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The Pitfalls of Vanity Publishing
Vanity Publishers in Sheep's Clothing
Due Diligence
Warning Signs
Commercial publishers, subsidy publishers, vanity publishers, self-publishing–what's the difference?
- A commercial or trade publisher (a.k.a. a traditional publisher) purchases the right to publish a manuscript (usually together with other rights, known as subsidiary rights). Big houses and larger independents pay an advance on royalties; small presses often don't. Commercial publishers are highly selective, publishing only a tiny percentage of manuscripts submitted. They handle every aspect of editing, publication, distribution, and marketing. There are no costs to the author.
- A vanity or subsidy publisher charges a fee to produce a book, or requires the author to buy something as a condition of publication (usually, finished books, but sometimes editing or other services). There's a wide variety of models for vanity/subsidy publishing, from companies that do little more than produce a print run that's shipped to the author, to companies that provide a menu of design, editing, distribution, and marketing services in addition to print and digital book production.
Vanity/subsidy publishers may or may not be selective (if they are selective, it's not likely that their gatekeeping processes are comparable to those of commercial publishers), and may or may not make an exclusive claim on authors' rights. Marketing and distribution, if provided, are usually extremely limited; as a result, most or all of the burden of promoting and selling falls on the author. Costs for vanity/subsidy publishing can rise into the five-figure range.
Some fee-based publishers will try to convince you that there's a difference between vanity and subsidy publishing (with subsidy publishing being more respectable). Others employ a variety of euphemisms in order to suggest that they're contributing their own resources to the relationship: "joint venture", "co-op", "partner", "equity", and the newest, "hybrid". Don't be fooled. Fee-based publishing is fee-based publishing, and whatever you're paying, it covers 100% of the cost and then some–no matter what the publisher claims.
- Self-publishing services fall somewhere between vanity publishing and true self-publishing. Unlike true self-publishing, writers are restricted to whatever publishing packages the service provides. However, self-publishing services are generally cheaper than vanity publishers, and more transparent about who they are and what they do (i.e., they don't pretend to be publishers, as vanity publishers often do). They also don't make an exclusive claim on writers' rights. Limited distribution (wholesale/online only) is usually part of the package.
Because self-pub services typically are digitally-based, upfront expense can be low–but most services heavily promote often-costly extras, such as marketing options, and take a hefty cut of sales proceeds in order to recoup their production costs. (For more on self-pub services, see the Self-Publishing page.)
- True self-publishing, like vanity publishing, requires the author to bear the entire cost of publication, and also leaves marketing and promotion to the author. However, rather than paying for a pre-set package of services, the author puts those services together him/herself, hiring editors, cover designers, publicists, etc. Because every aspect of the process can be put out to bid, self-publishing can be much more cost effective than vanity publishing or using a self-publishing service; it can also result in a higher-quality product.
The Pitfalls of Vanity/Subsidy Publishing
For projects where the number of books required is small, and marketing and profit aren't a concern (for instance, memoirs or genealogies or recipe compilations, intended for family and friends or to be given as gifts) an honest, straightforward vanity or subsidy publisher can be an acceptable–if costly–alternative. It can also be an option for writers with niche nonfiction projects, where they're able to reach their audiences directly, or for people who can exploit "back of the room" situations–for instance, lecturers who can sell books at their appearances. Again, though, with the many self-publishing options available these days, a vanity publisher is an unduly expensive choice.
If you're looking to establish a career as a writer, however, or if you actually want people you don't know to buy and read your book, vanity/subsidy publishing is a bad idea. For one thing, the expense can be enormous. In order to ensure their profit, vanity/subsidy publishers charge far more than the actual production cost of a book.
For another, it's very difficult for authors to recoup this investment, since vanity/subsidy publishers rarely offer meaningful distribution or marketing. They have no economic incentive to do so–their principal source of income isn't the sale of books to the public, but the sale of services to authors, and they have little desire to cut into that. If you vanity/subsidy-publish, it's likely that you'll lose money.
There's also a stigma that attaches to vanity/subsidy publishing. This has eroded over the past few years, thanks to the growth of self-publishing options–but it still exists, and if you try to market your vanity/subsidy-published book you'll likely run up against it. You may have trouble getting reviewers to consider your book, and, if you publish in print, difficulty persuading bookstores to order it (especially if your publisher doesn't offer standard discounts, or doesn't accept returns, or has shoddy production standards). As for building a writing resume…editors, publishers, and reviewers are unlikely to regard vanity-published books as professional writing credits.
Another important consideration: while there are honest vanity publishers that fulfill contractual promises, there are also many that engage in a wide range of unethical or fraudulent practices, including misrepresenting themselves as commercial publishers, grossly overcharging for their services, reneging on contract obligations, producing shoddy books, providing kickbacks to agents who refer manuscripts…the list goes on. A few that have been in the news:
- Commonwealth Publications, a Canadian vanity publisher, closed its doors in 1999. Angry authors sued, claiming they didn't receive the books they paid to have published, were given marketing promises that weren't fulfilled, and failed to receive royalties from books sold.
- Northwest Publishing, a vanity publisher located in Utah, cheated authors out of millions of dollars, which its principals gambled away in Reno and Las Vegas. Its assets were seized and the owner, James Van Treese, was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
- Sovereign Publications, a vanity publishing firm owned by the fee-charging Deering Literary Agency, took hundreds of thousands of dollars from authors, most of whom never received the books they paid for. The Deerings were convicted of fraud, and sentenced to time in federal prison.
- Press-Tige Publishing, a vanity publisher owned by Martha Ivery (who also operated under an alias as a fee-charging literary agent), took nearly three-quarters of a million dollars from over 200 authors. Delays were common; promised print runs weren't delivered, books weren't distributed or marketed. In the last few years of its existence, Press-Tige published no books at all, though it continued to offer contracts and take money from authors. Ivery was ultimately sentenced to five years in federal prison.
- Minerva Press Ltd., a UK vanity publisher with branches in India and the USA, was the subject of two exposes by the BBC. More than 40 authors sought redress from this company, alleging false promises, production of shoddy books, and general failure to fulfill contractual promises. In 2001, 16 of those cases were settled by Minerva in favor of the authors under a blanket non-disclosure agreement. Minerva went bust in 2002, leaving behind over £2 million in debt, as well as unpaid staff and multitudes of unhappy authors.
- Vantage Press, a vanity publisher founded in 1949 that was once sued by its authors for deceptive advertising and broken contractual promises, vanished abruptly in 2013. Most authors weren't informed of the closure, and found out only when the company contacted them to offer a release of rights in exchange for waiving all debts, damages, and their right to sue. An accounting of money due was promised, along with a return of unsold printed books, but to date, most authors haven't received either one.
Vanity Publishers in Sheep's Clothing
As writers become more aware of the pitfalls of vanity/subsidy publishing, many less-than-honest pay-to-publish operations are trying dodge the vanity label by omitting to mention their fees on their websites or other public materials, or by shifting their charges to areas other than printing and binding. I often hear from writers who are confused because they've been offered a contract by a publisher that describes itself as "traditional" or "small press," but wants its authors to make some sort of financial commitment in order to be published.
If asked, such publishers vehemently deny that they are vanity/subsidy publishers. After all, they don't accept everyone who submits! Or they aren't asking their authors to pay for printing–just to finance their own editing, or to commit to pre-selling a certain number of books.
But whether you're shelling out cash for book production, finished books, or adjunct services, the bottom line is the same: you are paying to see your book in print. A publisher that turns its authors into customers has little incentive to get books into the hands of readers, and is not likely to invest its resources in marketing and distribution.
Here are some of the "alternative" charges you may encounter from these vanity publishers in disguise (for the names and M.O's of some particularly stealthy vanity publishers, see this post from Writer Beware's blog):
- A setup fee or deposit. Publishers that require a setup fee will tell you that you're not paying to publish–just contributing to the cost of preparing your book for printing, or making a "good faith investment" in your own success. Some publishers promise to refund the fee under certain circumstances (usually carefully crafted so they'll almost never be fulfilled).
The setup fee often isn't large by vanity standards–a few hundred dollars–but since such publishers typically use print-on-demand technology or a service such as Lightning Source to produce their books, it more than covers their expenses.
- A fee for some aspect of the publication process other than printing/binding. Some publishers ask you to chip in for editing, or for your book cover art, or for publicity (commercial publishers provide these things as a routine part of the publication process, at their own expense). Services may cost thousands of dollars, and are often minimal and not of professional quality.
- Fees for "extra" services over and above the basics of publication. The publisher may offer you the opportunity to pay for expedited editing, or special website placement, or inclusion in book fair catalogs, or enhanced marketing. These services are optional–so the publisher can claim it's not making authors to pay to publish–but there's often heavy pressure to buy them, and authors who don't are treated like dirt. One especially reprehensible vanity-in-disguise deliberately inserts errors into its proof copies, and then charges authors an arm and a leg to correct them.
- A claim that your fee is only part of the cost, with the publisher fronting the rest. The publisher may tell you that it will spend as much or more on your book than you're being charged, or that the services it provides–warehousing, distribution, publicity–are worth far more than your "investment."
At best, this is an exaggeration; at worst, it's lie. Since most vanity publishers these days use digital technology, provide minimal editing and marketing, and access the same wholesale distribution channels employed by self-publishing services, their production and distribution costs are minimal. Most of the time, your fee pays the whole freight, plus the publisher's overhead and profit.
- A pre-purchase requirement. Some publishers include a clause in their contracts requiring you to buy a specific quantity of finished books–from a few hundred to several thousand copies, often at a minimal discount. This can be more expensive than straightforward vanity/subsidy publishing.
- A pre-sale requirement. A similar contract clause may require you to pre-sell a certain number of books prior to publication, or to "guarantee" a minimum number of sales (usually, exactly as much as is needed to enable the publisher to recoup its investment and make a profit). You don't have to buy them yourself–you may be asked to find "investors" or organizations to commit to purchases–but if you don't deliver the sales, the publishing deal is off.
This is an especially tricky variation on the pay-to-publish scheme, because it allows the publisher to claim that it's not asking you for cash. But it's not an author's job to be a salesperson for his or her own books–that's what the publisher is supposed to do.
- A sales guarantee. If your book doesn't sell X number of copies within X amount of time, you must agree to buy the difference. Most authors have an over-optimistic vision of the sales they can achieve, and figure they'll never have to pay up–but vanity publishers' nonexistent marketing and distribution ensures that they're usually wrong.
In an especially sneaky version of this ploy, the publisher pressures authors to buy their own books for re-sale, but doesn't allow author purchases to count toward the guarantee total–so authors are snagged twice, once during the honeymoon period (the six months or so before the first royalty statement arrives), and again at the expiration of the guarantee period.
- Withheld royalties. You get no royalty income until the cost of production has been recouped. In this manifestation of vanity publishing, you don't have to physically lay out any cash–but money that should be yours is kept by the publisher, which amounts to the same thing.
