text:
DiCostanzo, Benedetto and Edkins Scrap Metal Corporation - Ruling, May 21, 2003
Ruling, May 21, 2003
In the Matter of
the Alleged Violations of Article 17 of
the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and
Article 12 of the New York State Navigation Law by
Benedetto DiCostanzo and
Edkins Scrap Metal Corporation,
Ruling on Motion for
Order Without Hearing
DEC Case # R2-20020924-299
This Ruling addresses a motion for Order Without Hearing brought by the Staff of the Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC Staff"). The ALJ rules to deny DEC Staff's motion with respect to Respondent Benedetto DiCostanzo because DEC Staff has failed to demonstrate its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law and has not shown that Mr. DiCostanzo, individually, is liable for the violations alleged. With respect to Respondent Edkins Scrap Metal Corporation ("ESMC"), the ALJ rules DEC Staff is entitled to summary judgment, as a matter of law on the issue of liability and finds ESMC committed 722 violations: 361 in violations of a duty imposed by Article 12 of the Navigation Law ("NL"); and 361 violations of a duty imposed by Article 17 of the Environmental Conservation Law ("ECL"). Specifically, ESMC failed to comply with the terms of a Stipulation between it and DEC Staff (attached as Appendix A). Finally, the ALJ will immediately hold a hearing on the appropriate civil penalty amount.
ESMC operates an active auto scrap yard at 2265 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York (the "site"). Benedetto DiCostanzo is the President of the Corporation. According to the Respondents, the site has been used as an auto scrap yard for fifty years or more. The site is adjacent to the Kill Van Kull waterway.
A discharge of petroleum occurred at the site on or about November 28, 2000 (DEC Spill No. 0009768). This discharge was observed by Mr. Steven Sangesland, a member of DEC Staff, on November 28, 2000 and December 1, 2000 when he inspected the site. Following these inspections, the Respondent ESMC and DEC Staff negotiated a Stipulation. Mr. DiCostanzo signed the Stipulation on March 1, 2001, as President of ESMC.
On March 20, 2001, Mr. Sangesland of DEC Staff again inspected the site and observed that the discharge had not been cleaned up, that several large pools of oil remained on the surface and a constant stream of petroleum continued to leach from the site into the Kill Van Kull.
On August 20, 2001, DEC Staff signed the Stipulation and it then became effective. By its express terms, the Stipulation is equivalent to an order pursuant to ECL §17-0303 and a directive pursuant to NL §176. Under the terms of the Stipulation, DEC Staff and the Respondent ESMC agreed that no monetary penalty would be imposed. Rather, the Respondent ESMC would clean up and remove the discharge according to a schedule included in a Corrective Action Plan, which was attached to the Stipulation. Specifically, the Corrective Action Plan required the Respondent ESMC to submit to DEC Staff for approval an Investigation Plan detailing the scope of work proposed to investigate the nature and extent of the contamination within 45 days from the effective date of the Stipulation. Such Investigation Plan was due October 5, 2001. As of the date of DEC Staff's motion, the Respondents had not submitted an Investigation Plan.
Within 30 days of DEC Staff's approval of the Investigation Plan, the Respondent ESMC was required to complete the work described in the Investigation Plan and submit a report to DEC Staff. Within 30 days of the completion of the investigation, the Respondent ESMC was required to submit a Remediation Plan to DEC Staff detailing the work proposed to remediate the contamination caused by the spill. Within 30 days of receipt of DEC Staff's approval of the Remediation Plan, the Respondent ESMC was to implement such Plan.
Proceedings and the Positions of the Parties
The instant enforcement matter was commenced by DEC Staff by the filing of a Complaint and a Notice of Motion for an Order Without Hearing dated October 1, 2002. In the Complaint, DEC Staff alleges that the Respondents failed to comply with the Stipulation because the Respondents have failed to timely submit an Investigative Plan. DEC Staff seeks a Commissioner's Order finding the Respondents in violation of the Stipulation and consequently in violation of a duty imposed by Article 17 of the ECL and a duty imposed by Article 12 of the Navigation Law. DEC Staff seeks a Commissioner's Order levying a penalty of $4,512,500, and directing the Respondents to remediate the site according to a plan approved by DEC Staff.
In addition to the allegations in the complaint regarding the violations of the Stipulation, DEC Staff alleges that in March 2001, DEC Staff observed open buckets of petroleum at the site, large pools of petroleum on the ground and a constant stream of petroleum leaching from the site and into the Kill Van Kull. DEC Staff does not indicate that any visits to the site have been made since the Stipulation became effective. Since both causes of action in the complaint involve the violation of the Stipulation and the failure on the part of Respondents to produce an investigative plan, it is difficult to understand the relevance of the observations made March 2001 to the instant motion because these allegations predate the effective date of the Stipulation.
By papers dated October 18, 2002, the Respondents opposed DEC Staff's motion and submitted an Answer. In their Answer, the Respondents include a blanket denial to all assertions in the Complaint, except an admission that Respondent ESMC occupies the site and that Respondent DiCostanzo is its President. The Respondents assert that a dispute of material fact exists in this case regarding liability (but do not assert what this dispute is) and seek a ruling denying DEC Staff's motion.
The Respondents do not contend that they have provided the Investigative Plan that was required to be produced by October 5, 2001 as a condition of the Stipulation. However, the Respondents do contend that they have taken unspecified "corrective ameliorative action" and have commenced an unspecified "procedure for the investigation and correction of the property." Respondents maintain that no petroleum spill occurred at the site, that they have invested substantial sums to investigate and correct leakage from equipment, and that the Kill Van Kull is very polluted. However, the Respondents do not allege that they have ever submitted an Investigative Plan to DEC Staff for approval.
DEC's uniform enforcement hearing procedures (Part 622 of Title 6 of the New York Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations (6 NYCRR)) provide that a contested motion for order without hearing will be granted if the cause of action or defense is established sufficiently to warrant granting summary judgment under the CPLR in favor of any party (6 NYCRR 622.12(d)). Section 3212 of the CPLR authorizes the granting of a motion for summary judgment if, based upon all papers and proof submitted, the cause of action or defense shall be established sufficiently to warrant the court as a matter of law in directing judgment in favor of any party.
A hearing is only necessary in a DEC administrative enforcement proceeding when a substantial issue of fact exists and the hearing would serve as a means to resolve this issue. In this case, DEC Staff asserts two causes of action: 1) that the Respondents have not complied with the terms of the Stipulation and thus have violated a duty under ECL Article 17; and 2) that the Respondents have not complied with the terms of the Stipulation and thus violated a duty under Article 12 of the Navigation Law. DEC Staff has demonstrated that the Stipulation was executed, and that Respondent ESMC had a duty to provide an Investigative Plan by October 5, 2001. Respondents do not dispute that no such plan has been provided. Thus, DEC Staff has established that they are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability on these two causes of action. Respondent ESMC has violated Article 17 of the ECL 361 times, one violation for each day the Investigation Plan is late (from October 5, 2001, when the Stipulation became effective, through October 1, 2002, when DEC Staff made its motion). Similarly, Respondent ESMC has committed 361 violations of Article 12 of the NL.
In their Answer, the Respondents claim that no "petroleum spill" occurred on November 28, 2000 but rather that the petroleum observed by Mr. Sangesland may have been the result of "leakage from used and junked automobiles stored on the property and not ever amounting to the level of a petroleum spill" (Gilroy Affirmation, paragraph 6). However, the executed Stipulation states that a discharge occurred on November 28, 2000. By executing the Stipulation, the Respondents acknowledged the fact that a discharge had occurred and waived their rights to contest this fact. This fact cannot now be disputed.
Even assuming the merits of the Respondents' argument is adjudicable, the Respondents are attempting to differentiate between the "leakage" of petroleum and the "spilling" of petroleum. The law makes no such distinction. The relevant section of New York State Law defines a discharge as follows:
"Discharge" means any intentional or unintentional action of omission resulting in the releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of petroleum into the waters of the state or onto lands from which it might flow or drain into said waters, or into waters outside the jurisdiction of the state when damage may result to the land, waters or natural resources with the jurisdiction of the state (NL §172(8)).
This definition creates no threshold amount for a discharge; there is no difference between a "leak" and a "spill". Both are discharges. Further, the discharge of petroleum is prohibited, unless done pursuant to and in compliance with a state or federal permit (Navigation Law §173). In this case, the Respondents' argument that the petroleum observed at the site on November 28, 2001 was not large enough to be a spill must be rejected, because it is certainly a discharge.
The Respondents also claim that neither Mr. DiCostanzo nor his lawyer remember seeing the Corrective Action Plan when Mr. DiCostanzo signed the Stipulation. The Stipulation is a one page, six paragraph document with the signatures of Mr. DiCostanzo and DEC's Regional Engineer at the bottom. Paragraph 2 of the Stipulation states in its entirety: "Respondent has agreed to cleanup and remove a discharge of petroleum which occurred on November 28, 2000 at Edkins Scrap Metal Corp, 2265 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, by taking steps and according to the conditions set forth in the Corrective Action Plan attached to this Stipulation." The Corrective Action Plan is a one page, five paragraph document setting forth a schedule of actions to be undertaken. The first paragraph requires the Respondent to "submit to the Department, for its approval, an Investigation Plan, detailing the scope of work proposed to investigate the nature and extent of the contamination caused by the spill" within 45 days of the effective date of the Stipulation. Respondents do not refute DEC Staff's assertion that both the Stipulation and the Corrective Action Plan were sent to the Respondents by DEC Staff with a transmittal letter dated August 20, 2001. Nor do the Respondents assert that the Corrective Action Plan contains any provisions not discussed or agreed to during negotiations. The Respondents' unsupported claim of not remembering seeing the corrective action plan does not create an issue of fact. The Respondents' conclusory denial is insufficient to overcome DEC Staff's prima facie showing that Respondents have not provided an Investigative Plan.
There is no factual dispute in this matter regarding the Respondent ESMC's failure to comply with the Stipulation. Under the terms of the executed Stipulation, the Respondent ESMC had a duty to provide an Investigation Plan to DEC Staff by October 5, 2001. The Respondent ESMC agreed to the terms of the Stipulation as a negotiated settlement to pending enforcement action by DEC Staff. DEC Staff asserts that no Investigation Plan has been received and the Respondent ESMC does not dispute this. The fact is established that no Investigation Plan has been produced, therefore, the Respondent ESMC is in violation of the Stipulation. As the Stipulation recites in paragraph 5, it is the equivalent to an Order pursuant to ECL Article 17 and a Directive pursuant to Article 12 of the NL. Therefore, DEC Staff has thus established entitlement to summary judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability against Respondent ESMC.
However, DEC Staff has failed to establish entitlement to summary judgment as a matter of law regarding the alleged liability of Respondent DiCostanzo, individually and in addition to his capacity as President of ESMC. Since Mr. DiCostanzo was not a party to the Stipulation, he cannot now be found, based upon the record before me, to be in violation of its terms. Accordingly, with respect to Respondent DiCostanzo, DEC Staff's motion for order without hearing is denied.
Monetary Penalty
The appropriate amount of civil penalty is determined by the application of the facts of a particular case to the Department's Civil Penalty Policy ("CPP") and Bulk Storage and Spill Response Enforcement Guidance Memorandum ("EGM"). The CPP states that if a violation is proven, it should be presumed that a penalty is warranted unless respondent documents compelling circumstances to the contrary. In this case, the record does not yet contain information necessary or adequate for the ALJ to make a recommendation to the Commissioner regarding the amount of penalty.
In its complaint, DEC Staff seeks a Commissioner's Order levying an unspecified civil penalty. In his affirmation in support of the Motion for Order Without Hearing, DEC Staff Attorney David S. Rubinton elaborates and states DEC Staff requests a penalty of $9,025,000.00, half of which to be suspended ($4,512,500.00) providing the Respondents comply with the terms of the Stipulation. DEC Staff calculates the penalty as follows. The Investigation Plan was due on October 5, 2001. DEC Staff calculates that 361 days elapsed between the effective date of the Stipulation and the date they moved for an Order Without Hearing on October 1, 2002. Therefore, DEC Staff calculates that the maximum penalty authorized by law is $9,025,000.00, based upon a maximum daily penalty of $25,000.00 per day as authorized by §192 of the Navigation Law (and/or §71-1929 of the ECL). DEC Staff seeks a penalty in this case equal to half the maximum penalty, $4,512,500.00.
The basis for this request is that the discharge of petroleum is a serious environmental matter. DEC Staff claims that the discharge has not been remediated to date and possess a threat to the water quality of the Kill Van Kull waterway, which is adjacent to the site of the spill. According to DEC Staff, these circumstances, combined with the failure of the Respondents to comply with their obligations under the Stipulation, according to DEC Staff warrant this multimillion dollar penalty.
However, DEC Staff offers no evidence that the discharge continued or was unremediated after the Stipulation became effective and therefore have failed to carry their burden of proof. The discharge occurred on November 28, 2000, as described in the executed Stipulation. DEC Staff observed the discharge on November 28, 2000, on December 1, 2000 and on March 1, 2001. But DEC Staff did not sign the Stipulation, and thus make it effective, until August 20, 2001. DEC Staff offers no proof that any subsequent site visits have been undertaken since the Stipulation became effective to support to its claim that the discharge remains unremediated. In contrast, the Respondents do claim to have taken corrective ameliorative action. Thus, a factual question remains regarding whether the discharge has been remediated. In addition, the record does not contain information regarding the other factors (such as the benefit the Respondent received, the gravity of the harm, etc.) to be considered in the determination of the appropriate civil penalty as set forth in the CPP and EGM. Therefore, triable issues of fact remain regarding the amount of civil penalties which should be imposed. Accordingly, pursuant to section 622.12(f), the ALJ will immediately convene a hearing to assess the amount of penalties to be recommended.
There is no issue of fact that the Respondent ESMC signed the Stipulation and agreed in the attached Corrective Action Plan to provide an Investigative Plan to DEC Staff within 45 days of the effective date of the Stipulation, which was August 20, 2001. DEC Staff alleges that no such Investigative Plan has been submitted. The Respondents do not dispute this assertion. Therefore, DEC Staff is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law on the issue of Respondent ESMC's liability. The ALJ will immediately convene a hearing to assess the amount of penalties to be recommended.
P. Nicholas Garlick
Administrative Law Judge
May 21, 2003
To: Felix T. Gilroy, Esq.
60 Bay Street
Staten Island, NY 10301
David S. Rubinton, Esq.
NYSDEC Region 2
47-40 21st Street
Long Island City, NY 11101-5401


