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Panama Canal
Gatun Locks.on the Panama Canal. Source: Stan Shebs
The Panama Canal is a 51 mile (85 km) long man-made waterway for ships connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean that cuts across the Isthmus of Panamá from Colon on the north-side, through the man-made Gatun Lake, to Panama City on the south-side.
Closure of the Panama Canal would greatly increase transit times and costs adding over 8000 miles of travel. Vessels moving between the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic would require rerouting around the Straits of Magellan, Cape Horn and Drake Passage below the tip of South America.
The canal, a major artery of international shipping, uses a series of massive locks, manmade lakes, and water supplied by the copious tropical rainfall of the region to lift and lower transiting ships a height of 85 feet over the continental divide.
Source: DEMIS
Over 14,000 vessels transit the Canal annually, of which more than 60 percent (by tonnage) represent United States coast-to-coast trade, along with United States trade to and from the world that passed through the Panama Canal. The United States is the top country of origin and destination for all commodities transiting through the Panama Canal. While it is not a significant route for U.S. petroleum trade, the canal is an oil transit chokepoint.
The Canal is only 110 feet wide at its narrowest point called Culebra Cut on the Continental Divide.
Completed by the United States in 1914, full control of the canal was transfered to the nation of Panamá on December 31, 1999.
Source: NASA
Geography and Structure
The canal is build across the Isthmus of Panama (sometimes known as the Isthmus of Darien), a narrow strip of land connecting the continents of North and South America. The Isthmus was formed during the late Pliocene era, about 2.8 to 2.5 million years ago when the two continents converged. The Isthmus topology is shown below.
Scientists made this false-color image of Panama using data acquired in February 2000 by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), flying aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. High-quality satellite imagery of Central America is generally difficult to obtain due to persistent cloud cover in the region. The ability of SRTM to penetrate clouds and make three-dimensional measurements has allowed scientists to produce the first complete high-resolution topographic map of all of Central America. Two visualizations were combined to produce this image of Panama: shading and color coding of topographic height. By computing the topographic slope in the north-south direction, scientists were able to make the shading that gives it its three-dimensional appearance. The colors directly relate to height. Green shows the lowest elevations, just above sea level. Yellows and then tans show progressively higher elevations, with white being the highest. Source: NASA Earth Observatory
Because of the tectonic orgins of the Ithmus, it has a very complicated geology. Much of the land is a result of volcanic activity leading to the existance of several volcanic cores and faults in the canal zone. As seen in the topographic image above, low-lying mountains occur in the region and flank the canal route. Equally challenging to the canal builders were the thick rainforests and swamps the covered the area. A hot (average 80oF) and humid climate,with torrential rains (105 inches/year) made the area very susceptible to many pests and tropical diseases like malaria and yellow fever that killed many who worked on the canal
The Chagres River prior to the building of the canal. The black line shows the route of William Henry Aspinwall's railway across the Ithmus which opened in 1855 as an extension of a steam ship service between New York and San Francisco. The path of the Panama Canal was chosen to make maximum use of the geography of the Isthmus; using a route close to its narrowest point, and utilizing existing existing topology and water flows to the greatest extent possible.
The key watershed is that of the Chagres River which is shown in the map right from the nineteenth century which shows the path of the Chagres River before the modern canal was built.
The Chagres River enters the Carribean Sea (and Atlantic Ocean) west of Limon Bay where the modern canal enters. The city of Colon extends into Limin Bay east of the canal route and includes a major harbor.
The 1913, the Gatun Dam was completed which controlled the flow of the river and flooded its mid-reaches of the Chagres and the streams the fed the river.
Lake Gatun can be thought of as the flooded watershed of the Chagres and the most significant element of the canal on the north (Atlantic) side of the continental divide.
The canal route follows a southward route through Limon Bay and enters Lake Gatun immediately adjacent to Gatun Dam (see the second map.)
Because the height of Gatun Lake is 85 feet (28 metres) above sea level, a series of locks (the Gatun or Atlantic Locks) occurs at the entrace to the lake that allow the level of the ships to be raised. The water in Lake Gatun (from rain and inflows from tributary streams) provides the water necessary for the locks.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) notes that "the lock chambers -steps-- are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship)."
At Gamboa, the upper reaches of the Chagres River branches away from Lake Gatun and the canal. A second dam (Madden Dam) on the Chagres creates a second lake (Lake Alajuela) conrols flow from the upper watershed into the Gatun/Canal.
Above Gamboa, the canal continues through a excavated path (Gaillard or Culebra Cut) which is approximately 13.7 km long from Gamboa to the Pedro Miguel Locks. The cut crosses the Contintal Divide which reaches 312 feet (95 m) above sea level at this point.
South of the Contintal Divide the canal descends through a two sets of locks (the Pedro Miguel Locks and the Miraflores Locks, also known as the Pacific Locks) to the Gulf of Panama and Pacific Ocean at the west end of Panama City.
A small lake (Lake Milaflores) occurs between the Pedro Miguel Locks and the Miraflores Locks.
The fixed Bidge of the Americas crosses the canal near its entrance into the Gulf of Panama asnd carries the Trans American Highway.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Trade and Taffic
Source: Panama Canal Authority Annual Report 2012 In 2012 14,544 vessels transited through the Canal.
More than 60 percent (by tonnage) represent United States coast-to-coast trade, along with United States trade to and from the world that passed through the Panama Canal.
The United States is the top country of origin and destination for all commodities transiting through the Panama Canal. While it is not a significant route for U.S. petroleum trade, the canal is an oil transit chokepoint.
China is the second most important user of the
Panama Canal. The container ship
The Panama Canal is not a significant route for petroleum transit or for U. S. petroleum imports.
Roughly one-fifth of the traffic through the canal (measured by both transits and tonnage) was by tankers.
According to the Panama Canal Authority, 755,000 bbl/d of crude and petroleum products were transported through the canal in Fiscal Year 2011, of which 637,000 bbl/d were refined products, and the rest crude oil (EIA conversions from long tons to barrels). Nearly 80 percent of total petroleum, or 608,000 bbl/d, passed from north (Atlantic) to south (Pacific). PC/UMS (Panama Canal Universal Measurement System). is based on net tonnage, modified for Panama Canal purposes. PC/UMS is based on a mathematical formula to calculate a vessel's total volume; a PC/UMS net ton is equivalent to 100 cubic feet of capacity. Source: Panama Canal Authority Annual Report 2012
The relevance of the Panama Canal to the global oil trade has diminished, as many modern tankers are too large to travel through the canal. Some oil tankers, such as the ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carriers) class tankers, can be nearly five times larger than the maximum capacity of the canal. The largest vessel that can transit the Panama Canal is known as a PANAMAX-size vessel (ships ranging from 60,000 â 100,000 dead weight tons in size and no wider than 108 ft.)
In order to make the canal more accessible, the Panama Canal Authority began an expansion program to be completed by the end of 2014. However, while many larger tankers will be able to transit the canal after 2014, some ULCCs will still be unable to make the transit. The Panama Canal Authority features a description of the expansion program and progress reports.
The first idea for a canal is attributed to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500 - 1558) in 1520, seven years after the Spanish Conquistador Vasco Nuñez de Balboa (1475 - 1518) crossed the Isthmus of Panama from the Atlantic versant to reach the Pacific side.
In 1534, Charles ordered a study of a between the oceans using the Chagres River. The project seemed virtually impossible to carry out at the time.
Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, particularly following the California Gold Rush (1949). In 1850 the United States and Great Britain negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty to reign in rivalry over a proposed canal through the Central American Republic of Nicaragua. President Ulysses S. Grant supported studies by the U.S. Navy of three possible routes in 1869, including through Nicaragua, Panama and Mexico. An Interoceanic Canal Commission (1870-75) backed the route through Nicaragua. The Anglo-American canal, however, never went beyond the planning stages.
In the meantime, American William Henry Aspinwall (1807-1875) opened a railway across the Ithmus (see image above) in 1855 as an extension of a steam ship service between New York and San Francisco. While, it took a day to cross the ithmus, it reduced the travel time between the two cities dramatically.
The French Canal
French attempts to build a canal through Panama (then a province of Colombia) advanced further. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps—the builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt—the French negotiated a treaty with Colombia (the Wyse Concession, 1878) to build a canal, for which they began excavating in 1880.
De Lesseps backed a "sea level" plan between Colon and Panama City that would not require locks. Avoiding locks did require though a lot more excavating. Ironically, a plan by Baron Godin de Lépinay requiring, just like the completed canal, two dams and locks. One of the dams, on the Chagres, would have created a lake similar to Gatun Lake. Unfortunately for the French enterprise, de Lépinay's plan was rejected until, it was too late to be implemented successfully by them.
As the French project got underway, the dangers of disease immediately beccame apparent.Three months after the work got underway in earnest, the first death of yellow fever occurred. Disease and death was particularly damaging to the canal when it impact leading engineers on the project or their family members.
Plagued by poor planning, insufficient numbers of workers, disease and death, land slides, flash floods induced by rains, insufficient railway and road support, and financial woes, the project moved forward slowly.
The need to switch from a sea level canal to one with locks became increasingly clear. However, de Lesseps opposed a change until late 1887. The new plan, with ten locks was intended to be a temporary solution, with further excavations for a sea level canal carried out using floating dredges carried out after the canal openned. Finally, funding ran out. In May, 1889, after nine years and a loss of approximately 20,000 lives, all activity on the French Panama Canal stopped.
