text:
Wanting the ball
Speckman emerges as softball team's ace, one of most dominant athletes on campus
Khalil Mack. Javon McCrea.Tori Speckman.
Tori Speckman?
Anybody who even remotely follows University at Buffalo Athletics has certainly heard of the first two names listed above. Mack could be the No. 1 pick in May's NFL Draft and McCrea is being scouted by teams throughout the NBA as a potential draft pick or at least a training camp invitee.
They are two of the greatest athletes in the history of this school. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are the two most dominant athletes at UB.
Speckman, a senior, is the ace of the Buffalo softball team. She has started 21 of Buffalo's 31 games and has posted an 11-9 record with a 2.24 ERA. Speckman has 143 strikeouts in 131 1/3 innings and 16 complete games.
But even more than the numbers, it's her position that demonstrates dominance. Looking to avoid Mack? Triple-team him and let your offense operate on the other side of the field. Looking to stop McCrea? Put three defenders on him every time he touches the ball in the paint and force other players to score.
How do you contain a pitcher in softball? You can't.
The game doesn't begin until the pitcher throws the ball. Then the catcher throws it back and the at-bat doesn't resume until the pitcher throws it again. Speckman can't be avoided - unless she's in the dugout, which seldom occurs.
She has been one of the Bulls' most feared pitchers since stepping on campus. Speckman started 58 of Buffalo's 140 games (41 percent) over her first three seasons. Including this season, she has started 46 percent of the games since she's been in a Buffalo uniform.
She's been pitching the majority of her games since before she was 10 years old. When her 10-and-under team won nationals, Speckman pitched the final two games - which took place at 3 and 5 a.m., respectively, after beginning at 10 a.m. the day before.
When describing herself in one word, she opted for "domineering" after about 30 seconds of pondering.
"I'm literally going to dominate each batter," Speckman said. "It's something I work really hard for. Every game, I have the ball. And I plan to have the ball a lot."
Before you step into the batter's box, Speckman has already struck you out. Maybe not on the scorecard, but in her mind.
She attempts to keep her head clear and thoughts simple while warming up in the pregame. Once she steps on the mound, however, it's a different story.
"[I do] so much self talk, it's crazy," Speckman said. "I sound like a mental case."
She visualizes the entire at-bat - pitch by pitch - and how she plans to attack the hitter.
Speckman has already recorded at least eight strikeouts in nine games this season - which is more than one per inning.
"She knows her skills," said junior catcher Alexus Curtiss, who's caught for Speckman the majority of the past three seasons. "She knows that she's basically going to head on out there and take everybody down. That's her mindset."
This "self talk" has helped Speckman tremendously throughout the season, but it wasn't always this way. During her first few seasons, she referred to this process as "stress talk."
Rather than thinking about how she would strike a batter out, she thought about avoiding failure. Now, she visualizes success.
Speckman only operates at one speed on the mound - fast. If her catcher doesn't return the ball almost instantaneously, she will hold her glove out in anger and just wait.
"I am bossy and I'm very bossy on the mound, too, and it's bad," Speckman said. "They get so irritated with me when I do that."
She loves the competitive nature of pitching. It's like a constant one-on-one with a new batter throughout the game. It also allows her to remain in control.
"I love to be in control," Speckman said. "I'm a control freak, and I always tell people that's why I'm a pitcher - because I need to have the ball every pitch."
In the second game of the team's doubleheader against Florida A&M this season, Speckman went up to head coach Trena Peel and asked for the ball.
Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. But Speckman had just come off a nine-inning, 11-strikeout performance in a 3-2 victory. A regulation softball game is only seven innings.
She thought to herself, I could totally pitch again. And when she told Peel, the coach gave her the ball.
"From a coaching standpoint, I love her competitiveness because that's something you can't teach," Peel said. "That's just kind of something you have. I wish I had her for four years and not just one because I think now she's just starting to peak in her career."
Speckman pitched another complete game and recorded eight strikeouts while only surrendering two unearned runs in Buffalo's 2-1 loss.
"I tell people I would rather pitch until my arm falls off than not be in the game," Speckman said.
With Peel as the coach, Speckman said she doesn't feel the need to ask for the ball often. She knows the game is hers, unless she tells Peel otherwise.
Speckman went into her game Saturday feeling "rusty" - she had a four-day break from games. Yet she did something only two other pitchers in Buffalo softball history had ever done:
She pitched a no-hitter.
Speckman wasn't even aware she was flirting with a no-hitter until the game was over. It's considered taboo to discuss a no-hitter on the bench, so none of her teammates mentioned anything. The pitcher, however, didn't find anything weird about the avoidance. She often keeps to herself between innings.
"To be honest, I kind of do that to myself in every game," Speckman said. "I don't like to get too involved and too amped up when we are hitting because I'll get too excited."
Her mind was preoccupied with fixing her mechanics to throw stronger pitches. She credited her defense - especially senior infielder Tori Pettine - for the no-hitter.
"Everyone else said they were thinking about it during the game, but I had no idea," Speckman said. "I was totally clueless."
Speckman also has these lapses off the field. She described herself as "kind of spacey," and Curtiss - who lives with Speckman - said she has plenty of stories about Speckman's forgetfulness.
Just a few weeks ago, the two had to return to Chipotle because Speckman left her bag there. Speckman leaves her bag and glove behind often and would "lose [her] head if it wasn't on [her] shoulders." Even when leaving an interview, Speckman had to run back because she forgot her wallet in the dugout.
Although this can create more stress for herself and others in her personal life, she believes it's a strength on the mound.
"I'm not going to lie, I feel like sometimes that helps me with my pitching because I'm able to just forget and move on," Speckman said. "I can forget anything, so I don't hold onto the negative too much because it's out of my mind - just like a lot of things are."
Young athletes often look to professionals for motivation. After all, their goal is to be like the pros one day. Another popular motivational selection is a parent or older sibling who introduced them to the game and drove them to succeed.
This isn't the scenario for Speckman. She wants to be like her younger sister Rebekah, who has no interest in playing softball.
Rebekah is four years younger than Speckman and suffers from a severe case of dyslexia. She had to change schools and deal with bullies and is currently being homeschooled. Speckman admires how Rebekah handles herself through the obstacles she experiences daily.
"She is so sweet and so loving to everyone, despite all the negative things she's been through," Speckman said. "And even though she is younger than me, I look up to her. I have to strive to be more like her."
When most people think of dyslexia, they think of the obstacles of reading words off a page, but Speckman spoke about how Rebekah can be at an airport terminal and unsure if she's reading the correct number.
Dyslexic people sometimes have lower self-esteem because they feel unintelligent, which isn't the case for Rebekah. Speckman believes dyslexia is extremely misunderstood.
"I always tell her that you can do anything," Speckman said. "It's not going to be easy, but you can do anything. Anybody can do anything they really set their mind to and I truly, truly, truly believe that."
Speckman, a Texas native, originally had no interest in playing at Buffalo.
She had been receiving emails from schools all over the country about college softball. Whenever an offer came from a school she didn't like, she would ignore it. She responded to Buffalo, however, saying the school was too far and too cold for her and didn't want to waste the program's time.
About a month later, she started to change her mind. She thought the idea of playing and living in New York would be cool and emailed the Bulls back without talking to her parents and set up a visit.
Speckman came for a visit during the first week of classes - before the weather dipped to freezing. Speckman instantly clicked with the girls on the team and knew she wanted to go to Buffalo.
Before this year, the pitcher had clashed with her previous coaches in Buffalo. Despite starting over 40 percent of games, she wanted the ball more often. She said she had even thought about leaving the team because she "wasn't sure of [her] role."
After at least 20 starts as both a freshman and sophomore, Speckman's starts decreased to 18 last season under former head coach Jennifer Teague. Speckman felt like she "had to fight" the coaching staff to get the ball.
Then the Bulls hired Peel this summer, and her hiring was the change Speckman needed. Peel came in with no preset notions. She offered everybody a shot, something Speckman said she and the team appreciated.
Speckman was motivated to have her best season - and one of the best in program history.
"I had so much experience and seen the good, the bad and the ugly, and I had kind of decided on what player I wanted to be, especially my senior year," Speckman said. "And the chance to come in and really show these coaches what I was about, what I could bring to the team."
Peel changed the team's attitude immediately. She brought in an aura of confidence. She preached "swagger," which is currently on the back of their practice shirts. She embraced Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson's simple words before the big game: "Why not us?"
"They want you to show off," Speckman said. "They want you to be that cocky player, and I am that kind of person who thinks that's what makes it fun."
When Peel was hired, Speckman knew it was a fresh start. She was playing for a coach who had a winning history, and Speckman could prove to Peel why she deserved the ball.
Speckman and the entire team are fighting for the same goal - a Mid-American Conference Championship.
The Bulls had more losses in MAC play alone (44) than total wins overall (42) from 2011-13. Though they considered transferring during the first three seasons, Speckman and fellow seniors Sammi Gallardo, Holly Luciano, Heather Ryder and Tori Pettine never left.
They believed their class could do something special.
"Every year, I'm like, 'We are one year closer, don't any of you leave me now,'" Speckman said.
The Bulls already have 16 wins this season - equal to the team's most since Speckman came to Buffalo.
"Once you have that bad taste, it makes everything so much sweeter now that it is good," Speckman said.
The team's confidence in Speckman is just as strong as her confidence in herself. When she steps on the mound, the Bulls know they always have a good chance to win.
Speckman and Luciano wear 21 and 12, respectively. The two say the opposite numbers represent how they "have each other's back." If Speckman struggles, she will turn toward her centerfielder, who gives a look to remind her the team is behind her.
"The words can't even explain the different Tori that's out there this year compared to what it was freshman year," Luciano said. "She is just on a roll and she's going to lead this team to MACs."
Speckman's personal goal for the season is to be an All-MAC first-team selection. Her no-hitter came in her first conference start of the season, but it's not satisfying enough - she wants another and believes she can get one.
She wants the ball every game. She's determined to do all she can in her final college season.
"I think her wanting the ball all the time is her wanting to go out her senior year with a bang," Peel said. "She doesn't want to be the one on the sideline watching someone else. Whether we win or lose, she wants to be that one in the circle."
It's a safe bet that Speckman will be throwing the Bulls' final pitch this season. It may not be at 5 a.m., but it could be later in the year than any Buffalo softball pitcher has experienced in a long time.
email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
From Around the Web
More ubspectrum News Articles
- UB's Kristjan Sokoli is relentless on and off the field
- Hardwood report card
- UB Bulls defeat MAC East leader behind largest home crowd in four years
- UB Bulls Basketball tailgate canceled
Recent ubspectrum News Articles
Discuss This Article
'Serial' podcast calls on UB professor's expertise By Charles Schaab
Baroque in the modern world By KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS
- LED Technology Helping People See The World in a Whole...
- Ice Dams Put Homes at Risk for Termites
- 5 Tips to Having a Happy, Healthy Heart
- What Does Million in IRS Budget Cuts Mean for Taxpayers?
- Workers Say a Good Cup of Coffee Can Make Entire Workday...
- Fresh Fruit Delivers Fun and Nutrition
- Say No to the Knife: Reduce the Likeliness Of Surgery...
- Give Your Kitchen a New Look With a Lighting Update
- Garden Project Spreads Its Roots in Urban Areas
- The Need for Voluntary Insurance Is on the Rise
- 10 Reasons Why Cancun is the Spring Break Mecca of the World
- What's Next in Learning Spaces?
- carpooling, Europe's No. 1 ridesharing app, debuts in U.S. to college market
- PwC US Launches CareerAdvisor