- Pressure to buy your book yourself. The publisher may not contractually require you to purchase your own book–indeed, it may make a big deal of telling you that you don't have to buy anything. Even so, it will put you under heavy buying pressure–for instance, providing an Author Guide that extols the financial benefit of buying your own book for resale, or bombarding you with special incentives designed to spur author purchases, such as extra discounts or contests for the month's top seller.
These are all signs of a publisher that relies on its authors as its main customer base, and therefore has little interest in selling books to the public. Unfortunately, if the publisher employs such tactics, you usually don't find out about them until you've already signed the contract.
- A variety of other sneaky tactics. Some examples from Writer Beware's complaint files: requiring authors to pay for publisher-sponsored conferences or lectures or "publicity opportunities"; requiring authors to sell ads that are bound into the company's books; hawking company stock to authors, despite the lack of an appropriate license; requiring authors to hire the publisher's staff to perform various services. The permutations are endless.
There are a number of alternatives to vanity publishing that will cost you less, give you more control, and/or yield a superior product.
If you want to print-publish, there are many digital self-publishing services that offer a straightforward and often much cheaper version of vanity publishing. Such services have their own problems (for a rundown on these, see the Self-Publishing page), but there are services that are very cost-effective–or even free–and you're much less likely to run into operations that want to rip you off.
You can also self-publish electronically, with no upfront costs at all, via one of the several free options available: either direct-to-ebook-reading-device (such as Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program) or via an aggregator such as Smashwords that makes your ebook available across a variety of platforms. Ebooks are currently the fastest growth market in publishing, and some self-published authors are realizing significant success, primarily via the Kindle. Again, there's more info on the Self-Publishing page.
Or you can go it totally alone, handling every aspect of publication yourself, from editing to cover art to interior design to production via a short-run printer (for print) or a digital fulfiller such as Lightning Source (for ebooks). This kind of self-publishing is not for the faint of heart, however. It will eat up not just your time, but your money, and requires a huge amount of energy, creativity, and determination to carry off successfully. This kind of self-publishing is best for entrepreneurial authors, who are willing to treat their books as a business.
One last comment: if your goal is traditional publication, and you're thinking of turning to vanity/subsidy publishing because you can't find an agent or have tried larger publishers without success, consider approaching reputable small presses first. These publishers often don't require authors to be agented; they can produce excellent-quality books, and may give you personal attention you wouldn't get from the majors. The tradeoff is less distribution clout and smaller marketing budgets–but a book published by a good small press can be as credible a writing credit as a book published by one of the big houses, and a reasonable way to begin a writing career.
Due Diligence
Writer Beware never recommends that writers use vanity/subsidy publishers. With all the small presses out there, as well as the growing number of self-publishing options, there's just no reason to pay an arm and a leg to a vanity publisher, even one that won't rip you off.
But if, after all of the above, you still want to consider going this route, take these precautions:
- Order a couple of the publisher's books, so you can assess quality. Does the interior formatting look professional? Are all the pages in order? Is the cover art attractive? Are the books sturdy? Did the order process go off without a hitch?
- Contact writers who've used the publisher's services. Are they happy with the quality of the books? Did they receive the services they paid for? Do buyers have any trouble getting hold of the books? Have there been any broken promises?
- Research the publisher. Have there been complaints? If there are problems, a thorough Internet search can often turn them up. A good place to check is the Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Check forum of the Absolute Write Water Cooler. And you can always contact Writer Beware.
- Have a knowledgeable person look over the contract. Vanity publishers' contracts, which usually aren't negotiable, can include unpleasant clauses and hidden fees. (Note: if you use a lawyer, be sure to find one who has experience with publishing contracts, which include terms and clauses not found in other kinds of contracts.)
- Make sure the publisher distributes through at least one wholesaler, such as Ingram or Baker & Taylor. That way, the books will be available through online booksellers, and even if your books aren't carried in bookstores, people will at least be able to order them.
- Don't take the publisher's promises at face value. If the publisher says it has an arrangement with a distributor, make sure it's telling the truth. If there are marketing promises, ask for samples (vanity publishers often produce very unprofessional marketing materials). Never rely on verbal promises that aren't included in the contract.
Warning Signs
Always approach vanity/subsidy publishers with caution. If you encounter any of the following, be suspicious:
- A vanity/subsidy publisher that poses as a real publisher. Many vanity publishers don't mention their fees on their websites or in their publicity materials; authors find out that money is due only after submitting. The idea is to entice authors who wouldn't normally submit to a fee-charging publisher, and may find an actual publication offer hard to refuse, even if a fee is attached. But a publisher that doesn't present itself honestly at the outset is probably not a publisher that will treat you honestly in the long run.
- Terms like "co-op", "joint venture", "partner", "hybrid," or any other phrase that suggests the publisher will be matching your investment with its own. A vanity/subsidy publisher's profit comes from the fees its authors pay. It's unlikely to cut into that by investing its own resources.
- A claim to share costs. See above. As noted in the "Definitions" section, this is an exaggeration at best and a lie at worst.
- A referral from a literary agency or freelance editor. Reputable literary agents and freelance editors don't work with fee-based publishers. Period. Those who do are either receiving a kickback from the publisher, own the publisher themselves (possibly under another name), or are incompetent. Whatever the reason, it's bad news for you.
- A promise (stated or implied) of a profit. Some vanity/subsidy publishers provide nicely-formatted sample sales projections showing how you can make thousands of dollars by selling X number of books. In fact, for the reasons outlined above, it's extremely difficult even to break even on a vanity-published book. An ethical vanity/subsidy publisher won't promise profits; in fact, it will warn you at the outset that vanity-published books rarely recoup authors' investments.
- Obfuscation or refusal of reasonable requests for information. You're paying for the service, so you have the right to have all your questions answered fully, honestly, and promptly. If a vanity/subsidy publisher refuses to provide you with references, or hedges about details such as contract arrangements, production schedules, marketing, and so on, be suspicious.
- Refusal to provide a firm price. The exact amount you are expected to pay should be stated at the outset (and included in the contract), including any extras such as warehousing or marketing. Don't deal with a publisher that is vague about money–for instance, a publisher that tells you that the final price can't be quoted until the books are printed (in which case you might wind up paying a substantial "differential"), or that warehousing will be charged "at the publisher's discretion" (in which case you could be hit with enormous additional fees).
- Verbal promises that aren't duplicated in the contract. Some dishonest vanity/subsidy publishers try to soothe nervous writers by promising various perks, such as a full or partial reimbursement of their costs if the book doesn't sell out within a specified period of time. However, if such promises aren't included in the contract, you'll have little recourse if they aren't fulfilled (which is exactly why unethical publishers don't write them down). If the publisher is willing to promise something, it should also be willing to add it to the contract.
- Extravagant praise and/or promises. Extravagant praise is a sales ploy: a vanity/subsidy publisher has little reason to care whether your work is good or bad, since you're paying them to publish it. And if a vanity/subsidy publisher says it can get you on national talk shows, or tells you its publicity department will organize a 30-city speaking tour or a national booksigning campaign, be extremely skeptical. Even big advance-paying publishers don't provide these perks for most of their authors.
- A double standard. Dishonest vanity/subsidy publishers sometimes entice writers by saying that they can't risk a regular contract for someone who hasn't yet published anything, but would be willing to split the costs and profits of the book. Or they may tell you that they've used up their traditional publishing budget for the year, but would be glad to work on a "co-op" basis. Or they may promise to publish your second book without charge if the first book does well.
In all these cases, the implication is that the publisher is primarily a commercial publisher, and is offering the fee-based contract as a special circumstance. But though there are a few fee-based publishers that have a non-vanity branch, most don't, and imply its existence solely for the purpose of acquiring customers.
- Pressure. A disreputable vanity/subsidy publisher wants to hook you quick, before you change your mind. Beware, therefore, if a publisher tells you that its offer is "limited time only," or that (unexplained) circumstances require you to "act immediately." Like the permanent going-out-of-business sale, this is just another marketing ploy.
Checking Reputations
- E-mail Writer Beware. SFWA has assembled a large archive of documentation on vanity publishers that engage in questionable practices. Send us the names of any publisher you'd like to know about, and we'll summarize for you any data that's in our files. If we have no information, we'll let you know that too.
- Preditors and Editors provides lists of agents and publishers, with "not recommended" notations to indicate those that engage in questionable practices.
- Writer Beware's Thumbs Down Publisher List: the publishers about which Writer Beware has received the greatest number of advisories and complaints over the past several years. A number of them are vanity publishers. (Despite the date, this list is current.)
- The Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Check area of the Absolute Write Water Cooler is an excellent place to check for information on any kind of publisher. Check the index to see if the publisher you're interested in has already been discussed.
- Google Groups is a searchable database of Usenet newsgroups, with message archives dating back to 1981. Writers often post publisher questions or complaints to Usenet. If you're uncertain about a publisher, do a search on its name here to see what you find.
General Information
- Vanity or Subsidy Publishing: warnings from the USA's Better Business Bureau.
- Help Note on Vanity Publishing from the UK-based Committee of Advertising Practice.
- Advice on vanity publishing, from the UK Society of Authors.
- Vanity publishing warnings for Australian writers from the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading.
- The Price of Vanity: Moira Allen of Writing-World.com tells it like it is.
- Vanity Publishing–Advice and Warning is the webpage of Johnathon Clifford, a UK-based crusader against dishonest vanity publishers. He can be contacted directly with questions about UK vanity publishers, fraudulent and otherwise.
Vanity Publishers Gone Bad
- Writer Robert Wassell's experience with dishonest UK vanity publisher Minerva Press (now defunct).
- Historical Pages, a vanity publisher owned by Peter Campbell-Copp, was shut down by police in 2011. It owed authors and creditors at least $170,000.
- Literary Dreams End in Litigation: An article by Penni Crabtree of the San Diego Union-Tribune on the exploits of serial vanity publisher Ed Johnson, who has been the focus of numerous author complaints and court judgments.
- Indiana-based New Century Publishing, run by professional fraudster David Caswell, closed its doors in 2010, owing thousands of dollars to authors whose money it had taken and whose books it had never produced.
- A UK vanity, Pentland Press, collapsed in 2002, with more than £260,000 in debt and hundreds of defrauded authors.
- Another UK vanity, Serendipity, went bust in the fall of 2008, with authors alleging breach of contract.
- Sovereign Publications, or what happens when a scam literary agency owns a vanity publisher.
- Press-Tige Publishing was a vanity publisher owned by a fee-charging literary agent with a mania for aliases.
- The Empty Canoe, a crooked "ghostwriting studio" brought down by its defrauded authors.
- Airleaf LLC, an Indiana-based vanity publisher, was sued by the Indiana Attorney General after more than 400 authors paid money for books that were never published and publicity services that were never rendered.
- Carol Van Drie's experience with vanity publisher American Book Publishing (the comments thread contains many additional complaints). American Book Publishing is the subject of an Alert at Writer Beware.
- More case studies of dishonest vanity publishers: Commonwealth Publications and Northwest Publishing.
Links checked/Page updated: 12/30/13
Except for graphics, and where specifically indicated, all Writer Beware® contents copyright © Victoria Strauss


