctioned race in 50 years will be Friday, Jan. 15, for a high school and middle school cross country meet. A day later "Citizens Against the Clock" will give people the chance to be timed and scored in a biathlon. For safety, the new-age guns will fire lasers. The snow, however, likely will remain, as Tahoeans have said for 50 years, bulletproof.
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The original standard could still work, with 2 changes. Add "maintaining an inside relative humidity between 45-60 percent" to the air quality section, and convert the Btu/square foot per year measurement to kwh/square foot per year (to address air conditioning/dehumidification load) in addition to heating load.
Now if only this standard would catch on with architects, builders and code enforcement officials - as well as the US Department of Energy. Of course it's only been about 40 years and these things take time... What gets me is all the "opportunity costs" - all the millions of homes that have been built in 40 years that will still be around for 60 or more years - all with poor performance unless (expensively) retrofitted. So much easier (and less costly) to do it well initially.
The Evolution of Passive House in North America
In 2002, Katrin Klingenberg introduced the passivhaus program to North America when she built the Smith House in Urbana, Illinois. She had come to the US from Germany, where she studied architecture and got involved with passivhaus. But is this really where it all began?
Of course it's not. The Passivhaus program, promulgated by the Passivhaus Institut in Germany, formalized the requirements but was building on earlier work, much of it from North America. Even the term "passive house" has American origins.
Here are three of the early superinsulated houses in North America:
- Illinois Lo-Cal House, 1976. Lo-Cal here is short for low calorie, as in low energy. That's a sketch of it above and a vertical wall section below. Notice the double-stud walls and triple pane windows. This was the beginning of superinsulated houses.
- Saskatchewan Conservation House, 1977. Another superinsulated house, this one with R-40 walls, R-60 roof, triple pane windows, and extremely airtight.
- Leger House, 1977. And a third, this one in Massachusetts.
But were they "passive houses"?
William Shurcliff was a Harvard physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project in World War II, helped stop supersonic passenger planes in the 1960s, and took a big interest in passive solar and superinsulated building in the 1970s and '80s.
In 1979, he put out a press release praising the characteristics and benefits of superinsulated houses. He described the thick insulation ("Not just thick, but clever and thorough"), the airtightness, the lack of a need for thermal mass and large, south-facing windows, and the ease of controlling temperature and humidity.
He concluded his press release with this:
"What name should be given to this new system? Superinsulated passive? Super-save passive? Mini-need passive? Micro-load passive? I lean toward 'micro-load passive.' Whatever it is called, it has (I predict) a big future."
Martin Holladay resurfaced this piece of superinsulation/passive house history in his 2009 article, Forgotten Pioneers of Energy Efficiency on Green Building Advisor and republished nearly the entire piece. Go to his article to read that and more on this topic.
The evolution of passive house
Shurcliff's preferred term, micro-load passive, didn't catch on, but the passive part did. Those "forgotten pioneers" also pushed another piece of the passive house concept. They understood that airtightness and energy efficiency were important. That meant quantifying the goals, setting limits for annual and peak loads.
Dr. Wolfgang Feist, a German physicist, and Dr. Bo Adamson from Sweden took those early ideas and created the Passivhaus program. In their program, certification required hitting an annual load at or below 4.75 thousand BTU per square foot per year or a peak load of 3.17 thousand BTU per hour per square foot. They also have to achieve an airtightness of 0.6 ACH50 or less and a primary energy of 38 thousand BTU per square foot per year.
That's what Klingenberg learned in Germany and brought with her to the US. Those numbers worked great in Germany but not so well in all parts of the US. There were problems with the insulation required in really cold climates like Minnesota and with cooling and dehumidification in places like Kentucky and Louisiana.
So the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS), of which I'm a board member, developed new climate-specific passive house standards. Instead of one set of numbers for every place in the world, we have numbers that came out of a lot of work by Building Science Corporation and others on what numbers are supported by the science for different climates in North America. PHIUS also has a rigorous quality assurance program called PHIUS+ Rater, using HERS raters to verify homes going for certification.
The split between PHIUS and PHI
Unfortunately, relations between PHIUS and PHI came to an end a few years ago. I wasn't involved at the time and don't know all the details, but now there are two separate groups promoting passive house in North America. The North American Passive House Network (NAPHN) was created after the split between PHIUS and PHI. They promote the German standard. Passive House Institute US now has gone its own way, with a variation of the German standard.
