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Rob Graham is originally from Arizona. His undergraduate study at Brigham Young University was in Journalism and Communications. He was employed by IBM as a product analyst and then later, for Novell as a programmer within its Corporate Communications and Training Department. Subsequently, he was accepted into the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and graduated with his Juris Doctorate in 1992. He was the Chairman of the law school's co-curricular Trial Advocacy Program (1991-92) and received the law school faculty's Award for Distinguished Service (1992). After graduation, he accepted an associate attorney position with Jimmerson, Davis & Santoro, where he practiced business law and litigation. He was mentored by James J. Jimmerson, a nationally known litigator and represented many celebraties and well-known personalities before the courts in Nevada. Later, he established Kerr & Graham, an estate litigation boutique law firm. In 1994, he joined his wife and several other attorneys in a larger firm of Hoskin Graham & Wilde. This firm later evolved into Graham, Wilde, Harker & Boggess. In 2001, Rob Graham split from the larger firm to focus on Probate, Estate Planning and Probate Litigation. Since 1992, Rob Graham has been primarily practicing in Probate, Probate Litigation, and Estate Planning with a smaller portion of his practice dedicated to Business (formation and litigation) and State Administrative Law. He is very active in service organizations and is currently on the Executive Board of Girls and Boys Town of Nevada, Where he has most recently served in the capacity of Secretary of the organization. He has received many recognitions for his regular service to the community including several awards and citations from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Bar Association. He served as a board member with the Bar Association in 1995 and as Editor-in-chief of the organization's legal journal two years prior to his board appointment. He has been married 21 years to Linda Graham and has three children, ages 6, 9 and 10 years. His hobbies include music and journalism. He is the owner and publisher of the politically conservative publication "Beehive Standard Weekly," and a Pizza Restaurant called "Slice of Tuscany." Co-curricular Activity Chairman, Trial Advocacy Board, J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU). Awards of Merit: Mesa College Student Association: Distinguished Service Award; J. Reuben Clark Law School Faculty Award for Distinguished Service; Metropolitan Police Department: Community Service Award; Metropolitan Police Department: Sheriff Citation for Distinguished Community Service; Clark County Bar Association: President's Award; Clark County Bar Association: Service Recognition; Girls and Boys Town of Nevada: Service Recognition; Boy Scouts of America: Beaver Dam Council: Donor Recognition; Clark County Pro Bono Project: U.S. Senate Service Citation, Presented by Sen. John Ensign. Memberships: State Bar of Nevada; Clark County Bar Association, American Bar Association Language: French
Managing Senior Partner
Admitted in 1992, Nevada1992, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada1993, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth CircuitU.S. Supreme Court
J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young UniversityJ.D.
Brigham Young University Class of 1989B.A.Journalism/PR
(702) 255-6161
(702) 255-8383
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Interview Audio - Page 14
Carl Graham Has The Work Order For The New Legislators [AUDIO]
Just what will our newly elected officials have to do this session.
Tammy Hall Back In The Studio Just In Time For Elections [AUDIO]
Today Tammy was finally back in the studio after her trip away to Tanzania.
Just in time to go over some final thoughts for election day.
Do Not Say All Politicians Lie, It's Not True. According To Scott Sales [AUDIO]
Montana Wastes It's Share Of Money. Tom Burnett Did The Research [AUDIO]
If the US Government could only cut out the waste in it's budget, we would have more than enough money to balance the budget and have a surplus. Montana is no different.
We have programs that waste money, departments that do the same duties as other departments, people and offices that are not accountable and it's getting worse
Is A Vote For A Third Party Just A Waste Of A Vote [AUDIO]
Bozeman Chamber Business Expo Starts At 10:30AM At The Holiday Inn [AUDIO]
The Bozeman Chamber Business Expo is Thursday at the Holiday Inn.
Daryl talks about the EXPO and other events.
Here is the days schedule
10:30 a.m. Trade Show Begins
10:30-11:30a.m. Gallatin Valley Economic Development Update
11:30a.m. - 1:00p.m. Lunch/Keynote Speaker - Greg
Warriors and Quiet Waters: Movie Premiere Tonight At Emerson [AUDIO] [VIDEO]
"Warriors and Quiet Waters" is a locally grown organization that helps wounded warriors from around the country come to Montana and get some relief from trying to come back from war and readjust to civilian life after a traumatic life changing injury.
Coming up Wednesday night the 24th at 7PM, you can see a showing
Ed Sheehy Running For Montana Supreme Court Justice And He Talks About Issues [AUDIO]
Ed has 34 years of hard on–the-ground experience in every county in Montana. He knows the state, the issues and the people.
Ed has tried more civil and criminal cases before judges and juries, and more appeals to the Montana Supreme Court than most attorneys in Montana.
Ed was on with our resident attorney Jennifer Bordy Friday


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- May 23:
- Fine Living: Sunset Celebration Weekend returns to Bay Area
- May 16:
- Fine Living: Wonderland of inviting rooms at S.F. Decorator Showcase
- Apr 25:
- Fine Living: Sausalito's Serena & Lily brings its furnishings to San Francisco
- Apr 18:
- Fine Living: Real gardens in Marin to dream over
- Apr 4:
- Fine Living: Helping a family with Secret Garden Tour in Inverness
- Mar 28:
- Fine Living: The sweet rewards of attracting honeybees
- Mar 21:
- Fine Living: Bringing out the promise of Eichlers
- Mar 14:
- Fine Living: Mill Valley's Emily Murphy is out to cultivate green thumbs
- Mar 7:
- Fine Living: Floral design in bloom at Bouquets to Art
- Feb 28:
- Fine Living: Inspiring ideas in Sunset's new 'Western Garden Book'
- Feb 21:
- Fine Living: Alluring ways to feed the birds
- Feb 14:
- Fine Living: A visit to Taiwan with orchids on the mind
- Feb 7:
- Fine Living: Getting more water wise in gardens
- Jan 31:
- Fine Living: From garden to table in 'Harvest Cookbook'
- Jan 24:
- Fine Living: Tips to freshen up your outdoor space
- Jan 17:
- Fine Living: Tips to revive your indoor space
- Jan 10:
- Fine Living: Fresh ideas and style at FOG Design +Art
- Dec 20:
- Fine Living: Green Cycler makes composting easier
- Dec 13:
- Fine Living: Sausalito's Suzanne Tucker shares her secrets for interiors
- Nov 30:
- Fine Living: Enjoy the decked halls with Tour de Noel in Ross
- Nov 22:
- Fine Living: Prune trees before winter storms arrive
- Nov 15:
- Fine Living: Couple curates designer wares at Terrestra in Mill Valley
- Nov 8:
- Fine Living: Designer Ann Lowengart adds modern touch to Napa Showhouse
- Nov 1:
- Fine Living: West Elm reopens in style in Mill Valley
- Oct 25:
- Fine Living: Fresh colors sprouting up for tulips
- Oct 18:
- Fine Living: Stop and smell the roses at Russian Tea and Fragrance fest
- Oct 11:
- Fine Living: Joann and Arielle Eckstut explore 'The Secret Language of Color'
- Oct 4:
- Fine Living: All abuzz over autumn honey
- Sep 27:
- Fine Living: An artistic look at the flora of Alcatraz
- Sep 13:
- Fine Living: Novato duo merge love of art, products with Caryl B.
- Sep 6:
- Fine Living: Larkspur artist Dalva captures spirit of animals
- Aug 30:
- Fine Living: Birds of a feather flock to National Heirloom Expo
- Aug 23:
- Fine Living: Designer creates a mood with custom boat interiors
- Aug 16:
- Fine Living: Sausalito's arks open for annual Floating Homes Tour
- Aug 2:
- Fine Living: Style boosters arrive in Nicasio's Nutmeg, Mill Valley's 7 on Locust
- Jul 26:
- Fine Living: Find feathered friend for family at Marin Humane Society
- Jul 20:
- Fine Living: Downy mildew's withering effect on impatiens
- Jul 6:
- Fine Living: Season for sales around Marin
- Feb 23:
- Fine Living: Making the most of the garden year-round
VINNY SEBASTIANO of Novato has renovated homes for 10 years but now he does it as a co-star on a new hourlong HGTV show, "Flip It to Win It," produced by Emeryville's JOHLT Productions.
The show, which debuted in February, is broadcast in Marin at 8 and 11 p.m. Tuesdays on HGTV.