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Waffenruhe (CeaseFire) by Michael Schmidt
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This is a rare first edition, first printing of Michael Schmidt's critically acclaimed "Waffenruhe" (CeaseFire) published by Dirk Nischen Verlag, Berlin, in 1987. The book with German text is a striking photo-essay that documents
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Cures for Loose Dadoes
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If the gap is too wide for either of the previous fixes, and you don't want to scrap the part, fill the dado with a strip of similar wood that closely matches in color and grain pattern, as shown below. Next, recut your dado to the correct width, making test cuts in scrap to confirm the fit. If possible, position the new dado so any sliver of the filler strip that will show is on the side that will be seen the least.
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EMONSTER smart phone offers macho iPhone alternative
Yes, the iPhone currently rules the day, but some of us geeks like our gadgets to look less like museum pieces and more like hacked together power boxes. That's where EMobile's aptly named new S11HT EMONSTER comes into play. Touted by EMobile as Japan's first multi-functional smart phone, the device does pack a lot of features including a very nice tilt-up 2.8-inch QVGA display screen, Windows Mobile 6, GPS functionality, microSD, Bluetooth 2.0, and a slick QWERTY keyboard. If you haven't been assimilated by the Steve Jobs drones, you can pick up your EMONSTER on March 28th here.
Via Emobile