Both groups have their own conferences. I attended the NAPHN conference in New York City a couple of weeks ago. It was well attended (about 500 or so) and had a good trade show. I got to see some old friends and meet some IRL for the first time. (Hello, Terry!) There were also quite a few people there whom I know from PHIUS conferences.
In September, PHIUS will host its 10th anniversary North American Passive House Conference. It's in Philadelphia, and I'll be giving a presentation there on a topic that's gotten me in trouble once already this year. The title is The Global Warming Impact of Insulation Revisited. Joe Lstiburek will be there again, of course, as will Marc Rosenbaum and a bunch of other smart people. (And if you register by 18 July, you can be there, too, and get the early bird rate.)
What's next?
There you have it. Forty years of evolution of the passive house concept in North America, including a trip across the pond and back. Where it goes from here remains to be seen. There's some confusion in the marketplace because of having two groups and two different certification paths. (I'll write more about that in a future article.) Naturally, since I'm on the PHIUS board, I have a bias. I think anyone going for passive certification on a project should go through PHIUS's climate specific standards and PHIUS+ quality assurance.
A lot of others do, too, because PHIUS has more than a million square feet of buildings certified and pre-certified. When you add the projects that have been submitted but aren't yet pre-certified, that number jumps to about 2.5 million square feet. The big driver isn't single family detached homes, though. It's big multifamily projects.
Come to the 10th anniversary North American Passive House Conference in Philly to learn more about passive house. Will I see you there?
Related Articles
On the Edge: The North American Passive House Conference
Passive House — The Only Place Where Real Innovation Is Happening?
Dr. Joe Lstiburek Surprises Passive House Conference Attendees
Outside Resources
Forgotten Pioneers of Energy Efficiency, by Martin Holladay (GBA)
The History of Superinsulated Houses in North America, by Martin Holladay (GBA)
Passive House Institute US (PHIUS)
North American Passive House Network
NOTE: Comments are moderated. Your comment will not appear below until approved.
The original standard could still work, with 2 changes. Add "maintaining an inside relative humidity between 45-60 percent" to the air quality section, and convert the Btu/square foot per year measurement to kwh/square foot per year (to address air conditioning/dehumidification load) in addition to heating load.
David, Why 45-60 on RH? ASHRAE 55 calls for 30 - 50. My home has been fairly constant the last 4 weeks at 40% +/- 2 with 75% RH Ambient. CZ 4 Mixed Humid and an ERV. Most folks are dialed in on the above 50% being a problem
I think part of the 40 year history is that the Passive Concept has be a niche market. Either highly motivated or DIY types. The activity in the multi-family area is a big boost. It will get exposure and those living in those apartments will not want much else when they buy a home.
John, ASHRAE 55 is mostly concerned with human comfort, not necessarily human health. A RH of 30-50 gives a high range of temperatures where humans are comfortable doing a high range of activities.
Human health, especially due to respiratory issues, seems to be best at around 50% RH.
Do you have a citation for the Healthy connection with around 50%?
John - Krigger/Dorsi recommend less than 60% to preclude mold issues; several studies on what a minimum RH should be to preclude dry sinuses; Robert Bean's site says that humans can tolerate a fairly wide range of RH depending on temperature. I just picked 45%-60% interior RH as a workable range. FWIW - one of the assumptions in the Passive House design parameters that is not easy to dig out is what the interior temps are supposed to be (lots of talk about energy use, emissions, and cost but not interior temps or assumed comfort). Found some data in a slide presentation talking to the North American climate diversity and needed changes to the PH standard: 68 degrees for Winter and 77 degrees for Summer - but I'm not sure if this is truly a set design factor in the software or just a working recommendation. Would like to hear more from folks with experience in PH design as to planned interior temp and RH ranges.
Hi David,
The design metrics for Passive House that you most frequently hear about are quantification of the energy performance and air-tightness necessary for achieving Passive House Certification.
However, the central design criteria for a Passive House is comfort. Everything revolves around that. So the beautiful thing about the Passive House design standard is that you won't be making draconian sacrifices in comfort to achieve the predicted energy savings. You'll also find that excellent indoor air quality is another important criteria that the standard adheres to. These are considered"soft criteria" as they are not enumerated specifically but taken into account in the modeling software and are achieved when a compliant design is achieved.
Ultimately, the temperature settings are up to the occupant and therefore, to a degree, so is the energy savings. But if you want to achieve the precise level of energy performance predicted by the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP - the energy modeling software for International Passive House design) those are the settings. 77 degrees F may seem a bit high in the context of standard construction here in the US, but with lower indoor humidity levels, it is very comfortable. This is especially true when the radiant temperature from the surrounding surfaces are within 7.2 degrees from each other as they are in a passive house.
