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(1) Providing benefits to the citizens of the State of West Virginia by supporting the public policy agenda as articulated by state policymakers;
(2) Assuring fiscal responsibility by making the best use of scarce resources;
(3) Promoting fairness, accountability, credibility, transparency and a systematic approach to progress (FACTS) in personnel decision-making;
(4) Reducing, or, wherever possible, eliminating arbitrary and capricious decisions affecting employees of higher education organizations as defined in section two, article nine-a of this chapter;
(5) Creating a stable, self-regulating human resources system capable of evolving to meet changing needs;
(6) Providing for institutional flexibility with meaningful accountability;
(7) Adhering to federal and state laws;
(8) Adhering to duly promulgated and adopted rules; and
(9) Implementing best practices throughout the state higher education system.
(b) To accomplish these goals, the Legislature encourages organizations to pursue a human resources strategy which provides monetary and nonmonetary returns to employees in exchange for their time, talents and efforts to meet articulated goals, objectives and priorities of the state, the commission and council, and the organization. The system should maximize the recruitment, motivation and retention of highly qualified employees, ensure satisfaction and engagement of employees with their jobs, ensure job performance and achieve desired results.
(a) "Benefits" means programs that an employer uses to supplement the cash compensation of employees and includes health and welfare plans, retirement plans, pay for time not worked and other employee perquisites.
(b) "Compensation" means cash provided by an employer to an employee for services rendered.
(c) "Compensatory time" and "compensatory time off" mean hours during which the employee is not working, which are not counted as hours worked during the applicable work week or other work period for purposes of overtime compensation and for which the employee is compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay.
(d) "Employee classification" or "employee class" means those employees designated as classified employees; nonclassified employees, including presidents, chief executives and top level administrators and faculty as these terms are defined in this article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter.
(e) "Health and welfare benefit plan" means an arrangement which provides any of the following: Medical, dental, visual, psychiatric or long-term health care, life insurance, accidental death or dismemberment benefits, disability benefits or comparable benefits.
(f) "Relative market equity" means the relative market status of each employee classification at an organization falls within five percent of all other employee classifications within the organization for the preceding three-year period.
(g) "Relative market status" means the calculated relationship between the average salary of each employee classification and its peer group.
(1) Who is classified and whose employment, if continued, accumulates to a minimum total of one thousand forty hours during a calendar year and extends over at least nine months of a calendar year; or
(2) Who is transferred involuntarily to a position in nonclassified status for which he or she did not apply. Any classified employee involuntarily transferred to a position in nonclassified status may exercise the rights set out in this section only for positions equivalent to or lower than the last job class the employee held.
(b) All decisions by an organization or its agents concerning reductions in workforce of full-time classified employees, whether by temporary furlough or permanent termination, shall be made in accordance with this section.
(1) For layoffs by classification for reason of lack of funds or work, or abolition of position or material changes in duties or organization and for recall of employees laid off, consideration shall be given to an employee's seniority as measured by permanent employment in the service of the state system of higher education. (2) If the organization desires to lay off a more senior employee, it shall demonstrate that the senior employee cannot perform any other job duties held by less senior employees of that organization in the same job class or any other equivalent or lower job class for which the senior employee is qualified. If an employee refuses to accept a position in a lower job class, the employee retains all rights of recall provided in this section.
(3) If two or more employees accumulate identical seniority, the priority is determined by a random selection system established by the employees and approved by the organization.
(c) Each employee laid off during a furlough or reduction in workforce is placed upon a preferred recall list and is recalled to employment by the organization on the basis of seniority.
(1) An employee's listing with an organization remains active for a period of one calendar year from the date of termination or furlough or from the date of the most recent renewal. If an employee fails to renew the listing with the organization, the employee's name may be removed from the list.
(2) An employee placed upon the preferred recall list shall be recalled to any position opening by the organization within the classifications in which the employee had previously been employed or to any lateral position for which the employee is qualified.
(3) An employee on the preferred recall list does not forfeit the right to recall by the organization if compelling reasons require the employee to refuse an offer of reemployment by the organization.
(d) The organization shall notify all employees maintaining active listings on the preferred recall list of all position openings that periodically exist.
(1) The notice shall be sent by certified mail to the last known address of the employee. It is the duty of each employee listed to notify the organization of any change in address and to keep the listing with the organization current.
(2) A position opening may not be filled by the organization, whether temporary or permanent, until all employees on the preferred recall list have been properly notified of existing vacancies and have been given an opportunity to accept reemployment.
(e) A nonexempt classified employee is one to whom the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, apply. A nonexempt classified employee, who applies and meets the minimum qualifications for a nonexempt job opening at the organization where currently employed, whether the job is a lateral transfer or a promotion, shall be transferred or promoted before a new person is hired.