Sebastiano, a painting/drywall contractor and the former owner of Sebastiano's Deli in San Rafael, is one of the show's six two-person teams that work the Bay Area's courthouse steps buying foreclosed and short-sale properties at auction, and then renovating and selling them with the hopes of making a profit, sometimes double or triple their investment.
Each team uses an advance auction list to scout a house solely from the outside.
"It's a big gamble," explains JOHLT's producer and director Avelino Pombo, who says the interior conditions can range from updated to dilapidated. "Their instincts from experience tell them if the house is worth investing a little money in order to get more in return."
"Flip It to Win It" follows three of the teams each week as they move through each step, giving viewers insight into their decisions along the way.
"What's so great about the show is that it takes you through the process of investing in a home to get the most on the return," Pombo says. "The teams discuss their tips and tricks from curb appeal and kitchen renovation to spotting flaws in the foundation or the roof."
An admitted advantage, and one that sets them apart from other home buyers, is that they have the required "cash in their pockets" for the full amount, Pombo reveals.
That's where Rick Kaluza, Sebastiano's teammate, or "the money guy" as he refers to the San Francisco Realtor, comes in.
Both Italian, the two friends were introduced a while ago by a late mutual friend and San Francisco construction industry figure, Rich Manfredonia. The connection worked.
"Rick is a master of the real estate market and Vinny is the king of remodels," Pombo says. "Together, they are untouchable."
It works for the show, too, Sebastiano figures.
"I'm 57 and from Brooklyn and Rick is 37 and a total California dude," he says with a chuckle. "It's a pretty good combination."
Pombo, who helped cast "Flip It to Win It," thinks Sebastiano was an easy call.
"He has a bigger-than-life personality and is a true TV character with his Brooklyn accent and amazing timing for comedy. He's got great one-liners and zingers," Pombo says.
But he warns anyone who wants to join him on the auction steps: "Be careful! You're buying a home sight unseen and what you think might be a small fix, could turn into a nightmare."
Faulty foundations and outdated plumbing and electrical systems are costly.
"Some people budget $60,000 to $70,000 but, as they show on our show, things don't always go according to plan and things can change quickly," he explains. "We're looking for a good return, of course, so we don't want a house that is beaten down to the ground or you have to add a room. We want a quick fix."
He advises novices to know the comparative values in the neighborhood, "know your selling price and don't exceed your budget. Have a good source for the materials and be willing to go down a bit on (the price of) cabinets, bathroom vanities and hardwood floors."
For Pombo, though, the biggest lesson has been seeing people still make money on auctioned homes.
"The Bay Area is a seller's market but these teams are experts and they're all buyers. When we go back to check on them, some of the (renovated auction) homes have multiple offers on them."
PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday and also on her blog at DesignSwirl.co.


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by German Lopez
Posted In:
at 02:04 PM |
Ohio Senate Budget Fails to Restore Education Funding
Wealthy schools see best gains in budget plan
The Ohio Senate's budget plan for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 would restore about $717 million in education funding, but the gains wouldn't be enough to outweigh $1.8 billion in education cuts from the 2012-2013 budget, which was approved by the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature and signed into law by Gov. John Kasich in 2011.The bill would also favor the state's property-wealthiest districts, which can already raise more money for local schools by leveraging their massive local property values. About 85 percent of the wealthiest school districts will get funding increases, while 40 percent of the poorest rural districts receive no increases, according to Stephen Dyer, a former Democratic state representative and an education policy fellow at Innovation Ohio.Dyer put the regressive breakdown in chart form in a blog post:The chart shows the bottom one-third of school districts only get about 15 percent of the increases, while the top one-third are getting a vast majority of the increases.Still, Dyer points out that the budget is increasing funding for urban, high-poverty areas, while rural areas are generally getting the smallest increases.The budget would also include $250 million in one-time money for the Straight A Fund, which is supposed to entice innovation at schools around the state. When the program was first proposed in Kasich's budget plan, the Kasich administration asked for $300 million.Even with the Straight A Fund, the funding increases wouldn't be enough to overcome $1.8 billion in cuts in the last biennium budget, which is a previous estimate from progressive think tanks Policy Matters Ohio and Innovation Ohio that includes tax reimbursements for tangible personal property and public utility property, federal stimulus funds and state aid to schools.Many school districts have coped with the cuts through local tax levies, which Innovation Ohio previously compared to a $1.1 billion tax increase across the state. In 2012, Cincinnati Public Schools was one of the many school districts to successfully pass a levy after dealing with years of cuts from multiple levels of government ("Battered But Not Broken," issue of Oct. 3).The changes proposed by the Ohio legislature are the latest in a chain of attempts to reform the state's school funding formula, which has a history of legal and political problems. Between 1997 and 2002, the Ohio Supreme Court issued four decisions that found the state's school funding formula unconstitutional because it relied too much on property taxes and failed to provide "a thorough and efficient system of common schools."But 16 years later, critics argue the system still relies too much on property taxes. According to them, the reliance on property taxes drives inequality because property-wealthy areas can more easily leverage their high property values to fund good schools, while property-poor areas are generally left behind.Kasich attempted to address the issues with his own rework of the education funding formula, but the rework was dismissed by the Ohio House and Senate — a victory for critics who deemed Kasich's plan regressive ("Smoke and Mirrors," issue of Feb. 20).The Ohio legislature and Kasich must approve a budget plan by June 30.
by Hannah McCartney
Posted In:
Women's Health
Women's Rights
at 01:50 PM |
Trial Begins for Pregnant Teacher Fired by Archdiocese
Repeated discrimination in local Catholic Church takes spotlight
The Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been mired in quite a bit of trouble over the past several years for its morally outdated (and unjust) policies, and now one of the allegations has reached the courts. Today marked the second day of juror hearings in a schoolteacher's lawsuit against the Archdiocese and the two schools from which she was fired for violating her civil rights. In 2010, schoolteacher Christa Dias, a single, non-ministerial employee at both Holy Family and St. Lawrence Schools, parochial schools owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, became pregnant via artificial insemination. At five and a half months pregnant, she asked her employers for something millions of U.S. women ask for every year: maternity leave. She got more than she bargained for, though, when her employers fired her, assuming Dias had engaged in premarital sex (one of the many "moral" no-nos in the Catholic Church — for women, at least). She was informed that she was let go because she'd violated a moral clause in the Catholic doctrine that she'd agreed to adhere to when she signed her employment contract, which, in the eyes of the Catholic Church, makes it okay to discriminate when the discrimination falls under something called "ministerial exception" — a pesky and vague part of civil labor laws exempting religious policies from some basic rules for equality in the workplace. Ergo: Women who are fired by the Catholic Church for getting pregnant face unfair discrimination because men aren't held to the same standard. Obviously, it's impossible to detect whether or not single male employees are engaging in premarital sex (but they probably are). The basis of Dias' lawsuit is that that little gender caveat is an inherent for of discrimination against women because women and men aren't held to the same moral standards. Although her employers originally told her she was fired for premarital sex, they later retracted that assertion and said that the use of artificial insemination was immoral, also a violation of the Catholic doctrine. According to the AP, Dias today told jurors she didn't realize that artificial insemination was a violation of church doctrine or that having the procedure could get her fired. The archdiocese's attorney, Steve Goodin, says that Dias was not discriminated against because she signed a contract that clearly commanded she abide by the Catholic doctrine. CityBeat reported on a similar case of discrimination by the Catholic Church earlier this year ("Unforgiven Offenses," issue of Jan. 9, 2013), which detailed a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Southern Ohio by former schoolteacher Kathleen Quinlan, who was also fired from her non-ministerial position at Ascension Catholic School in Kettering, Ohio, in December 2011 after she approached her principal, told him about her pregnancy and offered to work behind-the-scenes until she gave birth. Again, her employers and the Archdiocese used the "morality clause" to defend their position. And then there was Johnathan Zeng ("Gays, Even Christians, Need Not Apply," issue of June 13, 2012), who was offered a job as a music teacher at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA) Armleder School after two weeks of discussions; Zeng even put on a teacher demonstration in front of a third grade class. When a board representative asked him point-blank if he was gay, Zeng told the truth: yes, he was gay. All of a sudden, Zeng was out of the running, even though he was already pinpointed as the most qualified applicant. The outcome of Dias' case could set a major precedent for courts ruling on ministerial exception in the future. Last year, the Supreme Court ruling in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, courts sided with the church in a fired teacher's discrimination lawsuit, ruling that because she had some religious duties as a teacher, federal discrimination laws didn't apply.Some local Catholics, at least, are firing back against the archdiocese's archaic policies; recently, Debra Meyers was ordained as Cincinnati's first female Catholic priest by the Association of Roman Woman Catholic Priests, despite opposition from local Catholic leaders and the Vatican. Read our interview with her here.