text:
Bots are complicated. They're made to process repetitive actions autonomously and can be fairly easy to build, but they aren't always working on the side of good. Here's what you need to know.
Each year, EContent magazine compiles a list of the 100 companies that matter most in the digital content industry.
Voting is now closed. We'll announce the results of the first-ever EContent 100 list chosen by the people!
Jessica Davis
Jul 03, 2013
This following article is the fourth in a series addressing the needs and concerns of content marketing in a variety of industry verticals by Jessica Davis of Godot Media.
More than any other industry, content marketing is absolutely essential for companies in the online marketing or advertising industry. After all, content marketing is the latest, and probably one of the most effective, forms of marketing out there. How can they provide excellent marketing services to their clients when they themselves are not using one of the best marketing and advertising tools online?
However, compared to companies in other industries, more online marketing and advertising companies have adopted content marketing. In a recent survey by MailOnline among American advertising and marketing brands and executives, more than 75% of the responding agencies said that they use content marketing as part of the overall promotional and advertising activities. Still, it comes as a major surprise that there are quite a few companies in the advertising and online marketing industries that are yet to embrace this form of marketing for themselves or their clients.
What's more heartening is the fact that the respondents understood the importance of content marketing and said that they have plans to ramp up their content marketing efforts in the future. Also, these brands were sourcing content from various sources - which is always a good thing. This brings in more variety in the content, piques the interest of readers more, and allows brands to connect with leads and industry leaders. The most popular sources of content for advertising and marketing companies, apart from their in-house teams, are publishers of media and their own clients. The respondents also sourced content from external content creators.
Companies in the advertising and marketing industries are publishing their content via different channels. Almost 70% of respondents said they used channels other than email and their company websites to publish and market their content. This means that advertising and marketing companies are aware of the content marketing channels available and are not sticking to one channel to get content out to readers. This is all good news for the advertising and marketing industries.
Companies in these industries that are yet to adopt this form of marketing need to start content marketing as soon as possible to merely survive in the marketing and advertising sectors. Such companies need to create a content marketing strategy before seeking the help of external agencies to create content for them if required.
Most importantly, an advertising agency or a marketing firm that does not practice content marketing itself is a major turn-off to prospective clients. Clients looking to improve their marketing efforts are bound to wonder about a marketing agency that is not using content marketing for itself.
According to an article by TMG Custom Media, most decision makers in businesses would rather get information about companies from their articles than advertisements. Similarly, even consumers would rather know about a company form articles than ads. Most importantly, people love going back to brands if they like their content and content marketing is way cheaper than traditional forms of marketing. With all these benefits, marketing and advertising agencies have no excuse to not use content marketing.
Content marketing also allows advertising and marketing agencies to showcase and describe important projects, campaigns and their skills. Advertising and marketing agencies are at an advantage because they create a large amount of interesting and visual content for campaigns such as videos, images, infographics, memes, etc. and these are great for content marketing campaigns. Most importantly, content marketing allows advertising agencies to connect with their clients and manage their reputations.
Hire journalists-- Content writing is all about story telling and as an advertising or marketing executive, you need to be able to create cutting-edge, attractive, and original content. Journalists are skilled at weaving stories around topics and they can tell the story of your brand in an effective manner. With all the search engine algorithm updates, there is a need for content written in the traditional way and journalists know how to do that. They are also able to find interesting stories and build up on them quickly. With original and interesting content written in an excellent manner, you can establish your company as an authority figure in the industry.
Get the in-house team to create exciting visual content-- If you own an advertising or marketing agency, you probably already have a great in-house team of graphic designers, animators, copywriters, artists, videographers, etc. Get them to create excellent content for your company and make sure a major portion of the content that you are uploading is visual such as videos, infographics, photos, etc.
(Image courtesy of Shutterstock.)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Unfinished Business
In Gestalt psychology, when any aspect of life is left hanging, it is called unfinished business. Unfinished business is when there is an interruption in a relationship or in our life, ranging from minor to traumatic, that also carries emotional content.
I was first introduced to the concept of unfinished business several years ago, while attending a coaching class at NTL. As the facilitator began talking about "unfinished business", the concept immediately resonated with me. I have always been a finisher. I take pride when I finish projects, I'm happy when I've gotten through the holiday season and checked off everything on my to-do list, I love home projects or reorganizing and uncluttering areas, I like to reorganize my workspace, and even systematize the way I work to prevent clutter.
Surprisingly, in this moment at NTL, heat washed through my body like a sudden onset fever. Tears welled up from deep within me – and, while the words spoke to me with a deep resonance, I really didn't understand why this moment was so emotional. I had never considered what might be unfinished business in my life and relationships. These profound words sent me searching for meaning.
I realized that in our push it down, "forget about it", "move on", "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" culture, we are often pushing away the emotional content of disappointment, grief, and change in general.
Additionally, as women our biology also drives life changes that we aren't always ready to face: aging parents, our children empty nesting, menopause, and our own aging process.
When we fail to process the difficult emotions of an event, we continue to carry the emotional baggage unconsciously, as unfinished business.
The way we set goals and realign our priorities at the beginning of each year, is an example how our western culture has systematized unconsciously creating unfinished business. As one year comes to an end and a new one is ready to begin, we take stock of our successes and failures of the past year. What worked (we often assume that must be a success) and what didn't work (we often label this as failure) and "net out" the kind of year we had. We then shift right over into realigning our priorities, setting new goals, and at the stroke of midnight in the new year, we're off and running. Or, a loved one passes, and we find others quick to judge how long we're grieving and not moving on with our lives.
How do we prevent unfinished business in our lives? We do this through a process of navigating transitions.
Transitions have three phases: Endings, the Liminal Space, and Visioning the Future. Each phase has a unique purpose, set of tools and practices, and has its own timeline.
In endings, we allow ourselves to acknowledge and feel the emotions of what is ending. Here we mine what we're glad to be done with, the lessons learned, and allow ourselves to feel all the emotions associated with the ending. This year I had a bittersweet ending. On one hand, I was relieved to be out from under an ongoingly stressful situation. I realized that things I had been beating myself up over were really out of my control and found peace in this new awareness. But I was sad. The situation did not have the ending I had hoped for.
Learning to come full circle with our experiences is key to truly being able to make a fresh start in our new beginnings.
For more information about closure and endings, vist our e-Shop for "The Art of Letting Go Toolkit".
Want to learn more about how you can get the transformation you desire? Click here to discover Women Connected Coaching and sign-up for a FREE 30-minute coaching session with me.


