text:
This is an update to a previous post about the Abbey of New Clairveaux in Northern California. The previous post has more information about the abbey.
The monastery has completed the vaulted ceiling for its reconstruction of the Avila chapter house. It is beyond belief. The acoustics are very live.
A closer look at the stone vaulting.
This is an amazing amount of progress since last year, when the arches were supported by medieval-style framing.
Besides the work on the chapter house, nearly everything at the monastery seemed just about the same as last year. I am glad to report the food was a little better this year. I was told the brothers rotate cooking duties and we managed to visit during the right week this time. I hope to visit again next year.
Your images may fill the entire column here. Edit in html and substitute "485" as width in pixels instead of the default "285."
NOVA did an episoda about Gothic construction. Some of it was filmed at this site. You can see the stone mason.
Plus, I'm very glad you planned your visit right, from a culinary point of view!
They both have peanut butter and their own bread and fresh fruit available all the time. I have noticed peanut butter and yoghurt make up a major source of nutrition for the nuns at Redwoods Abbey.
Of course it's acoustically live. There's nothing to absorb sound and a lot of hard flat surfaces to reflect it. All that ribbing probably helps somewhat, meaning the reverberation won't take the form of well-defined discrete echoes as much as would be the case with flatter, larger, less interrupted surfaces. I hope this isn't a setting where you want to hear speech over long distances. Singing, particularly chanting, sure - plainsong and some choral stuff would sound great in a room like that. If, on the other hand, people want to hear a sermon from more than a few feet away, contact me and I'll tell you the technology you'd need to accomplish that. There is one now that doesn't involve treating the room.
The history is told here.
The short version
Monastery builit in Avila, Castille (Spain) - 1167
Monastery secularized by Spanish Governemnt - 1831
Monastery falls into ruins - 1831 to 1930
W Randolf Hearst buys monastery, ships stones from Chapter house to CA - 1931.
Hearst domates stones to De Young Art Museum - 1941
Stones sit in a pile in Golden Gate Park - 1941 to 1993
Stones moved to Vina and reassembled - 1994 to present.
I don't know exatly how this building will be used. The building must be open to the public (a condition from the stones' former owners). I don't know if these monks would like to move their church to a nearly public setting. Monks like silence.
We tested the acoustics. The reverb is pretty warm, like you guessed. The smaller size of the structure (chapter house vs church or cathedral) makes the reverb shorter than you would think by looking at the pictures.
I've used the other method and have a hard time finding the code in the html for the image. Of course, I have vision problems and that may not be a problem for others.
I enjoyed this. I'm a nut for architectural feats like this.


text:
This Classified is Closed
Wanted: Hooded Merganser Breeder Age Drake
Will Ship To: Anywhere
I am in need of a breeder age Hooded Merganser drake. If you have one please contact me so that we can work something out.
Blue Creek Farm
ETA: These hens are desperately seeking a mate! I do not want to waste their eggs.
Edited by Blue Creek Farm - 5/10/14 at 9:20am

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Breathe, indulge, chill: Holiday spa escapes
BY WENDY ALTSCHULER For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Related Stories
- Good Gift Hunting
- Winter sports day trips
- Pampered presents
- Gifts for the DIY Dude
- Gifts for the fitness guru
- Three Kings Day: The Twelfth Day of Christmas, with cake
- Gift ideas for the old-school sports nut
- 'Tis the season: Quick-reference guide to volunteering and charity gifting
- Cheers to the season: Holiday brews and blends
- On holiday in Chicago: Local museums turn it up for the winter
- It's a family tradition: These three magical locations fill the holidays with lights and wonder
As the holidays approach, life gets more hectic and becomes a pressure cooker of gifts to buy, dinners to host, family and friends to entertain, holiday work parties to attend and impending deadlines. Take a deep breath, unwind and call on spa specialists. They can help you find your holiday bliss.
Scruples Salon & Spa in Glenview offers everything you'll need in one convenient location: hair care, hair extensions and keratin treatments, nails, facials, massages, waxing, threading, laser hair removal and more. For the holidays, indulge in a pumpkin spa pedicure, a chocolate-mint massage or a pumpkin facial. All are available at a discount.
"Scruples Salon & Spa will help you relax, rejuvenate, look great and get ready for the holidays," said John Solomos, director of operations at Scruples Salon & Spa. "Come in for an incomparable array of services that enhance beauty and reduce tension or, better yet, purchase a gift for a loved one. With a soothing atmosphere, we pamper you with luxury and offer you peace of mind."
Sigh the stress away in Deerfield or Northbrook with one of Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa's holiday packages: Night on the Town, Glamourous Life or An Afternoon Affair.
"These services are relaxing, rejuvenating and sensorial, aligned with the holiday season," said Marjorie Wolfe Gellert, vice president at BOLD PR. "These newly designed packages feature pumpkin or cranberry-infused spa services that are indulgent in every respect. The holidays are definitely a time of high stress, and any of these three packages will restore your mind, body and spirit."
Pascal Pour Elle, located in Glencoe and Glenview, offers a plethora of spa services from anti-aging to weight loss. For the holidays, guests can enjoy a pumpkin-spice pedicure. Treat yourself to a pumpkin soak infused with aromatherapy, followed by a pumpkin-spice, warm-towel wrap that will soothe your soles and soul.
If you're looking to purchase a holiday gift instead of partaking in a service, one salon has boosted the seasonal spa present to the next level. Customers can come into Teddie Kossof Salon Spa in Northfield to pick out a prepackaged gift set or they can create a custom gift online, which makes gift buying efficient and easy.
"During the holiday season, gift cards are a huge hit, but sometimes they can be impersonal when they are given for a dollar amount," said Alan Kossof, co-owner at Teddie Kossof Salon Spa. "We like to personalize gift cards by promoting the services on the gift, not the dollar amount. Typically, this is the time of year when the men come out to shop for their loved ones, so we have gift-sets that feature hair and skin care products along with a gift card for a service, which never expires."
Treat yourself or treat someone else to a spa escape this December.


text:
In recent University of Minnesota research, alfalfa yields the year after seeding were greater when the crop was established with wheat than with other small grains. Currently, oats are the most commonly used companion crop for alfalfa establishment in Minnesota, says agronomist Craig Sheaffer. But the high value of wheat grain has renewed interest in seeding alfalfa with wheat instead, he says.
Research at three southern Minnesota locations evaluated alternative companion crops for alfalfa establishment. Assuming current market prices, Sheaffer says wheat and barley would be the most profitable small grain companion crop options, and oats the least profitable.
There are other factors to consider when choosing and managing a companion crop. Sheaffer says to pick early maturing, short varieties, reduce the seeding rate and promptly remove the straw.
A table comparing the grain and alfalfa yields is in the November issue of the University of Minnesota Forage Quarterly newsletter. View the newsletter at www.extension.umn.edu/forages.


text:
Tom Nakashima
Listen Live
Audio Vault
Movie Releases
Contact Information
Email Offers
Advertise With Us
Advertising Clients
Contest Rules
IMAX Trivia
Cache Creek Trivia
Walt Gray Show Blog
Weekday Mornings
5:30a - 10a
Walt's Best Sacramento Riverfront Casual Dining Spots for Summer!
by Walt Gray
posted Jul 10 2013 12:33PM
Old Sacramento:
*Rio City Cafe. My wife and I sat outside for dinner last month and the view of the Tower Bridge and river was great. It almost felt like SF. Almost. We enjoyed it so much that we were late picking up the kids from a movie.
*Joe's Crab Shack. Same view as Rio City Cafe, but not as fancy and maybe a bit louder of a crowd because our kids will be there. Great fried food menu and selections good for the whole family.
Garden Highway area:
*Virgin Sturgeon. The walk down the old airport runway is worth it. Great spot on the river for casual eats, great drinks (Mark the bartender is #1) and the Sunday breakfast will cure whatever you did to yourself the night before.
*Crawdad's. It's been moored there as a floating barge since 1986. I didn't get there until 1988 but i've dropped a few bucks there, especially on weekend nights. We had the Eagle radio Christmas party there in 1992. Kat was wearing a tremendously short black leather skirt. That's all I recall. Sorry.
*Swabbie's. Lots of weekend action at Swabbie's. Folks come via car or boat and watch out for Pirates. You could literally spend hours there drinking, eating, people watching or boating. A great spot to end a motorcycle ride too.
Honorable mention:
*Alamar. Another of the Garden Highway spots. Highly recommended.
*Scott's Seafood. The one at 4800 Riverside Blvd near I-5 and Sutterville. More $$ but worth it on date night.
*Pearl on the River. 1379 Garden Highway near Natomas. Great view and large portions for your $.
Those are my favorite waterfront spots for casual fun. Yours?
Tags :
Topics :
Social :
Locations :
Back To Blog
<< Previous Post
Next Post >>
Walt's Best Sacramento Riverfront Casual Dining Spots for Summer!
Please Enter Your Comments Below
Title :
Comment :
Please enter the text as it is shown in the box below :
Refresh Image
Eagle Concerts and Events
Eagle On Demand
Sacramento Perks
Connect With The Eagle
advertise with us
Recent Blog Posts
The Police Played Their Last Show Today in Rock History
derek moore
Mar 4
Pretenders Chrissie Hynde Memoir Coming
derek moore
Mar 4
51 Years Ago Today, The Beatles Played the Ed Sullivan Show
derek moore
Feb 9
Paul Stanley Is Not Happy With Kanye Interrupting Beck at the Grammys
derek moore
Feb 9
Watch Foo Fighters Perform Several Classic Rock Covers Live
derek moore
Jan 28
Led Zeppelin Releases Unreleased "Houses of the Holy"
derek moore
Jan 20
Bob Dylan's Engineer: "People Cried After Hearing New Record"
derek moore
Jan 14
Stevie Nicks Performs A Special Version of "Gypsy" on Piano
derek moore
Jan 14
Walt Gray Show
Mar 2015
Feb 2015
Jan 2015
Dec 2014
Nov 2014
Oct 2014


