text:
Cheboygan Area Schools starting virtual school in late January
Cheboygan Area Schools is taking a preemptive step in the future of education, announcing plans for a virtual school that will begin serving students later in January.
"We've been discussing a virtual school and how it would work for a while now," said CAS Superintendent Mark Dombroski. "The board has approved it for grades 6-12."
The district has contracted ATS Educational Consulting Services to run the program, which should be operational by late January. ATS will provide the curriculum and monitoring for the virtual school, which will be titles Cheboygan Area Virtual School.
"It will be its own entity that we're adding to the district," explained Dombroski. "Test scores and things like that won't reflect on the other school buildings."
The goal for CAS officials is to ultimately increase enrollment and offer more opportunities to a broader range of students. District officials are targeting students in Cheboygan County and the counties surrounding it.
"We think this is a really good opportunity for us," said Dombroski. "If we didn't do this, someone else would. I'm guessing there are 80-100 homeschooled students right here that could take advantage of this. If we got 100 more students, that's $200,000 more for the district."
CAS gets roughly $7,000 per full-time student enrolled. The reason the district would only net an additional $200,000 is the amount that would have to be paid to ATS.
ATS will get a portion of funding for the virtual school students. This is well worth the investment, according to Dombroski.
"They're handling pretty much everything," he said. "We have to hire a mentor teacher to touch base with the students once per week and to administer state tests."
The students who enroll and ultimately graduate from Cheboygan's virtual school will receive a diploma that will be equally valuable, but labeled differently than those of Cheboygan Area High School graduates.
"It will say Cheboygan Virtual High School right on the diploma," said Dombroski.
More details on this program will be released in the coming weeks as the district prepares its launch.


text:
Kent Bush: Basketball offers lessons for 10-year-old
The brackets are out, and America's attention has turned to the NCAA tournament.
Who got left out? Who has the best chance to win? The Super Bowl may be the biggest one-day sporting event, but the next month will be dominated by college basketball.
Every time a ball bounces in a back yard for the next few weeks, kids will imagine themselves beating the buzzer to keep their team alive. Every dad will dream about what it would be like if the television camera panned over to them after junior became a national hero.
But my son isn't dreaming that dream, and I probably won't be that dad. Blake loves to play, but he is a recreation league kid all the way right now. He could end up being 6'8" and become an NBA All Star.
Neither of those is very likely. But I am still glad he plays sports – not because of all he may be one day but because of what he is becoming right now.
I especially enjoyed watching him grow and learn this past basketball season.
His team had the worst record in the league after the regular season. In fact, in one game, they failed to score a single point.
He was really bummed after that game and said how much he hated being on a bad team. It is easy to sit and wonder why other people aren't doing enough to make your team – or life - better. But I got to have a fun talk with him about how he is one of nine members of that team and if he wanted the team to be better, he could work harder to be better himself.
He seemed to get it. He started working harder and asking for more advice. He learned to use the advantages he does have – height, size, intelligence etc. - to make up for his lack of athleticism.
He learned to be more aggressive and to handle fatigue and pain and continue to play hard. He learned that sometimes you try really hard and the other guy is just a little bit better. Then he learned to channel the disappointment that realization brings into more practice and effort as he tried to change that.
He also learned that Cinderella is a fairy tale. There were no league championships for the team that won only two games this season.
But when they got to the end of the year tournament, they did beat a team that had beaten them easily earlier in the year and in the next round, that team that beat them 19-0 had to come from behind to beat them by the slimmest of margins, 25-23.
No, he didn't impress any college scouts who made him the only 10-year-old on a scholarship watch list, but he did learn that hard work helps. He also learned how to prepare for a challenging assignment and push through difficult circumstances in an effort to achieve a goal.