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These fabrics feature a nature inspired appearance. Choose to have Free Hanging Light filtering louvers or add a PVC backing for more light blockage and energy efficiency.
This product complies with CPSC child safety guidelines. If you have children in your home on a regular basis, CPSC recommends the use of cordless window coverings.


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Rating: 3 stars
Where: 370 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach
Hours: Sundays and Mondays, 5-9 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 5-10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 4:30-11 p.m.
Good to know: Tuesday is brown-bag wine night. Wednesday is prix fixe wine dinner night. Sunday is family-style supper night.
Don't miss: Clams, shishito peppers, burger, meatloaf, harissa barbecue pork loin, stone fruit cobbler.
Best place to sit: Corner window seat downstairs, or the upstairs booths.
About the noise: Extremely loud downstairs. Slightly mellower, more private upstairs.
Cost: Appetizers, $3-$25; entrees, $16-$36; desserts, $8.50; corkage, complimentary.
Phone: 949-494-8686
What the stars mean:
0 = poor, unacceptable
1 = fair, with some noteworthy qualities
2 = good, solid, above average
3 = excellent, memorable, well above norm
4 = world class, extraordinary in every detail
Reviews are based on multiple visits. Ratings reflect the reviewer's overall reaction to food, ambience and service.
When I arrive, my guests are already seated and enjoying a glass of wine. I notice a mysterious bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. "What are we drinking?" I ask, thinking the Wine Collector has brought something special from his cellar. I reach for the bag.
"Don't look!" he says. "That's part of the deal."
"Deal? Who made a deal?" I ask.
"Well, apparently tonight is brown bag night," he says. "The waiter offered us this bottle for $15, but we don't get to see what's inside."
He grabs the bag and cinches it tightly around the bottle's neck so that I can't see the label, then he pours me a glass. The color is beautiful, like liquid rubies. It has great structure, too. A California cabernet, perhaps? It's a bit young. Oh, how I hate guessing games. It tastes like it should be worth a lot more than $15.
Our server walks by as I'm filling my glass. "Did you peek yet?" she asks.
Three Seventy Common in Laguna Beach is fun like that. A playful spirit permeates not just the service but the menu and overall ambience. Aesthetically, the loud two-story space feels more like a pub than a serious restaurant, with high tables, tall chairs and an abundance of hard surfaces in the main downstairs dining room.
I like to begin with the small bites: a sweet-spicy chicken wing, a miniature grilled cheese sandwich, a beautifully charred prawn, a shishito pepper stuffed with goat cheese and cheddar and tempura-fried – all of which are sold by the piece, not by the platter. It's a sort of build-your-own amuse-bouche, and it's a fun way to get things started.
The tempura shishito bite is wonderful, but there's an even better way to eat the Japanese peppers here. Further down the menu in the appetizer section, there's an entire bowl of charred shishitos. The funny thing about these peppers is that no more than one in every dozen is spicy. The rest are totally bland. Duds. Blanks. But it's always fun to order a batch just for the game of chance. Every once in a while, there's a nice little payoff.
I'm sharing this bowl with some friends, and my first two peppers taste like warm grass, except saltier, with an undercurrent of lime and smoke. I pop another pepper into my mouth and "Bingo! I got one." My mouth is on fire. My tongue is throbbing. I've never felt so much heat from a shishito. It's an exhilarating rush, as if I've just chomped into a serrano. Tears well up in my eyes. My comrades see my reaction and reach in unison for the bowl, hoping to repeat my luck with their final draw. Alas, there's only one firecracker in the mix tonight.
If you like heat, don't worry – there are lots of spicy surprises on the menu. Chef Ryan Adams slips chilies into a number of dishes: the calamari, a potato soup, a side of corn, a cocktail made with ghost chili, the burger ...
The burger, by the way, is a mammoth heap of high-quality beef topped with a fried egg, poblano chilies, cheddar cheese and thick bacon. They call it a 10-napkin burger, and that's an apt description.
So I'm confounded as to why they don't automatically serve it with a stack of napkins. I find myself dripping with grease and blood and egg yolk, wondering how and where to wipe my hands, my face, every knuckle. My one and only napkin is protecting my lap, catching the river of juices that flows from my chin. A waitress eventually senses my distress and brings me one extra napkin. Just one? Are they trying to torture me?
The service here is otherwise superb. The seemingly intentional napkin torture aside, the staff is remarkably intuitive and attentive.
I'm often on the fence about poutine, which is what everyone calls french fries these days whenever they decide to smother them with any sort of gravy. When the fries are made from scratch and as perfect as these here, why muck them up? But then I take a bite and I realize that if the mucking involves a short-rib ragout as nice as this, I'm OK. Life is good. Bring on the coma.
Fortunately, not everything induces a food coma. The chef is equally deft in restraint. A dish of raw kampachi dares to be delicate and subtle, with just a faint whisper of yuzu-kosho. And the clams are classic, a large bowl filled with shells so hot they're hard to handle, with innards so plump they could almost be classified as scallops.
Bone marrow has become the new foie gras, and the marrow bones here are superb, slathered with chimichurri and charred until bubbly and crisp, then topped with a little salad of parsley and onions. There's a nice yin-yang in the pork belly appetizer, as the crispy fatty pork balances the sweet-tart thrill of fresh apricots.
The meatloaf is beautiful. Yes, I realize that sounds weird, but the meatloaf really is gorgeous. It's a whole individual log wrapped in bacon and crisped. The river trout is impressive, too, topped with a haystack of green beans. The rib-eye is fine. It's not going to make my list of best steaks in Orange County, but I don't think anyone will be upset if they order it.
Desserts rarely disappoint. The most popular at my table has always been The Presley, a large piece of cinnamon toast topped with bananas and peanut butter ice cream. And although it's very good, I'd rather have the stone-fruit cobbler, which is served straight from the oven, bubbling and fragrant. The chocolate bread pudding is great too, so supple it quivers when you look at it the right way. Really the only dessert that fails is a new offering of ice cream sandwiches. The cookies are simply too hard, forcing the ice cream to melt and squirt in every direction as I try to take a bite.
My only real complaint about this place is the noise. It's loud. It gets really, really loud. Yes, I get it, this is a gastropub, a place to come and drink and eat and laugh and have a good time. But still. It shouldn't have to be this loud.
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Revealed: The Group Behind the Bills that Could Legalize Killing Abortion Providers
Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email.
First, it was South Dakota. Then Nebraska and Iowa. The similarly worded bills, which have quietly cropped up recently in state legislatures, share a common purpose: To expand justifiable homicide statutes to cover killings committed in the defense of an unborn child. Critics of the bills, including law enforcement officials, warn that these measures could invite violence against abortion providers and possibly provide legal cover to the perpetrators of such crimes.
That these measures have emerged simultaneously in a handful of states is no coincidence. It's part of a campaign orchestrated by a Washington-based anti-abortion group, which has lobbied state lawmakers to introduce legislation that it calls the " Pregnant Woman's Protection Act" [PDF]. Over the past two years, the group, Americans United for Life, has succeeded in passing versions of this bill in Missouri and Oklahoma. But there's a big difference between those bills and the measures floated recently in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.
While the Oklahoma and Missouri laws specifically cover pregnant women, the latest measures are far more sweeping and would apply to third parties. The bills are so loosely worded, abortion-rights advocates say, that a pregnant woman could seek out an abortion and a boyfriend, husband—or, in some cases, just about anyone—could be justified in using deadly force to stop it.
A Planned Parenthood official testified last week at a hearing on Nebraska's LB 232 that such legislation "authorizes and protects vigilantes." And it isn't just abortion-rights advocates who fear the implications of the AUL-inspired legislation. "This could be used to incite violence against abortion providers," said Omaha's deputy chief of police, David Baker. The office of South Dakota's Republican governor—no defender of abortion-rights—has called the version of the bill introduced in the state's legislature a "very bad idea." (Following a national outcry, the South Dakota bill was shelved.)
Lawmakers who have sponsored their own versions of AUL's legislation, including South Dakota's Phil Jensen and Nebraska's Mark Christensen, say their measures were inspired by a 1999 case in Michigan, in which a pregnant woman killed her boyfriend after he punched her twice in the stomach. (Jensen did not respond to a call and an email seeking comment.) Jaclyn Kurr, who eventually miscarried quadruplets, was convicted of manslaughter based partially on the fact that she had a history of criminal offenses—a ruling that was later overturned on appeal.
The case opened a thorny debate about fetal personhood and it became a rallying cry for anti-abortion groups seeking to advance the rights of the unborn. It features prominently in the introduction to AUL's model legislation [PDF], which was drafted by Denise Burke, the group's vice president for legal affairs. "Applying the affirmative defense of 'defense of others' to protect the unborn is a victory for women and children, and opens a new chapter in the fight to protect the lives of the unborn," Burke writes in the 9-page document. (AUL asked that questions be submitted in writing, but declined to respond to a detailed request for comment from Mother Jones.)
The Kurr episode is "a lesson Nebraska doesn't want to repeat" Christensen said during a hearing last week on his bill. "I personally do not want to see a pregnant woman in Nebraska go through the same trauma of losing her unborn child, her baby, and then be prosecuted and punished by trying to protect the child from its attacker."
In an interview, Christensen told Mother Jones that AUL "brought the idea" and "helped draft the language" for the bill he introduced. And he said he was unaware of the controversy a bill similar to his had caused in South Dakota a week earlier. In fact, he added, "I didn't realize it'd been introduced other places, so I'll have to evaluate that."
Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email


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If you have a Pit Bull in need of surrender or rescue, please contact:
The PBRC website is a virtual shelter and resource for owners and caretakers of American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and pit bull mixes.
Bay State Dogs is a resource for Pit Bull mixes that need to be surrendered. They will evaluate the animals on a case-by-case basis.