text:
Lululemon Wants to Change the Way You Sweat With Its New Fabric
Erin Bunch・October 26, 2017
Activewear has a come a long way—remember your all-purpose cotton tights, worn until threadbare, with nary a functional element in sight? Now, key pieces like leggings are seen as a means for optimizing workouts, whether it be through the addition of results-enhancing elements such as weights or experience-improving ones like sweat-wicking fabric.
The latter absorbs liquid off of the skin and allows it to evaporate into the air, thereby relieving you of a slip-and-slide situation and making intense workouts infinitely more comfortable in the process. These types of textiles aren't new in relative terms, but Lululemon has taken the concept behind them to the next level with the invention of an entirely new material, Everlux.
"We challenged the traditional belief that sweat-wicking alone is enough to provide adequate moisture management properties for an hour of studio practice."
"In developing Everlux, we challenged the traditional belief that sweat-wicking alone is enough to provide adequate moisture management properties for an hour of studio practice," explains Tom Waller, senior vice president of Whitespace, Lululemon's research and development lab. "The fabric is engineered to specifically perform in the low-airflow, high-humidity, and high-sweat environments common to indoor cycling, hot or power yoga, and the gnarliest of CrossFit boxes."
To achieve this, Waller and his team knitted two fabrics together—"cool-to-the-touch yarns next to the skin and buttery soft, quick-drying yarns on the outside," he says. The intent is to manage moisture via a two-step process: "The skin-side surface increases the movement of moisture away from the skin—it's extremely efficient at wicking between the two sides of the fabric," explains Waller. "Meanwhile, the outer layer spreads moisture across the surface to maximize evaporation as you work out."
In other words, products made from Everlux will work to expel moisture rather than trap it, so you can minimize the distraction of swamp-like sweat pools and instead focus on the specific fitness challenge at hand.
Other intel on Lululemon you'll want to check out: their best fall leggings on sale right now and the story behind this sports bra that's blowing up on Pinterest.
Loading More Posts...


text:
Jennifer Lopez Tickets
Find tickets for an upcoming Jennifer Lopez concert near you. List of all Jennifer Lopez tickets and tour dates for 2020/2021.
Limitless from the Movie "Second Act"
Jennifer Lopez
- Browse 2020/2021 It's My Party tour dates and use venue seating charts to find cheap tickets
Jennifer Lopez Success
- Jennifer Lopez is an American singer, actress, dancer, and producer.
Jennifer has won 121 awards from 326 nominations, including three American Music Awards, and one BET Award. She was honored by the World Music Awards with a Legend Award for her dedication to the arts in 2010, two of her singles, 'Waiting for Tonight' and 'Let's Get Loud', were nominated for Grammy Awards for the Best Dance Recording in 2000.
JLO Tour 2020/2021
It's My Party: The Live Celebration
JLO Tour 2020/2021 – New Tour to Celebrate Her Milestone Birthday – includes stops in 25 cities. The singer is turning 50 in July — and she's celebrating in style with a new North American tour. The show will have some energetic dance numbers as well as more personal and casual moments from this mega-star.
Are you ready to visit one of the most prospective Las Vegas music shows?
Here it is! Jennifer Lopez is coming to her music show "It's My Party: The Live Celebration".
Besides performances by Lopez, the tour will also feature the "World of Dance Experience," including surprise guest dance performances from Lopez' NBC dance show World of Dance.
- Jennifer Lopez is an amazing, talented singer who will impress you any day of her fantastic performance at all her concerts.
- Jennifer's concerts are always exciting, fun, and unforgettable, you wouldn't want to miss out on one of her great shows.
Concert Tickets Information
Jennifer Lopez has fans all around the world and inspires people from ages 15 years old going all the way up to 50. Her music is truly beautiful and you'd be missing out if you didn't get the tickets or VIP Packages tickets to see and hear her music live today!
Jennifer is currently performing all around the United States and you should get your tickets before they're all sold out. Find and buy JLO VIP Meet & Greet Package tickets today.
- Browse 2020/2021 It's My Party tour dates and use venue seating charts to find cheap tickets


text:
Appalachian Power's request to implement a pilot program that will deliver broadband technology in rural Grayson County has received initial approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
The seven-county region supporting Yeager Airport has received certification as an AEROready community. AEROready certification involves a deep analysis of property, labor, education and infrastructure to ensure a region has the capacity to support the aerospace industry.
Subscribing to APCO alerts gives you instant notification for:
Enroll in alerts to be eligible to win. Subscribing to I&M alerts gives you instant notification for:


text:
It seems like game critics can't wait to write their list of the year's best games. This year I saw people listing their favorite games before December even started; completely writing off an entire month. If only these critics had waited a few weeks they would have discovered how charming and delightful Stick It to the Man is.
Ray is about to have an epically bad day. After working his shift testing hardhats, this schlubby everyman walks home for another night with his girlfriend. But fate had another plan for Ray. On the way home, our hero is knocked unconscious by a mysterious government container. He wakes up to discover that, to his horror, an alien is living in his body. Even worse, the two of them are being hunted by The Man, who will stop at nothing to retrieve the alien's power.
As it turns out, having an alien inside you comes with a few advantages. For one thing, Ray now has a giant stretchy arm coming out of his head. This allows him to pick up stickers and pull back parts of the world. More importantly, it helps the uncoordinated buffoon climb around the 2D levels, Bionic Commando-style.
Ray's powers don't stop at using an alien arm to travel long distances, it also allows him to read minds. That's right; the reluctant star of Stick It to the Man is able to use the alien's power to literally hear the thoughts of his girlfriend, family and neighbors. It doesn't stop at people. Because of the alien, Ray is able to read the minds of animals, robots, zombies, ghosts and even inanimate objects.
Predictably, nobody believes Ray's wild story about alien arms and mind-reading. Before long, he is locked up in a mental health institution, where he begins to question his own sanity. After a harrowing escape, he sets off on a journey that will involve him trying to rescue his girlfriend from The Man.
In order to advance the story, Ray will be forced to do some light puzzle solving. This comes by way of reading people's minds and then giving them what they want. Each of the ten chapters are loaded with different stickers to pick up, which in turn will be used to solve puzzles. Stick It to the Man feels like it was inspired by classic point and click adventure games, like Monkey Island and Sam & Max.
Stickers are not just things you found lying about, sometimes they will be things other people are thinking about. Neither Ray nor I can figure out how he does it, but the alien is able to reach inside people's thoughts and peel back useful stickers. Other times you'll need to place those stickers in people's thoughts, effectively changing what they think and how they act. Like any great graphic adventure, it's fun to watch how these vignettes play out.
It's worth mentioning that nearly every object, background and character is little more than a piece of paper. In fact, the game acknowledges the flimsiness of a paper-based world on more than one occasion. When Ray dies, he is immediately brought back to life thanks to the power of a printer. Instead of walking up stairs or opening a door, the alien arm is able to peel back the walls. It's a weird world they live in, but nobody seems to mind.
As impressive as the game's fully-realized paper world aesthetics are, it's Ryan North's incredible script that makes this game worth playing. Ryan is an experienced comic writer and it shows. The conversations are witty, the pointed commentaries about life are funny and it's a delight to read the mind of every new character. I found myself laughing hysterically the entire way through. It has a sick, subversive sense of humor that is usually reserved for Tim Schafer (Psychonauts).
Also great is the music, which is a dizzying mix of old school jazz and 1960s surf guitar. At times I didn't want to finish the chapter because I enjoyed the music too much. Of course, I have plenty of incentive to keep moving forward. As much as I loved the game's soundtrack, I really wanted to hear what the voice actors were going to say next. Even the corniest jokes are sold with a level of enthusiasm you don't hear in a lot of video games.
Despite the 2D perspective, Stick It to the Man isn't really a traditional platformer. You'll need to jump on a few floating blocks here and there, but most of the platforming is just to pick up puzzle pieces and drop them off. Occasionally you'll run into armed guards looking to take you in, but even then dodging them plays out like a puzzle. Ray will discover that some guards are thinking about sleep, giving him a chance to unpeel the sticker and put a guard to sleep. Other guards will be thinking about Ray's face, allowing our hero to cause a distraction by applying the mask on an unsuspecting foe.
As Telltale Games pivots towards The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and other deadly-serious graphic adventures, it's nice to know that there are still people making games with a sense of humor. By combining 2D platforming and point and click puzzles, Stick It to the Man is able to make a game that is the best of both worlds. It's an accessible story that is consistently funny and easy to play. For all the people who have dreamed about a Psychonauts clone that plays like Bionic Commando, this sticker is for you.
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
It's questionable how accurate this is, but this is all that's known about Cyril Lachel: A struggling writer by trade, Cyril has been living off a diet of bad games, and a highly suspect amount of propaganda. Highly cynical, Cyril has taken to question what companies say and do, falling ever further into a form of delusional madness. With the help of quality games, and some greener pastures on the horizon, this back-to-basics newsman has returned to provide news so early in the morning that only insomniacs are awake.
View Profile