Through the 1890's, there were efforts to revive work on the French effort. Ultimately, the French project, and the work that had been completed to date, was sold to the United States.
Panamanian Independence and 1903 Treaty
Naval operations during the Spanish-American War (1898-1901) served to convince President Theodore Roosevelt that the United States needed to control a canal somewhere in the Western Hemisphere. This interest culminated in the Spooner Bill of June 29, 1902, providing for a canal through the isthmus of Panama, and the Hay-Herrán Treaty of January 22, 1903, under which Colombia gave consent to such a project in the form of a 100-year lease on an area ten kilometers wide. This treaty, however, was not ratified in Bogota, and the United States, determined to construct a canal across the isthmus, intensively encouraged the Panamanian separatist movement.
By July 1903, when the course of internal Colombian opposition to the Hay-Herrán Treaty became obvious, a revolutionary junta had been created in Panama. Jose Augustin Arango, an attorney for the Panama Railroad Company, headed the junta. Manuel Amador Guerrero and Carlos C. Arosemena served on the junta from the start, and five other members, all from prominent Panamanian families, were added. Arango was considered the brains of the revolution, and Amador was the junta's active leader.
Philippe Bunau-Varilla. Source: U.S. Department With financial assistance arranged by Philippe Bunau-Varilla, a French national representing the interests of de Lesseps's company, the native Panamanian leaders conspired to take advantage of United States interest in a new regime on the isthmus. In October and November 1903, the revolutionary junta, with the protection of United States naval forces, carried out a successful uprising against the Colombian government. Acting, paradoxically, under the Bidlack-Mallarino Treaty of 1846 between the United States and Colombia--which provided that United States forces could intervene in the event of disorder on the isthmus to guarantee Colombian sovereignty and open transit across the isthmus --the United States prevented a Colombian force from moving across the isthmus to Panama City to suppress the insurrection.
President Roosevelt recognized the new Panamanian junta as the de facto government on November 6, 1903; de jure recognition came on November 13. Five days later Bunau-Varilla, as the diplomatic representative of Panama (a role he had purchased through financial assistance to the rebels) concluded the Isthmian Canal Convention with Secretary of State John Hay in Washington. Bunau-Varilla had not lived in Panama for seventeen years before the incident, and he never returned. Nevertheless, while residing in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, he wrote the Panamanian declaration of independence and constitution and designed the Panamanian flag. Isthmian patriots particularly resented the haste with which BunauVarilla concluded the treaty, an effort partially designed to preclude any objections an arriving Panamanian delegation might raise. Nonetheless, the Panamanians, having no apparent alternative, ratified the treaty on December 2, and approval by the United States Senate came on February 23, 1904.
The rights granted to the United States in the so-called Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty were extensive. They included a grant "in perpetuity of the use, occupation, and control" of a sixteenkilometer -wide strip of territory and extensions of three nautical miles into the sea from each terminal "for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection" of an isthmian canal.
Furthermore, the United States was entitled to acquire additional areas of land or water necessary for canal operations and held the option of exercising eminent domain in Panama City. Within this territory Washington gained "all the rights, power, and authority . . . which the United States would possess and exercise if it were the sovereign . . . to the entire exclusion" of Panama.
The Republic of Panama became a de facto protectorate of the larger country through two provisions whereby the United States guaranteed the independence of Panama and received in return the right to intervene in Panama's domestic affairs. For the rights it obtained, the United States was to pay the sum of US$10 million and an annuity, beginning 9 years after ratification, of US$250,000 in gold coin. The United States also purchased the rights and properties of the French canal company for US$40 million.
Colombia was the harshest critic of United States policy at the time. A reconciliatory treaty with the United States providing an indemnity of US$25 million was finally concluded between these two countries in 1921. Ironically, however, friction resulting from the events of 1903 was greatest between the United States and Panama. Major disagreements arose concerning the rights granted to the United States by the treaty of 1903 and the Panamanian constitution of 1904. The United States government subsequently interpreted these rights to mean that the United States could exercise complete sovereignty over all matters in the Canal Zone. Panama, although admitting that the clauses were vague and obscure, later held that the original concession of authority related only to the construction, operation, and defense of the canal and that rights and privileges not necessary to these functions had never been relinquished.
Building the Canal
When the United States canal builders arrived in 1904 to begin their momentous task, Panama City and Colon were both small, squalid towns. A single railroad stretched between the towns, running alongside the muddy scars of the abortive French effort. The new builders were haunted by the ghosts of de Lesseps's failure and of the workers, some [22,000] of whom had died on the project. These new builders were able, however, to learn from de Lesseps's mistakes and to build on the foundations of the previous engineering. The most formidable task that the North Americans faced was that of ridding the area of deadly mosquitoes.
After a couple of false starts under a civilian commission, President Roosevelt turned the project over to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, guided by Colonel George Washington Goethals. Colonel William Crawford Gorgas was placed in charge of sanitation. In addition to the major killers--malaria and yellow fever--smallpox, typhoid, dysentery, and intestinal parasites threatened the newcomers.
Because the mosquito carrying yellow fever was found in urban areas, Gorgas concentrated his main efforts on the terminal cities. "Gorgas gangs" dug ditches to drain standing water and sprayed puddles with a film of oil. They screened and fumigated buildings, even invading churches to clean out the fonts of holy water. They installed a pure water supply and a modern system of sewage disposal. Goethals reportedly told Gorgas that every mosquito killed was costing the United States US$10. "I know, Colonel," Gorgas reportedly replied, "but what if one of those ten-dollar mosquitoes were to bite you?"
Gorgas's work is credited with saving at least 71,000 lives and some 40 million days of sickness. The cleaner, safer conditions enabled the canal diggers to attract a labor force. By 1913 approximately 65,000 men were on the payroll. Most were West Indians, although some 12,000 workers were recruited from southern Europe. Five thousand United States citizens filled the administrative, professional, and supervisory jobs. To provide these men with the comforts and amenities to which they were accustomed, a paternalistic community was organized in the Canal Zone.
"According to hospital records, 5,609 died of diseases and accidents during the U.S. construction period. Of these, 4,500 were West Indian workers. A total of 350 white Americans died." (ACP)
The most challenging tasks involved in the actual digging of the canal were cutting through the mountain ridge at Culebra; building a huge dam at Gatun to trap the Rio Chagres and form an artificial lake; and building three double sets of locks--Gatun Locks, Pedro Miguel Locks, and Miraflores Locks--to raise the ships to the lake, almost twenty-six meters above sea level, and then lower them. On August 15, 1914, the first ship made a complete passage through the canal.
"As of July 1, 1914, a total of 238,845,587 cubic yards of material had been excavated during the U.S. construction period. This volume, along with the 30,000,000 cubic yards excavated by the French, totals approximately 268,000,000 cubic yards, more than 4 times the volume originally estimated by Ferdinand de Lesseps for a sea level canal, and 3 times the volume excavated for the Suez Canal.
The disposal of all the excavated material was a very important aspect of the excavation. Nearly hundreds of millions of cubic yards of earth and rock were moved and spread. Part of the material was used to turn an island into a peninsula 3 ¼ miles out on the Pacific Ocean, creating the Naos Island breakwater. Another part of the material was used to create nearly 500 acres along the Pacific Ocean coast to create the town of Balboa and the U.S. military post of Fort Amador. Despite all this, millions of cubic yards of earth were disposed of in the jungle. The largest disposal sites were at Tavernilla, Gatun Dam, Miraflores, and Balboa.
On the afternoon of October 10, 1913, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson pushed a button in Washington, D.C., to blast a dike at Gamboa. The signal, sent by telegraph from Washington to New York, then to Galveston, and from there to Panama, was almost instantaneous. Culebra Cut had almost totally been flooded and became an extension of Gatun Lake." (ACP)
"The total construction cost of the Panama Canal was of approximately US$375,000,000, which included the US$10 million paid to Panama, and US$40 million paid to the French Canal Company for the rights to the Canal. Some authors mention a cost of US$387,000,000, but this amount includes the expense of fortifying the Canal, which is a cost separate from the actual Canal construction."
By the time the canal project was completed, its economic impact had created a new middle class. In addition, new forms of discrimination occurred. Panamanian society had become segregated not only by class but by race and national origin as well. Furthermore, United States commercial competition and political intervention had already begun to generate resentment among Panamanians.
U.S. Control of the Canal
In the very first year of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, dissension had already arisen over the sovereignty issue. Acting on an understanding of its rights, the United States had applied special regulations to maritime traffic at the ports of entry to the canal and had established its own customs, tariffs, and postal services in the zone. These measures were opposed by the Panamanian government.
Panama canal Zone, 1916
Mounting friction finally led Roosevelt to dispatch Secretary of War William Howard Taft to Panama in November 1904. His visit resulted in a compromise agreement, whereby the United States retained control of the ports of Ancon (adjacent to Panama City) and Cristóbal (adjacent to Colon), but their facilities might be used by any ships entering Panama City and Colon. The agreement also involved a reciprocal reduction of tariffs and the free passage of persons and goods from the Canal Zone into the republic. Compromises were reached in other areas, and both sides emerged with most of their grievances blunted if not wholly resolved.