text:
Follow Us
NHI Newsletter
Legal Notices
Some Favorite Sites
- At Risk for HD
- barista
- Branford Eagle
- Business NH
- Chris Volpe Photography
- Crosscut
- CT Capitol Report
- CT Enviro Headlines
- CT Mirror
- CT News Junkie
- CT Watchdog
- Design New Haven
- Gotham Gazette
- I Love New Haven
- Josiah Brown
- Karman Turn
- La Voz Hispana
- Laurel Club
- Media Nation
- Middletown Eye
- MinnPost
- My Left Nutmeg
- NH Register
- NH Review of Books
- NHV.org
- OneWorld
- Only In Bridgeport
- Oral History Project
- Reddit NH
- Saved By Design
- See Click Fix
- Smartpill Design
- St. Louis Beacon
- Taste Of NH
- Valley Independent Sentinel
- Voice of SD
- VT Digger
- Yale Daily News
Government/ Community Links
- 'r Kids Family Center
- Agency on Aging
- All Our Kin
- Animal Shelter Volunteers
- Arte Inc.
- Arts Council
- Artspace
- Beth El Keser Israel
- Bike New Haven
- Boys & Girls Club
- Cancer Support
- Chabad of Westville
- Chamber of Commerce
- Children's Museum
- Christian Community Action
- City of New Haven
- CitySeed
- Citywide Youth
- Columbus House
- Community Action Agency
- Community Loan Fund
- Community Mediation
- ConnCAN
- Creative Arts Workshop
- CT Best Restaurants
- CT Tech Council
- Data Haven
- Elm City Cycling
- Elm Shakespeare
- Elmseed
- Empower NH
- Friends Of Wooster Sq.
- Gay Men's Chorus
- GNH Community Chorus
- Habitat For Humanity
- Info New Haven
- INFO NH Calendar
- Jazz Haven
- Jewish Federation
- Job Finder
- Junta
- Labor History
- Lawyer Finder
- Legal Aid Network
- Liberty Safe Haven
- Life Haven
- Literacy Coalition
- Magrisso Forte
- Mary Wade
- Music Haven
- Neighborhood Music School
- New Haven 828
- New Haven Chorale
- New Haven Farms
- New Haven Museum
- New Haven Reads
- New Life Corp.
- New Reach
- NH Land Trust
- NH Symphony
- NH/Leon Sister City
- On The Road To Greenness
- Orchard Street Shul
- Orchestra NE
- Parents Available to Help
- Pat Dillon
- Peace News
- PechaKucha
- Planned Parenthood
- Police
- Promoting Enduring Peace
- Public Allies CT
- Public Library
- Public Schools
- Public Works
- Rainbow Girls
- Register Calendar
- SCSU Events
- Share Our Voices
- Shubert
- Solar Youth
- Soul-O-Ettes
- Squash Haven
- United Way
- Urban Design League
- Urban Resources Initiative
- W. Square Blossoms
- West Rock Trails
- Westville Renaissance
- Westville Synagogue
- Workforce Alliance
- Yale Events
- Yeshiva NH Shul
- Youth Continuum
City To Double TFA Hires
by Melissa Bailey | Aug 18, 2010 7:00 am
(38) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author
Posted to: Schools, School Reform
One was on track to be a dentist. The other worked at a privileged school in New York City. Both were inspired to change course — and teach at a "turnaround" middle school for troubled urban kids.
Tyrone Mayorga (at left above) and Stephanie Sun (at right), both of whom graduated from college in May, will join the staff at the new Domus Academy, one of two "turnaround" schools that are being reconstituted as part of a citywide school reform effort.
The two are part of a new wave of Teach For America (TFA) recruits set to start work Sept. 1 in the New Haven Public Schools.
As school district plows into the first year of a school change effort, it is doubling the number of young TFA teachers in city classrooms compared to last year.
The school board last week renewed a contract with Teach For America (TFA), a leading national not-for-profit focused on luring talented young people into urban classrooms and narrowing the racial achievement gap. TFA is linked to a national school reform movement into which New Haven is putting into practice when school starts Sept. 1.
The new contract allows for an increase in the number of TFA recruits in city schools. The agreement is a sign of an expanded relationship between the not-for-profit and the city as the reform effort gets under way, district and TFA officials said.
The teachers union president welcomed the new recruits—and said he hopes they will buck a TFA trend and stay with the district long-term.
TFA expects to place 20 to 25 new hires into city schools this fall, in addition to the 10 who are returning for their second year, according to TFA's statewide director, Edna Novak.
That would be a significant increase over last year, when the city hired 12 new TFA recruits, and employed nine second-year TFA teachers.
New Haven Public Schools started working with TFA in the 2006-07 school year. The public schools have drawn from TFA heavily in the past, but less so in the past two years. The district hired 36 new TFA recruits in 2006-07, 25 in 2007-08, 11 in 2008-09, and 12 in 2009-10.
Novak said the number of TFA recruits in New Haven schools shrank in part because TFA was expanding to Bridgeport and Hartford, and partly because TFA teachers had a tough year in 2007-08 in New Haven schools.
So far this summer, the Board of Education has placed 11 new TFA recruits into classrooms in the public school district, which has about 1,700 teachers.
A New Challenge
Many recruits join TFA straight from college or graduate school. In lieu of a standard certification, they attend a five-week summer TFA training course to prepare for the classroom—then take classes during the school year to earn their Connecticut certification. They commit to teaching for two years, and have access to one-one-one coaching and teaching support during that time.
The district often uses TFA recruits to fill shortages in subjects like science and math. Last week, the school board hired five first-year science teachers for the following schools: Truman, Davis Street, Barnard, Beecher and Wexler/Grant.
Mayorga and Sun will be two of eight classroom teachers at the new Domus Academy. They'll take on one of the most challenging assignments—to help "turn around" a struggling school for kids who have failed in traditional settings. Domus Academy, formerly known as Urban Youth, is the site of a new experiment: For the first time, the public school district has hired an outside group—Domus, a not-for-profit that runs charter schools in Stamford —to take over a low-performing school.
Mayorga, who's 22, just graduated from Boston College. A philosophy major, he was on a pre-med track to become a dentist—until he got involved with a community service group. The Long Island native started teaching health workshops for inner-city kids—and loved it. He decided to break from the pre-med mold and continue that service work. At Domus, he'll teach science for grades 6 to 8.
Sun, who's 21, graduated in May from New York University with a Bachelor's degree in English and anthropology. During school, she got the chance to teach some classes at a private school in the city. The school served affluent students, "putting them on really high paths in life," she said.
"I realized that my passion was needed elsewhere," Sun said in a phone interview Tuesday. Sun, who'll teach English in grades 6 to 8, spoke on a conference call with Mayorga. The two are temporary roommates in Stamford while they go through TFA's summer training course. They brimmed with enthusiasm about the task ahead.
During the weekdays, they'll teach from 7:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. On weeknights, they'll plan for their classes—and do their own set of homework, too: They'll be taking a year-long course at Southern Connecticut State University to earn a Connecticut teaching certificate. The classes run all day on Saturdays. The new roommates said they're ready to work hard.
Growing Partnership
Under its contract with TFA, the school board agreed to pay TFA $2,500 for each first-year teacher, and another $2,500 for each second-year teacher, that the organization recruited. The fee subsidizes the professional development that TFA provides to its teachers during those first two years, Novak said.
The contract was approved at last week's Board of Education meeting with no discussion.
The fees are paid for with federal stimulus money, according to schools spokeswoman Michelle Wade.
Wade said the partnership has grown this year: Last year, the district paid for 21 TFA teachers; this year, the school board agreed to pay the fees for up to 30. The district may not need all 30 slots, but "the expansion offers us more flexibility with TFA if/when our needs require us to look to them for more candidates," Wade wrote in an email.
Teacher recruitment is one main plank of the city's school reform effort, which aims to cut the dropout rate in half and close the achievement gap by 2015. Besides the TFA partnership, the New Haven school district has taken trips to Puerto Rico to look for bilingual staff, and has expanded its job postings to reach a nationwide applicant pool.
Novak said the city's reforms fit nicely with TFA's focus.
"With the reform in the district, and how aligned it is with what we focus on in TFA," she said, "we're going to continue to see a stronger presence of TFA" in city schools. She said she hopes that presence grows naturally, as new TFA teachers succeed in the new "reform environment" and "want to remain a part of this for a long time."
That growing presence comes at a time when TFA is booming nationwide. This fall, it expects to have over 8,200 "corps members" teaching in 39 urban and rural settings, the largest in its 20-year history. A "corps member" is a TFA teacher in his or her first or second year of the program. In a down economy, TFA received a record 46,000 applications this year, including 17 percent of Yale seniors, according to a spokeswoman.
"We Wish They'd Stay"
New Haven teachers union President Dave Cicarella welcomed the incoming class of TFA members. He laid out the pros and cons of having them lead city classrooms.
TFA members tend to be highly educated, motivated and hard-working, he said. "They're terrific in terms of their content knowledge." And "they care a lot" about the kids. "I'm very supportive of them."
"The concern that we do have," Cicarella said, "is that many of them don't stay—they do the two years, and then they're gone."
Of the 36 new TFA recruits the district hired in 2006, only two remained for the 2009-10 school year, according to schools spokeswoman Wade. Updated numbers were not available.
While most teachers who enter the schools through traditional certification have chosen teaching as a career, many TFA recruits leave teaching for other careers, Cicarella said. "Not enough of them stay beyond the two years."
"We wish they'd stay," he said.
Cicarella said another common criticism—that young TFA teachers have trouble managing classrooms—isn't quite fair, because a lot of new teachers face the same problem in their first or second years.
Others have questioned TFA's effectiveness, because its teachers start the job with little training and leave the profession just when they're getting the hang of it. A 2005 study by Linda Darling-Hammond found certified teachers "consistently produce stronger student achievement gains than do uncertified teachers," including TFA recruits. If they get certified after two or three years, TFA recruits boost student achievement as well as other certified teachers, she found—"however, nearly all of them leave within three years."
To its defense, TFA points to three recent studies that show TFA teachers performed as well or better than traditionally certified teachers.
Mayorga and Sun said they have talked about how rewarding it would be to see their sixth-graders graduate from high school.
"We're in it for the potential that we can see in these kids," Sun said.
They both said they're open to teaching long-term.
"If it's good for me," Mayorga said, "I'm willing to stick with it."
Post a Comment
posted by: Threefifths on August 18, 2010 8:14am
Check this out The corporate vampires are comming.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Is Teach For America A Program For The Poor Or For The Rich?
I'm going to start with full disclosure: I have never liked Teach for America. If that's going to bug you, you might want to move on to the next blog.
Why do I dislike Teach For America? Because it has nothing to do with permanent investment in our schools, or thoughtful reform of education. Because it is one of many organizations that seem to exist more or less to give privileged young people the "life experience" that will qualify them to go on to their next advanced degree. Because it relies for its prestige on the idea that people who are middle or upper class naturally have something special and intangible to offer to the poor. Because it activates our not so thinly-veiled social contempt for people who chose the hard work of teaching public school as a career, often doing it for decades in places where they are forced to buy books and classroom supplies out of their own salaries.
I dislike TFA because public education does not exist to give graduates of elite colleges and universities a couple swing years so that they can later go on to great graduate schools and fabulously well paid careers. I dislike TFA because I am a teacher, and I am quite clear that you don't learn to teach in five weeks, much less teach students who have a range of social, economic and developmental problems; who are often hungry, in pain, angry or frightened; and who come in unruly waves of 40-50 every 45 minutes. So thank you Michael Winerip for interviewing numerous elite college grads who are struggling with the "stigma" of having been rejected by this glitzy non-profit because there aren't so many paralegal and entry-level Wall Street jobs this year; and thank you for using this as an opportunity to take a look at this popular NGO that makes a lot of claims for itself that are thinly documented.
As someone who is a career teacher, I am offended by the notion that anyone can step into a classroom and teach effectively, even though they are inexperienced and virtually untrained, because they are oh-so-smart and have successfully gotten into Harvard or Zenith. And teaching public secondary school is harder than teaching, or being a student in, college. Public school is open to the public, folks, and nobody does a sort for you to separate out the ones who are ready to learn, or who already speak English. Magnet and charter schools can be even harder to teach in, since in their initial years they are often the dumping ground for students who have been expelled from and flunked out of other schools.
But let's be clear: mostly I dislike Teach for America because it is not school reform and it claims to be. It is a neo-liberal romance about the ways in which volunteerism by elites can replace a political and fiscal commitment to lifting Americans out of poverty by supporting, and investing in, the schools that poor people attend. Worse, TFA is a spiritual extension of those internship programs that these eager young things with BA's larded their records with to get into elite colleges and universities in the first place. The logic is: if it looks good for me, then it must be good for "them." As Winerip comments, "Teach for America has become an elite brand that will help build a résumé, whether or not the person stays in teaching. And in a bad economy, it's a two-year job guarantee with a good paycheck; members earn a beginning teacher's salary in the districts where they're placed."
And they don't stay in teaching. Perhaps the worst aspect of TFA is that it views teaching as a kind of boot camp for entering the leadership class. TFA's website claims that "corps members and alumni are creating fundamental change," but what that change comprises, and what counts as change, is not clear. The website cites research "that Teach For America corps members' impact on their students' achievement is equal to or greater than that of other new teachers. Moreover, the most rigorous studies have shown that corps members' impact exceeds that of experienced and certified teachers in the same schools." But in fact, if you click on the link that supposedly leads you to that research, you find that "Studies of TFA teacher vary widely in both their findings and the strength of their methodologies." Hmmm. And actually, although you can get citations for these studies, the documents themselves have not been uploaded to the website.
What the website doesn't tell you is how many of those teachers quit in the first six months. As Winerip notes, according to one study, "by the fourth year, 85 percent of T.F.A. teachers had left" New York City schools." That's change for you. My guess is the rate of attrition is higher and faster in the Mississippi Delta, currently identified by TFA as a location in great need of amateur teachers. According to one of my former students who entered the program over five years ago and is still teaching in the troubled urban system he was assigned to, his cohort lost half its membership in the first year, and he is the only original member of his team still in teaching.
TFA has not helped to build a permanent corps of excellent teachers who will train other career teachers or use their classroom training to become effective principals. Hence, it has nothing to do with a program of fundamental, structural reform for our nation's public schools. It has nothing to do with how schools, and school systems, might use their centrality to communities to address issues that are currently crippling education, such as unfunded testing mandates, the effects of poverty and unemployment, teaching critical thinking rather than rote memorization, or state budget cuts that eliminate books and raise class sizes. TFA does, however, seem to be a training ground for education bureaucrats, such as Chancellor Michelle Rhee of the District of Columbia, who continues to blame most of her system's problems on undocumented teacher incompetence.
Rhee recently laid off over 250 teachers: how many of them will be replaced by TFA fly-by-nighters, whose salary is paid by a combination of private and federal dollars? I don't know about other states, but because of drastically reduced property tax revenues, Connecticut is currently laying off young teachers who have actually committed to teaching as a career, not as a temporary stopgap before law school. Other states are waiting anxiously to hear whether Congress will pass a bill that would fund the Obama Administration's new education initiative, and whether they will actually receive the millions of dollars they were promised for system-wide education initiatives. Will these funds be replaced by well-intentioned and untrained young people from elite schools who are here today and gone tomorrow?
posted by: concerned on August 18, 2010 8:28am
1) I wish the article made it more clear that the TFA hires were not made in lieu of hiring certified, likely more permanent faculty. I know of several newly minted, bright, dedicated teachers who hope to work for a lifetime in New Haven (or at least in the area) who have interned for a year as part of their programs, gone through the interview cycle, and still haven't heard back on whether or not they're hired for this fall.
2) Anyone who thinks Mayorga is permanently ditching the prospect of medical/dental school for public school teaching in low income areas, as opposed to building a more killer portfolio for his med school applications, is pretty naive. Which is why I'm not convinced the program is always the best, when certified young prospective teachers are waiting in the wings to take these jobs instead. There's an unpleasant whiff of "self-interested missionary" on some of these kids, when that's the last thing children in troubled schools need for success.
posted by: Somewhere in CT (maybe New Haven, maybe not) on August 18, 2010 8:53am
The article nails it. They leave. New Haven doesn't need to work on recruitment (One school had 300 applicants for 50+ jobs???!)
New Haven needs to work on KEEPING GOOD TEACHERS. Hell, New Haven needs to work on KEEPING EXCELLENT TEACHERS.
I know dozens of teachers who have left NH because of administration. Dozens.
posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 18, 2010 9:28am
Concerned - What kids need for success is a great teacher wherever they may come from. I'd much rather have an effective teacher in front of children for two years than a bad teacher stuck there for a lifetime.
Why do people assume that being home-grown or having a teacher staying in place results in great education for children? Surely to have a long-term excellent instructor is the best of all, but there are way too many people who graduate from local ed schools, stick around forever, and who do not know what it takes to be effective in an urban school setting.
And "certification" does not equal "qualification". Instead of valuing criteria such as "seat time" or CEUs, why aren't teachers certified based on how well they actually teach and how effective they are at bringing kids up the academic ladder?
To that end, check out this astounding new study about teacher effectiveness data in LA
posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 18, 2010 10:28am
I forgot to also post the predictable reaction from the LA Teachers Union to the article…If it didn't show the bullying hardball tactics of the teachers union so well, it would be comical to read the reaction from Duffy, the union leader.
TFAers, while green, represent the energy, raw talent, dedication, and competence of the kind of individual we need to attract to public education.
Read this and weep (or laugh)!
posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on August 18, 2010 10:51am
Good article, although it'd be nice if you could link to things instead of posting them.
I would take the school reform more seriously if a major part of it was a homebuyers program for NHPS teachers to encourage educators to live in the neighborhoods where their students live and within walking distance of the schools they teach at. This would cut down drastically on the amount of surface parking needed around each school, which could be replaced with taxable land for the city, an educational garden for the school, or any green space that would reduce the burden on our sewer system by absorbing rain fall instead of funneling it into the sewers. Every planned parking space that we don't build is $7,000 back into our pockets that can be used for more useful things than storing cars.
There could even be a small business subsidy or incentive provided as part of the homebuyers program that could be made available to spouses of teachers that own or want to own small businesses in New Haven if it were affordable. Both could even be combined into a single mortgage payment with a live-work unit.
This would help teachers understand why some of their students can't do their homework and would rather turn to the streets as a way of protecting one's self-stick up kids are less likely to steal your backpack on your way home from school if they think or they know you can defend yourself with a weapon or with a group of friends and after a certain point school becomes irrelevant in comparison to survival. People would be surprised how many kids grow up scared of their neighborhood and as a way of not getting picked up, mugged, and beaten regularly they will then turn to the street and to cliques for protection, which often leads to dropping out of school which then leads to criminal activity due to lack of employ-ability.
Additionally, having a sizable middle class population of educators and business people in our neighborhoods would help counteract these vary issues by provided employment in our neighborhoods, constant eyes on the street, and less vacant lots and abandoned buildings.
posted by: Teachergal on August 18, 2010 10:52am
Ok, I'm going out on a limb now but after working with two brilliant TFA college grads who taught in NHPS, I was horrified by their treatment by administration. Yes, they were weak in areas, but were given minimal support to help them succeed. One cried her way through 2years and was criticized frequently despite the fact she worked very hard and tried many strategies to improve her craft. The other left after 7 months of the same treatment. In both situations, there was no support with discipline…..problem children are just not effectively dealt with in most NHPS and calling parents generally does little to change student behaviors especially when dealing with older students with years of misbehaving w/o consequences.
If we're really serious about improving student achievement classrooms need to be places where students can learn…....that means not letting those students who need constant attention and no control of self rule the roost.
So, how about hearing from some NH administration, where are you and why don't we ever hear from you? Last year our suspensions were down but guess what the behaviors were horrendous. Just because administrators are not suspending, as directed by Mayo, doesn't mean the problem behaviors don't exist. What it means is that they are not being documented or more importantly dealt with. This affects EVERYONE!
posted by: ROBN on August 18, 2010 12:14pm
All very interesting writing, but clearly not yours. When you post something without clearly bracketing the text and quoting the source you're plagiarizing (whether intentional or not, that's what it is).
posted by: Threefifths on August 18, 2010 2:23pm
posted by: ROBN on August 18, 2010 1:14pm
All very interesting writing, but clearly not yours. When you post something without clearly bracketing the text and quoting the source you're plagiarizing (whether intentional or not, that's what it is).
I did post the source,May be it didn't post.
posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 18, 2010 11:28am
I forgot to also post the predictable reaction from the LA Teachers Union to the article…If it didn't show the bullying hardball tactics of the teachers union so well, it would be comical to read the reaction from Duffy, the union leader.
How about when the administration lie and bully
the teachers.You remember the rubber room.In fact I will bet that the rubber room will be here in the New Haven system.
Justin SniderContributing editor at The Hechinger Report
Posted: June 30, 2010 02:57 PM BIO
Rubber Rooms: Gone From New York City, But Alive Elsewhere?
Hey fix How come you main man Klein And Bloomberg are trying to cover this up.
Kids are big losers in Mayor Bloomberg, Joel Klein's school test scores game
Juan Gonzalez - News
Friday, July 30th 2010, 4:00 AM
posted by: AJD on August 18, 2010 3:24pm
If you want to work on retention, how about work on creating incentives for highly qualified and motivated people who want to also support a family. Things like: a real salary would do wonders. If our kids are the future, then we need to invest in them. The only way that will happen is to attract the best. I'm not saying wall street salaries, but how about enough to buy the $300k starter homes in the area? That means a yearly salary of about $75k in take home pay, in the first year teaching. Then go up from there, based on performance.
Where can we get this money? Cutting administrators salaries some, and then I'd be willing to pay more in taxes *if* it was going directly to a program like this. I want to invest in our future, but I also realize it will take blood sweat and tears.
posted by: Career Teacher Year One on August 18, 2010 5:54pm
I wanted to chime in as someone who is myself in the first year of dedicating my life to teaching in high-need public schools and battling the educational inequality in this country—someone who at first faulted TFA's big name and "temporary fix", but who now supports it in a very significant way. I wanted to cite my perspective as a Career teacher in Year one, because all teachers have to start out as new teachers—with normal-route teachers signing their first year-long school contract right along side TFA teachers (who have signed an additional two-year commitment).
posted by: Caring Teacher on August 18, 2010 7:18pm
To: JH,
Teachers in new haven DO realize the living conditions and home life of their students. It's the powers that be who turn the blind eye. TFA is a good idea in a limited way. I worked with a TFA teacher with great content knowledge. However, the teacher had little knowledge of developmental stages as well as teaching pedagogy. This did him in. He was unwilling to take advice from administrators, teachers, and coaches. He went to an Ivy League School, so he didn't need any help.
posted by: observer on August 18, 2010 8:45pm
