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Dear Hostesses, I am so excited to spotlight Amy Oren's ballerina birthday. Amy single handedly crafted a sensational wallet friendly and cleverly themed event. I'm so impressed! Great job, Amy! Marlene
p.s. keep sending in your dessert bar party pics – winner gets a SIGNED copy of Amy Atlas's new book !
click on the book to check it out!
p.s. CLICK HERE to get all the newest table setting ideas and easy healthy recipes once a week to your inbox!
"Hi Marlene,
My daughter's a little ballerina, and for her 5th birthday she just HAD to have a ballerina party. It was a ton of work, but it was worth every second.
I used a damask pattern for all my printed items like the popcorn boxes, the personalized cup wrappers, the invitation, the cup wrappers, the tutu nametags, platter liners and the chocolate wrappers. I designed a ballerina silhouette for the invitation and nametags, and I used the same silhouette for the backdrop. I cut it out of foam board and glittered her up! I used fabric and tulle for her tutu for a 3 dimensional look. The backdrop was made to look like a stage with fabric draping, and the ballerina in the center.
I used fondant to decorate the cake and the cupcake toppers.
The milk bottles were actually Starbucks Frappucino bottles that I got from Costco. I filled them with milk and strawberry milk syrup.
To make the desserts look like beautiful dancing ballerinas, I made pink meringue "skirts" and stuck in pink cardstock ballerina toppers.
Before I baked the ballet slipper cookies, I poked two holes through the dough using a straw. This way I was able to lace a ribbon through the cookie and tie in a bow. I decorated them with sugar icing.
Other yummy pink desserts were pink popcorn and pink rice crispy treats, both made with strawberry marshmallow fluff, and pink cotton candy in little cones.
You can see more pictures, details, and download all these free printables on my blog Blowout Party." Amy Oren
p.s. CLICK HERE to get all the newest table setting ideas and easy healthy recipes once a week to your inbox!
Related articles
- Baby Giselle's First Princess Birthday Party (thejewishhostess.com)
- What a Dinner and Dessert Bar! By 17 Year Old Susan Zeitoune (thejewishhostess.com)


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Estimating a retirement income strategy requires a few assumptions including the expected return on invested assets. A common strategy is to use asset return data from the past, and specifically from the recent past in the United States (mainly because the data were readily available). Using this set of return data results in estimated safe withdrawal rates from retirement savings in the range of 4 to 5%.
Now, let's imagine a world that looks nothing like the past: a world with more households in their peak saving years (between age 50 and 65) than at any time in the history of the United States; a world where America now makes up only 26% of the global bond market and less than 30% of the global market capitalization for stocks. This may not be a world that resembles the one that produced decades of high real yield for investors.
America has become a nation of yield addicts. When we've needed it, we've always been able to get a fix. Trust in a future with significant real yields and you can enjoy a secure retirement, a healthy pension, and you can even justify generous compensation for asset management services. But if it goes away, well, withdrawal is never pleasant.
It may be useful to revisit the purpose of financial markets. Financial markets exist to allow individuals and institutions to trade money across time periods and to transfer risk. Let's for a moment ignore the risk part (although there is mounting evidence that the reward for taking it isn't what it used to be). Trading money across time periods means that some people prefer to spend the money today and are willing to trade future dollars (through interest) with others who prefer to spend more in the future. This preference for consuming in the present rather than the future is the foundation of real asset yields. It means that when we give up spending today, we can spend even more in the future. That's a good deal for those who place a lot of value on consuming in the future—for example retirees who need the money to maintain a lifestyle.
Retirees are now buying financial instruments (as are the institutions that control their assets) to fund a lifestyle for an expected longevity that will last longer than any post-retirement period in history. Imagine these retirees bidding for assets in a marketplace where participants over the age of 60 now hold 51% of the total investable wealth in the U.S. In addition to wealthy, older U.S. investors, assets are also being demanded by cultures with a taste for saving that is greater than our own. This scenario is beginning to resemble reality for many entering retirement today. And the implications on our addiction to real yield are sobering.
It turns out that there is an easy way to estimate the market's willingness to trade consumption in the present for consumption in the future. There is an asset with almost no default or inflation risk that allows investors to purely invest a dollar today for a promised amount in 5, 10 or 30 years. That asset is the Treasury Inflation Protected Security, or TIPS. Recent auction prices for TIPS reveal a new reality that points to a yield-free world. For much of the 2000s, real yields on 10-year TIPS hovered around 1.5 to 2.5%. In September of 2010, they dropped below 1%. By November of 2011, they were zero and for each of the last five months have been negative. Investors were willing to give up an annual 21 basis point decrease in real consumption in order to transfer a dollar's worth of spending today to a guaranteed, inflation-protected level of consumption in the future.
Negative TIPS rates may represent an overall market fear of inflation combined with a limited number of financial instruments available to serve as a hedge. However, May yields on 10-year Treasury bills are also running about 50 basis points below the April 2.3% inflation rate. It appears that investors have begun to accept zero or even negative real returns on safe assets over the coming decade.
Estimating withdrawal rate strategies without real yield is a gruesome task. So I asked my good friend, occasional co-author and withdrawal rate guru Wade Pfau, associate professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, to calculate how zero real returns would impact traditional safe withdrawal rates. These estimates use the traditional methodology, which for better or worse assume constant inflation-adjusted spending from assets invested in either the S&P 500 or intermediate-term government bonds.
The retirement withdrawal rate literature used previous U.S. bond returns in order to estimate safe withdrawal rates. The real rate of return on intermediate term bonds between 1926 and 2010 was 2.52%. Using historical equity and bond return data, the failure rate of a 30-year retirement horizon is 6% using a 4% withdrawal rate strategy. However, as we know the best estimate of future bond returns is based on current market yields. If we really believe that future real bond returns will be 2.5%, then we should start a hedge fund that shorts long-run bonds. Financial advisors are better off assuming that the current market reflects reality.
When real rates of return on bonds are reduced to zero, Pfau estimates that the failure rate of a 4% withdrawal strategy increases the 30-year failure rate to 15%, or just over one out of every seven retirees. This near tripling of retirement default risk is disturbing, but it is not technically accurate because we also assume historical real equity returns. According to the capital asset pricing model, equity returns consist of an equity premium and a risk-free rate. Since the historical risk-free bond rate has been 2.5%, our historical equity returns are inflated if future risk-free returns are zero.
If we use a more accurate set of equity returns with a market-correct risk-free rate of return, the results are even more alarming. The failure rate of a 4% strategy with zero bond yield and a zero risk-free rate on equities is 34% over a 30-year time horizon. If real bond rates of return do not increase during a new retiree's lifetime, they will have a greater than one in three chance of running out of money in 30 years. Even this estimation may be overoptimistic since current real bond yields are not zero—they are slightly negative. This estimation also includes an equity risk premium that existed during a period of equity returns so high that most economists consider them a puzzle. A more conservative (and more realistic) estimate of failure rates in a low-yield, low-risk premium marketplace would almost certainly lead to estimates of safe withdrawal rates well below 4%.
One easy way for retirees to gain yield on retirement investments is to receive a mortality credit that will give them a higher withdrawal rate on safe investments in exchange for a loss of liquidity and bequest by annuitizing their wealth. Many advisors bemoan current rates of return on annuities which are as low as 3.8% on an inflation-adjusted single premium immediate annuity. However, these rates are based on the current yield-free reality. Are you willing to gamble that the market is wrong?
Michael Finke is a professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in personal financial planning at Texas Tech University.

subset: commoncrawl


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FREMONT — Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that Tesla will partner with several companies besides Panasonic for its planned "gigafactory" for battery production, painting a portrait of a facility resembling a massive industrial park and saying that there eventually will be a need for several more.
Musk said that the gigafactory will drive battery costs down by more than 30 percent.
"I think we will probably do better than 30 percent cost reduction," he said at the World Energy Innovation Forum at Tesla's Fremont factory Wednesday. "We are making a humongous factory. There will be other companies besides us and Panasonic. So far it's looking good. We're building a gigafactory because we can't think of any other way to scale."
The planned $5 billion gigafactory is key to Tesla's strategy of manufacturing a more affordable, mass-market electric car. Tesla has not finalized a location but is looking at several states, including Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. California is also being considered but is regarded as a long shot because of the lengthy time required for the permitting process.
In an onstage interview with venture capitalist Ira Ehrenpreis, an early investor in Tesla who sits on its board of directors, Musk said that vertically integrating the battery production makes economic sense.
"The gigafactory will take that to another level," he said. "You'll have stuff coming directly from the mine, getting on a rail car and getting delivered to the factory, with finished battery packs coming out the other side. The cost-compression potential is quite high if you are willing to go all the way down the supply chain."
But the gigafactory will not just supply batteries for Tesla's electric cars: Stationary battery packs will be provided to SolarCity, the San Mateo solar-installation company run by Musk's cousins, and other renewable energy companies in the solar and wind industries.
Once large quantities of energy can be stored, experts say, the electric grid can make better use of solar, wind and other technologies that generate energy sporadically rather than in a steady flow, and can better manage disruptions from unpredictable events such as storms and wildfires.
"They will be for anyone who wants to buy them, really," Musk said of the stationary battery packs. "There will be quasi-infinite demand for battery storage if the energy density and the price are good enough."
The gigafactory is expected to occupy roughly 10 million square feet and eventually employ 6,500 workers. Tesla has said groundbreaking on at least one of two potential gigafactory sites could happen next month.
Contact Dana Hull at 408-920-2706. Follow her at Twitter.com/danahull.