The devaluation of the United States dollar in 1934 reduced its gold content to 59.6 percent of its former value. This meant that the US$250,000 payment was nearly cut in half in the new devalued dollars. As a result, the Panamanian government refused to accept the annuity paid in the new dollars.
Roosevelt's visit to the republic in the summer of 1934 prepared the way for opening negotiations on this and other matters. A Panamanian mission arrived in Washington in November, and discussions on a replacement for the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty continued through 1935. On March 2, 1936, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Assistant Secretary of State Sumner Welles joined the Panamanian negotiators in signing a new treaty--the Hull-Alfaro Treaty--and three related conventions. The conventions regulated radio communications and provided for the United States to construct a new trans-isthmian highway connecting Panama City and Colon.
The treaty provided a new context for relations between the two countries. It ended the protectorate by abrogating the 1903 treaty guarantee of the republic's independence and the concomitant right of intervention. Thereafter, the United States would substitute negotiation and purchase of land outside the zone for its former rights of expropriation. The dispute over the annuity was resolved by agreeing to fix it at 430,000 balboas (the balboa being equivalent to the devalued dollar) which increased the gold value of the original annuity by US$7,500. This was to be paid retroactively to 1934 when the republic had begun refusing the payments.
The Hull-Alfaro revisions, though hailed by both governments, radically altered the special rights of the United States in the isthmus, and the United States Senate was reluctant to accept the alterations.
Over the ensuing decades resentment among Panamanians over the presence of the United States grew, and was marked by periodic protests and occasional violence.When the National Assembly met in 1947 to consider ratification of a new agreement with the United States concerning bases outside the canal zone, a mob of 10,000 Panamanians armed with stones, machetes, and guns expressed opposition. The upheaval of 1947 was instigated in large measure by university students. Their clash with the National Police on that occasion, in which both students and policemen were killed, marked the beginning of a period of intense animosity between the two groups. The incident was also the first in which United States was met by a massive expression of Panamanian rage.
In May 1958 students demonstrating against the United States clashed with the National Guard. The violence of these riots, in which nine died, was a forecast of the far more serious difficulties that followed a year later. In November 1959 demonstrations occurred during the two Panamanian independence holidays. Aroused by the media, Panamanians began to threaten a "peaceful invasion" of the Canal Zone, to raise the flag of the republic there as tangible evidence of Panama's sovereignty. Fearful that Panamanian mobs might actually force entry into the Canal Zone, the United States called out its troops. Several hundred Panamanians crossed barbed wire restraints and clashed with Canal Zone police and troops. A second wave of Panamanian citizens was repulsed by the National Guard, supported by United States troops.
Public demonstrations and riots arising from popular resentment over the presence of United States citizens and institutions had not been uncommon, but the rioting that occurred in January 1964 was uncommonly serious. The incident began with a symbolic dispute over the flying of the Panamanian flag in the Canal Zone. On January 9, 1964, nearly 200 Panamanian students marched into the Canal Zone with their flag. A struggle ensued, and the Panamanian flag was torn. After that provocation, thousands of Panamanians stormed the border fence. The rioting lasted three days, and resulted in more than 20 deaths, serious injuries to several hundred persons, and more than US$2 million of property damage.
The Canal was one of the central issues in political campaigns with most Panamanian parties denouncing the United States. Political and electoral corruption was widespread, and intervention by the National Gaurd to remove presidents occured periodically.
In the 1970s, about five percent of world trade, by volume, some 20 to 30 ships daily, were passing through the canal. Tolls had been kept artificially low, averaging a little more than US$10,000 for the eight to ten hour passage, and thus entailing a United States government subsidy. Nevertheless, canal use was declining in the 1970s, because of alternate routes, vessels being too large to transit the canal, and the decline in world trade.
The canal, nevertheless, was clearly vital to Panama's economy. Some 30 percent of Panama's foreign trade passed through the canal. About 25 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings and 13 percent of its GNP were associated with canal activities. The level of traffic and the revenue thereby generated were key factors in the country's economic life.
1977 Treaties
Under the 1903 treaty, the governor of the Canal Zone was appointed by the president of the United States and reported to the secretary of war. The governor also served as president of the Canal Zone Company, and reported to a board of directors appointed by the secretary of war. United States jurisdiction in the zone was complete, and residence was restricted to United States government employees and their families. On the eve of the adoption of new treaties in 1977, residents of the Canal Zone included some 40,000 United States citizens, two-thirds of whom were military personnel and their dependents, and about 7500 Panamanians. The Canal Zone was, in effect, a United States military outpost with its attendant prosperous economy, which stood in contrast to the poverty on the other side of its fences.
By the 1960s military activities in the zone were under the direction of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The primary mission of SOUTHCOM was defending the canal. In addition, SOUTHCOM served as the nerve center for a wide range of military activities in Latin America, including communications, training Latin American military personnel, overseeing United States military assistance advisory groups, and conducting joint military exercises with Latin American armed forces.
Negotiations for a new set of treaties were resumed in June 1971, but little was accomplished until March 1973, when, at the urging of Panama, the UN Security Council called a special meeting in Panama City. A resolution calling on the United States to negotiate a "just and equitable" treaty was vetoed by the United States on the grounds that the disposition of the canal was a bilateral matter. Panama had succeeded, however, in dramatizing the issue and gaining international support.
President James E. ("Jimmy") Carter saw returning the Panama Canal as key to improving U.S. relations in the hemisphere and the developing world. Carter held that United States interests would be protected by possessing "an assured capacity or capability" to guarantee that the canal would remain open and neutral after Panama assumed control. This view contrasted with previous United States demands for an ongoing physical military presence and led to the negotiation of two separate treaties. This changed point of view, together with United States willingness to provide a considerable amount of bilateral development aid in addition to the revenues associated with Panama's participation in the operation of the canal, were central to the August 10, 1977 announcement that agreement had been reached on two new treaties. Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos shake hands after signing the Panama Canal Treaty. Source: Carter White House Photographs Collection
On September 7, 1977, Carter and Panamanian Leader General Omar Torrijos met in Washington to sign the treaties in a ceremony that also was attended by representatives of twenty-six other nations of the Western Hemisphere. The Panama Canal Treaty, the major document signed on September 7, abrogated the 1903 treaty and all other previous bilateral agreements concerning the canal.
The treaty was to enter into force six months after the exchange of instruments of ratification and to expire at noon on December 31, 1999. The Panama Canal Company and the Canal Zone government would cease to operate, and Panama would assume complete legal jurisdiction over the former Canal Zone immediately, although the United States would retain jurisdiction over its citizens during a thirty-month transition period. Panama would grant the United States rights to operate, maintain, and manage the canal through a new United States government agency, the Panama Canal Commission. The commission would be supervised by a board of five members from the United States and four from Panama; the ratio was fixed for the duration of the treaty. The commission would have a United States administrator and Panamanian deputy administrator until January 1, 1990, when the nationalities of these two positions would be reversed. Panamanian nationals would constitute a growing number of commission employees in preparation for their assumption of full responsibility in 2000. Another binational body, the Panama Canal Consultative Committee, was created to advise the respective governments on policy matters affecting the canal's operation.
Under the provisions of Article XII, the United States and Panama agreed to study jointly the feasibility of a sea-level canal and, if deemed necessary, to negotiate terms for its construction. Payments to Panama from the commission ("a just and equitable return on the national resources which it has dedicated to the . . . canal") were set forth in Article XIII. These included a fixed annuity of US$10 million, an annual contingency payment of up to US$10 million to be paid out of any commission profits, and US$0.30 per Panama Canal net ton of cargo that passed through the canal, paid out of canal tolls. The latter figure was to be periodically adjusted for inflation and was expected to net Panama between US$40 and US$70 million annually during the life of the treaty. In addition, Article III stipulated that Panama would receive a further US$10 million annually for services (police, fire protection, street cleaning, traffic management, and garbage collection) it would provide in the canal operating areas.
The second treaty, the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, or simply the Neutrality Treaty, was a much shorter document. Because it had no fixed termination date, this treaty was the major source of controversy. Under its provisions, the United States and Panama agreed to guarantee the canal's neutrality "in order that both in time of peace and in time of war it shall remain secure and open to peaceful transit by the vessels of all nations on terms of entire equality." In times of war, however, United States and Panamanian warships were entitled to "expeditious" transit of the canal under the provisions of Article VI. A protocol was attached to the Neutrality Treaty, and all nations of the world were invited to subscribe to its provisions.
At the same ceremony in Washington, representatives of the United States and Panama signed a series of fourteen executive agreements associated with the treaties.
Although U.S. opponents of the Treaty returning the Canal to Panama by 2000 criticized Carter's efforts on the basis of "We Built it, We Paid for it, It's Ours," the Treaties narrowly passed the Senate in April 1978, with various amendments, conditions, understandings, and reservations. Panama and the United States exchanged instruments of ratification for the two treaties on June 16, 1978, and the two treaties entered into force on October 1, 1979.
