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Violet's Vegan Comics for Small Children and Big Kids
By Violet Plum and daughter Miranda Lemon
"Your creations are such inspirations for children, parents, and teachers everywhere! What an original and substantial way to make people, and children, of all kinds, feel the same and come together for a greater purpose. Kudos to you ladies, what a positive impact on our society!!" Sabra Anne October 2016
"I want to let you know how much I appreciate the safe reading space you provide for the younger set. This dad feels 100% confident in the content of your works, and my child just gobbles up every word. Please continue your excellent work, and we'll keep reading." KeithDecember 2017
Violet's Vegan Comics began six years ago as a result of my own love of adventure comics growing up. When I was, I don't know, about ten years old, I would eagerly await the landing of Tammy & Misty comics on the doormat every week. I love a good story. Something exciting, gripping, suspenseful; something with intrigue; something funny; something engrossing. Read more
Raising Vegan Kids in a Non-Vegan World
By Julia Feliz Brueck
The Baby and Toddler Vegan Feeding Guide by Julia Feliz Brueck is a to-the-point guide for parents looking to raise their little ones safely on plant-based diets. Evidence-based information and dietitian approved! Book trailer below.
Raising a vegan child in a very non-vegan world is certainly no easy task – not because it's not doable. Remaining strong in one of the most vulnerable times in our lives because of the pressure to conform to what the majority of society deems we should do is no easy feat.
I've now been in the midst of raising two little vegans since conception for over four years. Early into that journey and years later I still feel confident that:
"One of the best and most important decisions I have made is choosing to raise both my sons with vegan values. As a vegan of almost a decade, I want to pass on the same values that have made me question my everyday life choices and choose to make my impact on other living beings as small as possible. Apart from helping them develop a connection to other living beings, the most natural way to help them start their own vegan journey is through what they eat. Read more
Vegan Family of Six: featuring 13 year old Cody Elkins, Racquetball Champion
By Great Vegan Athletes
Cody 10 years Old
Success from early years
With a supportive vegan family of six who love sport, Cody Elkins became a noted vegan athlete at an early age. As a junior competing in racquetball, he had already achieved great things. In 2013, aged eight, he was the American Junior champion, and in 2014 he was the California State Champion and finished third in the Junior Olympics. In 2015 he finished third in the World Outdoor Championships and won the World Indoor Championships for 10 and under. Cody also retained his state title. He was ranked #2 in the USA in 2015 in the 10 and under category.
Vegan power!
"I am 100% vegan" Cody told us proudly in 2015. "I was born a vegetarian 10 years ago and my mom read the book "Skinny Bitch" eight years ago and we went vegan the very next day. I have been vegan eight years and feel great about it because I am saving animals." Read more
Dominika Piasecka – My Life As An Activist
By Vegan Life Magazine
For many vegans, eradicating animal products from their diet and lifestyle is simply not enough in the effort to save animals from pain and suffering. Even after fully committing to veganism in 2012, student and campaigner Dominika Piasecka felt as though she could, and should, be doing more. She told Vegan Life: "I didn't want to be a person who was content with how things currently are, so I turned to animal rights. We must actively intervene to stop violence, not just say we don't want to participate in it."
After initially getting involved with animal rights and campaigning when she was still a vegetarian, Dominika was encouraged to watch a speech by activist Gary Yourosfky, and was instantly hooked on the idea of veganism.
"Every single sentence he said made sense to me, and veganism became logical. I watched the whole speech and excluded cow's milk from my diet right away. I could not believe that I was living a lie for so many years – I had no idea about the dairy and egg industries and in the past I never understood why people became vegan." Read more
Chloe Falkenheim, Young Animal Activist and Founder of VegYouth
By Chloe Falkenheim
Hi, I'm Chloe, the founder of VegYouth. I started VegYouth when I was 16 years old and in the eleventh grade (in August 2013).
Path to veganism:
My story dates back to when I was 3 years old. I had just finished watching the movie Chicken Run and came to the shocking revelation that chicken indeed does come from chickens. I put away the thought for some time.
This thought resurfaced when I was 6 years old, when a book of fun facts about pigs sparked on obsession of them. I read Charlotte's Web, fiction books about pigs, and one where the main character was a pig who did not want to be slaughtered as well as many other pig books and movies. I decided to never eat pork again, even though my family never ate pork anyway, so this obsession did not really change my eating habits. I also like to say that I became an activist when I was six, because I cried whenever anyone even talked about eating pork and even wanted to start a pig appreciation club. Read more
The Vegan Librarian: Teaching Empathy To Children Through Language
By Madison Bishop first posted in Acti-Veg
Since I began working with kids, I've gotten used to a lot of unexpected questions. "Why do you have hair?" is one I answered my first week on the job as the public library's new children's librarian, directed at me by an accusatory preschooler who did not seem to realize that everyone in the room with him (save a few bald infants) had hair, too. I thought for a moment before responding, "I think we all have hair to keep our head warm. But we can research it together, if you want." In the time since, I've answered inquiries about sharks, Judy Blume, peanut allergies, and everything in between.
But the most common question, the one that every parent and teacher knows well, is "Why?" Read more


