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There is a Geneva based organisation known as the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation. This is an intergovernmental organisation that is set up to help countries that are less advantaged than others. Some countries are small enough that they are not recognized by Geneva. These countries are also sometimes so poor they cannot afford Geneva representation. They don't know how things change when it comes to the trade industry. The AITIC helps them out by teaching them the new trade technicalities which can help the poor and less advantaged countries to be able to start up trading with other countries. Trade can be a big boost to a country. It opens doors in more ways than one and can help the less fortunate countries to get in better financial condition. By knowing all the trade rules and regulations a country is better able to start trade relations with other countries.
Every country has something that can be traded, and every country needs things in return. A country may have an overabundance of coal but not enough food. Trading with the right countries benefits both countries, but it is especially beneficial to the less advantaged countries. The AITIC can help these countries by making sure they know how to start trade negotiations and to start trading. What is wrong with this? Nothing. It is good for everyone.
Something else the AITIC does is to set up a session the same time as the World Trade Organisation does with Geneva. This is set up for the less advantaged countries to make sure they get all of the pertinent information and to also make sure the less fortunate countries understands all there is to know about trade and commerce.
There are several countries that belong to the AITIC that want to see these less advantaged countries succeed. They know if trade can be set up properly among the countries that the less advantaged countries will begin to prosper. It is their goal to make sure all of these countries learn the rules and new changes that effect trade. In this way it opens new doors for the poor and the small countries who are struggling.
When the WTO makes changes to the trade industry many less advantage countries are not informed. With the help of the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation these countries are informed of all changes so they can make the adjustments needed to keep trading or to start trading with bigger more prosperous countries. The officials of the less advantaged countries are basically given on-the – training to help them out.
The AITIC originally started in Switzerland but in 2004 it became an intergovernmental organisation. The seven main countries that fund the AITIC are the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. These were the original seven to get the ball rolling with trade information to less advantaged countries. There are now 59 countries that participate in the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation. The countries around the world see this organisation as a very important one. Many other countries now help to fund this organisation so the work can continue. They know how important trade is to all countries not just the less advantaged.
When the small and poor countries are able to open up trade with other countries they will begin to get funds that are needed to help their people and to help the country get in better financial condition. Agriculture is a very important trade and many poor countries can trade this commodity. Since certain foods can only be grown in certain areas around the world this gives other countries the chance to grow and trade for medicine and other things they need to become self-reliant. Isn't that the goal? Helping less advantaged countries become self-reliant will mean the AITIC is a success.
Some countries that are less advantaged or small may have such things as hand crafts, coal, manufactured items, or gems and gold to trade. In return they may need medicine and food. If the AITIC helps to teach them the rules governing trade so the less advantaged countries know how to trade the countries can get what they need by trading what they have. There are many countries that want to see these countries succeed and are beginning to help out in any way that they can. Some countries help to fund the organisation while others help teach. The more countries that get involved the better things will be for the less advantaged countries.
Trade has been around for hundreds of years and is a necessity for all countries. There will always be something that one country has an abundance of that another country will need. By trading commodities countries don't have to worry about the financial aspect of just buying from another country. Not all countries can afford to buy products and must rely on trade. If the poor countries are taught all there is to know so they can begin the process of trading, they will be able to get what they need so desperately without having to try to come up with the funds to pay. Instead of money they can trade their goods for the goods they need.
There are many countries that are need of assistance to help their people. They may have something that other countries would like to have and are willing to trade to get it. This will give the poor countries the goods needed to help their people. As you know there are many countries where the people are starving. They may actually be able to trade diamonds and gold which many countries would like to have for such things as food and medicine. They can trade for the goods needs to start farming their own foods. Many poor countries do not know how to trade and the AITIC can teach them how to trade so they have a chance at a new beginning. The Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation could help these poor countries get the new start they need.
AITIC is delighted to announce that the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei) has acceded as a Sponsoring Member. The instrument of accession entered into force on 21 May 2009, 30 days after having been received by the Depository of the AITIC Agreement, i.e. the Swiss Federal Council. AITIC would like to take this opportunity to thank Chinese Taipei for its commitment to contribute to AITIC's financial base over the next five years.
With this mark of support, Chinese Taipei recognises the importance of strengthening the capacity of the less-advantaged countries to engage in more effective trade-led growth. Chinese Taipei has been a firm supporter of AITIC's capacity building activities. In April 2007, in a joint collaborative effort, the Professional Training Programme (PTP) was launched. The PTP rapidly became one of AITIC's most successful capacity building projects, enabling government officials responsible for trade issues to improve their competence on international trade-related technical issues. Once again, AITIC thanks the Chinese Taipei for this vote of confidence.
On 15 May 2009, a delegation from the Republic of Togo paid a courtesy visit to AITIC. Led by HE Mr Api Assoumatine, Ambassador and Inspector General of the Diplomatic Missions of Togo, the delegation also included HE Mr Tchao Sotou Béré, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Togo, Mr. Amawusa Kodjo, Head of Division, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Mr Sébadé Toba, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Togo in Brussels.
The Republic of Togo announced that it was currently in the process of opening a Permanent Mission in Geneva. AITIC will support the authorities in their endeavour by putting its Non Residents' Unit (NRU) at their disposal. AITIC's NRU provides personalised assistance and logistical support to non-resident delegations as well as to various regional economic and trade organisations without representation in Geneva.
A delegation from the Republic of Djibouti paid a visit to AITIC on 12 May 2009. The delegation was composed of HE Mr Mohamed-Siad DOUALEH, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Djibouti to the WTO, and Ms Oubah Moussa AHMED, Economic Counsellor. Following its first WTO Trade Policy Review in 2006, the Republic of Djibouti is currently in the process of strengthening its multilateral trade commitments and has requested AITIC's technical assistance.
Ambassador DOUALEH informed that Djibouti was in the process of becoming an AITIC Participating Member, following the signature of the instrument of accession by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
AITIC briefly presented the activities it provides to countries such as Djibouti. Its assistance can consist in the organisation of seminars or training sessions all of which contribute to building the trade-related capacity of government trade officials. AITIC looks forward to welcoming the Republic of Djibouti as one of its Participating Members.
AITIC organised a Mini-course on the TRIPS Agreement which took place over two half-days on 4 and 5 May 2009 on the AITIC premises. The event aimed to reinforce the technical knowledge of Geneva-based delegates, allowing them to better understand the main provisions of the TRIPS Agreement and to participate more effectively in the WTO negotiations. This mini-course is part of AITIC's technical assistance and capacity building activities.
AITIC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of the Government of Nepal, held a "National Workshop on Notifications under the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement" on 27 and 28 April 2009 in Kathmandu, Nepal. A member of the WTO since 2003, Nepal was one of the first two least-developed countries (LDCs) to accede to the organisation since its establishment in 1995. Given the importance of its agriculture sector, understanding the SPS Agreement and its detailed notification procedures is particularly important for this country as well as for developing countries at large.
During the two-day workshop, SPS experts provided participants with an overview of the WTO SPS Agreement and its salient features. The aim was to help capital-based government officials better understand and use the SPS Agreement. Representatives from the private sector, academia and non-governmental organisations participated. The workshop was organised within the context of AITIC's technical assistance and capacity-building activities.