Even if the Final Four isn't in the future, sports can teach lessons that can't be learned in other ways. I hope my boys continue to love the game and learn how to succeed on and off the field of play.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Adam Sasso focuses his practice on general litigation in the insurance and financial services industries. Adam previously worked as general counsel for Skinny Nutritional Corp., which produces vitamin and flavor-enhanced water.
Stradley represented the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in a case made by state guaranty associations against Reliance Insurance.
Stradley Ronon assisted Berger Rental Communities and its affiliate Berger Investments with the acquisition of three apartment communities in Pennsylvania.
Stradley Ronon client ExamWorks, LLC, a leading provider of independent medical examinations, peer reviews, bill reviews, Medicare compliance, case management, record retrieval, document management and related services, was granted a motion to dismiss by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County.
Private equity firm and management team acquires the business of the global investment manager
Stradley Ronon advised Customers Bancorp, Inc. (Customers) the parent company of Customers Bank, a full-service bank with $19.6 billion in assets, in the closing of its underwritten public offering of $100 million aggregate principal amount of its 2.875% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2031.
Stradley Ronon represented Anna Holdings LLC, the owner of a dispensary permittee operating under the name Keystone Shops, in the sale of three Philadelphia-area medical cannabis dispensaries to Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
Stradley Ronon represented Bristol, PA-based United Packaging, a leading distributor of high-quality packaging, shipping, safety and janitorial supplies in its acquisition by Envoy Solutions.
Stradley Ronon represented the Archdiocese of Military Services (AMS), which serves as the "ecclesiastical endorser" for chaplains in military bases, Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals and foreign service sites around the globe, and Archbishop Broglio in a case where the plaintiff had his permission to serve as a chaplain revoked by AMS.
Stradley Ronon represented Nuveen-sponsored closed-end fund Nuveen Core Plus Impact Fund (NYSE: NPCT) in connection with its initial public offering, which raised $575 million.
Stradley Ronon is representing Atmos, a Japan-based global streetwear and sneaker brand with 49 stores across Asia and the U.S., in its sale to Foot Locker for $360 million.
Stradley Ronon represented Dotcom Distribution, the premier third-party logistics (3PL) provider and strategic growth partner for eCommerce brands in its acquisition by Ryder System, Inc.
Stradley Ronon represented Loris, in connection with a $12M Series A Preferred Stock financing led by Bow Capital, with participation from ServiceNow Ventures and existing investors, Floodgate and Vertex Ventures.
Stradley Ronon's investment management group represented Dimensional Funds and its Independent Directors in the launch of Dimensional ETF (exchange-traded funds) Trust, three new activity managed, tax-efficient ETFs.
Stradley Ronon represented Petabyte Technology Inc., a provider of cloud-based technology solutions to the veterinary sector, in a $43.4 million acquisition by Chewy, Inc.
Stradley Ronon represented Hughes Enterprises, a leading packaging distribution company providing world-class packaging supplies and equipment, in its sale to Envoy Solutions, a diversified distribution company.
Stradley Ronon served as counsel in the structured sale of Agilis Med Holdings, LLC, the parent company of Agile Medical, one of the largest e-commerce retailers of sleep apnea and respiratory equipment in the U.S., to AdaptHealth LLC (NasaqCM: AHCO), a full-service home medical equipment company.
Pro Bono
Our size – 200 lawyers – is a distinct advantage. Clients receive concierge service because every client is important in a firm our size. No one gets lost in the shuffle. Our decision-making is nimble; we can tailor fee arrangements, staffing and technology to your needs quickly and efficiently. We punch above our weight; our lawyer talent is prodigious. Finally, we have a global reach without the overhead that often gets passed along to clients. We are the only firm in Philadelphia affiliated with Meritas, an international network of independent litigation and transactional law firms that provides you with access to first-rate lawyers and law firms in more than 230 markets, including 97 countries abroad. Read more...
We recognize that excellent lawyers can be found in many firms. Excellent lawyers who also understand your business, anticipate developments in your industry, help you manage your budget and staffing needs, connect you with business opportunities, partner with you on community outreach and giving, and assist in educating your staff are a considerably rarer breed. You can find those lawyers at Stradley Ronon.