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Bamboo is an environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable material, ideal for creating beautiful, durable, high quality flooring. Bamboo is a pleasure to look at, stand and walk on, and has a natural decorative beauty. Botanically, bamboo is not a wood at all, but rather a grass. Bamboo has a very intricate rooting system allowing the same plant to regenerate itself and to be re-harvested annually. This makes bamboo one of the most renewable and abundant natural resources on the planet. Bamboo is attractive as a building material because it is very hard, strong, and dimensionally stable. Consumers appreciate bamboo products because of the design, elegance, unique grain and color.
An EcoTimber floor is more than beautiful wood, cork or bamboo. Since 1992, EcoTimber has been the only flooring company devoted to forest protection and healthy homes. You can trust that an EcoTimber floor, no matter which one you choose, meets the very highest environmental and quality standards.
Teragren is a U.S.-based manufacturer of fine bamboo flooring, panels, veneer and parquet butcher block. Today, Teragren is one of North America's largest manufacturers of environmentally friendly bamboo flooring, stair parts, trim, panels, veneer and butcher block countertops.
Cork is a versatile and stylish material found in premiere homes throughout the country. Cork, a natural flooring product, is periodically harvested from cork trees in Europe near the Mediterranean, without harming the trees in any way. Soft, quiet, warm and comfortable, cork makes a good-looking practical floor in many areas of the home. Cork's advantages include good sound insulation, softness underfoot, and high resilience.
Headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, Natural Cork is the foremost supplier of cork flooring in North America. Leading the industry in design excellence through a commitment to innovative product development, Natural Cork offers a wide variety of cork flooring options to meet diverse marketplace demands. By constantly incorporating advancing technologies, Natural Cork continues to improve durability, simplify maintenance, and develop new patterns and colors to satisfy current design trends.
Wicanders® is a truly sustainable brand! It represents a unique balance between the creation of wealth and the protection of the environment. The starting point is a raw material that is extracted cyclically from the cork oak trees without ever damaging them. This raw material is then transformed into high value-added products while promoting the economic and social sustainability of areas at risk of desertification.
What sets the Solida site finish program apart from others is the virtually infinite number of possibilities you can put together. They have more colours, more designs, more shapes and more sizes than any other supplier. Each order is handcrafted to your wishes and supplied with a satin polyurethane or available matte polyurethane for on site application. This is why designers love the Solida program!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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The Chartered Institute of Housing is the independent voice for housing and the home of professional standards
This section of the website covers some of the biggest current policy changes and brings together all of the information you need to prepare for them.
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text:
I'm facing an interesting issue with 1PW - I can open the record in PW-mini, copy username/password. I can fill in the credentials in Chrome. But as soon as I try to view/edit that particular entry, the Application just crashes it's brains out - the process just stops and I need to re-start the application so I can see the icon in the system-tray. I can view/edit most of other entries, but only this one is causing the issues.
I don't get anything interesting in logs, but if I open the console before I crash the app, I can get a dump of stack trace. Though the console is getting shut-down at the same time as the app, so I can't really copy the whole message.
However I've managed to get the screenshot of some of the stacktrace:
Any ideas?
1Password Version: 7.3.619
Extension Version: Chrome, latest
OS Version: Win110
Sync Type: Dropbox
@trailmax thank you for reporting of this crash. While it's not totally obvious from the screenshot, i suspect i know what happened. Please do not edit that item elsewhere, lets see if next update fixes it.
@SergeyTheAgile OK, got you.
Any estimate on the next release time (i.e. days, weeks or months?)
Also I've tried to view/edit the same item on another PC (same setup of versions/OS) and got the same output (though not sure what I was expecting to happen)
Hi @trailmax,
Just in case, can you tell me what the URL looks like, you don't have to tell us the URL if it is private but does it have anything missing like http:// or is it a very long path with characters?
The crash seems to be related to the URL, the way we style it, which is why we're asking about the URL itself, it seems to be malformed.
@MikeT It looks like this: "https://servicea089-appgrp26.secretdomain.biz/". In that record I have two URL recorded - the previous one and also "https://secretdomain.biz/".
But I have three 1PW records for similar domains (Dev, UAT, Prod) - all point to "secretdomain.biz" with different digits in the subdomain. And the other 2 records are OK - i.e. when I edit them, they don't crash the application.
Hi @trailmax,
Please give 1Password 7.3.639 Beta 4 a try, it should fix your issue. You can check for an update by opening the 1Password menu in the main 1Password window.
Hi @MikeT,
I've tried the latest update and the problem is still there - same, when trying to view/edit in the app, it goes crash with the stack trace dump into console window and nothing in logs. Same stack trace as in my first post - could not get anything else from it.
I don't think it is connected to the URL format, because I have another 2 records with identical URLs and they work just fine.
Any way to get the console to write to disk before it goes ka-boom?
Hi @trailmax,
Did you try our diagnostics report? It may include it as it checks a few places. Please use this guide to generate the report and email it to us at [email protected]. Also, in the email, include the link to this thread along with your forum username, so that we can connect the email to this thread.
Let us know here when you've sent it, so we can confirm we got the email.
Hi, we got your email and will reply there.
ref: IRN-15819-266
@MikeT, @SergeyTheAgile I can confirm, the problem is now resolved. Thanks for the quick fix! Also replied in the email.
Awesome, thanks for testing it for us.


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The Classical Music Fellowship awards five Luminarts Fellowships to classical musicians in categories of Women's and Men's Voice, Piano, Strings, and Winds; $52,500 in total. Three $7,500 Fellowships will be awarded to musicians in the categories of piano, strings, and winds. Two $15,000 Fellowships will be awarded to musicians in Women's and Men's Voice.
The deadline to apply is Friday, February 5, 2021.
The Luminarts Classical Music Fellowship program is sponsored in part by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation.


text:
When will the wireless sector reach total market saturation? Apparently not anytime soon. The worldwide mobile phone market continued solid double-digit growth in the second quarter (2Q08) as competition in high-end devices heated up.
According to IDC's market assessment, vendors shipped a total of 306.0 million units, an increase of 5.6 percent from the 289.7 million units shipped during the previous quarter and up 15.3 percent from the 265.4 million units shipped during 2Q07.
Total shipments for the quarter were in line with IDC's expectations, even as vendors cited economic challenges and changing demands within key regions.
"Since the start of the year, vendors have been wary of the potential decrease in demand for mobile phones," says Ramon T. Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends Team.
"That has not stopped vendors from experimenting with and releasing a host of mid-range and high-end devices with GPS, touchscreen, and multimedia. This also goes for hotly contested emerging markets, where vendors are introducing phones that offer features in addition to voice telephony. Reception towards these devices has been warm, and as we head into the holiday quarter, demand for these and other devices will no doubt increase."
These design changes are escalating competition between devices in a new way. Converged mobile devices, also know to the industry as smartphones, have typically been the category of handsets incorporating higher-end features such as GPS and touchscreen. However, these features are quickly moving onto handsets further down the food chain -- feature phones.
"Smartphones are still seeing growth rates hovering around 40.0 percent year-over-year, while the rest of the industry is growing at roughly 10.0 percent," said Ryan Reith, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker.
"However, grouping the rest of the handsets into one category is doing the industry no justice. The rise of the feature phone has created a battle at the high-end of the market, with the main difference between smartphone and feature phone being the high-level operating system. We expect the competition at the high-end will help drive growth within the market and help move volume to higher-end devices."
In North America, mobile phone shipments experienced a healthy lift from last quarter, with vendors introducing a number of feature phones ahead of the much anticipated iPhone 3G. In many cases, these offered touchscreen, music, or GPS.
At the same time, the converged mobile device market grew faster than the overall mobile phone market and accounted for nearly a fifth of total mobile phone shipments.