by German Lopez
Posted In:
LGBT Issues
at 09:25 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Council to discuss streetcar, bills would protect LGBT, CPS to prevent data scrubbing
City Council's Budget and Finance Committee is set to discuss the plan to close the streetcar budget gap today, which was proposed by City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. on April 30. The plan borrows funding from various capital funding sources, including a temporary reallocation of Music Hall funds and money from infrastructure projects surrounding the Horseshoe Casino. None of the funding pulled can be used to balance the city's $35 million operating budget deficit, which is leading to cop and firefighter layoffs, because of limits established in state law between capital budgets and operating budgets. A group of bipartisan Ohio legislators proposed bills in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate that would change the state's anti-discrimination law to cover gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. The measures would add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the state's anti-discrimination law, joining 21 other states and the District of Columbia, which already have similar laws.The bills have to be approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Republican Gov. John Kasich to become law. Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) is making changes to prevent attendance data scrubbing following an audit in February that criticized CPS for the practice. The school district says internal investigations found no employees intentionally scrubbed data, but the changes being made should help prevent further problems in the future. The state auditor's February report seemed to blame state policy over individual school districts for the findings. Attendance data scrubbing can make schools look much better in state reports, which could lead to increased funds or less regulatory scrutiny from the state. An audit revealed that the IRS targeted tea party groups that were critical of government and attempted to educate people on the U.S. Constitution. The extra scrutiny originated at a Cincinnati field office. Most Ohio public university presidents are paid more than the nationwide median salary for the job. The two brothers of the Cleveland man accused of holding three women captive for about a decade say they have no sympathy for him. One of them called his brother a "monster." Ohio gas prices are down this week. A new study found people can better calm themselves down by watching their brains on scanners. Participants learned how to control activity in a certain brain region after just two sessions. Watch a Canadian astronaut perform David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in space:
Think of the Children
Local leaders pledge to support efforts to put more low- and middle-income kids in preschools
German Lopez
1 Comment · Thursday, May 2, 2013
Elected officials and business leaders often claim preschool is one of the most impactful investments that can be made in a child's life. Now, local officials and leaders are preparing to back that claim with the Cincinnati Preschool Promise.
by German Lopez
Posted In:
at 10:52 AM |
Survey Confirms Statewide School Cuts
Seventy percent of schools cut budgets for 2012-2013 school year
A survey released April 29 found Ohio schools are making cutbacks in response to budget cuts previously approved by Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature. The 15-question survey from left-leaning Policy Matters Ohio, which received responses from 42 percent of the state's K-12 school districts in 82 counties, found 70 percent of Ohio schools made cuts for the ongoing 2012-2013 school year, 82 percent cut positions, 84 percent reduced or froze compensation and 62 percent expect budget shortfalls next year if the state doesn't increase funding. "Long-term investment in education is the best way to build opportunity for Ohioans," said Piet van Lier, education researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, in a statement. "Instead, Ohio's cuts to school funding have forced schools to get rid of staff, reduce pay, cut materials and increase class sizes." The survey found the cuts have led to a reduction in education quality, with 43 percent of Ohio schools reporting larger class sizes, 23 percent reporting less course options, 57 percent cutting materials, supplies, textbooks or equipment for the 2012-2013 school year and 22 percent reducing extracurricular activities or introducing pay-to-play for them. Policy Matters and Innovation Ohio, another left-leaning think tank, previously found Kasich's 2012-2013 budget slashed education funding by $1.8 billion. In his latest budget proposal, Kasich proposed increasing education funding, although in a way that disproportionately benefited wealthier school districts ("Smoke and Mirrors," issue of Feb. 20). Since then, the Ohio House passed its own budget bill that rejects Kasich's proposal and increases overall school funding in a more equitable way. But Policy Matters says the increases aren't enough. Its analysis found school funding is failing to keep up with inflation, with 2015 funding projected to fall $1.2 billion short of what funding would have looked like if it had kept up with 2006's inflation-adjusted levels. "Neither Gov. Kasich nor the Ohio House have adequately addressed the needs of Ohio's schools in their budget proposals," van Lier said in a statement. "The Senate must now lead the way in crafting a stronger, more predictable funding system for the next two years and beyond." Cincinnati Public Schools said state funding cuts were one reason the school district needed Cincinnati voters to approve a school levy in 2012 ("Battered But Not Broken," issue of Oct. 3). The levy, known as Issue 42, passed in the November election.Innovation Ohio previously found Kasich's budget cuts have led to levies all around the state, effectively increasing local taxes by $1.3 billion since May 2011. "By cutting taxes primarily for the wealthy at the state level, Gov. Kasich and the Republican-controlled legislature have merely pushed the need for tax increases down to the local level," said Janetta King, president of Innovation Ohio, in a statement. Kasich spokesperson Rob Nichols previously told CityBeat that the cuts were necessary to balance the budget, as required by state law. "The reality is we walked into an $8 billion budget deficit," he said. "We had to fix that."
by German Lopez
Posted In:
City Council
at 09:27 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Democrats endorse candidates, parking petitions scrutinized, Senate to rework state budget
The Democratic Party's nominating committee announced who it's supporting for City Council Friday: Greg Landsman, who heads the Strive Partnership and worked for former Gov. Ted Strickland; Shawn Butler, Mayor Mark Mallory's director of community affairs; Michelle Dillingham, a community activist; and the six incumbents, which include Laure Quinlivan, Chris Seelbach, Yvette Simpson, P.G. Sittenfeld, Pam Thomas and Wendell Young. The nominations still have to be approved by the Cincinnati Democratic Committee. Petitioners against the city's parking plan are supposed to get their final tally on referendum today, but a new video shows at least some of the petitions may have been signed without a legitimate witness, which are needed to validate a signature. The Hamilton County Board of Elections announced Thursday that petitioners had met the necessary threshold of 8,522 signatures, but the video casts doubts on whether those signatures were legitimately gathered. The city wants to lease its parking assets to help balance the deficit for the next two years and fund development programs around the city ("Parking Stimulus," issue of Feb. 27), but opponents worry higher parking rates and extended hours will harm the local economy. Here is the embedded video: The Ohio Senate could restore Gov. John Kasich's tax, school funding and Medicaid plans when it votes on the biennium budget for 2014 and 2015. Kasich's tax and education funding plans were criticized by Democrats and progressive groups for favoring the wealthy, but the Medicaid expansion, which the Health Policy Institute of Ohio says would expand Medicaid coverage to 456,000 low-income Ohioans and save the state money, was mostly opposed by state Republicans. CityBeat covered Kasich's budget in further detail here. New polling from Quinnipiac University found a plurality of Ohio voters now support same-sex marriage rights — granting promising prospects to Freedom Ohio's ballot initiative to legalize same-sex marriage in the state this year. An audit on JobsOhio could take months, according to State Auditor Dave Yost's office. Gov. John Kasich was initially resistant to a full audit, but Yost eventually won out, getting full access to JobsOhio's financial records. JobsOhio is a privatized development agency that is meant to eventually replace the Ohio Department of Development. In response to not getting a Democratic endorsement for his City Council campaign, Mike Moroski, who was fired from his job at Purcell Marian High School for supporting gay marriage, launched the Human Party. Cincinnati received an "F" for business friendliness in the 2013 Thumbtack.com U.S. Small Business Friendliness Survey from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Embattled attorney Stan Chesley will no longer practice law in Ohio. Chesley, who has been criticized for alleged misconduct, was recently disbarred in Kentucky. He recently resigned from the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees after being asked to in a letter from fellow board members. Ohio gas prices are shooting back up. PopSci has an infographic showing sharks should be much more scared of humans than humans should be afraid of sharks.