text:
|« Prev
|2 Corinthians 5:4
|Next »
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS - Chapter 5 - Verse 4
Verse 4. For we. We who are Christians. All Christians.
That are in this tabernacle. This frail and dying body. See Barnes "2 Co 5:1".
Do groan. See 2 Co 5:2. This is a further explanation of what is said in 2 Co 5:2. It implies an ardent and earnest desire to leave a world of toil and pain, and to enter into a world of rest and glory.
Being burdened. Being borne down by the toils, and trials, and calamities of this life. See Barnes "2 Co 4:7, 2 Co 4:8-10.
Not for that we would be unclothed. Not that we are impatient, and unwilling to bear these burdens as long as God shall appoint. Not that we merely wish to lay aside this mortal body. We do not desire to die and depart merely because we suffer much, and because the body here is subjected to great trials. This is not the ground of our wish to depart. We are willing to bear trials. We are not impatient under, afflictions. The sentiment here is, that the mere fact that we may be afflicted much and long, should not be the principal reason why we should desire to depart. We should be willing to bear all this as long as God shall choose to appoint. The anxiety of Paul to enter the eternal world was from a higher motive than a mere desire to get away from trouble.
But clothed upon. To be invested with our spiritual body. We desire to be clothed with that body. We desire to be in heaven, and to be clothed with immortality. We wish to have a body that shall be pure, undecaying, ever glorious. It was not, therefore, a mere desire to be released from sufferings; it was an earnest wish to be admitted to the glories of the future world, and partake of the happiness which he would enjoy there. This is one of the reasons why Paul wished to be in heaven. Other reasons he has stated elsewhere. Thus in Php 1:23 he says he had "a desire to depart and to be with Christ." So in 2 Co 5:8 of this chapter he says he was "willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." In 2 Ti 4:6-8, he speaks of the "crown of righteousness" laid up for him as a reason why he was willing to die.
That mortality might be swallowed up of life. On the meaning of the word rendered "swallowed up," (katapoyh) See Barnes "1 Co 15:54".
The meaning here is, that it might be completely absorbed; that it might cease to be; that there might be no more mortality, but that he might pass to the immortal state —to the condition of eternal life in the heavens. The body here is mortal—the body there will be immortal; and Paul desired to pass away from the mortal state to one that shall be immortal —a world where there shall be no more death. Comp. 1 Co 15:53.
{c} "mortality" 1 Co 15:53
|« Prev
|2 Corinthians 5:4
|Next »


text:
Karen Henning, also known as Sweats n' Things, is a member of the Prairie City Business Association and a weekly vendor at the Farmers' Market! She sells fresh produce, pies, bars, brownies and other home baked goods, and beautiful handcrafted purses, too.
Address: Corner of Main St and Jefferson St in Prairie City, Iowa
Hours: 8:30 am – 11:30 am every Saturday (from the 3rd Saturday in May to the 3rd Saturday in September)
Phone: 515-994-2423
Contact: Karen Henning
E-Mail: email@example.com


text:
THE number of lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in Somerset rose by 25% in the week July 28 and August 3, the latest Government figures show.
Between July 28 and August 3, 2020, 10 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the Somerset County Council area, according to the latest numbers from NHS England - a rise of 25% compared to the previous week.
The data also includes the number of cases 'triaged' through NHS Pathways - calls to NHS 111 and 999 and through NHS 111 online and is not a count of people.
This total - which is where people using those services who have received a potential Covid-19 disposition, but not had it confirmed by a test - stood at 210, up 4% (8 incidents) on the previous week.
Of those, 161 came through NHS 111 Online (up 14%), and 49 (down 20%) through Pathways 111 and 999.
The figures show a case rate (per 100,000 people) in Somerset of 0.23 for that period. The triage rate is 6.9 (per 100,000 people).
SOURCE: https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards / NHS England


text:
BALTIMORE – Disruption of slow-wave activity may potentially explain the positive influence that sleep deprivation may have on major depressive disorder, according to results of a study presented at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.
Jennifer Goldschmied, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, reported preliminary results of a study of slow-wave activity (SWA) disruption in 26 subjects – 12 healthy controls and 14 people diagnosed with major depressive disorder – that found a significant decrease of about 20% in waking theta activity, as measured with EEG, in the MDD group. In the 3-night sleep study, conducted at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, an adaptation night was followed by baseline and SWA disruption nights with EEGs performed each night. After the baseline night, patients also had a morning and afternoon EEG.
Across the baseline day, patients with depression showed "no modulation of theta activity whatsoever," Dr. Goldschmied said. "And then we see, following slow-wave disruption, a significant decrease in theta activity," whereas, healthy controls showed no change in waking theta following slow-wave disruption. "So what this means is that the presence of SWA may actually be facilitating the reduction of theta or sleep propensity during typical sleep in healthy individuals," she added. In MDD patients, the decline in theta power following slow-wave disruption was from around 5.4 to 4.3.
Dr. Goldschmied noted that this finding somewhat supports what is known as the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis that University of Wisconsin researchers Giulio Tononi, MD, PhD, and Chiara Cirelli, MD, PhD, reported (Brain Res Bull. 2003;62:143-50). This hypothesis holds that SWA is a marker of synaptic strength and promotes the downscaling of synaptic strength during sleep. No method for measuring synaptic strength in humans exists, Dr. Goldschmied added, but waking theta can be considered a proxy for net synaptic strength across the cortex.
Dr. Goldschmied noted other research that has found SWA disruption improves mood (Psychiatry Res. 2015;228:715-8; J Psychiatr Res. 2011;45:1019-26), but the study she reported on found no role of decreased theta activity in that change. "To go even further," she said, "we looked at the entire data set and found no relationship between the decrease in theta and any of the measures of sleep architecture – so there's really no way to predict this decrease in our sample of people with depression."
SWA plays a significant role in depression and merits more study, Dr. Goldschmied said. She noted that future research should examine the effects of SWA disruption in a larger sample, investigate theta findings with other proxy measures of synaptic strength such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and transcranial magnetic stimulation, explore differences in SWA between sexes, and explore how SWA enhancement influences mood and theta activity.
Dr. Goldschmied reported having no financial relationships.
SOURCE: Goldschmied J et al. Sleep 2018, Abstract 0245.


text:
This contest has since ended; congratulations to Martin Uttley of Sacramento! Answers to the contest' questions are below.
For the March 2017 Book Club selection, TransportiCA has chosen A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership: The Hidden Power of Ecological Worldviews by visionary Eco-psychologist and CEO, Dr. Steve Schein.
every month's selection, TransportiCA provides three questions, and if
you send us all three correct responses by the end of the month and your
name is drawn, you will win a copy of the book, signed by the author.
The contest questions for A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership are:
1. Dr. Schein is currently an Expert-in-Residence for what higher education institution? Presidio Graduate School
2. Which CEO has made the biggest sustainability impact on Dr. Schein? Ray Anderson (1934-2011), founder and CEO of Interface, and considered the "Greenest CEO of America."
3. Dr. Schein served as a senior vice-president and corporate officer of ResortQuest International, a company he co-founded.
purchase is necessary, as questions are not taken from the publication,
but about the author's professional experiences. To send-in your
responses, submit via TransportiCA's "Contact Form"
on the front-page (bottom left), sending your name, email address and
answers. The deadline for submission is 23:59, Friday, 31 March
Thank you for your interest in the Book Club, and best of luck with the contest!


text:
Welcome back to Portfolio Plus!
Forgot your password?
Fill in the details below to register for your account.
You are about place an enquiry with Jonathan Newey about purchasing Primate eyes.
If you have an account, sign in here, or simply register for free today.
Jonathan Newey is an award winning artist with over 25 years of experience in both drawing and painting. Born in Reading, England, he comes from a long line of artists in his family. He has extensive experience in a wide range of mediums and subject matter and is considered to be one of the UK\'s top coloured pencil and graphite artists. He specialises in wildlife paintings in acrylic and wildlife drawings in pencil but also does paintings in architecture and abstract in acrylic and watercolour. He has over 16 years experience as a teacher and lecturer and has taught in local and national adult education colleges and has also taught in various countries around the world such as Greece, Cyprus, Spain, France and Italy.
He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has paintings in various collections both at home and abroad.
Jonathans new book \'Drawing and Painting Buildings\' is now available.
The book is a comprehensive guide to drawing and painting buildings in a variety of styles and mediums. Subjects covered include old and new buildings, perspective, drawing and painting with pencil, watercolour, acrylic, oil and pastel. The book is published by Crowood Publishing, and is available from all good book shops and online book stores. Price: £16.99.
Jonathans first book \'Drawing with coloured pencils\' is still available.
The book is a comprehensive guide to drawing with coloured pencil with 16 step by step demostrations using both dry and watersoluble coloured pencils and such subjects as still life, animals, landscape, architecture and people.
The book is published by New Holland Publishers of London and is available from all good book shops and online book stores.
Price: £9.99 softback
Artists & Illustrators is Britain's most popular magazine for practising artists, while also being equally relevant to professionals, aspiring amateurs or to those who paint purely for pleasure.