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Lost Medicaid Funding
To date, the failure to expand Medicaid / TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding.
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Things you should Know
Changes come to RCN
Submitted by betterbizbetty on December 9, 2012 - 7:50pm.
Did they listen or was it purely a business maneuver?
The RCNs changed their mast head, logo and the width of the paper. The article about the change says their mission remains the same - "to be the primary source of local news for Roane County." However, the thin 10 page paper feels light on community news to me. The KNS often beats the RCN with real community news happening in Roane County. KNS, BBB, and RV are my primary sources with a quick read of the RCN to see which direction the wind is blowing. I even buy the DNE when I see a good article that the RCNs has ignored.
Here's hoping their New Year's resolution will usher in a renewed commitment to achieve their stated mission. Best wishes to them during this Holiday season. Mega conglomerates are people too.
I've also witnessed
Submitted by Tom Moore on December 10, 2012 - 8:18am.
real newsworthy events or topics ignored by the RCN. One such story, still unpublished, is partly personal. It's about my effort to shine the light on blatant corruption within the Roane County Juvenile Court system. The two young children (ages 5 and 7) who I've been trying to help have been brutally abused FOR YEARS by their biological parents, their boyfriends, girlfriends, and other adults. Amazingly, the mother and father have been given visitation rights despite mountains of evidence of both physical and emotional abuse inflicted on these two Roane County children. The two abused boys are frightened every day of their lives, as is their guardian. They have no voice in Roane County.
Along with Roane County Juvenile Court officials, certain Department of Children's Services caseworkers and attorneys are also guilty of ignoring evidence and obstructing justice. The rule of law was ignored and due process was mocked at the May, 1, 2012 court hearing in which I was a principal.
Calling the above-mentioned court hearing a Kangaroo Court would be an insult to kangaroos. Stories such as court-ordered child abuse need to be investigated.
It's getting lonesome here.
Submitted by Tom Moore on December 12, 2012 - 5:01pm.
But I realize your readership may be mostly middle-class and have been fortunate enough not to have any experience with the juvenile court and DCS fiefdoms in this area.
Not two and a half hours after my above post Monday morning a Roane County policeman was at our front door to issue me a summons to appear in court the next morning at 9:00am. Oh, and the summons/notice of retaliation didn't even bother to mention the reason I was being summoned. I've never been in trouble before. My reputation in my own country is impeccable. Sorry, I believe Tennessee may still in the union. Suffice it to say the result of my time before bench ended unjustly, to put it politely.
The 2 children are still not safe. Same goes for their grandmother, their guardian. To cap off the day the judge ordered me, virtually the only person trying to help the children, not to contact the children or their guardian. The above is my sanitized version, since my previous post Monday morning resulted in a bizzare and probably illegal summons.
With no time to acquire representation before my 9:00am appointment with the offended authorities, naturally I could not say anything, refute the falsehoods presented by a DCS attorney.
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|i got a pack of seeds with your name on it and i cant look it up am i spelling it wrong- pentapetes phoeniiea
Follow-Up Postings:
|Hi Tergrov,
I imagine it is probably pentapetes phoenicea, don't you?
Here is a link that might be useful: pentapetes phoenicea-Midday flower at Google
- Posted by poisondartfrog 7 (My Page) on Fri, Jan 1, 10 at 9:16
|That would be it...one of my favorites,
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Courses@BoaltNOTE: Course offerings change. Classes offered this semester may not be offered in future semesters.
245.1 sec. 1 - Pre-Trial Civil Litigation (Fall 2012)Instructor: Robert Borton (view instructor's teaching evaluations | profile)
Instructor: Samuel F. Ernst
Instructor: Chris Martiniak
View all teaching evaluations for this course
Units: 3
Meeting Time: Tu 6:25-9:05
Meeting Location: 115
Course Start: August 28, 2012
Course Control Number (Non-1Ls): 49616
This course is designed to acquaint students with pretrial litigation practice in typical civil cases. While the case file used is a commercial transaction gone to litigation, the skills taught are applicable in any civil case setting. This is a skills course, in that it focuses on the practical application of the civil rules, decision making and judgment. We will cover pleadings; written discovery; preparing for, taking and defending depositions (including mock deposition practice); making and opposing motions; and oral argument of motions. We give special attention to practical writing skills, and students will write several motions. Strategies, settlement considerations, client relations and other topics relevant to typical litigation practice are also discussed. The evidence course, while useful, is not a pre-requisite.
This course satisfies the Skills Requirement.
Exam Notes: P+
Course Category: Advocacy Skills Courses
This course is cross-listed in the following categories:
Litigation and Procedure
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may edit your files on this page.
A reader will be used in this class.
Instructor has indicated that no books will be assigned.


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Bengal transport minister arrested in Saradha scam is going to be produced in Alipore court on Tuesday. He was interrogated in the orning by CBI.
Undercover filmmakers pretending to be workers in a factory making Apple products in China had to work up to 16 hours a day and as many as 18 days in a row, according to an investigation by BBC Panorama.
Goldgenie gets about half of its revenue from the sale of Apple products, online and through approved resellers.
The productivity of tea plantations in Assam has been on increase on year to year basis for the period from 2011-12 to 2013-14. Vijay Karnataka, 15 years of trust, of truth, of winning, of excitement and of celebration.
Amway India announced the launch of global new Satinique range in India, which offers professional results and salon like finish at home. The range consists of four shampoos for different hair needs.
P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} Jayavant Products has informed BSE that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on November 18 had considered and approved the sub-division of face value of equity shares from Rs. 10 per share to Rs. 5 per share.
Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd as part of National Cooperation Week will release Nandini real thick curd and Nandini cream to the market on November 17. Minister for forest, environment, ecology and DK District in-charge B Ramanath Rai will do the honours.
Berger Paints (India) has informed the NSE that the company's powder coating plant at Maharashtra has commenced trial production on October 1. Sparkle your Diwali.. 8 pm onwards only on Romedy NOW.
Mahindra & Mahindra has informed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) that the company, as part of aligning its production with sales requirements, would be observing 'No Production Days' at its tractor plants located at Rudrapur and Jaipur for four days during the balance period of October. The management does not envisage any adverse impact on availability of tractors in the market due to adequacy of tractor stocks to serve the market requirements. Sparkle your Diwali.. 8 pm onwards only on Romedy NOW.
Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh says we would be able to achieve the target of additional production of 25 million tonnes of food-grains envisaged during the 12th Five Year Plan Period.
Prominent companies such as Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto, Lucas TVS, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki presented improvement projects at the national productivity summit that was held in Chennai recently. Your 2 hours a day, thrice a week for 100 days can change many lives. Apply now to volunteer with Teach India at www.teachindia.net for Delhi/NCR & Mumbai region only.
Nearly 400 particpants took place in the two day national productivity summit held in the city recently. Your 2 hours a day, thrice a week for 100 days can change many lives. Apply now to volunteer with Teach India at www.teachindia.net for Delhi/NCR & Mumbai region only.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah has said that the provision in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Bill 2014 providing for consultation with the governor after ascertaining the views of the chief minister and the state government can be counter-productive and the same needs to addressed.
The Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Coal India Ltd for production of a target 507 million tonnes in 2014-15 as against actual production of 462.4 million tonnes in 2013-14.
The three days exhibition of organic food products was inaugurated at L S complex, near bus stand, Kumble by Thirumaleshwara Bhat, Deputy Director, Agriculture department , Kasaragod district and Dr K Muralidharan Head , Social science, CPCRI Kasaragod.
Liberty Videocon General Insurance Company, a joint venture between Videocon Industries Limited and Liberty Citystate Holdings Pte Limited, part of US-based Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has announced the availability of two new products for commercial businesses; Commercial General Liability Insurance (CGL), and Directors & Officers Liability Insurance (D & O). Will Budget 2014 be The Big Reset. Find out on ET NOW. Catch pre budget shows at 7.30pm from June 30
If some one has problem with any milk product sold under the brand of Parag, they can register complaints by dialing toll free number- 1800-180-5464. This is the first time that the company has launched a helpline number for registering complaints. ET NOW turns 5. Watch No1 Biz News Channel of India for unbiased coverage of Markets and Economy.


