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Montgomery County News
Police: Potomac stabbings followed massive party crashing
A party broadcast on social media led to a large number of uninvited guests, a fight, and multiple stabbings.
Easter egg hunt promotes Silver Spring businesses
Hundreds of kids scoured Silver Spring small businesses on Saturday as part of a citywide Easter Egg Hunt.
Capital Bikshare may soon need a new supplier
The company currently depends on Public Bike System Company for its equipment, but after filing for bankruptcy, the company's future is uncertain.
Suspects Reportedly Use Pepper Spray In Theft At White Flint Mall
Tasting Room Wine Bar To Close In Chevy Chase
Going Up At 8300 Wisconsin Avenue
Restaurant Roundup: Penang's Remodel, City Burger Hiring
Polar vortex has lead to a pollen vortex
The pollen count was above 1,000 last weekend. A count of 75 is considered high.
Montgomery Co. chief: Officers won't ignore illegal substances
The Maryland legislature last week decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. But don't expect police officers to ignore it -- says Montgomery County's chief of police.
Challenger Questions Commitment Of District 18′s Gutierrez After El Salvador Trip
PSC To Talk Pepco Rate Hike Request Next Week
Open Houses This Weekend In Bethesda
Ursuline Grads Go On Search For Members Of The Class of '64
WSSC Says Contractor Partially To Blame For Bradley Boulevard Disruptions
Thank You To Our Advertisers
Man killed in single-car crash
Montgomery County Police say a man was killed when his car left the road, hit a utility pole and overturned.
Look Bethesda, Trail Graffiti Artist Has A Message
Child abuse increasing in Montgomery County
Each month since August of last year, a baby has died from child abuse in Montgomery County. It's prompting county health officials to reach out to parents, they say, may be unaware they're hurting their kids.
Gallery B To Feature Fine Arts Photography In May Exhibit
Turntable Looking Toward Mid-May Opening
Hi: 82 °F | Lo: 66 °F


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CAIRO — Eman Mostafa, a village girl from southern Egypt, was shot and killed last month when she dared to spit in the face of the man who groped her.
Ramadan Salem told authorities he mistakenly shot Mostafa, 16, after she cursed him. It is uncertain whether Salem will be convicted: The only witness willing to testify — Mostafa's friend, Sahar Mamdouh — has been threatened in a society that often blames women and girls for provoking sexual crimes against them.

subset: commoncrawl


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By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
It had been quite a couple of weeks for Harrison Musgrave, his head still spinning like the tornadoes that had roared through Oklahoma when his West Virginia University baseball team was there to compete in the Big 12 Tournament.
Now he was driving to the Cape Cod League for a summer of extended pitching as the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft was being conducted, his future very much at stake.
He needed something to take his mind off all this important stuff, and that something occurred as he was motoring toward his future, captured in this tweet he sent, presumably after pulling over: Just saw a guy giving himself a haircut while driving #mosttalentedmaninteworld.
Talented might have been the wrong adjective.
As for most talented, maybe not, considering the season Musgrave had just authored at West Virginia that included a 9-1 record with a 2.17 ERA, just 65 hits allowed in 95.1 innings, only 13 of those hits going for extra bases, fewer than the number of just doubles each of WVU's other three starting pitchers had allowed.
Looking at that, one could use the hashtag #mosttalentedmaninteworld to describe Musgrave, unless he happened to be a major league scout.
As difficult as it is to imagine, Musgrave wasn't selected in the draft until the 33rd round with the 991st selection in the draft. It is almost as mind boggling to believe that there are 990 better major league prospects available for the draft than a proven commodity like Musgrave as it is to believe that Geno Smith really wasn't a first-round NFL talent considering his collegiate accomplishments.
Now it's true that Musgrave doesn't light up 91 on the radar gun and that he has a history of arm trouble that includes Tommy John surgery that cost him a year, and his value probably fell some when he indicated he would return to college if not selected high.
But 991?
Oklahoma's Jonathan Gray compiled a 10-3 record with a 1.64 ERA, allowing a batting average of .189 while facing the same hitters in the same league.
Yes, they are better numbers, but are they 988 players better?
Does it matter if you throw 100 mph, as Gray does, or in the low 90s as Musgrave does — with his left arm?
The result of the draft made Musgrave's mind up for him.
This is what he tweeted shortly after learning of his fate: Proud to be drafted by the Phillies but we have unfinished business and i will be back for next year #roadtoomaha #wvubaseball.
Normally, as someone who covered major league baseball for 30 years, I would strongly disagree with such a decision, having learned the big money comes once you make the major leagues and not out of your signing bonus following the draft.
The road to the major leagues is through the minor leagues and you will advance far faster as a pitcher in the minor leagues under their instruction than in college, where you pitch far fewer innings and, therefore, figure to advance more slowly.
What's more, in Musgrave's situation, does he really figure to have a better year next year than he had this season?
It's certainly difficult to be better than 9-1 with a 2.17 ERA. If that didn't impress the professional scouts, what can he do for an encore?
Add in the risk of re-injuring the arm and you wonder what there is to gain by returning to college, but ...
Here's the other side, and it actually has swayed me from my more practical assessment of getting your career started as quickly as possible.
You are only a college-aged kid once and, quite obviously, Musgrave is enjoying that.
This is especially true with the magic that coach Randy Mazey has created on his baseball team. Something really special happened here this year, something that will not be recaptured in the minor leagues when the real world weighs down upon you.
If you can experience that college magic and that college life for another year without really endangering your career, why not do it?
It's like a friend of mine here in Morgantown — a friend, coincidentally, who is a Philadelphia Phillies fan — says about not taking things like business too seriously.
"What are they going to do, send me to Morgantown, W.Va., to hack out a living?"
Indeed. Musgrave was drafted 991st. What are they going to do next year, draft him No. 1,034?
Email Bob Hertzel at firstname.lastname@example.com or follow him on Twitter @bhertzel.


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About the Author
Dan Parr
Associate editor
Recent posts by Dan Parr
Related Stories
The Panthers could have a very unhappy player on their hands if CB Richard Marshall doesn't get a chance to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Marshall, frustrated that the Panthers had not signed him to the long-term deal he has been seeking, made it clear that he didn't expect to be back with the team when the 2010 season came to a close. The rules of free agency have not yet been determined, but Marshall, who has five accrued seasons, will be a restricted free agent for the second consecutive year if the league operates under the same free-agency rules it did last offseason.
Carolina extended a tender offer to him before the work stoppage, and he could find himself with few options — sign the tender and play on another one-year deal or hold out — unless an agreement is reached to allow players with four years of experience or more to become unrestricted free agents.
Marshall, a physical player and solid tackler, started every game in each of the past two seasons.


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Midtown's apartment construction boom apparently isn't slowing down.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Friday that an Atlanta developer plans to break ground in March 2013 on a 329-unit apartment building near Atlantic Station.
The ABC's Douglas Sams writes that the $45 million project will be constructed on a more than 3-acre site at 16th, 17th and Mecaslin streets.
The Georgia Tech Foundation has reached an agreement to sell the property, which is across from the IKEA but not part of the Atlantic Station development, to Pollack Shores Real Estate Group.
The ABC reports that according to market data, effective rents of nine apartment properties located within just a few miles of the proposed new project have "climbed to an average of $1.42 per square foot."
Part of the turnaround in the area was sparked by the late 2010 selling of several Atlantic Station key assets by American International Group Inc. to North American Properties and CBRE Global.
According to the ABC, Pollack Shores is also hoping in 2014 to develop a $45 million, 300-plus unit apartment project adjacent to the property it has recently agreed to purchase, but Georgia Tech is undecided as to whether it will sell. The current property serves as Tech's golf practice range.
Earlier this year, ground was broke in Midtown on both the 23-story, 320-unit apartment building SkyHouse Midtown, and 77 12th, a 22-story, 330-unit apartment tower.
Also coming in 2013 will be construction of a 23-story 320-unit luxury apartment tower called 100 6th Street, and a mixed-use project, including 280 apartments, that is being planned for a 2.5-acre property bounded by Juniper St., Ponce de Leon, North and Piedmont avenues.


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On New Year's Eve day my friend Nigel Walker of located on Sievers Road gave me a call. He wanted me to come by so that we could talk.
I arrived around 5 p.m., as the sun was fading to black, to find Nigel puttering around his new underground home on the farm. He seemed to be in pain and unable to bend at the hips easily.
I helped him get salt for his egg as we got ready to talk. Nigel was straight out with it -- like a sword it sliced me, "Gary" he said "I have spinal cancer."
I reeled in my boots and asked him to repeat what he had just said to me … I was shocked.
"I have spinal cancer" he said again. I did not know what to say, he went on telling me that he had just found this out, had no prognosis and that over the next few months he would find out more and when he did he would let me know. Nigel had a list of names written on paper lying on the table in front of him.
Some names had been crossed off, most not. He said that he was going to call his parents next as it was about the right time in the U.K. I am sure that was a trying call for all involved.
Nigel was positive about the farm and how all of his employees were ready to pick up the slack as he needed to take some time off to attend to his very unwelcomed growth. Nigel attacks every challenge head-on without hesitation knowing that he has 18 families depending on his decisions.
He was no different now, he was going to fight this and the fight was on now. It is all too often that we hear of people having to face these terrible challenges; often there is an appeal for help.
Well here is our appeal for Nigel to all of you.
Please go to his web site eatwell.com read about his farm and sign up for a Farm Membership. Eatwell Farm offers fresh certified organic fruits, vegetables, grains, eggs, lavender and other products that are grown in our very back yard.
The farm sells a subscription and weekly you would receive a box of his current harvest in a box delivered in a neighborhood drop location. It's simple, green, local, and healthy and you will help lift Nigel spirits and help the farm through some difficult times.
One heck of a man, a good father and husband, one smart farmer, needs a boost. In return you will get a whole lot of fresh locally grown food. Sounds like a good deal to me.