Professional Staff Career Opportunities
Pro Bono
Excellence in Mentorship Award
Stradley Ronon might sound to you like every other big law firm out there: sophisticated clients, high-rise offices and exceptional attorneys. So what sets Stradley apart? It could be our commitment to providing young attorneys with immediate real-world experience. It could be that Stradley services some of the biggest clients in the country but still maintains a friendly, small-firm atmosphere. Or it could be that so many of our associates and partners are Stradley "lifers" – attorneys who joined the firm as summer associates and have built their careers with us. We invite you to get to know us better.
D&I Education and Training Resources
Stradley is committed to diversity for many reasons: because it provides a voice to the unique perspectives of all our attorneys; because it reflects the evolving face of the legal profession; and because it allows us to provide the highest-quality services to our clients, who are as diverse as we are. Most of all, though, Stradley is committed to diversity because we believe there is strength in the differences among our experiences and world views. Read More...
Copyright © 2023 Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP. All rights reserved. Review our
privacy policy and disclaimer (UPDATED 02/04/2020).


text:
New and Notable
Installed Price of Solar PV Continues to Decline
The installed price of solar-PV power systems in the United States fell substantially in 2011 and through the first half of 2012, according to the latest edition of Tracking the Sun, an annual PV cost-tracking report produced by DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The median installed price of residential and commercial PV systems completed in 2011 fell by roughly 11–14% from the year before, depending on system size, and in California, prices fell by an additional 3%–7% within the first six months of 2012. These recent installed-price reductions are attributable, in large part, to dramatic reductions in PV module prices, which have been falling precipitously since 2008.
The report indicates that nonmodule costs—such as installation labor, marketing, overhead, inverters, and the balance of systems—have also fallen significantly over time. "The drop in nonmodule costs is especially important," notes report coauthor Ryan Wiser of Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, "as these costs can be most readily influenced by local, state, and national policies aimed at accelerating deployment and removing market barriers." According to the report, average nonmodule costs for residential and commercial systems declined by roughly 30% from 1998 to 2011, but have not declined as rapidly as module prices in recent years. As a result, nonmodule costs now represent a sizable fraction of the installed price of PV systems, and continued deep reduction in the price of PV will require concerted emphasis on lowering the portion of nonmodule costs associated with so-called business process, or soft, costs.
learn more
Download the report Tracking the Sun V: An Historical Summary of the Installed Price of Photovoltaics in the United States from 1998 to 2011, by Galen Barbose, Naïm Darghouth, and Ryan Wiser.
The report indicates that the median installed price of PV systems installed in 2011 was $6.10/W for residential and commercial systems of less than 10 kW, and $4.90/W for commercial systems of 100 kW or more. Utility-sector PV systems larger than 2,000 kW averaged $3.40/W in 2011. Report coauthor Galen Barbose, also of Berkeley Lab, stresses the importance of keeping these numbers in context, noting that "these data provide a reliable benchmark for systems installed in the recent past, but prices have continued to decline over time, and PV systems being sold today are being offered at lower prices."
Changing Energy Behavior
Apogee Interactive, Incorporated, a 20-year leader in providing online energy education and analysis applications for utilities, recently announced the results of three studies conducted over the past two years investigating the impact of energy education and competitions on energy use. Researchers set out to document changes in usage where the Apogee online energy education tools are integrated into the utility's billing and/or metering system. Results were an impressive range of energy reductions, from an average of almost 4% for users of online bill analysis self-assessments to over 20% when competition and social media were included. These studies, conducted by industry visionary Joel Gilbert, P.E., and lead investigator Lei Wang, used the industry standard methodologies to calculate their results. The first study sought to determine whether customers performing an online energy audit use less energy as a result. This study, conducted with a major East Coast investor-owned utility and confirmed as accurate by the utility's measurement and verification (M&V) consultants, produced some eye-opening data. It analyzed hundreds of thousands of billing records for more than 10,000 customers, comparing a control group to the treatment group of customers using Apogee's online audit.