Our commentators figured it out! TFA is vastly overrated and they are not the solution to recruiting new teachers into the urban classroon. As has been noted, these new recruits don't last and most of them leave before their two year commitment is up. For many of these folks, teaching in the inner-city is today's equivalent of being in the Peace Corps in the 1960's. They want the experience as a resume builder and nothing more.
posted by: Tim Holahan on August 18, 2010 9:11pm
It would be valuable if the Independent could follow up on a regular basis on the progress of these two teachers, and of this year's crop of TFA recruits. The News Hour on PBS did such a series many years ago (also focusing on TFA recruits, I believe), and it was fascinating.
In her recent "Death and Life of the Great American School System", Diane Ravitch marshals considerable evidence to indicate that teachers make their most important gains in effectiveness over their first three years of classroom teaching. The most conclusive data we have on improving teacher effectiveness, Ravitch says, is that letting a teacher get those first three years under his belt will enable him to teach better thereafter.
This story raises more questions than it answers. Who wants their child to have to suffer through a year with an unseasoned teacher? No one, of course, but somehow new teachers have to be introduced to the system. What is New Haven's policy on distributing new teachers throughout the student body so that no one group of students is spending multiple years with new, less-effective teachers? How are new teachers mentored? What professional development is available to them?
I wish I was hearing more public discussion of questions like this as New Haven launches into its vaunted School Change Initiative.
posted by: NHPS Teacher on August 18, 2010 9:50pm
I have worked with several TFA personnel (i refuse to honor them by calling them teachers), and each one is overly arrogant, refuses to accept advice/help/criticism from veterans.
They are told that they are going to "save those poor black and hispanic kids." they are fed a meal of lies about the reality of how difficult and frustrating it is to work for NHPS, and then run out before the bill comes.
none of the TSA personnel plan on making this their career. Administrators don't support veteran teachers, why would they support the TSA temporary workers.
This is just another trendy program that the BOE read about and decided that NHPS needed to be involved.
posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on August 18, 2010 10:15pm
Caring Teacher,
I think that the vast majority of teachers in NHPS are competent, and would be effective teachers if their students were as well prepared and supported outside of school as their suburban counterparts. I would agree that most teachers are probably aware of the problems that face many inner city students in their neighborhoods, and the main point of a home buyer's program would be to help stabilize neighborhoods through the presence of a larger middle class population.
If teachers lived in walkable, mixed use neighborhoods then they could sell their cars, which according to the AAA cost $10,000 per year per car to own and maintain. The average family in America owns 2.5 cars. Getting rid of just one car would allow a family put $10,000 into a mortgage which could buy $100,000 more of a house. Or that money could go towards nicer furnishings, healthier food, more durable appliances, etc. New Haven's neighborhoods have a massive potential to become great mixed use and mixed income communities that are walkable and connected by transit to other neighborhoods and districts. The infrastructure of adaptive building types and walkable streets is already there, we just have to re-conceptualize their use.
posted by: RichTherrn on August 19, 2010 4:36am
I would also point out that there IS a homebuyer program, especially aimed at those who teach and live in urban areas, and in shortage areas from the state of CT, the CHFA Teachers Mortgage Assistance program. It is only for first time homebuyers, so many of our teachers who are on second careers may not be able to take advantage of that.
-Richard Therrien
_NHPS Science Supervisor
posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 19, 2010 6:54am
Whether or not you believe that TFA is an effective force in the reform of our public schools is certainly a legitimate debate. I have seen enough data to convince me that TFA indeed is an important part of the formula through its delivery of idealism, determination, smarts, into dismal classroom environments. TFA proves a point. Beyond catalyzing better performance in public school classrooms, it also creates thousands of future leaders who will go on to other things but take with them the firm belief that we as a society can do a lot better for poor students in our country. They in turn will influence the structure of public education when they become involved in the political process.
But to take issue with their motivations as you do, is attributing to some of our best young people, the worst of intentions. Pretty cynical and flat out wrong.
posted by: Teachergal on August 19, 2010 7:24am
Tim's suggestiion for the NHI to follow these new 2 new TFA teachers is a great one.
If they weren't going to be so busy working 24 hours a day and going to school on Saturdays I'd recommend a blog, 7:15 till 5:00, im hoping that includes some time for lesson planning, grading, and care for classroom environment OR burn-out will come much more quickly. Who knows, with the way this current generation is sooo good at multi-tasking, maybe one of them would volunteer to do it. It would be a great story to follow!
posted by: Anon on August 19, 2010 9:30am
And why the UFT isn't suing for ATRs to be hired before these newbies is a mystery to me. Or is it?
The DOE claims that ATRs are given a fair shake in hiring? Humbug . . .
posted by: AJD on August 19, 2010 10:22am
@Johnathan Hopkins
That may work for New Haven, but it won't work in most cities throughout the country. Most places just aren't densly populated enough, and most people don't want to live like that.
And besides, have you tried to have no car with a young child? Try taking a bus with a kid in a stroller? It's terrible. I've tried. I've taken mine down to NYC by train—it's hard, even when the child is well behaved. Throw in a temper tantrum, which will happen to all parents, and life gets much much worse. I'm just not sold on the ideal of everyone having no cars ever. Yes, less cars (we only have one, and I walk to work, and we drive less than 10000 miles a year) is always good. But no cars? No thank you.
And, an extra $10,000 giving an extra $100,000 mortgage? No. No. And again, No. That thinking is what got us into the housing bust. You should only get a mortgage for 3-4 times your yearly income. So an extra 10,000 is only an extra $40,000 house.
If you want to induce me to be a public school teacher, I'd want at least $60,000 a year to start. That would get us a very small condo. Not a house, no yard, and not in a neighborhood where I'd like to raise my kids. That's the problem.
posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on August 19, 2010 12:13pm
The big problems with cars only present themselves when we, as a society, use cars instead of legs. Over the last 60 years, our housing developments, shopping centers, office parks and recreational facilities have been built increasingly further away from each other to the point where most Americans cannot walk to a corner store to buy a gallon of milk and children can't walk to a neighborhood baseball field.
The costs of providing the infrastructure to move massive numbers of cars on highways, streets and roads and then the costs to store them the 95% of the time they are not in use is enough to bankrupt municipalities, lead to 45,000 automobile related deaths per year, and create soaring high asthma rates. We can't pay for the infrastructure, nor can we pay for the resulting consequences of a car-dependent society.
The solution is not to ban cars, but to create desirable and affordable alternatives so that people don't need to own as many cars, or don't need to take their car out of the garage more than a few times a month. Car rentals are a good supplement to improved local and regional transit networks, improved bicycle facilities, and pleasant walking paths along tree lined sidewalks.
Also, the housing bubble was arrived at due to rising costs in housing that corresponded with rising costs in healthcare, transportation, and daycare. By creating a built environment that is less dependent on cars, we would greatly improve the health of our populace through better air quality and more daily exercise. And if coupled with an aggressive restructuring of farm subsidies to be aimed at local agriculture instead of industrial food manufacturing, we could cut healthcare costs to minuscule percentages of people's income. Where the transportation cost savings would come from in a non-car dependent society are obvious. When people live in more walkable neighborhoods, the services and amenities can be shared in public facilities, which would allow us to greatly reduce the cost of housing by having smaller yards, and less interior square footage because families would have access to public parks, pools, gardens, playgrounds, and this would make the entertainment room, family room, and 1/2 acre lot unnecessary. Daycare costs can be reduced by many families returning to a one-income household, which would be possible with a lower cost of living that I've outlined above.
"not in a neighborhood where I'd like to raise my kids"
I would argue that undesirable neighborhoods exist because people like you don't live there. Beginning in the 30s, urban centers like New Haven began losing their population to suburbs thanks to a growing middle class. After world war 2, the federal government provided cheap mortgages to families for new suburban housing, which accellerated middle class urban flight. In the 50s and 60s thousands were displaced in New Haven due to urban renewal and many people moved to the suburbs as a result. By the late 60s, the effects of massive losses of jobs, services and middle class residents lead to high crime rates, which further encouraged more people to leave steadily until the mid 1990s when people began reinvesting in cities and we've been hobbling on since then. The middle class moving back into inner city neighborhoods will come before a sizable drop in crime and unemployment. Hopefully we will get our act together and make this transition as smooth as possible for families with smart policing, adequate incentive and proper support.
The support systems for this type of transition are not yet in place, but that is what we should work towards.
posted by: EdReform on August 19, 2010 12:44pm
As a veteran teacher who has taught with a number of TFA'ers, my experience has been mixed. All work extremely hard and begin the year with great enthusiasm. Some have been effective in the classroom and have successes that rival those of their better prepared but also inexperienced colleagues. None are as good as the better veteran teachers I know. What's unfortunate is that few will ever become those veteran teachers. Kids need adults who stay in their lives and who commit to them, especially in education where the learning curve during a teacher's first few years is incredibly steep. And for the best teachers, that learning curve never completely flattens. I'm a far, far better teacher today than I was 10 or 15 or 20 years ago.
If New Haven really puts "Kids First," then its hiring practices should reflect that. In a year when there have been numerous reports of trained teachers' inability to find placements, there's no excuse for hiring untrained and underprepared young people in a program that builds in turnover. New Haven has refused internal recommendations to hire veteran teachers from outside the district because of the cost. I'm assuming the increase in TFA hires is because of the savings. This isn't "Kids First"; it's "Dollars First. Kids Last." And it's not right.
posted by: Caring Teacher on August 19, 2010 2:20pm
To: J. Hopkins
We have been and will continue to be a society that goes from here to there. Infrastructure is how this country was built. In a city as small as New Haven with NO economic drawing power, you can't possibly expect a 9th year teacher making 44K to afford to be able to live in New Haven. I love NH, but could never afford to raise my family with what I make (I also work another job 20 hours during the school year& 60 hours in the summer. Let me know what neighborhood (safe) I can afford. The problem with the world today is that there are for to many ideologues that have all the answers
posted by: RichTherrn on August 19, 2010 2:31pm
The criteria to hire and judge teachers is whether students learn, not what others think.
In the case of middle school science, a collaborative effort tries to find the best teachers to do that… We hire experienced teachers, alternate route teachers, TFA, old, young, etc… this year, as in most years, it has been mixed. Some years we have less applicants than positions, some years we have more.
Some TFAs stay more than 2 years, and we've even hired some from other districts… as is the case with traditional and other alternative certified teachers.
Good teaching, especially in middle school science, requires a passion for teaching and students learning, more than the subject. It requires knowing and dealing with students backgrounds,parents, and lives, but not making excuses and always working hard to craft great lessons and reach every student. It requires collaborating with administrators and peers.
NHPS science teachers are among the best (our 8th grade science scores are the evidence), and TFAs and all others have helped our students learn important science skills, and that is what counts.
-Richard Therrien
-NHPS Science Supervisor
posted by: Threefifths on August 19, 2010 3:12pm
Will new haven try this next.
Turning Teachers Into Indentured Servants.
posted by: caring teacher on August 19, 2010 3:28pm
Richard is on target. In a nutshell, when students realize teachers care and are invested in them, they are ready to learn. This is a key component to engage students as well. Kids are sponges, if teachers are dry and boring, there is nothing for them to soak up. Students (black, white, green) need teachers that are approachable, have a sense of humility, and can teach kids how to be intrinsically motivated,
posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on August 19, 2010 3:52pm
Maritime trade and travel allowed us to build small walkable communities with harbors along strategically located land in relation to the water. Railways out west were built be Chinese slave labor and allowed us to populate the midwest and west coast. Rail in the northeast was built mostly privately with growing industrial wealth. Rail made cities and towns possible, and privately built trolley lines made the first suburbs possible. Following the second world war the federal and state governments built highways, suburban housing and extended utilities into the rural hinterlands of urban areas. In the 50s and 60s, the federal government funded the reorganizing of cities like New Haven to be more car friendly with highways, parking garages, wider city streets, and mass demolition of housing to be replaced with suburban model structures. There is nothing organic or free market about the automobile and its correlating infrastructure. It is entirely different from maritime and rail infrastructure. Rail generated and centralized all the wealth that highways decentralized and spent.
New Haven has an enormous amount of untapped potential for development. Many of our neighborhoods have abandoned houses and vacant lots that are ready to be developed. It is just a matter of getting the right information out there, adopting a new zoning code, and lobbying for policies that level the playing field between suburbs and cities.
Safety is a difficult issue to discuss because its complex. For example, the crime rate in New Haven during middle class urban flight in the mid-20th century was lower than the crime rate in most of New Haven's suburbs today. New Haven will become safer when the middle class begins to move back in. To make this a smooth transition, like I said, we need to put support systems in place like home buyer's programs, more historic rehab tax credits, new zoning, walking police beats, better biking infrastructure, etc.
Affordable housing can be found in apartments above stores on the cities main thoroughfares, in apartments in multi family houses, in apartment buildings or in small single family houses. Upper State street went from decay in the 1980s to a safe and vibrant neighborhood through lots of private investment. I think Winchester Avenue, Congress Ave, and western Chapel Street will need similar investments. Grand Avenue is also in the midst of a revival and the blocks running perpendicular to it would be a great place to look for housing.
posted by: Somewhere in CT (maybe New Haven, maybe not) on August 19, 2010 6:26pm
Career Year One. Be careful.
Mayorga….is he related to the Mayor's assistant? Jessica?
posted by: AJD on August 20, 2010 9:59am
Thank you for your summary of transportation modes throughout the past 150 years. Amazingly, I knew that, and agree with you that they helped create smaller communities. But… that was then. We now have 50+ years of development that is hard to change. Not impossible, but hard. And, I live 2 blocks from Winchester Ave. If I moved over to Winchester, I could not sleep at night. I've had one friend, an elderly single woman whose house on winchester was broken into multiple times while she was at home! I am NOT putting my family into that situation. And I think my skin color would ostracize me from that neighborhood, seeing how every time I visit someone in the Dixwell neighborhood, I get stares. Is that right? No. Am I worried that it would lead to problems for my family? Yes.
But… the focus of this article is teaching, not transportation or how to urbanize New Haven. The ultimate line comes down to money. There isn't enough of it.
I don't want to live in an apartment for the rest of my life. As Caring Teacher pointed out, you can not find a single family home in this city with a salary of 44k. (In a sensible mortgage, that means a home for less than 132k.) My wife and I want a yard where our daughter can run around in. We want to be able to raise our daughter, which means we don't want to do child care. So one of us will always be with her. That limits when both of us can work. We just can not make that work on a teacher's salary. So, our solution? I'm going to be teaching at the college level, where they pay what will allow us to live how we want. Would we buy a home in New Haven, live with only one car, try to buy locally? Yes. But you can't do that on a K-12 teacher's salary, and still have a situation for our family that we want.
posted by: Leslie Blatteau on August 20, 2010 10:49am
@AJD et all: I haven't read all the comments because I'm a New Haven teacher and I'm busy planning engaging units of study for my 9th graders. However, I scanned down to the bottom of the page and saw that AJD doesn't think you can afford a single-family house on a teacher salary. Alas, you can! I bought my house for under the price you mentioned and I have a backyard. My mortgage is significantly less than most rents in town. I'm neighbors with my students (not to mention my mailman) which improves my effectiveness in the classroom. My students respect me because they know I'm a real New Haven person, with a garden and a dog and a life. In addition, I can actively communicate with their families if I need to. I model the kind of city living that is possible for you, for me, for them, for anybody who wants to work at it. If you're wondering where I live, see the article about the most recent Gardener of the Week for a hint. And while I love riding my bike, I carry so much crap to work with me everyday, I make the 5 minute commute in my car.
posted by: caring Teacher on August 20, 2010 11:59am
Maybe that's the problem Les, if you don't live in New Haven, you shouldn't be respected.
posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on August 20, 2010 12:56pm
Demand in Westville, East Rock and Wooster Square raises housing prices to a point where they are inflated and unrealistic for the cost per square foot. In order to make these "desirable" neighborhoods more affordable, we have to broaden the market and introduce competition. This requires making today's undesirable neighborhoods more desirable. I think this can be accomplished by creating home buyer's programs through the schools and historic rehab tax credits for large numbers of teachers in NHPS; there could also be incentives or subsidies for spouses of teachers to open small businesses or stores in the city. The city should also begin an aggressive effort to repair sidewalks, plant street trees, stripe crosswalks, add bike lanes, and get the police department to do more walking beats. The idea is to create as much activity on the street as new families are moving in to inner city neighborhoods to deter crime by having more 'watchful eyes on the street' and people engaged with police, which would have a secondary effect of greatly improving the circumstances that many NHPS children face outside of school. Over time, businesses and stores would presumably employ people from the neighborhood thus putting a dent in one of the route causes of crime. After several years Winchester Ave could be comparable to Upper State Street. This would even out housing prices in today's "desirable" neighborhoods and increase demand in today's undesirable neighborhoods.
I understand you not wanting to move to Winchester Ave tomorrow on your own, but advocating for the types of support systems that would allow you and many others to mimic the types of investments that improved Grand Ave and upper State Street seems like a good way to get what you want-an affordable house with a big yard in a safe neighborhood.
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven currently is renovating half a dozen houses along Winchester Ave to be sold as owner-occupied 2-family houses. In the next 2 years, Winchester will be going through a lot of changes and it'd be great if others could get in on it. Here is an example of what NHS does:
http://www.nhsofnewhaven.org/images/phocagallery/thumbs/phoca_thumb_l_48 frank.jpg
posted by: Caring Teacher on August 20, 2010 2:12pm
There is not 1 street I would feel safe nearby any of the schools I have worked in. There are far more issues than what JH mentions. New Haven simply lacks resources, leadership, and most importantly, VISION. Unless you live in a troubled neighborhood, please spare us the hero mentality. I know for a fact, people would not be welcomed in the neighborhoods I can afford.
posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on August 20, 2010 6:56pm
Caring teacher,
My posts on here are merely summaries of my actual proposals so of course lots of issues, solutions and outcomes are barely touched upon, but I don't think anything I've said is unreasonable, incorrect or inconceivable.
The issue of safety is both real and imagined. Many people put an entire wall around New Haven and say its too dangerous, many others would say outside of downtown and Yale is too dangerous, lots of people say only certain neighborhoods are okay to live in, plenty of people say parts of their neighborhood aren't safe to walk in and still others would simply say that they avoid interactions with specific people on their block. It depends on how you interpret crime stats, what kind of biases and assumptions you have, and how much effort you are willing to put into a community.
Italians weren't initially welcomed in Wooster Square when it was an Irish neighborhood, should they have returned to starvation and economic depression in southern Italy? Should the middle class in this country continue to redline urban neighborhoods until they bankrupt the country through debt accumulation or simply plummet into poverty from car payments, gas prices, day care service, mortgage payments, and health care costs? As individuals this process can be scary, but together in large amounts a re-inhabiting of cities could be quite successful, which would consequently prepare people for more social living and interdependence instead of the isolation model of the last 60 years that has caused our national impoverishment, social degradation and cultural erosion. We should be focusing on how to create the collective move back to cities, and the motivation will most likely need to come from the public, which can be accomplished when the facts are out.
Here are the facts:
Crime in New Haven is at a 35 year low
The majority of victims of violent crimes are on parole or have records
Most street crime happens during hours when middle class families are asleep
You have a better chance of dying in a car accident in the suburbs then being killed in New Haven
The middle class is being squeezed by housing, healthcare, transportation and day care costs
The housing stock in New Haven is one of the most resilient, adaptive and solid in the world
Walking, biking and transit use are realistic transportation options
The current pattern of only investing in places that are already successful will just continue to make some places unaffordable and other places decay further.
posted by: John (who actually got a MASTER'S DEGREE in teachi on August 21, 2010 4:05pm
I think that with TFA now entrenched in schools that need experienced teachers most, that we have effectively seen outsourcing reach a field that it never has before. Effectively, that's what TFA does, replace qualified teachers with less qualified ones, now allowing a disgusting business practice to begin to affect America's children.
I can admit that the taste in my mouth may be slightly bitter, as I actually spend 2 years, rather than 5 weeks training for my potential career in teaching. Also, like many of the entitled twenty-somethings in the program; I actually intend to make a lifelong career of teaching, rather than use it to pad my resume.
(Yes, I know that some of these folks will stay, but the numbers are minuscule). Sadly, it is what one of the comments said above (if it looks good for me, then it must be good for "them."). Having had to sit through a concert in Hartford surrounded by dozens of TFA folks, believe me…entitlement runs rampant.
Teaching was always a job that I thought was safe from the idea of replacing qualified workers with those with less credentials. I find it rather disheartening that the schools where students would benefit from the most qualified teachers are now lining up to hire the LEAST qualified ones.
posted by: Leslie Blatteau on August 22, 2010 4:12pm
caring teacher: since you called me les, i wonder if you know me… your counter-argument is interesting, "if youre not from new haven, kids wont respect you," but i dont think it holds up. we know respect comes from the relationships you foster within the boundaries of the classroom. i think the bigger issue is that since many new haven teachers dont live in new haven and dont think their students' neighborhoods are good enough for them, this judgement causes a real disconnect between teacher and student. students know that their teachers dont respect where they come from. how do you know there is "not one street" you would feel safe in? how much have you walked the neighborhood or taken a bike ride around it? how many home visits have you made? its not a hero mentality. its a city-dweller mentality. i love our city and i believe in its young residents. sure the litter gets on my nerves, but it beats the burbs by a longshot.
posted by: caring teacher on August 23, 2010 3:55pm
Sorry about calling you Les, I don't know you. I love New Haven myself, I just haven't found what I consider an appropriate house that I can afford near the school I work in. Most of the kids are bussed in and don't live in the neighborhood. Just because you like living in an urban area doesn't mean you should dis people who live in the burbs. I won't comment anymore after this.