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Woodside looking at alternative Browse options
Woodside is looking at other options after shelving its $45 billion Browse LNG development near Broome.
The company says that, after a technical and financial evaluation, the proposed LNG development near James Price Point in north-west Western Australia does not meet its commercial requirements.
Woodside says it recently looked at tenders for the project, which showed the development would not deliver the required commercial returns to support a positive final investment decision.
On the other side of the world, Woodside has opened up another LNG business opportunity.
Woodside says it has has lodged an expression of interest for developing a liquefied natural gas project at Grassy Point in Canada.
However, Woodside is not abandoning Browse, and says it will look at alternative options to develop the gas field with its joint venture partners.
In its statement to the share market, Woodside says those options could include a floating processing plant, a pipeline to existing LNG facilities in the Pilbara or a smaller onshore option near James Price Point.
One of Woodside's Browse joint venture partners, Shell, says it wants the project to use its offshore floating processing technology.
"We believe Shell's floating LNG technology is the fastest, most economic and the best technical solution available for Browse," the company's Australian head Ann Pickard said in a statement.
"Floating LNG can bring significant long term, sustainable jobs to Western Australia, Australia, and the Kimberley, as well as providing employment and business opportunities for Kimberley Indigenous people."
Not everyone is a fan of the offshore option though, with both major political parties in Western Australia concerned that a floating platform will provide less economic benefit to the state.
The Maritime Union of Australia has also expressed fears that a floating platform may cause an offshore environmental disaster.
"Aside from the thousands of jobs that Australians would miss out on, the offshore option would also create the potential for environmental Armageddon in the event of a leak or explosion," warned the MUA's deputy national secretary Mick Doleman in a statement.
"This new technology that Shell is trying to foist on the joint venture is untried and untested and could be catastrophic if something goes wrong, such as a cyclone or a tsunami, particularly as it wouldn't be crewed by professional seafarers with high-level safety qualifications."
Environment, cost, gas prices
Commodities analyst and the chief economist of Barratt's Bulletin, Jonathan Barratt, says Shell's floating option is probably likely to get up.
"I think you'll probably look for some form of floating system, not quite as expensive and also a little bit more manageable," he told ABC News Online.
Mr Barratt says opposition from environmental groups has played a part in sinking the James Price Point plan, as have spiralling construction costs in Western Australia.
However, he says the main factor that has sunk the original James Price Point plan is a dramatic slump from peak to trough in natural gas prices as US shale gas production has surged.
"When you've had a complete technology shift where we have so much supply, so many people trying to tap into the resource, then all of a sudden you have too much supply of the product," Mr Barratt explained.
"And when you see prices dropping from $US14 to $US2 [per British thermal unit] all of a sudden a lot of projects do not become viable."
Woodside says it will make a proposal to its joint venture partners regarding work and a budget for the remaining 20 months of the retention leases, and still intends to develop the Browse Basin gas resource.
Lessons learned
IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas says the decision to shelve the onshore processing plan, for now at least, shows Woodside (WPL) has learned lessons from the cost and time blowouts on its Pluto LNG project.
"Pluto is now up and running and producing solid flows. However, WPL has had to learn a hard lesson that its onshore processing is a very costly business," he wrote in a note on Woodside's decision.
"WPL's Browse development was looking like déjà vu. Several broker notes show the internal rates of return for Browse were well below viability levels and cash flows were not stacking up."
Jonathan Barratt says the shift from the high-cost land terminal to what may be a much lower cost offshore option is likely to be seen as a positive for Woodside's value.
"It's less pressure on the balance sheet when we've got so much uncertainty in the economic world, and I think its probably a prudent management decision not to commit to the spend," he said.
Investors generally agree, with Woodside's share price rising 4 per cent to $36.68 by 11:14am (AEST).
The Perth-based company is the operator of the Browse joint ventures and owns a 34 per cent stake in the East Browse project and a 17 per cent stake in West Browse.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, oil-and-gas, australia, wa, broome-6725
First posted


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British standard Synergy -Double pole 1 gang switch + LED -13 A -250 V~ Sleek Design polished stainless steel
- Pack (number of units) 1
- Volume (dm3) 0.462
- Weight (g) 169.00
Substitution references
No substitute reference
- Conform to BS EN 1363: Part. 2
- With safety shutter mechanism
- For flush-mounting, back box to be min. 35 mm deep
- Nominal plate dimensions: 86 x 86 mm (1 gang), 86 x 146 mm (2 gang)
- ASTA licence
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The information given in this e-catalogue (characteristics and dimensions) may be amended, and therefore does not represent an undertaking on our part. The e-catalogue is reserved for professionals only. You are also reminded that all products must be installed by a qualified professional in accordance with the installation rules.


text:
After Soviet tanks crushed Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring in 1968, all performing musicians were vetted for loyalty to the new regime, The Economist notes . The criteria included: no English lyric or band names, and no long hair. "Plastic People of the Universe" failed on all counts
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text:
Alps crash 'a picture of horror'
SAINT-LOUIS, France -- The pilots of a doomed German jetliner sent no distress call as the Airbus A320 went into a sharp, eight-minute descent Tuesday before crashing into the rugged French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard and leaving a scene of utter destruction.
"The site is a picture of horror,'' German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after viewing the crash scene from the air.
All on board the Germanwings Airbus A320 were presumed dead, French officials said. The victims included two infants, two opera singers and 16 German high school students and their teachers returning from an exchange trip to Spain. It was the deadliest crash in France in decades.
The mystery over the cause was deepened by the lack of a distress call and the loss of radio contact with air traffic control as it rapidly descended from a 38,000-feet cruising altitude, France's aviation authority said. One of the plane's two black box recorders was recovered at the crash site.
The White House issued a statement saying that no link to terrorism had been found.
Al Diehl, a former crash investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the plane's high speed at low altitude, as evidenced by the wide scattering of small pieces of wreckage, suggested "extreme distress."
"When you get down the below the levels of the mountains and you're still going over 400 knots, either you're totally incapacitated or you have a horrific onboard emergency, or mechanically the aircraft is just not functioning," Diehl said. "You'd never fly an aircraft at 400 mph-plus anywhere close to those extreme terrain features."
The crash so distressed Germanwings crews that many did not show up for work, forcing mass flight cancellations, the RT news organization reported.
"One must not forget: many of our Germanwings crews have known crew members who were on board the crashed plane," Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said in a written statement.
Lufthansa owns Germanwings, which was forced to cancel 30 flights across Europe, the Bild and RT news organizations reported.
First responders were let down from helicopter cables into the crash zone before the search was ended for the day by darkness.
"We saw an aircraft that had literally been ripped apart. The bodies are in a state of destruction. There is not one intact piece of wing or fuselage," Bruce Robin, prosecutor for the city of Marseille, told Reuters news service after flying over the area.
"It's a tragedy on our soil," French President Francois Hollande said. "I want to express all my solidarity to the families of the victims of this air accident. This is a bereavement, a tragedy."
In Washington, President Obama called the crash "particularly heartbreaking because it apparently includes the loss of so many children.'' He said he spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to express condolences and planned to speak with Spain's president.
"Our thoughts and our prayers are with our friends in Europe, especially the people of Germany and Spain, following a terrible airplane crash in France,'' Obama said.
"Our teams are in close contact, and we're working to confirm how many Americans may have been on board,'' Obama said. "Germany and Spain are among our strongest allies in the world, and our message to them is that as their steadfast friend and ally, America stands with them at this moment of sorrow."
French authorities called off the search after dark. About 10 gendarmes will spend the night at the crash site to guard it, and search operations will resume at daybreak, Lt. Col. Jean-Marc Meninchini of the regional police rescue service, said. Recovery operations are expected to last a week, he said.
Sixteen schoolchildren and two teachers from the Joseph-König school in Haltern am See, near Düsseldorf, perished in the crash. They were returning from an exchange program in Spain.
"This is pretty much the worst thing you can imagine," Haltern Mayor Bodo Klimpel said.
Germanwings Flight 9525 departed Barcelona for a two-hour flight to Duesseldorf at 10:01 a.m. local time — more than 20 minutes late. Air-traffic controllers lost contact with the Airbus A320 at 10:53 a.m., airline CEO Thomas Winkelmann said.
Air-traffic controllers issued a distress signal after losing contact with the plane and recognizing the steep descent. The pilots never issued such a signal.
In Barcelona, the origin of the flight, and in Düsseldorf, crisis teams were aiding traumatized family members and airline staff. Family members are to be bused to the area.
Winkelmann said 144 passengers — including two babies — and six crew were aboard. .
Winkelmann said a sudden descent lasted about eight minutes and that air-traffic controllers lost contact with the jet at about 6,000 feet. He added that the pilot had more than 10 years of experience and that the plane was inspected fully last summer and checked over on Monday. Safety experts from France, Germany and Spain were en route to the crash site, he added.
Winkelmann said 67 Germans were on board -- there was no immediate confirmation on other nationalities.
Germanwings is a relatively low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa popular with German tourists. It has expanded service to Spain in recent years. Twelve flights go between Barcelona and Düsseldorf every week.
The airline canceled most of Tuesday's remaining flights from Düsseldorf and some other airports as well, German broadcaster Ard reported.
"All employees of Germanwings and Lufthansa are deeply saddened," Winkelmann said. "Their thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew."
Lufthansa said it was operating under the theory that the crash was an accident.
The White House issued a statement saying Obama had been briefed by Lisa Monaco, his assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, and that no link to terrorism had been found at this time, the statement said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and loved ones," the statement said. The U.S. State Department issued similar condolences, adding that the U.S. "stands ready to offer assistance and support" to the nations investigating the crash.
Hollande said the plane was carrying nationals from Spain, Germany and Turkey. He said that he wasn't aware of any French citizens aboard the plane. A manifest had not been released.
Merkel said many passengers were from Germany and that she would go to the region Wednesday.
Flight tracking systems indicated the plane's altitude was 38,000 feet at 10:30 a.m. when it began declining at a rate of more than 3,000 feet per minute. Eight minutes later it was down to 11,400 feet. At that point the Flightaware tracking system could provide no further statistics.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the crash occurred near Digne-les-Bains, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region — about 65 miles north of Nice. Debris from the crash has been located at an elevation of about 6,000 feet.
Capt. Benoit Zeisser of the Digne-le-Bains police told the French network iTele there were some clouds but the cloud ceiling was not low. Police tweeted a warning to people not to get close to the scene of the crash.
Sébastien Giroud, who lives in the hamlet of Prads-Haute Bléone, told TV station France Info that he saw the plane flying at an unusually low altitude and feared for the worse.
"I saw the plane flying very low for two or three seconds," he said. "When I saw it I understood that it wouldn't go too far."
Another resident said he saw the plane 800 meters from the ground, and described it as white aircraft with orange on the tail.
"I saw that the prow was lower than the tale, but I could not say it was nose-diving," Jean-Marie told Le Parisien. "I saw it during five seconds before it disappeared behind the mountains."
Valls said he had sent Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to the scene of the crash, the first of a commercial jet on French soil since a Concorde jet crash outside Paris in July 2000 killed 113 people.
Airbus said it was sending a "go-team of technical advisers" to aid international authorities in the investigation. Lufthansa spokeswoman Kim Jucknat said the airline also has launched an investigation.
"My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew," Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement. " This is a dark day for Lufthansa."
Bacon reported from McLean, Va.; Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara and Kim Hjelmgaard in London; Bart Jansen in Washington, D.C.; William M. Welch in Los Angeles; Associated Press