(1) This subsection does not apply if the hiring is affected by mandates in affirmative action plans or the requirements of Public Law 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(2) This subsection applies to any nonexempt classified employee, including one who has not accumulated a minimum total of one thousand forty hours during the calendar year and one whose contract does not extend over at least nine months of a calendar year.
(3) If more than one qualified, nonexempt classified employee applies, the best-qualified nonexempt classified employee is awarded the position. In instances where the classified employees are equally qualified, the nonexempt classified employee with the greatest amount of continuous seniority at that organization is awarded the position.
(f) In addition to any other information required, applications for employment by personnel governed by this section shall include each applicant's social security number.
(g) Regardless of the level of seniority for an employee, for the purposes of this section in the case of a reduction in force:
(1) An employee at an organization under the jurisdiction of the council may not displace an employee of an organization under the jurisdiction of the commission.
(2) An employee at an organization under the jurisdiction of the commission may not displace an employee of an organization under the jurisdiction of the council.
(3) An employee performing a dual service for a formerly administratively linked community and technical college and a former sponsoring institution under the jurisdiction of the commission is an employee of the institution under the jurisdiction of the commission if that institution receives a fee from the community and technical college for the service performed by the employee.
(b) An organization may make additional periodic deductions from the salary payments due employees in the amount they are required to contribute for any supplemental health and welfare plan.
(b) The commission, on behalf of the council, governing boards and itself, shall contract for a retirement plan for their employees, to be known as the "Higher Education Retirement Plan". The commission, council and governing boards shall make periodic deductions from the salary payments due employees in the amount they are required to contribute to the Higher Education Retirement Plan, which deductions shall be six percent.
(c) The commission, council and governing boards may contract for supplemental retirement plans for any or all of their employees to supplement the benefits employees otherwise receive. The commission, council and governing boards may make additional periodic deductions from the salary payments due the employees in the amount they are required to contribute for the supplemental retirement plan.
(d) An organization, by way of additional compensation to their employees, shall pay an amount, which, at a minimum, equals the contributions of the employees into the higher education retirement plan from funds appropriated to the commission, council or governing board for personal services.
(e) As part of an overall compensation plan, the commission, council or a governing board, each at its sole discretion, may increase its contributions to any employee retirement plan to an amount that exceeds the contributions of employees.
(f) Each participating employee has a full and immediate vested interest in the retirement and death benefits accrued from all the moneys paid into the Higher Education Retirement Plan or a supplemental retirement plan for his or her benefit. Upon proper requisition of a governing board, the commission or council, the Auditor periodically shall issue a warrant, payable as specified in the requisition, for the total contributions so withheld from the salaries of all participating employees and for the matching funds of the commission, council or governing board.
(g) Any person whose employment commences on or after July 1, 1991, and who is eligible to participate in the Higher Education Retirement Plan, shall participate in that plan and is not eligible to participate in any other state retirement system: Provided, That the foregoing provision does not apply to a person designated as a 21st Century Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article three, chapter eighteen-a of this code. The additional retirement plan contracted for by the governing boards prior to July 1, 1991, remains in effect unless changed by the commission. Nothing in this section considers employees of the council or governing boards as employees of the commission, nor is the commission responsible or liable for retirement benefits contracted by, or on behalf of, the council or governing boards.
The rules shall encourage continuing education and staff development and shall require that employees be selected on a nonpartisan basis using fair and meaningful criteria which afford all employees opportunities to enhance their skills. These rules also may include reasonable provisions for the continuation or return of any faculty or classified employee receiving the benefits of the education or training, or for reimbursement by the state for expenditures incurred on behalf of the faculty member or classified employee.
(b) Subject to legislative appropriation therefor, the commission and council shall provide additional, regular, training and professional development for employees engaged in human resources-related activities at all organizations. The training and professional development:
(1) Shall be mandatory with appropriate consideration given to limiting travel demands on employees; and
(2) Shall be in addition to and may not supplant the training and professional development regularly provided to any class of employees by each organization prior to the effective date of this section.
(b) Each governing board, with the advice and assistance of the staff councils and other groups representing classified employees, shall promulgate and adopt a rule in accordance with section six, article one of this chapter that discourages temporary, nonemergency, institutionally-imposed changes in an employee's work schedule; that maintains reasonable continuity in working schedules and conditions for employees; and that requires institutions to consider feasible and innovative ways to use the institution's classified employees most efficiently. These innovations may include, but are not limited to, flexibility in employee scheduling, job-sharing and four-day work weeks.