text:
The filing period is July 21 - August 18, 2014 and the information must be filed at the Elections Office, 302 E. Ferguson Street, between the hours of 8:00am - 5:00 pm. Upon receipt of the information above, the Elections office will file mark the sworn statement and give the candidate a copy.
Just click the play button to begin.


text:
Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El Characterization - Part 1
View Single Post
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: South West, UK
Posts: 11,395
Re: The ultimate goal of Man Of Steel and what it means to be Superman.
I think you're forgetting a big aspect of why Clark's grown up not using his powers.
Because he is afraid of being caught. He is afraid of his life as he knows it being over.
He spent his entire childhood and young adult life choosing to live an ordinary life and hide his powers, because his parents and he know what would happen if the world knew about him. They'd be afraid of him, they'd try to attack him or capture him or even kill him.
And when he decides to become Superman, it's a huge risk he's taking. It's a big scary risk, exposing himself to the world like that. Knowing that all they will see is a threat, and it's very unlikely they will just let him go about his business saving lives as he sees fit... they won't like having such power out of their control.
He carries on working and being the normal Clark Kent because that's the only part of his life that is safe from all that. If the whole world rejected Superman, if the whole thing fails and everyone hates him... he can at least still have the safe haven of his every day life. He can still be Clark Kent.
If I suddenly got Superman's powers, do you think i'd be flying around, using my superpowers willy nilly to take whatever I want just because 'I can and no one can stop me?'
No, that way leads to nothing but bad for me. That way leads to people chasing me constantly. To me having no chance at being happy ever again. And most probably, to my own death (because even Superman's powers don't make you invincible).
It's not just about having these big high morals.
It's about protecting yourself and the people around you by not being a complete idiot.
Zod's different. He's not like us. He has nothing to loose. He has no 'life' to protect. His life, his entire world has been destroyed.
THAT'S what makes him an interesting character.
It's not 'What happens when you give someone who isn't Superman those powers'. It's 'What happens when you give someone who has nothing to loose those powers'.
I think back to my father. As a farmer, he had a natural understanding for the Earth. I remember him telling me this world is capable of providing for all its creatures. Even now, with so many more people, there exists enough food for everyone.
"The problem," Pa used to say, "is people. As far back as we go, we've always had problems with sharing. Seems everyone's too busy holding on to what they've got to care how their neighbors are doing."
Last edited by hopefuldreamer; 08-04-2012 at
View Public Profile
Send a private message to hopefuldreamer
Find More Posts by hopefuldreamer