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Welcome to Madam Moon Guesthouse 2!
Our brand new – Madam Moon Guesthouse 2 – recently opened on 15th Dec 2013.
Tucked away off of Hang Hanh Street, it is the latest and newest boutique guesthouse in our chain of Madam Moon Group. Located in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter, just next to the famous Hoan Kiem Lake, the Water Puppet Theatre, and many other delights of traditional Hanoi.
Madam Moon Guesthouse 2, that has well appointed rooms all with large external windows, or windows with panoramic lakeview. In addition, all rooms are equipped with two-ways Air-conditioning (heater & cooler), private bathroom with hot shower, fridge, and daily stocked bathroom amenities, free bottles of mineral water, fluffy white towels and fresh flowers. The guesthouse also offer Daily Free Breakfast served from 6.30AM till 10.30 AM.
Madam Moon Guesthouse 2 has been opended beside Madam Moon Guesthouse1 to make sure there are more quiet rooms with no noise from the street to bring you a sleep well, whether your visit to Hanoi involves business or pleasure.
Mrs. Moon & Crews welcome you!


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For the fifth consecutive month, Rhode Island home sales have outperformed the rest of New England. According to the recently released RE/MAX of New England Monthly Housing Report for October - the latest month for which data is available – home sales in the Ocean State jumped 43 percent compared to October 2011.
Still, the news is even better because the number of homes sold is joined by other encouraging statistics. Available inventory dropped from 8,614 properties in October 2011 to 6,130 properties this October. That 28.8 percent decrease translated to a rise in median price, up 4.4 percent from $182,000 to $190,000!
October isn't the only month of growth which has had buyers, sellers and realtors cheering. In September, Rhode Island home sales were up more than 17 percent. August home sales were up 25 percent and July home sales grew by 32 percent. June's year-over-year home sales increased 24 percent. This is exciting growth and it's great to see Rhode Island home sales running on all cylinders for this extended period of time.
Are you thinking about buying or selling a home or are you just curious about the market in your community right now? We took a snap shot of activity in the Patch communities of Coventry, East Providence, North Kingstown and Smithfield for the last three months to help you get a better idea of how property is moving.
Coventry has had an average of 318 homes on the market with a median list price of $201,583 for the last three months. The data shows 40 homes are being sold per month with a median price of $162,350.
In East Providence, an average of 270 homes has been listed on the market during the last three months with a list price of $189,900. What's sold? About 35 homes per month with a median price of $143,733.
Over the last three months, there has been an average of 262 homes for sale in North Kingstown with an average median list price of $166,566. On average, 31 homes are changing hands each month with an average median price of $150,000.
In Smithfield, there has been an average of 129 properties listed for sale from August until October at a price of $253,966. Each month, an average of 16 transactions is being closed at a price of $225,983.
This is great activity, and preliminary signs already indicate that it may continue during the early parts of winter with pending home sales in Rhode Island up more than 38 percent, from 747 in October 2011 to 1,033 in October 2012. The election is also behind us, so we should begin to see consumer confidence rebound from the pre-election dip it took leading up to November 6th.
It has been a long road back to a normal real estate market since the bubble burst, especially in Rhode Island. But now, it looks like we are well on our way and I'm excited to review November's data to see if Rhode Island will lead New England in home sales growth for a sixth straight month.
Dan Breault is the Executive Vice President and Regional Director, RE/MAX of New England. For more information, visit www.REMAX-NewEngland.com


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On the road... Where MUSIC Lives founder and photographer Rob Fenn shot the band Kyng at NAMM 2014 show in Anaheim, CA during a showcase for Monster. Rob says, "James Hatfield from Metallica loves Kyng! Why wouldn't you?"
Listen to Kyng on iHeartRadio
Photo: Rob Fenn
Photos That Rock
On The Road: Deftones
44 Bands We Can't Wait To See At Lollapalooza


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This is a letter resident Allison K Marin wrote to local officials and Patch about the proposed Tysons Tax District. It remains unedited.
As a co-owner in The Colonies community in McLean since March 2003 and an area resident since the mid 1980's, I have seen many changes and am writing to request you vote against the formation of a service district for Tysons Corner. A 40-year tax would be an undue financial strain on existing resident owners, many of whom are living on fixed incomes. Imposing this tax would drive not only current resident owners to leave the Tysons Service District but also small businesses would relocate to neighboring areas/communities. Keeping small businesses long-term in the area is vital to the economy and maintaining relationships within the community. I requesting you to please vote against the Creation of the Tysons Transportation Service District/Tysons District Tax at the upcoming Tuesday, January 8, 2013 Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Meeting.
Allison K. Martin


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People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. The Beacon Journal has not investigated these causes, so donors should verify their worthiness and the tax-deductibility of contributions. A link to a form for submitting requests to People Helping People can be found at www.ohio.com/charity, along with tips on researching charities and a list of causes already published.
Questions about submitting information? Call Mary Beth Breckenridge, 330-996-3756.
The Victim Assistance Program and Furnace Street Mission, 150 Furnace St., Akron, OH 44304, are collecting new toys and accepting monetary donations through Friday to provide holiday food and gift baskets to victims of crime and trauma in Summit County.
Checks may be mailed. Toys may be dropped off at these locations:
• AAA Akron Auto Club, 111 W. Center St.
• Akron Police Department, 217 S. High St.
• AtNetPlus, 1000 Campus Drive, Stow.
• Barberton Police Department, 576 W. Park Ave.
• Brouse McDowell, 388 S. Main St., Akron.
• Canal Place, 520 S. Main St., Akron.
• Cascade Auto Group, 4149 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls.
• Church Agency, 600 E. Cuyahoga Fall Ave., Akron.
• Summit County Prosecutor's and Sheriff's offices, 53 University Ave., Akron.
• University of Akron Police Department, 146 Hill St.
• University of Akron English Department, Olin Hall, East Buchtel Avenue.
• University of Akron Social Work Department, Polsky Building, South High Street and University Avenue.
For more information, call 330-376-0040 or visit www.victimassistanceprogram.org.
Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, 350 Opportunity Parkway, Akron, OH 44307-2234,. For information, visit www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/hff.aspx or call 330-535-6900.


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Speth Unveils Blueprint For "New America"
November 4, 2011
The road to the apocalypse isn't necessarily a dead end.
So says Vermont Law School Professor Gus Speth, a founder of the modern environmental movement who in a recent lecture series at VLS brutally indicted what he called an American plutocracy dominated by greed, money and power.
But at his third and final lecture on Nov. 3, Speth concluded it isn't too late for a populist uprising to install a democracy fueled by a sustainable economy, peace, income equality, justice and respect for the environment. The lectures were drawn from Speth's upcoming book to be published next year.
"A successful America is still possible," he said.
Speth said the United States was drowning in poverty, pollution and most other indexes of well being. He blamed politicians and corporations obsessed with profit, power and relentless economic growth.
He called for a new political system and a progressive form of capitalism devoted to sustainable jobs, public health, clean air and water, education and other areas of well being. "Devotion to the public good and human solidarity, not private interests," he said.
Such a system will only come about through a grassroots movement and civil disobedience, which may already have begun with efforts by Occupy Wall Street, MoveOn.org, American Dream Movement, 350.org, World Social Forum and other progressive groups, he said.
He said transformative change will require struggle. "'Power concedes nothing without a demand,'" he said, quoting Frederick Douglass.
Speth laid out 10 goals for a new America:
• A reformed voting system in which citizens are automatically registered to vote when they turn 18, Election Day is a national holiday and a National Elections Commission ensures voting integrity.
• A Constitutional amendment to directly elect the President or require that states give all their electoral votes to the top popular vote getter.
• Primary elections open to all parties and candidates.
• No more gerrymandering.
• A break up of the two-party monopoly.
• An end to filibusters in Congress.
• Campaign finance reform.
• A Constitutional amendment to deprive corporations of "personhood" and require shareholder approval of corporate political donations.
• All candidates have equal access to the media.
• Restrictions on lobbyists, including no campaign fundraising or bundled contributions.
Speth, who joined VLS in 2010, is a former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, administrator of the U.N. Development Programme, chair of the U.N. Development Group, founder of the World Resources Institute and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.