Because of the airtight construction, indoor relative humidity is controlled in the winter by the fresh air ventilation system. The design standard seeks to achieve less than 1000 ppm of CO2 and 30% to 40% min. RH in the winter.
Summer humidity levels are often controlled with air conditioning. In areas with mixed climates and higher levels of humidity like here in Philadelphia, a dehumidifier is often required in the shoulder seasons and milder summer rainy days to maintain a comfortable level of RH. This is because AC is needed only a few months out of the year.
The optimal range of RH is 35% to 55%. As with temperature, it is the occupant that ultimately controls the RH.
Kent - agree with all that you have said (I have extended family in Philly and live about 2 hrs West). My point was that there is no design criteria for those things deemed "comfort" (e.g., indoor air temps, indoor RH) but implementing solutions (as you described) will drive up energy use and reduce the apparent energy savings. So you could have a Passive House and still be uncomfortable unless you implement other countermeasures, that may drive energy use past the Passive House requirements. PS - in our area of the MidAtlantic I'm seeing more and more need for dehumidification PRIOR to AC - not just during shoulder months. Been following Matt Risinger's Ultra-Aire/Therma-Stor blog info.


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Personalization is an important aspect for delivering the customer experience your target audience demands, and it's only going to get more important as the bar for customer experiences rises every day. As Forrester Research's Brendan Witcher mentioned at our webinar last week, nearly nine in 10 digital professionals are making personalization a priority in their investments moving forward—a clear sign that businesses see a lot of value in personalization.
However, many still struggle with how to meaningfully utilize personalization to drive better experiences and interactions. When you consider that 61% of customers say they are unlikely to return to a site that does not provide a satisfactory experience, poor personalization can lead to many missed opportunities.
Why Many Businesses Aren't Getting the Most from Personalization
So, why do so many companies have issues personalizing the customer experience? It comes down to two major obstacles.
First, many businesses lose track of the customer value as they integrate personalization. They take simple steps, such as sending birthday messages or adding the customer's name to communications, and call it a day. These are nice gestures but ultimately don't provide any real value to customers. And in some instances, poor personalization may even creep customers out.
Second, data tends to be a mess, which makes it difficult to deliver meaningful personalization. It's not unusual to see businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on personalization tools, but their data is in such a horrible spot that it derails all of their efforts. Data gets trapped between different departments and external partners, which means brands don't have a full 360-degree view of their customers.
Five Steps for Getting Your Personalization Efforts Online
Despite these challenges, it's pivotal that enterprises are making full use of personalization to drive better customer experiences. Of course, this is much easier said than done. However, if you're looking to get started, here are five steps from Brendan that could offer you some guidance.
For more insight on using personalization to craft great customer experiences and how Sitefinity can help along the way, be sure to check out the webinar recording.
After spending 10+ years in the digital marketing industry in various different roles, Chris re-joined Progress because he saw how Progress Easyl could solve problems he experienced throughout his career. With a passion for technology and marketing, Chris leverages experience of 8 years at Microsoft, various start-up and mid-sized companies to focus on bringing fantastic products to market. In his spare time, Chris cheers for his hometown Saints and spends time chasing around his young son.
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Florida Lawmakers Move to Block Obama Health Care Mandate
Echoing contentious debate over the weekend as Congress approved a sweeping overhaul of the national health care system, a panel of Florida lawmakers approved a proposed resolution to block the requirement that people buy health insurance beginning in 2014.
And hours after the U.S. House approved the measure, which had been debated for the better part of a year and sought by national Democrats for generations, Florida Attorney General and likely Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill McCollum said he would push forward with a promised attempt to get the mandate thrown out in court before it can ever take hold.
After lengthy debate Monday that could have fit in with the hours of rancor in Congress as the health care measure neared approval, the House Health Care Regulation Committee voted 10-3 to approve the resolution (HJR 37), sponsored by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood.
As their counterparts in Washington did, Republicans on the panel painted the forthcoming expansion of health care as an affront to basic American freedoms. Democrats countered by echoing the arguments made in Congress for passing the bill, comparing the requirement that insurance be purchased to requirements for drivers' insurance.
They added that even if the resolution was approved by the Legislature and voters, it would be trumped by the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says that federal law trumps state law.