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Durbin sets gun hearing for Feb. 12
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin will hold a hearing on gun violence Feb. 12 as Democrats grapple with crafting a new gun control bill.
The Illinois Democrat chairs the Judiciary Committee's subpanel on the Constitution, civil rights and human rights.
The Judiciary Committee is expected to begin marking up a new gun-control bill by the end of the month, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said Wednesday. The major question for committee members is whether a ban on assault weapons proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will be included in that legislation. Durbin is a supporter of the assault weapons ban.
Feinstein, who is also a member of the Judiciary Committee, will also hold her own subcommittee hearing before any bill is considered. No date has been set for that hearing yet.
Gun violence has been a major problem in Chicago, with more than 500 shooting deaths in 2012. More than 40 murders took place in January alone, including the shooting death of a 15-year-old girl who marched on President Barack Obama's inaugural parade last week. That total was the highest for the month of January in a decade, according to Chicago newspapers.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former House member and White House chief of staff, has already proposed additional restrictions to what is already one of the most strict gun-control regimes in the country.


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Our Jack Daniel's Pool Table Cloth can be supplied either as cloth only, or we can fit it to a new table, or we can fit it to your existing table.
This item is a Jack Daniel's full label Smart cloth, to fit a 6ft English pool table.
Home Leisure Direct are proud to be the sole licensee for Jack Daniel's branded games room products for the UK and Europe.
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Jack Daniel's Pool Table Cloth - by Hainsworth:
The Hainsworth range of napped wool pool and snooker cloth are created from the finest Merino wool manufactured for durable wear and performance with a precise directional nap finish.
Hainsworth pool cloth is a finely 'engineered' product designed for optimum playing performance. Hainsworth manufacturing expertise is supported by continued investment in the latest processing and finishing technology to achieve the highest levels of playing performance and long lasting appearance.
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For English Pool - Hainsworth Smart Cloth:
Setting the benchmark in quality, Hainsworth® SMART pool table cloth is unrivalled for its combined durability and playability. Offering exceptional value, the hardwearing, high performance Hainsworth® SMART cloth is of a relentlessly high quality that continues to provide both commercial environments and home players, with excellent speed and control, time and time again.
A truly durable cloth, Hainsworth® SMART snooker and pool cloth is both extremely hardwearing and independently tested for colour fastness and resistance to fading to B.S. EN 150 105 B02 1999 standards.
Hainsworth® SMART pool cloth has a napped surface, with the grain running from the baulk end to the balck spot end. This is the normal type of cloth chosen for English Pool tables.
For American Pool - Hainsworth Elite-Pro Cloth:
As its name suggests, Hainsworth® ELITE-PRO pool cloth is the top professional choice for super-smooth American pool. A top quality worsted cloth weave produces long-lasting, high speed play and provides the perfect surface for print personalization and branding.
Hainsworth® ELITE-PRO pool cloth does not have a napped surface, with no grain. This type of cloth is used for American Pool tables. It is a faster cloth than the Hainsworth® SMART pool cloth.
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We supply this cloth in a set comprising cloth for the cushions and bed. You will need to arrange fitting. Depending on your location, we should be able to recommend a cloth fitter in your area with whom you can liaise directly. We do not recommend fitting a pool or snooker cloth yourself, unless you have the necessary skills and experience; fitting a pool table cloth should ideally be done by an expert and any damage incurred by fitting the cloth yourself will not be covered by any warranty.
We have a range of branded Jack Daniel's pool tables available - please visit our Jack Daniel's department for full details.
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We can fit a Jack Daniel's cloth to most existing tables. Please give our expert team a call on 0800 622 6464 to discuss your requirements. We will need to know what make and model of table you have, and also what size. Some tables require more cloth to be used due to the way it is fitted, if this is the case we will provide you with a quote for your table specifically. If you order this through the website we will call you to check this. Please note there may be additional charges depending upon the type of table you have. We can fit to both English and American tables - please ensure you select the right type of table when completing your order.
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We've teamed up with V12 Retail Finance Limited ("V12") to offer you a flexible and affordable option to pay on finance. V12 is the UK's only specialist provider of Retail Point of Sale Credit, providing finance options for more than 20 years through its industry leading online paperless processing system. If your application is successful, you will enter into a Credit Agreement with Secure Trust Bank Plc (V12's parent company) which will be administered by V12. V12 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Secure Trust Bank Plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 204550.
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All you need to do is fill out the online form at the payment stage and add an electronic signature. It's important you use your full name and address details and make sure everything is spelt correctly. Please note, this is an online only finance option.
If your application is successful, you'll be asked to verify your identity by authorising a 50p transaction against a credit or debit card that you own. This helps protect you and us against fraudulent finance contracts. No money will be taken from your card; the details are only used to check that they are valid and registered to your address.
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What is a Home Loan?
A Home Loan is a loan taken to buy a plot of land or property and construct a house on it or to buy an already constructed house or apartment or to renovate your home or to construct something new as an extension on existing house.All major Bank and NBFC Provide Home Loan in Gurgaon.
Who is Eligible for a Home Loan?
You are eligible for Home loan if you are
What will be the maximum amount and the rate of interest of home loan you can avail?
With us, you can apply for a loan starting at Rs 2,00,000. The maximum amount you can apply for is Rs 100,000,000 by mortgaging your home as collateral.
How much EMI do you have to pay?
The EMI that you pay depends upon major of three factors the principal loan amount, the interest rate charged and the period for which the loan is taken and all these three factors depends upon your credit score, standing in the business or profession, turnover, business stability, income and other loans if any.
Home Loan Balance Transfer and Top-upy?
A Home Loan balance transfer facility can be avail by the customers who already have a running home loan with another financial institution and when they avail that loan at that point of time may be the interest rate is higher and now the rate gets lower and that customer want to take the benefit of lower interest rate. Lower interest rates help you to reduce your existing EMI.
Balance transfer of Home Loan not only reduces the existing EMI but also helps the customer to take below mentioned benefits
Government Scheme - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2017
We at Finheal.com are enthused by the government's initiatives to encourage lower income borrowers to get home loan and own their dream home. The government has notified that borrowers whose income is less than Rs 6,00,000 per year would be given home loans at a concessional rate of 4% under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2017. We help people from this segment to get their dream home and take benefits under this government scheme from Banks and NBFCs.


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We'll fill up your glass at The Hare and Hounds with some of the best offers and drinks deals around.
Whether you fancy a mellow Monday pint of real ale, something to add sparkle to your weekend, or a relaxing glass of wine on a Sunday evening… you're sure to find everyone's favourite refreshments at the best value.
Try two of our deliciously fruity cocktails for only £7.50 every day from 5pm. Keep it classic with our Long Island Iced Tea, mix it up with an exotic Pornstar Spritz or try one of our new cocktails, including the light, refreshing Aperol Spritz and the fun, fruity Raspberry Spritz.
*2 for £7.50 cocktail offer is not available in Scotland.
Start and end the week with a smile on your face, by choosing a perfectly poured pint from our cask ales selection for just £2.79 all day, every Monday and Thursday.
Begin your weekend with a bang and enjoy a bubbly treat for a special price. From 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays you can choose from:
Prosecco: £13
Freixenet Italian Sparkling Rosé: £15
Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne: £30
Start your weekend a little earlier on Thursday and make it last that bit longer when you choose your favourites from our amazing wine selection for just £10.
Enjoy a bottle of Jacobs Creek Twin Pickings, Campo Viejo and plenty more whites, reds and rosés for only £10 a bottle, from 5pm on Thursdays and Sundays.
*Deals vary in our Scottish pubs: Weekend Fizz Club is all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday Cask Club is available all day Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Wine Club is available all day Sunday to Tuesday