Conclusion: Across all sizes of customers, savings realized by performing an online energy audit were almost 4%. A related and interesting finding of this study—one that has major implications for utilities with energy efficiency or demand-response programs—was that users of the online energy audit were 5 times more likely than the general population to participate in the utility's energy efficiency programs.
According to study director and Apogee Chief Software Architect Joel Gilbert, these findings merit serious consideration as utilities contemplate programs intended to balance cost-effectiveness with impact. "The slogan goes, 'An educated consumer is your best customer,' and that is what our research confirms. The cost of a self-audit is pennies compared to hundreds of dollars for an in-home visit by a professional auditor," explains Gilbert.
The second study, performed with a large investor-owned utility in the Southeast, quantified impacts resulting from in-home energy audits conducted on-site with professionally trained energy auditors. In this case, annual energy use before and after the audit was compared quarterly for a period of one year following the audit. Progress reports showing the impact of changes that customers made to their home or behavior postaudit were mailed to customers. On average, these changes resulted in a 7% reduction in energy use. The last study, performed with a municipal utility in the Southeast, looked at a school-to-school competition to reduce energy use in the school through behavior alone. This two-year competition, using interval meter data for the 13 schools, enabled students, teachers, and administrators to consistently track an astonishing 12% year-on-year weather-adjusted reduction in kWh using nothing more than behavior—students and teachers turning things off when they were not needed. The three best-performing schools topped 20% energy savings. Prize money was computed as a portion of the energy cost savings produced for the school as a result of lower energy bills.
learn more
Get more information on Apogee Interactive, Incorporated, and on these studies.
Overall, Gilbert and Wang found that energy education, fueled by inexpensive communication and accelerated by competition, is the low-hanging fruit of the energy efficiency challenge. In an age when dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security, and escalating energy costs weaken customers' ability to pay their bills, it is imperative that utilities do all they can to leverage low-cost and effective means of changing customer behavior.
Set Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement
Fifteen industry-leading multichannel video providers and device manufacturers that deliver service to more than 90 million American households are launching an unprecedented Set Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement that will result in annual residential electricity savings of $1.5 billion or more as the commitment is fully realized, the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) recently announced.
Participating companies include providers (listed according to number of customers) Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Verizon, Charter, AT&T, Cablevision, Bright House Networks, and CenturyLink, and manufacturers Cisco, Motorola, EchoStar Technologies, and ARRIS. Through the voluntary five-year Set Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement, which went into effect as of January 1, 2013, these companies made the following commitments:
- At least 90% of all new set top boxes purchased and deployed after January 1, 2013, will meet EPA Energy Star 3.0 efficiency levels. Based on market projections for set top box deployments, this will result in residential electricity savings of $1.5 billion annually as the agreement is fully realized.
- For immediate residential electricity savings, light-sleep capabilities will be downloaded by cable operators to more than 10 million digital video recorders (DVRs) that are already in homes. This year, telco providers will offer light-sleep capabilities, and satellite providers will include an automatic power down feature in 90% of set top boxes purchased and deployed.
- Energy-efficient whole-home DVR solutions will be available as an alternative to multiple in-home DVRs for subscribers of satellite and some telco providers beginning in 2013.
- Deep-sleep functionality in next-generation cable set top boxes will be field-tested and will be deployed if it proves successful.
"Providing American consumers with innovative services that deliver great video content and reduce in-home energy costs is win-win for customers and participating companies," says Michael Powell, NCTA president and CEO. "Multichannel video providers and device manufacturers are proud to participate in this unprecedented initiative, and we will continue to pursue even more ways to reduce the overall energy footprint of our services."