text:
Aqualisa Rise Smart Single Outlet Shower Exposed And Remote Control
Gravity Pumped Model
Rise smart shower utilises intelligent diverter technology, allowing you to switch between adjustable, hand and drencher shower heads with the option of increasing flow rate from any particular outlet. Rise smart bath removes bulky taps, replacing them with stylishly contemporary bath fillers delivering thermostatically blended baths. Combine showering and bathing with Rise smart shower and bath, ideal for families and busy bathrooms. All Rise smart products can be operated by a remote control for added convenience.
Sales Support
Our Sales Support Staff have over 35+ years experience in bathroom retail and are sure to help you with anything you need!
Call Us:
Tuesday - Friday: 9AM - 5PM
Saturaday: 10AM - 4PM
01234 216720
Or email firstname.lastname@example.com
Do you...
need more information?
have another item in mind, not on the website?
have a query about a product?
We Can Help!


text:
Update (September 20, 2:30 P.M.): Michael Avenatti, Mark Burton's lawyer, spoke with VF.com about the wrongful death lawsuit on a phone call today. "They continue to conveniently ignore the fact that these drugs were in a false name, which absolutely defies a federal law," Avenatti said. "There is no 'celebrity exception' to federal and state law relating to controlled substances. I don't care how famous you are; you are not entitled to falsify a name in connection with obtaining highly controlled substances."
VF.com has reached out to Carrey for a response to Avenatti's comments.
The original post continues below.
Last week, Mark Burton, the husband of Jim Carrey's late girlfriend, Cathriona White, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Carrey. In it, Burton, who, according to E! News, was separated from White at the time of her death, claims that Carrey provided prescription drugs to White. He says she "was prone to depression"; she committed suicide using the painkillers last September. Burton's suit states, according to USA Today, this result was "predictable and foreseeable." Carrey responded to the suit in a statement Carrey's attorney provided to VF.com.
"What a terrible shame," he said. "It would be easy for me to get in a back room with this man's lawyer and make this go away, but there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honor against the evil in this world."
Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for Burton, told The Washington Post that White and Burton had been married since the beginning of 2013. He would not go into further details about their relationship, as it "distracted from what this case is about."
In his own statement, Carrey claims that White's troubles "were born long before [he] met her."
In the suit, Burton asserts that Carrey had been obtaining the drugs under the "bogus name" of Arthur King and giving them to White.
"I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved," he said. "Cat's troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone's control. I really hope that some day soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace."
Burton is requesting an undisclosed sum of money and a jury trial in the civil suit, according to the lawsuit.
At the time of her death, nearly one year ago, Carrey released a statement to Today, expressing his sadness over her death:
"She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled."


text:
Posts Tagged incentives
241 Teachers Lose Jobs
Posted by admin in Leadership, Teaching/Learning on July 25, 2010
Michelle Rhee announced this week the firing of 241 teachers as part of the ongoing implementation of a broad based reform movement (IMPACT) that she undertook just a short time ago. This program is not new content and is ultimately based on work by Marzano and Waters (2009 and prior) that connects the essence of reform to the concept of "value added." They also equate this term with words like "growth" and "knowledge gains" to give context to the meaning.
Interestingly, the media has attached this value added concept to student test scores when discussing the evaluation that took place while screening for failing or ineffective teachers. I think this may be over-simplification of the concept of accountability for formative assessment gains over time that was originally proposed by Marzano and Waters. In fact, there should be a plan in place to address both curriculum and assessment tied to these plans and accountability measures.
If she is looking only at achievement test scores, then this plan is flawed and should be addressed immediately. I doubt that based on the material I have reviewed on the IMPACT website and the foundational literature upon which it is based. I suggest that this may be the best of the recent spate of firings because it has strong pedagogy behind it.
731 additional teachers are on notice to improve. This group will be the ones to watch. If these reforms truly meet the demands of eliciting greater achievement in the classroom, then these teachers will be the test of the efficacy of accountability. Under increase scrutiny, do you think these teachers will get better? Will supports be provided consistent with the pressure as leading researchers have confirmed is critical?
The union fight is inevitable and unlikely to draw too much attention. We all know that the union works for these fired teachers are required by their policies as a representative of the teachers to pursue accordingly. It is unlikely, however, that any of these teachers will find their way back to DC classrooms because the leadership cannot afford to be undercut in their search of excellence and in the shadow of an election year for Fenty. For this number of people to move through the appeal and/or arbitration process will likely take years. I think Michelle's staff is counting on that.
About the only thing they need to worry about is finding enough teachers to take the open positions. The salary incentives installed as part of this measure will require a decade before new teachers will be encouraged to join the ranks and fill the empty spots. This is a nationwide barrier to the kind of turnover many expect. Thus, the dance of the lemons continues unabated until we find instrumental ways to renew and inspire teachers who have been disenfranchised by incompetent leaders for decades. The underlying story of these firings has to include the question – How did these teachers remain in their posts for so long without scrutiny? What was wrong with the administration that allowed this to continue for so long? And, finally – Where do you think these teachers will ultimately land?
Marzano, R. J., & Waters, T. (2009). District Leadership That Works: Striking the Right Balance. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Time Travel – Kids Explaining it – Can you see the motivation?
Posted by admin in Teaching/Learning, Technology on July 5, 2010
In this video, kids talk about time travel and use various resources to explain their concept. Since I was recently in an 8th grade classroom talking about black holes, this was especially interesting and, thus, I'm sharing it with you. This is consistent with the previous message about reaching higher in our expectations than we might otherwise consider.
Motivation – Again!?!?
Posted by admin in Farside, Leadership, Teaching/Learning on July 5, 2010
Seems like the week to discuss motivation and as I consider various links and tracebacks, I'm found bringing together some ideas into a new framework of understanding many things I have written before and will likely ponder in the future. This video brings this thinking to specific relief.
We have discussed previously how setting our sights on common denominators (e.g. high stakes tests, common core curriculum, etc.) seems somehow counter-intuitive. Additionally, many others have offered insight into the dangers of these practices. Any other approach seems just too challenging to discuss in the midst of political wrangling, decaying facilities, and budgetary degradation. We seek the average because we have lost the incentive to reach for something that often seems beyond our grasp. We have lost the pioneering spirit.
In this video from 1972, legendary psychiatrist Viktor Frankl offers an important message about our motivations and our expectations for each other.
Whether we are talking about advances in science, travels to Mars, or the development of new curriculum, this simple video may be the piece that helps us all get past our limitations and our struggle with mediocrity.
We must find a way to seek for children more than our perceptions of their limitations. We have to provide for the true and honest development of their pioneering spirit. As the video declares, we must seek point far "north" of mediocrity and find our destination somewhere between average and eminently closer to excellent.
In reflection on Jeffrey Canada…
Posted by admin in Evolution, Leadership, Teaching/Learning on August 21, 2009
After discussing the Harlem Children's Zone…
What would you rather have, a blanket of mediocrity, or a quilt of excellence?
This American Life Podcast – Interview of Jeffrey Canada
Baby College – where it really starts.
Bringing the best of understanding childhood to the parents of Harlem.
The Real Crisis
Posted by admin in Farside, Leadership on February 16, 2009


text:
Private valet companies take up public parking spaces for profit. They cause traffic to back up on West Davis at Bishop during peak times. And they perpetuate the perception that valet is the only option for parking in Bishop Arts.
Those are the complaints of some Oak Cliff neighbors who want City Council to review the practices of valet companies in Bishop Arts.
Amy Cowan of Go Oak Cliff, who is a co-owner of Oddfellows, began circulating a survey/petition last week asking neighbors their level of support for the current parking situation.
I like the valet the way it is now.
I want all valet removed.
Valet is fine, but needs to be relocated immediately.
Valet should only be allowed to operate in private lots.
Other :
City Councilman Scott Griggs has said business and property owners are coming up with a plan to move the valet stand from the corner of Bishop at Seventh, where it blocks public parking spaces and unnecessarily holds up traffic. The stand would move to Bishop Avenue between Seventh and Eighth. In that case, at least some of the on-street parking on Bishop wouldn't be available for self-park while the valet companies operate.