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text: Obituaries | Bemidji Pioneer Skip to main content Login Register Classifieds CarsHQ JobsHQ HomesHQ ApartmentsHQ Classifieds Marketplace Bemidji Pioneer Search Search Sections Homenews A decade of honoring duty: Annual Ride for the Troops on SundayHeadlinesAuditor powers clash may delay special sessionOUT AND ABOUT: Taking it to the 'Extreme': Clearbrook woman makes strides in national outdoors competitionOUT AND ABOUT: Her passion 'looms' large, Bemidji woman moves forward with goal . . . and a loom . . . for sustainable fashion design (W/ VIDEO) Planning for planning ahead: Health care professionals, community members discuss advanced care plansMore Topicsbusinesseducationlocalregion sportsRACING: Sparby wins four times at SpeedwayHeadlinesBEAVERS ROUNDUP: Four finalists announced for track coach openingPREP BASEBALL: Bagley still alive, but Blackduck eliminated in Section 8ABASEBALL: Bemidji eliminated by Becker, 8-0, in Section 8-3A playoffsINDOOR FOOTBALL: Axemen blown out by Sioux Falls, 90-20, in home finaleMore Topicsaxemenbeaverslumberjacks obituariesJames "Jim" Robert KoskiHeadlinesJoseph (Russ) PowersGordon ObergCatherine Lucille (Schauls) GloeNolan Gene Desjarlait, Jr. columnsCyndi Fenske: June will be a busy month for the libraryHeadlinesMASTER GARDENERS COLUMN: Planning that perfect patio tomatoJohn Eggers: What should I write about?Northland Stargazing: Hubble is 25, Regulus a few millionPAUL NELSON COLUMN: Fish flies arrive earlier than usual in Bemidji area entertainmentPioneer Previews: Not 'Least' of all, there's a Nordic Showcase, tooHeadlinesBASEBALL: Bagley's Section 8A tournament game postponed to WednesdayArt briefs - Sunday May 31Playhouse powerhouse: 2015 marks final season for Paul Bunyan Playhouse artistic director Zach CurtisPioneer Previews: A gala of support for BSUMore Topicsartmusictheaterwriting outdoorsBlane Klemek: The American dog tick is the most familiar tick inhabiting MinnesotaHeadlinesTake A Kid Fishing event to be held June 10 in BemidjiBlane Klemek: Bats truly are incredible flying creaturesZebra mussels found in Christmas LakeMASTER GARDENERS: Try an organic weed-free gardening approachMore Topicsfishinghuntingenvironmentfish tales celebrationsWedding: Baudeck-BakkeHeadlinesVoges birthday celebrationMoen birthday celebrationDavis 80th birthday celebrationJohnson -Kelm engagementMore Topicsanniversariesbirthdaysengagementsweddings opinionHeadlinesLETTER TO THE EDITOR: Pipeline will create jobs, benefit businessesDick Polman: Bad news for HillaryCokie & Steven V. Roberts: Schools invest in immigrants, communitiesRich Lowry: #someblacklivesdon'tmatterLETTER TO THE EDITOR: Sandpiper project will be good for safetyMore Topicscommentaryeditorialletters Weather Forecast Close Forecast Radar obituaries Place an ObituaryObituary Guidelines James "Jim" Robert Koski B. November 3, 1958D. May 31, 2015 James "Jim" Robert Koski James "Jim" Robert Koski, 56, of Moorhead, Minnesota, and Bemidji, Minnesota, died Sunday, May 31, 2015, at Golden Living Centers in Moorhead, Minnesota, from end-stage renal disease. Committal services will be at 2:00 pm, Friday, June 5, 2015 at the...37 min 44 sec ago Advertisement Joseph (Russ) Powers B. August 24, 1941D. May 30, 2015 Joseph (Russ) Powers Joseph Russell Powers, 73 of Tenstrike, MN died Saturday, May 30th at his home. Joseph was born on August 24, 1941 in Litchfield, MN. He grew up in St. Paul, MN where he graduated from Washington High School. A few years after graduation he joined the United States...37 min 45 sec ago Gordon Oberg B. October 19, 1925D. June 2, 2015 Gordon Oberg Oct. 19, 1925 - June 2, 2015 BEMIDJI, Minn. - Gordon Oberg, 89, Bemidji, died Tuesday in Tamarack Court. Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m., followed by the funeral at 2 p.m., Friday at First Lutheran Church in Bemidji. Pastor Corey Fuhrman will officiate. Interment will...47 min 46 sec ago Advertisement June 2, 2015 Catherine Lucille (Schauls) Gloe B. March 6, 1937D. June 1, 2015 Catherine Lucille (Schauls) Gloe Catherine Lucille Gloe, 78, of Minnetrista, Minnesota, found peace on June 1, 2015. Cathy was born March 6, 1937, and grew up in Bemidji, Minnesota, daughter of the late Frank and Ermyl Schauls. She married the love of her life, Aloys Gloe, on an icy...23 hours 37 min ago Nolan Gene Desjarlait, Jr. B. April 25, 2005D. May 29, 2015 Nolan Gene Desjarlait, Jr. April 25, 2005 - May 29, 2015 FARGO, N.D. - Nolan Gene Desjarlait, Jr., 10, Red Lake, Minn., died Friday in Sanford Medical Center. The wake began Monday and will continue until the traditional services at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Red Lake Humanities...23 hours 47 min ago Jon Conrad Wickman B. May 18, 1961D. April 6, 2015 Jon Conrad Wickman May 18, 1961 - April 6, 2015 RICHFIELD, Minn. - Jon Conrad Wickman, 53, formerly Blackduck, Minn., died Monday, April 6, in his home. A family memorial will be Wednesday, June 10, in Blackduck.23 hours 47 min ago Nathan "Newt" Jenkins B. July 11, 1979D. May 30, 2015 Nathan "Newt" Jenkins July 11, 1979 - May 30, 2015 REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. - Nathan "Newt" Jenkins, 35, Redwood Falls, formerly Ball Club, Minn., died Saturday in his home. Visitation will begin 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and will continue until the funeral at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ball...23 hours 47 min ago Advertisement May 31, 2015 Cleve R. Downey B. March 28, 1932D. May 29, 2015 Cleve R. Downey Cleve R. Downey, age 83 of Bemidji, MN died Friday, May 29, 2015 in Neilson Place, Bemidji. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, June 4, 2015 at 1:00 P.M. at Hines Cemetery, Hines Minnesota. Arrangements were entrusted with the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home...May 31, 2015 - 7:50pm Arthur "Art" Sigette B. April 6, 1944D. May 27, 2015 Arthur "Art" Sigette Arthur "Art" Sigette, 71, of Bemidji, MN died Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at his home. Memorial Services will be 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at St. Philips Catholic Church, Bemidji with Fr. Chuck Huck officiating. Family will greet friends one hour...May 31, 2015 - 7:50pm Henrietta L. Gotaas B. December 21, 1929D. May 30, 2015 Henrietta L. Gotaas Dec. 21, 1929 - May 30, 2015 BEMIDJI, Minn. - Henrietta L. Gotaas, 85, Bemidji, died Saturday in Sanford Medical Center. Arrangements are pending with Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home in Bemidji.May 31, 2015 - 7:40pm May 30, 2015 F. Irwin (Irv) (Coach) St. John F. Irwin (Irv) (Coach) St. John May 23, 1932 - May 25, 2015, Irv passed away this past Memorial Day. He is survived by the love of his life of 60 years, Patricia Moore St. John; his sister, Dr. Mary K. St. John; and his three daughters and their families, Mary Jean & Gary Schraufnagel,...May 30, 2015 - 7:50pm Cleve R. Downey B. March 28, 1932D. May 29, 2015 Cleve R. Downey March 28, 1932 - May 29, 2015 BEMIDJI, Minn. - Cleve R. Downey, 83, Bemidji, died Friday in Neilson Place. The gravedside service will be 1 p.m. Thursday in Hines (Minn.) Cemetery. Arrangements by Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Bemidji.May 30, 2015 - 7:40pm Olaf Arneberg B. July 30, 1931D. May 28, 2015 Olaf Arneberg July 30, 1931 - May 28, 2015 FOSSTON, Minn. - Olaf Arneberg, 83, Fosston, died Thursday in his home. The memorial service will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Cease Family Funeral Home in Bagley, Minn. Interment will be in Sand Hill Lutheran Cemetery near Winger, Minn. Military...May 30, 2015 - 7:40pm May 29, 2015 Mavis Vicki Swenson B. May 27, 1924D. May 24, 2015 Mavis Vicki' Swenson Mavis Vicki' Swenson, 90, formerly of Hines, died Sunday, May 24, at a care center in Mandan, North Dakota. Cremation has taken place. Her father, George Smith, was an early settler in Minnesota's Beltrami county, and worked as a lumberjack. Her mother, Maria...May 29, 2015 - 7:50pm Eugene Geurts B. April 27, 1951D. May 21, 2015 Eugene Geurts Geno was born on April 27, 1951 to Stanley and Lillian Blaskowski at Sauk Centre, MN and was adopted by Clarence and Dorothy (Schaff) Geurts. He attended school and graduated from Blackduck High School in 1969. Geno went on to become a proud member of the Heat and Frost...May 29, 2015 - 7:50pm Page 1Older » Advertisement

subset: commoncrawl


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Bet You Didn't Know These Celebs Were Arab!
We are proud to announce a list of Western stars and luminaries of the entertainment and art world who have something of the Arab within! Part Arab, many generations ago or just a single remove away, we expose the closet Arabs and the all out Arab-embracing celebs. Most descend from the Levant region between Syria and Lebanon, but there is the occasional Iraqi, Jordanian or Palestinian lurking within this gallery of Arab blood.
Did you know that the following famous people had Arab origins? Here's a selection of Hollywood acting legends and singing stars, who come in degrees of Arab-ness, from partial, to fully-fledged and native speaking Arab. From the more commonly recognized names as Paula Abdul, Tiffany and Salma Hayek and Julia Sawalha to the lesser known hybrid Arabs as Vince Vaughn, Tony Shalhoub, hip-hop frat party play-lister, DJ Khaled (Kalid), comedy hero Jerry Seinfeld and rock legend Frank Zappa. Find out where all the Arab talent that headed 'West' landed, from the big-screen to the classic musical archives.
Do you know of any other Western celebrity who remains in the 'Arab closet' that might have Arabic heritage?
Alia is Kurdish not arab
There is nothing such as "Arabia". Unless you mean "Saudi Arabia". In case you don't know, Arabs come from over 20 different countries.
Arabs are from Arabia. Not all people who live in countries that speak Arabic are not necessarily genetically Arabs. You might have a case for them being culturally Arabic. But in the cases of Jerry Seinfield or Paula Abdul both have Sephardic Jewish heritage and ancestors that most likely migrated to places in Turkey and Syria at the time of their expulsion from Spain during the Inquisition. They in now way can be considered .to have Arab ancestry.
Tom Selleck is not Arabic. His mother was English and his father was German/English. He's Anglo Saxon.
Salma is Native American, Spanish, Lebanese
Don't forget about The legendary Freddie Mercury (From Zanzibar, Arab decent, his name was originally farrohk Bulsara) and Joe Strummer (the punk rock band named the clash, from turkey)
Sorry, you don't get Freddie Mercury. He's Indian, according to him, his mom, and best friend, he said Persian bc of the blatant discrimination suffered by the Indians at that time. Also, don't Muslims hate music and gay people?
Guys, you forgot Shakira, she's also half Lebanese, her last name in Moubarak, even her name Shakira is an Arabic name if you put the accent on "Sha", find out more about this subject on http://www.katagogi.com/mid200760
fyi, the photo you have at image 16 labelled Julia Sawalha is actually a photo of her sister Nadia


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In this week's celeb-filled episode, we buzz about Tony host Neil Patrick Harris, August: Osage County movie A-listers Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, the return of Billy Crystal and a possible Michelle Williams/Hugh Jackman movie.