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DetailsThe Hoover C1320 is the lightest weight Hoover commercial upright at only 9.4 lbs. Boasts a 12" cleaning path and powerful 4 amp Motor. The 1320 uses HEPA filtration to trap dust and allergens down to .3 microns. Power Cord is 40' long and attach via Pigtail design for easy replacement. Low profile design maneuvers easily under and around furniture. The C1320 also features fingertip on/off controls and non-marring wheels. Uses "B" type bags.
Additional Information
Brand Hoover Commercial Commercial Type Upright Vacuum Feature HEPA, Light-Weight Pad Size No Specifications
- Brand: Hoover
- Condition: New
- Type: Upright
- Motor Size: 4 amp
- Filtration: HEPA
- Weight: 9.4 lbs.
- Cord Length: 40 ft.
- Cord Rewind: No
- Hose Length:
- Dustbin Capacity:
- Attachments Included: No
- Bare Floor Cleaning: No
- Bagless: No
- Warranty: 2 Year Commercial though Hoover
Dimensions 9 X 12.5 X 46 Buyer's Guide
What's in the box?
- Hoover C1320
- Owner's manual
Allergy Rating 4
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VendCentral is dedicated to supporting local Vend Operators to help them grow their businesses. We have developed several customized marketing tools, pre-designed specifically for Vend Operators.
We do all the work for you so you can eliminate the time it would normally take to design your marketing tools, find or create high quality vending photography, and write quality copy to make sure your company is presented in a professional manner. We offer:
As we grow we will introduce additional innovative ideas to move vending forward. We will continue to partner with the best and most innovative marketing companies in the country.
Product manufacturers need the vending business to grow just as owners of vending companies need the industry to grow. VendCentral is committed to be on the forefront of that growth.
Where on this list does marketing fall? It probably falls right off the list. But VendCentral can help. We can provide turn key marketing solutions that will help market your business and bring on new customers. We know what you need from a marketing standpoint and we know what works. All you need is to provide us with basic information and we can get started helping you to build your business.
If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or suggestions, please give us a call or . We look forward to working with you to help you expand your business.


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Review Summary
Cuisine de France Tri-Ply Stainless 8-in. French Skillet - Online Only
$39.99 Original Price $70.00
Savings: $30.01 (42%)
A pure aluminum core enveloped by pure stainless steel provides professional performance and the Heat Surround Technology allows heat to be evenly distributed along the bottom and side walls of the cookware. The cookware features contoured,stainless steel stick handles that remain cool and provide a comfortable grip. This cookware can be used on the stovetop (suitable for induction stovetops), in the oven (up to 500 degrees F) or under the broiler. It is also freezer safe for food storage.
- 4-in. x 8.5-in. x 15-in.
- Stay-cool stainless steel handles
- Non-stick finish
- Limited lifetime warranty
- Triple Ply Stainless
- Dishwasher safe
- Imported
Shipping your purchase is easy on belk.com. Depending on the destination of your package, you can expect it to arrive within 4-7 business days. Shipping Information
Returns are easy on belk.com. Easy returns


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Marc Cashman, named AudioFile Magazine's "Best Voice of the Year," is a veteran voice actor in Los Angeles, CA. He also narrates documentaries, corporate films and e-Learning programs, dubs foreign films, and voices interactive CDs, websites and videogames.
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Walter Koenig Wall
Walter Marvin Koenig (born September 14, 1936) is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, best known for his roles as Chekov in Star Trek, and as Bester on the series Babylon 5. Find Walter Koenig news, videos, and pictures here.
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Uphill Writing: Quips and Quotes
"Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere"
~Anne Lamott
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The First Word in Protective & Marine Coatings
A Product of Technology Publishing / PaintSquare
JPCL | PaintSquare News
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Monday, December 3, 2012
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Health & Safety
Low-bid contractors who compromise safety end up squandering both public money and lives, argue three new studies that challenge the longstanding government contract process.
Prequalifying public-works contractors on the basis of their safety record could save not only lives, but billions of dollars a year, contend the studies, which focus on California, Maryland and Washington State.
"The Price of Inaction: A Comprehensive Look at the Costs of Injuries and Fatalities in California's Construction Industry," by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, proposes that California pass a law requiring companies to demonstrate adherence to safety standards to be eligible to bid for state contracts.
Parallel reports for Maryland and Washington State make similar arguments and appeals for those states.
Joseph R. Bidler, 35, of Green Bay, was killed July 5 when a crane lifting a 52-ton concrete girder collapsed during work on the Lake Butte des Morts Causeway in Oshkosh, WI. Bidler's employer, Spancrete, was a subcontractor for Lunda Construction, which had sustained a fatal accident in April on another job. Lunda had been hired by Wisconsin DOT for the projects. OSHA's investigations remain open.
Such a solution not only would ensure that public-sector projects are fulfilled by responsible contractors but also would provide incentives for companies to maintain clean records while working on private-sector sites, the authors contend.
'Staggering' Costs, 'Tremendous Pain'
The reports examine the economic burden imposed by the disproportionate share of deaths, injuries and illnesses that afflict construction-related industries.
"The economic picture is quite staggering," said Keith Wrightson, worker safety and health advocate for Public Citizen's Congress Watch division. "We now know that construction accidents impose huge economic costs in addition to tremendous pain for individual victims."
Occupational injuries and fatalities in the construction industry cost California residents $2.9 billion between 2008 and 2010, according to the report.
During those years, 168 construction workers were killed in workplace accidents in California. In addition, the state recorded 50,700 construction-industry injuries and illnesses that required days away from work or a job transfer.
And that safety record is well above average, the study notes. Forty-six states in 2010 had a higher worker fatality rate than California.
In Maryland, occupational injuries and fatalities in the construction industry cost state taxpayers $712.8 million between 2008 and 2010; in Washington State, the figure was $762 million.
Nationwide, 774 workers—including painters and blasters—died in construction-related accidents in 2010.
Tabulating the Toll
Apart from the human toll, the economic tab for those deaths and injuries—in medical care, time lost, litigation, workers' compensation, staffing disruptions, soaring insurance premiums, and other expenses—is not only monumental, but avoidable, the authors argue.
Andy Gammon, 35, of Park Hills, MO, was working on an extended four-wheeled aerial lift on a Mississippi River bridge construction project March 28 when the lift toppled into the water and he drowned. Gammon's employer, a joint venture of three companies, is appealing the OSHA citations.
Weighing the safety records of the firms that undertake vast, dangerous public-works projects could save taxpayers millions of dollars in the long run, the report says.
"At a time in which the economy is struggling, the last thing California needs is a largely avoidable $2.9 billion burden," says the report, which draws on government data and published research. "One way for California to address the economic burdens caused by fatal and nonfatal injuries is to take steps to reduce construction accidents."
Those arguments are echoed in the Maryland and Washington State reports.
The Power of the Purse
Relying on workers to improve their own conditions and enforce safe practices won't work, the study says. It is "widely understood" that "fear of job loss and employer intimidation can supersede the potential loss of life or injury in today's construction market," the authors report.
Meanwhile, resources for government oversight of occupational safety and health are stretched thin. (With 237 inspectors for more than 1.3 million workplaces, it would take California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration 158 years to inspect each workplace in the state once, the authors calculate.)
On the other hand, "a significant and inexpensive step the state could take is to use its power as a chief purchaser of construction services to insist on high standards," the study says. "Specifically, the state could adopt a policy requiring prospective construction contractors to demonstrate excellent safety records and practices to be eligible to compete for state contracts.
"To take the simplest example, only construction firms that provide both worker and site supervisor safety training and that do not have serious occupational safety and health violations should be eligible to bid on public contracts. Such a process would require contractors that derive at least some of their revenue from the state to maintain high standards in all of their work, including that performed for private customers."
Current Screening
The report notes that California currently screens construction companies to ensure that they have met performance standards in the past and have not violated any laws. The state also incorporates some safety standards in its prequalification system.
Walsh Construction of Chicago is appealing a $10,000 OSHA fine in the death of lift operator Roger Lee Cox, 50, who was crushed to death in May while working on the Milton Madison Bridge over the Ohio River.
Washington State already screens construction companies to ensure that they meet standards on past performance, apprenticeship utilization and legal proceedings, the report says. But safety is excluded from the state's prequalification system.
Maryland now screens construction companies to ensure that they meet standards on past performance, bonding capacity and legal proceedings, but safety is excluded from the state's prequalification system, Public Citizen reports.
The authors argue that all of these systems should be expanded to require construction firms to put greater emphasis on demonstrating that they provide safety training to workers and site supervisors, and that they have not had serious safety violations.
"Implementing a stricter prequalification process for public construction projects would not address all of the industry's safety problems," Wrightson said. "However, such a step would help further protect workers while also yielding significant gains to the economy for minimal costs."
Comment from Valerie Amor, (12/3/2012, 9:48 AM)
Low bidders can bring other complications as well which usually results in higher than industry change orders. No way you look at it, awarding projects to the lowest bidder costs more in the long run. I advocate for the end of the hard bid process. It goes against the collaborative process which is needed to bring in sustainable projects.
Comment from M. Halliwell, (12/3/2012, 11:47 AM)
Safety should definitely be a consideration. There is something to be said for the Dutch (I hope I am recalling it right) system...knock out the high and low bids, then take the bid closest to the average of the remaining ones...perhaps prequalify (including safety) then use a Dutch style bid. Might get more jobs to realistic bidders with good safety records.
Comment from peter gibson, (12/3/2012, 1:51 PM)
The Bid process in the US is antiquated.In Europe the work on the "Best bid" principle;not the low bid one.The basic law
of economics is - you cannot get the mostest for the leastest.
Somehow the Americans have not cottoned on to this.
Comment from WAN MOHAMAD NOR WAN ABDUL RAHMAN, (12/4/2012, 4:40 AM)
It is very important to award the tender based on the clients estimate rather then to the lowest bidder. The recepient tends to avoid fulfilling the works specification to maximize profit. This will subject the works to substanded materials and workmanship. If the client
Comment from Raymond Fitzgerald, (12/4/2012, 3:38 PM)
The low bidder sometimes bids a system that they are not qualified nor certified to install. When they are awarded the contract they can not actually do the project, and this leads to a re-bidding process which could take another year or even longer.
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*image shown is 5 x 8 or larger rug
*smaller sizes will not show complete pattern, will be scaled down to fit.
Name: Happy Cottage 5804
Manufacturer: Surya
Collection: Happy Cottage
Material: Wool
Construction: Hand Woven
Colors: Blues , Whites
Origin: India
Description: This collection offers classic cottage inspired style in a fresh and cheerful color palette. Designs include classic farmhouse stripes, bold plaids, and vintage patterns, transforming any space into a cozy retreat. These flat pile reversible rugs are hand woven in India from 100% wool. (Happy Cottage 5804 Contemporary Blue Checker Hand Woven Wool Rug)