text:
Throughout the nearly half-century of JCO's history, our interviews of leading orthodontists from around the world have been among our most popular articles. Such orthodontic luminaries as Charles Tweed, Raymond Begg, Charles Burstone, Thomas Creekmore, Lysle Johnston, Fred Schudy, and countless others have been interviewed over the years. In this issue of JCO, Associate Editor Peter Sinclair introduces a new department based on that tradition: the Master Clinician series.
Our new feature will explore the treatment practices, theories, and philosophies of great clinicians who have helped define the current state of the art in orthodontic practice, through the vehicle of one-on-one interviews conducted by Dr. Sinclair. Our intent is to alternate between American clinicians and orthodontists from other countries around the world.
Of course, the selection of the first subject posed a difficult decision. Since all of us on the editorial board of JCO have our "heroes"--I can say in all honesty that several of my personal heroes are on our editorial board--a number of names were immediately proposed. In the end, Dr. Sinclair prevailed by nominating a man who has served as a personal mentor to him and who is respected by everyone on our board and, indeed, by the entire profession. The luminary we selected has a long history with JCO, as both an author and a Contributing Editor: Dr. R.G. "Wick" Alexander.
Dr. Alexander exemplifies everything good about our specialty. He has a strong sense of responsibility to his patients, to his profession, and to his community. Wick combines a myriad of talents. His treatment philosophy, the Alexander Discipline, has a worldwide following. As Dr. Sinclair points out, he has taught hundreds of students who are now successful orthodontists, practicing all over the globe. In addition to his articles published in JCO and elsewhere, Wick has authored two essential textbooks. He is also a gifted researcher, focusing on orthodontic treatment and treatment outcomes. His "Room of Truth" has served as the source of data for many graduate orthodontic theses and more than a few papers that are now regarded as classics in the orthodontic literature.
In the inaugural issue of what was then called the Journal of Practical Orthodontics, JCO's founding Editor, Dr. Eugene Gottlieb, defined the role and mission of the journal as follows: "JPO is a journal of orthodontic practice. It was conceived as a meeting place for orthodontists to share their knowledge and experience. While it will not neglect areas of basic information and philosophy of treatment, JPO will concentrate on the treatment of the orthodontic patient and the administration of the orthodontic office. . .We can all learn from each other. Let JPO be a window on the orthodontic world today."
Everything written in that initial Editor's Corner 45 years ago remains true today. There is no doubt that "we can all learn from each other", and who better to learn from than the acknowledged masters who have defined clinical orthodontic practice? Although I have tremendous respect for our orthodontic researchers, professors, and academicians, the best teachers are the master clinicians--the practitioners who lead the way and set the standard for what day-to-day orthodontics can and should be.
Within this frame of reference, it is entirely fitting that Dr. Alexander should be our first Master Clinician. Anyone who has ever heard one of his presentations, taken one of his courses, read one of his books, or--best of all--visited the Room of Truth will understand my perspective. I learn something new from every interaction I have with Dr. Alexander, and Dr. Sinclair's interview is no exception. I feel blessed to count them both of them as my colleagues and friends. In the months ahead, we will spotlight other Master Clinicians from around the world. Given Dr. Sinclair's penchant for excellence, I expect to learn a great deal from every one of them.