Nathanial Hackmann and the cast of City Center Encores! production of Paint Your Wagon sing 'They Call the Wind Maria' to preview their production, which runs March 18-22.March 10, 2015
Jennifer Nettles and the cast of Chicago sign posters to be sold in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.March 10, 2015
In the first episode of Going Bridal, It Shoulda Been You star Sierra Boggess shows us a wig fitting, beauty tips from the cast and Tyne Daly playing volleyball. How great is that?March 10, 2015
The Liquid Plain's LisaGay Hamilton on exploring a forgotten piece of American history in Naomi Wallace's play.March 10, 2015
Broadway.com talks to author Hilary Mantel and the cast of Wolf Hall Parts One and Two, which will play in rep at the Winter Garden Theatre from March 20.March 9, 2015
Broadway.com hails Helen Mirren and all the stars as the Oscar winner returns to the Great White Way in Peter Morgan's The Audience.March 9, 2015
Watch Nick Cordero, Matt Doyle and the cast of Brooklynite sing some super superhero tunes from the new musical.March 9, 2015
Watch video clips of Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience on Broadway.March 9, 2015
Watch video clips of The Mystery of Love and Sex, starring Tony Shalhoub and Diane Lane at Lincoln Center.March 6, 2015
Brooklynite's Matt Doyle on the fun of being in a family-friendly superhero musical.March 6, 2015
The King and I star Kelli O'Hara invites Susan Blackwell into her kitchen to make chili and play some fun party games, revealing a lot of secrets along the way.March 6, 2015
A tale of two runaway slaves, Naomi Wallace's The Liquid Plain explores a group of people whose stories have been erased from history.March 5, 2015


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Italy, a country filled with history, amazing art, delicious cuisine, remarkable architecture, and splendid beauty—you'll see and feel it all on this affordable tour through Italy. Explore the maze of streets in Venice, and discover hidden treasures and restaurants in their back alleys. Stand in awe as you admire the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a must-see sight in Italy. Did you know the tower was constructed in three stages over the course of 177 years, starting in 1173? Even though it was obvious in 1178 that it leaned, construction continued. You'll see this architectural wonder as well as many other famous Italian sites. Have your camera ready as you explore the historical sites of Rome, including the Colosseum, the amphitheater used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles during the Roman Empire. Sit in a café as you admire one of Italy's most unique squares in Siena. Explore the laid-back town of Sorrento with its beautiful landscapes—high and low hills, azure seas, majestic mountains, and deep valleys. Enjoy wine tasting in Italy's Chianti wine region, and shop for local goods in Tuscany. What do you want from your Italian vacation—amazing architecture, sumptuous food, delicious wine, breathtaking art, historical treasures, or scenic beauty? Whatever it is, this Italy vacation delivers!
Receive a $100 per person Air Credit on select 2015 air-inclusive Europe vacations.*
*Book a select 2015 air-inclusive Europe vacation to receive the $100 per person Air Credit. Valid on Cosmos and Monograms vacations of six nights or more. Must be booked, under deposit and discount applied between January 7 and June 23, 2015 for travel in 2015. Not applicable to custom tours. Not applicable on instant purchase air. Applies to coach class only. Air must be purchased through Cosmos or Monograms in conjunction with a Europe vacation. Air credit will apply to the per person air price and is non-transferable. Offer valid with all other offers. Applies to new 2015 bookings only, and offer will not be applied to pre-existing bookings. Air Credit will apply to the per person air price and is non-transferable. An additional $300 non-refundable deposit is required for air booked in conjunction with a land vacation. Once ticketed, airline reservations subject to change/cancellation penalties of between $300 per ticket and 100% of ticket price; air tickets not eligible for frequent flyer mileage/point accrual; stopovers not permitted. Promotional discounts do not carry forward on changed air bookings however other promotions at time of change may be available. Once airfare is confirmed and we have received your full air and land deposit, your air-inclusive price is guaranteed. We reserve the right to ticket passengers upon receipt of full land and air deposit. Additional airline fees for baggage may apply; visit www.iflybags.com for more details. Availability of promotional prices are limited and may be restricted to specific flights, class of service, travel dates or, length of stay. Additional restrictions apply; see Travel Terms & Conditions for details. Air tickets are non-commissionable. Offer may be withdrawn at any time. CST#2017032-20. PRMY072
Individual headsetsInside visits and special features:Shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description including admission charges where applicable.Sightseeing:Visits to Orvieto, Siena, San Gimignano, Greve in Chianti with wine tasting, Pisa, Venice, Assisi
Scenic Highlights: Chianti Valley
Local Guides for city sightseeing in Rome and Florence. Professional Tour Director while touring
Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this ancient capital. This evening, meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers.
The ˝Eternal City," Rome is a city steeped in history, vibrantly alive and exciting, and absolutely unique! Included sightseeing with a Local Guide starts in ST. PETER'S SQUARE, followed by a visit to the ROMAN FORUM and the mighty COLOSSEUM. In the evening, a chance to discover Rome by night on an optional excursion. (B)
Journey northwest to the charmingly located city of Orvieto in the Umbria region to visit its black basalt and yellow limestone CATHEDRAL, an excellent example of Italian Gothic architecture. By early evening you'll be in Siena with time to visit this jewel of Tuscany. Sit in one of the cafés surrounding the Campo and admire one of Italy's most unique squares, famed the world over for its Palio horse race. Tonight, enjoy a special dinner at a local restaurant. (B,D)
Drive this morning to San Gimignano, one of Tuscany's greatest attractions. Its medieval squares, town walls, streets, alleyways, and 14 towers make it unique. Next, into the very heart of the Chianti vineyards; watch out for names such as Castellina in Chianti, Badia, Gaiole, and Brolio, where classical Chianti wines are produced. Stop in Greve for some WINE TASTING at the Vicchiomaggio wine estate. Arrive in Montecatini in time to join the outing for an optional Tuscan dinner. (B)
This Renaissance gem and city of the Medicis will keep you enthralled the entire day. Traffic is banned in part of the historic center, so visitors can wander at leisure and admire the city's timeless beauty in relative peace and quiet. Don't miss out on the included walking tour with a Local Guide, which features most of the city highlights. You will see Piazza Santa Croce; beautiful Piazza Signoria; Palazzo Vecchio and its courtyard; Loggia dei Lanzi; and, to top it all, Piazza del Duomo and its cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificent East Door of the Baptistry, known as the "Gate of Paradise." (B,D)
This morning, drive to Pisa for a visit to its SQUARE OF MIRACLES and the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 16 feet out of the perpendicular. Later, head across the wooded Apennine Hills into the farmlands of the Po Valley for two overnights in the Venice area. (B)
Venice is more like a marvelous film set than a real live city, with its criss-crossing canals, gondolas and water buses, arched bridges, palaces, and little quiet piazzas. The included orientation starts with a boat ride and is followed by time at leisure and a chance to watch Venetian GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects as they did centuries ago. Don't miss out on the optional gondola trip, gliding along the picturesque canals with a local troubadour to serenade you. (B,D)
An interesting drive southward, cutting across the Po Delta, then crossing the Apennines. Stop in Assisi, where St. Francis was born in 1182. Visit the world-famous BASILICA with its beautiful frescoes by Giotto, then head for Rome. (B)
Transfer to Sorrento. (B,D)
At leisure in Sorrento. (B,D)
Transfer to Rome.
Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
Transportation: Scheduled transatlantic flights and airport transfers in Rome if Cosmos issues the air tickets. Touring by private first-class air-conditioned motorcoach. Canal transfer boat in Venice
Buffet breakfasts; 6 dinners, including a dinner at a local restaurant in Siena
With Cosmos, there's no better way to get to know your destination than through the eyes of your Tour Director. Averaging over a decade... we'd like you to meet a Tour Director, who is representative of the type of expert that will be with you on your vacation.
Sharing some of the most enchanting wonders of my home country with new people is always fulfilling. I love introducing travelers to the charm of the "Eternal City," the art and architecture of Florence, the romantic magnetism of Venice, and the mouthwatering food and wines. I enjoy every second of our time together-it's hard to say goodbye!
The following UNESCO World Heritage Sites can be seen or visited on the The Splendors of Italy with Sorrento:


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Jane Loveseat
by Gus Modern
At A Glance:
A two-seated version of the classic Jane Sofa, the Jane Loveseat has button-tufted cushions and a stainless steel base that complements simple design with stylish upholstery. Its trim steel frame neatly rises into a plush loveseat with a strong mid-century vibe. The Jane Loveseat has a button-tufted seat and back, and can be easily inserted into nearly any decor scheme.
What's To Like:
- Metal base, button tufting ... class dismissed. We love the look.
- Equally at home in a modern space as it is in an eclectic home, the Jane Loveseat is a master of adaptability.
What's Not to Like:
This loveseat is on the pricey side, but you won't find a two-seater of this quality for much cheaper.
The Bottom Line:
Boasting design cues from the classic Jane Sofa and Loveseat, this loveseat is an excellent option for the clean modern living room.
- Overall dimensions: 30" h x 63" w x 36" d
- Button-tufted cushions and stainless steel base
- Contains FSC-Certified wood
- Reversible seat and back cushions
- Frame and cushions have piped detailing
- Stress tested joints
- Non-marking leveler feet on the bottom of the legs
- Medium density polyurethane foam cushions
- Coordinate with matching Jane Bi-Sectional Sofa, Jane 3-Seat Sofa, or Jane Lounge Chair
Materials & Measurements
See our Gus Modern upholstery guide to learn more.
Overall: 30" h x 63" w x 36" d
Arm height: 25"
Seat height: 17"
Seat depth: 23"
Your FurnitureGenius Recommendations
Environmental Information
The Gus Modern Jane Loveseat contains FSC-Certified Wood harvested from a well-managed forest.
About The ManufacturerWith a focus on simple forms and honest materials, Gus Design Group's vision is to bring comfortable sofas, modern tables, and striking accent pieces to modern interiors everywhere. Their sofas, lounge chairs, and ottomans are an excellent choice for anyone with a fondness for mid-century design, from which Gus Modern draws much of its inspiration. Gus Modern is based in Toronto, Canada.