text:
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At the back of the scale, there you find the UNIT button for KG and LBS. It allows you to change your preferences. And of course the battery compartment and instruction or sticker manual. The box came with the user manual but sometimes we don't like reading long manuals as we prefer simple and direct instructions. Visit EatSmart™ and browse at their selection of highly engineered and auto recognition technology Bathroom Scales and product details and information. The EatSmart Precision Tracker is an essential tool in weight management – giving users the ability to track their weight over time.
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Small class sizes, individualized instruction,
life skills training, and intensive teacher
involvement provide the foundation of Aim
High's educational model. Students with
language-based learning differences, anxiety
disorders, and attention deficits thrive at Aim
High and ultimately obtain a Michigan high
school diploma--essential for an independent
and productive adulthood.
As an independent school, donations are critical for
covering the difference between tuition and what it
costs to provide Aim High's proven educational model
to our students. There are many ways you can support
Aim High and our students. Whether it is through financial
donations or volunteering your time--your support is vital
to Aim High.
Annual Giving
Aim High's Annual Giving consists of donations made by parents, grandparents, and other supporters of Aim High and is used to support our operating budget. Annual Giving, at whatever amount your circumstances will allow, is an investment in the daily education of the young men and women of Aim High. It is also an investment in supporting the future of the Aim High educational model so that it can help teens with these learning challenges and their families for years to come. Donations to Annual Giving are unrestricted and tax deductible.
Tuition Assistance
We believe Aim High should be open to and affordable as possible for all qualified students. Our Tuition Assistance is a growing part of Aim High's fundraising efforts. You may designate your donation to Aim High Tuition Assistance and help make a difference to a teen who would benefit from attending Aim High, but whose family may need support. Donations are tax deductible.
Corporate Matching
More than 500 companies will match their employee contributions to Aim High. Many match 1:1, some even double or triple employee contributions. Please obtain a matching form from your company, complete it, and send it to Aim High/Development Office. We'll verify your contribution and return the form to your company.
Transferring Gifts
Aim High School accepts gifts of stocks, bonds and marketable securities. A contribution of stock or securities can often result in both a tax savings on capital gains as well as the charitable deduction of the full value of the gift. By law, the gift value is determined by the day of transfer - the date on which the security has been fully transferred into the Aim High School brokerage account. The average stock price for the day is taken as the stock's value....more...
Gifts in Kind
Gifts in Kind are donations of supplies or goods (instead of money). As a school, Aim High has to decline items that we cannot make good use of or that may require maintenance. Please contact our Director of Administration & Advancement to discuss any Gifts in Kind you may be considering.
There are many ways to give your time to Aim High. From volunteering at the school or in a classroom, doing an at-home project, helping at a special event, providing an educational or recreational opportunity for our students, or organizing a fundraiser—your time, expertise and involvement strengthen the Aim High community. Contact our Director of Administration & Advancement to discuss volunteering at Aim High.
Like all independent schools, our goal is to have 100% participation in Annual Giving. Robust participation in Annual Giving by parents, staff, and our board affirms our mission and influences outside donors and foundations as many consider participation rates before committing financial support to a school.
Questions? Contact our Director of Administration & Advancement at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Aim High School is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Gifts received with no exchange for goods and services are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.


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Owner/Client: Richland Planned Communities
Land planning and design services were provided for 450 acres in the Southport Plan area of West Sacramento. The land is part of the Southeast Village and borders the Sacramento River to the east and south and is a short drive from downtown Sacramento. Based on site visits and discussions, the following goals for planning River Park were established:
- preserve the site's unique natural resources
- create a public realm that is connected at the site, city, and regional levels
- provide a range of housing choices for today's and future generations of West Sacramento residents
The master plan and design guidelines respond to the three goals by creating a network of interconnected park and open spaces that preserve the site's natural resources, promoting best practices in stormwater management through a non-piped solution, and achieving a higher net density through compact development that embraces a wide range of housing choices. The River Park plan protects an existing oak grove in its entirety as a central amenity of the Village's open space system. The plan will also use existing irrigation channels to convey water from the eastern to the western boundary of the site in a continuous water channel or greenway. The corridor provides the opportunity to develop a surface water feature that will continue to convey irrigation water, and serve as a linear drainage corridor for unpiped stormwater runoff. A regional trail will be constructed within the corridor between the regional park at the bend in the Sacramento River and the city's rails-to-trails corridor that links to the greater region. Further, the majority of the greenway will be planted with native plants, many of which already exist at the site.
*Ascent senior urban design staff led this project while at another firm (AECOM).