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(ABC NEWS) When it became clear last fall that the CIA's now discredited Benghazi talking points were flawed, the White House said repeatedly the documents were put together almost entirely by the intelligence community, but White House documents reviewed by Congress suggest a different story.
ABC News has obtained 12 different versions of the talking points that show they were extensively edited as they evolved from the drafts first written entirely by the CIA to the final version distributed to Congress and to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice before she appeared on five talk shows the Sunday after that attack.
White House emails reviewed by ABC News suggest the edits were made with extensive input from the State Department. The edits included requests from the State Department that references to the Al Qaeda-affiliated group Ansar al-Sharia be deleted as well references to CIA warnings about terrorist threats in Benghazi in the months preceding the attack.
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Meet the 'Scientology Princess' Who Could Be the Fourth Mrs. Tom Cruise
27-year-old model-slash-actress Yolanda Pecoraro is reportedly being considered by the Church of Scientology as a potential mate for Tom Cruise in the wake of his split from third wife Katie Holmes.
Scientology expert Margery Wakefield tells the National Enquirer that "Tom's next marriage will be inside the church," which makes Pecoraro, a devout Scientologist, the perfect match.
A "Scientology princess" according to a former church member, Pecoraro began attending Scientology courses at age 13 and is the daughter of true believers. According to Andrew Morton's Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, Cruise met Pecoraro at a 2004 Scientology center opening in Spain and "fell head over heels for her."
The two may have even dated briefly that same year, and Cruise is reported to have paid for Pecoraro to study at the Celebrity Centre in Hollywood.
"Yes, I knew and still know Tom Cruise. And no, I'm not married or engaged," the Silver Lake native, who has a live-in Scientologist boyfriend, told the Enquirer.
A source says Pecoraro's current relationship status may not present much of a problem for the Church, should they decide to set the two up.
"With the embarrassment his divorce has caused the church, they want to stabilize the situation quickly," the insider said. "They also want to show that Tom has rebounded fast and that his new wife is beautiful and steeped in Scientology."


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Pardiss Kebriaei
Senior Staff Attorney
Pardiss Kebriaei is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she works on challenging U.S. government abuses in the national security context. She was lead counsel for CCR in Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta, which challenged the killings of three American citizens in U.S. drone strikes in Yemen, and Al-Aulaqi v. Obama, which challenged the authorization for the targeting of an American citizen added to secret government "kill lists." She represents current and former Guantanamo detainees, including Ghaleb Al-Bihani, a Yemeni man cleared for release through the government's Periodic Review Board process after having been designated as a "forever" detainee, but who remains detained without charge, and another Yememi client who, in 2009, was in the last group of detainees to be repatriated to Yemen. She represents the families of two detainees who died in Guantanamo in 2006, whose reported "suicides" have been thrown into doubt by whistleblowers and investigative journalists, in the cases Al-Zahrani v. United States in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and, previously, in Al-Zahrani v. Rumsfeld in U.S. federal courts. She represents Fahad Hashmi, who pled to charges of material support for terrorism after three years in pre-trial solitary confinement and Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) and was subsequently held in the Administrative Maximum prison in Colorado, the nation's federal "supermax" prison. She advocates on behalf of other cases as part of the No Separate Justice Campaign, a grassroots initiative formed to shed light on unjust domestic terrorism prosecutions. Prior to coming to the Center for Constitutional Rights she worked at the Center for Reproductive Rights. She has also taught courses at Hunter and Brooklyn Colleges of the City University of New York. She graduated from Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Her recent writing includes "Life After Guantanamo," Harper's Magazine, April 2015; "The Torture that Flourishes from Gitmo to an American Supermax," The Nation, Janunary 2014; on the hunger strike at Gitmo, "We are dying a slow death here," MSNBC, April 13, 2013; and "U.S. Targeted Killing Policy: A Response to Jeh Johnson," Yale Law & Policy Review, 2013. She has appeared on many outlets, including PBS News Hour, CBS Evening News, Democracy Now! and MSNBC.


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WHISTLER, B.C. — With the sun setting over the West Coast mountains, Mellisa Hollingsworth's four-year quest to grace the top of the Olympic podium faded to black Friday at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
Canada expected gold from the Alberta rodeo queen. Instead, she ping-ponged off walls and skidded into fifth place.
Talk about a major blow for the host country's goal to Own the Podium at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
"It's really hard," the 29-year-old said, a Canadian flag tucked under her arm. "I feel like I've let my entire country down."
If the Olympics are about performance on demand, the World Cup overall champion failed to deliver where it mattered the most.
"Do you think it was fair for us — and the country — to put so much pressure on you?" a reporter asked.
She shook her head emphatically.
"No," she said softly. "It's not pressure. I was ready. It was just one mistake. One mistake can happen like that in the World Cup, a selection race or a training run.
"It just happened to happen at the Olympic Games."
The Eckville, Alta., native won bronze at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, and fought four long years to upgrade to gold in Whistler.
Due to her World Cup dominance, Hollingsworth slid into Whistler with hype similar to track star Perdita Felicien at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and speedskater Jeremy Wotherspoon at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Felicien famously failed to clear the first hurdle in the 100 metres. Wotherspoon tripped over the start line in the 500 metres.
Hollingsworth's mistake was not as obvious but every bit as costly on her final run.
Sitting in second place after three heats, Hollingworth ripped off an incredible start time of 4.93 seconds. But she came out of Corner 6 and hit the wall.
From there, she ricocheted off the walls twice, losing valuable time in the process.
"I wasn't giving up," she said. "I still kept to the game plan all the way down the track."
She slid into the foam at the finish line and looked up to see the No. 4 beside her name on the scoreboard with one slider to go.
Amy Williams of Britain ripped down the track in a combined time of three minutes, 35.64 seconds to capture the gold and knock Hollingsworth to fifth.
Williams is the first British athlete to win Winter Olympic individual gold since figure skater Robin Cousins hit the top of the podium in 1980.
"I'm not good at statistics," she said. "So I didn't realize it's the first gold medal in a long time.
"I can't believe that it's really happening. I think it shows that with determination any country can be good at any sport."
Late Friday night, Canada launched an protest over the legality of Williams' helmet. A similar protest by the Americans failed on Thursday.
Even if Canada proved successful, Hollingsworth would only move up to fourth place.
"Whenever someone is winning, someone always finds something to moan about," Williams said.
Before the appeal, Germany — one of Canada's chief rivals in the quest to top the medal table — captured silver and bronze. Kerstin Szymkowiak came in at 3:36.20 followed by Anja Huber at 3:36.36.
Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States at 3:36.46 finished fourth followed by Hollingsworth at 3:36.60
Amy Gough of Abbotsford, B.C., was seventh with a cumulative time of 3:37.01. Kelly, of Grande Prairie, Alta., was 13th in 3:40.79.
"You're in a sport that measures in hundredths of seconds," said Hollingsworth. "There's just really no room for error."
"You're in a sport that measures in hundredths of seconds," said Hollingsworth. "There's just really no room for error."
Clearly shattered, Hollingsworth looked up at the finish line to see her dad dressed in his standard black cowboy hat and matching boots.
Darcy Hollingworth is an oil-field worker who raises bucking horses on the family ranch near Rimbey.
"He told me that I was his hero," Mellisa said, losing the fight against the waterworks in her eyes. "Obviously, that means a lot. It's been a great journey.
"It's been a great ride."
The ride isn't over, Darcy said. Not by a long shot.
"I told her that tonight, she's my hero," Darcy said. "I think she's a hero to a lot of people.
"Fifth place is outstanding anytime at this type of competition but when you've got your sights set on the top it's a setback. But Melissa's raised to be tough and she'll bounce back from this. She's got that cowgirl instinct where she'll be able to take on anything she wants to whenever she wants."
"She's a good old tough Alberta girl."
And a heartbroken one at that.