According to EPA, set top boxes that are Energy Star qualified are, on average, 45% more efficient than conventional models. The new energy conservation initiative will produce more energy savings overall, and five years earlier than originally anticipated by DOE in its most recent review of set top box energy conservation issues. Prior to this agreement, 2018 was the earliest date that any DOE set top box standards would have been implemented.
learn more
Download the PDF of the Set Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement.
Companies involved in the new Set Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement will meet regularly to review and update energy efficiency measures, and to host ongoing discussions with DOE, EPA, and other interested government agencies and stakeholders on new technologies and equipment. To create accountability and support transparency, the terms of the agreement include detailed processes for verification of set top box performance in the field, annual public reporting on energy efficiency improvements, and posting of product power consumption information by each company for its customers.
REVISED green guides from the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued revised "Green Guides" that are designed to help marketers ensure that the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are truthful and nondeceptive. The revisions reflect a wide range of public input, including hundreds of consumer and industry comments on previously proposed revisions. They include updates to the existing guides, as well as new sections on the use of carbon offsets, green certifications and seals, claims concerning renewable energy and renewable materials.
"The introduction of environmentally friendly products into the marketplace is a win for consumers who want to purchase greener products and producers who want to sell them," says FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "But this win-win can only occur if marketers' claims are truthful and substantiated. The FTC's changes to the Green Guides will level the playing field for honest business people, which is one reason why we had such broad support."
In revising the Green Guides, the FTC modified and clarified sections of the previous guides and provided new guidance on environmental claims that were not commonly made when the guides were last reviewed.
Among other modifications, the guides caution marketers not to make broad, unqualified claims that a product is "environmentally friendly" or "eco-friendly," because the FTC's consumer perception study confirms that such claims are likely to suggest that the product has specific and far-reaching environmental benefits. Very few, if any, products have all the attributes consumers seem to expect when they see such claims, making these claims nearly impossible to substantiate.
The guides also
- advise marketers not to make an unqualified degradable claim for a solid-waste product unless they can prove that the entire product will completely break down and return to nature within one year after customary disposal;
- caution that items destined for landfills, incinerators, or recycling facilities will not degrade within a year, so marketers should not make unqualified degradable claims for these items; and
- clarify guidance on compostable, ozone, recyclable, recycled-content, and source reduction claims.
The guides contain new sections on certifications and seals of approval; carbon offsets; free-of claims; nontoxic claims; made with renewable energy claims; and made with renewable materials claims. The new section on certifications and seals of approval, for example, emphasizes that certifications and seals may be considered endorsements that are covered by the FTC's Endorsement Guides, and includes examples that illustrate how marketers could disclose a material connection that might affect the weight or credibility of an endorsement. In addition, the guides caution marketers not to use environmental certifications or seals that don't clearly convey the basis for the certification, because such seals or certifications are likely to suggest environmental benefits.
Finally, either because the FTC lacks a sufficient basis to provide meaningful guidance or because it wants to avoid proposing guidance that duplicates or contradicts the rules or guidance of other agencies, the guides do not address use of the terms sustainable, natural, and organic. Organic claims made for textiles and other products derived from agricultural products are covered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic program.
learn more
Download a PDF of the Green Guides.
The FTC has brought several actions in recent years related to deceptive recyclability, biodegradable, bamboo, and environmental certification claims, as part of its overall effort to ensure that environmental marketing is truthful and substantiated.
- 1
Enter your comments in the box below:
(Please note that all comments are subject to review prior to posting.)
While we will do our best to monitor all comments and blog posts for accuracy and relevancy, Home Energy is not responsible for content posted by our readers or third parties. Home Energy reserves the right to edit or remove comments or blog posts that do not meet our community guidelines.


text:
Most orders for In-Stock products begin shipping as soon as your online purchase is completed. Products are shipped once they are located in stock, your payment is approved, and the receiving address is verified.
● In stock: Hurry only 2 units left!