text:
Gale Jet Boat Question |
By Fred Farley - ABRA Unlimited Historian |
QUESTION: What's the story on the GALE jet boat of 1958? - Brian Millin ANSWER: The Gale Enterprises' jet boat that Les Staudacher constructed in 1958 was the first of its kind to be built in America. It was not propeller-driven. The unnamed craft made one public appearance--in an exhibition run at the 1958 Detroit Silver Cup--with Lee Schoenith driving. I once asked Jerry Schoenith about the boat. He replied, "It made more noise than speed." The hull shape resembled something from the Gar Wood era and was without benefit of sponsons. There was some discussion in late 1958 about the possibility of installing the hardware from out of the retired GALE VI (i.e., twin Allisons, gearbox, propeller shaft, etc.) in the jet hull. But to my knowledge, that never happened. The Schoenith jet boat was still in existence as recently as the 1980s. Everyone assumed that it had been burned by the Schoeniths along with several of their retired GALE Unlimiteds in the 1960s. But that wasn't the case. A friend of mine discovered the jet hull in storage at a marina in Michigan about 25 years ago. He had possession of it for a time. I don't know where the boat is now. Apparently, the Schoeniths weren't aware that someone in the GALE organization had sold it years ago. They were pretty upset and demanded that the hull be returned to them. (They wanted to "dispose" of it.) But my friend had a legal bill of sale and wouldn't surrender the craft. If anyone knows of the Schoenith jet boat's present whereabouts, I would appreciate knowing about it. In later years, Staudacher experimented with a couple of other jet boats--TEMPO-ALCOA for Guy Lombardo and MISS STARS AND STRIPES II for Robert B. Evans. While at the wheel of the Evans craft in 1963, Les almost lost his life on Michigan's Hubbard Lake when the steering gear failed at 280 miles per hour. |

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Big Game Regulations
Includes seasons for deer, antelope, elk, fall turkey, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and mountain lion.
It is important that you read and understand all regulations before your hunt. The following regulations apply to taking, possessing, transporting and storing big game during established seasons. Questions on specific regulations should be directed to a Game, Fish & Parks Wildlife Division Office or a conservation officer.
other information
South Dakota Codified Law
(as established by S.D. Legislature)
Administrative Rule
(as established by GFP Commission)


text:
Before you give in to Blog RSS Overload, take a look how Bscopes complements your feed reader
You can check out existing heatmaps or register to make your own.
Bscopes finds the blog post needle in the blogosphere haystack. Specifc to your topics of interest. Updated daily.
You can:
Bscopes Heatmaps:
To eliminate information overload, we've created our own special secret sauce which combines important ingredients about each blog. We then weigh and measure them to create the Heatmap score.
We've created a power RSS Feed Reader Web Client bringing together over 10,000 of the most popular blog RSS feeds into more than 800 topics. They are continuously monitored, updated and scored.
You can quickly move from topic to topic and determine the most important things to read today. Plus, you can directly access any blog post or entire feed without leaving Bscopes.
[...] seems illustrative of the new skills that need to be developed to solve the problem of information overload
Bscopes creates from your RSS feeds a 2-dimensional space that allows you to assemble a vision. So you can, at a single glance, see what blogs to focus attention on. Conversely, you can choose to leave room for serendipity and strolling off the beaten track.


text:
This is a syndicated post from LifeSiteNews.com Latest Headlines. [Read the original article...]
by Susan Michelle Tyrell Jan. 6, 2014 (LiveActionNews.org) – The Race for the Cure has hit a wall. Breast Cancer giant Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been embroiled in funding controversies, and a new report shows that its revenue is plummeting, not only for its once-popular race, but also for its organization at large. Reports… (102)


text:
ChordsChords v2Chords v3TabsTabs v2Ukulele
Chords used: EADGBE C|032010 G|320003 E|022100 Am|002210 F|003211 D|000232 Verse: C G E G If I could recollect a-from my hood days I sit and reminisce, thinkin of bliss on the good days I stop and stare at the younger, my heart goes to 'em They tested with stress that they under And nowadays things change Everyone's ashamed of the youth cause the truth look, strange And for me it's a first We left 'em a world that's cursed, and it - hurts Cause any day they'll push the button And all come in like Malcolm X or Bobby Hutton died for nuttin Don't it make you get teary, the world looks dreary When you wipe yo' eyes see it clearly There's no need for you to FEAR me If you take your time and HEAR me, maybe you can learn to CHEER me It ain't about black or white cause we human I hope we see the light before it's ruined, my ghetto gospel Chorus: G D C Those who wiiiiish to follow me (my ghetto gospel) Am D I welcome with my haaaaaaaaaands G D C And the red sun sinks at last, into the hills of gold Am F C And peace to this young warrior, without the sound D of guns Verse: Tell me do you see that old lady, ain't it sad Livin out of bags, plus is glad for the little things she, has And over there there's a lady, crack got her crazy Guess who's givin birth to a, baby? I don't trip and let it fade me Even now I get discouraged Wonder if they take it all back, will I still keep the - courage? I refuse to be a role model I set goals, take control, drink out my bottles I made mistakes, but learned from every one And when it's said and done, I bet there's got to be a better one If I upset you don't stress, never forget That God is up in this with me yet I feel his hand on my brain When I write rhymes I go blind and let the Lord do his, thang But am I less holy? Cause I chose to puff a blunt, and drink a beer with my homies Before we find world peace We gotta find peace within the war in the streets, my ghetto gospel Chorus: G D C Those who wiiiiish to follow me (my ghetto gospel) Am D I welcome with my haaaaaaaaaands G D C And the red sun sinks at last, into the hills of gold Am F C And peace to this young warrior, without the sound D of guns This is a great song by Tupac Shakur and I hope you enjoy Yours truly, Matt Minto Comments
Popular Tupac Shakur tabs & chords Song lyrics
↑ Back to top | Tablatures and chords are parodies/interpretations of the original songs. You may use it for private study, scholarship, research or language learning purposes only |