text:
With tax avoidance an issue of major public concern and media attention, the Fair Tax Mark is an opportunity for co-operatives to show that they pay their tax fairly and transparently.
The Fair Tax Mark was pioneered by co-operatives including Midcounties and the Phone Co-op and Co-operatives UK – following a mandate from the co-operative sector at its annual conference in 2014 – remains in partnership with the Fair Tax Mark to make it simpler for co-operatives to become accredited, including a 10% discount for Co-operatives UK members.
What is the Fair Tax Mark?
The Fair Tax Mark is a label for good taxpayers. It is for businesses and organisations that are proud to pay their fair share of tax.
Launched in 2014, the aspiration is that, wherever consumers see the Fair Tax Mark, they can be sure that a business is open and transparent about its tax affairs and seeks to pay the right amount of corporation tax at the right time in the right place.
The Fair Tax Mark aims to offer businesses that know they are good taxpayers (or want to work towards becoming one) the opportunity to proudly display this to their customers.
"Tax avoidance is the number one public issue today and what the Fair Tax Mark offers customers is a way to judge where they spend their money. With tax income tight and austerity the dominant response, it would be wonderful to make fair tax the norm for large businesses over the next ten years." Ed Mayo, Secretary General, Co-operatives UK
Why adopt the Fair Tax Mark?
Fair tax is the right thing to do. According to an estimation of the UK's tax gap, around £12 billion is lost to the public purse each year via corporate tax avoidance. This is more than the entire Home Office budget, and half of the UK's housing and environment budget. However not all businesses are seeking to avoid paying the tax that they owe. We do not know of a single co-operative engaged in aggressive tax avoidance.
Fair tax matters to consumers. Tax avoidance by large public companies such as Starbucks and Amazon have hit the news in recent years, and research from the Institute for Business Ethics found that tax avoidance in public's number one concern about business behaviour.
Fair tax is a good fit with co-operatives and the Fair Tax Mark is an effective way for co-operatives to demonstrate that they are fair and ethical businesses. It was agreed at the co-operative sector's annual conference, Co-operative Congress, that co-operatives would forge stronger links with the Fair Tax Mark and a formal partnership with Co-operatives UK, the network for Britain's thousands of co-operative businesses, was launched in February 2015. Subsequently, an agreement was formalised to offer Co-operatives UK members a 10% discount on accreditation (applicable to all fees above Fair Tax Mark's entry level pricing band).
Co-operatives UK members Midcounties Co-operative, the Phone Co-op and Unity Trust Bank were among the first businesses in the UK to adopt the Fair Tax Mark.
"We see the Fair Tax Mark as a natural extension of our long standing commitment to put something back into the communities in which we trade." Ben Reid, Chief Executive of Midcounties, one of the pioneers of the Fair Tax Mark
How to adopt the Fair Tax Mark?
In order to be accredited with the Fair Tax Mark a business needs to meet a number of criteria around its accounting and reporting.
The criteria assess the quality of a business's publicly available information on key tax and transparency issues. The precise criteria differ according to whether the business solely trades in the UK, or is a UK owned business trading in different countries. For each business type the criteria are divided into two main categories: transparency; tax rate, disclosure and avoidance.
To support co-operatives in adopting the Fair Tax Mark, the team at the Mark have worked with Co-operatives UK to develop a set of voluntary guidelines to take co-operatives through the process.


text:
This questionnaire has been developed by academic researchers. By answering these 17 questions you may learn more about your own worldview, as well as about the worldviews of others. The test has been shown to produce fairly consistent and interesting results. Your answers will indicate which of the four major cultural worldviews (defined below) describes you best, as well as the worldview to which you are most opposed. After taking this short confidential questionnaire your results will be immediately sent to your email address.
This worldview test is primarily the brainchild of integral researcher Annick de Witt. In her research, De Witt used both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative methods, including large-scale surveys with representative samples of citizens in the Netherlands and the USA. Her aim in developing the test was to create an empirical, social science approach to mapping worldviews.
Her research confirmed the existence of at least four major worldview-groups in the Western world, which she describes as "traditional," "modern," "postmodern," and "integrative." The existence of these worldview-groups has also been confirmed by work in sociology, the history of philosophy, and developmental psychology. These worldview-groups differ significantly in their political preferences, their attitudes towards climate change, the sustainability of their lifestyles, as well as their positions in 'hot' societal debates such as on the role of biotechnology. An article presenting the results of this study is currently under review in the peer-reviewed Journal of Environmental Science and Policy.
ICE Caveat: Accurately assessing human worldviews is a complex undertaking. In our opinion, none of the various test instruments currently used by social scientists or organizational development specialists can adequately assess a person's actual worldview with objectivity. Nevertheless, we like De Witt's questionnaire and want to support her work in this area. And at the very least, answering her 17 questions provides an opportunity to reflect on the distinct worldview frames that make up the political spectrum in most of the Western world.
Annick de Witt (Ph.D.) is an author, change-maker, and consultant in the field of cultural and inner transformation for global sustainability. She has extensively researched worldviews and culture, and has published about these themes in books, academic journals, and the popular (Dutch) press. For general information, to receive updates, and for questions or comments go to her website annickdewitt.com. For more information on her academic work visit this link, where you can download her publications.
According to De Witt, worldviews can be defined as the inescapable, overarching systems of meaning that inform how we interpret, enact, and co-create reality. They are the fundamental 'lenses' through which we see and filter reality, and they interface with our perceptions of global issues in ways that are profound, persistent, and frequently overlooked. Worldviews not only tend to shape how individuals perceive particular issues and their potential solutions, they also tend to influence their willingness to partake in, or politically support, such solutions. The four major worldview families indicated by the questionnaire are briefly described as follows:
Traditional worldviews
In traditional worldviews the religious sphere is generally not distinguished from the secular sphere, nor is metaphysics from science. Religious or metaphysical views on reality thus answer the big questions in life, and substantial faith is placed in religious authorities, such as scriptures, doctrines, and leaders. In this worldview, a transcendent God is usually seen as separate from the profane, earthly world, and man as fundamentally different from nature. The relationship with nature is frequently understood in terms of 'dominion' or 'stewardship'. Traditional worldviews tend to emphasize the importance of family and community, as well as values such as honesty, decency, sobriety, obedience, discipline, solidarity, conformity, service, dedication, respect for tradition, humility, and self-sacrifice.
In the cartoon graphic above, this worldview is symbolized by the presence of the church, the agrarian landscape and lifestyle, and the religious figures. The policeman symbolizes a respect for authority and tradition, obedience and discipline, rules and order.
Modern worldviews
Modern worldviews attempt to achieve liberation from imposed, oppressive, frequently religious, authorities and understandings of the past, through an emphasis on rationality and critical thinking. The vision of reality tends to be secular and materialistic: the existence of a higher power, divine reality, or intangible dimension is generally rejected. Science is frequently seen as the ultimate (and even exclusive) source of reliable knowledge, providing access to objective reality. This 'objectification' of reality generates a dualism between body and mind, and object and subject, which tends to lead to immense scientific, technological, and socio-economic progress as well as an instrumentalization of nature. Science and technology are generally seen as central means to address humanity's most pressing issues. The autonomous, 'self-made' individual has a central position in this worldview. Individualistic and hedonistic values—such as freedom, independence, success, performance, social recognition, comfort, and fun—are usually dominant.
In the cartoon graphic this worldview is symbolized by the modern, standardized, functional style of architecture, smoking factories, airplanes, and the rise of global (fast food) corporations. The chemical scientist in the front points at the scientific-rational nature of this worldview, which results in both a philosophical materialism (there is nothing beyond what is empirically observable) as well as an axiological materialism (value and meaning in life is found in the material realm), as symbolized by the business man and the bag of money he is holding.
Postmodern worldviews
Postmodern worldviews are characterized by a tendency to acknowledge and value multiple perspectives on reality, and are generally critical of modern science's claim to exclusively provide objective knowledge. This worldview instead emphasizes the relativity and contextuality of knowledge, as well as the value of moral, emotional, and artistic ways of knowing. Frequently a somewhat critical attitude towards the modern model of society (e.g., ideas of progress, modern science and technology, capitalism) is observed, and the emancipation of marginalized and oppressed groups is a central motivation. This is for example reflected in the rise of social movements since the 1960's, promoting peace, multiculturalism, gay rights, and the environment, among others. Generally, postmodern worldviews celebrate diversity, heterogeneity, relativism, and 'post-materialistic' or 'self-expression' values such as creativity, uniqueness, authenticity, imagination, feeling, and intuition.
In the cartoon graphic this worldview is symbolized by the creative and playful 'postmodern' architecture, the colorful – diverse, expressive, authentic – crowd marching for typical postmodern concerns such as peace and justice, and by the courthouse in the back.
Integrative worldviews
Integrative worldviews appear to be primarily characterized by a self-reflexive attempt to bring together and synthesize elements of other worldviews, or of domains that in other worldviews tend to be viewed as mutually exclusive, such as science (or rationality) and spirituality, imagination and logic, heart and mind, humanity and nature—perspectives that in the West have been in conflict for centuries. In this worldview, such opposing perspectives are frequently understood to be part of a greater whole or synthesis—on a "deeper level"—resulting in "both-and" rather than "either-or" thinking. Such a holistic or integrative perspective may lead to a profound sense of connection with nature, and an understanding of earthly life itself as imbued with a larger consciousness or "Spirit." Universal, existential concerns—such as life and death, self-actualization, global awareness, and serving society, humanity, or even "life" at large—are often of central importance.
In the cartoon graphic above, this worldview is symbolized by the green, social entrepreneur who integrates (modern) entrepreneurial spirit with (postmodern) idealism and concern for oppressed others. The person on the yoga mat holds a mobile phone in his hand, symbolizing the integration of century-old spiritual practices with modern technologies. Religious and spiritual expressions are diverse yet tolerant of their differences, as we see in the varied sacred buildings. The water points at the self-reflexive nature of this worldview, and the wind turbines and green roof show its commitment to global environmental values.
For more analysis on how worldviews impact politics and culture, we invite you to read the ICE white paper: Premises and Principles of the Evolutionary Worldview, which can be downloaded here: https://www.culturalevolution.org/premises-principles-evolutionary-worldview/
A very interesting assessment. Seems to have rated me accurately, though it would be good to include some sort of strength interpretation, e.g., how strongly am I so-and-so? I was rated a 6 on both my 'most' and 'least' categories, but I don't know what that means.
In addition, there is an obvious bias against the Traditional in the wording of the Modern explanation. Don't know if you intended it. The first sentence in the Modern is full of denigrating terms, clearly depicting the Traditional: "liberation from imposed, oppressive, frequently religious, authorities and understandings of the past." None of the other explanations start with such a stark statement discrediting another view. Additionally, it is hard to imagine that this statement does not also apply to the Modern itself, as well. Anyone who has studied the process involved in the advancement of science, knows how difficult it is to "achieve liberation from imposed, oppressive authorities and understandings of the past." Once established, it takes nothing short of a 'revolution,' as Kuhn states, to change scientific theories. I ask you to think about removing this first sentence, or at least modify it.
I appreciate that this assessment gives me and my students a way to begin thinking about worldview. It opens up some rich discussion in my classes.
These four worldviews are here depicted around a circle or as equals. That is a way to see them simultaneously as each taking turns without preferences. But at least the Traditional and Postmodern worldviews are typically associated with the political left and the political right and could be depicted as co-equal, complimentary or next to each other. The Traditional (let's place it on the right) is normally associated with conservatism and the Postmodern (let's place it on the left) is normally associated with liberalism. I suppose that – generally speaking – the Modern worldview could be to the right of the Postmodern Worldview and to the left of the Traditional Worldview. It could also be in-between the Traditional and the Postmodern having some people leaning to the left of the political spectrum and others to the right as per different individually chosen positions on different issues. Finally, these worldviews can be depicted occupying a vertical, ascending column with Traditional at the bottom and Integrative at the top. This would emphasize greater degrees of openness and inclusivity, the bottom worldview needing rigid direction and the upper worldview more flexible and open to all considerations. In some Integral Community conversations the conservative Republicans and the liberal Democrats are depicted under the second form of depiction previously described or as side by side and complementary but we could also see their relation vertically with the conservative as less evolved in that it is unable to take in as many perspectives than the liberal. Thus we can have three forms of depiction: Circular from a less differentiated "bird's eye" view perspective, side by side, or mutually necessary and complementary from an egalitarian yin/yang type of perspective and also vertically, with the Traditional as less inclusive or "evolved" in self-identity, flexibility and values whilst the Liberal is more inclusive or "evolved" in self-identity, flexibility and values. It may not be politically correct to emphasize the latter depiction and, whether true or not, may cause greater resentment and counter attacks among the conservative feeling judged as inferior but, from an integral-integrative perspective, this third explanation should not always be avoided.
I love this. Not that you're describing your imperfections, but that you HAVE imperfections. It's nice to know that I am not alone when it comes to dirty floors, as well. Also, don't even look in the master bathroom!
Giorgio, this seems very insightful, but my tired brain today can't envision it. Might you consider making a visual of all these different ways of representing the relationships amongst the worldviews that you are intuiting?
Haven't read my results yet, but the test seemed narrow toward religion, it left no room for non religious Christians. I think her overall view of those that believe in God seems dominated by religious leaders and legalism. For example the question that asks if you look to religious leaders and tradition, that was unfair. I look to God through his word. My relationship with God and my faith is not dominated by works and or tradition. It is living and real. So, no I don't look to religious leaders, I look to God, but there really were no relevant choices. Just some thoughts….
This questionnaire has three categories – Traditional (Red/Amber), Modern (Orange), Postmodern (Green) – on Integral 1st Tier. Only one category on 2nd Tier, and none on the 3rd Tier. Yet I would suggest that impact of those on 3rd Tier (Cook-Greuter's 5/6) is huge – and well known – and already an ever increasing part of society. Gandhi, King, and Mandela are just the public faces. And these people aren't seen as divine – as having "unobtainable" stature – as is often attributed to Cook-Greuter's 6 (Unitive). Perhaps we aren't looking "high" enough? What you look to, focus on becomes your destination. What happens when it isn't called out, left off the map? How would a questionnaire that included 3rd Tier "read"? How many people on 2nd Tier have 3rd Tier as their growth edge "ego development" level. How many people might respond to a 3rd Tier category and and say – "yes – that is the response I agree with most"?
Integrative worldview but not holding an Integral perspective as represented by such writers as Ken Wilbur or Steve McIntosh. Poetry, literature, story telling,yoga, qigong, martial arts, meditation, music, nature, films, unending enquiry into the mystery of life, intimate relationships- that is what frames my perspective.
Your comment caught my special attention. Your worldview is "integrative," you say, but what you have called your "frame" is actually just a list. It is precisely a frame that is needed. How are the various items integrated in your worldview?