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Shipping & DeliveryShipping rate: 5 percent of merchandise value
Generally arrives within 4-8 days from the date of purchase
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WarrantyFrames are covered by a 10 year warranty.
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Physician Perspectives About Health Information Technology
Survey of physicians assesses their current use, overall views, and actions around HIT
With incentives now available to hospitals and physicians for adopting electronic health records (EHRs), and the 2013 deadline for ICD-10 conversion looming, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions sought to assess physicians' current use and overall views of health information technology (HIT), as well as specific actions surrounding EHRs, meaningful use, and ICD-10. Results from the 2011 survey provide important insights and implications for health care industry stakeholders.
Among key findings:
- Nearly two-thirds of physicians say they use some sort of electronic record to manage clinical information, reflecting the most general use of EHRs as opposed to stricter definitions. Use is highest among large practices and in the Midwest.
- By contrast, use is somewhat lower among older and female physicians. Solo practitioners are particularly unlikely to be using EHRs or to have plans to implement them. Also, older physicians are less likely to be pushing for adoption of HIT.
- There is widespread consensus that EHR use by physicians is valuable in improving quality (84 percent) and important to managing patient care (79 percent). However, more than six of 10 physicians state that EHR has not improved diagnosis accuracy or treatment planning.
- Although many barriers exist to EHR adoption, including lack of incentives (13 percent), vendor selection challenges (15 percent), and privacy concerns (22 percent), the biggest are the cost and burden of implementation.
- Despite widespread adoption by other industries, only half (54 percent) of all physicians use Internet tools to inform or engage patients in health care. Only two in 10 physicians provide online scheduling or downloading of test results. Use of social media to communicate with patients is extremely low among all physicians (6 percent).
- Regulatory issues surrounding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) meaningful use incentives, as well as ICD-10 compliance, present challenges to physicians. Only about one in four considers themselves "on target" to meet meaningful use. Of concern, 23 percent say they are unfamiliar with the requirements. ICD-10 poses similar challenges and raises analogous concerns.


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Local film fest offers something for everyone
The Oxford Film Festival is fast becoming one of the top destinations in the region for those who enjoy seeing the up-and-coming in the world of cinema. Feature films, documentaries, shorts and all other types of work will be screened later this week. (February 3, 2010, Page 4)


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Jetty is a project at the Eclipse Foundation.
|Jetty Powered:
private support for your internal/customer projects ... custom extensions and distributions ... versioned snapshots for indefinite support ... scalability guidance for your apps and Ajax/Comet projects ... development services from 1 day to full product delivery
How to Run Jetty with jconsole
To run Jetty, start jconsole and then start Jetty with a special system property:
Jetty Standalone
Jetty Maven Plugin
If you are running the jetty maven plugin, you need to tell Maven to set the system property com.sun.management.jmxremote before running the plugin. The way to do this is to set the environment variable
MAVEN_OPTS. For example, on UNIX systems:
You should see a dialog like so (Note that with the jetty maven plugin, the entry will say "org.codehaus.classworlds.Launcher "jetty:run"" instead):
Select the start.jar entry and click on the
Connect button.A new jconsole window will open:
From this window you will be able to monitor memory usage, thread usage, classloading and vm statistics. You'll also be able to perform operations such as doing a manual garbage collect. Jconsole is an extremely powerful and useful tool.
Using the Jetty MBeans with jconsole
The MBean tab of jconsole allows access to managed objects within the java application, including MBeans provided by the JVM.
If you also want to be able to interact with the Jetty JMX implementation via jconsole, then you need to start Jetty JMX in a form that jconsole can access.
Jetty Standalone
See JMX for more details.
Jetty Maven Plugin
The easiest way to do this is to supply the etc/jetty-jmx.xml file in the plugin configuration . Do this like so:


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Wendell Yarbrough MD, MMHC, FACS
Professor of Surgery (Otolaryngology) and of Pathology; Section Chief, Otolaryngology; Co-Director Molecular Virology Research Program; Director, Head & Neck Cancer Program, Smilow Cancer Hospital
Biographical Info
Wendell Yarbrough, MD, MMHC is the Section Chief of Otolaryngology Department of Surgery, Director of the Head & Neck Disease Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Co-Director of the Molecular Virology Program in the Yale Cancer Center.
Dr. Yarbrough was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also attended medical school and completed residency and fellowship. He joins Yale from Vanderbilt University where he was the Co-Leader of the Thoracic and Head and Neck Program at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, as well as Professor of Otolaryngology and Cancer Biology.
Dr. Yarbrough has a longstanding clinical interest in head and neck cancers and research interests in head and neck cancer translational research as well as identification of tumor suppressors and their mechanism of action. Recently, Dr. Yarbrough's lab has focused on identification of molecular defects in subsets of head & neck and salivary cancers to serve as novel targets for therapy. Dr. Yarbrough's lab has expertise in cell and molecular biology and in modeling of tumors for pre-clinical testing. The ultimate goal of Dr. Yarbrough's lab work is to improve outcomes for patients with head & neck and salivary cancers through innovative and rational development of new therapies.
Learn more about Yale Otolaryngology's Section Chief.
Education & Training
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1989)
- Vanderbilt University (2010)
- Fellow
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Surgery/Surgical Oncology (1994 - 1996)
- Resident
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Surgery/Otolaryngology (1990 - 1994)
- Internship
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Surgery (1989 - 1990)
- Board Certification
- Otolaryngology, Board Certified (1995)


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Jetty is a project at the Eclipse Foundation.
|Jetty Powered:
private support for your internal/customer projects ... custom extensions and distributions ... versioned snapshots for indefinite support ... scalability guidance for your apps and Ajax/Comet projects ... development services from 1 day to full product delivery
Asynchronous Servlets: Suspendable Requests.
Most non trivial web applications need to wait at some stage during the processing of a HTTP request, examples of waiting request handling include:
- waiting for a resource (eg. thread, JDBC Connection) to be available before processing the request.
- waiting for an application event in an Ajax Comet application (eg Chat message, price change, etc.)
- waiting for a response from a remote service (eg RESTful or SOAP call to a web service).
The current servlet API (<=2.5) supports only a synchronous call style, so that any waiting that a servlet needs to do must be with blocking. Unfortunately this means that the thread allocated to the request must be held during that wait with all its resources including kernal thread, stack memory and often pooled buffers, character converters, EE authentication context, etc. It is wasteful of system resources to be hold these resources while waiting.
Jetty provides support for Asynchronous Servlets by supporting Suspendable Requests, either via the Jetty Continuations or the proposed standard servlet 3.0 API.
Blocking Waiting Examples
JDBC Connection Pool
Consider a web application handling on average 400 requests per second, with each request interacting with the database for 50ms. To handle this average load, 400*50/1000 = 20 JDBC connections are need on average. However, requests do not come at the even rate and there are often bursts and pauses. To protect a database from bursts, often a JDBC connection pool is applied to limit the simultaneous requests made on the database. So for this application, it would be reasonable to apply a JDBC pool of 30 connections, to provide for a 50% margin.
If momentarily the request rate doubled, then the 30 connections would only be able to handle 600 requests per second, and 200 requests per second would join those waiting on the JDBC Connection pool. If the servlet container had a thread pool with 200 threads, then that would be entirely consumed by threads waiting for JDBC connections in 1 seconds of this request rate. After 1s, the web application would be unable to process any requests at all because no threads would be available. Even requests that do not use the database would be blocked due to thread starvation. To double the thread pool would require an additional 100MB of stack memory and would only give the application another 1s of grace under load!.
This thread starvation situation can also occur if the database runs slowly or is momentarily unavailable.
If the web container was able to threadlessly suspend the requests waiting for a JDBC connection, then thread starvation would not occur, as only 30 threads would be consumed by requests accessing the database and the other 470 threads would be available to process the request that do not access the database.
Remote Web Service
Consider a web application that accesses a remote web service (eg SOAP service or RESTful service). Typically a remote web service can take hundreds of milliseconds to produce a response (eg ebays RESTful web service frequently takes 350ms to respond with a list of auctions matching a given keyword), while only a few 10s of milliseconds of CPU time are needed to locally process a request and generate a response.
To handle 400 requests per second, such a webapp would need 400*(350+20)/1000= 148 threads on average, but would also be vulnerable to thread starvation if bursts occured or the web service became slow.
If the web container was able to threadlessly suspend the request while waiting for the web service response, then even if 5ms of additional processing was required, the web app would need only 400*(20+5)/1000 = 10 threads on average and would not be vulnerable to thread starvation during bursts or if the web service is slow or unavailable. Moreover, the reduction of in the number of threads required would free up over 70MB of memory (unused stacks) that could be used for the application.
Ajax Comet Portfolio application
Ajax Comet web applications use the long polling technique so that a server may at any time send a response to a browser that is waiting for an application event. Consider a stock portfolio web application, each browser will send a long poll request to the server asking for any of the users stock prices that have changed their price. The server will process the long poll requests by waiting until a price changes and then immediately sending a response to the browser, at which time the browser will send a new long poll request to obtain the next price change.
If a price changes on average every 10s and the long poll response/request takes 100ms to transit the network and 20ms to process, then the request rate for 500 users would be 500*1000/(10*1000+100+20) = 49.4 requests per second, each taking (10*1000+100+20)=10.12 seconds, so that 49.4*10.12 = 500 threads are required.
If the web container was able to threadlessly suspend the request while waiting for the price change, then even if 10ms of additional processing was required,
then only 49.4*(20+10)/1000= 2 threads are needed! This can free up almost 250MB of stack memory for other use by the web application!


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For best printing results when using Firefox or Internet Explorer, turn on "Print background colors and images" in your browser settings.
The 2002 Hyundai XG300/XG350 is a twin of the tested vehicle.