text:
CSC to host business conferenceStaff report | February 25,2013Grow Your Business Over-Easy in 2013 will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 25 at Castleton State College. The all-day business conference will provide a venue for entrepreneurs in start-ups and expanding businesses to learn how to grow their company.
Experts will provide hands-on instruction on how to succeed in business. Participants will have access to individuals who are prepared to "go deep" to assist businesses in finding solutions to specific problems and challenges.
Regardless of the industry, there are consistent challenges for both startups and growing entrepreneurial businesses. This day will provide information that every business owner, corporate leader and entrepreneur needs to know.
Business leaders will share advice, personal practical stories and knowledge that will be invaluable for the next generation of business leaders and young entrepreneurs.
The forum is designed to share experiences in the high tech, specialty foods/agriculture and energy fields.
The keynote speaker will be either Gov. Peter Shumlin or Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras. Speakers will include Mary Powell, president and CEO, Green Mountain Power; Cairn Cross, co-founder, Fresh Tracks Capital; Jim Harrison, president, Vermont Grocers Association; Vince Galluccio, founder, Vermont Farmstead Cheese Co.; Whitney Lamy, founder, Castleton Crackers; Matt Dunne, head of community affairs, Google; Don Mayer, co-owner, Small Dog Electronics; Brian Grady, business leader, GE Aviation, Rutland; Thomas Donahue, executive vice president, Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce; Jamie Stewart, executive director, Rutland Economic Development Authority.
The conference is sponsored by Chris Fucci Associates. The cost is $40. Registration and checks should be mailed to Chris Fucci Associates, 230 West St., Rutland 05701. Net proceeds will be donated to the Carly Ferro Memorial Fund. The registration deadline is March 4.MORE IN This Just InThe Associated Press Full StoryPolice: Man robbed Full StoryIllegal gun buy Full Story -
- Most Popular
- Most Emailed
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1393, quick thinking teen girl saves King Charles IV of France from burning alive at masquerade ball; in 1760, Vermont town of Pownal created by N.H. Gov. Benning Wentworth; Canuplin, Filipino movie star, born.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day, 1700, Cascadia Earthquake, Magnitude 9 plus, strikes West Coast with tsunami effects felt as far away as Japan; in 1885, troops loyal to Sudanese Mohammad Ahmad conquer Khartoum; in 1992, Boris Yeltsin untargets U.S.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 971 AD, Southern Han war elephant corps defeated by Song Dynasty troops bowmen; in 1870, Montana, Marias massacre, U.S. kills 173 Native Americans; in 1941, Charles Lindbergh recommends neutrality pact with Nazis.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Bryanna Allen reports Castleton Downtown hosts open house, fire in Springfield leaves family without a roof of their own, suspected Bosnian war criminal trial goes to jury, Brent Curtis reports Rutland Town budget set to rise.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Bill in Legislature proposes naming beagle Vermont state dog; Associated Press looks back at year in opiate abuse; Shapiro's in Brandon soon to close after 75 years; probe shows illegal online gun sales booming.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1861, JEFFERSON DAVIS resigns from the U.S. Senate to become president of the Confederate States of America, in 1908, NYC passes law forbidding women from smoking in public; in 1968, B-52 crashes, loses H-bomb.


text:
Although we know the boy as Kyouhei and the girl as Mei, their official names have been revealed to be Nate and Rosa (respectively)! Pretty good names in my opinion Behind the spoiler are two characters who are plot related. As Zowayix noted, these names play on the theme of "resonance" (kyoumei in Japanese) and their names sound like resonate.
Spoiler | Show> |
Not much time left before the release!
<3 pokejungle
Featured Thread: Types; Too many or not enough?