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12 August, 2010 | (01 hr)
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In our last Special Webcast on Corporate Sustainability we discussed the latest developments in The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Future of Integrated Reporting. During that discussion, Suzanne Fallender, Director of CSR Strategy and Communications at Intel, noted that the challenge faced by companies moving toward integrated reporting is "the difference in how materiality for ESG is defined versus materiality for financials...Financial materiality means something very specific."
In this webcast we will have an in-depth discussion on the meaning of materiality, how it has evolved (and continues to evolve) in financial reporting and how this can, or cannot, apply effectively to materiality determination of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk. Why is the issue of materiality central to creating an integrated report? What will it take to establish materiality of ESG in such a manner to satisfy all stakeholders, and at a minimum the financial services industry? Who has a stake in this discussion and who is currently at the table? What are leading organizations doing and how can companies get involved? How are leading companies addressing this question and what processes and useful frameworks that are being used? What are the main hurdles and how can these be overcome? How would we define success here?
This webcast will focus on:
- The further explanation of integrated reporting and how it is being done by companies today.
- The importance of the materiality determination to an integrated report, given the different definitions of materiality and the institutional history behind each determination of materiality.
- Which (GRI) performance indicators do investors consider "material"?
- What is the evidence for ESG materiality in independent scholarly research?
Erika Karp
Erika Karp serves as Chair of the Global Investment Review Committee, managing the UBS Global Sector Research effort encompassing analysts and strategists around the world. She is a member of the UBS Research Managing Board, the Americas Equity Business Committee, and was appointed to the IB Boar...Full Bio
Farha-Joyce Haboucha
Joyce Haboucha is the Senior Portfolio Manager and Director of Sustainability & Impact Investments within the Investment Group and a Managing Director of Rockefeller Financial. She joined Rockefeller Financial in early 1997, having been a Senior Portfolio Manager at Neuberger & Berman sin...Full Bio
Helle Bank Jorgensen
Helle Jorgensen serves as the Sustainability Advisory Leader in the US and on PwC's Global Sustainability Leadership Council. She has recently relocated to the United States from Europe where she has worked with Sustainability for nearly 20 years, being responsible for PwC's services to enterpris...Full Bio
Susanne Stormer
TBL is short for Triple Bottom Line – the Novo Nordisk principle to always strive to be a financially, environmentally and socially responsible business. As Vice President, Global TBL Management, Susan Stormer sets the strategic direction for the company's positioning as a susta...Full Bio
Dinah A. Koehler, Sc.D.
Dinah Koehler, Sc.D. is research leader for sustainability and climate change at Deloitte Research – the research division of the Deloitte US firm. She earned her Doctor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Risk Management from Harvard's School of Public Health, did coursework at ...Full Bio


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Attention! Be on your best behavior: Tom Hardy could be reading this right now. He's growing a beard so he can be in Mad Max, and when Kyle Buchanan at Vulture asked how long it took to get such bushy facial hair, Hardy answered: "Five months. And I've already trimmed it a lot, because people are saying it's grizzly." Which prompted Buchanan to ask, "Which people?" To which Hardy replied: "Oh, I'm a terrible reader of the Internet and stuff like that."
And you read what people say about you?
Yeah, 'cause in my head, I'm still not famous. It's like, "Hey, I'm on this site!" Or [to my fiancée], "Look at what we were wearing last night! And everyone says you look great." And then someone will say, "Tom Hardy is a cunt because … " What? WHAT?
And then do you reply anonymously?
Yes, sometimes! Wouldn't you? Sometimes no one's defending my corner! And then what you find - I've done it before - is that it's a forest fire that you can't put out. It's like [when commenters say], "Is he gay? Isn't he gay?" Does it matter? Does it actually?
Guys, he's reading! He is reading.
Or you know, just pic spam. I'll start.


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The "I Run For Integrity" National Peace Campaign
13 Feb, 2013, 06:00 GMT
NAIROBI, Kenya, February 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Transparency International, Kenya (TI-Kenya) makes peace a priority as it launches the "I RUN FOR INTEGRITY - I AM THE CHANGE" peace campaign at their offices in ACK Garden House,1st Ngong Avenue .
The press briefing scheduled shortly after the first ever Presidential Debate in Kenya is scheduled to be held at the Transparency International offices Wednesday 13 February in Upperhill, Nairobi Kenya. With just four weeks until the country starts polling for the first general elections since the violence in 2007, this campaign is hoping to create a safe and hopeful platform for Kenyans to express their views on how integrity and peace can shape their future. The first event in the series planned by campaign sponsors Transparency International and partner Kenya Believe It is the I RUN FOR INTEGRITY PEACE RALLY to be held in NAKURU at the AFRAHA Stadium 10am to 6pm. We hope this rally will show the numbers behind integrity and peace in a country where on the eve of Valentine's Day there is more discussion about elections than romance.
TI-Kenya Executive Director Mr. Samuel Kimeu said the stakes are very high in these elections. "We are in a new era of the first General Elections under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and that has made the dynamics different from previous elections."
In the lead up to the March 2013 general election, the campaign aims at sensitising the population and especially Kenya's youth, on the importance of electing leaders based on their personal integrity, competence and suitability. The campaign calls for elections that are free, fair, transparent and peaceful. The youth make over 60% of the population of Kenya and have the potential to completely change the course our history if they use their vote and numbers for this purpose.
The campaign's message will be spread through two concerts in Nakuru and Mombasa, targeting a total of 40,000 people. Its strapline is "SIASA NI KUAMINIKA. KUTUMIKIA. KUBADILISHA", which translates as "Politics is: being trustworthy, serving, bringing about change." The concerts will have performances by six leading artists and will feature the official anthem developed for the campaign with all six performers on stage together for the first time. The dates will be Saturday 16th February at Nakuru's Afraha stadium and Sunday 24th February in Mombasa. Both are family concerts and will be held during the day.
The official sponsor of the campaign is Transparency International Kenya (TI-Kenya). TI-Kenya is part of the Transparency International group that is a non-partisan coalition of individuals with a shared vision of a corruption free world. The campaign was conceived by Kenya Believe It movement, which encourages all Kenyans to work together for positive change and to transcend tribal, ethnic and gender divisions.
The I RUN FOR INTEGRITY initiative is the first of its kind in Kenya. It has identified Kenya's youth as a voting group pivotal to the country's future.
"Elections are a defining characteristic of democratic regimes" said Mr. Samuel Kimeu, Executive Director of TI-Kenya. "Through elections, politicians are held accountable by the people they serve. It is vitally important that every individual voter understands that electing leaders with integrity is essential for realising a country's potential. Education and awareness are the essential tools to empower citizens to make informed choices."
"Youth can be drivers of historic social change" said Priya Chana, Director of Kenya Believe It. "For instance, in the 1960s in Europe and the USA, youth movements and the rock artists stood up and shook the system. Non-discrimination, and gender and race equality, went from being causes for protesters to being fundamental mainstream social attitudes. Kenyan youth and musical artists can be equally ground-breaking."
TI-Kenya has enlisted 6 leading artists to champion the message of integrity and peaceful elections: Jua Cali, Sanaipei, Rabbit, Avril, Ala-C and Marya. Together with the campaign team, they have produced an anthem called "RFI" ("Run For Integrity") which was unveiled at the press conference, and will be widely available.
TI-Kenya appeals to youth in Kenya to support this campaign by logging on to the official TI-Kenya Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/TransparencyKenya,where they can express their thoughts and opinions freely in a safe, respectful manner. Trending on twitter #irun4integrity and follow @TIKenya.
Jua Cali, leading Kenyan artist who is a driving force in this movement said: "I believe in my people. I believe that Kenyan youth want what is best for the country and I believe they will choose peace and integrity this election."
TI-Kenya implore upon the youth to get out, spread the peace message and vote. "March 4th is Election Day. It is our day-it is the day for all of us to stand up and be counted, to make our voices heard. It is our day to exercise our voice.
It's time to mobilize our nation, to bring us all together into an unstoppable force.
It's not about saying "someone should fix it", but "I can fix it. I chose to create the country I want to live in."
It starts with us. It starts with you! Join the movement today!
Notes to the Editor
- Campaign Name: I RUN FOR INTEGRITY
- Campaign Message: Siasa ni Kuaminika, kutumikia, kubadilisha Kenya
Politics is: being trustworthy. Serving. Bringing about change."
The campaign seeks to redefine politics in Kenya. To provoke the audience to place integrity at the centre of the political processes and choices for a leadership that can be trusted, that serves and positively transforms the life of every citizen.
- Campaign Events
Saturday 16th February – Nakuru – Peace Rally – 10am to 6pm – Afraha Stadium
Sunday 24th February – Mombasa – Peace Rally – 10am to 6pm – Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach
Moment of Peace – National Activity – TO BE CONFIRMED
- Campaign Taglines:
- Mi ndio voice, mi ndio change, mi ndio Kenya
I am the voice, I am the change, I am Kenya
- Natia zii ufisadi, nachagua Kenya
I say no to corruption, I choose to stand up for Kenya
- Amani yako, amani yangu, amani yetu Kenya
Your Peace, My Peace , Our Peace
- Sitachochwa, nachagua amani
I won't be incited, I choose peace
- Artists
Jua Cali Sanaipei Tande ALA C Avril Rabbit Marya
- Join the conversation
- on twitter: @TIKenya
- By Trending on twitter #irun4integrity
- on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TransparencyKenya
- On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenya-Believe-It/96465928843?fref=ts
- Transparency International-Kenya is a not-for-profit organization founded in '99 in Kenya with the aim of developing a transparent & corruption free Kenya
- TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL-KENYA is a non profit organization founded in 1999 and registered as a company limited by guarantee, with the aim of a transparent, accountable and corruption free Kenya, for good governance and social justice initiatives ..
TI-KENYA is part of the Transparency International group that is a non-partisan coalition of individuals with a shared vision of a corruption free world. TI-Kenya is an autonomous Chapter in the Transparency International movement, a global coalition against corruption, with which we share knowledge and exchange ideas for the greater good of Kenya.
Our Vision
A transparent, just and accountable Kenyan society
Our Mission
To support citizens and governance institutions effect transparency and accountability in public and business affairs through legal and policy frameworks, skills, knowledge and information
TI-Kenya is guided by the following set of values:
• Integrity
• Justice
• Courage
• Equality
• Respect for diversity, inclusion and participation
• Excellence
- Kenya Believe It is a movement of Kenya & her friends that will build the Brand of Kenya outside the influences of government, politics & jaded bureaucrats, to the benefit of the Kenyan people & for the attraction of the international community.
- Vision
Kenya Believe It has been formed to ensure that an integrated Kenya national brand is created, harnessed and sustained for the long term.
- Mission
- Kenya Believe It is a movement of Kenya & her friends that will build the Brand of Kenya outside the influences of government, politics & jaded bureaucrats, to the benefit of the Kenyan people & for the attraction of the international community
- The movement will work on building national identity and pride in every Kenyan and instilling confidence in Kenya among foreigners, investors, development partners and tourists
- The corporation will aim to improve the quality of life of every single Kenyan by working to get all sectors of Kenya, from natural beauty to natural talents of Kenya and Kenyan's known and marketed to the whole world
- We will aim to pull Kenyan's all from all over the world together to help market their country outside the influences of politics and government bureaucracy to do something good for Kenya by the people for the people
- Facebook Page: Kenya Believe It
Address & Contacts
Head Office - 3rd Floor,
Wing D, ACK Garden House,
1st Ngong Avenue off Bishop's Road
Website http://www.tikenya.org
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TransparencyKenya
Skype @TIKenya
On behalf of TI-Kenya
PC* Communications Ltd
Email firstname.lastname@example.com
UK Mobile +44(0)7808-55-33-14
KE Mobile (sms only) +254-724-716-397
Skype priyachana
Twitter @priyachana
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/priyachana
Linked in ke.linkedin.com/pub/priya-chana/23/42a/b60/
SOURCE Transparency International