Some treaty critics have argued that Panama did not accept the amendments, conditions, reservations, and understandings of the U.S. Senate, including the DeConcini condition to the Neutrality Treaty. That condition states: "if the Canal is closed, or its operations are interfered with, the United States of America and the Republic of Panama shall each independently have the right to take such steps as each deems necessary, in accordance with its constitutional processes, including the use of military force in the Republic of Panama, to reopen the Canal or restore the operations of the Canal, as the case may be." However, others argued that Panama, in fact, had accepted all U.S. Senate amendments. The State Department asserted that Panama expressly accepted all amendments, conditions, and understandings to the two treaties, including the DeConcini condition. The United States and Panama signed the instruments of ratification for both treaties, which incorporated all the Senate provisions. The two countries cooperated throughout the years on matters related to the Canal and established five binational bodies to handle these issues. Two of the bodies were set up to address defense affairs and conducted at least 16 joint military exercises between 1979 and 1985 involving Panamanian and U.S. forces.
Transition to Panamanian Control
The U.S. intervened militarily in Panama on December 20, 1989 to remove General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power after he annulled elections won by Guillermo Endara. Since that time, the country has had five successive civilian governments.
Over the years, U.S. officials consistently affirmed a commitment to follow through with the Panama Canal Treaty and turn the Canal over to Panama at the end of 1999. That transition occurred smoothly on December 31, 1999. The Panama Canal Treaty terminated on that date, and the Panama Canal Commission (PCC), the U.S. agency operating the Canal, was succeeded by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), a Panamanian government agency established in 1997.
Pacific Side Entrance of the Panama Canal. In the foreground part of Panama city is visible together with the Bridge of the Americas. In the background (right) Miraflores Locks are also visible. Source: Camilo Molina
Canal Expansion
Since the ACP has run the Canal beginning in 2000, it has been lauded for increasing Canal safety and efficiency. In September 2012, Jorge Luis Quijano was appointed by the ACP's Board of Directors to become the new Canal Administrator for a seven-year term, succeeding Alberto Alemán Zubieta who had served as Administrator since 1996. Quijano, an engineer, has worked at the Canal since 1975, and led the Canal expansion project beginning in 2006.
In April 2006, the Panama Canal Authority presented to then-President Torrijos its recommendation to build a third channel and new set of locks (one on the Atlantic and one on the Pacific) that would double the capacity of the Canal and allow it to accommodate giant container cargo ships known as post-Panamax ships. The project would also widen and deepen existing channels and elevate Gatun Lake's maximum operating level. The estimated cost of the seven year project is $5.25 billion, to be self-financed by the ACP through graduated toll increases and external bridge financing of about $2.3 billion that would be paid off in about 10 years.
According to the ACP, the overall objectives of the expansion project are to:
- Achieve long-term sustainability and growth for the Canal's financial contributions to the Panamanian national treasury;
- Maintain the Canal's competitiveness;
- Increase the Canal's capacity to capture the growing world tonnage demand; and
- Make the Canal more productive, safe, and efficient.
Pursuant to Panama's Constitution (Article 319), the project had to be submitted to a national referendum. The Torrijos government chose to hold the referendum on October 22, 2006, close to the anniversary of October 23, 1977, the date when Panamanians approved the two Panama Canal treaties in a national plebiscite by a two-to-one margin. The expansion project was approved by 78% of the vote, although there was some vocal opposition.
The Panamanian government officially launched the expansion project on September 3, 2007. While the project originally was expected to be completed by 2014, some delays reportedly have pushed the completion to April 2015.
The Canal expansion is expected to reduce shipping rates between Asia and the U.S. Gulf and East coasts, resulting in significant savings and will likely increase Latin American trade with Asia as well as intra-Latin American trade. Many U.S. ports are already readying themselves in order to take advantage of the trade expansion. Some analysts maintain that the Canal expansion, which reportedly will allow 90% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to pass through the Canal, will be a boon for the U.S. natural gas industry.66 Others anticipate that the expansion will make U.S. Midwest grain exports more competitive in Asia.
View of the southern (Pacific) end of the Panama Canal and Bridge of the Americas. Source: Brian Gatwicke
February 5, 1999. Source: NASA GSFC Landsat/LDCM EPO Team Thick rainforests border the canal, and the protected Canal Zone is easily delineated by the dark green band of forest, which contrast the lighter green cultivated areas of Panama.
The ecologically sensitive Canal Zone supports diverse lowland rainforest that is crucial for water balance and erosion/siltation control around the canal. Scientists monitor the edges of the Canal Zone rainforest for degradation from development.
Development of wider channels as part of the Panamax project is causing considerable environmental damage to shorelines and islands in Gatun Lake, including habitat destruction and siltation.
White-face Capuchin in the wild, island in Gatun Lake. @ C. Michael Hogan The canal falls within the Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests ecoregion which covers southern Nicaragua, northern Costa Rica, and a considerable area in Panama.
This forest ecoregion evolved from unique combinations of North American and South American flora and fauna, which came together with the joining of these continents three million years ago. Currently, much of this ecoregion has been converted to subsistence and commercial agriculture. Islands in the Gatun Lake offer particular biodiversity.
Sources and Further Reading
Geography and Structure
- Panama Canal Authority, The Land at Panama (accessed May 24, 2013)
- NASA Earth Observatory, 2003, Panama: Isthmus that Changed the World
- NASA Earth Observatory, 2003, Panama Canal
- Wikipedia, Panama Canal, (accessed May 24, 2013)
Trade and Taffic
- Energy Information Administration, 2012, World Oil Transit Chokepoints
- Panama Canal Authority, Annual Report 2012 (accessed May 28, 2013)
- Panama Canal Authority, History of the Panama Canal (accessed May 24, 2013)
- Meditz, S.W. and Hanratty, D.M., editors. Panama: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1987.
- Sullivan, M.P., 2012, Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations, Congressional Research Service
U.S. Department of State, Building the Panama Canal
- Brodhead, Michael J. 2012. "The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It." US Army Corps of Engineers History Office, Alexandria, VA
- Cullen, Ben. (2010). The Panama Canal and Me: A Panamax Special. ISBN 978-0-8212-7754-6
- Greene, Julie, The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal (New York: Penguin Press, 2009)
- Hoffman, Jon T.; Brodhead, Micheal J; Byerly, Carol R.; Williams, Glenn F. (2009). The Panama Canal: An Army's Enterprise. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. 70–115–1.
- Jorden, William J. (1984). Panama Odyssey. 746 pages, illustrated. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-76469-3
- Maurer, Noel, and Carlos Yu. The Big Ditch: How America Took, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal (Princeton University Press, 2010); 420 pp. ISBN 978-0-691-14738-3.
- McCullough, David. (1977). The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22563-4
- Mellander, Gustavo A.(1971) The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years. Daville,Ill.:Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568.
- Mellander, Gustavo A.; Nelly Maldonado Mellander (1999). Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390.
- Mills, J. Saxon. (1913). The Panama Canal—A history and description of the enterprise A Project Gutenberg free ebook.
- Parker, Matthew. (2007). Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time—The Building of the Panama Canal. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-51534-4
- NASA Earth Observatory, 2003, Panama Canal
- World Wildlife Fund, Wildfinder


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Interested in growing your own food? These resources can get you started.
• Local gardening classes
• How to garden naturally
• Community gardens and sharing garden spaces
• Keeping backyard bees
You can also attend the next Seedy Saturday on May 31 at Kensington Library where you can get seeds, attend a workshop, and meet like-minded gardeners in your neighbourhood. Learn how to make your garden water wise by hosting a Garden Party. An expert garden consultant will provide you with personalized advice in a free 1.5 hour workshop right in your yard for you and five or more of your friends. Email to sign up. Canning with Fruit
June 4 Learn how to preserve whole fruits at home at the Renfrew Community Centre
Earth Day & the Meatless Monday Connection
35 Countries, One Global Pledge: Go Plant-powered for the Planet
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 is Earth Day, an annual event (44 years strong) to honor the sanctity of the little blue planet we call home. If you're wondering what you can do to participate, there's an easy (and delicious!), way you can do something good for the environment this week, and every week of the year: join the Meatless Monday movement! You won't be alone. This spring a global teleconference was held with representatives from over 30 countries all chiming in about their Meatless Monday campaign. On six continents, in 35 countries and 23 languages people all over the world have taken the pledge to go meatless on Monday – it's incredible! Regardless of where you live, if it's called Lundi Sans Viande (Quebec) or Veggie Mondays (Japan), going meatless on Monday is a small, simple step that can have a huge impact. You really can save the earth - one bite at a time!
With Earth Day upon us, please keep in mind that by moving towards a whole food plant-based diet we can have an incredible impact on the environment by choosing foods free from animal products. According to the United Nations and the Environmental Protection Agency:
· It requires an average of 6kg of plant protein to produce 1kg of animal protein.
· It takes 100 times more water to produce 1kg of animal protein than it does 1kg of plant protein.
· Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% - 25% of global warming emissions worldwide.
· Cattle ranches and feed production account for over 70% of deforestation in the Amazon.
· The livestock sector is quite probably the largest source of water pollution worldwide.
· A single dairy cow produces approximately 120 pounds of manure per day, which is equivalent to that of 20 to 40 humans.
· On average 990 litres of water are required to produce one litre of milk.
Meatless Monday Canada is a local chapter of global initiative, led by Earthsave Canada and several other groups interested in helping Canadians make one day a week meat-free day. The MeatlessMonday.ca site is maintained by Earthsave Canada and a handful of passionate volunteers, who want to make a difference by helping folks make the transition to a more sustainable and healthy diet. The City of Vancouver proclaimed Monday June 10th, 2013 as the city's first official Meatless Monday. Vancouver is the first Canadian city to do so. A presentation to The Vancouver Food Policy Council by local author and Earthsave member Eleanor Boyle outlined scientific research showing the environmental problems of large-scale meat production and consumption.