However, Plakon said that was a risk worth taking because "medical freedom" should be on the level of other freedoms ensconced in the Constitution's Bill of Rights.
"We believe that an individual mandate that forces Floridians to buy insurance, whether on a federal basis like the one Washington passed last night or a state basis like the failed Massachusetts experiment is wrong for Floridians," he told the panel as he implored them to support the resolution. "They are anti-freedom, anti-liberty and very likely unconstitutional. This will be the first time in American history that Americans will be forced to buy a product from a privately-held company for profit."
Citing the U.S. Constitution's Tenth Amendment, which leaves matters not dealt with by Congress to states, Plakon argued that the federal health care bill was a violation of states' rights.
But Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, countered that health care was a "federal issue" and was long overdue.
"Every society has realized - it seems but ours - that health of our fellow citizens is extremely important," she said "The fifty states have tried for the decades we have been in a health care crisis and they have not done that. We get deeper and deeper and deeper into the hole."
The Democratically-aligned AFL-CIO labor union agreed with Vasilinda, praising the Congressional health care bill and accusing the Republican-dominated panel of playing politics by pushing the resolution against it.
"The half million workers, retirees and families we represent woke up this morning ecstatic that something was finally done to reform our health care system," Florida AFL-CIO lobbyist Rich Templin told the panel "What happened last night was finally, people in this state will know in just a few days that they can't lose their coverage because they get sick."
But Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, responded by asking Templin "is Washington or is the AFL-CIO going to help us pay" for extending health care coverage in the state.
Separately, McCollum said Monday that he would join counterparts in nine states - South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alabama – in suing the federal government over the insurance requirement as soon as President Barack Obama signs the measure into law, expected to occur as early as Tuesday morning.
"What this amounts to is a tax on living," McCollum said on a conference call with reporters. "It is therefore unconstitutional."
McCollum said the mandate would cost the state more than $1.6 billion in higher Medicaid costs.
"There is no way we can provide what is in this bill and still pay for education and other programs," McCollum said.
1 Responses »
What I still havent understand about the Government plan is this part about pre-existing conditions... Is there any stuff in the bill about if there is a cap on what insurance companies can impose if you have a pre-existing illness?


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We wandered down the streets of Kampot in Cambodia on our first morning there, it was a Tuesday and the town was off to a slow start, we were on the hunt for breakfast. We'd heard incredible food was in abundance in Kampot, so we were looking forward to sampling everything it had to offer. A sign for Sister's II – All Day Breakfast Shop and Bakery and a cabinet packed full of homemade baked goods and we were immediately lured inside. A quick flick through the menu and we knew we had stumbled across a good one. Double chocolate-chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs and two banana smoothies later and the place was already calling us back, the service and food were too good to ignore. A mid-afternoon return for a slice of their heavenly lemon meringue pie and ice-cream, and we got a lot more than just a delicious pastry.
As we sat there indulging ourselves, Pheakdey sat at another table, busily sorting out her books. My simple question of "How did you learn to cook like this?!", got her chatting for an hour, and we learnt all about this amazing woman, her family, and her life.Pheakdey is Vietnamese born, however was abandoned at a young age, being raised by her grandfather. At the age of 12, her next door neighbour approached her and told her that she'd found her mother – she was in Cambodia and she could take her there to be reunited. Pheakdey was being worked extremely hard by her grandfather so jumped at the chance to escape her childhood in Vietnam, and go on the search for her mother who had left her all those years ago. Her arrival in Cambodia wasn't what she had been promised – her next door neighbour had taken her in the hope of 'selling' her to make money off her, something that was common during the years following the Khmer Rouge. Pheakdey learnt of her fate and within 24-hours it was changed. She was in a motorcycle accident – she collided with a tuk tuk and her right leg was severely injured to the point that it needed to be amputated, deeming her useless to her neighbour, who immediately fled.
Pheakdey explains that most of the accident is a blur, but she remembers waking up in hospital to the news that they were unable to repair her leg. News that didn't worry her – she tells us she had seen crabs leg grow back and didn't know humans didn't work the same way. It was 1993, and the UN had intervened to assist with recovery from the Khmer Rouge, they fitted Pheakdey with a prosthetic leg below the knee and she was moved to an orphanage run by Americans, without the ability to speak any Khmer or English. This is where Pheakdey learnt to bake, learnt two new languages and began her life. She agrees it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
At 19, Pheakdey left the orphanage she had grown up in, to work at another orphanage, Asia's Hope, washing clothes and cleaning. A few years later, she met and married her husband, and moved to Kampot. They now have two children, Mary who's 10 and their adopted son Moses, who came into their lives at just ten days old, and is now five. She's making sure they learn English and Chinese in addition to their native language of Khmer, because she believes it's important to their future.