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Our total compensation package is competitive with other regional employers and with our peer universities. Western invests approximately $100 million each year to provide all statutory and other benefits, and pension to our employees, and the value of benefits represents as much as 27.5 per cent of the full employee payroll.
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The Mazda MX-5 has won countless awards during its 31-year reign over the roadster category – and it continues to do so. In 2020 and beyond, the Mazda MX-5 keeps getting better and better, exciting drivers around the world with its focus on "lighter weight, more power", combined with Kodo Design and surprising comfort.
Models shown may not be to UK specification. Colours and some exterior and/or interior elements may differ on screen from the actual model.
The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the 2020 Mazda MX-5 Convertible Range: Combined 40.9 (6.9) – 44.8 (6.3). CO2 emissions (g/km) 155 - 142
Figures shown are for comparability purposes; only compare fuel consumption and CO2 figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. These figures may not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon a number of factors including the accessories fitted (post-registration), variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load. All figures quoted are derived from the latest WLTP test cycle.
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Week 7 showed us that those with opportunity can produce. Jarrett Boykin filled in more than admirably for James Jones and Randall Cobb. Harry Douglas made the most of his opportunity to be the Falcons No. 1 wideout. But to top that off, we got a bunch of new injuries to send us scrambling to the wire.
Here's who I'd go after. Obviously, if you have holes on your roster based on injuries to your star players, your priorities will differ.
For a little visual entertainment, I agree with most of Matt Ufford's takes in yesterday's SB Nation Daily Win.
Continue reading


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Two River Theater Company Presents BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Opens 2/9
Two River Theater Co. will present Neil Simon's Tony nominated romantic comedy: BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, directed by Two River Founder and Executive Producer, Robert M. Rechnitz. Barefoot in the Park begins previews on Tuesday, February 9, opens Saturday, February 13, and runs through Sunday, February 28.
Says director Rechnitz: "When I founded the theater sixteen years ago, it was with the intent to produce 'serious' theater-that is, plays of significance and import-be they the great tragedies, dramas, and comedies. Barefoot in the Park is just one of those plays. In its structure and form, it is incredibly 'serious'. Henry Irving said on his deathbed that "comedy is hard". Well, Neil Simon knows comedy, and in this play, he makes it look seriously easy. It will be a delight to share his mastery of the comic form with our audiences."
Two River audiences will remember cast members Meg Chambers Steedle (Frog and Toad), and Christopher Coucill (Curse of the Starving Class: the first production directed by Robert M. Rechnitz at Two River Theater Co.). The cast also includes Dori Legg, John Wernke, Paul Nixon, Gary Powell, and Demetrios Bonaros.
Robert M. Rechnitz (Director) (PhD, University of Colorado) was Professor of American Literature at Monmouth University for over thirty years. He published scholarly articles and short stories in various academic journals. In 1994, he founded and is now the Executive Producer of Two River Theater Company. For Two River Theater Company he has directed Curse of the Starving Class (for which he received Newark's Star-Ledger's nomination for Best Director of a Comedy), True West, A View from the Bridge, The Glass Menagerie, Thieves' Carnival, Uncle Vanya, and American Buffalo. For the opening production in the new theater, he directed the classic American comedy, You Can't Take It with You. In 1996, Newark's Star-Ledger named him one of "20 New Jerseyans to Watch" in the new century. In 2001, Monmouth University awarded Dr. Rechnitz the Maurice Pollak Award for Distinguished Community Service. Dr. Rechnitz was honored in 2007 by the Monmouth County Arts Council with the Celebration of Excellence Award.
Demetrios Bonaros (Telephone Man) is a NY-based actor, singer and composer. Various credits: Measure for Measure, The Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Hipgnosis Theatre Co; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hudson Warehouse); Opa!, Queens Theatre in the Park; Dinner and Delusion, Center for Contemporary Opera; The Island, Pig Iron Theatre Co. and Sogno di una Notte di Mezza Estate, International Opera Theatre, Orvieto, Italy. Studies: mathematics, theatre (Swarthmore College, Villanova University); piano/music theory/harmony (Conservatory of Athens); Commedia dell'Arte with Antonio Fava; neutral mask/clown/bouffon with Sarah Sanford and Giovanni Fusetti; and voice with Julian Rodescu.
Christopher Coucill (Victor Velasco) appeared in Robert Rechnitz's acclaimed production of The Curse of the Starving Class at TRTC. Broadway: Buffalo Bill in Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters; Gen. Harrison Howell in Kiss Me Kate with Brian Stokes Mitchell; and The Graduate with Lorraine Bracco. Tours: Lank Hawkins in the First National Company of Crazy for You. Regional favorites: Lear in King Lear, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; Hamlet in Hamlet, Shakespeare & Company; Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra, Playmakers Repertory; and solo performances of Underneath the Lintel, Delaware Theatre Company. Television: "Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed", "Law & Order", "American Playhouse", "Deadline", and "One Life to Live".
Dori Legg* (Ethel) Off-Broadway : Shaving The Pickle, Origin Theatre 1st Irish Festival. Regionally: The Women, Arena Stage; This Beautiful City, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival; Twelfth Night, Melissa Arctic (both directed by Aaron Posner), Macbeth, Great Expectations, Folger Shakespeare Theatre; Recent Tragic Events (Helen Hayes nomination), Woolly Mammoth Theatre; The Diary of Anne Frank, Delaware Theatre Co; Escape From Happiness, Season's Greetings, Round House Theatre; Durang, Durang, The Women, Studio Theatre; A Christmas Carol, Ford's Theatre; Prides Crossing, Enchanted April, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Glorious, Fulton Opera House. Films: El Camino, Double Negative, Guilty As Charged. TV: Law and Order: CI, Homicide, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, As The World Turns.
Paul Nixon (Delivery Man) is a retired high school teacher who lives in Manchester, NJ. Since his retirement he has been very active in community theater in Ocean and Monmouth counties, playing leading roles in The Sunshine Boys, I Never Sang For My Father, Ten Little Indians, and Visiting Mr. Green, among many others. He is very excited about appearing at the Two River Theater Co. with such a talented cast. He wishes to express his appreciation to his beloved wife for enduring his love of the theater for so many years before she left this world several years ago.
Gary Powell (Delivery Man) is making his debut Two River Theater Company, but is certainly no stranger to the stage. He has performed for over 40 years in such theaters as 13th Street Theatre, Village Gate and Actors Playhouse in NYC, as well as such regional theaters as Club, Princeton Players, Westwood Dinner Theatre, Kobe Dinner Theatre and Spring Lake Theatre Company. His credits include leading roles in The Star-Spangled Girl, Blithe Spirit, Moon for the Misbegotten, Man of La Mancha, Anything Goes, 1776, and Camelot. For the past 8 years he has performed as Scrooge in the Strand Theatre's production of Scrooge, The Musical in Lakewood.
Meg Chambers Steedle (Corie Bratter) is thrilled to return to Two River Theater Company! Previously, she appeared as Turtle/Bird among other fun critters in TRTC's production of A Year with Frog and Toad. Regional: Picnic, Triad Stage; Real Girls Can't Win, Victory Gardens Theater. American Music Theatre Project: Asphalt Beach, world premiere musical by Andrew Lippa; The Boys are Coming Home, directed by Gary Griffin. Northwestern University: Sally Bowles in Cabaret (William Daniels Award); The Bald Soprano (Mary). Education: B.A. in Theatre Arts (cum laude) from Northwestern University.
John Wernke (Paul Bratter) was most recently in The Royal Family on Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club. Other MTC productions include The American Plan and Accent On Youth. Regionally notable shows include The Fantasticks and Theophilous North, People's Light and Theatre Co.; Twelfth Night and Beard of Avon, Portland Center Stage; and Betrayal, Hangar Theatre. TV/Film : "The Good Shepherd", "NYC Serenade", "Broken English", and "Life on Mars".
The creative team is made up of Marion Williams (scenic and costume designer) who was most recently at Two River Theater Co. designing the costumes for 26 Miles, F. Mitchell Dana (Lighting Designer) who was most recently at Two River with Heartbreak House, and Karin Graybash (Sound Designer) who most recently designed the sound for Macbeth, as well as True West, and You Can't Take It With You.
Barefoot in the Park is scheduled to run Tuesday, February 9 through Sunday, February 28. Tickets are $35 - $61. Get more information online at www.trtc.org, call 732.345.1400, or visit the Two River Theater Company Box Office in Red Bank, located at 21 Bridge Avenue. Box Office Hours: Monday-Saturday: 10am-6pm; Sunday: 12pm-5pm.
Two River Theater's Marketing Manager, Sean Murphy, will join the artistic department to lead Before Play, which will be an updated version of the classic game show The Newlywed Game. This pre-show event is scheduled 45 minutes prior to every performance. For interested participants, please contact Liz Green at firstname.lastname@example.com. Post-show discussions are scheduled following the 8pm performance on Wednesday, February 17 at 8pm and following each of the Sunday matinees: February 14, February 21, and February 28 at 3pm, as well as Wednesday, February 24 at 1pm. Discounted group rates are available through the Box Office.
TRTC is accessible to people with disabilities, including wheelchair accessibility, assistive listening devices and large print programs at every performance. Accessible seating is available by reservation. For more information call the Box Office at 732.345.1400.
TWO RIVER THEATER COMPANY is a professional not-for-profit regional theater company providing outstanding plays and educational programs for audiences of central New Jersey and beyond. Two River was founded in 1994 by Joan and Robert Rechnitz and over the past 15 seasons has grown into one of the most vital and dynamic arts organizations in the region. From Shakespeare to Quiara Alegría Hudes, the Tony-nominated author of the Broadway smash hit In The Heights, Two River produces a range of great theater to inspire and engage our audiences. Two River received great acclaim for its production of Macbeth, co-directed and co-conceived by Teller and the theater's artistic director Aaron Posner. The theater has co-produced plays with theaters around the country including California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda, California, the Folger Theatre in Washington D.C., and the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland. The company received "Theatre of the Year" awards from the New Jersey Theatre Alliance in 2006 and from The Star-Ledger in both 2006 and 2008.