text:
Girls Soccer: White River Runs Through Klahowya
Klahowya's girls soccer team knows how it feels to win an overtime game in the state tournament.
Now the Eagles know how it feels to lose one.
Morgan Brown's bending free kick two minutes into extra time found its way into the back of the net as White River defeated Klahowya 1-0 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals Saturday at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
Klahowya coach Troy Oelschlager, whose team finished the season at 13-2-2, believes the right team is moving on.
"We didn't have that swagger tonight like we did on Tuesday," said Oelschlager, referring to his team's 1-0 overtime win against Lakewood in the first round. "Our players came off the field at the end of regulation and they just kind of looked spent."
White River of Buckley (15-4) advances to face East Valley (Spokane) in the semifinals. It will be the Hornets' first visit to the final four.
"This means everything to us coming from a small town," said Brown, one of the team's two senior captains.
Having won a pair of 1-0 playoff games entering Saturday's contest, the Eagles nearly went down a goal in the ninth minute. White River's Chloe Sharp got free at the top of the goal area, but her shot bounced off the crossbar and out.
White River finished the first half with four shots to Klahowya's two.
In the second half, the quicker Hornets carried much of the play and had the Eagles chasing them all over the field.
"We could not maintain possession of the ball at all in the second half," Oelschlager said.
White River's hard work nearly paid off near the end of regulation, but Kinsey Gandel's chance in the 77th minute sailed just over the crossbar from 15 yards out.
"We dodged a bullet," Oelschlager said.
The Eagles couldn't dodge another one in the first overtime session. After the Hornets earned a free kick 19 yards from Klahowya's goal, Brown lined up, eyed the upper right portion of the net and hit it, beating Eagles goalkeeper Cassondra Dick.
"I've taken set pieces since my freshman year," Brown said. "None have turned out like that."
Oelschlager, whose team hadn't allowed a goal in nearly a month, was hoping his team could hold off the Hornets long enough to get into penalty kicks.
That's before Brown delivered.
"It was a great shot," he said. "She put it right where it needed to be."


text:
Kenneth Omeruo is on the verge of leaving Chelsea and joining a fellow English side, according to Own Goal Nigeria.
Omeruo joined Chelsea from Belgian outfit Standard Liege in the winter of 2012, but has not made a single appearance for the Blues over that five-year period.
He has, in fact, made 126 appearances across loan stints with four different sides, and made 31 appearances for the Nigerian national side in those five-years.
Now 23-years-old, it now appears to be time for Omeruo to finally move on, and it looks as though his next destination has already been decided.
As per Own Goal Nigeria, Chelsea have accepted a bid worth £3M, plus add-ons, from Wolves for Omeruo. It is believed that he will undergo a medical with the Championship side and the deal will be signed and sealed.
This is where we would usually thank him for his service to the club, but in this case, there hasn't been any.