For the fiscal years commencing on July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, the commission and council jointly shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability once during each six-month period on their progress in designing, developing, implementing and administering the personnel classification and compensation system established by this article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter. The initial report is due December 1, 2011, and shall include, but is not limited to, the following information:
(1) A summary of findings generated by the human resources review conducted pursuant to section nine of this article;
(2) Documentation of professional staffing changes made in compliance with section two-a, article four of this chapter;
(3) A systematic plan, including a time line, for designing, developing, and implementing the classification and compensation system contained in this article and articles eight, nine and nine- a of this chapter;
(4) An explanation of the research design and time line for completing studies identified in section sixteen of this article;
(5) An assessment of progress made by the governing boards toward achieving full funding of the temporary classified employees' salary schedule pursuant to section three, article nine of this chapter;
(6) Detailed data disaggregated by organization and employee category or classification, comparing funding for salaries of faculty, classified employees and nonclassified employees as a percentage of the average funding for each of these classes or categories of employees among the organization's peers, in regional or national markets, as appropriate, and among similar organizations within the state systems of public higher education;
(7) Other data requested by the Legislature or considered appropriate by the commission or council.
(b) Annual personnel reports. --
(1) No later than December 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the commission and council shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability addressing the following issues:
(A) Progress made by organizations toward achieving full funding of the temporary classified employees' salary schedule pursuant to section three, article nine of this chapter; and
(B) Detailed data disaggregated by organization and employee category or classification, comparing funding for salaries of faculty, classified employees and nonclassified employees as a percentage of the average funding for each of these classes or categories of employees among the organization's peers, in the state, region or national markets, as appropriate, and among similar organizations within the state systems of public higher education.
(2) The commission and council shall prepare a human resources report card summarizing the performance of organizations on key human resources measures. The report card shall be presented to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability no later than December 1, 2012, and annually thereafter, and shall be made available to the general public. At a minimum, the human resources report card shall contain the following data:
(A) Human resources department metrics by organization:
(i) Number of human resources staff;
(ii) Ratio of human resources staff to total number of full- time equivalent employees;
(iii) Percentage of human resources staff functioning in supervisory roles and percentage in administrative roles;
(iv) Number of positions reporting to the head of human resources;
(v) Areas of human resources functions outsourced to external entities;
(vi) Total expenses per full-time equivalent employee;
(vii) Tuition revenue per full-time equivalent employee.
(B) Human resources expense data:
(i) Ratio of human resources expenses to operating expenses;
(ii) Ratio of human resources expenses to number of full-time equivalent employees; and
(iii) Total human resources expense per organization employee.
(C) Compensation data:
(i) Average amount of annual salary increase per full-time equivalent organization employee;
(ii) Total amount of organization employee salaries as a percent of operating expenses;
(iii) Total amount of organization employee benefit costs as a percent of cash compensation.
(D) System metrics:
(i) Comparisons of faculty salaries at each organization to market averages;
(ii) Comparisons of classified and nonclassified employee salaries at each organization to current market averages;
(E) An account of the total amount, type of training or professional development provided, the number of employees who participated and the overall cost of the training and professional development provided to employees pursuant to section six of this article; and
(F) Other measures the commission or council considers appropriate to assist policymakers in evaluating the degree of success in implementing best human resources practices by higher education organizations.
(c) Job classification system report. --
By July 1, 2014, and at least once within each five-year period thereafter, the commission and council jointly shall review the effectiveness of the system for classifying jobs and submit an in-depth report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability. The report shall include, but is not limited to, findings, recommendations and supporting documentation regarding the following job classification issues:
(A) The effectiveness of the point factor methodology and a determination of whether it should be maintained; and
(B) The status of the job evaluation plan, including the factors used to classify jobs or their relative values, and a determination of whether the plan should be adjusted.
(d) It is the responsibility of the head of human resources for each organization to prepare and submit to the president or chief executive officer all human resources data requested by the commission and council. The president or executive officer of each organization shall submit the requested data at times established by the commission and council.
(e) In meeting reporting requirements established by this article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter:
(1) The commission and council shall use the most recent data available and, as appropriate, shall benchmark it against national and regional markets or peer data; and
(2) With the exception of the semiannual implementation reports, the annual human resources report card and any other report designated as due no later than a date certain, the commission and council may combine two or more personnel reports if the dates on which they are due to the Legislature fall within a sixty-day period.
(b) Following completion of the initial human resources review, the commission and council jointly shall conduct a systematic human resources review of each organization at least once within each five-year period.
(1) The review shall focus on correcting areas of deficiency identified by previous reviews, on compliance with statutory mandates contained in this article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter and on adherence to personnel rules of the commission and council.
(2) In the absence of special circumstances, the commission and council shall provide organizations with reasonable notice prior to conducting a human resources review and shall identify the subjects to be examined in the review.
(1) The time is awarded pursuant to a written agreement between the employer and the employee arrived at before the work is performed. A written agreement may be modified at the request of the employer or employee, but under no circumstances may changes in the agreement deny an employee compensatory time already acquired;
(2) The time is recorded in the employer's record of hours worked; and
(3) The employee has not accrued compensatory time in excess of the prescribed limits.