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By Doug Ireland
Staff writer
---- — PLAISTOW, N.H. — The long-awaited arraignments yesterday of a Plaistow couple charged with child abuse answered some questions, but not many.
The case, which attracted national attention, has left many wondering how a mother could allegedly stand by and watch her live-in boyfriend burn and beat her 3-year-old son.
But that's a question that 23-year-old Jessica Linscott didn't answer during her video appearance in 10th Circuit Court yesterday. Linscott had little to say, answering "yep" to direct questions from Judge Sharon DeVries, but little else.
When DeVries asked Linscott if she had any questions of her own, she replied, "No, I just want a lawyer."
DeVries said an attorney would be appointed to defend Linscott.
Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Linscott wasn't represented by counsel during the arraignment. At one point, the Sanborn Regional High School graduate wiped tears from her eyes.
There were no tears from Ronald Dow, 27, who faces more serious assault charges for allegedly abusing 3-year-old James, who has been hospitalized at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth for nearly 21/2 weeks.
Dow, accompanied by defense attorney Lawrence Vogelman, could face more charges, according to Assistant County Attorney Michael Zaino.
He is charged with burning the child's wrist and fingers and beating him, inflicting serious brain injuries that caused seizures. Linscott is charged with failing to protect her son from Dow.
DeVries ordered Dow held on $500,000 cash bail, an amount that Vogelman said his client could not afford.
Linscott is held on $100,000 cash bail.
"I'm not going to be able to make that bail," she told DeVries.
Should either of them make bail, they would be barred from contacting one another or James, according to conditions DeVries imposed. Also, Linscott must live with her grandmother in Seabrook, N.H., while Dow must reside with his mother, Helen Nault of Newton, N.H. — if they post bail.
Dow already faces 10 to 30 years in prison on charges of felonious first- and second-degree assault. He also faces five counts of child endangerment for failing to seek medical care. Each of the misdemeanor counts is punishable by up to a year in jail. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Monday.
"We have some troubling facts that are part of this investigation," Zaino told DeVries.
Dow and Linscott were captured Wednesday at Universal Studios in Orlanda, Fla., following a two-week manhunt. The couple hid out in Haverhill before traveling to Boston, where they took a bus to New York, Zaino said. They then took a train to Florida, he said.
Both waived extradition and returned to New Hampshire over the weekend.
Linscott and Dow are accused of abandoning James at Exeter Hospital on Nov. 16. From there, he was taken to Children's Hospital at Dartmouth in Lebanon with multiple injuries, including temporary blindness.
The couple have maintained that the boy's injuries were self-inflicted. Zaino said his office was provided videos to prove the child hurt himself, but they were not credible.
"It was pretty unanimous these were not self-inflicted injuries," Zaino said.
He told reporters after the arraignments the boy's medical condition was "status quo," referring all questions about the case to Rockingham County Attorney James Reams. The child is in state custody.
Reams confirmed that Dow could face more charges.
Zaino did not say in court if Linscott could face additional charges, but Reams said it "totally depends on evidence."
"We are reviewing the reports now and will make decisions after all evidence is gathered and reviewed," Reams said.
Linscott now faces six misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. Her probable cause hearing is set for Dec. 20.
None of Dow's or Linscott's family members attended the arraignments. Later yesterday, no one answered the door at Nault's Newton home.


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The past few months have not seen much visible transition at , but according to General Manager Kevin Keenan, the mall is getting ready for some significant new leasing activity in 2013.
Keenan is not able to provide a list of those retailers quite yet since leases have yet to be finalized, but he anticipates they will create quite a buzz next year.
"You have a fixed amount of real estate, so for every new concept, someone else needs to leave," he said. Keenan said the challenge is that unless an addition is planned – which is not on the horizon at Westfarms – there's just not enough room for all that want to be there.
There are a few new tenants preparing to build out their spaces, however.
In about eight weeks, Keenan said, Pinkberry will open in a soon-to-be-renovated spot on the lower level near the . This will be Pinkberry's third store in the area, following the success of the location which opened last September and a store in Evergreen Walk in South Windsor.
Keenan also said that Salon 944 is preparing to take over the old Heidi's spot, and plans to open in 8-10 weeks.
The Art of Shaving – a high-end shop that specializes in shaving products and includes a "barber spa" offering an old-fashioned shave and a haircut – will also open in 8-10 weeks. "It's a beautiful store with great, unique merchandise," Keenan said. "It's rare that we open a store that primarily caters to men."
There have recently been a few unexpected tenant changes at Westfarms, with the closings of Nike Running and Cole Haan.
"I hate to see them leave, but whenever there are vacancies it creates other opportunities," Keenan said. Temporary stores are often waiting in the wings for just those chances.
Keenan said that Go Books & Calendars has taken over the Nike Running space, and Christmas in Connecticut will move into the Cole Haan space next month and remain until the end of the year.
"We expect to lease both spaces quickly; they're great locations," Keenan said.
Even as the mall gears up for what Keenan calls the second busiest shopping season – back to school and back to work – he is in "various stages of conversation with 30 or so retailers," he said.
Leasing space in a mall in general, according to Keenan, is "much more science than art," since it's nowhere near as simple as putting a "for rent" sign on the door. Westfarms is continually trying to attracted new-to-the-market unique retailers, as well as high-end retailers, and some of those negotiations can take two to three years to arrange for a particularly desirable location.
As an example, Keenan said that when came into Westfarms in 2011, three stores had to be relocated. , , and Hallmark all moved to new sites, and Urban Behavior closed.
Along with Anthropologie last year came Urban Outfitters and Free People, all part of the same retail family, making the switches worthwhile. and were also some 2011 successes.
Keenan said that for the future they are looking to bring more luxury retailers to Westfarms, and there appears be an appetite based on the success of and . He also wants to continue Westfarms' "unmatched offering of retailers for young children and young adults."
The retail industry is always well ahead of the calendar, and Keenan said that plans for the upcoming holiday season began in January. The fourth quarter, he said, will bring Santa and the Ice Palace, which this year will showcase themes from the animated movie "Ice Age: Continental Drift."
Although there will be a center court celebration when the Ice Palace opens, events are not a major part of Westfarms' operations, Keenan said, with the exception of "events" like the currently-running Anniversary sale which is inked on many calendars well in advance.
"They detract from what we're all about. Our philosophy is to let our retailers be the stars of the show," he said.


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By GREG MENGELT
As expected, Borden blew by South Central in Wednesday's Silver Creek Sectional opening round and will now meet the host Dragons in one semifinal this afternoon.
The unbeaten Braves won all five matches in straight sets and dropped just one game. Sarah Hurst at No. 2 singles, Kendyl Wheatly at No. 3 singles and the Borden doubles teams of Paige Kruer and Morgan Mast and Bailee Kruer and McKenzie Owens all won 6-0, 6-0.
South Central's lone game came in Abby Ellis's 6-0, 6-1 win over Zoe Zweiblemann.
Christian Academy and New Albany will face off in today's New Albany Sectional championship after both teams earned 4-1 victories on Wednesday.
CAI got critical three-set wins from Courtney Brown at No. 3 singles and Kacie Arrell and Callie Allison at No. 2 doubles to get by Corydon Central. Brown beat Bethany Thomas 6-3 in the first set and fell 6-3 in the second before getting a crucial 7-5 win in the third-set tiebreaker. Arrell and Allison dropped the first set to Bridget Kelly and Jody Elser, 6-4, before coming back to win 6-3 in the final two sets.
Erin and Marin Kanii earned easy straight-set victories and both New Albany doubles teams won to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 win over Lanesville. Lauren and Emily Hoffer fell in the first set, 6-3, to Madison Cunningham and Kendra Smith but the sisters then beat the Eagle duo 6-4 in the second and 7-5 in the third for the win. Anne Mattox and Racquel Burch won at No. 2 doubles, beating Paula Klotz and Kaitlyn Matthews 6-1 and 6-2.
The host Highlanders had no trouble advancing to today's Floyd Central Sectional semifinal against North Harrison. Floyd defeated Eastern 5-0 without dropping a set.
Olivia Boesing defeated Krista Roberts 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles and the Highlanders' No. 2 doubles team of Catherine Dauby and Erin Patterson earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Halie Mueller and Kristin Potter.


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By Charles Curcio, Sports Editor
Saturday, July 13, 2013 —
The last season that the senior American Legion baseball team from Stanly County reached the third round of the playoffs was in the 2006 season.
That year, Stanly swept Concord and South Rowan in three straight games each before losing in five games to Randolph County Post 45, whom this year awaits the winner of this series.
With a 14-3 win in seven innings Friday night at Lake Norman High School, Post 76 stood on the precipice of that accomplishment heading into a doubleheader on Saturday.
Carson Sells was solid on the mound for Stanly (16-11), allowing one earned run over his first six innings of work before coming out of the game in the seventh. Heath Blackmon came on in relief to close out the game.
Jon Stires took the loss for Mooresville (17-10), allowing five earned runs on nine hits in six innings. Ryan James and Aaron Harr each allowed four earned runs in one combined inning for Post 66.
For more on this game, see the July 14 print edition.