text:
Northwest Tree Grove at Ingraham High School
The Seattle School District is going to cut down 27 trees tomorrow Friday Jan 28, 2011 (about one quarter of the NW Grove) at Ingraham High School. For several days the School District has been assembling equipment and preparing to cut down the trees. Tomorrow students have the day off.
Tonight just before dark I went over to check things out once again and asked a worker in a hardhat when they were going to cut the trees down. His response was that "tomorrow the trees would be screaming". It's strange but I could not think of a more apt response for the trees.
If Seattle Mayor McGinn has his way, no trees in Seattle will be protected from destruction. Ingraham is only a precursor to many more trees being lost because Mayor McGinn is proposing to deregulate all tree protection in the city. Strange that someone who supposedly ran with a label as an environmentalist has no love for protecting Seattle's green infrastructure. When we tried to talk to McGinn and his staff about saving the Ingraham trees he choose to ignore us and wouldn't even schedule an opportunity for us to discuss the situation with him.
McGinn instead has signed off on an initial draft proposal by his Department of Planning and Development to literally remove all protections for trees in Seattle, including tree groves and exceptional trees. The proposal claims that it increases tree protection when it would take us back to before we had any laws to protect trees. The proposal says that instead of laws to protect trees we should trust that education and incentives will protect trees. As if that worked to convince the Seattle School District to save the Ingraham trees. Meanwhile other cities like Lake Forest Park and Kirkland and Issaquah have moved to strengthen their tree ordinances in recent years.
Unfortunately, even with current regulations,trees already have no standing in Seattle and no voice because DPD (Seattle's Department of Planning and Development) gives priority to helping people build whatever they want rather than saving trees and green space. The benefits of trees to clean the air and provide oxygen and reduce storm water runoff and provide habitat to animals and screen noise and pollutants and provide visual delight is given no value when DPD says that trees can be saved except when they limit the development potential of a lot.
DPD has a conflict of interest in both trying to help people develop their lots and save trees. Trees almost always lose because DPD assigns them no economic valve despite the services they provide the city. Trees need a voice of their own and should be protected by assigning tree regulatory authority to another city department like Seattle Public Utilities which sees their value in dealing with storm water runoff. They know that as we lose trees we increase man made infrastructure costs to make up for the lost services of our urban forest trees.
. Neighbors and others who want to keep our city green with trees must become a more vocal advocate for trees. Save the Trees – Seattle is working with a city wide group of tree advocates called "Save Our Urban Forest Infrastructure" to enact stronger protections for trees and our urban forest so we don't become the Emerald City in legend only.
Of course the School District has been quiet on specifically when they were going to cut the trees down. At 9:37 PM tonight I got an e-mail from School Board member Sherry Carr in which she said she was just told by facilities that the trees would probably be cut down tomorrow.
One of our members, an arborist, told us that the trees can probably be cut down in 2 hours or so. After 70 years of life and good service to the City of Seattle, it's weird and sad how quickly it can all so needlessly end. The Seattle School District had prepared an Ingraham Master Plan showing they could build the addition on the open lawn on the North side without having to remove any of the tree grove.
Yet the School Administration under Superintendent Goodloe Johnson and the Seattle School Board has turned a blind eye to environmental issues, choosing not to help increase Seattle's tree canopy but instead gouge a chunk out of it by removing some of the city's oldest trees. What a great lesson for Seattle students about how to live in a world where we are increasing threatened with drastic climate change and environmental degradation as our population and use of the world's resources increases to have an ever expanding economy based on consumption.
Steve Zemke
Chair, Save the Trees – Seattle
It is with sadness that we (Save the Trees – Seattle) announce that we have reached the end of our efforts to save some 29 mature Douglas fir, western red cedar and madrone trees at Ingraham High School. We recently lost our appeal before King County Superior Court Judge Teresa Doyle and are unable to continue with an appeal to the Appellate Court because of the cost and potential liability if we lose on continued appeal.
Save the Trees – Seattle has succeeded in reducing the trees to be cut in the NW Grove from an initial 70 to less than 30. The 29 trees to be cut down represent about one quarter of the trees in the NW Grove. We also succeed in saving a mixed conifer madrone grove of the trees on the east side of the school that had been protected for 50 years in an agreement with the Parks Department but which the Seattle School District had targeted for a parking lot.
Our efforts to save the NW Tree Grove helped to get the City to pass a stronger interim tree protection law which currently protects tree groves from future development. We also originated the idea and worked to pass legislation to create the current Urban Forestry Commission. And we are working now to fight the proposal by the Mayor and his Department of Planning and Development to deregulate tree protection in the city that would send us back to the roar of chainsaws clearcutting what trees remain in Seattle's reduced tree canopy which has been reduced by half since the 1970's.
The time to appeal expires as of Dec 9th so we expect the Seattle School District to rev up their chainsaws and cut the trees down as early as this weekend. We urge you to stop by and say good-by to the 29 trees condemned to die because of the City's and the Seattle School District's blindness to environmental and ecological values.
If the trees are gone when you come by, we urge you to pay homage to the 70 plus years of service they provided the city by reducing stormwater runoff, cleaning our city's air, producing oxygen for us to breathe, providing a park area for the school and the neighborhood, providing habitat for birds and squirrels and insects and other animals and plant life, for being part of the last 50 plus acres of an uncommon plant habitat in Seattle (a conifer madrone forest), and for just being there for their beauty and serenity.
This Sunday (Dec 12, 2010) at 10 AM we will hold a Citizen's Memorial Service on the North side of the tree grove to honor the trees for their 70 years of service to our neighborhood and city and to say good -by.
The street is N 135th between Ashworth Ave N and Meridian Ave N. Please come by and bring something in writing or a sign or flowers or something to post on the wire fence circling the grove. Bring a poem or words or a picture to share with others as we grieve for this unnecessary loss of part of our city and our neighborhood and our green urban forest infrastructure.
And vow to write to the Mayor and the Seattle City Council, urging them to reject efforts to eliminate all protections for existing trees as the Mayor proposes. Urge that they strengthen our tree laws to protect trees like those being cut down at Ingraham High School.
And if you are able to – please donate to Save the Trees to help pay off our legal bills and support our efforts needed over the next year to get a much stronger tree protection law passed. Contributions can be sent to Save the Trees-Seattle, c/o Steve Zemke, 2131 N 132nd St, Seattle, WA 98133. If you have questions or would like to help in our fight, you can contact us at email@example.com or call 206-366-0811.
We want to thank everyone who has helped over the last three years. Your support has keep us going. While we have not saved all of the NW Grove, we have reduced the impact and loss overall. We as a group are dedicating ourselves to strengthening our City's tree laws so that other trees in our city can avoid the fate facing those trees being cut down at Ingraham High School with taxpayer dollars. On Sunday we will pay homage to those trees that are dying an unnatural death despite their long service of 70 years to our city. We hope you will join us in saying thanks on Sunday.
Steve Zemke
Chair – Save the Trees-Seattle
PS – Come by and see the trees and post something on the fence or leave something when you can. As I noted, there is no guarantee that the trees won't be cut down before Sunday. The 29 trees to be cut down are those closest to the west side of the Ingraham High School Building.
E-mails for the Seattle City Council are:
Also send a letter to: Mayor McGinn, Seattle City Hall 7th floor, 600 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124-4749
PPS: Please forward this to others as time is short. Let neighbors and others know and come on Sunday.
In a brief decision, King County Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle recently ruled against the appeal of Save the Trees-Seattle to prevent clear cutting a quarter of a grove of 70 year old, 100 foot tall Douglas fir, western red cedar and western madrone tress in an uncommon plant habitat at Ingraham High School in North Seattle. This was despite the fact that only a few hundred feet away the Seattle School District had identified in a Master Plan a large open lawn area as a future building site.
The decision clearly says that in Seattle trees have no legal standing. Judge Doyle's decision in essence says that development of any property in the city trumps tree protection and preservation. The Seattle Department of Planning and Development's stated policy is that they are all for protecting trees unless it limits the development potential of a lot. In this instance Judge Doyle is saying it does not even matter if there are alternative locations close by on the site that the building could be moved to or even if habitat is uncommon.
Despite Seattle City law saying that priority should be given to protecting uncommon, unique, or rare habitat, the Judge's decision ignored a Seattle Hearing Examiner's decision that the NW Grove is an uncommon plant habitat in the city of Seattle. It is a remnant of a conifer madrone forest in the City of which only 52 acres remain elsewhere. The species diversity present at the Ingraham site, some 14 different tree and shrub species, is comparable to that at the other major site where this plant community exists, namely at Seward Park in South Seattle.
What is disturbing about the decision is that it supports DPD's tacit authority to ignore City tree protection laws and gives more impetus to DPD's current proposal to actually remove from current city law, all protections for trees outside development. In any given year only 1% of city property is being developed. That means that 99% of the City's trees in any given year would have no protection.
DPD's proposal was reviewed by Mayor McGinn before it was released. It would remove all protection for exceptional trees and for tree groves. It is a death warrant for our city's trees and will make it impossible to reach our goal of increasing the city's tree canopy over the next 20 years or so.
The proposed clear cutting of the trees at Ingraham High School is just a continuation of the unofficial policy of the City of Seattle to prioritize development by any means over protection of our urban forest infrastructure. And now DPD wants to formally make it City law to prevent citizens from even questioning the misplaced priorities of the City.
Citizens need to speak out against this senseless slaughter of trees and our urban forest infrastructure without regard for the social, environmental and economic costs of this loss and the loss of what citizens value in living and enjoy in a city with trees and a vibrant urban forest.
Send an e-mail to Mayor McGinn and all 9 members of the Seattle City Council and urge they reject DPD's proposal and instead work to add additional protections to the interim ordinance passed last year by the City Council.
Councilmembers' e-mail adresses:
Send a letter: Mayor's Office, Seattle City Hall 7th floor, 600 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124-4749
It was a long shot expecting the City of Seattle to come to the defense of the old trees at Ingraham High School. The Seattle School District also only sawthe trees as an impediment to their development plans. Now Seattle Hearing Examiner Ann Watanabe has also chose to ignore the evidence in the Hearing Record and Seattle City law requiring that priority be given to protecting uncommon plant and animal habitat in the City of Seattle. She has denied the appeal by Save the Trees-Seattle to stop the 70 year old 100 foot tall eveegreen trees from being cut being cut down at Ingraham High School in North Seattle.
The decision is not yet posted on the Hearing Examiner's website. When it is I will post a link here.
The environmental review now goes back to the King County Superior Court. We will be appealing the decision and it will be up to the court to make a final decision. They previously issued a restraining order preventing the Seattle School District from cutting down the 70 year old 100 foot tall Douglas fir, western red cedar and Pacific madrone trees until the environmental review was completed by the City of Seattle. That has now been done.
In her most recent decision Seattle hearing Examiner Ann Watanabe chose to ignore testimony from Save the Trees – Seattle that alternative sites for building the school addition were available on the Ingraham campus and that the Seattle School District padded the cost for other sites by adding in features like an additional 2000 square foot entrance on designs for the North side. Of course this raised the cost for any North side addition. The Seattle School District's designs and cost estimates for alternative sites lacked credibility when closely examined.
Many of the issues raised were ignored by the Hearing Examiner. One obvious early sign of the Hearing Examiner's limiting review of relevant issues was her upholding a preliminary motion by the Seattle School District to exclude testimony on wildlife by one of the witnesses we called, Kirk Prindle, a wildlife biologist who is a member of Seattle's Urban Forestry Commission. This was despite the submitting of new bird studies for the Seattle School District, which were included in DPD's file.
The Hearing Examiner ignored basic ecological considerations, as did the DPD and the Seattle School District. Groves of trees, particularly groves with conifers are not common in Seattle. The particular association at Ingraham of conifers and madrone trees is an uncommon plant habitat in Seattle. The Hearing Examiner in her previous decision agreed with this. There are only about 52 acres total of conifer madrone forest in all of Seattle, mostly at Seward Park. While there are scatterings of Douglas fir and madrone trees here and there in Seattle what is unique about Ingraham is that it is a 1.2 acre site and a grove of some 130 trees rather than just a few trees.
The diversity of plants and animals in a grove is directly correlated with patch or grove size size. The larger the patch size, the more diversity of plants and animals. Because all of Seattle has been logged over, except for some 50 acres of old growth at Schmidt's Park, the Ingraham Grove represents some of the oldest trees in Seattle. This older growth and uncommon plant habitat should be saved. City environmental law gives a priority for doing this. Yet at Ingraham High School, given the viable option of saving the grove in it's entirety because alternative sites exist, the Seattle Hearing Examiner has chosen not to.
Unfortunately the so called Emerald City of Seattle has a policy that we will save trees unless they prevent the development potential of a site. When this was mentioned by an employee of Seattle's Department of Planning and Development at a recent urban forest symposium on saving trees, the whole room broke out in spontaneous laughter. Yes it was said seriously but it is a joke obviously when the absurdity of the policy sinks in.
Unfortunately the consequence is not a joke. Seattle continues to lose trees, especially during development. Exceptional trees basically have no protection at any time because the whole process is complaint driven. By the time you hear the chainsaw, it is too late to stop a tree from being cut down. So DPD's proposal is that since the current system doesn't save trees, let's scrap the law mandating protection for old trees in the city altogether. It's like BP after they weren't able to initially stop the oil flow in the Gulf saying, well this didn't work so lets just stop trying.
One way the city can get some control over continued tree cutting, especially old trees is to expand its current permit system, to require a permit to cut down any tree over 6 inches in diameter on public and private property. The Seattle Department of Transportation already requires a permit before a tree can be cut down or even pruned if it is on the public right of way. Yet the DPD in their just released proposal for a new tree ordinance for the City of Seattle dismisses tree permits altogether and basically argues that we need to just encourage people to do the right thing and save trees by more public outreach and education. Like this has worked.
What we need is a change of policy and priorities. In the past people used to shot songbirds to eat. Fashion also threatened the very survival of many bird speicies as birds were killed for their feathers to create lavish "fashionable" hats. Yet we changed public policy to end this absurd killing of birds for money and fashion.
Trees are no less valuable living life forms than birds. In fact birds need native trees and shrubs to survive. Unfortunately trees are not mobile like birds. That makes them even more vulnerable. They are living entities of beauty and its an ecological necessity to protect them if birds and insects and other species are to survive on our planet. Obviously the DPD's proposal is ridiculous to eliminate protection for trees, especially exceptional trees.
We require hunting licenses to kill various wildlife and populations are monitored to ensure that overhunting does not occur and a species is wiped out. It's time to do the same for trees in our city. Trusting that people will not cut down trees wantonly and drive species of associated animals and plants to extinction in our city should not be left to chance and wishful thinking.
The current underegulated and unenforced tree protections are resulting in a continued decline of our urban forest. Most tree increases in recent years have been the short lived, small trees that get planted in the parking strips. The large trees and few remaining groves of trees continue to be cut down. Its time to change this. The interim ordinace passed last year limits tree cutting to 3 a year yet even this is not monitored or enforced. Without permits and tracking of trees cut down we have no idea who is doing what. We see plenty of examples everyday however of trees being cut down.
Save the Trees-Seattle is working to stop trees being cut down in the city and come up with a workable new tree protection ordinance. You can help support our efforts by making a contribution to Save the Trees-Seattle. Click on the donate button below to make a contribution of $50 or $100 or or $25 or whatever you can so we can continue our efforts to save the trees in Seattle from the chainsaws.
Save the Trees-Seattle is commencing another full blown hearing today on trying to save the old conifer and madrone trees in the NW grove at Ingraham High School in North Seattle. Last year we seemingly won our appeal before the Seattle Hearing Examiner- she agreed with us that the NW Grove was an uncommon habitat in Seattle and that city environmental law said it should be protected.
Unfortunately the Hearing Examiner gave the Seattle School District the option of moving the project or reducing the footprint and the Seattle School District choose to just reduce the footprint. Trees be damned. The Seattle school District reduced the footprint of the project from a previous 44% of the grove to 38% and then started playing additional games.
They said the impact was much less because they now claimed the grove didn't start at the edge of the school but 30 feet out. Problem is 30 feet out is where the tree trunks are and groves start where their roots and canopy drip lines are, not where tree trunks actually are.
And of course the Seattle School District claimed that all the alternative building sites they looked at cost more. Originally they claimed that a 2 story building on the north side would destroy 4 classrooms in the existing building. Then in the second Addendum to their Environmental Checklist they claimed 2 classrooms were lost. They of course had to replace these classrooms so the alternative site would have to have a larger building and cost more.