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Voice, video and other technologic elements are getting more and more important in today's corporate and entertainment life. In order to experience these elements easily and effectively end-to-end Audiovisual solutions are used in modern buildings. Adopting the importance of design and strategy in Audiovisual solutions, Fotech works with its expert work force and provides comprehensive services including product supply and installation that are convenient to be integrated with other communication systems.
Services Fotech offers in this area:


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All Vuyani's children go to schools in the community. However, because of severe neglect and possible learning barriers some of our children didn't progress with numeracy and literacy in the mainstream schools. With great excitement Vuyani Safe Haven opened a Learning Centre in April for these children. Vuyani's vision is to make a lasting difference in children's lives through equipping them to reach their individual developmental potential.
The Learning Centre has been equipped with a curriculum and all the books, revised and adapted according to the Department of Education Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement from Grade R-4. The aim is to place these children back into the mainstream schools as soon as they have caught up with their peers.
A huge Thank You to the following stakeholders:
• The Rupert Education Trust for financial support,
• The Botanical Sport Club for making available the building,
• Ebben Hufkie, acting as mentor and
• The Department of Education for their support
The picture shows three of Vuyani's Board members visiting the school —Elaine Stanley (chair), Paul Merifield (treasurer) and Harold Steven-Jennings. The two teachers are Bettie Swartz and Hettie Pienaar.
Violin program:
Two of our boys have been offered the opportunity to study violin under Charl du Toit, an accomplished violinist and violin repairer and respected leader in the Nieu-Bethesda community, a village near to Graaff-Reinet.
Therapeutic services are rendered to children at Vuyani through the intervention of Social Workers, both at Vuyani and from the Department of Social Development when needed. Some of the children who went through trauma, might need more specialised treatment by a psychologist and this is facilitated by Vuyani.
Vuyani's children have access to Sunday school, youth meetings and camps to encourage spiritual growth.
Vuyani is visited by the Clinic bus from the department of Health every month to see that all children receive their vaccination at the correct time and to pick up any other health challenge.


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In recent years financial wellbeing has become a hot topic in strategic planning as employers become increasing aware of the impact of financial security on chronic stress their employees' lives and work performance. A report conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) states, "In fact, regardless of the economic climate, money has consistently topped Americans' list of stressors since the first Stress in America™ survey in 2007". The same report found that 72 percent of adults feel stressed about money at least some of the time and nearly one-third of Americans (32 percent) say that their finances prevent them from living a healthy lifestyle.
Employers are taking action to avoid detrimental business outcomes resulting from employee financial distress. After examining the research and best practices CBIZ Wellbeing Solutions has developed recommendations for incorporating employee financial wellbeing into your wellbeing strategy:
1) Leave assumptions about your workforce at the door: Recent survey data suggests that the desire for financial planning resources spans employees of all generations, from baby boomers to recent college graduates. A 2015 survey published by Quantum Workplace and Limeade found nearly 40 percent of employees younger than 25 said they wanted their employer to provide financial planning benefits. Don't hinder your company's ability to recruit the top young talent by believing in out dated public notions or assuming you already know what they want.
2) Conduct an audit of current financial wellbeing resources: Typically, employers have access to a variety of financial education tools through existing agreements with benefits providers (i.e., 401k, EAP, and medical providers). Speak with your partners to be sure you are aware of everything available for your workforce. Advertise these resources throughout the year to leverage your relationship with current benefit providers.
3) Offer a core benefits package that helps to mitigate financial exposure to insurable risk: Industry-leading companies not only offer, but educate employees on benefits such as life, disability, critical illness, accident and other insurance options. This helps to protect employees from the negative financial impact that can occur as a result of premature death, loss of income due to illness or injury and out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses. Alongside comprehensive health insurance and retirement plan benefits, employers who provide a robust benefits package report a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining employees.
4) Maximizing employees' retirement income should be a priority when designing a company's retirement plan: Recent reports estimate Americans leave approximately 24 billion unclaimed 401k company match dollars on the table each year. Employers should embrace the mindset of a shared responsibility in ensuring their employees are optimizing their potential retirement income. Most plan administrators provide access to features such as automatic escalation of contributions, default investment options and investment calculators to help employees with retirement planning.
5) Utilize the power of peer-to-peer support: Depending on the industry, many employees have limited financial education. For advice on financial decisions they often turn to friends with more experience. For example, prior to purchasing a home a first time home buyer tends to ask home-owning friends and family for guidance before reaching out to a professional. Employers should leverage the exchange of knowledge through social networks to their advantage. Offer financial skills training and counseling with professionals in a classroom format. Not only does this provide employers the opportunity to connect with their population at the group level, it equips employees with the knowledge and resources they'll need to provide sound advice.
By adopting these best practices and providing resources that empower employees to take control of their financial security, employers can help reduce their exposure to the negative business outcomes financially distressed employees and send a message of care and concern to their workforce.


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All Product Details
Madison Fit Limited-Edition Non-Iron Interchangeable-Collar Shirthttps://www.brooksbrothers.com/Madison-Fit-Limited-Edition-Non-Iron-Interchangeable-Collar-Shirt/ME03087_____WHIT_15H__32__,default,pd.html
$ 250.00
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text: Generally believed that women do not deserve attention. Men have always oppressed ladies in their life. However, religions and culture of the different nations does not allow this injustice with the women. For instance, Islam is the religion and Pakistan is the country where Women's rights have been promoted. Women rights are not only limited to some specific nation. With the passage of time technology has got advanced and worldly organisations like UNO have developed dedicated department for the development and promotion of the rights of women. Women rights movements were never taken to the international audience before the development of the audience. These movements were initiated by American back in 18th century. Women are facing women rights issue at many places in their life. Gender inequality in the workplace is one of the fundamental problem our society experience.


text:
Tweak says, "Tweak-a-leak! Tweak-A-LEEK!"

OUT OF CHARACTER
NAME:
DISCORD:
EMAIL:
TIMEZONE:
AVAILABILITY:

IN CHARACTER
NAME: Character's canon name and alias, if they have one. A made up name can be put in quotes.
JOURNAL: In plain text, as it appears.
PLAYED BY(please try to keep the PB ethnically appropriate):
FANDOM:
CANON POINT: State the canon point clearly. Season and Episode number, post movie, post book name, etc. We do not accept vague canon points that list off a series of things without any clear cutoff. The canon point should match the format of the cast table.
CAN THIS CHARACTER BE CANON PUNCTURED? For more information on this game's puncture system please see this page.
WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS WITH THIS CHARACTER IN GAME? Please be as detailed as possible. We want to make sure this character has enough plot to stick around for a long time instead of being immediately dropped in a month.
CANON HISTORY: This can be in your own words or from a wiki. Please make sure if using a wiki it's not the tl;dr version and something more friendly like the wikipedia version.
IN GAME HISTORY: This should be much more detailed than the canon history. We need to believe that your character has always existed in this game, just like your character does. Important canon family members must be included, when known. Contact the mods for help if you're not sure how best to include someone! We want your in game history to be 250 words minimum.