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Posted: 11:33 p.m. MST
Leaders from Arizona State University's Morrison Institute Latino Public Policy Center and the Arizona Latino Research Enterprise talked Wednesday night about the education gap between Latinos and non-Latinos in Arizona and how that will affect the future workforce.
They said this is not a new problem, but it is about time the community and state do something about it.
"We can no longer afford to separate Latino issues from Arizona issues, because they're one and the same," said Joseph Garcia, director of the institute.
An October report from the Morrison Institute found that only 69 percent of Hispanic students in Arizona graduate high school, compared with 83 percent of their white counterparts.
"This is our future workforce, our future competitive edge, if you will. But there's a gap when it comes to Latino education, and we need to close that gap in order for Arizona to take full advantage of having that competitive edge in the new economy," Garcia said.
The report lists a number of reasons why this is so; nevertheless, that trend is reflected nationally.
"What really has happened in the last 10 years? The question is, how do we stand, and how do we go forward," asked Lydia Aranda, vice chair of the Arizona Latino Research Enterprise.
In Arizona, leaders Wednesday said schools and the state cannot ignore growing minority groups.
The report projects that by 2030, Latinos and other minority groups will make up more than half of Arizona's population.
"The face of Arizona is changing, and we need to recognize that, and understand some of the unique challenges and benefits that Latinos present to Arizona," Garcia said.
Wednesday's presentation in Yuma was the first stop in the statewide tour. The group plans to return to Yuma at the end of the tour to present suggestions to improve the state of education in Arizona.
Several leaders from Yuma County attended the presentation, including the Board of Supervisors, superintendents, and some mayors.
The report titled, "Dropped? Latino Education and Arizona's Economic Future," is available at www.MorrisonInstitute.asu.edu/Latinos.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Barn Kitties
4 comments:
- AnonymousMarch 19, 2008 at 6:33 PM
what pretty kitties!! I'm not aware of any fish infestations in barns..I think you're safeReplyDelete
LOL!! Fish.ReplyDelete
Females are particularly good hunters. I recently found 3 mice in the basement of a petsitting client. He has a well-fed female kitty, but it doesn't stop her from earning her keep. They were all laid out neatly at the foot of the stairs (un-chewed up). I had to dispose of them quietly and heap praise on her doing such an excellent mousing job! LOL
I LOVE your kitties Bev! Looks like they are good mouse catchers! Cats are my favorite! Love ya, Maryjane LeeReplyDelete
Great pictures Bev! My cats also prefer the fish flavor :)ReplyDelete
If you'd like to leave a comment...I assure you I appreciate it! I read and answer comments by email whenever possible. Thanks for stopping by for a chat with me!!


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Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, California General Assembly
From Ballotpedia
The Accountability and Administrative Review Committee is a standing committee of the California State Assembly.
Primary jurisdictions are identifying savings and efficiencies in the management of state government, reviewing and studying the implementation, operation, and effectiveness of state programs and agencies.
The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2013 legislative session.
|Accountability and Administrative Review Members, 2013
|Democratic members (8)
|Republican members (5)
|• Jim Frazier, Chair
|• Katcho Achadjian, Vice-chair
|• Joan Buchanan
|• Travis Allen
|• Ian Charles Calderon
|• Jeff Gorell
|• Ken Cooley
|• Curt Hagman
|• Bonnie Lowenthal
|• Kristin Olsen
|• Jose Medina
|• Sharon Quirk-Silva
|• Rudy Salas
The following table describes committee membership for the 2011 legislative session.
|Accountability and Administrative Review Members, 2011
|Democratic members (8)
|Republican members (5)
|• Roger Dickinson, Chair
|• Martin Garrick, Vice-chair
|• Martin Block
|• Paul Cook
|• Joan Buchanan
|• Nathan Fletcher
|• Alyson Huber
|• Shannon Grove
|• Bonnie Lowenthal
|• Curt Hagman
|• Holly J. Mitchell
|• Richard Pan
|• Anthony Portantino, Jr.


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Dáil Éireann - Volume 653 - 08 May, 2008
Written Answers. - Proposed Legislation.
Deputy Eamon Gilmore Deputy Eamon Gilmore
[1135] Deputy Eamon Gilmore asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans she has to clarify and update legislation on eligibility for health and personal social services; if it is intended to address eligibility for chiropodity services, in the context of that legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17732/08]
Deputy Mary Harney Deputy Mary Harney
Deputy Mary Harney: As the Deputy is aware, my Department is currently preparing legislation to provide for clear statutory provisions on eligibility for health and personal social services. The aim is to produce a clear set of statutory provisions that ensure equity and transparency and to bring the system up to date with developments in service delivery and technology that have occurred since the Health Act 1970. The legislation will define specific health and personal social services more clearly; set out who should be eligible for what services, as well as criteria for eligibility; establish when and in what circumstances charges may be made and provide for an appeals framework. My Department is currently examining the range of services that will be defined in legislation. It is expected that proposals will be brought to Government during 2008.
Dáil Éireann 653 Written Answers. Proposed Legislation.