Pheakdey's husband is now the manager of Heritage House, a small orphanage in Kampot with 14 children, a number which has decreased only because children have become adults, and have left to get married or study or work in the capital, Phnom Penh. She speaks of it with pride in her eyes, she understands how lucky she was to have been saved by the UN at the age of 12 and tells us she just wants to help children that are in the same situation she was. Pheakdey explains to us that many parents dump their children out the front of the orphanage overnight, in the hope of getting them a solid education and a brighter future. She tells us her husband has to spend hours going around town, trying to decipher whether the children are true orphans. Pheakdey is devoted to only helping children that are true orphans like herself, as she knows she can't help everyone, and she doesn't want children to be separated from their parents.
Sister's II was born in 2009. Pheakdey opened on a street that runs off the river but sits a few blocks back, and tells us everyone thought she was crazy – why wouldn't she get a riverfront block?! Other than the fact that the riverfront properties were out of her price range, she had faith in her food and could see the potential in the area, and it doesn't seem like it's damaged her business at all. She still has a steady stream of customers, and definitely has a loyal customer base, even if it's just for a few days while they're visiting. She cooks everything she learnt from 'the Americans' while she was growing up in the orphanage – which is why the majority of her menu consists of Western food, often with a Vietnamese or Khmer twist. Pheakdey tell us of Sister's I in Phnom Penh, run by one of the women she grew up with in the orphanage, who's as close to her as a sister would be. A devoted Christian family, Sister's II doesn't open on Sundays, and although Pheakdey's husband first told her that Christianity was a 'white person's religion', he is now a Pastor, preaching every week at their church.
Pheakdey finishes our conversation with, "We're small, not big, but happy.". Her smile and spirit tell it all.
The Essential Cambodia Travel Guide
7 Reasons You Must Visit Kampot
Meet a Local: Sakphear
10 Quick Tips for Eating Like a Local in Southeast Asia
21 Things You'll Miss When You Leave Southeast Asia


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All orders are sent in packages that contain an address label which includes a bar code for scanning. Depending on what product you order, it may be shipped from any number of origination points, including the U.S., the EU and Canada.
Important to know about tracking
When tracking information isn't being updated by postal authorities as it should be, we understand your frustration in not knowing where your order is. Sometimes weather is a factor, and sometimes packages just aren't scanned into the carrier's system at intermediary stops, so it looks like nothing is happening. Other times, it's just the carrier running behind or performing additional transit safety measures in our post-9/11 world.
It is not uncommon for the U.S. Post Office, for example, to skip package scans when they're running behind, in order to allow them to move packages quicker than otherwise would be the case, since additional scanning also means more processing time.
Please note: We mail ALL packages worldwide via First Class mail, and this mail category does not have guaranteed delivery dates — only an expected delivery date. This is true of ALL sellers, unless they offer Express (overnight) service, and we have found that 99.99% of our customers do not desire this service.
First-Class International
We ship worldwide, and charge FAR LESS than online retailers like Amazon! This is an important savings to you. However, all First Class International shipments are the same because they can take extra time to clear Customs in the country of origin as well as clear Customs in the destination country (where you live). When a package is delayed, it almost always turns out to be the fault of a Customs office being slow. And there can occasionally be delays in a package getting sorted through your local postal carrier.
With regard to packages being sent from the U.S., you will ordinarily see an "acceptance" scan (which, in our experience, sometimes is slow to appear on the USPS website, giving the false impression that the package hasn't even been dropped off yet at the post office, even though it has). Then usually there is at least one more scan at a regional sort facility -- (eg., Miami, FL; Itasca or Chicago, IL) -- and then the trail grows cold. There often is no updated scan information available, so you (and we) will not know exactly where your package is. Occasionally, however, there ARE updates showing that a package has arrived in some other country on its way to you. In either case, often you will already have received your package before the online postal systems even update with delivery confirmation.
We wish the worldwide postal systems would be more efficient than that, but unfortunately they are not. So the bottom line is: Don't be too concerned if tracking information seems to show that your package is in limbo and not moving. Please realize that international orders can take as few as five days to reach their destination after we mail them, but we also have had it happen that (especially in the case of Australia), that it can take six weeks. It is highly variable. Typical delivery time for international orders is about three weeks.