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For the weekend of September 21 and 22, we're offering a great package. Arrive Friday late afternoon in time for sunset refreshments, on Saturday night sitting outside under the stars, you'll be listening to the guitar virtuosity of Michael Gulezian www.timbrelinemusic.com. We'll provide you with reserved seating and a complementary fried chicken picnic dinner. Enjoy a late checkout on Sunday. Room rates will be discounted 10%.
To show how much we love you, we will help you celebrate Valentine's Day, on February 14, 15 and 16, with chocolate, roses and Valentine's Day dinner served in our romantic dining room.
Winter Special at the Hacienda!!!
Room rates are reduced 15% for one-night reservations and 20% for two-night reservations, all through January and February.


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Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Beyond the book | Readalikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
When two Mongolian brothers inexplicably appear one morning in Julie's Year Six class, no one, least of all Julie, knows what to make of them. But then Chingis, the older of the two, proclaims that Julie is to be their "Good Guide" a nomadic tradition that makes her responsible for welcoming the brothers to their new home. Now Julie must somehow navigate them through soccer, school uniforms, and British slang, all while trying to win Shocky's attention and an invitation to her friend Mimi's house. Often laugh-out-loud funny, this moving and simply told novella tugs at the heart - a unique story of immigration both fierce in its telling and magical in its characters. (Ages 8-12)
The Unforgotten Coat
Year Six. We had been at school for six years and until that moment I thought I had probably learned all I would ever to learn. I knew how to work out the volume of a cube. I knew who painted the "Sunflowers". I could tell you the history of St. Lucia. I knew about lines of the Tudors, and lines of symmetry and the importance of eating five portions of fruit a day. But in all that time, I had never had a single lesson in eagle-calming. I had never ever heard the subject mentioned. I'd had no idea that a person might need eagle-calming skills.
And in that moment, I felt my own ignorance spread suddenly out behind me like a pair of wings, and every single thing I didn't know was a feather on those wings. I could feel them tugging at the air, restless to be airborne.
I wanted to talk to the new boy. I wanted to talk about eagles. But Mimi seemed to regard the whole Chingis incident as a minor interruption in the ongoing global cosmetics conversation. Only the ...
Frank Cottrell Boyce doesn't exaggerate any part of this story - the boys are not overly sentimentalized; their connection with Julie is not too thickly drawn; their mystery is not melodramatic. The story is sparse in words but not sparse in feeling and meaning... The Unforgotten Coat is a quick and powerful read. Young middle graders can easily read it, but it is suitable for upper middle graders, young adults, and adults too.
(Reviewed by Tamara Smith).
Full Review (1052 words).
Rarely have I been as excited about an organization as I am about The Reader Organisation, a British-based group whose mission is to bring about a reading revolution. A reading revolution!
"The work we do," says The Reader Organisation, "is driven by a love for great literature and a strong belief that shared reading is a deeply powerful activity that can significantly enrich and improve lives and the communities we live in. We work to transform the ways in which people view literature and get them utilising it in their everyday lives. We work to dramatically change society's collective approach to reading - making literature accessible, available, emotionally rewarding, and fun. We work to turn reading from an occasional solitary ...
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When a horrifying sickness threatens all the forest clans, 12-year-old orphan Torak must embark on a hero's mission to save them. This stand-alone sequel to Wolf Brother pits a vulnerable boy with special powers against an unseen menace.
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Stars of the Tokyo Stage | Talks & Lectures Curator's perspectiveAug 5 12:45 pm Join Lucie Folan, Curator, Asian Art and curator of the exhibition, for a tour of Stars of the Tokyo Stage. Related infoVenue: Project Gallery
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Collection: International art | Talks & Lectures Do you preferAug 7 12:45 pm Lucina Ward, Curator, International Painting and Sculpture introduces the newly-acquired Miro sculpture,Tete et oiseau [Head and bird] 1981, discussing humour, living monsters and Surrealist collage techniques.Venue: International galleries
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Stars of the Tokyo Stage | Talks & Lectures Stars of Tokyo stage talk series: Lecture 2: Kabuki styleAug 7 6:00 pm Shun Ikeda, Senior Lecturer, Japan Centre, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University (ANU) and Director of the ANU Kabuki performance, on classical Kabuki costume and makeup. Related infoVenue: James O Fairfax Theatre
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Motherwell | Talks & Lectures Partners in print: Robert Motherwell and Ken TylerAug 14 12:45 pm Julia Greenstreet, Curatorial Assistant, Kenneth Tyler Collection draws on rare documentary photography to discuss the close collaborative relationship between master printer Ken Tyler and Abstract Expressionist Robert Motherwell. Related infoVenue: Small Theatre
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Stars of the Tokyo Stage | Talks & Lectures Stars of Tokyo stage talk series: Lecture 3: OnnagataAug 14 6:00 pm Dr Wendy Ella Wright, Visiting Fellow, Australian National University Japan Centre tells the true story of Oshichi, her transformation into a Kabuki heroine and the celebrity status of Kabuki onnagata (female role actors). Related infoVenue: James O Fairfax Theatre
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Collection: Australian art | Talks & Lectures Feminine visions and visionariesAug 19 12:45 pm Rebecca Edwards, Curatorial Assistant, Australian Prints and Drawings, explores 19th century female artists and subjects.Venue: Australian Galleries
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|Galápagos Islands (ɡəˈlæpəɡəs, Spanish ɡaˈlapaɣɔs)
|—pl n
|Official Spanish name: Archipiélago de Colón a group of 15 islands in the Pacific west of Ecuador, of which they form a province: discovered (1535) by the Spanish; main settlement on San Cristóbal. Pop: 18 640 (2001). Area: 7844 sq km (3028 sq miles)
Groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean off South America, owned by Ecuador.
Note: The islands are known for their tortoises, penguins, marine iguanas, and other unusual animals.
Note: Charles Darwin visited these islands and gathered evidence that supported his theory of natural selection.


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Benta Semi-Detached for sale
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On 30th August 2012, the Directors of Goodmans Law completed the sale of its practice to Slater & Gordon Lawyers. For clients with on-going cases, we would like to assure you that you will retain the same lawyer and will continue to receive the high-level of service and client care that you have come to expect.
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|From the HSLDA E-lert Service:
Home School Legal Defense Association
Washington--HSLDA Membership Discounted at CCHEW Conference!
From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
Washington--HSLDA Membership Discounted at CCHEW Conference!
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
The Christian Heritage Home Educators of Washington Annual Conference
is coming to your area on April 28-30, 2011. This event will be held
at Overlake Christian Church, 9900 Willows Road Northeast, Redmond, WA
HSLDA will also host a drawing for a $100 Visa gift card at the end of
the conference. Be sure to ask for your entry form at the registration
table when you arrive on the first day!
Come take advantage of HSLDA's special conference discounts!
> If you join or renew your membership at the conference for one year,
you'll receive $10 off your membership (at the conference only).
> If you join or renew at the conference for two years, you can choose
between either $25 off your membership (at the conference only) OR
receive one of our new Drive Thru History DVDs (Columbus and the
Pilgrims to the Freedom Trail or Cities, Soldiers, and Battlegrounds
of the Revolutionary America) for FREE.
Additionally, if you bring someone to our table who joins at the
conference, we'll give you another $10 coupon for your
recommendation--which you can apply toward membership (at the
conference only) or HSLDA products.
Please note that these offers are only valid at the conference.
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contact them (509) 448-5584, firstname.lastname@example.com,
or visit them online at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10685 .
We are keenly aware that our parental and homeschool freedoms are best
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Today, July 11, is National Collector Car Appreciation Day across the U.S. That means...
Kia brings customized Rio five-door to SEMA
Kia is collaborating with Antenna magazine to bring a customized surf-and-skate-themed 2012 Rio five-door to the SEMA show in Las Vegas. It will take the stand with five other sports-themed vehicles on Nov. 1.
The magazine took the new Kia and added everything a surfer or skater could want. That includes a sunset-metallic golden-brown paint job, a front splitter made of wood and gold double-spoked wheels.
Inside, the trunk area was heavily customized to accommodate a 1980s arcade-gaming console and shelves for music, shoes and swimwear. The Rio also gets a record player and what looks to be a drink cart. The grass garden would obviously need special attention. It's done mostly in wood, recalling the surfboard-carrying wagons of the past.
The redesigned Kia Rio subcompact has a 1.6-liter engine that returns 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway, according to the company.
Get more car news, reviews and opinion every day: Sign up to have the Autoweek Daily Drive delivered right to your inbox.