The Hyundai XG300 was introduced in the 2001 model year and renamed the XG350 for the 2002 model year because the engine size was increased. The XG350 was dropped after the 2005 model year, replaced by the Hyundai Azera.
Measures taken from the head, neck, chest, and left leg indicate low risk of injuries to these body regions in a crash of this severity. Forces on the right tibia and right foot indicate that injuries to the lower leg and foot would be possible. Head acceleration from the B-pillar hit was low.
Dummy movement was well controlled. During rebound, the dummy's head hit the B-pillar.
How this test is conducted
IIHS doesn't track or investigate vehicle defects. Use this link to search the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's database for recalls on this or any other vehicle.
©1996-2014, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute | www.iihs.org
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DMV to Internet-less New Yorkers: Get in Line
By Jared Chausow
By Katie Toth
By Elizabeth Flock
City Hid Facts From Feds About Rikers
By Albert Samaha
Flood Wall Street Gets Pepper Sprayed and Arrested
By Anna Merlan
By Jon Campbell
Report Sheds Light on Anti-Muslim Bias
By Jon Campbell
Rikers Island Lawsuits Over Diabetic Care
By Albert Samaha
Whatever the magic-tongued Cuomo said, Insignia entities began immediately donating to Cuomo, launching an avalanche of Farkas-tied contributions that has continued right up to the most recent filing. The first Insignia contributions$5,000 apiece from two entitiesoccurred in August 2001, just months after Cuomo left HUD, and were among the very first donations to his newborn gubernatorial campaign committee. They were hardly the first Farkas contributions to a Cuomo; other members of the Farkas family, which used to own the Alexander's department store chain, had contributed to the campaigns of Cuomo's father, Mario, when he was governor. Mario Cuomo actually appointed Farkas's father to the board of the state's powerful Dormitory Authority in his final year in office in 1994, and Robin Farkas became its chairman in 1995.
Rozet died in 2003, but his partner Ross, informed by the Voice of the extensive new relationship between Farkas and Andrew Cuomo, said it was "interesting that Cuomo is so tied to someone who had these kinds of dealings with HUD," adding that it "might raise some eyebrows." Ross said he had put the litigation behind him once it ended in 2001, but added that "it was selective," observing that "Andy [Farkas] wasn't a pain in the ass" to HUD, but he and Rozet were. AFC, whose 235 projects and 21,000 units topped the HUD ownership list, was derided by Cuomo for using HUD "like a personal ATM." But AFC countered in 1998 court papers that it was Insignia that was "at the very center of this case" and should have been charged, contending that Insignia had "represented" to AFC that "it had properly disclosed all relevant information" to HUD, including, "specifically," the fee-splitting arrangement. This AFC attempt to pin the false-claims charge at the core of the complaint squarely on Farkas was never expressly addressed by the government. In addition to Gilbert, a host of attorneys tied to Farkas have become major donors to Cuomo's campaign. Since most did not return Voice calls, it's unclear if they contacted Cuomo or his key staff on Farkas's behalf. Cuomo says he never talked to any of them, though he adds, "I can't say what lawyers my staff was talking to." Arnold Jacobs, a Proskauer Rose attorney who has long represented the Farkas family and sat in on Insignia board meetings at the time of the settlement, gave $5,000, and his wife another $5,000. Jacobs attended one pre-settlement meeting at HUD with Cuomo staff. Cuomo says he didn't meet Jacobs, whom he identifies as Farkas's "main adviser," until he went to work for Island Capital. Gilbert and Jacobs were partners at the now defunct Shea Gould until 1994, where a Cuomo daughter also worked.
Insignia was also represented by a powerhouse Washington lobbying firm in the '90s, Akin Gump, which Cuomo says he did not know at the time. Robert Koen, a director of Insignia at the time and an attorney at Akin, donated $25,000. The head of Akin Gump's Washington lobbying unit, Joel Jankowsky, gave another $7,500. Jankowsky and Dan Glickman, the agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration, have been close personal friends for decades, and Glickman eventually joined the firm. Glickman's wife, Rhoda, was Cuomo's deputy chief of staff, and Cuomo wound up working for Glickman at a Harvard think tank he ran. The Glickmans, who appeared with Farkas at an intimate birthday party for Cuomo at the Alex Hotel last year, have given $36,900 to Cuomo. Another Akin partner, Kirk O'Donnell, who died in late 1998, was an unofficial adviser to Cuomo. Of course, Akin Gump was wired into the Clinton White House, since its senior partner, Vernon Jordan, was the president's top confidant.
Gilbert returned to his firm, Nixon Peabody, in 2003, when Farkas sold the remaining divisions of Insignia and formed Island Capital. The firm still represents Farkas and now includes two partners with Cuomo ties from the '90s. Monica Sussman, a deputy general counsel at HUD who helped author an internal 1995 memo at the agency opposing the fee-splitting case, left the agency in 1996 to join a precursor to the Nixon Peabody firm, Peabody Brown, which represented Rozet. That firm merged with Gilbert's in 1999. Sussman is one of the partners who contributed a share of the firm's $5,000 Cuomo contribution. Gary Eisenman, who was described by a federal prosecutor as one of the key Cuomo aides involved in the Rozet/Farkas case, is also now a partner there. Eisenman ran the nonprofit housing project Cuomo founded in New York, H.E.L.P., after leaving HUD. He has given $2,500 to Cuomo and was described in news stories as a key volunteer in Cuomo's unsuccessful 2002 campaign. Even Holland Knight, another Farkas law firm involved in the fee-splitting probe, kicked in $1,000 to Cuomo.
As multi-layered as this intertwine was, it's impossible to determine, this many years later, if any of these connections had an effect at HUD. Cuomo accurately and insistently points out that the Justice Department and the independent HUD inspector general's office approved the Farkas settlement as well, suggesting that all HUD did was sign off on it at the end. But several sources knowledgeable about the five-month talks say HUD was deeply involved. Ross, who eventually signed his own settlement with Justice officials, said, "When we negotiated, we did it primarily with HUD," expressing the firm belief that "HUD was involved" with the Farkas deal as well.
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ABCG is lucky to have representatives of member, partner and associated organizations share their field work and experiences across sectors in the African landscape:
June 24, 2014—What have the forest elephants ever done for us?
Dr. Maisels covered the following topics: Current Elephant poaching crisis; Ancient elephant distribution and elimination from much of the Old World; Elephant role in the modern ecosystem; Elephant/ megafauna past role in ecosystems; and repercussions thereof.
June 10, 2014—The Open Parks Network: An Open Knowledge and Learning Platform for Conservation
OPN is a suite of tools using cyberinfrastructure to unite protected areas managers with parks-related information. The Open Parks Network provides park professionals "one-stop shopping" for research and data management platforms to better disseminate the vast amount of knowledge existing in the broad field of park and protected area management.
June 3, 2014—WildLeaks, the First Secure & Anonymous Platform for Wildlife Crime Whistleblowers
WildLeaks is a project that receives/evaluates information on wildlife crimes & transform them into action. Sources remain anonymous & submit information in a secure, encrypted way. It seeks to prevent wildlife crime, facilitate identification, arrest & prosecution of traffickers/corrupt gov't. officials & the trafficking of wildlife products.
May 1, 2014— An Account of the Life-Changing Realities of Rhino Poaching
April 3, 2014—Conserving a Species, while Caring about Individuals
Conservation of any species, will only be achieved when local stakeholders value and respect the targeted species. The Jane Goodall Institiute's commitment to individuals provides an important platform for engaging local stakeholders to consider their actions and interactions with other species. The results of JGI's public awareness campaign is indicating that a change is taking place and such efforts have not been in vain.
March 6, 2014—Saving Great Apes: Measuring Success in Changing Attitudes & Behaviors
Filmmaker and INCEF Founder Cynthia Moses discusses how the project reaches audiences with 80 to 90 percent illiteracy to change behaviors, measure retained increase of knowledge and changes in attitudes over time and gathering indications of behavioral change.
March 6, 2014—Recent Activities and Challenges facing Garoua Wildlife College in Cameroon--Training Wildlife Professionals in Central and West Africa: Garoua Wildlife College in Cameroon
Garoua Wildlife College (EFG) was created in Cameroon in 1970 to provide in-service wildlife training for francophone government agencies in sub-Saharan Africa. Since its inception, EFG has trained over 1300 students from 24 different countries. EFG is the only regional wildlife college serving French-speaking Africa, playing a unique role in developing key competencies in wildlife management throughout the sub-region.
January 30, 2014—Empowering Communities to Conserve the Mali Elephants in Times of War and Peace
Africa's northern-most elephant herd migrates 600 kilometers or so from Mali to Burkina Faso and back each year. Drought, land degradation, and increasing human pressure endanger this last herd of the Sahel. The WILD Foundation's Mali Elephant Project (MEP) has persistently secured increasing portions of the Gourma habitat in Mali by working with local communities to establish natural resource management systems that protect the elephant migration route and avoid human-wildlife conflict. MEP trains local people in setting up pastoral and sylvo-pastoral reserves, forestry rules and operations, fire-break construction, water management, health and hygiene, and much more. MEP also fosters the inclusion of local people in decision-making and government agencies. The iconic Mali elephant population has been so far kept mostly safe throughout the recent political coup, lawlessness and conflict in Mali because of MEP efforts to empower local communities to take protective measures. MEP countered efforts by armed groups aspiring to recruit local people into the conflict because of the trust engendered by the success of the project's ongoing work with their communities. By taking an integrated view of the problem in context, the project worked with the local stakeholders to shift the system of land use to one that supports elephant conservation by first establishing a shared vision.
October 24, 2013—25 years of conservation efforts in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda: progress, challenges, lessons learned and way forward
With high human population densities around the park - up to 500 people per square kilometer- and severe poverty in the area, many threats challenge Nyungwe's future, including poaching, mining, tree cutting and fires, often inadvertently set by people smoking bees to aid honey collection.