by German Lopez
Posted In:
at 09:16 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Boston violence continues, parking referendum moves forward, House budget bill passes
Boston and surrounding communities went through another night of terror and chaos last night, with the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects allegedly rampaging through the city just hours after their photos were released to the public by authorities. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the suspects, died after apparently suffering multiple wounds from a police shootout and what's now believed to have been an explosion, but his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, remains at large while a massive manhunt is underway. Authorities are telling people in Boston and the surrounding area to stay indoors as the manhunt continues. Opponents of the city's plan to lease its parking assets to the Port Authority gathered enough petitions to put the issue on the ballot this November. The news comes as a huge blow to local officials who supported the plan to help balance the budget for the next two years and fund development projects around the city. Mayor Mark Mallory and City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. previously warned that without the parking plan the city will have to lay off cops and firefighters. Before approving the budget bill in a 61-35 vote, the Ohio House voted to remove an amendment from the bill that would have banned comprehensive sex education in a 76-19 vote yesterday, which CityBeat covered in further detail here. Still, the budget bill contains language that would defund Planned Parenthood and redirect other funding to abstinence-only, anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. The budget bill was also amended to ask for a Medicaid waiver that give Ohio more time to mull over a Medicaid expansion and could lead to a revamp of the state-backed health care program. The budget bill must now be approved by the Ohio Senate and Gov. John Kasich. Ohio's unemployment rate was 7.1 percent in March, unchanged from February's revised rate and a small drop from 7.4 percent in March 2012. The number of people unemployed rose by 1,000, while the amount of people employed dropped by 20,400. March was also a weak month for the U.S. jobs report, so Ohio's numbers may be following a nationwide slowdown. Jobs in manufacturing, mining and logging, financial activities and trade, transportation and utilities increased, while other areas dropped by varying degrees. Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and Mayor Mark Mallory still support the streetcar project, touting its economic benefits to the city. Still, Qualls told CityBeat Wednesday that she wants to have a "very robust public conversation" about the project with the public and city officials to see how it can move forward. On the two-year anniversary of his death, the lawsuit for David "Bones" Hebert has been expanded to include the city of Cincinnati and three Cincinnati Police officers. Since he was killed by police in 2011, Bones has built a following that wants to bring what they perceive as justice to his death. A state representative announced he will run against Ohio Sen. Rob Portman in 2016 because of Portman's vote against a federal gun control bill. State Rep. Bob Hagan wrote on Facebook, "Senator Portman shows his lack of courage and testicular fortitude. The NRA Owns him. I am declaring my candidacy for US Senate to run against him in the next election. I will be his hair shirt for the next three years." A poll from The New York Times and CBS found about 92 percent of Americans support universal background checks, the major policy proposal in the gun control bill. A new app allows Icelanders to make sure their hookups don't qualify as accidental incest.
City Desk
Republicans Push Anti-Abortion, Abstinence Agenda
German Lopez
0 Comments · Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The Ohio House Finance Committee on April 16 approved a budget bill that would ban comprehensive sex education, defund Planned Parenthood and fund crisis pregnancy centers that pro-choice groups call "anti-choice."
by German Lopez
Posted In:
City Council
at 09:15 AM |
Morning News and Stuff
Streetcar faces $22.7m budget gap, bill would restrict sex education, councilman resigns
In a memo to the mayor and City Council members last night, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. revealed the streetcar is facing a $22.7 million shortfall because construction bids were way over budget. The memo says $5.3 million of that budget gap could be brought down through cuts, but fixing the rest requires $17.4 million in additional funds. The memo comes at a time the city is attempting to balance its operating budget by laying off cops and firefighters. But as John Deatrick explained when the city moved to hire him for the streetcar project, the streetcar is part of the capital budget, which is separate from the operating budget and can't be used to balance the operating budget because of legal and traditional constraints.The budget bill heading to the Ohio House floor would ban comprehensive sex education, defund Planned Parenthood and fund crisis pregnancy centers that pro-choice groups consider "anti-choice." Citing "gateway sexual activity," the bill would open teachers to up to $5,000 in fines for explaining the use of condoms and other birth control to students, and it also bans the distribution of any birth control on school grounds. The bill takes its anti-contraceptive measures to promote an abstinence-only education program. Research has found abstinence-only programs to be generally ineffective, while birth control programs ultimately save money by avoiding costly pregnancies and sexually transmitted infection treatment.Councilman Cecil Thomas is stepping down, and he will be replaced by his wife of 32 years, Pam Thomas. The appointment has raised questions about how council members are replaced upon resignation, but Thomas says he's just following the rules. Under the current system, designees appoint successors to council seats, but the designees give great weight to the incumbent's input.JobsOhio repaid $8.4 million to Ohio yesterday — fulfilling a promise it made in March that it would fully repay the state for public funding received since it opened on July 5, 2011. The sum is much higher than the $1 million state officials originally said would go to the agency. JobsOhio's finances came under criticism after it was revealed that Gov. John Kasich was redirecting public funds to the agency, prompting a closer look from State Auditor Dave Yost. JobsOhio is a privatized development agency that Kasich and Republicans established to eventually replace the Ohio Department of Development.In light of the Boston Marathon bombings, Flying Pig Marathon organizers are evaluating security measures, but they're not sure whether additional measures are needed just yet. The Flying Pig Marathon is expected to draw more than 20,000 participants on May 5 — close to the 23,000 who typically attend the Boston Marathon. Still, only about 150,000 spectators are expected at the Flying Pig Marathon, while about 500,000 typically spectate the Boston Marathon.City Council is expected to vote today in support of expanding mobile food vending in the city and make the program, which is handled by 3CDC, permanent. The new mobile vending spots will be near nightlife areas in Over-the-Rhine and during the day at Washington Park.TriHealth and Mercy Health are among the top 15 hospital systems in the United States, according to a new ranking from Truven Health Analytics.When renewing its contract with Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., Kroger asked the company to move its center from Des Moines, Iowa, to Cincinnati, bringing an estimated 55 new jobs to the city.New surgical tape works like a parasitic worm for extra stickiness.For the first time, scientists are being allowed to study psychedelics for potential medical treatments.
Kathy Y. Wilson
Sing Joy Spring
Kathy Y. Wilson
0 Comments · Wednesday, April 17, 2013
At the end of past spring classes I'd spend weeks in a thick-headed fog, obsessing over the state of America's education system; I was confused by our simultaneous political demonization of China and our dependence on Chinese students to grow and improve our science and technology departments. Wow, I used to think. Then in spring 2009 — after three years of teaching it — I realized how piously I had been thinking.