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Community-driven, high integrity and always current, unlike traditional research
Through software, readers like you are rapidly changing the world. InfoQs Research provides readers with high-integrity, up-to-date, and community-driven insight into trends, behaviors and technologies that affect professional software development. Unlike traditional and expensive vendor-based approaches, our research is based on answers provided by "you," the community!
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Big Data technologies have been getting lot of attention over the last few years. There are several trends and innovations happening in this space. InfoQ would like to learn what new trends in Big Data you are currently using or planning on using in the future.
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In the recent past there has been a sudden upsurge in the number of competing ALM offerings from vendors that previously offered a subset of the toolset.With this survey, we would like to measure the ability to execute and the completeness of vision of each of these competing toolsets. 10More Details


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Josh Brown
The Port Arthur News
Former President Bill Clinton covered a multitude of topics and berated tea party Republicans in his endorsement speech for Nick Lampson at a last-minute Democratic rally at Lamar University Thursday night.
Clinton's staff called to arrange the assembly Wednesday afternoon, giving the Lampson campaign less than 24 hours to organize and publicize the event. More than 3,000 people were in attendance at Vincent-Beck Baseball Field, where the rally was held, according to a Lampson staff member.
"I'm very pleased with the turnout on exceptionally short notice," Lampson said after the event.
Clinton covered higher-education, balancing the budget, Medicaid, energy dependency, and tax cuts during his 25-minute speech, never missing a chance to call out the Republican's most right-wing group.
"We believe the polarization in Washington is caused primarily by the tea party crowd," he said. "They've got their mind made up before you put the evidence out. They believe they can disregard arithmetic in favor of illusion."
Clinton outlined how Republicans want to change the Medicare system by providing vouchers and revisited the tax cuts given to the super-rich in the previous administration.
"For people who hate the government for as much as they claim to, they sure spend a lot of time and money trying to get a hold of it," he said of the tea party.
Beckoning the college members in the audience, Clinton discussed the changes to federal pell grants and student loans, saying a Republican administration would undo all of that work.
More than 12 million jobs will be created if the current economic plan stays on its course, Clinton said, but both parties have to work together in order for the government to function correctly.
"There is not a single successful country on the planet that does not have both a strong private economy and an effective government working together," he said.
Clinton highlighted the similarities he shares with Lampson, who is running for Congressional District 14, including how their families both used social security benefits after a parents' death when they were young.
"We believe a philosophy of shared responsibility and shared prosperity is a whole lot better than a trickle down," he said.
Clinton admitted he and Lampson did not meet eye-to-eye on every issue during their shared time in office, but he knows Lampson made informed decisions.
"He'll work with anybody with an idea worth listening to," Clinton said. "He will keep working until he gets something done."
Lampson called Congress broken and said it is up to citizens to repair the damage.
"We are so much stronger when we work together," he said. "We need to vote."
State Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, and Thomas Sigee, who is running for Jefferson County Tax-Assessor Collector, gave brief speeches before Clinton and Lampson took the stage.
Clinton, who endorsed congressional candidate Pete Gallego in San Antonio before flying into Beaumont, will start campaigning with President Barack Obama Monday as election day nears.
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Marilyn Ivy
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology
Modernity, emphasis on Japan
Professor Ivy approaches the anthropology of modernity from several perspectives. One is that of critical theory and its varied anatomies of the crises of the modern (most emblematically revealed by fascism). Her work on mass media, capitalism, and everyday life is informed by these approaches. Another, and related to her interests in critical theory, is her concern with questions of representation and interpretation opened up by semiotic and post-semiotic protocols of reading and textual analysis. Finally, she is committed to keeping the crucial importance of historical reflection in the forefront of her research, teaching, and ethnographic practice.
Professor Ivy teaches courses in modern and critical theory of anthropology and on contemporary Japanese aesthetics, politics, and technology (including a course on Japanese mass culture).
Her publications include Discourses of the Vanishing: Modernity, Phantasm, Japan (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995); "The Art of Cute Little Things: Nara Yoshitomo's Parapolitics," in Mechademia (Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 2010); "Dark Enlightenment: Naitô Masatoshi's Flash" in Photographies East: Histories of the Camera in East and Southeast Asia, ed. by Rosalind Morris (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009); "Benedict's Shame" Cabinet, no. 31 (Fall 2008); "Trauma's Two Times: Japanese Wars and Postwars." Positions: East Asia Culures Critique 16:1 (2008): 153-176; "Revenge and Recapitation in Recessionary Japan" In Japan after Japan: Social and Cultural Life from the Recessionary 1990s to the Present, ed. by Tomiko Yoda and Harry Harootunian (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006) "Have You Seen Me?: Recovering the Inner Child in Late Twentieth-Century America" in Social Text, no. 37, 1993; and "Critical Texts, Mass Artifacts: The Consumption of Knowledge in Postmodern Japan" in Postmodernism and Japan, ed. by Harry Harootunian and Masao Miyoshi (Duke University Press, 1989).
Professor Ivy received her Ph.D. from Cornell University and joined the Columbia faculty in 1997.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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SEATTLE - The National Weather Service has posted three red flag warnings for critical fire weather conditions in Western Washington.
This is the second time in the past 10 years a red flag warning has been issued for Seattle and surrounding cities. The last one was on September 6, 2011.
NWS says a red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or are imminent. Those conditions include a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures; combined, they will create explosive fire growth potential.
The warning for King, Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties, the Kitsap Peninsula and Hood Canal is in effect from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The warning cites wind gusts of near 20 mph and relative humidy as low as 24 to 30 percent.
Temperatures around Puget Sound are forecast to hit the 90s during the remainder of this week, with scattered chances of lightning. Click here to get the complete KING 5 weather forecast.
A second red flag warning will be overnight and into Thursday for the mountain passes and adjacent foodhills of eastern King County and parts of Eastern Lewis County. It calls for gusts of 20 to 30 mph bringing in dry winds from the east.
A third warning primarily focuses on the Northwest Olympic peninsula and the Sol Duc River drainage, also overnight and into Thursday. That one is specifically for strong easterly winds and low humidity.
While the fire weather may have shifted west for now, it's working for firefighters on the Taylor Bridge Wildfire near Thorp and Cle Elum. Winds there are forecasted to die down a bit over the next few days.


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---- —
Book program
Traverse City — Gordon Galloway, author of "Full Circle," and Randy Park, the subject of the book, will give a program Saturday, Feb. 2, at Horizon Books, 243 E. Front St.
Park grew up in Big Rapids, where his family owned and operated a sawmill. A distinguished football player at the high school level, Park also played for Ferris State University and the Michigan Charity Football League. At 21 he was injured in a motorcycle accident that resulted in the loss of his right leg below the knee.
The program will start at 2 p.m. Park will discuss the medical and psychological problems associated with life as an amputee. Following the presentation, Park and Galloway will sign books until 4 p.m.
Family Nights
Traverse City — Family Fun Nights at the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA are tonight, Feb. 1, and Friday, Feb. 15.
Tonight's event has a "Queen of Hearts" theme with games, open gym and more at the main facility, 3000 Racquet Club Dr.
The Friday, Feb. 15, event also will have a Valentine's theme. It will be held at the Y Child Care Center, 1100 Woodmere Ave., suite B, and is geared toward families with younger children.
Both events will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free for Y member families; $15 for non-member families. For details, visit www.gtbayymca.org.
Valentine's Show
Traverse City — Vendors will display their products at a Valentine's Day Show Saturday, Feb. 2, at the American Military League's new location in the old Sara Lee Outlet, 2423 Sybrandt Road.
The show will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. There will be a cash bar, refreshments, raffles, give-aways and more. Vendors are being added daily. For details, email email@example.com.
Be WSH's guest
Traverse City — West Senior High School invites the community to be their guest for "Breakfast with Beauty and the Beast."
The meal will be served in two seatings at 9 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, in the school commons, 5376 N. Long Lake Road. The $10 cost includes breakfast, a photo with characters from the musical, give-aways and musical performances. Tickets go on sale Monday, Feb. 4.
Reservations are required. For tickets or details, call 933-7509.
Public forums
Suttons Bay — Rich Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, will speak at public forums on Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Suttons Bay and Traverse City
Forums will be held at noon at the Leelanau County Government Center, 8527 E. Government Center Dr.; and at 5:30 p.m. in Scholars Hall at Northwestern Michigan College, 1701 E. Front St. Both programs are free and open to the public.
Builder program
Traverse City — "LEEDS and Green Building" is the theme for the Wednesday, Feb. 6, Lunchbox Series at the Builders Exchange of NW MI, 1373 Barlow St.
The program will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $5 for members, $10 non-members. For details or reservations, contact Robin Hill, 946-5531 or firstname.lastname@example.com
Fairy Garden
Kalkaska — Klumpp Flower Shop will offer home gardeners the chance to create a miniature garden in hopes of luring a fairy into their homes.
Free workshops will be offered Saturdays, Feb. 9 or March 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the flower shop, 210 N. Cedar St. All ages are welcome.
For details or to register, call 258-2342.
Habitat fundraiser
Traverse City — Tickets are on sale for the "Hearts for Habitat" fundraiser to benefit Habitat for Humanity Grand Traverse Region.
The event will be hosted from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Hagerty Center, 715 E. Front St. Tickets are $40.
For details, call 941-4663. Tickets are available at www.habitatgtr.org, www.mynorthtickets.com, or in person at the Habitat office, 1129 Woodmere Ave.
Mardi Gras
Elk Rapids — Mardi Gras good times roll from Friday, Feb. 8, through Tuesday, Feb. 12, at Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen.
Kid's Night is Friday, Feb. 8, with balloon art, face painting and music by Dave Cisco.
A special Mardi Gras menu will be available in addition to the regular menu on Saturday, Feb. 9.
Sunday, Feb. 10, is Super Sunday with Chicago blues musician Carl Weathersby from 7 to 10 p.m., while Monday, Feb. 11, is a warm up for Fat Tuesday with music by Funktion from 7 to 10 p.m.
Fat Tuesday, Feb. 12, features live Cajun zydeco by the Saucecats for dancing from 7 to 11 p.m. There is no cover charge and reservations are not required.
Pearl's is at 617 Ames St. For details, call 264-0530.
Festival of Food
Traverse City — Foodies can try different foods and learn new cooking skills at the Festival of Food.
The event will be hosted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Northwestern Michigan College. Participants can choose four one-hour sessions from 16 options. The cost is $69. To register, call 995-1700. For details, visit www.nmc.edu/festival-of-foods.