Please DO NOT CALL US about your order, since it takes too much time on the phone to investigate your order. If you still have a question about the status of your order, please email us instead so we can make inquiries and get back to you. Feel free to email us at: email@example.com
We strive to render the best possible service and as a result, have MANY repeat customers worldwide. Thank you for visiting the Good Music Store online!


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Instructional Coach Weekly Update
Week of May 2-6
Strategy Spotlight
Five Levels of Student Engagement:
It should not surprise anyone to know that one of the most consistent findings in educational research demonstrates that the more times students spend engaged during instruction, the more they learn (Gettinger & Ball, 2007). Some researchers even identify differing levels of engagement. Schlechty (2002) defines five levels of student engagement:
- Authentic Engagement—students are immersed in work that has clear meaning and immediate value to them (reading a book on a topic of personal interest)
- Ritual Compliance—the work has little or no immediate meaning to students, but there are extrinsic outcomes of value that keep them engaged (earning grades necessary for college acceptance)
- Passive Compliance—students see little or no meaning in the assigned work but expend effort merely to avoid negative consequences (not having to stay in during recess to complete work)
- Retreatism—students are disengaged from assigned work and make no attempt to comply, but are not disruptive to the learning of others
- Rebellion—students refuse to do the assigned task, act disruptive, and attempt to substitute alternative activities
What kinds of engagement are you students showing you today? We as teachers have a lot of control in setting students up for success in our classrooms when it comes to engagement. What are you doing to address engagement issues in your classroom?
This Week
- Grade level and special ed. team planning meetings
- Assisting with data team meetings on Wednesday
- Modeling math lessons in 3rd grade
- Work on IRA writing
- Observe interventions
- Modeling writing lessons in 3rd grade
- Modeling writing lessons in special ed
- Helping 5th grade classes make PBIS videos
- Summer School meeting
- ELA curriculum, materials, and alignment work with primary
- Assisting with Benchmark Screening issues and testing
Next Week
Monday - All day PRESS training at GWAEA
Tuesday - All day PRESS training at GWAEA
Wednesday - All day summer school curriculum planning meeting at the primary
Thursday - All day LCI training at GWAEA
Friday - AM - summer school curriculum planning meeting at the primary, and PM IC meeting
More information will be shared in next week's SMORE about each of these days. PLEASE feel free to email or call/text (319.430.8150) if anything comes up!
Benchmark Testing Reminders
YOU DO NEED TO PROGRESS MONITOR THIS WEEK (in addition to benchmark testing)
1. Test in a quiet space (not hallways if at all possible)
2. Go over testing procedures with your whole class first
- Remind them they will read 3 selections
- Only the middle score counts so low and high scores are thrown out
- Make sure all students get a chance to review their graphs are are clear on the goal score
- Remind them that speed reading often slows students down (because they mess up and re-read a lot)
- Remind them they should only worry about doing their BEST reading
- Remind them to bring their glasses and/or reading guide (IF they usually use one)
- Having students use a reading guild that don't usually use one will slow them down
- Tell the students that you have to read the directions straight from a script and that might sound weird
3. Use Chrome if at all possible (if that's not working then you can try other internet browsers)
4. Restart your computer the morning of your testing - making sure all updates are done
5. Make sure volume is turned up and have a mouse available if you need one
6. Make sure you've talked to the SPECIAL ED TEACHER to confirm who will be giving the benchmark screening - homeroom or sp. ed. teacher
7. Let me know if you are running into any issues as soon as they happen (text or email me!)


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… Eat all the gravy. Stab all the people.
I'm so bored with it. I miss food. I just enjoy eating too much. Savory comfort foods. Spicy ethnic dishes in rich creams. Sweet tea and butter biscuits. I've traded all that I love for carrot sticks and cardboard seasoned with a side of sawdust.
I've just never eaten like this before – solely for the sake of avoiding starvation and scurvy. I've taken something I enjoy and turned it into a tedious, loveless chore. I suppose this is how couples who are trying to conceive feel about sex after awhile. Blah.
And let's talk about serving sizes. I learned a hard lesson last weekend when I decided to reward my myself for a week well done with a frozen pizza. I use "reward" loosely. The pizza was some whole grain abomination that tasted only slightly better than the box it came in. Crazy me, I thought one small pizza = one serving. Only when I went to enter the meal into my food diary did I realize a single serving was only 1/3 of a pizza.
The pizza was my only failure in the past seven days. And again, I really do feel fantastic and have more energy. But I am so utterly miserable mourning the loss of food.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, I gained two pounds.