Check out the Earthsave Canada campaign for tools and resources: http://www.MeatlessMonday.ca
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeatlessMondayCanada
Other Canadian initiatives include:
Lundi Sans Viande: http://www.lundisansviande.net/ Canada's French-language partner in Quebec
Meatless Mondays: http://meatlessmondays.ca hosted by the Toronto Vegetarian Association
For more information about the countries participating in the incredible growing global movement that is Meatless Monday, go to http://www.meatlessmonday.com/the-global-movement/
Several Canadian universities and schools have proclaimed Meatless Monday, e.g. McGill and Queen's Universities. We are currently working on compiling a honour list of participating schools (looking for volunteers to help with that). http://meatlessmonday.ca/schools/
At Earthsave Canada we are currently working on a special addition to our education literature by creating a Canadian-made plant-based food guide and presentation to take into schools and workplaces.
The Healthy People Happy Planet Food Guide is a Canadian-made veg starter kit booklet and colourful plant-based food guide, with corresponding power point presentation and interactive web site.
These days most Canadians receive the bulk of their nutritional information from advertisers. Industry is driving Canada's food guide recommendations and the planet, our health, and the animals are suffering for it. We need to take the focus away from processed animal products to whole food, plant-based options. Education is the key to a healthy and sustainable future.
Find out more about the Healthy People Happy Planet project here: http://earthsave.ca/healthypeoplehappyplanet
So glad you asked! Earthsave Canada will launch a crowd-funding campaign this Earth Day to help fund this much needed initiative. Help us spread the word! (link to go live on April 22, 2014): https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/earthsave-canada-plant-based-food-guide-school-presentation
GIVE today!
You can donate to our programs at any time through CanadaHelps:
or directly through our web site: http://earthsave.ca/donate
EARTHSAVE CANADA is a Vancouver-based registered charity since 1992. We advocate the move towards a more whole food, plant-based diet for better health, environmental sustainability, and compassion toward animals. We also believe communities are stronger when they set a table that people from all cultures and beliefs can enjoy. By providing educational tools and helpful resources we strive to make a difference – with your help. YOU are Earthsave. http://www.earthsave.ca
NOTE: While sharing many of the same values, Earthsave Canada is completely independent of other international and US Earthsave initiatives.
Some Earthsave Canada Initiatives
Educational Brochures: 'How to get your Protein from a Plant-based Diet' & 'How to get your Calcium from a Plant-based Diet' Two of our most popular brochures provide compelling answers to common questions.
Our latest brochure - ready in time for Earth Day 2014:
THE POWER OF A PLANT-BASED DIET: Sustainable, Healthy, Kind. Already a popular request by schools and various Earth Day events, we look forward to distributing this handy, colourful resource to students all over the country.
Brochures, posters, social media images for sharing and more at: http://www.earthsave.ca/brochures
Media Outreach: We regularly publish articles on diet and how it relates to sustainability and better health, and have been reprinted in various publications as well as interviewed by local and national media, the BBC and others. Sharing information, supporting local businesses, contacting the media and government with informed feedback on current issues, connecting and building healthy communities - all part of what we do to make a difference in a world of indifference. http://earthsave.ca/articles
Plant-powered Speakers Series: Our very popular Plant-powered Speaker Series including experts such as Neal Barnard of the PCRM, watch for a very special guest in July 2014. http://www.earthsave.ca/events
MeatlessMonday.ca : Pledge to go meatless 1 day a week and join this growing global movement. Want to get your workplace or school involved? We will support you with menu ideas, posters and more. www.meatlessmonday.ca.
VANCOUVER: Remember the Green Zebra Coupon Guide?
Now LIFE: Vancouver is available online and saves you $1,000s on great food, outdoor fun and conscious shopping.
You pay only $29 (plus shipping) and 50% of your purchase supports Earthsave Canada! BUY now! https://my.life.is/earthsavecanada/
$1.99 flat rate for shipping, no matter how many copies you buy!
This coupon book will easily pay or itself and coupons inside are valid until DEC 31 2014! PLUS you give to EARTHSAVE CANADA with every purchase using our direct link. https://my.life.is/earthsavecanada/
Just a sample of some of the deals:
$20 off at DONALDS MARKETS
10% off groceries at URBAN FARE, CHOICES, NESTORS, FAMOUS FOODS FREE hummus at NUBA
FREE appetizer at GRAZE
FREE vegan Kung Po at WILD RICE
50% off at THE REEF
2 for 1 smoothies and more at GORILLA FOODS
$5/$10 off REBELLIOUS TOMATO
$8-$18 off at MEINHARDT
2 for 1 workshops at FEED LIFE
FREE juice at ETERNAL ABUNDANCE, SEJUICED
FREE chocolate truffles at THE PARKER
20% off food bill at LIBRARY SQUARE, THREE BRITS,
25% off at TERA V BURGER
More deals at SWEET CHERIBUM, GREENS, GOLDEN AURA, plus deals on theatre, gardens and galleries…and so much more.
BUY now! 50% of your $29 goes to Earthsave Canada when you use this link: https://my.life.is/earthsavecanada/
$1.99 flat rate for shipping, no matter how many copies you buy!Makes a great GIFT!!
Would love to see you folks looking good in our directory (remember it's FREE to be in!). WE ARE UPDATING THE PRINT VERSION THIS MONTH SO DON'T DELAY! Help ensure this resource remains the most up to date directory of its kind.
As you may have heard, the City of Vancouver proclaimed Monday June 10th, 2013 as the city's first official Meatless Monday. Vancouver is the first Canadian city to do so.
A presentation to The Vancouver Food Policy Council by local author and Earthsave member Eleanor Boyle outlined scientific research showing the environmental problems of large-scale meat production and consumption. It was then discussed how the city could support the international movement for more sustainable diets, and decided to recommend that Vancouver adopt the educational initiative Meatless Monday.
The city of Vancouver claims to be dedicated to developing food systems that are sustainable and that support community well-being; and is committed to its Greenest City Action Plan encouraging citizens to make choices that will add to environmental health. From a policy perspective, the Vancouver Food Strategy and Vancouver Food Charter have advocated for food systems that protect global resources and contribute to planetary health. Policy initiatives and educational programs such as Meatless Monday have educated global citizens to moderate their intake of animal-source foods.
This is an easy but powerful step we can all take to create a positive impact on the environment, our health, and the lives of animals. It's voluntary and only one day a week, so why not give it a try? Besides - there is so much great veggie food in this town to explore…
Earthsave Canada's Metro Vancouver Veg Directory – that's who! It has never been a better time to veg out in Vancouver – but everyone could use a little help finding just the right place to celebrate. Earthsave is here to help with our handy guide and free apps. The print version was updated this April (3 x per year), while the online version and apps are being updated on a regular basis. Currently covering all of Metro Vancouver and much of Vancouver Island, we are expanding to cover all of BC soon – with your help. Please send us your updates and additions firstname.lastname@example.com
The Metro Vancouver Veg Directory is the city's most up-to-date listing of vegan, vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurants, retailers, services and more. Earthsave Canada distributes a printed version to hundreds of businesses, as well as offering a more in-depth searchable online version - PLUS! FREE apps for iPhone and Android phones. A handy resource for Meatless Mondays, visiting relatives and friends, date night, or for anyone looking to enjoy the many benefits of a plant-based meal. Member Discount Program (MDP) As a member of Earthsave Canada you receive a 10% discount at over 50 veg-friendly businesses in the Metro Vancouver area, and online. These businesses have chosen to take part in the Member Discount Program as a way to thank you for your business and support of Earthsave. (Must show member card, some restrictions apply.)
Online and searchable here: http://www.earthsave.ca/vegdirectory
iPhone app: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/earthsave/id549375308?mt=8
Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobincube.android.sc_IH5ED
Looking for the very latest? Updates to share?
Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vegdirectory
Like in Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/earthsavevegdirectory
High rez image: http://www.earthsave.ca/Resources/Documents/ESC-VegDirectory-2013-Spring-high.jpg
EARTHSAVE CANADA is a Vancouver-based registered charity since 1990. We advocate the move towards a more whole food, plant-based diet for better health, environmental sustainability, and compassion toward animals. We also believe communities are stronger when they set a table that people from all cultures and beliefs can enjoy. http://www.earthsave.ca.