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An argument outside a back-to-school party for teenagers erupted into gunfire Monday night, leaving 23-year-old Dechania Edwards clinging to life on a 12th Avenue sidewalk in Newark.
"I just can't believe this happened right in front of my face," said Shakira Nelson, 28, of Newark, who said Edwards stopped by the get-together to see friends. "She died with her eyes open."
Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said Edwards was shot around 11:16 p.m. She said Edwards was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where she was pronounced dead at 11:32 p.m. Police have not identified a suspect.
On Tuesday afternoon, family and friends gathered outside the house where the party took place. It is a red-brick, two-story home lined with a black wrought-iron fence near the corner of South 7th Street in the city's West Ward.
"She was a good person … a nice person and got along with everyone," said William Miller, 23, of Newark. Miller said Edwards was the mother of his six-year-old son.
Four candles made a square below a makeshift memorial attached to a tree on the sidewalk. The memorial included an opened cardboard box with scrawled messages of remembrance, a white teddy bear with Edwards' picture tied to its neck and metallic balloons strung from tree branches.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker confirmed Tuesday to Patch that there was a party where the shooting occurred, but declined to go into details, "It's just another example of unacceptable violence."
Nelson, who said she was Edwards' sister-in-law, said the shooting started after an argument between a man who was at the party and a man on the street. She called the shooting "gang affiliated" and said Edwards was a bystander, "It could have been any of us."
Carter said police are investigating the possibility that Edwards was not the intended target, but the spokeswoman would not comment on whether the shooting was gang related.
Family members told this reporter that Edwards' mother was too distraught to talk about the incident.
Pamela Cresbo, 15, of Newark, lives across the street from where Edwards was gunned down. She said she heard two gun shots and then saw a man run down the street, "I heard screaming and then I looked out my window, saw a woman on the (ground) and then people started chasing a man down the block."
Cresbo said the house is infamous for parties, "When the parties are over, they fight and leave in their cars." She said Monday night's party started around 8 p.m.
A man, who declined to give his name, said his organization, Circle Boys, hosted the party. On the social networking site Facebook, an organization by that name states it hosted a party at the same 12th Avenue location in July.
"We throw parties for youths to have fun and keep the younger generation out of trouble," the man said.
Booker said the city witnessed a 50 percent drop in shootings the past 28 days in August, compared to the same time period last year. So far this month, six people have been killed in gun-related violence, bringing the summer total to 20.