text:
Best Martin Luther King Songs: 10 Moving Tributes
From sorrowful mourning to polemical rage, the best Martin Luther King songs deal with the death of the civil-rights icon in moving, revelatory ways.
On 4 April 1968, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr, who was shot while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, stunned the world. The man who had led the civil-rights movement for more than a decade had a huge influence on musicians. Songs have been written about him ever since that shocking day, with the best Martin Luther King songs being penned by musicians as diverse as Neil Diamond, Public Enemy, U2 and Nina Simone.
King's celebrated "I have a dream" speech has been sampled by dozens of singers, including Bobby Womack ('American Dream'), Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five ('The King') and Michael Jackson ('HIStory'). Elvis Presley was moved to tears when he heard the song 'If I Can Dream', written by W Earl Brown, in the immediate aftermath of the killing.
King himself was a fan of jazz and gospel. The wonderful singer Mahalia Jackson sang 'Precious Lord, Take My Hand' at his funeral, because it was the last song he requested before his death.
In particular, King was a big fan of bebop. "Jazz speaks for life," King wrote in his opening address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival. His friend Reverend Sampson Alexander recalls them debating the merits of trumpeters Clifford Brown and Miles Davis. "King preferred Miles Davis on that instrument. But he thought the absolute greatest was Bird, that is, Charlie Parker," recalled Alexander. In his speech at The Lincoln Memorial, in August 1963, King used the refrain "now is the time", referencing the title of Parker's classic 1945 tune, 'Now's The Time'.
Martin Luther King Jr Day, which celebrates his birth, on 15 January 1929, is now an annual holiday in America, and to mark both MLK Day and the 50th anniversary of his death, we pick 10 of the best Martin Luther King songs celebrating the civil-rights icon.
Let us know in the comments section if we have missed any of your favourites.
Nina Simone: 'Why (The King Of Love Is Dead)' (1968)
"We want to do a tune written for today, for this hour, for Dr Martin Luther King. This tune is written about him and for him," said Nina Simone as she introduced one of the best Martin Luther King songs in history, 'Why (The King Of Love Is Dead)', to the audience at The Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, New York, just three days after King was murdered. The song, honouring the courage and compassion of "this great man", was written by Simone's bassist Gene Taylor. Even quicker to emerge was the tribute from Otis Spann. On the day after King's assassination, the blues pianist, a member of Muddy Waters' band, performed two newly composed blues for the fallen civil-rights leader: 'Blues For Martin Luther King' and 'Hotel Lorraine'.
Marvin Gaye: 'Abraham, Martin And John' (1968)
"It seems the good, they die young" is just one of the memorable lines of Dick Holler's song about assassinations in America, prompted by the deaths of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. This moving song was first recorded by Dion and subsequently covered by dozens of artists, including Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, Emmylou Harris and even Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy. Arguably the finest version is Marvin Gaye's 1970 single, which was a Top 10 hit in the UK. A year later, jazz star Oliver Nelson dedicated a whole album, Black, Brown And Beautiful, to King.
Neil Diamond: 'Dry Your Eyes' (1976)
Neil Diamond and Robbie Robertson of The Band wrote 'Dry Your Eyes' for the album Beautiful Noise. Robertson said the song was inspired by "how many people felt after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr". In 2017, Diamond began performing it again on his world tour – a song he had not performed live since showcasing it for Martin Scorsese's film The Last Waltz. Diamond said, "It's been relegated to the attic. I think it's due to come out after 40 years."
Stevie Wonder: 'Happy Birthday' (1981)
Stevie Wonder met King when he was a teenage singing sensation. Wonder remembers crying at the news of the assassination, which he heard on a car radio as he was being driven home from Michigan School For The Blind. In 1980, Wonder joined with the members of the Congressional Black Caucus in the US Congress to speak out for the need to honour the day King was born. He went on a nationwide tour – along with Gil Scott-Heron – performing 'Happy Birthday', a song that was instrumental in helping to establish the national holiday commemorating King's birth, for which reason it will forever remain one of the best Martin Luther King songs. Above soaring keyboard synthesisers, Wonder sings, "There ought to be a time/That we can set aside/To show just how much we love you."
U2: 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)' (1984)
Bono was inspired to write 'Pride (In The Name of Love)' after reading Stephen B Oates' biography of King, Let The Trumpet Sound. Not only one of the best Martin Luther King songs, U2's hit is one of the iconic rock songs of the 80s, on which Chrissie Hynde of Pretenders sings backing vocals. The lyrics contain one factual error. Bono wrote, "Early morning, April four/Shot rings out in the Memphis sky," though the assassination actually took place at 6.01pm.
Queen: 'One Vision' (1985)
First released as a single in November 1985, and then included on the bestselling album A Kind Of Magic, 'One Vision' is a high-energy rock song that Roger Taylor later admitted was "sort of half nicked off Martin Luther King's famous speech". Freddie Mercury later added some less serious lyrics about shrimps, prawns and chicken.
Public Enemy: 'By The Time I Get To Arizona' (1991)
Public Enemy are one of hip-hop's defining acts, and their polemic song 'By the Time I Get to Arizona' – and its even more controversial video – was designed to criticise former Arizona governor Evan Mecham, one of only two governors in the US to refuse to recognise King's birthday as a national holiday. Asked in 2011 why he chose that title, Chuck D said, "I'm a big Isaac Hayes fan and his version of 'By The Time I Get to Phoenix', the Jim Webb, Glen Campbell song. The title came first. I always like to work from titles."
James Taylor: 'Shed A Little Light' (1991)
James Taylor's gentle and stirring tribute to King was inspired by his desire to honour a 20th-century titan. Taylor said: "To me, King is really one of the central heroes, you know, just in our time, a real exceptional, rare person who contributed the right things at the right time. You know, I think my parents, they led me into an awareness of what was going on. You know, they felt amazingly strongly about the civil-rights struggle, and I guess it stayed with me. It always stayed with me. So it came out in a song."
Patty Griffin: 'Up To The Mountain (MLK Song)' (2007)
One of the finest country music tributes to King is Patty Griffin's 'Up To The Mountain', from the album Children Running Through. Griffin takes the title from King's 1968 "I've been to the mountaintop" speech, delivered the day before he was killed. It is a moving and soulful 21st-century tribute from the singer-songwriter, who was only four when King was assassinated.
Paul Simon: 'So Beautiful Or So What' (2011)
Paul Simon is one of the master songwriters of the modern age, and in 'So Beautiful Or So What' he tackles the subject of despair and the "sirens' long melody" after the killing of King. The song was hailed as one of the best Martin Luther King songs by Elvis Costello, who said that Simon's song "rejects the allure of fashionable darkness" and instead "celebrates the endurance of the spirit and the persistence of love".
Looking for more? Discover how Stevie Wonder helped create Martin Luther King day by penning one of the best Martin Luther King songs.
Listen to the best of Motown on Apple Music and Spotify.
1 Comment
what about Wake up Everybody by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes?


text:
Summersville Lake
Hampton Inn Summersville
Hampton Inn Summersville
Hampton Inn Summersville
5400 Webster RoadSummersville, WV 26651
$90 - $100
Hotel DescriptionThe Hampton Inn Summersville hotel in West Virginia is located off US Route 19. Summersville area attractions include golf tennis whitewater rafting Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine Hawks Nest State Park and New River Gorge National Park. Dining options include Cafe Acropolis Cornerstone Applebee's Shoney's Dairy Queen Hardees's Long John Silvers or Subway all less than a mile from the hotel.The hotel features 75 rooms outdoor picnic area with children's play area complimentary hot continental breakfast bar exercise gym outdoor heated pool and an executive meeting room that accommodates 25 people with TV VCR overhead projector and marker board. Catering is available for meetings. In West Virginia we offer meeting and banquet facilities audio/visual equipment and car rental information are available for a nominal fee.The room amenities include a 25-inch TVs with cable hairdryers and irons. The hotel also offers connecting rooms and cribs.
Amenities(Additional fees may apply to some amenities)
- Pets accepted
- Family Rooms
- Room service
- Free breakfast
- Fitness center
- Swimming pool
- Wheelchair accessible
- Business center
- Meeting rooms
- Non-smoking rooms
- Data port
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page


text:
Earlier versions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus are no longer available for download. You can download the latest version of the application instead by clicking Download version 21.
To save your license information, install the new version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus on top of the old one. See this article for instructions.
Release of antivirus database updates (required to protect your computer/server/mobile device)
Providing technical support over phone / web
Release of patches for the application (addressing detected bugs)
*Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and 11 with the new Windows user interface style are not supported. To access My Kaspersky portal, we recommend using Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 or later.
**Kaspersky Protection extension functionality is not supported.
Windows To Go technology is not supported.
Please let us know how we can make this website more comfortable for you
Thank you for submitting your feedback.
We will review your feedback shortly.
Your feedback will be used for content improvement purposes only. If you need assistance, please contact technical support.
Your suggestions will help improve this article.


text:
A $139,000 sponsorship by Glencore has provided a 6.2m vessel to assist the Gudjuda rangers, part of the Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers.
The new vessel is not only a great asset for the group, but has also been the catalyst for new skilling programmes for the Gudjuda Rangers, including coxswains certificates, vessel operation competency and safety management systems training.
It will improve important turtle research off the north Queensland coast, and enhance other activities, such as wetland care and management, as well as helping the local community in the event of natural disasters such as flooding and cyclones.


text:
Vannoccio Biringuccio and the Art of Metalworking
De la Pirotechnia (1540) by Vannoccio Biringuccio Probably on October 20, 1480, Italian matallurgist Vannoccio Biringuccio was born. He is best known for his manual on metalworking, De la pirotechnia, published posthumously in 1540. Biringuccio is considered by some as the father of the foundry industry. Biringuccio was born in Siena to Paolo Biringuccio, thought to have been an architect and public servant, and his mother was Lucrezia di Bartolommeo Biringuccio. He…Read more


text:
When I wrote the blog post, I mentioned that we needed about $250 for tickets for my eleven students. Well, your response was absolutely incredible. Within days, you had given over $700. We not only had enough money to get tickets for the second grade students, but for chaperones, too, and we were able to buy food and drinks for dinner beforehand. I was completely overwhelmed and so grateful for the outpouring of kindness and generosity.
Each year for April Fool's Day, I play a little trick on my students. In the morning, I give them a special permission slip for a field trip to outer space. The form is utterly ridiculous, but every year, the students fall for it and think that they are headed to outer space with NASA. It's kind of mean, but so funny that I can't help but continue to do it every year. This year, however, there were some tears at the end of the day. Second grade may be too young to pull that trick...
When I announced to the students that we would be going to a Lecrae concert, they were incredulous. The sting of the "outer space field trip" was a little fresh. They finally believed me after I showed them the blog post, though, and they just about lost their minds with excitement.
On the days leading up to the concert, all of the students had a million and one questions about what it would be like. They wanted to know if they would be able to meet him and if they would be in the front row, and they asked about which songs he would perform. We watched Lecrae's testimony a couple days beforehand, and they were so intrigued with what God has done in his life.
The day of the concert finally arrived, and we were all so excited. The anticipation was clearly represented in their antsy behavior throughout the day. When I arrived back to school that evening, the kids were eating pizza, watching Netflix, and just about losing their minds with the expectancy of the evening. We quickly made a sign so that we could show Lecrae the extent of our fandom, and we loaded up the bus and headed to the Classic Center.
Upon first arriving, every child wanted to go to the "fancy" bathrooms. :) We settled in and waited for the show to begin. They didn't understand that there would be a couple opening acts, and they were so ready for Lecrae to come on stage. However, they greatly enjoyed DJ Promote and Andy Mineo. By the time Lecrae came on stage, it was almost nine o'clock. The kids were fading fast, and so were us teachers.
While they had been dancing and jumping during the other performances, when Lecrae came on stage, they were awestruck. It was so incredible to watch them take it all in and see their dreams come true. They danced and watched and sang along, and in the middle of the concert, Lecrade made his way to a smaller stage and stood in the middle of the auditorium. He was probably about 30 feet from us, and the kids lost their minds screaming his name over and over. As my coworker Jami and I took turns holding up our sign, which read "Downtown Academy Loves Lecrae," I just prayed that he would give us a little shoutout. And before he began a song, he said "Downtown Academy are you ready?!" I think I may have lost my mind in that moment. All the kids jumped and screamed, and Jami and I hugged each other, so happy that he had made
When we got back to school, it was ten o'clock, and I was pretty much dead on arrival. But it was so. worth. it. Thank you to everyone who gave financially and also gave through prayers! We had an amazing night, and I pray and hope that our students cherish this experience forever.
Here's the shoutout on video! :)