text:
Sweet Pea Salad with spicy Ginger Dressing
From DanaCowans Report abuse
This recipe was submitted by a reader and has not been tested in our kitchen.
The sweet flavor of the peas combined with the spicy ginger dressing bring this dish to life. This ginger dressing also works well to liven up even the most boring vegetables!
Be the first to rate this recipe
Save this recipe
Submit your version
You must be logged in to use this feature.
Username: | |
Password: | |
Forgot your username or password? |
Not a member? Register
Serves: 4
Yields: 4 side salads
Total Time: 30 min
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 10 min
U.S. | Metric | Conversion chart |
- 1 cup(s) Sugar Snap Peas, Produce section
- 1 cup(s) Split Peas, Produce
- 1/2 cup(s) Snow Peas, Frozen or canned
- 1/2 medium Red or Orange Bell Pepper, Produce section
- 1/4 cup(s) Tomato, diced, Produce section
- 1 tablespoon(s) Sweet White Onion, minced, Produce section
- 1/4 cup(s) Sesame Seed Oil
- 1/4 cup(s) Organic Tamari (low sodium), Asian Food Section
- 2 1/2 teaspoon(s) Gingerroot, Fresh Ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon(s) Sweet White Onion, Produce section
- 1 small Garlic clove, minced, Produce section
- 2 1/2 tablespoon(s) Agave nectar , Usually found next to honey
- 1 teaspoon(s) Lemon juice, fresh , Produce section
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) Red Pepper Flakes, Spices, Seasoning section
- Create salad: Combine peas, bell pepper, tomato, and onion in a large glass bowl. Rinse and roughly chop vegetables. Toss and set aside.
Create dressing: In a blender, combine sesame seed oil, tamari, ginger, onion, garlic, agave, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Process on high speed for several minutes until the gingerroot is completely and thoroughly blended. Blend longer if needed. Once dressing is smooth and reaches desired texture, pour about half over salad. Toss well. Use remaining dressing for stronger flavor or use for dipping with other vegetables.
Optional: Lightly sprinkle with flax seeds.
Prep time: 20 minutes. Blending time: 5-10 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes.
Loading photos...
Here are some alternate versions of this recipe created by our wonderful community of chefs!
More from Delish