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Mayor looking forward to Harvard session
Cape Coral Mayor Marni Sawicki is eager and anxious to be attending a three-day conference at Harvard University this week along with 24 other newly elected mayors.
The Transition and Leadership for Newly Elected Mayors starts today and runs through Friday at Harvard's Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
"It is by invitation only for mayors of the largest cities, with a population of 150,000 or more," said Sawicki. "For me, it's all about the learning. They have seminars on public safety, government finance and how to manage a disaster. It would be a mistake to turn down an all-expenses-paid opportunity like this."
Sawicki added that the best part of the conference, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, it that "no tax dollars are being spent. It is completely paid for by Harvard, from air fare to hotel and meals, everything."
Mayors of large cities such as San Francisco and Miami will share their experiences with the attendees along with a star-studded lineup of speakers from professors to policy experts to political practitioners. Institute director Trey Grayson touts the seminar as an opportunity for new city leaders to engage with and learn how to transfer from campaigning to functioning in office. Topics run the full gamut from jobs to finance, education and technology.
"The caliber of the people speaking is just awesome," said Sawicki. "The days are completely full of seminars from morning, noon and night."
Former Mayor Jim Burch, recently elected to the District 1 seat on City Council, attended a similar conference after he was elected. Former Mayor John Sullivan chose not to attend the conference when he began his term in office.
"I'm going to stay over in Boston on Friday night and pay for it myself," said Sawicki. "I didn't want to hurry back, but I will be there for the Festival of Lights ceremony downtown."
Other new mayors scheduled to participate include Kathy Sheehan of Albany, N.Y.; Esther Manheimer of Asheville, N.C.; Marty Walsh of Boston; John Ducey of Brick Township, N.J.; Bill Carpenter of Brockton, Mass.; Patrick Cannon of Charlotte, N.C.; Richard Kos of Chicopee, Mass. Aja Brown of Compton, Calif.; Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio; John Eberhart of Fairbanks, Alaska; Mark Holland of Kansas City, Kan.; Howard Wiggs of Lakeland, Fla.; Philip Levine of Miami Beach, Fla.; Jerry Morales of Midland, Texas; Toni Harp of New Haven, Conn.; Harry Rilling of Norwalk, Conn.; Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Harry LaRosiliere of Plano, Texas; Lovely Warren of Rochester, N.Y.; Rusty Paul of Sandy Springs, Ga.; Ed Murray of Seattle, Wash.; Rick Kriseman of St. Petersburg, Fla; D. Michael Collins of Toledo, Ohio; Ron Bigelow of West Valley City, Utah; and John McNally of Youngstown, Ohio.


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Letters provide soldier's account of Battle of Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG, Pa. >> Union Army Sgt. Esek Hoff took cover on Cemetery Ridge under heavy fire as the Pennsylvania farmland filled with smoke.
Historians later would call the Civil War battle at Gettysburg a turning point for the United States, but all Hoff knew on that summer day in 1863 was that he was fighting for his life.
The 29-year-old Hoff and his unit, the 111th New York Infantry Volunteers, were in the middle of the Union's defensive line, trying to hold off advancing troops led by Confederate Gen. George Pickett. Hoff's unit was looking to redeem itself after surrendering to Stonewall Jackson's veterans at Harpers Ferry and getting branded "Harpers Ferry Cowards."
On July 2-3, 1863, they successfully held the center of the Union line, playing a key role in a battle that turned the tide of the Civil War.
On the 150th anniversary of that battle, which totaled about 51,000 casualties, Americans are pausing to remember the terrible fighting and what it means today. Hoff's detailed letters offer eyewitness accounts of that fight and others.
"I do not want nor would anyone desire to see such a sight again," Hoff wrote near Gettysburg on July 5, 1863, after the battle had ended. "Well in the charge of the rebels we lost some of our best men."
Hoff, a stone mason, joined the unit as the war entered its second year. He left his wife, Deborah, and their son, Edwin, behind at their Union Springs, N.Y., home.
Hoff's letters to his wife were found a century later by his great-great-grandson, Ken Harris, when he was exploring his grandmother's attic. The trove of 244 letters has become one of Harris' most prized processions.
"If the house were to catch on fire the letters are the first thing I would run up and get," said Harris, a resident of New Port Richey, Fla.
Scott Mingus, a Civil War historian and author, said Hoff was "unusually talented" as a writer, leaving letters full of clear descriptions.
"Where we lay was their principle point of attack. I should think that they kept it up two hours. During this I was hit. I am thankful that it is not bad. The Colonel was hit in the arm with a bullet. After they had slackened there fire, they had a desperate charge upon our lines in the center and they were repulsed with great loss," Hoff wrote of the July 3 fight.
Throughout the country, such letters from that era are drawing scrutiny from authors, historians and enthusiasts as they look back on the battle's anniversary.
"These letters help us get an idea of what it was actually like," Mingus said. "We can only imagine what happened with the help of pictures and what these guys say in the letters. We get to feel their emotions through the letters."
Under George Willard in the Second Corps, the 111th New York Infantry successfully redeemed itself at Gettysburg, but at an awful cost. The unit lost 95 men in battle. From a force of 390, they lost about 249 as men were killed, fell to illness or simply went missing.
A couple of weeks after the battle, Hoff wrote to Deborah:
"We have endured a great deal since we have left Centerville. It has been rain and mud all the time. Pretty much there have been some nights that I have lain in the rain with a rubber blanket and half a shelter tent over me. One reason that I did not put up a tent is it would be late in the night and another reason (which is as good as any) was we were over tired and we would get laid down after stopping. For the last few days we have not marched much only keeping on the alert for the enemy...
"Well Deborah, I have no fear as yet but what I should come out all right. Still I can not tell. I can only hope that he that doth all things will make do what is right and just. Hoping that this will find you well, I remain always, Esek W. Hoff."
The South surrendered on April 9, 1865, but Hoff did not return to Deborah and son Edwin until after President Lincoln was assassinated. Years after he returned home, their son Edwin drowned in a lake at age 10.
Hoff and Deborah had three more children, and lived into their 70s.