Earthsave Canada founded Meatless Monday Canada where you can find tools and resources to help you cut down on animal products and increase your positive impact on the planet. http://www.meatlessmonday.ca
Contacts for interviews: Trish Kelly, co-chair, Vancouver Food Policy Council: firstname.lastname@example.com; 604.879.1386;
Carolyn Mill, Executive Director, Earthsave Canada: email@example.com 604-731-5885
Dave Steele, President, Earthsave Canada: firstname.lastname@example.com. 604-454-1919
Eleanor Boyle, Author: High Steaks: Why and How to Eat Less Meat: firstname.lastname@example.com; 604 – 230-2561;
More on the city's proclamation here: https://www.facebook.com/events/266505080159862/
Please share and include in your posts regarding this healthy, sustainable and compassionate initiative.
a film by Liz Marshall. Featuring photographer Jo-Anne McArthur And "Give Up The Ghost" by RADIOHEAD (Rated PG / Y for Youth)
Screening at DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Vancouver
Thursday May 9th, 2013 at 6:00PM at the Vancity Theatre
Friday May 10th, 2013 at 12:30PM at the Vancity Theatre – Youth Program
TICKETS: http://www.doxafestival.ca/festival/films/ghosts
"Instead of bombarding the audience with images of animal abuse, Marshall structures the film around McArthur's journey, which adds a human centre and allows for necessary moments of reprieve from the horror. For instance, McArthur speaks openly about her PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which she counters by visiting an animal sanctuary. In these moments Marshall seeks to reveal "the beauty and the hope and the change" in a topic that is not often thought of in these terms. As such, Marshall hopes viewers will "walk away in a reflective state of mind, as opposed to arriving at a conclusion immediately." Kiva Reardon, film critic
Check out their interactive experience here: http://www.theghostsinourmachine.com/
EARTHSAVE CANADA ~ Save the earth one bite at a time
Earthsave Canada is a Vancouver-based charity, helping people choose foods that benefit our health, the environment, and the lives of animals.
MAILING ADDRESS: Earthsave Canada PO Box 2213 STN Terminal Vancouver, BC V6B 3W2 | firstname.lastname@example.com | 604-731-5885
Charitable # 12995 4707 RR0001

subset: commoncrawl


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Flags are flying at half-staff in Maine as the nation remembers President John F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his death.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ Gov. Paul LePage directed that U.S. and Maine flags be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, following a proclamation issued by President Barack Obama for the honor to Kennedy.
Kennedy, a native of Massachusetts, was assassinated during a visit to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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BUFFALO, N.Y.-- Cyber Monday has arrived and right now, as you're reading this, the deals are dropping.
Today I've teamed up with long-time Ways 2 Save friend CheapCheapCheap (www.cheapcheapcheap.com), run by longtime deal hunting genius Albert Ko, so make sure to keep CheapCheapCheap bookmarked today to keep track of all the big deals.
CLICK HERE for a complete list of every store hosting a big Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2012 sale right now and enjoy these savings.
Top Overall Deals Today
Omaha Steaks:
64% off Cyber Monday Super Saver Steak Lovers Deal + free shipping
Was: $167
Now: $59.99
Best deal we've seen all year to date: Includes 2 bacon-wrapped filets (6 oz.), 2 top sirloin steaks (6 oz.), 4 steak burgers (4 oz.), chicken breast (1 lb.), 4 chocolate molten lava cakes and steakhouse fries (16 oz.)
62% off Cyber Monday Filet Mignon Package + free shipping
Was: $132.00
Now: $49.99
• Includes: 2 filet mignon (5 oz.), 2 stuffed sole with crab, 6 Omaha steak burgers (4 oz.), 8 potatoes au gratin and 4 N.Y. cheesecakes
Store with the biggest electronics reductions: JustDeals.com
Want more deals? Want to get the most deals? I'd do the following:
1) CLICK HERE for live blogging from CheapCheapCheap of all the big deals around the clock.
2) CLICK HERE for additional hand-picked deals from the Ways 2 Save Deal Angels.


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CW Merchandise
Fight TV
Next Event
Available on the Sky and Virgin platforms, Premier Sports broadcasts across the UK.
CW Ring Girls
CWFC 75: Results and Review
This past Friday saw Cage Warriors return with an 8 bout pro card which took place at the Camden Centre in London and was shown live around the world on TV and online via UFC Fight Pass.
Cage Warriors 75: Weigh-in results
Both Jack Hermansson and Alan Carlos made weight ahead of their middleweight title clash later tonight at CWFC 75
Jack Hermansson to defend middleweight title in main event at CWFC 75
Reigning Middleweight Champion Jack "The Joker" Hermansson will put his title on the line against the Swedish based Brazilian, Alan "The Brazilian Viking" Carlos in the main event of CWFC 75
CWFC 75 opening bouts confirmed
CWFC Officials have released the opening bouts for their eagerly anticipated April 15th event which will take place at the Camden Centre, London.
The Camden Centre, London to host first Cage Warriors event of 2016 On April 15th
The CWFC is pleased to announce its eagerly anticipated return on April 15th at the Camden Centre in London's famous Kings Cross area. The show will be broadcast live around the world at 9pm UK time.
CWFC set for Friday Night Fights in London on April 15th
The CWFC will have their opening event of 2016 on Friday, April 15th in London. More details to follow


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Calendar of Events
FILM: Sweatin' to the Oldies
Mon, Aug 11, 2014
6:00pm - 8:30pm
Adult Programs
Nothing cools you off more during the sweltering summer months than watching people even sweatier than you are. With this in mind, the Grandview Library presents four perspiration-charged masterpieces sure to make you reach for the nearest pitcher of ice water.
Mondays in August at 6 pm:
- 8/4: Duel in the Sun (1946)
Overbaked Western melodrama with Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones in passionate love/hate relationship.
- 8/11: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
One of Humphrey Bogart's best and most intense performances in John Huston's sweltering morality tale.
- 8/18: Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Paul Newman plays Luke and George Kennedy won an Oscar in this sweaty flick where the only thing cool is the title.
- 8/25: For a Few Dollars More (1965)
The second of Sergio Leone's heated Spaghetti Westerns with Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name. For mature audiences only.
All movies are shown in large-screen digital projection.
- What They Were Watching in 1924 (Monday, October 13)
- They Were Born in 1924 (Mondays, October 20-November 17)


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The annual WRIA 8 Salmon SEEson program is underway, coordinating and promoting opportunities for the public to view salmon this fall as they return to local streams to spawn. Through this program, several local governments, community groups, and non-profit organizations host salmon viewing sites throughout the watershed.
We're continuing our partnership with the Saving Water Partnership, and new this year we've added more videos of the viewing locations to the website, and partnered with Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park to include a viewing site in the state park and with the Duwamish Alive Coalition to include two new viewing sites on the Duwamish River in the Green/Duwamish Watershed (WRIA 9).
For more information about viewing site locations, best times to see fish, and a map of viewing sites, see the attached Salmon SEEson poster and flyer and visit the Salmon SEEson website.
Want to Become a Salmon Watcher Volunteer for our Area?
Our dedicated volunteers watch for fish on their assigned creeks two times a week from September through December. The information they collect helps us know where salmon are spawning in our streams, and sometimes where barriers exist to salmon migration. Volunteers act as our "eyes and ears" in the watersheds and give us a heads up when things go awry in our neighborhood creeks.
Find out more about the program, including how to identify salmon in your neighborhood and training schedules, by exploring the King County Salmon Watchers site.
Cooking? Why not recycle that used cooking oil?
Used cooking oil can clog the sewage system over time. Now you have an opportunity to recycle and convert it to biodiesel, a sustainable and low carbon fuel.
The City offers a free self-service program, open 24 hours a day, all year round. The cooking oil collection tank is located at the northern edge of the parking lot between the City's Senior Center and campus parking garage at: 8703 160th Ave. NE.
To ensure safe and secure transport and disposal, put fats and grease in addition to the cooled oil from fryers, pots or pans in a sealed container such as a plastic milk jug. At the disposal tank, slowly pour the cooking oil into the collection container to avoid splatters. Be sure to close the tank's lid when finished. Take your own containers back home for reuse or disposal and leave nothing behind but the cooking oil you deposited.
This collection site is for cooking oil only. NO motor oil or any other petroleum products. Thank you!
Redmond Businesses Recognized for Recycling
Congratulations to Redmond businesses that have taken the Recycling Pledge for 2015: 2015 Redmond Recycle Pledge
For more information about King County businesses that are recognized as a Best Workplace for Waste Prevention and Recycling, visit King County Recycling Best Workplaces.
Want more information on native plants?
Visit these great sites:
King County Go Native
Washington Native Plant Society
Changes to Recycling at King County Transfer Station
Beginning February 8, 2013, King County is resuming the collection of standard curbside recyclables at its Houghton Transfer Station. The following recyclable materials are accepted for free: glass bottles and jars, tin and aluminum cans, plastic bottles, mixed paper, newspaper, and cardboard.
Houghton Transfer Station is located at 11724 NE 60th Street, Kirkland. The station is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:30pm, and 8:30am to 5:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. In Redmond, residents can recycle the same above mentioned materials through a citywide program with curbside recycling carts. Extra material that does not fit in your cart can be placed curbside in clearly marked containers, also at no extra cost. For more information about curbside recycling in Redmond visit Waste Management/Redmond.
King County Solid Waste Fee Increase
Effective January 1, 2012, the King County Solid Waste disposal fee will increase. The fee increase will cover rising operating costs and help pay for modernizing the 1960s-era network of transfer stations operated by the King County Solid Waste Division. The average residential customer who puts out one container of garbage per week for curbside collection is likely to see an increase of about 82 cents per month in the garbage bill from their hauler.
For more information visit King County Solid Waste Facilities.
Say 'No' to Junk Mail & Phonebooks! New Online Service
The King County EcoConsumer program has joined forces with non-profit Catalog Choice to provide a convenient website where residents can opt out of thousands of different catalogs, coupons, credit offers, circulars, newsletters, other junk mailings and unwanted phone books. In addition to making mail and phone book opt-outs easier, this partnership will allow King County to make solid estimates about the amount of paper waste being diverted from its regional landfill.