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Always hear about planting in peat/perlite mixture. What's the difference in peat and peat moss and where can you get just peat, do you buy it in the stores or nurseries?? Help a newbie out : > ) |
Follow-Up Postings:
It's probably more accurate to call it moss peat instead of peat moss. There are several different commercially sold peat mosses. I'll describe the 2 most common. You're looking for sphagnum peat. It's available in small bags, usually milled or screened, or larger compressed bags or bundles. It's light to medium brown in color, is formed primarily from Sphagnum moss, and is the least decomposed of the general categories of peat. It has the highest water-holding capacity of the peats; holding up to 60% of its volume in water. It is used in most commercial potting soils. Reed-sedge peat is brown to black in color, mucky and is formed from a variety of plant materials - reeds, sedges, grasses and cattails mostly. Although it can be obtained in different degrees of decomposition, it is usually more decomposed than Sphagnum peat. Therefore, it has a finer texture and lower air-filled poor space than Sphagnum peat. Its water-holding capacity is lower than that of Sphagnum peat too. This is not suitable for container use. Sphagnum moss is whole moss & used as a decoration, in some rooting operations (like airlayering, e.g.) and other horticultural applications. It is available in bags at most stores by plant supplies. Al |
- Posted by socks12345 So. Calif. z10 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 28, 05 at 9:29
Al, I've never seen reed-sedge peat. I use sphagnum peat moss in vermicomposting but have read it is a non-renewable resource, so I was wondering if the reed-sedge would work as well and where it is available, at least in your area. |
MI & MN are big producers of this type of peat (reed-sedge). It comes in a 1 - 1-1/2 cu ft bag & is usually like stinky muck. Good in gardens - death in pots. ;o) Sorry, but I'm not buying the non-renewable sob story. In Canada alone, there are more than 270 million acres of harvestable peat bogs. If we make the conservative guess that the harvestable portions of these bogs are 10 feet deep, that means there are probably more than 900 billion cu ft available for harvest, just in Canada! That doesn't even take into consideration whats available in Europe, Asia, or places like New Zealand where they also mine peat. Canada currently has mining/harvesting operations underway on approximately 40 thousand acres or about .014% (that reads "14 one thousandths of 1 percent"). Al |
- Posted by Tasha(firstname.lastname@example.com) onSat, Apr 22, 06 at 10:13
I'm still confused...I had the same question as the first poster. I am doing landscaping in my yard and was told (I think) to mix some peat moss into the soil. I went to a store that had peat for sale, but they couldn't tell me what the difference was between peat and peat moss. I'm just wondering if I should buy the bags of peat to use in my flower beds. |
- Posted by username_5 5 (My Page) on Sat, Apr 22, 06 at 10:54
look for the word 'sphagnum' on the bag and that is what you want. I also agree with Al, it isn't at all true that peat is a non renewable resource. At the rate it is being harvested, the net amount on the planet is increasing, not decreasing. The idea that it is non renewable is based upon really old data. The idea was that it took many decades for the moss to form and as harvesting increased we would run out as it couldn't keep up. Well, that wasn't really true, but it is less true today. The Canadian government (the US gets most peat from Canada) has programs which have sped up the prodution of peat bogs to the point where it takes 5-10 years to replace what was harvested, not several decades. Additionally the government controls the harvesting to limited areas and once they are exhausted, they are regrown. Peat moss harvesting is completely sustainable, no worries there. |
Peat is dark brown....fine stuff, looks like dark soil but doesn't weigh as much....mixes easily with your soil. Sphagnum is like a bundle of brown plants...it takes a while to wet down and is not terribly easy to mix with your soil. I used to put in a couple of 4 cu foot bales a year....but sometimes if we got a downpour after a dry spell, that sphagnum would just float out of the garden. I like peat for the beds and sphagnum for pots. Peat comes in bags like top soil, sphagnum comes in a square bale, like.....well sphagnum! Linda C |
- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 24, 06 at 10:04
Peat and peat moss are essentially the same thing. As Al mentioned, peat can be derived from different materials, but the bulk of it sold commercially is from Canadian sources, most of which are primarily comprised of sphagnum moss. Peat is simply the decomposed product of these mosses. It is typically sold screened and dried and often in compressed bales. Depending on source, it has a rather high (or I guess more accurately, low) acidic pH and little, if any, nutrient content as the organic matter has decomposed to the point where it has been broken down almost completely. It can be used as a soil amendment to lighten heavy soils or to acidify soils for specific plant requirements. It is able to hold several times its weight in water so is good for increasing water retention. When dry, it tends to be very hydrophobic and resists wetting. It is best to incorporate it fully into existing soil rather than using as a mulch or topdressing, which will form a crust that water will not penetrate easily. It is often sold sterilized and therefore can make a great starting medium for cuttings or seeds as all pathogens have been removed. In this case, wetting before planting is necessary and it can't be allowed to dry out. There is some validity to environmental concerns about peat, but they are more restricted to the UK than to North America. Peat has been used as a fuel source (it is the next step before coal) for centuries in England and Ireland and depletion of peat bogs and the associated ecosystems in those countries has been significant. |
Good point, Pam - about the non-renewable issue. I tend to think more in terms of its abundance and how we'll never run out of it here in North America, and forget the more localized ecosystem issues of other countries. Next time I comment on this issue, I'll be sure to include a broader perspective. Al |
- Posted by theresa 48075(email@example.com) onMon, May 22, 06 at 18:18
thanks for the info but what would be bettter for blueberries? Spahgnum or michigan peat? |
Read the label. You want milled Sphagnum Peat moss. MANY companies sell it under their own labels, and some might not use the word moss in the label, but spagnum will sure be there. I would avoid Michigan peat, which is (as is stated several times above) a sedge peat. However!!!! Michigan Peat DOES sell a spagnum peat moss product, I believe. SO......read the label. You can purchase spagnum moss as sheets, as coarse mill, or fine milled. Most of the stuff that we buy by the bale is finely milled. |
Link is to an excellent article [from Cornell] detailing the differences among peat mosses and WHY they are different. http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/good/growon/media/organic.html username5 – Please advise me of your source for the statement that Canada is "replacing" the peat moss. All I have been able to find is an assortment of reports from various companies that Canada is using a 10-year plan for a "controlled harvest" of various peat sources. It is apparently true that the potential *production* is being limited due to this plan. The word *production* is used in the sense of producing a salable material, not in the sense of producing the material itself. Please note that there is a considerable difference between 'harvesting' and 'replacing.' Since peat apparently grows about a milliliter a year, it would be unlikely that Canada (or anywhere else) would be able to actually "replace" the material harvested. |
Here is a link that might be useful: definitions of peat moss
- Posted by Bernice 5(firstname.lastname@example.com) onWed, Jun 7, 06 at 8:57
I have a large area that I use for large bushes (rhodies, azaleas, spirea) The soil is hard clay except where I have supplemented for the bushes. I would like to cover the remaining area to prevent the clay runoff when it rains. I had been using red cedar mulch but it is very expensive. I was thinking of covering the area with sphagnum peat moss. There is a slight slope to the area. What do you suggest? |
- Posted by florabunga z8 WA (My Page) on Sun, May 18, 08 at 23:17
Peat moss is an essential part of wetlands that is not renewable. I'd like to know the sources of those who say it is. Please take the time to read what Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Urban Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University has to say. The article was written in 2006. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Linda Chalker-Scott's Article on Peat
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Since there's a lot of control of the lighting in Motion, it makes sense that there are many options to adjusting how shadows are created and received within objects within Motion. So if we select our Point Light here in our composition, you'll notice as I move it around the scene--here let me press Shift+Z to zoom in here a little bit. You'll notice as I move around the scene that I'm adjusting my light, but there are no shadows in the scene.
See, in order to create a shadow in Motion, you need to create a shadow first from the light that you add to the scene. So I'll select the Point Light and in the Inspector, if you go to the Properties section, there's nothing. You need to go to the Lights section. In here are my Light Controls, and at the bottom I have an option for Shadows. So enable shadows by clicking this box on the left-hand side here, and shadows will be created in the scene. As you can see, here they are, and if you move over to the right side of this bar, click on Show, you can see we can make adjustments to these shadows.
So I can adjust the overall opacity of the shadow, as well as the softness of the shadow. If you go to the Render settings in your Composition, you want to make sure Quality is set to Best when you are initially setting your shadows, because you want to make sure that you get those settings just right. You may have noticed the hesitation in my system, because I did have it set to the Best quality. If you click on Normal, you'll notice as you make changes, things should happen a lot more quickly.
Also, you'll notice that my type here is pretty jagged. It's really important to make sure before we go to export that the quality is set to Best or in the Export options we change it to Best. Now there are couple of different options once you've actually determined that a light will create shadows. You need to also check the objects that are set up to receive shadows. But before we do that, I want to show you one more thing: it's this Uniform Softness check box.
What this does, it makes every single piece of the shadow exactly the same in terms of the softness setting. Now since this light is so close and we're creating this crazy distorted kind of shadow, I'd probably want to deselect Uniform Softness before I output this example. The reason, as this shadow moves further away from the light, you want it to actually get softer. So if you deselect Uniform Softness, just understand that that does increase render times exponentially.
Now sometimes when you have objects intersecting and you have them casting shadows, you may notice the shadow appear slightly a little bit in front of the object. Now that's not the case with this type layer just because it's kind of floating a little bit above our floor, but if you ever see that little bit of shadow and you're kind of wondering what's going on, deselect Uniform Softness, change your Render settings up to Best, and see if those things are still there. Like I said, we need to make sure that an object is set up to receive shadows.
So in order to do that I want to open up my Floor group layer and make sure I have my Color Solid generator selected here. And in its Property section you can scroll down, and under Lighting, notice here are the Shadow properties. So I can set it up to cast shadows or receive shadows. Now to speed up the processing, I'm just going to disable Cast Shadows, because it's the Floor; I'm not ever going to be wide enough to where I could see the edge of the floor. So when it comes down to creating shadows, it starts first by enabling shadows with the lights, and then it ends by making sure you have the lighting adjustment for shadows enabled for each object you want to receive the shadows.