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when are we going to be able to watch all the channels
when are we going to be able to watch all the channels that were paying for on the fly??? i noticed when i disconnect from my wifi i loose half of my channels unlike with satellite!!!
RAIST5150 Posts: 645 ✭✭✭✭Until those broadcasters change their agreements to allow you to watch them off your home network.
It isn't a Spectrum restriction, but each particular broadcaster's stipulation. So if you want to access a particular channel's content "on the road", you need to give them feedback about it.1
jasondean Posts: 58
Unfortunately RAIST5150 is correct. The logic that allows you to use the broadcaster's app rather than consoiidating all of them for a seamless experience is that they likely want you captive to their app. Local broadcasters also want to make sure you're geo-locked and only able to watch local stations rather than your home networks. The issue that Spectrum faces is that they don't provide service in every DMA. If I'm in Philadelphia and want to watch ABC even though my service is in NYC, they can't provide me 6abc (WPVI) and they are contractually obligated to blackout WABC. ABC may provide you access to WPVI even though you can't receive it at home but the trade off is you must use their app.
I'm sure technically they could make it happen with a lot of work but they both likely feel it isn't worth the hassle.
Cable only stations? I'm guessing they want you using their app so they can sell you Over The Top (OTT) services. (Example: ESPN+, Disney+)0


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Mark Guthrie gets the craic on St. Patricks Day
They say everyone is a little bit Irish on St Patrick's Day. T'be sure, t'be sure. Gosh n' begorrah. Bejaysus. Yes, everyone's a wee bit Irish on St Patrick's Day, aren't they?
Well, NAGMAG's not. It's true, not even a little bit. Never on a March 17th have we had a desire for The Black Stuff, felt the need to carry a shillelagh, kissed a blarney stone, had difficulties pronouncing our 'th's, had someone come after our lucky charms, felt reverential to the pope or put on an orange t-shirt and marched down a street just to really piss off the neighbors. No, we're British through and through. We were born in Britain, our parents are British, their parents are British and their parents before them, all British…well, apart from the one from Cork, but that's neither here nor there as far as we're concerned. If we aren't eligible to play for the national football team, then that's that.
But not everyone feels the same. On March 17th suddenly all sorts of people are proudly claiming Irish ancestry, no matter how dubious the evidence. 'My great-great-great uncle came from Ireland,' they to-be-sure. 'I once saw Riverdance on TV in an Irish pub,' they bejaysus. 'My mother drank Guinness all through her pregnancy,' they t'irty-t'ree-and-a-t'ird. And here in Nagoya, all sorts of folk, people who couldn't differentiate between the Emerald Isle and Iceland, will be getting a touch of the Leprechauns.
The first place they'll be feeling it is at the Osu Kannon St Patrick's Day Festival from lunchtime on Saturday the 16th. Oh, yes, even here, some six-thousand miles from where the pipes, the pipes are calling, there's a parade. Of course it wouldn't be Paddy's day without a parade and, well, it's not like the Japanese to turn down an excuse to get quadraspazzed and pass out in the streets.
Speaking of which. As you God fearin' folk know, St Patrick's Day falls slap bang in the middle of Lent. Lent is of course a time when, as a form of penitence, many give up the things they love most. And what do the Irish like more than anything in the world? Yes, that's right: The Drink. Now surely St Patrick didn't think this through. Now, were someone to offer NAGMAG a day to celebrate our life, we'd put in some serious consideration as to what's going on at the time. Are there other events going on that may take the shine from our celebrations? Is there a football tournament? Is it a public holiday? Or, most importantly, is it during a period when most of our followers are abstaining from their preferential celebratory outlet?
"So, St Patrick, on which day would you like the Irish to celebrate your life?"
"Well Lord, any day is good for me, to be sure."
"C'mon Patrick, pick a day will you?"
"Oh, I don't know Lord, to pick a day at random, what about March 17th?"
"Are you sure Paddy?"
"Aye, one date is as good as any, bejaysus…"
But St Patrick was a crafty bugger. Upon realizing his mistake, he decreed that on his day, Lent didn't matter anymore. As a gift to the gods of novelty shamrock hats, for one day and one day only, you could forget your penitence, you could abstain from abstention. As such, as an oasis in the barren desert of Lent, St Patrick's Day became a day of drinking abandon in Ireland. Much like any other day ending in a 'y'.