The only problem is that the Architects finally agreed with Save the Trees-Seattle that no classrooms would be lost with a two story building on the north side. So the Seattle School district now claims that they must build a 2000 square foot entrance way for any North side building. In other words the fix is on. They have added extra study rooms and more utilities, you name it, to each of the other sites besides the west addition in the NW Grove grove to jack up the price.
This is the public's taxpayer dollars at work, ignoring what is good environmental policy and setting out to destroy more of an uncommon plant habitat in Seattle that also has significant canopy – these are 75 year old, 100 foot tall Douglas fir, western red cedar and Pacific Madrone trees – part of the last 50 acres of this habitat in Seattle according to a report done by Seattle Urban Nature. on the State of Seattle's Madrone Forests.
The Hearing process starts at 9 AM on the 40th Floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave. The Hearing is today, Wednesday June 23, 2010. The public is welcome to attend. The appellants go first and then the Seattle School District and Seattle Department of Planning and Development.
Today is Earth Day. For over two years the Seattle School District has been trying to add an addition to Ingraham High School by cutting down over 50 trees in the conifer madrone grove in the above picture. What a great environmental message this sends our children. The City of Seattle has twice approved the permit for the project despite the Seattle Hearing Examiner ruling in favor of the neighbors and Save the Trees-Seattle trying to save the 70 year old 100 foot tall Douglas fir, western red cedar and Pacific madrone trees in the grove.
The Seattle Hearing Examiner ruled that the grove comprised an uncommon and rare plant association in the City of Seattle that city law says should be protected. The Seattle School District in written documents and e-mails discovered during the Hearing process has selected the open North lawn in the picture above as the building site for a future addition but refuses to move the current project to that site. The Seattle School District has re-filed a slightly revised plan to build in the grove despite the negative ruling by the Seattle Hearing Examiner.
The latest project proposal to cut down the trees has been before the city's Department of Planning and Development since last September. It's time to quit wasting the taxpayers' dollars, ignoring the city's mandate to increase the city's tree canopy, and city law to protect our urban forest. Cutting down mature trees for no good reason except not wanting to listen to the public is not being a good neighbor or a partner in preserving our city's environmental health and our quality of life.
Please e-mail Mayor Michael McGinn and tell him to deny the School District's current proposed building site. Under current city law requiring the city to protect rare and uncommon plant and animal habitat, he has the authority to tell DPD to require the School District to save and protect the uncommon plant habitat on their grounds and to build elsewhere on the campus, like the open North lawn.
For Pete's sake, it's Earth Day and isn't McGinn an environmentalist?
Click on this link to send your comments to Mayor McGinn. Thanks
Save the Trees-Seattle scored another victory in their battle to stop the Seattle School District from needlesssly destroying part of an uncommon plant habitat at Ingraham High. In their second appeal hearing before the Seattle Hearing Examiner, they again got a remand of the project proposal back to the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.
Earlier this year, Save the Trees-Seattle forced a remand of the Ingraham High School Addition back to the city because they had not looked at the impact of building the addition in an uncommon plant habitat, a conifer madrone forest habitat that the city law says should be protected. Specifically SMC 25.05.675 directs that "It is the city's policy to minimize or prevent the loss of wildlife habitat or other vegetation which have substantial aesthetic, educational, ecological,and or economic value".
The Seattle School District, rather than moving the project out of the conifer madrone rare plant association, instead slightly reduced the size of the project by removing an open courtyard and resubmitted the project to the city. DPD again approved the Project despite lacking any printed rules or guidelines as to evaluating its impact on the uncommon conifer madrone forest habitat.
Save the Trees-Seattle appealed the decision to the Seattle Hearing Examiner.
Save the Trees-Seattle in prehearing motions before Seattle Hearing Examiner Anne Watanabe argued that "DPD erred because it did not issue public notice of the revised School District application or provide a public comment period on the application, as required by SMC 23.76.012."
In a quick ruling yesterday Watanabe noted that "It is undisputed that DPD did not provide notice or a public comment period on the revised application."
Anne Watanabe's ruling also noted that "The Code provides no exemption from the notice and public comment period requirements, even if the new application and resulting decision are in response to a Hearing Examiner decision."
In conclusion Watanabe stated, "While it is regrettable to postpone resolution of issues raised in these appeals, the matter must be remanded to DPD to provide the required notice and comment period. "
Below is the relevant part of Keith Scully's brief. Scully is a member of the Gendler Mann law firm and represented Save the Trees-Seattle.
"While SMC 23.76 does not spell out the requirements for public notice upon a remand and then redesign, SMC 23.76's mandate to provide "notice of application and an opportunity for public comment" to the public with the intent to "promote informed public participation in discretionary land use decisions " mandates a new public comment period on the District's new design. Were the Examiner to hold otherwise, a project proponent could submit some outlandish proposal (a heliport in a residential zone, for instance), have it remanded, and then come up with a radically different design without any public comment on the new proposal. The new design and new decision in this case mandated a new notice of appeal and filing fee: it also mandates a new public comment period so other members of the public besides the appellants can have "informed public participation" in the discretionary review of the District's new proposal"
Despite the Seattle Hearing Examiner's decision that the NW Forest area at Ingraham High School is a rare plant habitat, the Seattle School District has resubmitted plans to build there anyway. Their concession is to remove a proposed courtyard which still will force cutting down 30 old conifer trees that are 75 years old and about 100 foot tall.
The frustrating thing here is that under current law, as interpreted by Director's Rule 16-2008 on Designation of Exceptional Trees, the Seattle School District would not be able to build in this grove of trees. Unfortunately the Seattle School District, rather than bowing to current public policy, would rather just bully its way forward and cut the trees because it filed its application before the new Director's Rule went into effect.
The Seattle Hearing Examiner noted that their previous "proposal would reduce by half an uncommon habitat that the City's SEPA policy says should be protected. Given the difficulty or impossibility of replacing this amount of habitat on the site, avoidance or reduction of impacts on the grove is required if such measures are reasonable and capable of being accomplished."
The Seattle School District's refiled application is full of very questionable and subjective interpretation of why an addition in the NW Grove of trees is their best option. One of these is an evaluation by Don Gilmore, the person who oversees the BEX Program and who has the most to lose if he were to admit he made a mistake in selecting the proposed site.
Another is the Ingraham High School Principal Martin Floe who states this is the best location after having been part of a closed door design review process that excluded the public and neighbors from having input before the site was selected. He also threatened a teacher who tried to get students to save the trees by writing letters by saying this was political and not part of her job. He then rallied students to cut the trees down in a DPD public meeting held at the school and called neighbors NIMBY's. He of course forgot that neighbors are also taxpayers that foot the bill to operate and build public schools.
You can view the documents on the School District's website regarding their revised proposal. Of course, the adverse decision by the Seattle Hearing Examiner is not included in their public documents.
The City of Seattle still has the authority under SMC 25.05.675 to prohibit the Seattle School District from cutting down the trees. The problem is that the DPD approved the original design, ignoring input that the site was a rare plant habitat that city law said should be protected. The same people are now reviewing the new design. DPD has a mission to approve building projects and gives tree protection only a fleeting glance.
Diane Sugimura, DPD's Director is an appointee of Mayor Nickels. Maybe it's time for Mayor Nickel's to assert some green power and stop this unnecessary loss of trees. If the trees are cut it is under Mayor Nickel's watch. So far Nickels has talked the talk a lot but the real action of saving trees is lagging far behind. Under Nickels watch the last 8 years we have continued to lose our trees. Much more action is needed!
They lost a second time before the Seattle Hearing Examiner in a May 4, 2009 decision. In that decision, Ann Watanabe- the Seattle Hearing Examiner , ruled that the northwest forest area was "uncommon on account of the conifer/madrone/salal plant association which is present, and the relative scarcity of that association … Given the difficulty or impossibility of replacing this amount of habitat on the site, avoidance or reduction of impacts on the grove is required if such measures are reasonable and capable of being accomplished….the decision will be remanded to DPD to require additional mitigation in the form of relocation outside of the grove, or at least reduction of the building's intrusion into the grove."
On May 13, 2009 the School District filed a Motion with the Hearing Examiner asking for Reconsideration of her decision. They argued that the Northwest Grove is not an uncommon plant habitat; that the city is foreclosed from mitigating the impacts to the Grove under the SEPA policy of SMC 25.05.675.N.2 because the impacts were not shown to be more than moderate and that DPD did mitigate the adverse impacts to the Grove.
Their third loss came on May 27, 2009 when Ann Watanabe, the Seattle Hearing Examiner denied the motion, noting that "The District's motion disputes the findings and conclusions of the decision, but does not identify mistakes as to material facts. The motion is denied"
What the Seattle School District will do next in unclear. The Seattle Hearing Examiner stated in her May 4, 2009 decision that "Any request for judicial review must be commenced with 21 days of issuance of this decision in accordance with RCW 36.70C.040″
The Hearing Examiner Rules of Practice and procedure effective March 24, 2008 states that "Unless otherwise provided by applicable law, the filing of a motion for reconsideration does not stop or alter the running of the period provided to appeal the hearing Examiner's decision."
RCW 26.70C.040 states "
" A land use petition is barred, and the court may not grant review, unless the petition is timely filed with the court and timely served on the following persons who shall be parties to the review of the land use petition" and (3) "The petition is timely if it is filed and served on all parties listed in subsection (2) of this section within twenty-one days of the issuance of the land use decision."
Unless I am missing something here it appears that they have missed their deadline to appeal the Hearing Examiner's May 4, 2009 decision in King County Superior Court.
Of course we do not know what kind of deals that are trying to work out with DPD, but considering that they have previously on numerous occasions said that they have reduced their footprint for the project the maximum amount, it is hard to see what other option they have except to move the project to another area like the open lawn area on the North side of the school.
Curiouslythis whole effort to save the trees may save the Seattle School District several million dollars even considering new architectural plans, because the latest bid to build the proposed project came in over 30% under their projected costs due to the local economy being so bad.
Certainly e-mails to Seattle School Board members and Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson would be a welcome reminder to them that moving the Project to another location on the campus like the North Lawn area is what the public prefers rather than their continued efforts to cut down the trees.
Here is their contact information:
District I – Peter Maier email@example.com
District II – Sherry Carr email@example.com
District III – Harium Martin-Morris email@example.com
District IV – Michael DeBell email@example.com
District V – Mary Bass firstname.lastname@example.com
District VI – Steve Sundquist firstname.lastname@example.com
District VII – Cheryl Chow firstname.lastname@example.com
Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson – firstname.lastname@example.com
The Hearing Examiner ruled that the Ingraham High School Project
"would reduce by half an uncommon habitat that the City's SEPA policy says must be protected. Given the difficulty or impossibility of replacing this amount of habitat on the site, avoidance or reduction of impacts on the grove is required if such measures are reasonable and capable of being accomplished. In this case, DPD did not require and apparently did not evaluate whether the location or the structure footprint could be altered to avoid or minimize impacts on the northwest grove, and this was an error in light of SMC 25.05.675.N.2.
"… the use of other areas on this 28 acre campus, or at least the reduction of the proposed building footprint, would not be unreasonable or unworkable. Therefore the decision will be remanded to DPD to require additional mitigation in the form of relocation outside of the grove, or at least reduction of the addition's intrusion into the northwest grove."
Longtime Seattle School District Attorney G Richard Hill of McCullough Hill argues for the Seattle School District that the Northwest Grove is not an uncommon habitat despite correcting previous testimony presented for the Seattle School District by ESA Adolfson that ignored the presence of numerous native plant species found and documented by experts for Save the Trees – Seattle.
The Madrone conifer forest classification found at Ingraham High School comprises only about 2% of Seattle's total forested public lands. Seattle Urban Nature in their report entitled "The State of Seattle's Madrone Forest" noted that madrone forests are "rare" and "Because of their limited distribution on public lands and high ecological value, it is important to preserve and protect these areas as well as look for opportunities to acquire and protect remaining intact madrone forests". SUN states in their conclusion that "unless we begin to actively manage these forests to reduce the impact of habitat loss, invasive species and other urban pressures; we stand to lose an incredibly valuable cultural and ecological resource."
Rather than view the fact that Ingraham High School has an environmental treasure on its large 28 acre campus by virtue of the NW Forest area being a rare plant habitat that has both educational and ecological value, the School District argues that if they can't build in the grove they will continue to cut down the understory rather than restore the area. In other words if they can't have their way, don't expect them to do anything to protect the rare plant habitat. What a great example of "my way or no way" bullying to teach our students how the real world works.
During the latest Hearing Examiner process, evidence was entered into the record that pointed to the Seattle School District saying one thing to the public and another thing internally. E-mails obtained through public records from the school showed that at the same time the District said they couldn't build elsewhere on the campus, they were proceeding with planning for a future addition on the North side of the school on the open lawn area. This is one location Save the Trees argued they could build on now to save the NW Forest from being cut down.
One argument they publicly made was that a North side addition could only be a one story building. Yet in their internal e-mails they said the future addition would be a two story addition on the North side. Don Gilmore overseeing the BEX Projects confirmed under oath that it was a two story addition on the north side they were planning for. I guess he just forgot this when he wasn't under oath and was speaking to the public.
Funny thing how the Seattle School District has been posting on their BEX website the progress on the Ingraham Project but are not posting all the facts. Now that they have received an unfavorable ruling, they have stopped updating the site to include a copy of this ruling. So much for keeping the public informed about the project.
A Building Excellence Hotline that claims to be the latest construction information refers only to the Project starting construction in spring of 2009 and mentions nothing about their adverse Hearing Examiner decision,
This is despite several hundred thousand dollars being added in Oct 2008 to cover "enhanced community outreach services"- part of $650,000 approved for Ingraham, Nathan Hale and Denny Sealth BEX projects. Looks like they only want to let the community know about what's happening when it's positive for them. It sure is good to see our taxpayer dollars selectively being spent to keep the public informed of only the School District's favorable rulings.
Recent Posts
- Washington State Senate Republicans Again Want to Ignore State Constitution
- 2015 Washington State Minimum Wage to Increase to $9.47/hr.
- Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and Climate Change
- Rich Erwin Elected New King County Democrats Chair
- WA 30th LD Democrats Nominate 3 Candidates to Replace Rep. Roger Freeman
- Ballopedia
- Campaigns and Elections
- Democratic Governor's Association
- Emily's List
- Give Green
- House Democratic Campaign Committee
- League of Conservation Voters
- Organizing for Action
- Progressive Change Campaign Committee
- Senate Democratic Campaign Committee
- VotingforJudges.org
- Washington Conservation Voters
Democratic Organizations - Washington State
Progressive Media and Blogs - National
- Alternet
- America Votes
- Campaign for America's Future
- Common Dreams
- Crooks and Liars
- Daily Kos
- Environment 360
- FiveThirtyEight
- George Lackoff
- Hightower Lowdown
- Huffington Post – Politics
- Liberal Oasis
- Media Matters
- Mother Jones
- Moyers and Company
- Nation of Change
- Paul Krugman
- Progressive America Rising
- Progressive States Network News
- Talking Points Memo
- The Daily Show
- The Maddow Blog
- the Nation
- The Progressive
- Think Progress
- Thom Hartmann
- Truthdig
- UTNE Reader
- Yes!
Progressive Media and Blogs - Washington State
Progressive Organizations - National
- Ballot Initiative Strategy Center
- Center for American Progress
- Center for Economic and Policy Research
- Center for Effective Government
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Citizens for Tax Justice
- Commonweal Institute
- Earth Island Institute
- Economic Policy Institute
- Good Jobs First
- MoveOn.org
- National Priorities Project
- New America Foundation
- Population Connection
- Progress Now
- Progressive States Network
- Rocky Mountain Institute
- The Center for Public integrity
- Union of Concerned Scientists
- United for a Fair Economy
Progressive Organizations - Washington State
WA Budget and Policy Center
- One Hundred Percent of Income Gains Have Gone to the Richest Washingtonians in Economic "Recovery"
- Senate "Education by Starvation" Proposal Proves that New Revenue is Needed
- Three Reasons to Raise the Minimum Wage in Washington State
- Washington State's Upside Down Tax System Takes A Heavy Toll On Communities Of Color
- Senate Ways & Means Chair Releases Budget Analysis- Clear Nod to Forthcoming Budget Proposal by Senate
Recently posted on the NPI Advocate
- Proposed constitutional amendment to thwart unfunded mandates should be discarded
- Roger Freeman's former legislative aide joins Republican Party to run for Legislature
- Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Justice too long delayed is justice denied"
- Actions speak louder than words, and Tim Sheldon's actions make him a Republican
- Democrats settle score with Tim Sheldon by electing Pam Roach as President Pro Tem