AUDITION
Please provide a 1st or 3rd person example of the character you are applying for. This doesn't have to be long, but it should be more than a few lines. NOTE: Players currently in the game are exempt from providing an audition.
Make sure you placed a hold for your intended character.
Copy and paste this application into a post on your character's journal. Applications must use this code, it can be converted into something fancier after adds!
Fill out the application:
Keep usernames in plain text, and list them as they appear.
Canon points should be clearly stated, and in the form we use on the Cast Table. Please see the table for reference.
In Game History should be detailed, and must include any important canon family members. If unsure how to include them, email the mods for assistance! Note: We want your in game history to be 250 words minimum.
Auditions should be long enough to show the mod team that you have a grasp of the character's voice. We don't need a novel, but we want more than 3 lines. Note: Players currently in the game are exempt from providing an audition.
Please remove the mod notes! Applications submitted with those still in get very confusing.
Upload at least (1) icon of your chosen PB. It must be 100x100 for the Cast Table. It cannot be a comic or game icon, and should be a clear picture of the PB, without any added text or graphics.We link directly to your icon, so please choose an icon you don't intend to rename or delete. If you have more than one icon, post on the icon you prefer. We would also like you to have a minimum of 5-10 icons of your PB if you are bringing in an animated character.
Reply to this post with a link to the application.
Request admission to the following communities:
valarnet valarlogs valarcomm valarooc valarreference.
Applications that do not follow these guidelines will not be processed until the issues with them are fixed. That could mean waiting until the next add day.
Applications must be in before 9PM EST on Wednesday and Sunday to be processed by those days, otherwise they will be processed by the next application day.
Applications will not be processed on holidays and will be processed on the next official day.
IMPORTANT: While it is true that new players get an activity pass for their first month with us, please remember that new characters don't always get one!
If you're an existing player, characters added before the last three add days of a month must still pass activity. Please don't forget! We don't want you to lose your shiny new characters!
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text:
Chase just implemented a new rule with their co-branded Southwest credit cards that is definitely not going to make people happy. Currently there are two personal versions and one business version of the card. In the past, one could open up two personal cards (the Premier and Plus) at the same time, earn the bonus points, and be pretty close to earning the amazing Southwest Companion Pass. A new change is unfortunately going to make it that much harder…
Going forward, Chase will no longer allow you to open a new personal Southwest credit card if you are currently a cardmember for the other card. That means if you currently have the Premier card, you cannot open up the Plus card, and vice versa. So applying for two cards at the same time to earn the Southwest Companion Pass will not be possible.
There is still a workaround though as there is still the business version of the card and if you qualify for this card you can still open up one of the personal versions and the business version. Remember, you do not actually need to have a business to open up a business credit card. Many people have been successful opening up a card by saying they are starting an online store selling stuff (i.e., Etsy, eBay, etc.), or that they are getting into real estate, or they are starting an online blog! Of course it is easier to get approved if you have an existing business, but it is always worth a try.
I've also heard through the rumor mill of a new more prestigious Southwest credit card appearing in the new future. Hopefully that card will not hold the same rule and everyone will be eligible to apply!


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Partnering with Restaurants Solutions Providers.
We are Partnering with Hospitality Solutions Providers: IT, Developers, Web Designers, Hospitality Resalers, Advertising Agencies, Referrers!.
We will pay A recurring % of their account value over the lifetime of the account.
We'll Show You How to Combine your Restaurant services with our Atavoli.com hospitality solutions and offer best-in-class services to your hotel clients.
Contact us to Becone a Partner
Our platform is built to get you up and running as quickly as possible, so you can spend your time growing your business.
Just enter you email and choose a password.
Your test account has three test locations setup, including staff, orders, etc.
Use your desktop, tablet, or smart phone. We work everywhere.
Our touch interface is designed to give you all the data you need to streamline your order process, so you can focus on serving your customers.
Our Back Office administration allows you to burrow through all your sales and performance figures while keeping everything in context.
All Your Data
Filter sales by any comination of date, location, staff member, item, etc.
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Make better decisions about how to build your menu based on what's selling.
Powerful All-in-one Restaurant Management Software.
full access
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Test our platform and we'll give you an see how our POS will work for your Restaurant
You are welcome to try out our full platform with no commitments, no credit card required. If you're happy with our service, you are welcome to stay on.Get started


text:
Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Mi Nuevo Nayarit
Mi Nuevo Nayarit can be found at E Main St 314. The following is offered: Video Rental & Retail. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Klamath Falls there are 4 other Video Rental & Retail. An overview can be found here.
Mi Nuevo Nayarit is located at 1042 E Main St, Klamath Falls, OR. This business specializes in Video.


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April 2, 2012
Steve Lesnik, APR, joined PRSA in July 1967 and obtained his APR certification in 1973. Lesnik's now the CEO of Career Education Corporation, a Fortune 1000 post-secondary education company as well as the founder and chairman of KemperLesnik and KemperSports in Chicago.
He founded KemperLesnik (formerly Lesnik Public Relations) with his wife in 1979 after working in the insurance industry. The companies now have more than 6,000 employees between them. He attributes his successes to education, work experience, PRSA membership and the Accreditation process.
"I became more of a leader than I did a PR practitioner, which I had been for the first half of my business career," Lesnik says, adding that he's always been involved in education on a civic basis. "I have as deep an interest and belief in education as in communications."
How did you get your start in public relations?
I was a newspaperman for three years in Connecticut. I worked for the Stamford Advocate. I had my first child and decided I needed to make more money. I also decided that I'd like to go back to New York City and get more excitement and a faster pace. So, I went to work for a man by the name of J. Carroll Bateman, who was the CEO of the Insurance Information Institute. He became the national president of PRSA [and] drafted me to help him. So that was my first job, and how I got exposed to PRSA.
Why did you decide to take the APR examination?
I got transferred to Chicago. In those days, it wasn't as easy to meet people as it is today. So, you would join professional organizations for social reasons — and I met a lot of people. A couple of us decided to sit for the APR exam.
[One of those people was] Ray Ewing, who later started the Integrated Marketing program at [Northwestern University's] Medill School of Journalism in Chicago. Ray and I were young members of PRSA and we decided it was worth it to get the APR designation. We had a bet that we'd both pass the first time, and we both did! So, we took it partly for social and partly for professional reasons.
How would you describe your personal leadership style?
I'm an extremely candid person, and people are never at sea about what I'm saying or what I mean. But above all, I'm collaborative — that's another skill that is honed in the PR profession. The most effective leaders, not only in business, but also throughout history, have been great communicators — at least effective communicators — who are communicating things in a clear, comprehensible way.
I'm surprised that more people who are trained in communications from our profession don't become CEOs of public companies.
How have your APR skills helped you become a leader?
Communication is at the core of leadership — your communication skills and style. When you're in the PR business, you spend your career honing communication skills, thinking about communications, and thinking about the impact of what you say, communicate, write and transmit. That gives any leader real assets.
My ability to communicate is what enables me to lead organizations. These big companies require teams to run them. And no one person runs organizations of these sizes anymore. Your communication skills help you form the team and keep it operating as one.
How did you transition from public relations to the C-suite?
When I left the insurance industry in 1979 and started my first company — which was then called Lesnik Public Relations — the lines between traditional public relations and marketing were beginning to blur. Corporate reputation, communicating with employees and communicating with investors was a strict definition of what public relations was. We were beginning to use those techniques in marketing as well.
When I started the company with my wife, I became the chief executive. We were the only two people. But we started to grow, and we began to have more employees. And before you know it, we had 100 employees and [I became] more of an executive than a PR practitioner. That was a decision that confronted me in the 1980s. I had to ask myself the question, "You love public relations so much. It's what you do. You enjoy it. Are you going to continue to be purely a PR practitioner? Or, are you going to become the leader of a business organization — or can you do both?"
What role does family play in your life?
Family plays an enormous role in my life. My wife and I founded the business. We've been married for [almost] 49 years. My son is the president of the company and will be the principal shareholder. Family is everything to me.
Balance in life is more of a modern phenomenon than it was when I was coming up. Maybe I haven't always done the best job of finding the right balance — but I've found it now. Our view of what was the right balance between work and personal life 25-30 years ago was a different equation than it is today.
What skill sets do you look for in new professionals?
Strong personal values, integrity, a willingness to be a team player and understanding this collaborative environment that I try to create. People understand that they're joining a family company with family values.
Why is continuing education important for PR professionals?
Everyone ought to commit themselves to continue to learn. When you stop learning and stop growing, that's the time to retire. Until then, you have to keep learning — particularly in our industry where the technology changes so rapidly.
When I was making the conversion from journalism to public relations, I relied on PRSA and the Publicity Club of Chicago for my education. One of the things that you get from an organization like PRSA is mentorship. That's one of the best things about the organization: the relationships and the mentorships.
I'm better at coaching others on what to do and say — that's one of the interesting things about going from being a PR practitioner to becoming a leader. During the first [part] of my career, my training was to put others in the spotlight in a positive way and be thinking about how they were going to come across. That's a much different skill set than saying, "Holy moly, I'm the one."
News editor Amy Jacques interviewed Steve Lesnik, APR, for this month's member profile.
Any 3 dinner guests, past or present?
My three oldest grandchildren: Jake, Sofie and Henry. The youngest doesn't talk yet.
Favorite place to travel?
Hawaii — I've been to all the islands
Best career advice ever received?
"Do the best you can at the job at hand. The future will take care of itself."