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Union Pacific Railroad Company v. United Transportation Union
|Case Number:
|August 1, 2005
|Kansas District Court
|Kansas City Office
|Presiding Judge:
|Kathryn H. Vratil
|Nature of Suit:
|Labor: Railway Labor Act
|Cause of Action:
|45:151 Railway Labor Act
|Jury Demanded By:
Available Case Documents
The following documents for this case are available for you to view or download:
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|August 1, 2005
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A2B Shirt SS Women's
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Created to move from the bike to the workplace, the A2B SS Shirt is designed for the active urban commute. The cotton/nylon blend combines cool, natural fibre comfort with nylon's added strength. With a focus on freedom and function, the A2B's overall design is the result of the longstanding Arc'teryx commitment to deliver use specific, performance driven products for women.
The A2B is more than a shirt. Crafting it for the bike commute required Arc'teryx to utilize specific performance aspects selected for a body in motion. The Trim fit features articulated patterning and gusseted underarms for extended mobility. The chest pocket is carefully designed to keep items secure while bent over handlebars. Elastane fibers add stretch, and bar tack detailing adds subtle style.
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These trim fitting garments share motion-friendly traits with our Athletic fit, but are patterned with lower volume for reduced bulk. Our trim fit is sized for a base layer and a trim synthetic or down filled mid-layer
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- Tarha—63% cotton, 32% nylon, 5% elastane, 104g/m². Expect a decent blend of comfort and function from this lightweight stretch-woven fabric. The cotton helps keep it cool in hot conditions, while the nylon 6,6 blend and spandex adds strength and 2-way stretch.
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Atlantic Ocean, beach, MattaFoto, Mike Attanasio, Outdoors, Water, waves
What a better way to spend the first day of summer than a trip to the beach. This was made even better by the fact that it was 97 degrees at our house and within a 20 minute drive to the beach the temp. dropped 15 degrees. It was beautiful. The reason why my daughter looks so happy is that they decided to cancel the last day of school due to excessive heat, it's supposed to be in the 100's again today!


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Discover Ministry Briefing! --> The Best Way To Keep "In The Know"!
Because there are non-Christians present in corporate worship meetings, people leading those meetings need to be hospitable to non-Christians. This would include the preacher presenting the gospel to the non-Christians, someone explaining why the church meetings have certain elements such as communion or singing, and explaining Christian terms in a way that allows the non-Christian to understand what the Bible says. This does not mean that the entire service is to be seeker-sensitive and designed mainly as an evangelistic rally, but a sincere effort is made to help non-Christians understand and experience the gospel.
via 6 Biblical Principles for Corporate Worship | The Resurgence.
This seems pretty reasonable to me… what do you think? Â Is this the way YOUR church approaches your worship services?
I think the term "seeker – sensitive" can mean a lot of things. I agree our services should make non- christians feel welcome and I think we do have to be "sensitive" to the fact that not everybody may be familiar with terms and practices. BUT….when seeker sensitive means we water down what we believe and try to not make anyone feel uncomfortable….I do take issue with that. In our church we have had non believers come to us afterwards and tell us…….." they felt so moved during parts of the service and they don't know why….it's not like them to be "emotional" like that." They don't know how to put it into words that the Holy Spirit is working in their heart. I think non-christians can handle more than we sometimes think they can and when the and Presence of God is there in your service, that is what draws them back….not just an intellectual experience that they are able to process. Good post! :0)
Good points! I love when a lost person comes to church and experiences God for the first time.
I'm all for keeping the message undiluted but the form can be done with an eye and ear for the lost.
I don't think that being seeker sensitive means watering down what we believe. It is about meeting people where they are in order to bring them someplace deeper.
I agree that being "seeker sensitive" doesn't mean watered down. Often in my church experiences, I've felt "excluded" when a preacher says something like "You all know the story of . . ." only to leave me screaming on the inside "I don't know that one!" They usually at least summarize the story before going on to make their point. Non-Christians know they don't know it, but experiences like this don't make them feel comfortable.
That having been said, being a Christian is not all about being comfortable. However there are many things that can be said in different ways to facilitate openness and welcome.
Go ahead and scream that on the outside!
It will definitely create a memorable learning moment — "no, not all know these stories" for him and, for you, whether he actually cares for people or just arrogantly enjoys his own edumacatedness.
See, the real argument is whether the preacher is *people*-sensitive, overall! The *real* teacher/communicator is sensitive to ALL who have come to hear and learn.
You know, not to be argumentative, but I keep hearing this ("when seeker sensitive means we water down what we believe and try to not make anyone feel uncomfortable"), but I cannot name one church I am familiar with that does this (and I'm familiar with a LOT of churches). I guess its out there, but I just don't see it.
To me this is just an excuse to keep doing things the way they've always been done so as to not overturn the apple cart and make our constituents (the tithing members) upset.
This can and should not only be done for seekers but for people new to your community. There's nothing like being new and not having people explain things. So many times we take so much for granted in our churches (like everyone knows where the fellowship hall is) that we neglect to properly include new people by explaining and pointing out certain things to them. It helps people to really feel included and part of the body when we take the time to do these seemingly small things.
Where I pastor, I try to keep aware that there are people who don't understand the dynamics of worship or understand Christianese language. That includes people who've attended for years. I try not to assume too much. I appreciate Ginger's example above of the pastor saying, "You all know the story of…" I agree with Ginger, they don't all know the story. (Though I do refer to things like Noah's ark and the birth of Jesus without too much gap filling.)
I try to include good instructions on the weekly program we hand out. I include directions on receiving communion as well as explaining it every time we take it. I also print out the words to the Lord's Prayer in the program. I don't want to assume people know it.
I once visited a church where EVERY word spoken was printed in the program except the Lord's Prayer. It was just assumed everyone knew it. I'll assume those of you reading this will know it. Funny thing is, as a pastor, I stressed when we came to the part of debts/debtors, trespasses/trespassers. So where were my thoughts at that moment, on God or on my own acts?
I try not to use big five dollar words when preaching. My job as pastor is to interpret those big words and concepts; sanctification, atonement, etc into a language that the people can understand.
Having said all that, I'm demonstrating how I try to be seeker sensitive while bringing God's Word to people.
Why must we repeatedly justify attempts to contextualize the Scripture to our unique audience? I sometimes feel that if the critics were around in Jesus' time, they'd have attacked him for using parables to "water down" God's judgment, and then scream about the feminization of God by comparing the King of Kings to a mother hen (Matt 22:37) We can either keep biblical truth trapped in the our preferred cultural and static contexts (KJV, 18th century hymns, seminarian terminology) or we can explain it in terms people grasp.
I'm curious how a single sinner, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, ever came to Christ in our corporate services before thoughts such as this one became a guiding principle.
Passionate intercessory prayer, perhaps? The measure of a church's powerful prayer life is seemingly being supplanted by encouragement to make non-Christians comfortable as a precondition to their confession of Christ as savior.
Better to ask the Lord to create an atmosphere in which the Spirit's presence convicts non-Christians of their sins so intensely they seek repentance far above understanding the liturgy, in my opinion.
I think you might be setting up an either/or choice where there is no reason to do so. Why can't there be both?
The first great church growth movement happened when the Spirit caused disciples to speak in the (literal) language of people who had not yet heard the Gospel. Why would God not lead us to do the same today?
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Sindidi Sufi Music
Community News
MCB statement on Peshawar atrocity
An Open Letter to the Home Secretary
Talha Ahsan's heartbreaking account
Preparing for the 2015 General Election!
The British Muslim Narrative
The book of stories now available is like a latter-day Lord of the Flies, except it describes the work of a modern democratic European state at work in the cradle of civilisation. It is a shocking read: multiple anal rapes and other serious sexual abuse; the routine abuse of women and children; the detention and abuse of minors; the use of dogs; sexual, religious and cultural humiliation; the use of hardcore pornography; serious threats of all types; mock executions. Casual brutality was meted out to all and sundry: to sheikhs in front of their families; to women and children in their homes; to young men held incommunicado; to children casually dispatched by lethal force.


text:
Scott Foundas is the chief film critic for the Village Voice. Before Foundas, a native of Tampa, Florida, moved to New York in 2009, he was the film editor at the Voice's sister paper in Los Angeles, LA Weekly, from 2005 to 2009. Foundas was also associate program director at the Film Society of Lincoln Center from January 2010 to December 2012. Foundas' film reviews and features appear in all Voice Media Group publications, as well as on its websites and mobile platforms. Follow Scott on Twitter at @FoundasOnFilm.
George A. Romero is no stranger to acclaim as one of America's great genre filmmakers. But why equivocate? In the 37 years since his startling... More >>