text:
Delivering Powerful Presentations |
Giving presentations is rated as one of the most dreaded tasks assigned in the workplace. When done well, however, presentations can be a stepping stone to new opportunities. With increased confidence you can market or sell your products, services, or ideas, and gain respect and attention from your boss, peers, and customers. This workshop will help you develop your skills and decrease your anxiety in a supportive, safe environment. Many past participants have stated that this course reduced their presentation fears. It includes a pre-assessment to help you and the instructor target your strengths and areas to improve. You will learn strategies for building your confidence and capitalizing on your unique style and practice the key principles to delivering successful presentations:
Class is limited to 10 participants. | |
Nancy Ansheles, M.Ed., has been the owner of Catalyst & Co. for 19 years. She provides creative learning programs for businesses and organizations in Maine, the United States, and internationally. She facilitates learning to help participants achieve results, increase satisfaction, and reduce stress. She brings energy, humor, and a wealth of real life examples to every workshop.
2 Fridays, March 21 and 28, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Registration has ended. Please browse courses for future offerings of this course.
(12 contact hours/ 1.2 CEUs)
Class meets 3/21 & 3/28. |


text:
Family pressures dad to move
By Kathy Mitchell & Marcy Sugar Annie's Mailbox February 1, 2013 4:12PM
Updated: March 4, 2013 6:06AM
Dear Annie: My family wants to move to another state. The only reason we haven't is because of my dad's job. He has worked for the same company for 18 years and doesn't want to lose his retirement benefits. I understand how important the job is, but the company could easily allow a transfer to another branch.
Whenever we try to talk to Dad about moving, he gets angry and yells at us or leaves the room in frustration. It's causing a lot of tension at home. We feel stuck and unhappy here, and that makes me upset with my father for not putting any effort into moving. He has told us many times that he wants to go somewhere else, yet he doesn't do anything to make it happen.
Dad was looking at real estate prices in a city we vacationed in this year, but seems to have forgotten about it. How do we help him see that moving is best for all of us? There is no downside. Other branches of the company pay better than the one he works at now, and there's also the possibility that he could find a job with an entirely different company that's even better for him.
I think Dad is worried about selling the house, but how will he know whether he can sell it if he doesn't try? He is so resistant to change. How can we help him?
His Daughter
Dear Daughter: Moving away may seem like a simple thing to you, but for your father, it is fraught with uncertainty. You don't know that his company would offer to transfer him. You don't know that he could find a better, or even an adequate, job somewhere else and start from scratch to support his family. You don't know that he could sell the house for enough to buy another one. All of these things weigh on his mind, and your constant pressure adds to his unhappiness and stress.
Here's how you can help Dad: Tell him you love him and you know he is doing what he thinks is best for the family. Don't bring up the subject again. He knows how you feel. Decide to make the best of the situation you have, and if you don't move away, you have the option of leaving on your own when you are an adult.
Write to firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Coming together
"Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions." — Lao Tzu
I was searching for subjects which lend themselves to being photographed with a wide lens (14-24mm) and this wall caught my attention. This is a case of stones successfully coming together to form an attractive wall, coming together with a wide lens resulting in, for me, a pleasing image.
[info_box]I've scheduled posts to cover the next several days but I'll only be able to reply to comments as time and situation allows. [/info_box]