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At the link is a detailed account of the latest techniques in plant breeding, where scientists use genetic sampling of seedlings to test for desired traits - everything from flood-resistant rice strains to better tasting tomatoes. They then breed these specific plants. snip - nside of it, two robotic arms perform a frenzied dance with plastic plates, each containing almost 100 leaf samples. The machine, called the Biocell, does the work of 30 lab technicians and can process tens of thousands of tissue samples daily, said Jeff Touchman, Monsanto's head of molecular breeding in Woodland. The samples are liquefied, clarified and eventually injected into tiny indentations on a clear plastic ribbon. The ribbon is spooled onto a scanner that uses light to trigger a chemical fluorescence, which reveals the presence of any desired genetic markers. A blue Internet cable threads upward, carrying the data to Monsanto's headquarters in St. Louis, where the company's vegetable breeders around the globe can download their results. "If plants were people, we could test the entire population of Los Angeles for breast cancer susceptibility in a month and a half," Touchman said. "We think this is the highest throughput of genetic testing in the world, of any industry." It is about to get higher. For plants with larger seeds, breeders can clip off a piece of the seed and test its DNA without waiting for it to grow into a seedling. snip My reaction - Wow. Much more at the link |
Here is a link that might be useful: link
This post was edited by david52 on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 10:48
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Wow, also. Plant biotics aside, though, this is the kind of thing someone meant when he told me just the past several years had brought enormous advances in computers that were beyond the imagining of laymen and that they were going to change everything. He was in the field and, watching his face, clearly awed just thinking about it, was probably a moment I'll never forget. |
Does this method of plant breeding qualify as biopiracy? The example of flood resistant rice is absurd considering there already was flood resistant rice, along with about 500 other varieties of rice grown in India. Navdanya is Vandana Shiva's organization. "Through extensive research among farmers whose crops did not fail in the event of a natural disaster, Navdanya has amassed saline-resistant, flood-resistant and drought-resistant seeds. In 1999, after a cyclone devastated Orissa, NavdanyaтАЩs seed bank in the area distributed saline-resistant seeds to farmers. In 2004, after the tsunami in Tamil Nadu, the same seeds were given to farmers there. тАЬItтАЩs in moments of crisis that people look at alternatives, and where alternatives catch on,тАЭ says Jani. тАЬLarge parts of Orissa and Tamil Nadu now use our saline-resistant and flood-resistant rice varieties.тАЭ " I like this quote from the same article: "тАЬLook at these beautiful corn kernels,тАЭ Anand says, beaming, тАЬwe know how to spot the best seeds, itтАЩs in our blood.тАЭ |
Here is a link that might be useful: live mint & the wsj
Probably I'm a bit of a Luddite, but I don't feel like this kind of thing is the answer for food security. |
- Posted by marshallz10 z9-10 CA (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 22:42
Marker-assisted plant breeding has been around for more than a decade and time and again out-performed plant breeding via horizontal transgenic transfer of traits in east Africa search for disease resistances in manioc, yams and other crops. These research stations developing non-gmo crops with superior qualities have found their staff and funds limited while Gates and friends push GMOs. Pretty sad. Moreover, it is one thing to identify the traits and another to isolate and essentially replace these genetic packages and their rNA managers in living plants. We are not often talking about identifying a single pair of genes since the same genes will express any number of properties in the formation of proteins/enzymes. What they are breeding are genetic clones with narrow genetic diversity. Yes, a variety my be saline-resistant, but at what agronomic costs for the farmer facing other pressures on crop production. |
Very sad, Marshallz... "What they are breeding are genetic clones with narrow genetic diversity. Yes, a variety my be saline-resistant, but at what agronomic costs for the farmer facing other pressures on crop production." One can only control so much... and the variables can be many. Corporations like Monsanto won't be happy until they've monopolized a world they refuse to see in the long term... it can't end well. |
According to this Diary post on Navadanya.org: Monsanto and the other 4 gene giants have taken more than 1,500 patents on climate resilient traits in crops (тАЬBiopiracy of Climate resilient cropsтАЭ я┐╜" Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology я┐╜" 2009). The Indian patent office rejected a Monsanto patent on climate resilient crops. Marshall, do you know if these crops are sold as a "package" that includes fertilizer & pesticides? |
Here is a link that might be useful: biopiracy
- Posted by marshallz10 z9-10 CA (My Page) on Fri, Apr 18, 14 at 18:23
I lost another post. Getting old (both losing it and LOSING it.) My short answer is unlikely that there is a packaged system for fert and pest. with hybrid seed, at least for the vast number of small-holder farmers in India. But I'm no expert in these matters. Dr. Shiva is on top of all these issues through her organizations' outreach efforts. |
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By TED GRIFFITH
The News Journal
Compared with neighboring states, Delaware is well positioned to
capitalize on banks' rapidly growing demand for data security centers
and capture the high-paying jobs they create, according to a recent
A study by Princeton, N.J.-based The Boyd Co. was positive news for
Delaware and Wilmington, the state's largest city, because data
security/data storage is one of the few niches within financial services
that's experiencing significant job growth, said John Boyd Jr. The
company advises banks and other financial service firms on where to
locate offices and other facilities.
"The fastest-growing sector of the financial industry is information
assurance, data storage and security," the consultant said. "Wilmington,
and Delaware, fit very nicely with the trend."
But the First State is facing competition for these high-paying data
banking jobs from small, low-cost cities in the West and the South, such
as Sioux Falls, S.D., and Winston-Salem, N.C.
There are about 41,000 people nationwide working in financial services
data security/storage, and that number is expected to grow by 19 percent
annually over the next five years, according the firm's projections.
Jobs in the field generally pay between $50,000 and $100,000, according
to the firm's study.
If major banks decide to locate their data security/storage centers in
Delaware, it could ultimately mean the addition of several hundred jobs
here, Boyd estimated.
David G. Bakerian, president of the Delaware Bankers Association, said
he, too, sees opportunity for job growth in this area, but he cautioned
that the state can't expect the field to generate thousands of jobs
because bank data centers generally don't employ large numbers of
No figures are available for the number of data security/storage workers
in Delaware. But the state is attracting at least some jobs in the
field. New York -based JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the world's largest
banks, opened two data centers, one in Fox Point and the other in Bear,
in 2004. The centers' combined employment is around 100.
And Delaware has attracted data centers operated by businesses in other
industries, said Judy McKinney-Cherry, director of the Delaware Economic
Development Office. For example, New Jersey-based industrial
conglomerate Honeywell early next year is expected to open a data center
in New Castle that will employ up to 100.
Boyd said banks have an increased need for data security because of
growing concerns about hackers attempting to steal customers'
information for use in identity theft fraud.
In addition, banks have a growing need for data storage, prompting them
to build new data centers, said Richard Purdy, an executive with
Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC Corp., which sells data storage technology.
Purdy said banks typically see 100 percent annual increases in the
amount of data they generate. Banks' data centers handle both storage
and security.
Delaware is a good place for a data center because of its cost advantage
relative to other Northeastern states, Boyd said. The annual operating
cost for a typical bank data center in Wilmington would be about $11
million, compared with $12.3 million in Philadelphia and $14.1 million
in New York City, according to the study. Boyd attributed the difference
largely to lower real estate prices here.
Delaware, long known for credit card banking, also has a skilled work
force with experience in technology and banking, Boyd said.
But Delaware also could see competition from cities in the West and
South. Sioux Falls is less expensive than Delaware, with annual
operating costs for a bank data center estimated at $9.7 million. The
city also has a trained work force available to banks, being the home to
credit card operations of Citigroup and other banks, Boyd said.
Contact Ted Griffith at 324-2880 or tgriffith (at) delawareonline.com.
NEW YORK: $14.1 million
PHILADELPHIA: $12.3 million
CHERRY HILL, N.J.: $11.9 million
WILMINGTON: $11 million
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.: $9.8 million
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.: $9.7 million
* The storage to maintain a single bank account has grown to well over
20 times what it was in 1990.
* NASDAQ stock market processes 2 billion contracts a day.
* Visa processes more than 3,500 transactions a second.
HITBSecConf2006 - Malaysia
The largest network security event in Asia
32 internationally renowned speakers
7 tracks of hands-on technical training sessions.
Register now: http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2006kl/


text:
I wanted let you know the winner of the "Name our new program."
And the winner is......"Hogs on Hold", Congratulations to Morgan B. for submitting this name and winning a 10 lb box of pork!
Many thanks to all who submitted names and voted!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about you can read about it here: http://www.springhillfarms.us/hogs-on-hold.html


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Bon Appétit | August 2000
Okay, dumb question time, but I have no experience grilling vegetables. Do the veggies stay on the baking sheet and that on the grill or do they go directly on the grill?
A great year round dish and a hit served with steak!The feta is a perfect touch.