In 1988, in partnership with the Rwandan government, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) launched the Nyungwe Forest Conservation Project (Projet de Conservation de la Foret de Nyungwe - PCFN), in southwestern Rwanda in order to secure the protection of its significant biodiversity.
The overview of the achievements, challenges and lessons learned during 25 years of partnerships built to help conserve Nyungwe, is the starting point for elaborating the way forward.
September 19, 2013—Right Under our Noses: How Detection Dogs Can Drive Conservation, from Ecological Monitoring to Combating Wildlife Trafficking
Pete Coppolillo presented an overview of the conservation detection dog field and how dogs can help wildlife conservation efforts worldwide, from monitoring cryptic or rare species, to detecting threats like wire snares, to detecting illegal bushmeat and ivory in transit. In this rich presentation, Pete discussed the circumstances under which dogs are preferable to conventional methods and some of the constraints on and concerns about using dogs in the field and the developing world.
August 28, 2013—UPDATE ON THE SANGHA TRI-NATIONAL FOUNDATION--Transboundary conservation, crime and financing
The TNS region is one of the most important conservation areas in Central Africa and is home to large populations of Central African mega fauna including forest elephants, lowland gorillas, chimpanzees and bongo, among others. Besides protecting forests rich in biodiversity, the TNS provides a wide range of ecosystems services to local and indigenous communities, and the global community through carbon storage.
TNS is increasingly threatened by wildlife criminals who are creating a climate of insecurity in the region. The situation was aggravated by the change in government and subsequent crisis since March 23rd 2013.
Against these threats, The TNS Foundation and its partners including WWF and WCS are trying to strengthen the trans-boundary cooperation process and lobby for increased filed staff for surveillance and anti-poaching operations as well as general park management in the three components of the TNS.
July 30, 2013—Transboundary Conservation of Endangered African Wild Dogs
frican wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are the most endangered large carnivore in southern Africa. Latest IUCN estimates suggest there may be as few as 660 breeding packs remaining in the wild. Wild dogs are a low density, wide ranging species, and protecting them into the future requires conservation at a scale rarely considered in terrestrial conservation. The relatively new concept of Transfrontier Parks and Transfrontier Conservation Areas provides an opportunity for implementing conservation practices at the necessary scale. But are these just paper concepts or are they working on the ground for wide ranging species like African wild dogs?
The African Wildlife Conservation Fund has been working in the Zimbabwean part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area for five years. This talk will demonstrate the importance of this globally significant conservation area and outline some of the challenges with transboundary conservation of a highly mobile carnivore.
July 18—AWF-USAID/Uganda Tourism for Biodiversity Program: Improving community opportunities through wildlife habitat conservation
Uganda's protected area system has made significant strides in strengthening its management and capacity over the last decade offering an important foundation for continued development. However, as wildlife in many parts of Uganda spends more time in unprotected lands which were traditionally dispersal areas and wildlife corridors, there is an urgent need to work with communities, private land owners and local authorities to plan, pilot, and realize effective strategies to reduce habitat loss and fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict. These strategies need to provide communities with economic opportunities built on and incentivizing wildlife conservation. Ecotourism or nature-based tourism provides an important vehicle for generating economic benefits from wildlife conservation for communities and land owners, as well as the national government.
June 24—A Holistic Approach to Conservation: WILDERNESS and Leadership for Sustainability
Environmentalist and social entrepreneur Andrew Muir presented a multi-faceted model of nature conservation implemented by the Wilderness Foundation (WF) in South Africa.
Recognizing that the protection and sustainability of South Africa's unique wilderness areas and natural heritage is dependent on socio-political and economic conditions, WF takes a holistic approach to conservation. Through its Umzi Wethu Academies for Disadvantaged Youth, it trains AIDS orphans and child heads-of-household on the verge of adulthood to become game rangers and chefs, integrating them into the ecotourism industry of South Africa and equipping them with life skills to retain their employability as they earn sustainable income for their families. Through wilderness trail experiences, Umzi also generates conservation leaders.
May 14, 2013—Miles to Go Before We Sleep: Wildlife Conservation in Botswana's Okavango Delta
Rich in biodiversity and a world class destination for ecotourists, Botswana is often hailed as a conservation success story. But recent research has indicated that large mammal populations are declining, and growth in the agriculture industry threatens the long-term persistence of wildlife in community-held areas. Ms. Stoner explained why Botswana's Okavango Delta is a unique and important place for wildlife conservation, and why international attention plays an important role in its continued protection. Using research performed in 1995 and 2012, she characterized both the challenges and opportunities for conservationists in the future, with a particular focus on pastoral communities.
May 7, 2013—An Evolving Conservation Model for Africa: Enterprise Investments for Livelihoods & Conservation
At the core of AWF's landscape model is a realization that conservation gains can be made when communities that live alongside wildlife are invested in saving the wildlife resource. This forms the premise of AWF's conservation enterprise program, where AWF facilitates business development by communities in partnership with the private sector. More than 65% of these businesses have focused on tourism enterprises whose success is tied to the preservation of local wildlife and habitat. The partnership deal is brokered by AWF, rooted on equitable revenue sharing between the private investor and the local community, an approach that incentivizes communities to protect local wildlife and habitat resources and disengage from incompatible land uses like slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal production and poaching.
In this presentation, the case of Satao Elerai Lodge in Kenya is described through detailed financial analysis. The $600,000 investment is a partnership between 250 households / community members and Satao Pvt (Ltd).
April 18, 2013—"Elephants in the Room": The Need to "Out" Conservation
Dr. Ogada talked about the challenges that "dog" African conservation and how they are perceived. He explored the origins of the sector in Kenya and look at how those origins have contributed to its current difficulties. Dr. Ogada discussed the colonial links of conservation structures and how these have persisted in conservation biology, practice, consumptive use of African wildlife, and how they are perpetuated by the media and funders of conservation. This includes the continuous foreign "hegemony" in African conservation study and practice and how the attitude of Africans perpetuates this.
April 4, 2013—WILD 10 - Bridging Wild Nature Conservation & Human Development Goals
Executive Committee Co-Chair Vance Martin presented the aims and projected outcomes of WILD10, to convene in Salamanca, Spain from October 4–10, 2013. The WWC is the world's longest-running international, public conservation program involving many thousands of people from over 100 nations since its founding in 1974. WILD10 will provide an actual and virtual global, interactive forum among political leaders, royalty, renowned scientists, NGO and business executives, and community and tribal leaders, as well as other government and NGO conservation and development professionals plus young professionals and youth, artists, photographers and writers, landowners, sportsmen, people of all faiths and more. The presentation centered on the formation of several new Coalitions driven by WILD10—on a new Nature Strategy for Sustainable Development, WILD Water, WILD Cities, CoalitionWILD and WildSpeak—designed to launch at WILD10 with an ongoing mission of capacity-building and strategic policymaking. Key to WILD10 success is bridging the international conservation and development professions and nowhere is this more important than in Africa. Africa-based models such as The Mali Elephants Project, KAZA, the Serengeti Legacy Ecosystem, and solutions to the escalating poaching crisis will be shared. After an initial presentation, Vance described the process of how to engage and utilize WILD10 and the Coalitions in an interactive dialogue with ABCG participants.
March 7, 2013—Painted Dog: Using Science to Conserve an Endangered Predator
Dr. Rasmussen's lecture delved into the unique ecology of this enigmatic canid including pivotal research understanding; and how by understanding the painted dog in a landscape dominated by negative attitude and misconceptions lead to changing attitudes of Ranchers and the general public. He discussed steps taken to transform the fortunes of the highly endangered painted dog from perceived pest into a valued animal both within the local community and nationally; and to the birth of Painted Dog Conservation that is a conservation model for Painted Dogs.
Accompanying material:
This presentation inclues a link to the audio-visual recording here; and
the multimedia pdf slideshow here.
March 5, 2013—Sustainable Pastoralism: Opportunities for nature conservation, rural and international development, and conflict resolution
Pastoralism is the most extended livelihoods in marginal lands, comprising Drylands, mountains and the world's cold areas. The relationship between healthy soils, biodiversity conservation and sustainable animal husbandry practices, invariably linked with adequate forms of governance on land use, has been well established both in developed and in developing economies. However, governments tend to ignore or negate this evidence and pastoralist lands are more prone to suffer from chronic insecurity and conflict problems (such as Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa or the Saharo-Sahelian region) or from food crises - the latter often related with hurdles to mobility. The WISP (World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism) programme of IUCN has reviewed the links between these factors and its consequences to facilitate global learning and better integrated understanding of pastoralist systems. Best practices have also been identified, such as allowing traditional activities in conservation areas or the establishment of Indigenous Communities Conserved Areas. The work done in networking with pastoralist collectives can also facilitate a fruitful dialogue at the local, national, regional and global level.
Find the audio-visual recording of the meeting here.
Download the summary WISP document here (Supporting Sustainable Pastoral Livelihoods - A Global Perspective on Minimum Standards and Good Practices).
Policy note: Sustainable pastoralism - moving forward with appropriate policies.
January 29, 2013—Assessing Mangrove Carbon Pools in the Zambezi Delta, Mozambique: A Pilot Baseline Assessment for REDD+ Reporting and Monitoring
Carl Trettin, Ph.D. discussed the establishment of a pilot Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mangrove project, as part of USAID/Mozambique's Climate Change Program. Mozambique has been identified as a country that is vulnerable to negative impacts from Climate Change, and one that also holds great potential to benefit from REDD+ carbon financing programs. Mozambique holds an estimated 291,146 to 368,000ha of mangrove, with approximately 28% occurring in the Zambezi delta.