text:
1. The court found that Keck's refusal to let Chandler represent the Marvels at the deposition was unjustified, and that by such refusal the Bank had forfeited its opportunity to depose the Marvels. The Bank then dismissed the action. The court is not considering further sanctions for the refusal to proceed with the deposition, but is focusing only on the propriety of the motion to disqualify Cha
[1] http://www.canb.uscourts.gov/print/629
[2] http://www.canb.uscourts.gov/node/629#N_1_


text:
Analipsi Holiday Apartments(2)
Didn't find what you're looking for?
View all 293 Heraklion Holiday homes or all 2100 Crete Holiday apartments & accommodation
Located in the Heraklion region of Crete, Greece, 20km outside the town of Heraklion itself, Analipsi has retained much of its quite, traditional charm. Sitting on a quiet beach, a self catering Analipsi villa offers a relaxing family beach holiday in the Cretan sun.
Analipsi is one of those fantastic holidays where you can do as much or as little as you like. The deep sand beach on which the village stands is a huge attraction, and many lazy days can be spend sunbathing, swimming, snorkelling and relaxing in cafes and restaurants watching the world drifting on by.
However, for the more lively guests of Analipsi villa, there is plenty going on all around the village. Water sports are easily arranged, with the Star Beach Water Park just 10 minutes away has all you could wish for, even bungee jumping, and the Acquaplus Water Park is not far either. For a more placid afternoon, the Nemo Glass Bottom cruises, just 5km away, allow you to see coral reefs without getting wet.
A slightly longer drive takes you to Crete Golf Club. Although it is a new course, Crete Golf is already being mentioned alongside some of the best golf courses in the Southern Mediterranean. With fantastic fairways and even better views, and golfer staying in an Analipsi villa should remember his handicap card.
If you are looking for anything from shopping to a late night out, Heraklion town is just a 15 minute drive from Analipsi accommodation. There are a wealth of shops, big and small, bars, restaurants and a handful of nightclubs should the mood take you.
Analipsi enjoys a fantastic Mediterranean climate. Located on the coast, even during the hottest days of summer, when temperatures soar into the mid 30's, conditions are not uncomfortable. The autumn and winter months are a perfect time to sightsee, as the crowds are not as big at the main attractions, and the heat has not yet made the beaches almost impossible to ignore.
Villas in Analipsi could not be much easier to get to. Heraklion Airport (HER) is just 18km along the coast, and receives regular, direct flights from the UK and across Europe. There are busses from Heraklion, and transfers are easily arranged.
Didn't find what you're looking for?
View all 293 Heraklion Holiday homes or all 2100 Crete Holiday apartments & accommodation


text:
Resources for current Festival Managers
are now accessible through your MyCenter account.
If you are a fall Festival Manager, a link will appear in the "Quick Links" of your MyCenter dashboard.
Managers for spring festivals will have access to this link after the Festival Manager's Meeting in November.
Usernames and passwords for MyCenter were emailed to members on September 27th. If you did not receive the email for some reason, click here to request it be resent by email. Be sure to include your full name and school in the email. (Please allow up to one business day, but rest assured, we will do everything possible to send it your way sooner)


text:
Work order management software can streamline your workplace, saving time and money.
Sometimes employees have to use several programs to accomplish the easiest tasks. Whether they are processing a work order or looking up customer information, minutes are lost. Customers or vendors may wonder why turnaround times are slow, lose patience and look elsewhere.
Effective mobile worker management systems will save your business time and money.
The software is usually easy to integrate into your business platform. Handy access control features allow worker-only access to the program to do jobs. This makes it easy for them to get information or order for the customer needs. Time is not wasted on searching through multiple screens for information or products.
One-stop Shop
You use one system for all your mobile work tasks. Whether you need work orders, part lists, scheduling, warranties, service contracts, or customer information this work order management system tracks tasks efficiently. Organization creates a more effective working environment. With customers satisfaction on the rise your profits increase.
Customers do not like to wait 20 minutes for a customer service rep to answer a question or place an order. Sales reps do not like to arrive at sales appointments to find the customer does not know about it. This system can help solve some of these common problems.
Work order management software decreases costs by saving time that workers waste trying to accomplish tasks. They can fill orders more quickly and find products that customers want to buy. Your workers can pull up service contracts quickly to help solve customer problems. When customer problems are solved quickly satisfaction increases. Good customer relations are important to your business.
To increase sales your staff can schedule multiple sales appointments quickly. This helps your sales staff on the road to use time effectively. This system can create orders with codes and let you easily search for them when needed. It prioritizes orders and workers can add notes and special conditions when needed. Important information is always saved.
Scheduling Appointments and Meetings
Often a company will have to schedule appointments for sales reps to sell a product or services. Other businesses have to respond to customer requests for repairs so scheduling often becomes confusing and crazy. This system improves customer communication from any location and helps with unexpected changes in the schedule. It streamlines appointments making them easier to handle.
Usually a software company will meet with you to discuss the best work order management system for your needs. Worker training is usually included as a company wants people who know how to use their software. We believe training and education are an important part of our job. Even when you have had the system for several months on-going training is useful and something you should look for.


text:
International UFO Museum and Research Center
UFO Museum Has Close Encounter of the CAD Kind
Have intelligent beings from other planets visited Earth? The International UFO Museum and Research Center, in Roswell, New Mexico, lacks a definitive answer, such as an alien spacecraft—but it does have plenty of intriguing photographs and affidavits from people who say they have seen one. "If visitors walk out of here with more questions than they had when they came in, that's all we ask," says executive director Julie Shuster.
Based on what you have seen and read about this project, how would you grade it? Use the stars below to indicate your assessment, five stars being the highest rating.
In designing a new home for the institution, Kevin Schopfer, AIA, a principal of Boston-based Ahearn-Schopfer Associates, also sought to arouse curiosity. Although his 18,000-square-foot, one-story building features a rectangular footprint and mostly rectilinear concrete volumes, a warped plane cants from the west elevation and soars nearly 90 feet above the main entry. This surface, which will likely be gel-coated fiberglass, folds over on itself while a funnel-shaped hole connects the top and bottom facets.
"The concept is that this is a found object emerging from a file cabinet, kind of like information hidden in a drawer somewhere," Schopfer explains, referring to the purported government cover-up of extraterrestrial evidence. "It's meant to grab your attention and question what it is."
The funnel represents a wormhole, he continues, which some physicists hypothesize is a shortcut between distant parts of the universe—and that ufologists believe extraterrestrials use to visit Earth. It's a billboard building that "entices people from the roadway," Schopfer admits, but it avoids the ubiquitous alien and UFO iconography common in Roswell, an isolated desert town whose name is synonymous with the alleged crash of a flying saucer there in July 1947.
What the museum lacks on its exterior it will contain inside. A large mock-up of a flying disc will hang from the ceiling in the lobby. It's this "iconic moment" that visitors will remember afterward, hopes Penny Sander, senior associate and project manager at Cambridge Seven Associates, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is designing the exhibits.
Chances are there will be many visitors. Annual attendance has grown from 3,000, when the museum opened in 1992, to more than 160,000—one reason why it has already moved twice into bigger accommodations. It is now raising $15 million for construction of the new building and hopes to break ground in early 2009; later phases might include a 30- to 40-room boutique hotel.
Schopfer learned that the museum needed a new home while watching a TV program about the Roswell crash. The project allowed him to pursue his interests in architecture and outer space. "UFOs make a great story," he says, "and the subject matter is really endless."
Get Architectural Record digital with free bonus content not found in the magazine!
Order back issuescomplete your library!
Sign in to Comment
To write a comment about this story, please sign in. If this is your first time commenting on this site, you will be required to fill out a brief registration form. Your public username will be the beginning of the email address that you enter into the form (everything before the @ symbol). Other than that, none of the information that you enter will be publically displayed.