Using ZIP codes, Catalog Choice will provide to the County data on the amount of mail being reduced and the number of County residents participating. Visit the new website Catalog Choice.
Green Redmond Partnership
Volunteer with the Green Redmond Partnership at one of the City's parks or become a Forest Steward. There are dates at different locations throughout the year.
Sign up for an exciting volunteer opportunity including Salmon Watching, Storm Drain Marking, and much more!


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About half of Maine's 490 municipalities are sitting down right now to hammer out budgets in time for their traditional March town meetings. But a proposal put forth by Gov. Paul LePage to balance the state budget is likely to affect all Maine communities. Under the two-year plan, town budgets across the state would absorb more than $400 million in cuts. As Jennifer Mitchell reports, that has some towns seeing red.
As Dana Reed sees it, the math that lays out the state's obligations to local governments is simple: "Municipalities are supposed to receive five percent of all the income tax and sales tax revenue the state receives," he says. "And that's supposed to come off the top before there's transfer of the money to the general fund."
Reed is town manager for Bar Harbor, a town that doesn't receive much revenue from revenue sharing. But Reed says it has never disappeared completely. And now his office could face a hole of $200,000.
In nearby Winter Harbor, a much smaller town of just 500 people, town manager Cathy Carruthers says the village would lose about $11,000 in revenue sharing. "So they're smaller numbers than, like, big cities and stuff, but those numbers affect the small towns quite a bit," she says.
Winter Harbor, says Carruthers, would also be hit by a proposed change in how vehicle excise tax is collected. Under the LePage budget, taxes on some truck trailers would go to the state, creating a loss of $17,000. And there are proposed changes to education funding, and some expanded industrial equipment tax exemptions that will mean less tax money into town coffers.
"You package all those together and it's quite a blow to all municipalities in the state," says Geoff Hermon of the Maine Municipal Association. Hermon describes the proposed budget as a "shock to the municipal system." But more than that, he says local taxpayers would also be directly hurt.
The governor's plan calls for an end to the Homestead Tax Relief program for people under 65. It lowers all property tax valuations by a certain amount. Also at an end for most would be the Circuit Breaker Program, which provided a housing refund for low income Mainers. And then there's the elimination of the revenue sharing, which enabled towns to keep mill rates lower.
"Those three programs taken together are designed to take the regressive bite out of the property tax, and those three programs in this proposal are either being eliminated or very significantly reduced," Hermon says. "In my mind, in a very distinct way, this package of proposals is sending us back to the tax policies that were in place in the 1960s in this state."
Other effects would be felt by so-called "service center" communities, as they would lose significant amounts of general assistance reimbursement for state-mandated welfare programs, such as rent vouchers and emergency heating funds. Large cities, including Lewiston, Portland and Bangor, which historically receive a large reimbursement, would receive only about 50 percent under the governor's plan.
John T. Butler Jr., who sits on the Lewiston City Council, says the effects would be felt by the most vulnerable. "We have people that will not be able to afford their homes, and we have people that will have to make some choices between food, medicine, fuel," Butler says.
Lewiston is facing a possible loss of $5 million to $6 million total in state funsd. It's a similar story in Portland, where the city would have to account for $10 million in lost revenue, including $3 million of lost general assistance reimbursement.
City spokesperson Nicole Clegg says towns don't have a lot of options. "The only option we have available to us is property tax," she says.
Or they could cut services. In Fort Kent, a small community in northern Maine, town manager Donald Guimont says it's highly unlikely that townspeople would accept a tax hike to fill their $600,000 budget gap.
"We have a fairly conservative community - fiscally conservative community, and there's no way that entire amount would be passed on to the tax payers," Guimont says. "So it would have to be a combination of reductions with various departments, and what have you."
That could mean cuts to police, fire, road plowing and recreation. It's too soon to say just what services and positions would need to be cut. In fact, it's too soon to say what parts of the governor's plan will survive the scrutiny of the Legislature, which is now controlled by Democrats.
The city of Portland is taking its opposition to the State House, and the city of Lewiston passed a resolution this week opposing the governor's budget plan.
Mathew Pineo, town manager of Brownville, population 1,200, says that he's not even going to release the potential impacts to the town, lest it cause a panic among tax payers; rather, he says he will keep talking to the Legislature to assure that significant changes are made.


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Boca Raton Museum of Art501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, FL 33432 In Mizner ParkT: 561.392.2500 F: 561.391.6410Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Hours:Tues, Wed & FriThursSaturday & SundayMondays & holidays
Admission:MembersChildren(12 & under)AdultsSeniors(65 +)Students(with ID)
Museum staff have been working for the past couple of weeks to organize and install our summer exhibition, the 58th Annual All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition. This week you can see it installed in all of its glory in the lower level galleries.
The winners of the four prizes have been announced and they are:
Nadine Saitlin - Best in Show for Small Red Landscape
Nadine Saitlin, Small Red Landscape
Elena de la Ville -Judge's Merit Award for We are Burning
Karen Kuykendall - Judge's Merit Award for On the Road Again...Lookin' for Black Bears...Songs Along the Highway #3
Valeria Yamamoto - Judge's Merit Award for Tripod.
These pieces reflect the juror Roy Slade's effort to include works that encapsulate past and current trends in art created with many different media.
These works are joined in the gallery by 56 more pieces created exclusively by Florida artists. Although there are less works this year than last year, I feel that each work is now afforded its own space so that one can view each in its own right rather than deal with many pieces jostling for a viewer's attention. The layout has more of an austere, traditional art gallery feel to it rather than the salon-style layout.
(L-R) Views of the 54th All Florida; 55th All Florida and 58th All Florida
If you would like to see more of your fellow artists' work (including a 20-foot inflatable cloud, a Mexican slaughterhouse and a "Botticelli Barbie") come check out the Museum during our summer hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.


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WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- The holiday season is less than 100 days away.
And, with that in mind, Toys R Us released its annual list of the hottest toys.
Leading the pack is Hasbro's Big Hugs Elmo.
A $400 kid-size go-gar also made the list, along with a $15 loom that makes rubber bracelets and a Leap Frog educational tablet for kids.


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Austin, TXUSA
January 1, 2013
No introduction yet
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Mountain ranges, it seems to me, ought to be depicted on maps as something more noteworthy than a handful of the highest summits.
The ranges tall enough to cast shadows across most of a valley should, at the least, have names.There's a lot more to the Cascades than Mount Hood and the Three Sisters, for instance.
And so I think it qualifies as an oversight that one of the more imposing pieces of elevated topography that's solely within Baker County's borders remains anonymous.
The loftiest of the local mountain chains — the Elkhorns and the Wallowas — were given their names decades ago. Yet Baker County residents can't rightfully claim either as our own. We share the Elkhorns with Grant and Union counties, and the Wallowas with Union and Wallowa.
The nameless range I'm referring to, though, belongs every acre to Baker County alone.
It takes in the spine of high ground that separates, for most of its roughly 40-mile length, the Powder and Burnt rivers.
This montane belt, never wider than 10 miles, spans almost the whole of the county's midsection, running approximately northwest-southeast from near Sumpter most of the way to Huntington.
Although the range's crown — 6,683-foot Bald Mountain — is of trifling altitude compared with the 9,000-foot-plus Elkhorns and Wallowas, its relief, as measured from the floors of its adjacent valleys, is significant.
The average elevation of the ridgecrest, excluding peaks such as Bald, Black, Dooley and Beaver mountains, is perhaps 5,700 feet — almost 2,000 feet higher than Burnt River to the south, and about 1,700 feet higher than the Powder River to the north.
That these mountains remain unnamed seems incongruous to me in part because, despite its modest height, the range is breached by only one major stream — the Burnt River, which cleaves the mountains between Durkee and Bridgeport.
Otherwise the range epitomizes the geographic notion of a divide, an uninterrupted length of mountainous terrain where all the major waterways rise high on the ridge and flow either north into the Powder (Clear, Dean, Denny, Trail and Beaver creeks) or south into the Burnt (China, Cornet and Mill creeks).
I'm most familiar with the section of the range that lies between the two highways that ascend its flanks: Highway 7, which crosses at Larch Summit near Sumpter, and Highway 245, which goes through Dooley Summit.
The area fascinates me largely because of its contradictions.
This is wild country, where snow lies deep for half the year, where the forests are quite dense enough to muddle your internal compass (or mine anyway), and where you might well see a cougar or a herd of elk.
But it is hardly wilderness.
A detailed road map of the range resembles a kitchen floor after a two-year-old has gotten through a plate of spaghetti.
The range even harbors Baker County's most improbably situated subdivision. Although given the absence of paved cul de sacs — or paved anything — the neighborhood will not likely be confused with Beaverton or West Linn.
These mountains bear attributes of the alpine (and actual bears) but they aren't, from an ecological standpoint, as alpine as are the Wallowas.
Bald Mountain, for example, is aptly named — there's not a tree, even a stunted juniper, within 200 feet of the top.
But the peak's appearance, I suspect, is the result of scanty soil and prolific wind rather than a climate so inhospitable that trees simply can't survive it.
It may in fact be that Bald Mountain is bald not because it's too high to nurture trees, but because it's not high enough.