The USFS is working with WWF, the University Eduardo Mondlane, and the Government of Mozambique, to build capacity and develop replicable methodologies for determination of the carbon stocks of mangrove forests and associated land uses in the Zambezi Delta region of Mozambique. This work will also be incorporated into the national REDD+ and MRV program and help to establish baselines for REDD+ or other climate change mitigation activities in mangroves.
Accompanying this persentation are the slides, audio-visual recording, and a recent workshop held in Maputo, Mozambique, 29th–31st October 2012, titled WIO-‐ Mangroves and Carbon Assessment Regional Workshop.
December 11, 2012—Timber Best Practice Guidelines for Protected Areas Management in Gabon
Caroline Winchester discussed the project she worked on and lessons learned with ANPN (L'Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux). Ms. Winchester assisted ANPN in the creation of best practice guidelines for timber operations conducted within the 5km buffer zones surrounding national parks.
To create these guidelines, Ms. Winchester synthesized Gabonese laws, stakeholder input, and twelve best management practice guidelines into one document. She then compared and altered the guidelines according to the realities of logging in Gabon by working extensively with Olam Timber Gabon and David Fournier, a USFS expert hired as a Technical Advisor to ANPN on buffer zone management. Upon the completion of the guidelines they will be utilized by ANPN to serve as the basis for a tool to rate timber companies' compliance with best management practices. The guidelines can be utilized by timber operators, auditors, and national park managers, and serve to ensure that the integrity of Gabon's national parks remains intact.
This task served to aid in the larger goal of establishing a system to protect Gabon's national parks from the recently expanding timber industry.
October 31, 2012 — An Innovative Approach for Community Based Natural Resources Management in the Kafue Ecosystem in Western Zambia
Patricia Mupeta-Muyamwa, The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Zambia community conservation program officer gave an overview of TNC's is engagement with the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), the community in the Mulobezi Game Management Area (GMA), and others to help address threats including expanding human settlements, high levels of poverty and unemployment, deforestation, watershed degradation, conversion of pristine lands to agriculture, illegal hunting and unmanaged fire. She described TNC's participatory approach to CBNRM in Mulobezi GMA; assisting ZAWA rehabilitate Park infrastructure; training, equipping and deploying game scouts; improving fire management and monitoring of fire and wildlife populations; and facilitating tourism investment. Muteta-Muyamwa's presentation addressed some of the issues around fire, the challenges of dealing with fire on a large scale in a remote and inaccessible landscape, and TNC's plans for managing fire.
October 18, 2012 — The Nexus of Biodiversity Conservation and Law Enforcement: The Case of Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape in DRC
Jef Dupain topic delved into the case of unsustainable bush meat hunting in the Congo Basin, and a general understanding that development of alternative livelihoods is needed to mitigate the impacts of unsustainable bush meat hunting and trade. For Central Africa, great apes and elephants are amongst the targeted species. The escalating illegal hunting and demise of key species' populations is an indication of conservation failing to meet its crucial goals.
October 4, 2012 — Integrating Traditional Knowledge into the PA Policies Process to Improve Conservation in Eastern DRC
Dominique Bikaba's persentation covered aspects of community forestry managment, land conflicts, alternative livelihood options particularly for former poachers, and indigenous leadership in conservation and institutions.
'Bikaba has found creative ways to conserve local and indigenous communities in the environment they inhabit. The two million trees he has grown have been used for cooking fires and school desks. Bikaba not only brings the forest to the community, but he shows that when it comes to peacemaking, a sustainable community is also important. He is "like a light in the village" amid the deadliest war in the world.'
—Enough Project
October 3, 2012 — Bioko Island: Where the Wild Things Are... for now
Dr. Shaya Honarvar is a biologist and a conservationist who has been working on Bioko Island since 2007 as the Research Coordinator for the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program. Honarvar's presentations highlighted the population dynamics and health assessment of leatherback sea turtles on Bioko Island, physiological and ecological aspects of gas exchange by sea turtle eggs, and involvement of local communities in wildlife conservation. She discussed primate research with graduate students at Drexel University on the impact of hunting on the primates of Bioko Island and the feeding ecology of drill and pennant's red colobus. Her recent work includes data collecting on the feeding ecology and behavior of drills through direct observation, and partnership building with local communities and government agencies.
—Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program
August 15, 2012 — Claudine Andre, Founder, Lola ya Bonobo
Protecting Bonobos—Rescue, Rehabilitation and Conservation Education in the DRCIn 1994 Claudine André created the association Friends of Animals in Congo, which later became Friends of Bonobos of Congo (les Amis des Bonobos du Congo - ABC) in 2002, when the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary was established (with 20 orphaned bonobos under their care).Lola ya Bonobo is the world's only bonobo sanctuary, and ABC is the only institution in the DRC that is officially authorized to receive bonobos confiscated by the Ministry of Environment or voluntarily turned over by their owners.Originally established to help provide refuge for bonobos rescued from the bushmeat and pet trades, ABC's programs have expanded in scope and scale over the years. Today ABC has an integrated bonobo conservation program that includes the rescue and rehabilitation of orphan bonobos at the sanctuary, environmental education activities in and around Kinshasa and within targeted bonobo habitat areas, as well as the world's first ever release of bonobos into the wild.
June 7, 2012 — Jefferson Hall,Agua Salud Project, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
The Myth and Reality of Ecosystem Services in Seasonal Tropical Froests: Lessons from the Agua Salud Project
Jefferson and his colleagues have been investigating the ecosystems services provided by tropical forests within the Panama Canal watershed and how they change with land use and climate change. His research involving developing hydrological models and land use is applicable across the tropics including African forests.Dr. Hall's research is grounded by the fact that, despite our best efforts, we continue to lose forest annually across the tropics. Human populations continue to grow in the tropics and around the world such that an ever growing population will be forced to rely on diminishing mature forests as well as planted and naturally regenerating secondary forests for these goods and services. Dr. Hall leads both the PRORENA (Native Species Reforestation) and Agua Salud Projects in Panama. He is involved in silviculture and forest management research in Central Africa and sits on the Advisory Board of the Environmental leadership Training Imitative (ELTI).
April 12, 2012 — Dario Merlo, Project Coordinator, Jane Goodall Institute, Community Centered Conservation Program
Ensuring the Survival of Great Apes in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dario Merlo's presentation provided a brief background on the Jane Goodall Institutes Community-Centered Conservation Programs in the DRC, and focused on the more recent efforts of facilitating the development of a Conservation Action Plan (CAP) for great apes in Eastern DRC. The CAP process brought together government and non-government organizations working on conservation and development to discuss the threats to chimpanzees and the Grauer's gorillas, and develop strategies to address them, so as to ensure their survival.
April 5, 2012 — Shivani Bhalla, Founder, Ewaso LionsSecuring a Future for Lions through Community Conservation in Northern KenyaWildlife biologist Shivani Bhalla, a Kenyan national, provided an overview on the Ewaso Lions Project she founded in northern Kenya. Ewaso Lions seeks to reduce the conflict between lions and humans and, thus, arrest the rapid decline of lion populations that have suffered a staggering population loss within the last 30 years. Her presentation gave a rare insight into lion conservation efforts within northern Kenya, including integrated cultural and ecological investigative methods; and participatory programs such as warrior watch and a 'Running for Lions' community marathon.
January 12, 2012 — Heidi Ruffler, Country Director, Equatorial Guinea, Conservation International
Equatorial Guinea's Economic Boom: Effects on Apes & Elephants
The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (EG) is a small country rich in biodiversity located in western Central Africa. It has been undergoing rapid economic growth since the discovery of offshore oil in the 1990s and according to the IMF and The Economist, experienced the highest GDP per capita increase globally between 2001 and 2010. Unfortunately, the benefits of this rapid economic growth have yet to be distributed widely. The EG government is now moving at a fast pace towards national development by 2020, focusing on economic diversification and provision of basic services - including water, electricity and roads - across the country. Much could be done, however, for this development to become more sustainable and move towards a green economy paradigm that benefits both wildlife and people in EG.
Until recently, very little was known about the status of wildlife in EG, although it was clear that changes brought about by the oil boom, such as increased commercial bushmeat hunting and rapid infrastructure development, would likely have long-term negative impacts. With partners from the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the EG government and the people of EG, CI recently completed the first nationwide census for apes and elephants in EG with funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, a private donor and with ongoing support from USAID/CARPE.
CI hopes that the dissemination of information gathered during this census will serve to guide development plans towards a green economy that benefits both wildlife and people, in part by highlighting the value of healthy ecosystems in providing ongoing ecosystem services for nutrition, building supplies, medicine and income. Join us to hear the preliminary results of our ape/elephant census and to find out what CI and partners are doing on several fronts to address the threats and needs faced by wildlife and people and to work towards a green economy in EG.
December 12, 2011 — Dr. Tim Tear, Director of Science, The Nature Conservancy-Africa Region
Using Return-on-Investment to Identify Conservation Priorities in Africa
September 29, 2011 — Dr. Laly Lichtenfeld, African People & Wildlife Fund, Tanzania
A 21st Century Approach to African Wildlife Conservation: Helping Africa's People Engage in the Conservation Arena
On 29 September 2011, ABCG held a brown bag presentation and discussion featuring Dr. Laly Lichtenfeld from the African People & Wildlife Fund and hosted by The Nature Conservancy. A co-founder of the African People & Wildlife Fund (APW), Dr. Lichtenfeld is helping to build the capacity of rural Africans to engage in environmental conservation and sustainable livelihood strategies that promote the dual objectives of biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. She presented examples from APW's programs in the Maasai Steppe of northern Tanzania including the unique Living Walls project, protecting livestock, saving lions.