text:
Commission Members
David Dugovics, ChairmanPlanning Commission meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m.
(summer recess July and August)
All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers:
Mayfield Heights Municipal Complex
6154 Mayfield Road
Mayfield Heights, OH 44124
All matters before the Planning Commission must get final approval from City Council.
City Council meets the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m.
(summer recess July and August)
Questions may be directed to:
Anne Weiland, Executive Assistant
440-442-2626, Ext. 210
The following forms are available for viewing and printing from your computer.
Fill the form out completely and return to the Building Department in the Municipal Complex at 6154 Mayfield Road, Mayfield Heights, OH 44124 during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m . - 5:00 p.m.) or by mail. The Building Department can be accessed from the rear of the Municipal Complex.
Make all checks payable to The City of Mayfield Heights.
Planning Commission Documents and Forms
2015 Meeting Dates and Deadlines
Lot Split - Lot Consolidation Information/Application
Site Plan Information/Application


text:
Dec 9, 2011
SMS based Patient Report from Remote Place ECE Microcontroller Project
This is a good Electronics and communication microcontroller project for final year on SMS based patient report from remote place. The project deals with the design and development of hardware and software for temperature and heartbeat measurement of a patient over LCD. The main objective of this project is to design a system that continuously monitors the heartbeat of the patient and if they are likely to exceed the normal values, the system immediately sends a message to the doctor's LCD. You can also Subscribe to FINAL YEAR PROJECT'S by Email for more such projects and seminar.
This project is a device that collects data from the sensors, codes the data into a format that can be understood by the controlling section. This system also collects information from the master device and implements commands that are directed by the master. This report contains block diagram, circuit diagram and full microcontroller programming of the project. Use it for your reference and study work.


text:
The Outlet Discount Finder tool can't currently get data from some of them, but we're working on it, and in the meantime we've provided links.
Plus, if you're going to stick to brand loyalty, see the Hidden Brand Secret Sales guide for tricks on slashing the cost of designer goods. If you like the tool, you might also be interested in our Amazon Discount Finder and Local eBay Deals Mapper.
Some clearance stock can be cheaper in-store but the range on Argos's Clearance Bargains* makes it worth a look.
Most products it sells are new, and where items are refurbished, they're clearly noted. It's also worth checking Argos's in-store Clearance Finder* which allows you to find bargains available in-store.
As well as its eBay offering, Argos* has thousands of discounted items in a dedicated clearance section on its own website. But unlike the eBay outlet, you can reserve items to collect in-store.
The Asos* outlet has lots of stock that has been slashed by up to 70%, including branded gear from Bench, Fred Perry and Levi's.
Of course, it's rare for Asos not to be having a giant clearance sale anyway, so check that out while you're there.
Brand Prix is an online only clearance site flogging a huge range of big name fashion and beauty brands.
Grab discounts of up to 80% off original prices on Diesel, Prada, Paul Smith and dozens more.
Distinctive shoe brand Crocs* offers a good mix of adults and kids' shoes on its outlet. What's more, sometimes there's extra multi-buy discounts available on top of clearance prices, so buy two pairs of shoes and get second pair half-price.
Almost all the stock sold by computing giant Ebuyer* is ex-display, so some will be in less than perfect condition. With some, there's just one of each item. Choose from TVs, hobs, laptops and much more.
In a few cases, its actually cheaper to buy new, as stock may have been in the outlet section for a long time, so do check.
The outlet arm of Figleaves* has a vast range of men's and women's undies and night wear, with a striking range of undies and other smalls.
Since items are quite pricey to begin with, stock sold on the outlet arm of women's clothing site Hobbs doesn't come cheap. However, with discounts of up to 70% on a good mix of previous season's stock, there's still potential for a bargain.
With a HUGE range of heavily discounted clothes and home items up for grabs, House of Fraser*'s outlet is well worth checking out - there are currently over 3,000 discounted items.
Independent jewellery retailer John Greed* sells brands such as Pandora, Thomas Sabo and Links of London at discounts of up to 80%.
Popular bag brand Kipling offers up to 40% off a range of handbags, suitcases, laptop bags and more at its official web outlet.
Even after the discount, the prices remain high, so exercise MoneySaving caution.
Even after discounts of up to 50%, L.K. Bennett outlet are still seriously pricey so make sure you shop around.
There's a smattering of discounted women's clothes, shoes and accessories in Monsoon*'s outlet store.
At the Mothercare outlet*, there's up to 70% off clothing for babies and children up to the age of 8, as well as maternity wear for mums-to-be. What's more, there are big discounts on high-chairs, prams, cots and toys too.
With a collection of both its own and branded shoes, the Office* outlet ranges from sporty to designer and offers sizable discounts on brands such as Converse and Vans.
The outlet arm of outdoor and sports brand Regatta sells its gear with up to 75% off original store prices.
There's a good range of men's, women's and kids' hardy coats and waterproofs, as well as bags and accessories. It's not so strong on the hardcore outdoors gear you'll find in its stores, but the every day winter wear is competitively priced.
No prizes for guessing what's on offer at the Shoeaholics* outlet - shoes, shoes and more shoes. Set up by Kurt Geiger to shift out-of-season stock, you'll find up to 75% off a range of both men's and women's shoes.
Like its eBay arm, the Shoeaholics web outlet is packed with shoes, shoes and more shoes. It also flogs out-of-season Kurt Geiger stock, with the same discount of up to 75%, so if you can't find what you're looking for on the eBay outlet, give it a try as well.
There's a decent range of outdoor gear on the Snow and Rock outlet.
Most of the products are high-end, professional equipment for the more handcore outdoor activities and sports.
With tens of thousands of items on its eBay outlet, Sports Direct* boasts one of the most comprehensive selections of all the outlets.
Grocery juggernaut Tesco* is not so far from Argos with its eBay offering, but has more emphasis on homeware and electricals.
It sells both new items and customer returns and all refurbished items are clearly marked. Unfortunately, you can't collect Tesco Clubcard points via Tesco outlet.
TK Maxx has some last-ditch clearance stock online. Items come and go very quickly and stock is limited. Just like when you go in store, it's a total lottery, but that's half the fun.
From kids' clothes to women's evening wear, there's a vast range of discounted stock on the Very Clearance* outlet.
High-end women's brand Whistles* offers a good range of smart and smart-casual wear. There's often a good range of sizes available on items too, which isn't always the case with outlet sites.
Seriously pricey Yoox* offers clearance stock from a massive number of designers, incl Diesel, Paul Smith and Prada. While it isn't officially an outlet, the reduced prices on stock from many previous seasons means it's in keeping with the outlet spirit. Keep your eyes peeled for designer sample sales too.
Find the best online rate for holiday cash with MSE's TravelMoneyMax.
Find the best online rate for your holiday cash with MoneySavingExpert's TravelMoneyMax.


text:
Barstool Philly Local Smokeshow of the Day – Aimée
Everyone welcome Aimée from Jefferson and Drexel. I don't mean to brag, but I think Philly has had a pretty amazing Smokeshow week. Dimes at every stop. Aimée continues the trend and closes us out on top. What's not to love about her two beautiful, voluptuous eyes?
Well I'm done for the week — flying out to Vegas tomorrow morning. Won't be back until Tuesday. I'm handing the keys over to Smitty tomorrow and maybe realanonymous can get in on the fun. I'll probably blog a little something from sin city too. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I attempt to have fun on a blogger's salary.
Help Smitty out by sending him some good stuff: email@example.com. Until next time.
Comments Off


text:
A smart choice for task lighting, this metal sconce has two pivoting hinges so you can direct the light for reading or projects.
Please allow 5-7 business days for delivery. Delivery estimate includes monogrammed and gift-wrapped items.
Item | Price |
Metal Sconce | No Longer Available |
Metal Sconce (Shipping to CA) | No Longer Available |


text:
Honors 12 Super-Drummers - Their Time Was The Greatest!
Louis Bellson
1. Hallelujah 4:29 2. Liza 3:04 3. 24th Day 6:08 4. Brush Taps 5:06 5. Well Alright Then 4:34 6. Y-Not 3:59 7. Stix & Bones 6:42 8. Zig Zag 5:19 9. It's Those Magical Drums In You 5:01 10. Acetnam 3:48 11. Our Manne Shelly 4:15 12. All About Steve 6:29
On the album Their Time Was The Greatest, Louie Bellson celebrates not so much an era but the artistry, individuality yet simultaneous commonality of great time demonstrated by twelve significant drummers. Although their birthdates span more than half a century, all are contemporaries of Bellson, who was born on July 6, 1924. Except for Chick Webb, Louie has known each personality, has heard every one in live performance and has shared bandstands with more than a few.
He makes no attempt to replicate the sound or the style of the drummers he is honoring. Louie is not an imitator. The drumming and the roaring big band are identifiably Bellson. The writing is Bellson, too. All but the two openers are Bellson originals.
This album was recorded in Los Angeles, CA, on August 17 & 18, 1995.
Find out more about Louis Bellson