text:
Blog | Comments |
WoW | 89 Comments |
Recent Comments:
Alchemists can train Mixology in Patch 3.0.2 {WoW}
Oct 19th 2008 5:19PM All the gathering professions got their new bonus without even having to go to the trainer to learn them.
Patch 3.0.2 primer for Warlocks part II {WoW}
Oct 14th 2008 1:46PM Demonic resiliance is a must for pve pet tanking, dont think of it just as a pvp talent. Its the diffrence between your felguard having mail and your felguard having plate.
Oh and you 3 times refer to metamorphosis as a 20 second duration when its a 30 second duration. And intercept has a minimum range of 8 yards not a a maximum range, so you can reverse what you said, you have to get away from someone your close to not get next to them.
The Tuesday Morning Post: Is it 3.0 time yet? {WoW}
Sep 30th 2008 7:39AM Another week and they could patch something acceptable or more likely a fortnight to get it fully polished, its getting close but its not quite done yet.
Ask a Lore Nerd: Cenarius, C'Thun, and the Titans {WoW}
Sep 29th 2008 4:51AM Yes, The demons empowered some of their Night elf followers during the war of the ancients, these night elfs were mutated into the Satyrs. While it doesnt state blood was used, some other infusion of fel energies was performed.
Priest changes in Wrath beta patch 8982 {WoW}
Sep 24th 2008 6:23PM For the same reason they say DK ghouls scaling at 100% of str when warlock/hunter pets scale at 30% is overpowered, then turn around and add a glypth that increases it by another 20%?
Priest changes in Wrath beta patch 8982 {WoW}
Sep 24th 2008 6:16PM I noticed that contradiction right away as well. The only possible way it can make sense is if it works on anothers mindflay, and while a cool concept (the More of you hitting the boss the more it hurts) I belive its got to be some sorta typo.
Bug prevents beta testers from participating in the PTR {WoW}
Sep 13th 2008 9:33PM Thank God,
Youve never seen a PTR so lage free, no queues for charachter copys!!! Usually its 3 days before I even wake up in the morning.
Wrath splash screen appears on the Launcher {WoW}
Sep 10th 2008 5:43PM Probably a steady rampup of the filesize the background downloader does over the next two months, progress something like 200meg, 500meg, 1gig, 1.5gig.
And PTR by friday I wouldnt be surprised.
(1month PTR, 1 month Live = Early November)
Ask a Beta Tester: Professions and Primals {WoW}
Sep 10th 2008 11:16AM Yes, theirs a full circle of transmutes so any eternal can be turned into any other eventually by going round the circle.
Their is an equivalent of Primal Might as well
Naxx-10 loot discovered {WoW}
Sep 6th 2008 12:12PM Think of it like an item stat budget, all the stats have a cost in points and an item with an iLevel of 200 has 200 points to spend on those stats. Its a way of balancing all items against each other to be the same strength, it also allows blizzard to put completley diffrent ratios of stats on an item and still ultimatley be the same strength.


text:
Now then...
...so...are you interested in blood?
Konichiwa, im new.
Now then...
...so...are you interested in blood?
talk about a bad omen, being welcomed first by our Hassun
and welcome to AO btw
'Cause you give me something / That makes me scared, alright / This could be nothing / But I'm willing to give it a try / Please give me something
'Cause someday I might call you from my heart
Hello All Im New
EAT CHEETOS.. read the rules and have funn
beware the eao bears..
and the blood thirsty hassun... which is scarier than any bear o.o
-Just another green eyed angel, distorted by mans love for hate-|THE INFAMOUS CHEETOS OVERLORD||IceNineKills|
Hello, welcome, havie fun, jump, run, play, and mind the median.
Hellow and welcome to EAO! Hope you enjoy ur stay and uhh follow the rules and mine my gold fer me, and make me some hot cocoa, and do my laundry, and scrub my floors, and o yea, i forgot, dont forget to where a maidn's dress ^^ lol jk =P...welcome


text:
New Revised Standard (NRS) | New International Version (NIV) |
1 When Saul's son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. | 1 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. |
2 Saul's son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon a Benjaminite from Beeroth—for Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin. | 2 Now Saul's son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Recab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin--Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin, |
3 (Now the people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and are there as resident aliens to this day). | 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have lived there as aliens to this day. |
4 Saul's son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled; and, in her haste to flee, it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth. | 4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.) |
5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal, while he was taking his noonday rest. | 5 Now Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest. |
6 They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. | 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah slipped away. |
7 Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long. | 7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. |
8 They brought the head of Ishbaal to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ishbaal, son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring." | 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to take your life. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring." |
9 David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, | 9 David answered Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of all trouble, |
10 when the one who told me, "See, Saul is dead,' thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news. | 10 when a man told me, 'Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! |
11 How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?" | 11 How much more--when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed--should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!" |
12 So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron. | 12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner's tomb at Hebron. |
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Revised Standard Bible Version Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
Binaural Beat Applications for the iPhone
May 17th, 2009 in Quality Binaural Beats by WayneThere are basically three types of Binaural Beat applications for the iPhone. Fully customizable apps give you full control of the binaural beat sequence; for example they give you the ability to adjust the binaural beat frequency yourself. Simi-customizable apps that let you customize the binaural beat, background music, and (usually) length from a pre-made selection. Non-customizable apps simply play pre-recorded tracks back with no customization options.
Fully Customizable
What I like about attractor is it lets you customize the frequency of your binaural beat session. Attractor doesn't have as many options as "binaural beats" in terms of ambient music, but it more than makes up for this by allowing you to record your own audio clip (up to 15 seconds) to be played during your session, this app is my favorite because of this unique feature, which reminds me of the centerpoint advanced sessions.
- Support for multiple entrainment techniques, including Binaural Beats, Monaural Beats, Isochronic Tones/Noise, and Panning Tones/Noise, as well as background "synthetic surf".
- Includes both stereo (headphone) effects as well as monaural effects not requiring headphones.
- Programs can be either a simple, single setting, or change over time (changing volume, pitch, "beat", balance).
- Support for up to six separate tracks in a program.
Very good for the experienced user, probably the best binaural beat authoring software around!
iBrainWave: iTunes, Website
Lets you select the frequency of binaural beat to play. They say they are the only real-time beat generator available for the iPhone. It allows you to change the beat on the fly, while the other applications want you to first define your session then play it.
Entrainment Settings
- Focus – helps you concentrate on your task.
- Meditate – help you meditate faster, better.
- Relax – need a break? or brainstorm some ideas.
- Sleep – peaceful slumber – helps insomnia.
Ambient Music Settings
- High Plains Asia
- Tesla's Lab
- Gone Fishing
- Buddhist Rain
- Desert Sunrise
- A Calming Stream
- The Power Plant
- The Fountain of Raw
- A Visit to Olympus Mons
They also have a free "lite" version to try out with less options.
Binaural Beats: iTunes, Website
The first app on the app store with binaural beats: From their webpage:
9 Binaural tones: Deep dreamless sleep, Dream creation, Deep meditation, Memory helper, Lullaby, Headache killer, Relaxation, Concentration, Busy thinking.
Even though they don't mention exactly what frequencies they use to achieve these effects, I like the many options for ambient background music.
SleepStream: iTunes, Website
- Advanced Sleep Inducer and Energizer: 6 different binaural beats to choose from: Sleep, Meditate, Focus, Relax, Energize. 30+ different nature sounds for background. A timer, volume control, and special "AutoBlend" feature make this my favorite semi-customizable binaural beat application out there, very nice background music, good job.
BrainHack: iTunes, Website
11 different binaural beat presents to choose from and 4 different ambient tracks, you can also customize the length.
Custom Binaural Beats: iTunes, Website
12 preset binaural beat tracks, 10 ambient background looops, 3 options for carrier frequency.
The Mind Machine: iTunes, Website
3 different binaural beat presets (work, relax, dream), 3 different carrier frequency options (high, medium and low frequency), many different ambient background tracks, and the ability to change volume of both the binaural and the frequency during play.
Quit Smoking Now with Max Kirsten: iTunes, Website
This app uses much, much more than just binaural beats to help you quit smoking, everything from videos, to flash cards, to hypnosis, check it out if you want to quit.
Mindwave: iTunes, Website
Mindwave lets you know what binaural beat frequency you are listening too but offers no customization, just choose from 16 binaural beat meditations.
Mind Freak: iTunes, Website
This is just like mindWave only it offers 5 different presets:
- Astral Projection
- Crazy High
- Out-of-Body Experience
- 3rd Eye Float
- Weightless
Zen Meditate: iTunes, Website
10 Binaural Beats, not just for meditation, also some sleep, relaxation, and attention building tracks.
MindPulse: iTunes, Website
4 presets: Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta, also has an option to view a synchronized flashing light that matches the binaural beat.
BrainFreqz and Affirmations by DSRTech: iTunes, Website
There are a number of these programs in the appstore, each plays a single track that has binaural beats, the programs are:
BrainFreqz – Concentration and Focus
BrainFreqz – Euphoria
BrainFreqz – Creativity
BrainFreqz – Headache Relief
BrainFreqz – Sleep Induction
Affirmations – Health
Affirmations – Anger Managment
Affirmations – Weight Loss
Affirmations – Millionaire Mindset
Affirmations – Motivation
Affirmations – Procrastination
Affirmations – Self Esteem
Affirmations – Sobriety
Affirmations – Success
Affirmations – Universal Connectedness
and more…
Inner Node Studios: iTunes, Website
Out of Body
Sharp Mind
Deep Sleep – Delta Waves
Euphoria – Feel Good
Beta Pack – Creativity and Productivity
Theta Pack – Meditation, Lucid Dreaming and Intuitivity
-choose from four theta tracks
HoloTravel – Shorten Your Travel Time
User Comments
[...] Uncategorized jasongullickson 7:16 pm I noticed these guys as a referrer in our HTTP logs, here's the source: http://binaural-beats.us/binaural-beat-applications-for-the-iphone/ [...]
[...] Uncategorized jasongullickson 7:21 pm I noticed these guys as a referrer in our HTTP logs, here's the source: http://binaural-beats.us/binaural-beat-applications-for-the-iphone/ [...]
Also, BrainBaths is a great iPhone app that mixes Binaural Beats with 3D holophonic sound recordings of natural environments. Love it.
This was a great read though! Thanks..
Only want to say your article is as tonishing. The clearness in your post is simply striking and i can assume you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with future post. Thanks a million and please keep up the fabulous work
Great share here and I like your take on things. One thing I've noticed is what we think about is 100% what we become. We create our own reality.
This is awesome. I just wish they had the same amount of options for the blackberry. I could only find one on their app store and it only has like 5 binaural beats.
MindState is another great app. This is a binaural beat builder. You are free to create as many sequences as you like. You can layer multiple tones and background sounds on top of each other for increased effect. You can also import and export and share your creations.