28 reasons why doughnuts (and doughnut holes)baked or fried, glazed or dustedare perfect morning, noon, and night
plus: everything you need to know about making doughnuts at home ›
Get the inside dish on 10 restaurants Parisians don't want you to know about
plus: Over 1,300 recipes à la Française to cook at home ›


text:
Shopping Guides
Top Searches in Nintendo Game Boy
Toys & Video Games
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Monsters, Inc. for the Game Boy Color features 12 side-scrolling levels starring characters Sulley and Mike from the 2001 computer-animated ...
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Tennis returns to the Mushroom Kingdom in this Game Boy Advance follow-up to the Game Boy Color smash. Players can ...
Woody Woodpecker (game Boy Color) Factory Sealed
Woody Woodpecker leads a pack of ten Walter Lantz characters in this go-kart racing title for Game Boy Color. The ...


text:
Filling Her Stockings (eBook): A collection of five festive erotic stories
by Elizabeth Coldwell, Mimi Elise, Jodie Johnson-Smith, Amelia Thornton, Caz Jones, Miranda Forbes
Format: | eBook |
File type: | EPUB DRM |
Available for immediate download
To download this eBook, simply 'Add to basket' and pay at the Checkout as normal. Don't forget to download Digital Editions too, if you don't already have it.
A collection of five festive erotic stories with mixed and varied themes from Xcite Books winners of ETO's Best Erotic Book Brand and Jade's Best Erotic Fiction Publisher 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Filling her Stockings – Elizabeth Coldwell
When her boss Mickey persuades Ellie to dress up in skimpy panties and stockings to pull in the Christmas punters, she is fuming. But what's sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander, and Ellie shows Mickey who's in charge with some costuming of her own... or has she just fallen further into Mickey's trap?
The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come – Mimi Elise
Zara hasn't got time for Christmas parties; she's too busy working. That is, until the ghost of her old friend Pattie comes back to remind her what lies in her past... and what might lie in her present, if she could only let go of her inhibitions.
Christmas Comes But Once A Year – Jodie Johnson-Smith
Father Christmas is supposed to be an old bloke with a beard, right, who brings presents to kids? That's the story Holly knows, anyway. But when FC turns out to be a hot guy with a different sort of present for adults - not to mention a sleigh with dodgy sat nav... Holly finds she's really not complaining!
Bad Credit – Amelia Thornton
Charlotte's husband Jeff warned her what would happen if she couldn't control her Christmas spending spree: a bit of good old-fashioned discipline. But when he carries out his threat, Charlotte discovers that while she might feel humiliated about being put over Jeff's knee, she's also turned on...
The Pre-Christmas Pick-Me-Up – Caz Jones
Sick of being treated like her husband's skivvy – and on Christmas Eve, of all days - Clare agrees with her friend Julie that she deserves a special treat. Especially one which involves two sexy men giving her a massage (and more) to remember.
These stories have also been published in Seriously Sexy Stocking Filler ISBN 9781906373818
Product details
Xcite Books


text:
July 4th Recipes With A Latin Twist
By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Jul. 3–Tres Leches Cake with Berries, Fourth of July recipes inspired by Latin chef Ingrid Hoffman. (Susan Stocker, Sun-Sentinel / July 2, 2008)
Ingrid Hoffmann straddles two worlds, both in her life and her cooking.
Raised in Colombia by a mother who is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, a restaurant owner and caterer, Hoffmann learned to love the food of her homeland at an early age. But she moved to Miami where she was introduced to a different culture. Here, she opened La Capricieuse, a fashion boutique in Coconut Grove. Then in 1993 she opened Rocca, which featured tabletop cooking on heated lava rocks.
"The way I cook is like a love affair between these two cultures, often spiked with a dash of homey Latin America and a pinch of haute America," she writes in her newest cookbook Simply Delicioso (Clarkson Potter, 2008, $32.50). The book is named for her television show on the Food Network (it airs at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays). She also stars in Galavision/Univision's Delicioso (it airs 10:30 a.m. Saturdays).
We asked her to take time out of her busy filming schedule to look through her cookbook and share some recipes appropriate for a "Spanglish" Fourth of July.
She suggests you begin your meal with Mango-Veggie Salsa served with tortilla chips. It's a colorful way to feed a crowd while you put the finishing touches on the rest of the meal. At other times you can use this salsa as a bed for grilled seafood. It's that versatile.
For a main dish, try her Tamarind Glazed Baby Back Ribs that she dubs "yummylicious, a great excuse to get messy and eat with your hands." She bakes them in the oven, but they can just as easily be prepared on the grill.
It doesn't take much to make these ribs succulent, and the slightly sour sauce has real Latin flare.
"I promise to introduce you to some really 'wow!' flavors," she writes. And sour tamarind, which can be bought in brick form, in a concentrated paste or as frozen pulp, is one of them. She suggests tucking away a few for a midnight snack because they taste even better served cold late at night.
All-America corn on the cob gets Latin flavor when it's grilled and rubbed with Chimichurri Butter that she describes as a "feisty butter mixture."
It's a combination of butter, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, chopped parsley, fresh oregano, garlic and dried red pepper flakes that melts deliciously over corn hot off the grill. To make it even better, she crumbles on grated cotija cheese that you can find in supermarkets. If you haven't tried this cheese, it will remind you of feta, she says.
She rounds out the main course with Mango and Red Cabbage Slaw dressed with lime juice, apple cider vinegar and sugar that's a healthful and flavorful alternative to mayonnaise. And with mango season here, this and the salsa are great ways to use your backyard harvest.
For dessert, don't miss the Shortcut Tres Leches Cake based on a store-bought pound cake. It's amazingly simple. Just leave enough time for the cake to soak up the evaporated milk, heavy whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk you pour over it.
Then you coat it all with great clouds of whipped topping and decorate it in Fourth of July grandeur. Hoffmann recommends using red and blue candies for decoration. We prefer strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Either way this is a very sweet treat.
"Being around a table, breaking bread, sharing food and laughter — to me, this is what life is all about," she writes. But don't forget the fireworks.
To see more of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sun-sentinel.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email firstname.lastname@example.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.


text:
Escher exhibition in Rome at the Chiostro del Bramante from September 20, 2014 to February 22, 2015.
from 20/09/2014 to 21/02/2015
"I was walking over a little bridge in the woods at Baarn,
and there it was, right before my eyes. I simply had to make a print of it!"
With these words, Maurits Cornelis Escher alludes to the lithograph entitled Three Worlds, in which foreground, background and reflection are depicted on a single plane, that of the water, which causes the real and reflected worlds to overlap between dream and geometry, invention and visual perception, imagination and detailed observation.
With over one hundred and fifty works, including some of his most famous masterpieces such as Hand with Reflecting Sphere (M.C. Escher Foundation), Day and Night (Bressanone, Giudiceandrea Collection), Another World II (Bressanone, Giudiceandrea Collection), Relativity (Bressanone, Giudiceandrea Collection), a major anthological exhibition devoted entirely to the Dutch engraver and graphic artist is opening in Rome, putting his artistic language into context and recounting the network of seemingly incompatible cultural worlds which, thanks to his art and creative drive, achieve harmony in a decidedly unique visual dimension.
Organized by DART Chiostro del Bramante and Arthemisia Group, in partnership with the M.C. Escher Foundation, thanks to loans from the Federico Giudiceandrea Collection, curated by Marco Bussagli, with the sponsorship of Roma Capitale, the ESCHER exhibition aims to emphasize the unique way in which this scholar – because the term artist, in the usual understanding of the word, seems to be somewhat inadequate – observed nature, adopting a different viewpoint, so that beauty of geometric regularity emerges in filigree, transforming it into something magical and playful. Read More


text:
North Korea's Home-Grown Operating System Mimics OS X
Re:Fuck BEta (252 comments)
I remember that shortly after the Dice takeover, there was concern amongst the community of what was going to happen to Slashdot. Someone (Timothy?) made a special post clearly stating that Dice had no intention whatsoever of messing with the community. It allowed everyone a sigh of relief, but I — and probably many others — knew in the back of our minds that it was only a matter of time. It looks like the time has finally come after
Unfortunately, I can't remember which story it was, as it was not the original "Dice Buys Slashdot" post but was some time after that. I also can't remember the exact topic of the story — only that they gave us that very clear assurance. This isn't the first time a corporation has blatantly lied, of course. They'd probably "justify" it by saying "Yeah
I'll be watching threads like this in the months to come to see where the community plans to go so that I can hopefully continue to read through the same levels of insightful discussion day in and day out.