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Welcome to the Local 21 website.
Over 500 hospitality and laundry workers in Southern Minnesota have a voice on the job because they belong to UNITE HERE Local 21. Our membership is one of the most diverse in Southern Minnesota. Our members and staff fight to assure that jobs in the service sector provide a decent standard of living.
UNITE HERE Local 21 is dedicated to making our community a stronger community by empowering workers in our industry to negotiate better wages, benefits and working conditions which help our members become more self-reliant in providing for themselves and their families.
We believe empowering workers builds a stronger and better community for all of us while not putting an undue burden on the tax payers.
The base of any strong community begins with the core principles that workers be provided with a living wage, affordable medical benefits and sufficient time off to care for loved ones, and a secure retirement. We are proud of the daily contributions that our members make to assure that our community is a better place to live and work.


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Flexspace Bolton
Lythgoe House
Manchester Road
Download Brochure
Flexspace Bolton is a recently refurbished, substantial business centre providing a range of furnished offices and workshops that are available on flexible terms.
The centre is telecoms & IT enabled and provides meeting rooms, free car parking and CCTV security.
The offices range from 110 to 550 ft² (10 to 51 m²) and are situated over two floors. The offices can be let with or without furniture.
The workshops range from 960 to 1,600 ft² (89 to 149 m²) and benefit from powered roller shutter doors, lighting and WC facilities.
The centre is just over 1 mile from Bolton town centre providing a wide range of shops, restaurants and amenities.
Bolton - CO - Boltonsq feet
Workshop - 20 - Bolton1329.00 sq feet
Meeting Rooms - 2 Available - Boltonsq feet
Workshop - 63 - Bolton5438.00 sq feet
Office - 44 - Bolton291.00 sq feet
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Easily accessible
Our offices in Blackpool are easily accessible for the people we support, some of whom are in wheelchairs, there is a ramp to the entrance door and disabled facilities. Our offices are nicely decorated, comfortable and affordable.
Our Area Manager is very helpful and readily available should we have any queries or problems. The public areas are kept clean, safe and presentable. She goes over and above the call of duty for the clients.Mary Carr
Friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff
Excellent service, the Centre team are happy to assist with meeting rooms at short notice. They ensure that repairs are carried out quickly. I needed several new sockets in my room and these were provided very quickly with no inconvenience to myself.
The staff are friendly, professional and knowledgeable and nothing is ever a problem.Liz Pattinson
The dedicated on site team are always on hand to assist
Flexspace Dunfermline has had a big impact on the growth of my business over the last 3 years. Offering the ability to offer in-house training to clients with the use of the meeting room facilities. The team always ensure that the rooms are set up to the exact requirements I need to deliver the training to my clients. From equipment set up to the supply of refreshments to my delegates.
Having a dedicated team onsite that are always on hand to assist with anything from reception to administration is a real benefit to my business. The staff are always very approachable and nothing is ever too much for them when I ask for their assistance.Lisa Forster
Dramatic improvement and investment in the facilities
RDM Group has occupied buildings on the Bilton Industrial Estate for over 22 years and we have seen many owners in our time. In 2007 'Flexspace' acquired the estate and through their resident manager, we have seen a dramatic improvement in the overall operation of the estate together with a continual investment and improvement program into the buildings, security and facilities which makes the estate an extremely good place for our company to be located.David Keene
Everything has been really smooth and easy
Many thanks for your support in our move into new office space, everything has been really smooth and easy even down to ensuring locks were changed and secure.
The facilities are excellent and spotlessly clean throughout and it's so helpful for us to have access to additional rooms for booking for training events when we need it. We are so glad we made the move into a really pleasant and well maintained working environment.Janet Skeen


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The Asia-Pacific Region is divided into 5 sub-regions (Central Asia, Northeast Asia, Oceania & Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia) and its preparatory process will be implemented on a sub-regional basis.
The sub-regional approaches include:
The sub-regional coordinators are also requested to attend the regional synthesis meeting to be held in Tokyo in December 2008.
They have developed a timeline for their regional report and plan on having a Japanese Pavilion in the fair. There is a good representation of Asia-Pacific stakeholders in the topic work. They have also submitted regional recommendations for inclusion in the PrepCom discussions.
Contact the Asia-Pacific Region Leader: Taeko Yokota, Asia Pacific Water Forum
The First Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 5th World Water Forum was held in Singapore from 9:00 to 12:00 on Friday, 27 June 2008, during the Singapore International Water Week. Partners for this event were the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, the Secretariat of the 5th World Water Forum and the World Water Council. Participants discussed how to coordinate the regional inputs to themes and topics of the 5th World Water Forum and identified 5 sub-regional preparatory meetings.
As announced during the 4th World Water Forum, the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit, entitled "Water Security: Leadership and Commitment", was held in Beppu City, Japan on 3-4 December 2007. Its format has also served as a model for organising summits in other regions of the world, with the events culminating in a Policy Brief and a "Message from Beppu." The WWC HQ and 5th Forum Secretariat held a stand at the expo and organized an open event to present the 5th Forum and its Asia-Pacific Regional process.
In/around Turkey: Turkey - Jordan- Sarajevo - Skopje - Bishkek
MENA/Arab countries
Taeko Yokota


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Export 11 results:
Filtres: Author is Huang, Hai [Enlever les filtres]
Mexiletine differentially restores the trafficking defects caused by two brugada syndrome mutations. Front Pharmacol. 2012;3:62.
Y1767C, a novel SCN5A mutation, induces a persistent Na+ current and potentiates ranolazine inhibition of Nav1.5 channels. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2011;300(1):H288-99.
Cell membrane expression of cardiac sodium channel Na(v)1.5 is modulated by alpha-actinin-2 interaction. Biochemistry. 2010;49(1):166-78.
Biophysical characterization of a new SCN5A mutation S1333Y in a SIDS infant linked to long QT syndrome. FEBS Lett. 2009;583(5):890-6.
Contribution of long-QT syndrome genetic variants in sudden infant death syndrome. Pediatr Cardiol. 2009;30(4):502-9.
Gain-of-function mutation of Nav1.5 in atrial fibrillation enhances cellular excitability and lowers the threshold for action potential firing. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009;380(1):132-7.
In utero onset of long QT syndrome with atrioventricular block and spontaneous or lidocaine-induced ventricular tachycardia: compound effects of hERG pore region mutation and SCN5A N-terminus variant. Heart Rhythm. 2008;5(11):1567-74.
A novel mutation in the SCN5A gene is associated with Brugada syndrome. Life Sci. 2007;80(8):716-24.
A novel SCN5A mutation, F1344S, identified in a patient with Brugada syndrome and fever-induced ventricular fibrillation. Cardiovasc Res. 2006;70(3):521-9.