text:
This documentation is for a development version of IPython. There may be significant differences from the latest stable release.
Bases: PySide.QtGui.QLabel
Shows call tips by parsing the current text of Q[Plain]TextEdit.
Create a call tip manager that is attached to the specified Qt text edit widget.
Reimplemented to cancel the hide timer.
Reimplemented to hide on certain key presses and on text edit focus changes.
Reimplemented to disconnect signal handlers and event filter.
Reimplemented to start the hide timer.
Reimplemented to paint the background panel.
Reimplemented to allow use of this method as a slot.
Reimplemented to connect signal handlers and event filter.
Show inspection data as a tooltip
Attempts to show the specified tip at the current cursor location.
Reimplemented to hide the widget when the hide timer fires.


text:
noun \mə-ˈzər-kə, -ˈzu̇r-\Definition of MAZURKA
: a Polish folk dance in moderate triple measure
: music for the mazurka or in its rhythm usually in moderate 3⁄4 or 3⁄8 time
Variants of MAZURKA
ma·zur·ka also ma·zour·ka \-ˈzu̇r-\
Origin of MAZURKA
Russian, from Polish mazurek, from Mazury Masuria, region of NE Poland
First Known Use: 1818
noun (Concise Encyclopedia)Polish folk dance in time for a circle of couples, characterized by stamping feet and clicking heels, traditionally danced to the music of bagpipes. Originating in Masuria (northeastern Poland) in the 16th century, it became popular at the Polish court and spread to Russia and Germany, reaching England and France by the 1830s. The 50 piano mazurkas by Frédéric Chopin reflected and extended the dance's popularity. It had no set figures and allowed improvisation among its more than 50 different steps.
Learn More About MAZURKA
Ask The Editor Videos
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up mazurka? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).


text:
Need some recipe ideas for your Super Bowl spread? We've got you covered.
Not so 'Good to Go' when man gets $18,000 toll bridge bill POULSBO, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man says he just paid more than $18,000 in bridge tolls for his son who crossed the 520 bridge daily for work but never got a Good To Go pass. Full Story |
(Mark Humphrey/AP) Rep: Val Kilmer undergoing tests for a tumor LOS ANGELES (AP) — Val Kilmer is undergoing tests for a possible tumor, according to his representative. Full Story |
Eddie Murphy returning to 'Saturday Night Live' The actor and comedian will appear on "SNL's" 40th anniversary episode, marking his first time on the show in 31 years. |


text:
- 4 weeks ago by Heather Cichowski
- No Comments »
- Share a Tip
Congrats. More
Congrats. More
Searching for the perfect present for mom that won't break the bank? Check out these amazing pricey-looking, high-quality gifts! More
It looks like Kim Kardashian loves comfortable pants as much as the next mom. More
*Faints* More
Have you ever snuggled up with a warm cup of steam and really thought about the fact that Taylor Swift's style is eerily similar to that of your straitlaced mom? Okay, so maybe you specifically don't have a sensible-jewelry-wearing, soccer-practice-carpooling mom but you definitely know of one. And belonging to the secret sisterhood of prim ladies is none other than Taylor, as proven by her latest Instagram post comparing herself andSarah Hyland to a straitlaced mom and her rebellious teen. More
Melissa Behnken of San Diego was super stoked to take her adorable kids and her husband, who is a US Marine, on their first family vacation ever and they decided to go to Disneyland. I'm sure they were having a wonderful time – that is until some elderly Disneyland worker moseyed on up to Melissa and told her that she needed to cover up a bit. From 10 news: More
A Reddit user started a thread today that encouraged young mothers to share their positive stories. Too often we concentrate on the difficulties and obstacles young mothers have, forgetting that there are many, many women who have their children young. In spite of whatever popular views of young mothers society as a whole puts on these women – many of young moms are happy, successful and accomplished, as evidenced by this thread. More
Las Vegas hairstylist Proud mama Jodi Gholson Oliver is definitely in the running for mom-of-the-year, at least in my book. Oliver recently took to Facebook to announce her 19-year-old son as a transgender person, and she did it in the most amazing and beautiful way possible. Along with a cute illustration of a baby-carrying white stork and the words "It's A Boy," Oliver shared a moving message about her son, Jes' journey to self-acceptance. More
I wrote about the lovely Lea-Ann Ellison when she posted photographs of herself lifting weights while she was pregnant and people all over the world furrowed their brows and wrung their hands together and exclaimed WHY WON'T SHE THINK OF HER UNBORN BAYBAYYYYYYY even though she was lifting under the care of her trainer and her doctor. Well, Lea-Ann is back and posting amazingly adorable snaps of her new little son Skyler. More
Many people just do not know what to say when talking to a new mother who is going through a post-partum illness. That is not surprising since we cannot get into another person's head to really understand what is happening, and most of us have a deep-seated fear of somehow making things worse. More
Dear 'Little One',
Recently your father wrote you an article in the Huffington Post all about how he finds makeup aisles "very oppressive" and how he wants you to be delivered " through this gauntlet of institutionalized shame and into a deep, unshakeable sense of your own worthiness and beauty." More
I have a problem I'm sure a lot of mothers and future mothers out there, fathers too, have, but no one is talking about. It's a taboo subject in the first place. It caused a bit of a ruckus in a previous article I wrote for Mommyish. I'm sure one day I might expand on the very topic itself, but today I want to focus on it's aftermath. I'm planning to become a mother, or, well, to become pregnant anyway, later this year. I won't have to worry about this particular issue for quite some time. But one day, my kids are going to notice mommy's body isn't like everyone else's. They are going to come to me, and they are going to ask me, "Mommy, how did you get all these scars?" More
A Missouri woman is facing misdemeanor child endangerment charges after an image of her and her 14-year-old daughter topless in a hot tub was spread over multiple high schools. Take a wild guess as to how! That's right: Snapchat. The image … More
When it comes to moms and how they look and what they should wear and what they shouldn't wear and how society tells us we should look and how the media tells us we should look and that ENTIRE huge mom-judgey cacophony of nonsense we are subjected to everyday, I'll be the first to tell you that you should look however you want. There is no such things as a MILF. There is no such thing as MOM JEANS. Your post-baby body is fine exactly how it is and I don't care if you are wearing a kitten sweatshirt and yoga pants or a midriff top and you have your naval pierced multiple times, your body, and how you look, and what you weigh or don't weigh and what size you are or aren't is no one's business but yours. That being said, I have so much sympathy for moms unhappy with how they look because this weekend I totally on accident went and got myself a brand spankin' new MOM haircut. More


text:
INTERNATIONAL BANKING - International Banking Services
For Exporters
There are four primary methods of payment used by exporters. Each has pros and cons, but exporters reduce their risk as they move from an open account toward pre-payment, as explained below. For importers, the opposite is true. These are your options:
Open Account - This method is usually the least desirable option for exporters, and is not advised when substantial sales are involved, or when parties are unfamiliar with each other's business practices. Parties should be familiar with each other, as the terms of payment are based primarily on trust.
Letters of Credit - This method ensures that the importer's obligation to act is in accordance with the agreed terms of the business contract. The exporter's risk is lower with the assurance of timely payment from the issuing bank when the terms are fulfilled. This method is used when the transactions of both parties are newly established.
Pre-payment - This is the most immediate and secure method of payment for an exporter, but is typically difficult to negotiate with importers. The importer pays in advance, before receiving the merchandise.
If you have any questions about International Banking Services for Exporters, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.