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Don't know if I'm the last to find this out but you can dig up and store the more tender salvias easily. The one I had from last year was Black and Blue, love it but HATE buying annuals! Found a very old post on one of the forums here suggesting that the plants be dug before the first heavy freeze, most of the soil removed and roots wrapped in damp paper towels. Put the whole thing in a plastic shopping bag and loosely tie the top. Hang it on something on an exterior wall of the garage or somewhere it gets cool but not freezing, check on them once in a while over winter to make sure the paper towels don't dry out completely. Bring them out around Mother's Day, cut off any dead foliage and pot them up (or put them in the ground if you don't think we're going to have more snow, HAH!!!) until it's truly spring weather and then plunk them in the ground. Worked great for me last winter, plan to wintersow some different types this winter and try it with a greater variety (thinking Sapphire Blue, pretty!). Am also planning to try it with Verbena Bonariensis to try to get a head start on my tall verbena next summer.....Please don't laugh at me if I'm sharing something you all knew for ages! |
Follow-Up Postings:
Liz, I save at least a few geranium plants each year. I don't have an attached garage or any stucture outside that doesn't get below freezeing temps so I just overwinter them indoors with the housplants. Plants have gotten pretty expensive, so it's good to share tips on how to make them last more than a couple of seasons. Salvias are one of my favorite plants. I think I bought at least one salvia this year that won't take a zone 5 winter. Now I need to find the plant tag so I can remember which one it was! Thanks for the tip! Barb |
- Posted by LizinElizabeth 5 (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Sat, Aug 17, 13 at 11:20
Hi Barb, I tried to overwinter tall verbena by potting it and bringing it inside but wasn't successful, I don't think we have enough natural light. Plus the one big window I have that isn't shaded too much is blocked by our Christmas tree each year! I wish we had a sunroom.... Liz |
I overwinter most of my geraniums, some succulents, and a few other plants by placing them in my basement window wells. I purchased the clear plexiglass window well covers. They act almost like little greenhouses. Granted, they do get cold, but somehow these plants seem to make it. I've never tried salvia, but it might work. Give it a good haircut, put it in the window well, water sparingly. |
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Black Tie December 18 2012 Calendar
Microsoft adds a store to UTC lineup
Microsoft is opening a store at The Mall at University Town Center. -
The Ringling receives major gift for new glass art gallery and entrance pavilion
Philip and Nancy Kotler and Warren and Margot Coville give major financial and art gift for new museum entrance, glass art gallery and Historic Asolo Theater remodeling. -
PHOTO GALLERY: Stoneybrook 20th anniversary
Residents of Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club commemorate the 20th anniversary for the community with a three-day celebration. -
Lakewood Ranch upset by Fort Myers
Fort Myers defeats the Mustangs via penalty kicks, 2-1 (5-4)


text:
If you haven't discovered BlogLovin.com, you are definitely missing out. Bloglovin is like Pinterest for blogs. It provides a user-friendly feed of posts from your favorite blogs. It's like compiling a virtual news stand of the latest blog posts.
We're happy to announce that you can now follow Veggie Scene on bloglovin.com. Simply click here to get started. Of course, you can always also follow us through other feed readers or on Facebook and Twitter as well. Any way you get Veggie Scene, we greatly appreciate you taking the time to read it!


text:
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) | New International Version (NIV) |
21 "I will cleanse them of bloodguilt which I have not yet cleansed," for ADONAI is living in Tziyon. | 21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon." THE LORD DWELLS IN ZION! |
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (The Complete Jewish Bible 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:
The Office of the Science Advisor (OSA), led by the Agency Science Advisor, provides leadership in cross-Agency science and science policy development and implementation to ensure the best possible use of science at the Agency. These efforts help ensure regulations are interpreted and enforced in a manner consistent with the science supporting them and will strengthen EPA's overall scientific performance.
The Science Advisor works across the Agency to ensure that the highest quality science is better integrated into the Agency's policies and decisions. In this capacity, the Science Advisor leads the OSA and chairs the Agency's Science and Technology Policy Council which reviews selected science issues that have implications across program and regional offices. The mission of the OSA is to provide leadership and serve as an honest broker for cross-Agency science, science policy, and technology issues.
EPA has strengthened its contractor-managed peer review process to address any actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to peer review panels considering Influential Scientific Information (ISI) or a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment (HISA). Peer review panel membership will now be subject to public comment in order to increase transparency. For a copy of this process CLICK HERE (4 pp, 814K, About PDF).
Programs and projects managed by the Office of the Science Advisor:
Scientific Integrity - In 2012, EPA enacted an Agency-wide Scientific Integrity Policy (EPA's Scientific Integrity Policy February 2012 (PDF) (14 pp, 207K, About PDF)) that builds on our long history of scientific safeguards and further ensures that sound science drives Agency decision making. The policy builds on EPA's Principles of Scientific Integrity (PDF) (1 pg, 56K, About PDF) and outlines foundational principles that promote a culture of scientific integrity, communication with the public, the use of peer review and Federal Advisory Committees, and the professional development of Agency scientists. It also established a Scientific Integrity Committee to implement this policy. The Scientific Integrity Policy helps to ensure that science continues to drive our efforts to protect human health and the environment.
Training on the Scientific Integrity - EPA developed a training module (PDF) (51 pp, 387K, About PDF) to familiarize employees and others with the Agencys Scientific Integrity Policy.
Annual Report on Scientific Integrity - The Policy states that there will be a publicly available annual report on the status of scientific integrity within the Agency. The 2013 Annual Report (PDF) (39 pg, 916K, About PDF) highlights EPA's scientific integrity successes.
Policy and Procedures for Addressing Research Misconduct – EPA Order 3120.5 (12 pg, 101K, About PDF) provides policy and procedures on reporting, procedures, investigations, and adjudication of research misconduct by the EPA's employees, contractors, and recipients of assistance agreements.
Science and Technology Policy Council - The Science Advisor chairs the Agency's Science and Technology Policy Council, which reviews selected science issues that have implications across Program and Regional offices. Current priorities include identifying ways to institutionalize the principles of sustainability into EPA's programmatic work, driving technology innovation to solve discrete environmental and health problems, and creating community-relevant actions to help communities understand potential short- and long-term risks from exposures to multiple pollutants.
Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling - Environmental Modeling Community of Practice – The Environmental Modeling (E-Mod) Community of Practice (CoP) is being established for modelers (i.e., developers, users, evaluators, and those with a passion for modeling [e.g., statisticians, software analysts] – likeminded individuals) to come together as a community with an open opportunity to regularly interact with one another, form new collaborative relationships, and possibly pursue a project(s) to advance environmental modeling at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency). This is a cross-Agency opportunity to learn about the exciting modeling related activities ongoing or needed within (or potentially outside of) the Agency; collaborate with colleagues to solve an issue; learn about new modeling techniques, tools, or opportunities (i.e., internal or external to the Agency); talk with individuals that use the same language, among other things.
Forum on Environmental Measurements - The Forum on Environmental Measurements works to develop policies to guide the Agency's measurement community in: validating and disseminating methods for sample collection and analysis; ensuring that monitoring studies are scientifically rigorous, statistically sound, and yield representative measurements; and employing a quality systems approach that ensures that the data gathered and used by the Agency is of known and documented quality. The Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board also provides recommendations to EPA.
Global Earth Observation System of Systems - The Global Earth Observation System of Systems mission is a mechanism to provide decision makers with scientific information that can advance societal benefit areas including human health, ecosystems, climate change and air and water quality.
Program in Human Research Ethics - The Program in Human Research Ethics has two components, the Human Subjects Research Review Official and the Human Studies Review Board. These two components work together to support the ethical conduct and regulatory compliance of human subjects research conducted, supported, or regulated by EPA. The Program in Human Research Ethics provides direct regulatory oversight of human subjects research conducted or supported by the Agency and supports the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs in its regulatory oversight of third-party human subjects research for pesticides.
Risk Assessment Forum - The Risk Assessment Forum mission promotes consensus on risk assessment issues and develops Agency risk assessment guidance.
Environmental Technologies - Sustainable, innovative technologies have been shown to help businesses reduce costs, expand product markets, and increase profitability. New approaches to environmental technology are increasingly becoming part of the solution for existing and emerging environmental challenges.