Unfortunately, you won't find The Black Stuff in any conbini (unless you've stumbled across the deliciously Japanese Ebisu Black), so you'll have to rely on Asahi, chu-hi and the finest whiskey Suntory can offer to get the old legs dancing a jig, but whether in glorious sunshine or weather wetter than the gents' bog in a Galway pub, Nagoya's very own Irish community will guarantee a good time for all.
Following the parade, with faces painted and full to the gills on whiskey, you can head to any one of the many Irish bars around town. You can go to Coopers on Sakura-dori, where you can drown yourself in their legendary six-pint glass of Guinness, and just round the corner, Peat Irish Tavern (behind the Meieki Hub) will be having special offers in addition to a special St Patrick's day Jameson's.
Despite the fact that Ireland split from the Commonwealth in 1949, the newest Commonwealth pub, Coat of Arms, will have the musical stylings of local Irish troubadour Brian Cullen as well as many a food and drink offer.
Like any good American sports bar, Shooters in Fushimi also lays claim to Irish background, having probably once shown a Notre Dame game or perhaps having a picture of Larry Bird on their wall or something. As such, and just like every year, they will be full to the rafters of fun loving faux-Paddies guzzling pints of porter, green lager, and the infamous Irish Car Bomb, a heady, fast-curdling mix of whiskey, Baileys and Guinness.
Even Nagoya's British pubs, OXO and Hub, will be putting aside the historical differences of The Troubles, and offer discounts on Guinness at twenty and ten percent respectively.
But wherever you choose to go, you can be assured that the diddly-dee music will be aplenty, and the booze will flow steadily until the following day, St Hangover's Day, raises its head. At that time many a person unused to The Black Stuff will awake with two important questions on their mind: 'What the hell happened last night? And why is my feces the colour and consistency of tarmac?' Both of those questions can be answered in two words. The Drink.


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The Sonoma County Library is offering a variety of events and curating displays and resources to celebrate Black History Month in 2019. We pay tribute by celebrating and learning about the generations of African Americans who have influenced and enriched our nation and society.
Since 1976, the month of February has been designated Black History Month, or National African American History Month, and is a time to recognize, celebrate, and honor the rich and diverse history of African Americans.
The month-long celebration includes programs and events for children and families, teens and adults. The library will feature the following:
"Who am I?" challenge
Come test your knowledge and learn something new. Our Black History Month Challenge will be available the month of Feb. in the Children's Room.
Central Library - Santa Rosa
Petaluma Regional Library
Rincon Valley Regional Library
Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library
African American Folktales with Kirk Waller
Join master storyteller Kirk Waller as he performs stories and songs that explore African and African American culture and history. For children ages 5 and up.
Cloverdale Regional Library, Fri., Feb. 8 at 11 a.m.
Guerneville Regional Library, Sat., Feb. 9 at 11 a.m.
Northwest Regional Library (Santa Rosa), Sat., Feb. 9 at 2 p.m.
Sebastopol Regional Library, Sat., Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.
Windsor Regional Library, Sat., Feb. 23 at 4 p.m.
Black History Short Film Series for kids
A film viewing and discussion to celebrate Black History Month. For ages 5 and up.
Healdsburg Regional Library, Fri., Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.
Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library, Wed., Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
Cloverdale Regional Library, Thurs., Feb. 21 at 4 p.m.
Library Movie Matinee: Black Panther
Celebrate powerful black culture through a Marvel superhero movie.
Petaluma Regional Library, Sat., March 2 at 3 p.m.
Black History Month Film Series & Discussion: I Am Not Your Negro
"I Am Not You Negro" is a film based on an unfinished manuscript by author James Baldwin. View and discuss the film with Laura Ainsworth, Communication Studies Instructor at the Santa Rosa Junior College Communication Studies Department.
Guerneville Regional Library, Wed., Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
Central Santa Rosa Library, Sat., Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.
Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library, Wed., Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
Black History Month Film Series: I Am Not Your Negro
An up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using James Baldwin's original words and flood of rich archival material.
Windsor Regional Library, Sat., Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.
Roseland Community Library, Wed., Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Petaluma Regional Library, Mon., Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
Healdsburg Regional Library, Wed., Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
Understanding the Civil Rights Movement
Join us for an episode of Eyes on the Prize and a discussion led by Michael Ezra, Professor, American Multicultural Studies at Sonoma State University and Editor, Journal of Civil and Human Rights.
Rincon Valley Library, Wed., Feb. 20 at 6 p.m.
Sonoma Valley Regional Library, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
All events are free and open to all.