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Nickie Shobeiry is Apt613's correspondent at Synapcity, Ottawa non-profit for civic engagement, connecting people across diverse communities to share perspectives and create positive change.
Stefan Keyes is the anchor for CTV News on weekends—but that's not all he is. As well as acting, singing, and writing, Stefan is an avid volunteer, ambassador for Ottawa Community Housing, and all-round CityMaker. Below, Nickie Shobeiry talks to him about his life and career.
Was performing arts something you were always interested in?
I was always intrigued by the performing arts, theatre and drama in particular. I remember my first school play, I was in Grade 1 and I played the big bad wolf. By the time I got to junior high it was a little more intensive, I started singing more and taking that more seriously. I had a fantastic drama teacher that suggested that Canterbury could be an option, which is the performing art school here in Ottawa.
I grew up in low-income housing with a single mom, so private lessons weren't on the table for me at the time. She [my teacher] submitted me for an awesome award opportunity through a non-profit organisation called MASC. I ended up winning, and got a scholarship for private lessons. It opened up a huge door.
How old were you?
I was 12. I started my private lessons in musical theatre and Shakespeare at the age of 13, and by the following year I was at Canterbury under some intensive theatre studies with high school. I started acting professionally at the age of 15. I got an agent, and it took off from there.
It's impressive how committed you were so young! What was your first role like at 15?
My first professional gig was for a corporate video, I don't remember the company but I had to play "Star Trek Boy." It was paid work, I thought "Oh I'm a professional, there's a cheque coming from this!". It's very different from theatre – you have to be a lot smaller. You don't have to emote for the person at the back row of a 500-seat auditorium to feel you. The camera is this close, so everything is very minute. It took a bit of getting used to.
How did you go from there to Carleton for Journalism?
Throughout my time at Canterbury I wanted to be a professional actor, and I had my eye set on a school in New York – the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. It's a conservatory program, off-broadway. I drove to Toronto and auditioned, got in, but I didn't realise what tuition was going to be because they don't tell you until your audition day. It hit me hard – I thought it might be $10,000 US but it's actually $20,000 a year, for a two-year program. They offered me a scholarship of $5,000 for one of the years, and when I turned them down, they offered me another for $5,000 per year – but I still had to come up with $10,000 US dollars, and they don't allow you to work. It would have been too complicated, because you're under their thumb – they plan your days from morning to night, between tap dancing and vocal lessons and theatre and drama coaching. You're on a student visa so you can't really work, and you can't do any acting until you graduate from their program – it's a huge no-no for them.
I realised I couldn't really put my family through that burden so I thought: "what else do you have for me, world?!" I spoke to another teacher in Canterbury who was a former journalist, and my English teacher at the time. He told me my writing was strong, and that I should consider journalism. I've always told myself that I don't want to be in a box, so even though I was going to go this route, I maintained my agent, kept acting, and I still act even now.
Yes, I saw – you were on Designated Survivor!
I didn't even know – the messages were coming through on Twitter! They don't tell you when your episode will air. I'd filmed that one in November and I just filmed another with them two weeks ago. It's a cameo appearance, I'm in the briefing room with a bunch of extras and I'm the one with the lines throwing out the question to the character Seth Wright, played by Kal Penn.
You truly aren't in any one box. Can you tell us more about your musical career?
I consider myself more of an actor at heart because I have the training. As I got more busy building my journalism career, it was easier to satisfy the demands for vocal performance because it's more of a solo act. Live theatre is a three, four month commitment, but with music, I can rehearse a song on my own time. I do galas, weddings. I've done backup for Tramaine Hawkins. She's a figure in the gospel world, and won a Grammy. She made 'Oh Happy Day' famous. I got hired to back her up when she was at Bluesfest and it was an incredible experience – even the rehearsals with her just blew my mind. My vocals have never been stretched that far in my life!
What's the connection between acting and journalism to you?
As an actor, you really play the role of an individual character. It's purely subjective. As a journalist, you're still storytelling, but in a more objective capacity. You have the responsibility of giving an omniscient point of view – the people you talk to are characters, or 'sources'. We don't do single-source stories because it limits the point of view; it's still from that person's lens.
Was it challenging to adapt to that form of storytelling?
During my studies, yes. There's a literary foundation in terms of writing articles, so you lose the theatrics of it through the print form. However, TV production, the challenge is to marry words with pictures and sound to bring your narrative to life.
And this all took you to Calgary for a time.
I launched my career with CTV Ottawa at 20, working part-time while a student. I worked 5am to 9am as an editorial assistant. My first newsroom job was the ticker tape – the little headline spreading across the bottom of the screen. Within a year I transferred to evening and weekend reporting. That was still part-time; to build those hours I took on a lot of editorial positions: producing the news, editing, managing the reporters and the cameras.This was all at a fairly young age, but then I got stuck doing that because that's what the company needed.
And you wanted to be on air?
I felt that there was a lack of diversity on air. Growing up I didn't see someone like myself reflected in the news – and certainly not delivering the news. There's a difference between see yourself reflected – but not always in a positive light – and seeing who the storyteller is. That matters to a certain demographic, and we have a responsibility as a federally-regulated body to reflect the demographic of the city. I always push to be on air to have that representation and be that voice. There were no openings at that time for me. It took a few years!
Once you start in a market such as this, in the nation's capital, it very much limits where you want to go after because you don't want to step down. I wasn't about to go to a smaller market even though sometimes it was recommended to get off the ground. It takes longer when you're holding out for that right fit for you. It took me a little over seven years before I moved from CTV Ottawa to Calgary. I got hired by Global News to anchor, and it's a similar market size – their population at the time was 1.4 million. That's where i got my anchoring chops, fulltime in front of the camera.
What did that feel like?
It was a little intimidating. I got comfortable with the audience in Ottawa – it's a city I've grown up in. Calgary I didn't know well at all. If you haven't been there before, you have certain notions in your mind about Western Canada or Alberta, how conservative they can be. You may only know about Calgary Stampede, and you're thinking "I'm not a cowboy – I'm this inner city kid, I don't know if I'll fit in, I don't know how their viewers will respond to me." But it was awesome – the viewers were amazing, my colleagues were amazing. It was an eye-opening experience; I learnt about a part of the country I wasn't familiar with, I became more outdoorsy all of a sudden, taking advantage of the mountains and going to Banff. I consider it home as well.
What brought you back to Ottawa?