Whitebark pines, after all, thrive at much higher elevations in the Elkhorns and the Wallowas; yet the species rarely grows as low as Bald Mountain's apex of 6,683 feet.
This range also divides more than two rivers.
It's backbone serves too as a sort of unofficial, and not quite absolute, boundary between arid Southeastern Oregon, where sagebrush and juniper reign, and the state's more moist northeast corner, where diverse forests of pine, fir, spruce and tamarack grow.
(I feel compelled to use the hedging phrase "not quite absolute" only because similar forests, although they're much less extensive, cap the crests of two ranges farther south — Ironside Mountain and the ridge between Burnt River and Willow Creek.)
The Burnt-Powder divide has been the scene of significant history, as well.
A century ago the narrow-gauge tracks of the Sumpter Valley Railroad penetrated every main draw between Black Mountain and Larch Summit.
And although the rails were pulled decades ago the Stump Dodger's imprints remain in the roads, such as the one that follows Clear Creek upstream from Phillips Reservoir, that were laid in abandoned railroad grades.
About a dozen years ago I interviewed Ron Harr, a railroad aficionado who believes "ghost locomotives" of the Sumpter Valley line might yet be decaying in some gulch, obscured by a screen of juvenile firs.
I've not found one.
I have, though, seen enough discarded Keystone Light cans in the area over the years that if you melted them all you'd have enough aluminum to cast a scale model of a wood-burner.
As for the name that I believe these neglected mountains deserve, I nominate the "Burnt Powders."
Which sounds rather like a botched high school chemistry experiment but which is at least picturesque.


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March 3, 2012
Josh McCuistion
If there was any player that seemed likely to commit this weekend, it was Katy, Texas defensive end Matt Dimon. So how and why did he surprise most everyone? ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now!
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Jim Reid-Anderson offered no details about the investigation during a conference call Monday to discuss the company's earnings. But he said the company was using experts from within and outside the company.
Reid-Anderson said Six Flags officials were joining the call with "heavy hearts."
Rosa Ayala-Goana was killed when she fell Friday from the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, a western suburb of Dallas.
Witnesses told authorities that Ayala-Goana expressed concern moments before the 14-story ride began that the safety bar had not completely engaged.


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See What's Going On At Jo-Ann
Make your mark, with thousands of stamping supplies from Jo-Ann's. Jo-Ann's has an incredible selection of stamps and stamping supplies, including all of your favorite brands. Shop online for rubber stamps, ink and ink pads, and more. Collect rubber stamps for card making, scrapbooking, stationery, and tons of other crafts, at Jo-Ann's!
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The Service
Our service is based around making the lives of our administrators and parents easier and less stressful. We call it Simple Passion. It is our drive to make the complex, simple. We provide our service to you quickly and efficiently and you have the piece of mind that we will fully support every part of our service for you and your parents during the registration process and beyond.
With feedback from our customers and in our quest to reduce stress for our administrators with the easiest process possible, we have created four integrated pieces to our online registration service; all of which can be controlled and changed without any technical expertise. The four services of Simple Passion are:
Simple Passion: The Website
Our website was designed to provide organizations a professional, highly organized site that will alleviate phone calls from parents with soccer questions. It was also designed to be simple to update so that any member of the organization with the proper access could increase the communication level between parents and league officials on current events. This is a great feature to reduce the miscommunication associated with field closings, weather delays, tryouts and payment updates.
Simple Passion: Online Registration and Credit Card Processing
It's not just about going online, but going online with a process that fits your club, supports your parents and listens to your needs. Whether you are switching vendors and know all the questions you need answered or this is your first time, Blue Sombrero makes sure every customer receives a full proposal and presentation from the wealth of knowledge that clubs in more than 25 states have passed on.
Clubs are switching to our online registration process because they know competition for kids is increasing and time is at an all time premium. Parents and administrators alike have hectic and busy schedules. In a world of instant gratification, if your parents have to wait an hour to sign their two children up or drive a check into the office, they are going to think about alternatives. This is the new culture of youth and adult sports. But there is more than just automated registration. There is:
Simple Passion: Communication
What is the price of a lost family? How about two or three? It adds up quickly.
When we started, we had customers in all parts of the country tell us that they were scared to raise their price even a little to accommodate online registration. Now they tell us, they can't afford not to. Clubs are merging, growing, expanding and providing a better experience for their parents around every turn. The old ways of lost checks, unreturned phone calls and stagnant websites are finished. Almost everyone has access to email and the internet at home or work and they expect their organizations to keep them informed. We have all faced the anger of a parent who shows up at the field only to find practice was cancelled the day before from rain. The key to success and growth is: Communication.
Don't upset your parents by sending generic emails. Customize every email to what matters most to your parents…automatically.
Every email that we generate through our system is customized to the specific program that the parent has signed their child up for. It is a powerful communication method that allows you to do more work in less time with less stress. Customized order confirmation emails, "Slice and Dice" distribution lists and HTML emails add to make all of our communication efforts successful.
Simple Passion: League Management
It's true that this service was created by soccer administrators for soccer administrators, but the constant enhancing of the service to streamline and simplify is what sets us apart. Our view for total integration is being realized through our customers and their desire to make a great service. Every Blue Sombrero customer knows that their voice is being heard to design the simplest process for:
Giving power to your voice. Work with people that listen to your needs to create custom solutions.
We love our customers. They believe in our service, give us feedback to make it better and in return we implement those suggestion to organizations in over 25 states. Simple Passion gives power to your voice.


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this wiki
Biochemistry was one of the science courses offered at Starfleet Academy. This course could lead to a medical position. Biochemistry could be taken for more than two semesters. (VOY: "Parallax")
After Sodium Pentathol was having no effect on Quark in 1947 Earth, Jeff Carlson noted that Ferengi biochemistry was nothing like that of Humans. (DS9: "Little Green Men")
In 2153, Dr. Phlox mentioned that the laws of biochemistry on the Loque'eque homeworld might be as unpredictable as the laws of physics. (ENT: "Extinction")
In 2267, while all alone on the USS Enterprise after the entire ship's complement beamed down to Omicron Ceti III while under the influence of the planet's spores, Captain James T. Kirk tried to see if anyone was still on the ship by contacting engineering, ship's security and even the biochemistry lab. (TOS: "This Side of Paradise")
In 2268, Captain Kirk ran into Dr. Janet Wallace in a corridor on the USS Enterprise. While talking to her, Kirk thought that she was on her way to the Enterprise's biochemistry lab. (TOS: "The Deadly Years")
In 2269, Harcourt Mudd sold love potion crystals to the inhabitants of Sirius IX, which made them all ill. Mudd had not counted on their unusual biochemistry before selling it to them. (TAS: "Mudd's Passion")
In 2370, Dr. Beverly Crusher discovered that Ronin, an anaphasic lifeform, was compatible with the biochemistry of the women of the Howard family. (TNG: "Sub Rosa")
Cardassian biochemistry was all but unknown to Federation doctors, including Julian Bashir, in 2370. (DS9: "The Wire")
Tom Paris took two semesters of biochemistry in the Academy. This qualified him to be a field medic on board the USS Voyager. The biochemistry course Paris enrolled in did not teach how to perform a respiratory series. (VOY: "Parallax", "Phage")
In 2372, The Doctor found that Tom Paris' entire biochemistry was changing after being admitted to sickbay for having an allergic reaction to the water in his coffee. (VOY: "Threshold")
Later that year, The Doctor examined Tuvix in Voyager's sickbay and discovered he was the result of a transporter accident that merged Neelix, Tuvok, and an orchid together. While scanning Tuvix, The Doctor found that the orchid was a part of Tuvix's genetic structure but it was not affecting his biochemistry. (VOY: "Tuvix")
In 2373, The Doctor told Kathryn Janeway that the sub-dermal bio-probe he placed in her would pick up any changes in her biochemistry when she went into the Nechani sanctuary to try to save Kes' life. Later, The Doctor observed Janeway's life signs in sickbay and found that her biochemistry was undergoing a unique series of interactions, meaning that she was under an hallucinogenic effect. (VOY: "Sacred Ground")
Later that year, Kes attempted to save Tieran's life by giving him twenty milligrams of lectrazine. It was ineffective in reviving his heart, since the medication was incompatible with his biochemistry. (VOY: "Warlord")
In 2377, B'Elanna Torres apologized to The Doctor after tampering with his program to make him remove all Klingon DNA from her unborn child. The Doctor told her she "was not guilty, by reason of biochemistry." (VOY: "Lineage")


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May 2, 2016
Troopers say a high school teacher on his way to work struck a farm tractor, throwing the farmer to the ground.
The accident happened on Highway 11, about six miles south of Bethel around 7:30 a.m.
Trooper Greg Koonce says both vehicles were heading north when the car struck the back left tire of the tractor. Koonce says John Dunning of Greenville said he simply wasn't paying attention.
Both drivers were taken to Vidant Medical Center, but neither were seriously injured.
Trooper Koonce says Dunning will be charged in the accident.
Previous Story
At least one person has been taken to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville after a car collided with a tractor this morning.
Dispatchers say the wreck was reported at 7:35 a.m. on Highway 11 near Pug Moore Rd. The scene of the crash is very close to the Country Mart convenience store and North Pitt High School.
The Highway Patrol is responding, along with fire and EMS crews.
At this time, we don't know the extent of the injuries to those involved in the crash.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
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