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Bullets fly
When cops shoot their guns, sometimes they kill or injure bad guys. Sometimes it turns out that the person who was shot didn't do anything wrong. And sometimes the majority of the carnage involves utterly innocent bystanters.
That's a side of police shootings that doesn't get talked about as much. But it's real -- and it's a matter of concern when cops are firing off rounds in a crowded urban area, in particular when they're near a school. Which is what happened in Noe Valley Aug. 27. According to my friends at the Ex:
A female officer caught up to the suspect as he tried to climb over a fence on Valley Street. He reportedly moved quickly toward the officer with his hands in the middle of his torso, prompting the officer to fire a single shot, which did not strike the suspect, police Chief Greg Suhr said.
So if the bullet didn't hit the suspect, where did it go?
It went flying around Noe Valley. In the middle of the day. Near an elementary school. Lucky it didn't hit anybody. Because officers are trained to fire at someone who they perceive as a lethal threat -- but that training doesn't include looking around behind the perp to see where the rounds will go if they miss.
Of course, my first preference is for all cops who discharge weapons to reliably hit their targets -- or at least *know* that stray bullets will not go flying around into schools, etc. -- but on balance, I'd rather have some infinitessimal chance of getting hit by such a bullet rather than far more significant prospect of extrajudicial punishment administered at the hands of a high voltage cop.
Uh, actually Tim, that training DOES include looking around behind the perp to see where the rounds will go if they miss.
Number of people unlawfully shot and killed by criminals in the 415 the past year:
I don't know, 50?
Number of bystanders shot and killed by the SFPD in the 415 the past year:
Do you think these numbers are close or something?
Do you want TASERs instead? NOPE!
What's your deal, man?
And even if she did not, if she feels her life is in danger, and of course it often is, then even a slight delay can mean death.
Oh, and you dodn't even mention that the suspect was caught, which me might not have been if the cop had not acted as she did.
Totally innocent bystanders almost never get shot by cops; it's almost always a bad guy.
Last week in New York, while shooting a suspect from short range, two cops shot nine bystanders. Turns out they weren't regular patrol cops, but an anti-terrorist crew who happened to be near the crime scene, the Empire State Building.
Cops act with impunity, are rarely disciplined for their misdeeds, and most disturbingly, apparently can't shoot straight.
Why do you hate America, why do you enable the terrorists?
crowded street. Obviously the cops had to take him out quickly. If they ahd not fired, many more could have died. The cops had to make a split-second decision to avert carnage and obviously that does not come at zero risk.
Nope, the civilian gunman fired two shots at only one person, his former boss. The cops fired many times that wildly throughout the crowd and injured many more than would have otherwise been injured.
only intended to shoot one person, even if that is true?
The cops see a guy in a crowded street shooting someone. Are they supposed to wait to see if he shoots a few more before they take him out?
The fog of war makes your kind of post facto rationalizations moot.
It was approx 6AM. A gang of five thugs was involved in snatching cell phones, at gunpoint. Police eventually tracked them down using the phone's own GPS signal and recovered 'replica handguns'.
Of course, if you rely on Tim Redmond for your information all you get is that one police officer missed a shot at a suspect that she had reason to believe was armed. And of course Tim portrays the scene as the Office firing indifferently without bothering to look for school children behind the perp in a crowded urban area. At 6AM.
Mind you, no basis of course, but this is the SFBG. We make up whatever we want here, because nobody cares anyway.
Those of you who like to use cell phones in this city and who may have seen the video of a woman getting beat up on Russian her phone can identify with this armed street robbery problem and the odds just tipped a bit back in our favor because of the police.
Wow. Luckily nobody listens to Tim Redmond. Can you imagine how much worse of a cesspool this city would be if anyone did?
Troll I am so glad someone else is interested in facts like I am. Tim is such a disservice to journalism I can't understand why he is employed.
Troll, check the story again. Original crime occured at 200 Minerva at around 6am.
Police were able to track phone by GPS to 28th & Church. *Then* a chase ensued and the suspect was shot at.
But you, in order to falsely seem to make a point, claim that the GPS tracking and travelling across town took no time at all. Of course.
That's quite beside the point that by looking only at the clause concerning this shooting place near a school, you seek to evade addressing the accuracy of Tim's central point: that the shot went wild in a crowded city.
Dumbass. Liar.
You know what, moron....normally I try to ignore you because I fell sorry for you but in this case...show me where there is any validity to "the shot went wild in a crowded city" or shut up.
I don't care how troubled you are. Not my problem. And being mentally challenged doesn't give you any right to also be a mind blowing shmuck. As a matter of fact, most developmentally challenged people have extremely pleasant dispositions. In that one regard you seem to be exceptional.
Sure Troll, have it your way.
Just don't expect anybody to believe your pronouncements when they are so often baseless and wrong... and this may come as a surprise to you, but the level of agitation you displayed in their defense is of no import.
I shouldn't have been that harsh with you just because you thought that doing a GPS search takes hours instead of minutes. I should have been more accepting of your 'challenges'. That was wrong of me.
Here...maybe this article will help. It talks about how the school was locked down (hmmm...maybe the Police aren't totally indifferent to public safety) but that the lock down was LIFTED before 9AM. And I'm sure that they didn't lift it minutes after the shooting.
So do you think you might be able to understand how some of us might feel that Tim wasn't being truthful when he said 'middle of the day'?
If you can't understand that, I'm sorry, but I tried my best. Maybe one of your professional counselors or minders can do a better job of explaining these difficult concepts to you.
D'ya know? If you'd simple stop trying so hard to score points, you'd find yourself looking quite a bit smarter.
As a matter of fact, the San Jose Mercury News story you *cite* as a defense of your claims provides several bits of information you were seemingly unable (or unwilling?) to process. Read it again.
Dear Tim Redmond,
Did you click "post" before you were done writing and editing this article? Just say yes because it is a completely ridiculous article with no facts and it's only purpose if there is one was to take a stab at the local police. You are a complete embarrassment to journalism and to the city of San Francisco.
What is a bystanter? Also what is the EX? Also where did you do your research on what police officers are taught when firing a gun? What exactly was your intent with regards to this article. You have not entertained, informed or educated anyone. The ignorant liberals will only believe what you wrote and think cops have no clue what they are doing. You left us with no facts and no links to the event in Noe Valley that you referred to. Are you taking lessons from Henry Lee because you both suck about the same amount.
Hit delete on this article and try again but after you get an education on journalism and the subject of which you are writing.
homeless people are better than homeowners, the unemployed are better than the employed, and poor people are so much more desirable than successful winners.
What a terribly sad perspective to have. I only hope he manages to avoid passing on such negativism to his children.
Tim's sympathies lie with the people committing the crime, not the victims of the crime or those trying to prevent it. It's why liberalism has so much in common with genuine mental illness. Tim lives in a world where things could have happened, or might have happened, and he confuses these apparitions with things that actually happened, to a point where he really can't tell the difference, if one judges by the insinuations, half-truths, and broadsides that constitute his "journalism."
>"It went flying around Noe Valley. In the middle of the day."
Yeah. The story that Tim links to clearly says that the episode occurred at 6AM, not the 'middle of the day'. Or maybe it was a 'magic bullet' that ricocheted around a school yard for 6 hours.
If you expect anything other than false and misleading statements from Tim Redmond columns then you are just getting what you deserve.
citing the article that shows you're lying. You know, just a helpful hint.
Around 6AM isn't exactly "in the middle of the day".
You just don't get it. Tim is a a great artiste, painting a vivid image of a San Francisco Police Officer firing wildly into a school yard at mid day without any regard for the children standing behind the perpetrator. It is a grand vision that supports our Progressive cause.
Yet all we get back is sniping that it isn't "true". It is BETTER than "true', you soulless heathens. I guess that expecting a real appreciation of Tim's great work will occur when some of you fly.
While I can see and understand the outrage over the injured in NYC who were shot by police this isn't even remotely close to the same situation. As others have ably pointed out there are pretty big differences between what Tim is claiming and what actually went down yesterday morning.
Tim = FAIL.
An officer should only fire if they have carefully looked behind the threat, ensured that no one is in the area. Did Tim bother to go out to the actual scene of the shooting and see what the area was behind the suspect- perhaps it was a concrete wall and the office took that into account, you just don't know because as usual- Tim hits post without doing actual research- instead he relies on the reporting of others .
He didn't rely on the reporting of others in this instance...he just made up whatever he felt like writing. I looked at the reporting and there is nothing about the police officer endangering any bystanders when she fired. There is one interview on the CBS site where a neighbor making breakfast hears the officer yell 'Stop...Stop...Stop or I'll shoot' and then the gunshot. Then other officers quickly arrived and made sure that everyone stayed off the street.
The part about a police officer firing wildly and endangering bystanders in the middle of the day is just a total fabrication by Tim. No reporting basis of any type is involved.
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NORMAN — Moore firefighters have been getting Christmas gifts ready so some Moore Public School students will have some nice gifts under the tree this year.
Santa Express is a program the fire department has done for over 30 years in Moore which partners with the schools, said Maj. Ronnie Rawson. Teachers and counselors at the schools furnish names of students and the department provides Christmas for them, Rawson said.
"We're giving out tens of thousands of gifts," he said. "We bag them up and give them to the parents or they come to the station and pick them up."
This year they provided gifts for about 520 kids and around 230 families. The gifts aren't labeled as coming from the fire department though, parents give the children the gifts themselves or label them "From Santa," Rawson said.
The gifts are typically given to students age 15 and under, and sometimes 16-year-olds, depending on who teachers and counselors select to receive the gifts, he said. They also take into account those who have siblings attending school.
Donations and fundraisers are done year-round to be able to provide the gifts and they are already starting to plan for next year. Rawson said they will often hold golf tournaments or other events to help fund the project. Individuals are also encouraged to give monetary donations or take toys to either Moore fire stations or the City of Moore.
Several groups and organizations also help bag up the Christmas gifts and one of the football teams was helping Thursday, as it usually takes three to four days to get everything packaged and ready for delivery or pick-up, he said.
"Hopefully we'll have them all in the houses by Saturday or Sunday," Rawson said. "We actually started some deliveries (Thursday)."
Jessica Bruha
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Israeli airstrikes pounded targets in Gaza, killing scores of people Wednesday as dozens of militant rockets streaked into Israel.
The continued Hamas barrage prompted Israel's Prime Minister to step up the offensive against the militant group.
"The operation will be expanded and will continue until the firing at our communities stops and quiet is restored," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
He did not detail what the expansion would entail but said Israel's military "is prepared for all possibilities."
President Shimon Peres, whose role is largely ceremonial and is not involved in setting policy, said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Becky Anderson that he believed a ground offensive "may happen quite soon" unless Hamas stops firing rockets at Israel.
"We warned them. We asked them to stop it," Peres told Anderson. "We waited one day, two days, three days and they continued, and they spread their fire on more areas in Israel."
While Peres was speaking on his own and his position may not outline an official government policy, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz earlier told CNN that a ground operation "might become necessary."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, convened an emergency meeting of his Cabinet to discuss the crisis.
"This war is not against Hamas or another political party but it is against the Palestinian people," he told the media afterward. "What do you call this crime? What is this crime known under international law? To kill entire families, is this collective punishment?
"This is called collective genocide."
A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said Israel's threat to launch a "stupid" ground offensive didn't scare anyone, and fighters from Hamas' military wing were ready to face off with Israel's "coward" soldiers in Gaza.
More deaths in Gaza
The comments came as the death toll rose in Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces had struck at 550 Hamas targets since launching its offensive Monday.
The IDF said the targets included 60 rocket launchers, 31 tunnels and the homes of 11 senior Hamas leaders, which the IDF described as "command centers."
At least 61 Palestinians have been killed and more than 550 injured in the airstrikes, according to Palestinian medical sources and Health Ministry officials.
Among the dead were eight women and 11 children, including an 18-month-old baby and an 80-year-old woman, according to a list provided by Palestinian medical sources and Health Ministry officials.
In one airstrike Wednesday, two children and their mother were among five people killed when Israeli forces targeted their house. Some members of the family are believed to have links to Hamas, Palestinian security sources said.
A driver for a Gaza news agency was killed Wednesday night when an Israeli missile hit his car, witness told CNN. Three people were wounded, witnesses said.
The IDF said it uses phone calls and drops empty shells on roofs -- what it calls "roof knocking" -- to warn civilians that airstrikes are imminent.
The Israeli Cabinet has authorized the military to call up 40,000 troops if needed. That is 10,000 more than were called up during Israel's offensive into Gaza in November 2012. Only about 1,000 have been mobilized so far.
Teens' deaths sparked new violence
Tensions in the region reached a fever pitch after three Israeli teens, including one with dual U.S. citizenship, were kidnapped last month on their way home from school in the West Bank. Their bodies were found last week.
Israel blames Hamas, but the group has denied any involvement.
"Hamas said it clearly. ... We don't have information about what had happened," Osama Hamdan, a foreign policy spokesman for Hamas, told CNN's Michael Holmes.
Only days after the bodies of the Israelis were discovered, a Palestinian teen was abducted, and then found dead, within an hour in Jerusalem. Israel has arrested suspects and says there's "strong indication" it was a revenge killing.