Ruma Crossbody Voyageur
Features and specifications
Style: 109993-1041
19.5 x 5 x 14 cm
0.27 kg
100% Nylon
Interior Features
- Open pocket
- 4 card pockets
- Key leash
- TUMI Tracer®
Exterior Features
- Double-zip entry to main compartment
- Front U-zip pocket with locking zipper pull
- Quick-access back pocket
- Adjustable crossbody strap
- Monogrammable detachable leather dangler/key ring
- Leather corners
About this item
Vertical orientation makes this a smart choice for travel days—stow your ticket, passport, phone, wallet, and keys—with room to spare for your other small essentials. Chic and practical, it's also great for everyday use.
Purposeful, practical design that doesn't compromise on style: Our Voyageur collection brings you versatile and lightweight nylon backpacks, bags, and accessories for women.
May we help?
Discover the complete Voyageur collection


text:
Dr. Murray Feingold: Does the moon 'phase' you?
Do the various phases of the moon affect our health? Many people believe so and some scientific studies say yes, others say no.
The word "lunatic" originally describe people with emotional illnesses that were considered to be associated with the moon. Various studies have shown that human behavior can be influenced by the phases of the moon, especially a full moon.
Philosophers as far back as Aristotle argued that a full moon produced too much light and as a result of this, susceptible people could not fall asleep. This resulted in sleep deprivation causing emotional problems.
Although the results of some studies support the association between phases of the moon and mental illness, in a recent review of these studies, researchers detected, in their view, a number of statistical errors in the studies they would negate their conclusion that there is an association between the moon and mental illness.
Studies have shown an increase in the birth rate at the time of a full moon. Other studies have not shown such a correlation.
The most recent data involving over 500,000 deliveries did not show any relationship between a full moon and an increased birth rate.
There are people who believe that there is an increase in violent crimes when there is a full moon. As a result of this impression, some police departments routinely increase their police coverage when there is a full moon.
A study just published has shown that sleep is affected by the moon. Researchers determined that individuals slept an average of 20 minutes less and had more difficulty falling asleep during the full moon phase. Perhaps Aristotle was right that more light is present during a full moon and this disrupts a person's ability to sleep.
There are numerous other claims that phases of the moon affect a person's health. And, as usual, studies have been done that support and don't support these claims.
One comment relating to the moon that is difficult to dispute or refute is, "It's only once in a blue moon that studies will agree with each other."
Massachusetts-based Dr. Murray Feingold is the physician in chief of The Feingold Center for Children, medical editor of WBZ-TV and WBZ radio, and president of the Genesis Fund. The Genesis Fund is a nonprofit organization that funds the care of children born with birth defects, mental retardation and genetic diseases.


text:
How well did you do on Tuesday's pop quiz inspired by Patrick De Rynck's How to Read a Painting? Here are the answers from the book:
1. Why do you see a hint of columns on the far right and left in the Mona Lisa?
They create "the impression that she is sitting in an open loggia."
2. Where in The Last Supper do you find Judas knocking over the salt?
John sits at the right hand of Christ (in the center of the picture), and Peter leans toward him, shoving Judas aside. Judas "clasps the purse containing the silver coins he received from the authorities and knocks over the salt."
3. Why does the man stand next to the window and the woman away from it in Giovanni Arnofini and His Wife?
The wife's position "associates her with the 'inside world' of the home."
How to Read a Painting: Lessons From the Old Masters (Abrams, 2004) is an excellent collection of analyses of more than 100 great paintings, each shown on a two-page spread with callouts that highlight some of its interesting aspects. Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife, shown here, hangs the National Gallery in London under the title The Arnolfini Portrait.
© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


text:
Please provide a valid activation key.
Please provide a valid activation key.
© 2021 ADAM ISAAC ITKOFF. All Rights Reserved | Digital Partner
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of ADAM ISAAC ITKOFF.