May 6, 2011 — Dr. Bernard Kissui, African Wildlife Foundation, TanzaniaStatus and Conservation of the Lion Population in the Maasai Steppe, Northern TanzaniaDr. Bernard KissuiResearch Scientist, African Wildlife FoundationAfrican lions and their continued survival are among today's major international conservation issues. Scientists believe lion populations have declined from a high of 100,000 two decades ago to just 23,000 today. With intimate knowledge of the Maasai Steppe Heartland and its carnivores, AWF is overseeing extensive lion research, under the guidance of Dr. Bernard Kissui. His research focuses on the demography of lions and human-lion conflicts in and around Tarangire National Park. Dr. Kissui will discuss the causes of livestock predation by lions, including both human and ecological factors, and the drivers, impacts and solutions related to retaliatory lion killing. Conflict mitigation strategies include reinforcement of bomas, formation of village game scouts and more.
May 4, 2011 - Alastair McNeilage, Wildlife Conservation Society, UgandaWildlife Conservation and Economic Growth in Uganda Alastair McNeilageUganda Country Director, Wildlife Conservation SocietyThe Wildlife Conservation Society has been working to protect Uganda's rich biodiversity since 1957, and has been implementing the USAID-funded WILD program since 2007. WILD focuses on important landscapes for biodiversity in northern and western Uganda. The program works to strengthen the management of the protected areas that form the ecological core of these landscapes, while also promoting land use and livelihoods that support biodiversity conservation on surrounding land and in wildlife corridors. This presentation highlights the main achievements of the WILD program and lessons learned; and discusses future critical priorities to ensure that wildlife and biodiversity conservation continue to serve Uganda's sustainable economic growth. Threats to wildlife in Uganda include burgeoning human population and resultant encroachment, human-wildlife conflict, conflict over resource use rights. Identifying ways forward through promotion of sustainable livelihoods is critical, as is implementation of environmentally sensitive oil exploration and extraction from Uganda's newly-discovered oil reserves. The presentation focuses on how these threats and challenges can be addressed to ensure sustainable economic benefits of tourism and conservation for local communities and the national economy.
March 31, 2011 — Kame Westerman and Matthew Erdman, Blue Ventures, MadagascarExperiences from Coastal Madagascar: The Importance of Integrated Population, Health and Environment Programming in Achieving Conservation ResultsKame Westerman and Matthew ErdmanBlue Ventures Conservation, MadagascarBlue Ventures is an award-winning marine conservation organization dedicated to conservation, education and sustainable development in tropical coastal communities. Through its marine expeditions, volunteers from around the world join Blue Ventures on career breaks, student gap years and internships, working closely with our field research teams, in partnership with local communities. Blue Ventures has a team of dedicated researchers and volunteers who study all aspects of the marine ecosystem - from fish species and coral all the way through to local fishing techniques and ways of life. Kame Westerman and Matthew Erdman work with Blue Ventures Conservation in rural southwest Madagascar, coordinating the community-based marine conservation program and family planning/community health program respectively.
February 22, 2011 — Jean-Bernard Yarissem, WWF-CARPO, Central African RepublicConservation in the Central African Republic: Threats and SuccessesPresented by Jean-Bernard YarissemCountry Program Officer, World Wildlife Fund-Central African RepublicHome to an amazing amount of biodiversity, the forests of Central Africa's Congo Basin face threats from logging, commercial bushmeat hunting and increasing investment in large-scale extractive industries. WWF is working to halt the loss of forest and freshwater biodiversity by strengthening the network of protected areas and building conservation partnerships with governments and local people, enabling the sound use of natural resources and sustainable development. Jean-Bernard Yarissem provided an overview of WWF's Central African Republic Country Program, including national partners, challenges, key successes and a vision for the future.
January 14, 2011 — Heidi Ruffler, Conservation International, Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea: An Emerging Frontier of Conservation and Development Presented by Heidi RufflerCountry Director, Equatorial Guinea, Conservation InternationalThe Republic of Equatorial Guinea (EG) is only as big as the state of Maryland, but is home to the fourth highest primate species richness in all of Africa and a breathtaking array of biodiversity. With the discovery of offshore oil in the 1990s, EG has recently gone through incredibly rapid economic growth. In 2007, EG was estimated to be the third largest oil producer per capita, after Qatar and Kuwait.People in EG are culturally connected to the forest; with rural poverty widespread, many depend on forest ecosystem services such as bushmeat for nutrition and income. Changes brought about by the oil boom, such as increased commercial bushmeat hunting and rapid infrastructure development, are likely to have long-term negative impacts on EG's biodiversity. Find out what CI and partners are doing on several fronts to address the threats and needs faced by wildlife and people and to work towards a green economy in EG.


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'Step UP' 5K to benefit Down Syndrome Association
Citizen Staff Reports 10/09/12
The Down Syndrome Association of Greater Richmond will hold its sixth-annual Step UP for Down Syndrome 5K and Family Festival Saturday, Oct. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Short Pump Town Center. The annual fundraiser, which attracted more than 1,300 participants and raised more than $100,000 last year, features a 5K run/walk and a free family festival that celebrates the abilities and accomplishments of children, teens and adults with Down syndrome.
"This day is a celebration of all of the amazing individuals with Down syndrome in our community," said Allison Wixted, executive director of DSAGR. "The funds and awareness we raise directly impact these individuals and their families throughout Central Virginia."
The day's festivities include:
• a 5K Run/Walk (beginning at 8:30 a.m.);
• free family-friendly entertainment and activities;
• a "Superstars Fashion Show," featuring individuals with Down syndrome;
• live music by The Groove Motive;
• the Great DSAGR Pumpkin Patch;
• exhibitor/advocacy displays;
• a Down Syndrome Superstars Ceremony, honoring those with Down syndrome in attendance (11:30 a.m.).
Register to run, walk or volunteer at http://www.dsagr.com before noon on Oct. 10 or at the event on Oct. 13 beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Holman student named Miss Va. Coed Junior Teen
Holman Middle School student Victoria Nguyen recently was named Miss Virginia American Coed Junior Teen after competing in the Miss Virginia American Coed pageant in Williamsburg. She was the youngest competitor in her division. Nguyen now will advance to represent Virginia at the 2015 Miss American Junior Teen Pageant at Walt Disney World in Florida in November. > Read more.
Companion Extraordinaire to honor veterans May 14
Companion Extraordinaire Home Care and Skilled Services will be honoring veterans and current military members May 14 at 11 a.m. The event will take place at 5311 Lakeside Avenue.
Companion Extraordinaire dedicated a hall in its new Lakeside office as a "Wall of Honor" and will be presenting 13 military service men and women with certificates as well as placing their service photos on the wall.
> Read more.
Henrico student among 3 vying for national $10,000 scholarship
Public vote open through Friday to select winner
Citizen Staff Reports
Henrico resident Haley Malloy is one of three national finalists for a $10,000 scholarship, whose winner will be determined by the vote of the public.
Malloy is a finalist for The Goddard School Anthony A. Martino Scholarship, which is open annually to any high school junior or senior who graduated from a Goddard School pre-kindergarten or kindergarten program. Applicants are evaluated based upon the work ethic and perseverance they have demonstrated – two key characteristics of Martino, the founder of the Goddard School franchise system. > Read more.
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Weekend Top 10
Music lovers unite! There are several great concerts this weekend beginning with Innsbrook After Hours who will be kicking off their 30th season with Foreigner, Lee Brice, and Rusted Root & The Wailers. The Richmond Women's Chorus will present "Let Freedom Sing" at the Henrico Theatre tonight; The Taters will perform tomorrow at The Tin Pan; and the Richmond Choral Society will present "Sentimental Journey III" on Sunday at the Henrico Theatre. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.
More than monkey business
Disneynature's 'Monkey Kingdom' is its strongest yet
"Did you know monkeys could swim?" asks Tina Fey in Monkey Kingdom. While she's asking, a toque macaque (a two foot-long monkey with red-white fur and great hair) breast-strokes under the surface of a pond, yanking out lily pad flowers by her teeth and dragging them ashore to munch later.
Turns out monkeys can swim. And slide down telephone poles. And do the thing from Flashdance where you bring down a cascade of water on your head and shake it off in slow-motion.
All will happen in Monkey Kingdom, the eighth film in nine years from Disneynature, Disney's wildlife documentary outlet. > Read more.
Weekend Top 10
Relax this holiday weekend with Fridays Uncorked at Southern Season – taste wines from the Roman Empire! Or at James River Cellars who is hosting "Experience Virginia" – sample Virginia wine, beer, cider and mead. And what goes better with wine than strawberries – an annual tradition in Varina, the Gallmeyer Farms' Strawberry Fields Festival is tomorrow. Other fun happenings this weekend include: "A Little Princess" at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen; weekly dance at American Legion Post 125; and National Theatre Live's "Man and Superman" at the University of Richmond. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.
Henrico student finishes 7th in Scripps National Spelling Bee
Business donates over-stove fire extinguishers to Henrico Div. of Fire
Business in brief
Henrico Police turn on the 'Summer Heat'
United Way program nets Henrico residents $438k in refunds
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Print Edition
May. 21, 2015Click here to read the print edition.
Weekend Top 10
More than monkey business
Weekend Top 10
CAT Theatre announces 2015-16 schedule, new partnership
Weekend Top 10
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Obituary – Howard Luck
Obituary – Delores Ann "Sally" Crigger
Obituary – Ruth Bacon Rogers
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Holman student named Miss Va. Coed Junior Teen
Companion Extraordinaire to honor veterans May 14
Henrico student among 3 vying for national $10,000 scholarship
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All hail to mothers and the hardest job of all
Cabin fever cures - and blessings
Getting schooled
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Athlete of the Week – May 29: Patrick Hulihan
Steward School senior named Gatorade Virginia Baseball Player of the Year
Athlete of the Week – May 22: John Woolley
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CalendarThe sixth annual Connects Federal Credit Union Corporate 4-Miler will start at 7 p.m. in Innsbrook, 5000 Dominion Blvd. The post-race celebration offers participants food, drinks, a DJ and other… Full text