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A recent study conducted by medical and health care professionals outside the chiropractic profession, "Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association with Disability Recurrence," (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2011, Vol. 53 Is. 4, p: 396-404) concludes chiropractic care to be more effective for common, work-related, low back pain (LBP), when compared to treatment by a physical therapist or physician. Overall, chiropractic patients illustrated lower medical expenses, fewer disability recurrences and shorter initial periods of disability.
The popularity of Vitamin D, sometimes called the sunshine vitamin, exploded over the past decade, with sales going from $40 million in 2001 to $430 million in 2009, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.
The surge in supplementation is due to a slew of recent epidemiological studies showing patients with higher Vitamin D levels in their blood experience better health outcomes in a wide range of maladies, from colorectal and breast cancer to stroke.
Martha Rozman had a persistent cough for two years. After visiting multiple medical doctors and being treated with inhalers and antihistamines to no effect, she decided to try something different.
"A friend of mine recommended Dr. Billiot," Rozman said.
Dr. Melodie Billiot runs Alternative Health Improvement Center in Marietta.
"Nutritional choices are key to our health. All day long I deal with people struggling to find and maintain their health. I tell them if you don't take time to be healthy, you're going to have to take time to be sick," she said.
Two days after Rozman saw Billiot, her cough stopped.
Doctors of chiropractic are drawn to researched-based, scientifically sound, but wholly natural solutions to health issues. Sharing health information with patients is part of our role. Because most of our patients are also seeing medical doctors, and many of those are taking prescription medications, we must be conversant on those drugs, their side effects and their impact on overall health.
Many of our patients with cholesterol problems are taking a cholesterol buster (a "statin" drug). They sometimes work well, but there are unwanted side effects that are well known.
The very mechanism of the statin drugs that make them successful creates another dangerous problem that is not stressed sufficiently to consumers: they deplete Co-enzyme Q10 — in some patients, up to 40 percent. Co-Q10 is a co-enzyme, a vitamin-like substance that facilitates and mediates 95 percent of energy production in the body by helping to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the mitochondria. It has been extensively studied for over 30 years.
Since 2001, four long-term studies have examined the utility of glucosamine and/or chondroitin supplementation versus placebo in patients suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee (1-4). One long-term study compared glucosamine sulfate with placebo in patients with OA of the hip (5). To date, there has yet to be a trial with glucosamine/chondroitin for spinal OA, although one case history has been published (6).
While there is no guarantee for a perfectly happy and healthy life, if you follow the listed thirteen steps, you improve your chances of boosting your quality of life. Disregard them, and you may well be taking a big gamble with your mental and emotional well being.
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How and where and when did the Forgotten Realms start? What's at the heart of Ed Greenwood's creation, and how does the Grand Master of the Realms use his own world when he runs D&D adventures for the players in his campaign? "Forging the Forgotten Realms" is a weekly feature wherein Ed answers all those questions and more.
e all love to hiss at arrogant, eccentric, flamboyant, and easy-to-hate nobles. They're juicy foes and targets for characters in the Realms, especially in Waterdeep, Cormyr, and Sembia.
Whether it's sneering at Lord Clarglustus Rowanmantle of Cormyr, with his habit of collecting nubile girls, talking blue parrots, pungent wheels of cheese from "the far Shaar," and kenku-carved hedgehogs and mushrooms from the seedier markets of Saerloon, or haughty Lady Faelra Umbrusk of Waterdeep, with her penchant for bathing in ostrich milk, her love of horsewhipping tardy servants, her fascination with gambling on the outcomes of bloody tavern brawls in Dock Ward, and her belief that the patterns of moonlight reflected through gems left on her dressing table are guidance from the gods as to which visiting envoy or merchant she should next seduce, it's easy to enjoy the overblown antics of nobility who act outrageously because they can. These are people so rich that the gods owe them money, or so seemingly insane that they are role models to raving lunatics.
Because Realms fiction and play so often show us the "bad" side of nobles, however, or the larger-than-life personae they present to the world, we often don't see the other sides of their lives—especially the activities that allow kings, commoners, and everyone else to tolerate their continued existence.
Take Lord Crakehall as an example.
This noble of Cormyr is the last of his line, and all Cormyr knows him as a "disagreeable old Dragon" (by "Dragon" they mean Purple Dragon, or soldier) who served militarily with distinction but was recently nudged into retirement for insubordination (he thought the younger nobles commanding him were arrogant idiots, said so, and disobeyed them—behavior most commoners view with favor, because they think all younger nobles are spoiled, arrogant idiots). Denevvur Crakehall is a longtime widower, sharp-tongued, and "walks alone" (meaning he doesn't surround himself with a bevy of attractive ladies or sycophantic toadies but daily "keeps to himself," walking the streets of Suzail to shop and take the air without servants trailing along, or riding in the countryside without a grand armed escort).
Those who've met the man personally often describe him as a sharp-eyed, bullying, surly, grasping miser. He doesn't haggle over prices but habitually asks the price of almost everything he sees, mentally logging the lowest prices for the day when he needs to buy something.
The outward face Lord Crakehall presents to the world is that of the unreformed Ebenezer Scrooge at the beginning of Dickens's A Christmas Carol (making him easy for any DM to roleplay).
A story many Cormyrean commoners tell and retell about him is his habit of spying on young couples so he can interrupt them at an embarrassing moment by trudging out of hiding, peering witheringly at them over his everpresent monocle, and loudly declaiming, "DIS-gusting."
That's the image of the man most know. He is easily and widely detested and dismissed. Like most nobles of Cormyr, however, there are other sides to the man.
He is bitter, sharp-tongued, and lonely, with little tolerance for fools. Yet he defines "fools" as those who waste the time of others with pranks and impudence, and waste their own lives by accomplishing nothing—particularly when this is deliberate idleness, not a "nothing" resulting from trying but failing to achieve. When Crakehall sees any young person courting disaster because they lack training or knowledge, he gruffly directs them to the best teacher or wisest course of action, whether or not he knows or likes the individual; he regards this as his duty, his small way of helping guide Cormyr toward a brighter future without depriving folk of the freedom to pursue their own desires and take their own pratfalls.
He is a staunch believer in adherence to the law, and in continually refining the law to keep justice as fair as possible. Along with the concept of being fair, he believes justice should be minimal—too many rules and too much enforcement "stifles all." Crakehall is a staunch royalist who defends the Crown of Cormyr at every pass. He scrupulously avoids public rebuke and criticism of the Obarskyrs, and he is a swift and harsh critic of courtiers who keep secrets or slant information before passing it on.
Lord Crakehall believes nobles have a duty to the Dragon Throne, and that those who repudiate or shirk this duty lose all right to the titles, rights, and privileges of nobility. That duty is to keep the government—the throne—of Cormyr strong, so that whatever happens to the person currently sitting on it, no matter what follies that ruler pursues, the Forest Kingdom will not only survive but flourish, becoming ever greater. Moreover, Crakehall defines "greater" as "better living for everyone." The lowliest citizens must have enough to eat, education, true information about what their rulers are up to, and "a decent bed, someplace warm enough not to shiver when the winter winds howl."
Crakehall believes that every loyal citizen must be ready to fight for Cormyr, or soon there might be no Cormyr. On the other hand, he does not believe in every infant or tottering elder carrying a nasty, sharp weapon. Real war "should be left to warriors." The general populace contributes to a war effort by doing what they excel at for the good of the crown rather than the good of their pocketbook, be that baking bread or sewing cloaks or packing mules.
Above all, Crakehall wants Cormyreans to notice and understand things, as he does—to truly see what's going on around them daily. He sees the chief danger to Cormyr now as the same thing it's always been: stealthy infiltration by enemies of the realm. In the old days, it was Zhent agents. Nowadays, it is the spies of Sembia with the "dastards" of Westgate, the Red Wizards, exiled traitor nobles, and even Amn as background constants.
Crakehall reserves his greatest hatred for turncoats among the nobility—Cormyreans who work against the Throne for any reason. He distinguishes between "disputing with the Obarskyrs" and working against the realm, believing that the former is a duty of all nobles, and the latter is high treason. He boldly practices this, seeking private audiences with the ruler of Cormyr to chide over this or that diplomatic policy, royal decree, or kingly deed. Although his counsel was initially met with stiff, disapproving courtesy, over the years it has become increasingly treasured.
As King Foril once put it, "Give me twoscore Lord Crakehalls, and I will have forty honest men. Give me four hundred, and I will have the most able and worthy realm possible. Bless the old sharptongue."
As it happens, no less than three veteran adventuring companies and about twice that number of nobles regularly seek out Lord Crakehall in private, to seek advice.
It's hard to find a wise and observant honest man, but Old Sharptongue won't steer them false.
Lord Crakehall has often explained to adventurers the past histories that particular nobles share—the feuds, the family ties, the shared military service or interests. He believes that "true" nobles have no business deceiving either royalty or commoners. This philosophy of his has helped more than one adventuring band operating in Cormyr to avoid being manipulated by a noble patron into blundering into an ongoing feud, or being framed for the bad deeds of a noble's hirelings.
It was Lord Crakehall who steered the Company of the Claw away from accepting a mission from Lord Thalthallow to forcibly, in a night raid on Greatgaunt Castle, rescue his "kidnapped" daughter from the clutches of the younger Lord Greatgaunt, heir of the Greatgaunts—a good thing, since she had in fact married him (against her father's wishes, but with the blessing of her mother and the rest of her kin).
It was Lord Crakehall who warned Crown agents (so they could prevent the intended clash) that Thalver's Company and the Company of the Wandering Spear had been sent to attack the same "encamped outlaws who've stolen family treasures from us" (actually nobles out on a three-day hunt along the verges of the Hullack Forest) by two younger brothers of some of the hunting nobles, in hopes that in the fray their elder brothers would be killed, so they could become the heirs.
And it was Lord Crakehall who publicly berated the violent drunkard Lord Melver for the way he treated his wife and daughters when he was inebriated, and suggested that if he couldn't curb his swilling, the Crown should install bodyguards in his household to protect his kin from him—thereby shaming Lord Melver into "swearing off the goblet" henceforth.
Lord Crakehall believes that young, idle nobles are "all too apt to fall into mischief," and keeps an eye on them. He also has stated that "adventuring bands looking for work in Cormyr are like sharp knives left in a room of clumsy blindfolded men," and he keeps an eye on these groups, too. He delights in bringing these two sorts of potential troublemakers together in ways that will benefit Cormyr, often by pointing them toward mysteries unsolved and perilous border ruins and areas that need scouring for monsters—so the nobles can do something useful and take real pride if they accomplish something, and the adventurers can keep the nobles alive and themselves busy, thereby enhancing their reputations and winning possible future commissions. Which Lord Crakehall will will happily arrange future commissions, too, by bringing nobles with problems together with adventurers who may be able to solve them—not for any fees he receives or other personal gain, but to make Cormyr better.
For what higher calling, reward, and satisfaction can a "true noble" have?
About the Author
Ed Greenwood is the man who unleashed the Forgotten Realms setting on an unsuspecting world. He works in libraries, and he writes fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and romance stories (sometimes all in the same novel), but he is happiest when churning out Realmslore, Realmslore, and more Realmslore. He still has a few rooms in his house in which he has space left to pile up papers.