I got poached back, I guess! I knew I wanted to be back on this side of the country to keep an eye on my family, as I'm really close to my mom, especially as she was nearing retirement. I thought it might be Toronto, but in this industry, opportunities are so rare; when you're sought out versus seeking, it's very difficult to turn it down. I thought I'd be out west for three to five years before I could transition, but it happened in 17 months. I was very flattered: CTV was my first career family and I maintained the connection with them even after my departure. There was no animosity and I always stayed in touch when I came home to visit.
What does your day-to-day look like now?
It's busy, it's hectic! I have a standard work schedule, anchoring the 6-11:30 on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm 4 to midnight right now. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I usually work 10:30 to 6:30. I also do a lot of volunteering and sit on a few board of directors, so right now I'm on the board for the Great Canadian Theatre Company. Sometimes I will get off the air, hop in my car to a meeting that's usually already started, sit around a table and go through those motions, and then try to get to the gym after that because fitness is very important to me. On occasion I have auditions so sometimes I'll travel through Montreal. On top of work and volunteering, I do a lot of MCing as well. I keep up with friends too – social life, right? But even with the latest episode for Designated Survivor, I got on the air and was at a crime scene reporting, got off the air, handed back the mic to my colleague the camera operator, and then hit the road for Toronto. I was there by 11pm, and then was on set the next morning for 8am. I spent the day in Toronto and then drove back, and was back on the air for CTV the following morning. It's always a whirlwind like that!
Wow, that is incredibly busy! Why do you volunteer?
The 'why' is easier to answer: I've been on the receiving end of so many organisations growing up, being from a single-income, single-parent household, growing up in low-income housing. I've seen the fruits of other people's labours and volunteership. Again, even the scholarship came from a non-profit organisation. I didn't have money to throw back out there but I did have time, and time is valuable. I decided very early on that I didn't want to be selfish with my time, that I'd try to pay back all of these good and positive things through volunteering.
I decided very early on that I didn't want to be selfish with my time, that I'd try to pay back all of these good and positive things through volunteering.
What advice do you have for CityMakers?
I think people underrate and undervalue what they can contribute. No task is too small. No person is too little. Some people are more monetary philanthropists, but you don't have to have a million dollars in the bank in order to make a difference. Maybe you don't have all the time in the world but it's about seeking out those opportunities where you can change someone's day – and sometimes that means changing their lives. Having your worldview changed, taking the blinders off and being open to that. Just be open to those opportunities and generosity and not alway think of it financially. Sometimes all it takes is having a coffee with your friend and being a soundboard for them.
You've had a lot of family support; were they in the arts themselves?
Not formally; my mom used to sing when she was in Jamaica. We come from a fairly large family – she's the youngest of ten girls, and I find my cousins hilarious. I was the youngest grandchild, so they were always older and full of theatrics! They're comedians in my mind. My godmother was in a singing group called Carribean Voices and I witnessed all of that growing up. Another good family friend Bingie Barker was a recording artist, and prior to my arrival into the world, when Bob Marley came to Ottawa, he interviewed him for a radio show. He was a performer himself, and I grew up watching him playing Tulip Festival and Bluesfest. His wife sang with my godmother in Caribbean Voices. When Celine Dion came to perform in Ottawa, they were part of that mass choir.
That's amazing!
In hindsight, I had a great deal of exposure to the arts and through elementary school, I discovered that I wrote quite well. What's interesting for me about language is that Jamaicans speak Patois, and my family speaks Patois, but the dialect is a hybrid of old Queen's English with West African. For example we use the word 'pickney' for kid, and in Ghana they apparently use that too. I'd use the old English vocabulary in school, and all of a sudden teachers would be impressed, because I'm using ancient words – things like 'quarrel' instead of 'argue', or 'frock' for 'dress', 'trousers' for 'pants', or 'vex' for 'angry'. That would creep into my storytelling, this elevated diction that I'd quote from.
Taking a bird's eye view – what's been the biggest challenge of your career?
Patience. It's almost like I was shown what my career was going to be, and I felt my purpose through my career prior to having access to fulfilling it. Patience was the biggest challenge. Even in my early 20s, I was managing a newsroom, managing people twice my age that the time, coordinating their day, giving assignments, helping decide the daily news agenda – that's a huge role, but it wasn't what I felt my purpose in journalism was meant to be. I had to wait the full seven years to fulfill my purpose full-time. When you know what it's meant to be from the get-go, patience is the biggest challenge. Sometimes you want to give up; it was a struggle to find that virtue within myself.
What pushed you to find it?
Maybe a stubborn nature? I've also attached myself to the poem Inviticus the last two lines being: 'I am the master of my fate/ I am the captain of my soul'. I wanted to steer my own ship, and I didn't want the industry to tell me no. You've got to hold on to faith and steer your own ship regardless of how long it takes.
You touched on representation in TV. Has that changed since you started in the industry?
I'm a decade in the biz and Toronto has always been a very diverse market – but it's not Canada's only diverse city. However, if you look at the media landscape across the country, that's the impression you'd get. Fortunately, since my start, the landscape has shifted and I'm really happy to see that. There's much more diversity out west, and increasing diversity in Ottawa. It's not just about giving representation opportunities to various demographics – there's a paradigm shift for all of society that comes with that. I like to think that people generally aren't racist but they have prejudiced notions they hold on to. If you only see certain people represented in a certain light, that becomes your idea about that demographic, especially if you don't have any of those people in your immediate circle. But in this day and age, with social media and personality-driven news, people feel they know their broadcasters. As soon as they see me, and they trust me and they trust that voice of authority, then all of a sudden you create that paradigm shift that young black males aren't just 'this', they can also be 'this'. It helps even out what's out there.
Is that part of what drives you to be on-air?
Yes; on-air satisfies the storytelling factor and my passion as a performer. The writing is the challenge of bringing it all together – the craft of storytelling – that's the art side of it. But the social side of it is representation. I chose my career to be in a forum of the public eye.


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The goals scored by Clatskanie are as follows: Rachel Haas (2), Victoria Griffith (2), and Morgan Day (1). The goals scored by Rainier are as follows: Ida Vegeberg (4), and Laken Garmen (1).
The game started off with a bang, with Clatskanie being up 3-0 in the first 30 minutes. By the end of the first half, Rainier had answered back with two goals of their own, making the score 3-2. In the second half, Clatskanie again scored, followed quickly by a goal from Rainier, bringing the score to 4-3. Then Clatskanie team Captain Rachel Haas scored an unassisted goal from a corner kick. Rainier tied the game up at 5-5 after scoring again. Both teams held the other at bay until the end of the game.
All in all, the game was very evenly matched, and everyone is looking forward to the upcoming rematch at the Clatskanie City Park on October 17.


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