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NEW: All articles of this journal, whether published in the past or future, are now licensed to you under a Creative Commons By-NC license and copyright to articles is returned and retained by their respective authors.
The Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes scholarly articles on the development of e-skills and lifelong learning. The journal publishes conceptual, theoretical and empirical papers. This includes using various technologies to develop e-skills and to support lifelong learning. In addition, articles with a sound underpinning of pedagogical principles and design science on the development of e-skills using information technology are also welcome.
All manuscripts are submitted and reviewed electronically. We provide our published authors with both a quality print publication and the widespread readership that comes from publishing all articles online within a few weeks of acceptance. This approach ensures that published works are read and cited by the widest possible audience.READ MORE
The rapid development of IT and other applied technologies make is a must to introduce their utilization to adults wishing to renew, change or upgrade their skills through the use of contemporary technologies. The Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL) is a scholarly forum for those wishing to explore and advance aspects of e-skills for the lifelong learners. E-skills and lifelong learning may be attended in two facets: articles can exhibit how current ...READ MORE


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The facts around girls, dieting and self image are depressing. The number-one magic wish for girls ages 11 to 17 is to be thinner. Over half of 13-year-olds don't like their bodies.
Why all the unhappiness? We can point many fingers, and most would agree that one of those fingers should be directed at fashion magazines.
Three out of four girls feel sad, guilty or shameful after spending three minutes with a fashion magazine, according to a Unilever study. Not surprising. Fashion mags are filled with images of gorgeous models who've been airbrushed and Photoshopped to have impossibly perfect skin and skinny waists. The models' unrealistic looks are unobtainable for the average pimply pubescent girl—and for a 13-year-old girl named Julia Bluhm, this is downright wrong and frustrating.
In May, the Maine eighth grader created a Change.org petition "asking Seventeen magazine to commit to printing one unaltered — real — photo spread per month."
Bluhm, who is involved with an organization called SPARK that's trying to end the sexualization of girls in media, included powerful words in her petition: "Those 'pretty women' that we see in magazines are fake. They're often Photoshopped, air-brushed, edited to look thinner, and to appear like they have perfect skin. A girl you see in a magazine probably looks a lot different in real life. I want to see regular girls that look like me in a magazine that's supposed to be for me."
After Bluhm collected over 25,000 signatures (the petition now has 84,000), she hand-delivered the petition to the editorial offices. She and her friends stood outside the editorial offices and protested holding signs that read "Teen girls against Photoshop."
Seventeen got the message and invited Bluhm to visit the magazine and talk with editors. While Bluhm told Jezebel that she thought her meeting at Seventeen was a step in the right direction, she was disappointed that the editors didn't promise to meet her request.
After the meeting, Jezebel reached out to Seventeen to ask about the meeting and the magazine issued a soft-ball statement:
We're proud of Julia for being so passionate about an issue — it's exactly the kind of attitude we encourage in our readers — so we invited her to our office to meet with editor in chief Ann Shoket this morning. They had a great discussion, and we believe that Julia left understanding that Seventeen celebrates girls for being their authentic selves, and that's how we present them. We feature real girls in our pages and there is no other magazine that highlights such a diversity of size, shape, skin tone and ethnicity.
There is some truth in this statement. I subscribed to Seventeen as a teen and I don't remember seeing any diversity of size, shape and skin tone among its glossy pages—while today you might find a feature on finding the right jeans no matter your body type featuring models from different backgrounds. But the fashion spreads near the back of the magazine still often glorify those impossibly skinny models who look as if they've been surviving on Tic-Tacs and grape fruit for weeks.
But while Bluhm's campaign didn't put an end to airbrushing in teen mags, she did start a movement. Last week, SPARK partnered with MissRepresentation.org, an S.F.-based nonprofit aimed at stopping gender stereotypes, and LoveSocial.org, a Vancouver-based social media company. The three organizations launched a three-day social media campaign called, Keep It Real, to put more pressure on magazines to present realistic images of women.
"It's a three-day Keep It Real challenge," LoveSocial founder Azita Ardakani told the Vancouver Sun. "It was a play on the headlines you see on magazine covers — like the challenge to get a perfect bikini body or to look a certain way for summer."
The campaign was a huge success. Miss Representation social media and communications manager Imran Siddiquee told SFGate that on the first day the campaign generated a million tweets with the hashtag #keepitreal. On day two people were invited to post images of real beauty on Instagram and nearly 1,000 pictures were uploaded. "We're leveraging social media to push these magazine to change," Siddiquee says.
Keep It Real also created images of shocking facts about teen girls, dieting and self image for people to share on Facebook (see slide show above) because many studies show that fashion magazines contribute to eating disorders, unhealthy dieting and poor self image.
Bluhm says, "Girls want to be accepted, appreciated, and liked. And when they don't fit the criteria, some girls try to 'fix' themselves. This can lead to eating disorders, dieting, depression, and low self esteem."


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WorleyParsons nets Iraq gas project from Shell
Three year contract to help rehabilitate Basra gas infrastructure
WorleyParsons has been awarded a three year contract by Shell Gas Iraq BV to provide project management support and services for the rehabilitation of gas facilities and infrastructure that are part of the scope of Basrah Gas Company (BGC).
In November 2011, as part of a push to make better use of its gas resources, Iraq's government signed a deal with Shell and Mitsubishi to develop the world's largest flares reduction company, BGC. BGC is expected to commence operations early next year. It is a 25-year joint venture with state run South Gas Company holding a 51% stake, Shell 44% and Mitsubishi 5%.
This joint venture is designed to capture, treat and monetise associated gas currently being flared from three southern oilfields, wasting more than 10 million dollars per day of the country's natural resources.
WorleyParsons will provide project management, technical and construction supervision personnel to support BGC in the rehabilitation inspection, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities. WorleyParsons will also provide an established Project (Quality) Management System which will help manage and control the project effectively during its execution from the plant inspections through to engineering and design concluding with commissioning.
The contract will be executed from WorleyParsons' offices in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, and will involve working in different locations around the world with front end engineering design and EPC contractors. The man-hours to be performed by WorleyParsons over the life of the contract are estimated to exceed 500,000 man-hours.
Commenting, WorleyParsons' CEO Andrew Wood stated "We are pleased to continue our involvement in the development of Iraq's gas infrastructure as well as being part of this project that will significantly contribute to the sustainability of the Iraqi economy and environment. We will work closely with the development partners to ensure we create the maximum value over the lifetime of the asset".


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CARSON, Calif. – With Jaime Penedo away trying to help Panama into the World Cup, might this be the week Carlo Cudicini returns between the pipes for the LA Galaxy?
It's possible, but Bruce Arena and his staff have little to say about who will be LA's goalkeeper when they take on the Colorado Rapids in a critical Western Conference game Saturday night at the StubHub Center (10:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE), only stating that they have three candidates and confidence in all three.
Cudicini, the Italian goalkeeper signed last winter to replace Josh Saunders in the Galaxy's nets, hasn't played nor made an 18-man game roster since the 3-3 draw at FC Dallas on Aug. 11. Penedo has impressed while starting the last four first-team matches, including the 2-0 CONCACAF Champions League victory over Cartaginés on Aug. 20, and Brian Rowe has been his backup in every game.
Rowe also got 90 minutes in Sunday's Reserve League draw with San Jose, and Brian Perk, coming back from two concussions, served as his backup.
Cudicini's absences from game rosters speaks volumes, it seems, but Arena will says it's "just my decision, decisions you make," and associate head coach Dave Sarachan recommends that everyone "read less into that" than the media apparently has.
"I have to do the talking on the pitch," said Cudicini, who turns 40 on Friday. "I think outside the pitch, a lot of people are doing all the talking – on the websites, on the MLS website, on TV. So I think there's enough people talking a lot – for me, too much – and so I'd rather talk on the pitch, and that's actually the only place I should talk."
His mission: "Try to get better on the field and see what the manager's decision is."
Rowe has started five first-team games: LA's first two regular-season meetings with Real Salt Lake, a US Open Cup loss to the Carolina RailHawks and International Champions Cup friendlies against Real Madrid and Juventus, as well as six of eight Reserve League matches.
- Find more Galaxy news at LAGalaxy.com
"We trust Brian," Sarachan said. "It was great [for him] to bank another 90 minutes [in the reserve game last weekend]. Every time these guys get 90 minutes in real games, it pays dividends down the line. ... He's still a work in progress, but it's a good 90 minutes banked."
Rowe (pictured at right) says he's "made good strides" this season after joining the Galaxy from the MLS goalkeeper pool last summer. He produced an extraordinary performance in the 2-0 victory at RSL in April and has looked solid in the Reserve League matches.
"I feel like it's starting to come along," he told MLSsoccer.com. "I'm slowing myself down, maybe catching up with the speed of play. Just positioning-wise and stuff like that, cleaning things up. It's all come along as I've gotten more games."
Rowe says he has no expectations for the Colorado game and notes that "we've got three great goalkeepers to choose from, so I'm sure you can't go wrong with any of them."


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2012 UCDWC Worlds in Orlando, Florida; Recorded Saturday morning, January 7.
Last updated on January 8, 2012 at 6:51am.
This media belongs to the following sets: Worlds Online DVD, Playlist 20130219
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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Clemmy's Ice Cream is voluntarily recalling all of its Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip because the peanut butter in it might contain salmonella.
The pints involved have the UPC symbol 8 94509 00231 9 and expiration dates ranging from February 2013 to August 2014.
The peanut butter in the ice cream came from Sunland, Inc., a New Mexico peanut butter manufacturing plant.
No illnesses have been traced to Clemmy's ice cream, but at least 35 salmonella illnesses in 19 states have been traced to Trader Joe's peanut butter, which came from the Sunland plant.
Clemmy's is located in Rancho Mirage, southeast of Palm Springs, and makes sugar, lactose and gluten-free ice cream. No other flavors are involved.