(b) An employee may accrue up to four hundred eighty hours of compensatory time if the employee's work is a public safety activity, an emergency response activity or a seasonal activity. An employee engaged in other work may accrue up to two hundred forty hours of compensatory time. An employee who has accrued four hundred eighty or two hundred forty hours of compensatory time, as the case may be, shall be paid overtime compensation for additional hours of work. If compensation is paid to an employee for accrued compensatory time, the compensation shall be paid at the regular rate earned by the employee at the time the employee received the payment.
(c) If employment is terminated, an employee who has accrued compensatory time pursuant to this section, shall be paid for the unused compensatory time at a rate of compensation not less than the higher amount calculated using one of the following formulas:
(1) The average regular rate received by the employee during the first three years of the employee's employment; or
(2) The final regular rate received by the employee.
(d) An employee who has accrued compensatory time as authorized by this section, and who has requested the use of compensatory time, shall be permitted by the employer to use this time within a reasonable period after making the request if the use of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operation of the employing agency. Compensatory time must be used within one year from the time it is accrued.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, by July 1, 2015, the percentage of personnel placed in the category of nonclassified at a higher education organization may not exceed twenty percent of the total number of classified and nonclassified employees of that organization as those terms are defined in section two, article nine-a of this chapter and who are eligible for membership in a state retirement system of the State of West Virginia or other retirement plan authorized by the state.
A higher education organization which has more than twenty percent of its employees placed in the nonclassified category as defined by this subsection on July 1, 2011, shall reduce the number of nonclassified employees to no more than twenty-five percent by July 1, 2013, and to no more than twenty percent by July 1, 2015, except as set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(b) For the purpose of determining the ratio of nonclassified employees pursuant to this section, the following conditions apply:
(1) Organizations shall count faculty or classified employees, respectively, who retain the right to return to faculty or classified employee positions, in the employee category they are serving in at the time of reporting as required by subsections (a) and (b), section eight of this article. Such employees will be counted in their original category at such time as they exercise their return rights.
(2) Athletic coaches are excluded from calculation of the ratio. The commission and the council shall include consideration of this employee category in each review required by section nine of this article and shall monitor organizations' use of this category and include this information in the reports required by subsections (a) and (b), section eight of this article.
(c) An organization may place up to twenty-five percent of the total number of classified and nonclassified employees of that organization as defined by this section in the nonclassified category under the following conditions:
(1) The governing board of an institution votes to approve any percentage or fraction of a percentage number above twenty percent and seeks and receives the approval of the commission or council, as appropriate, before increasing the total above twenty percent.
(A) The commission and council each shall approve or disapprove the increase and shall include the vote, as well as details of the position and justification for placing the position in the nonclassified category, in its minute record.
(B) The number of nonclassified personnel may not be increased above twenty percent unless the increase is approved by both the commission and the council.
(2) Powers and duties of commission and council regarding nonclassified staff ratios. -
(A) It is the duty of the commission and council jointly to establish criteria for the purpose of making decisions on approving or disapproving requests by organizations to exceed the twenty percent limit for personnel placed in the nonclassified category;
(B) The commission and council shall provide technical assistance to organizations under their respective jurisdictions in collecting and interpreting data to ensure that they fulfill the requirements established by this section. Consideration of these issues shall be made part of each review required by section nine of this article and information from the review included in the reports required by subsections (a) and (b), section eight of this article;
(C) The chancellors shall monitor the progress of the organizations in meeting the deadlines established in this section and shall report periodically to the council and commission. The commission and council shall make a preliminary compliance report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability by September 1, 2013, and a final report on organization compliance to that body by September 1, 2015.
(D) Subject to a joint recommendation by the commission and the council and subsequent affirmative action by the Legislature to extend the authority beyond the specified date of termination, the authority of an organization to place more than twenty percent of its personnel in the nonclassified category pursuant to this section expires on July 1, 2016.
(d) The current annual salary of a nonclassified employee may not be reduced if his or her position is redefined as a classified position solely to meet the requirements of this section. If such a nonclassified employee is reclassified, his or her salary does not constitute evidence of inequitable compensation in comparison to other employees in the same paygrade.
(e) For the purposes of this section only the commission and council are not considered higher education organizations.
(1) A classified or nonclassified employee who is employed by a higher education governing board, by the commission or by the council; or
(2) A faculty member, as defined in section one, article eight of this chapter, who is eligible to accrue sick leave.
(b) An employee may donate sick and annual leave to a leave bank established and operated in accordance with subsection (d) of this section or directly to another employee in accordance with subsection (e) of this section. No employee may be compelled to donate sick or annual leave. Any leave donated by an employee pursuant to this section shall be used only for the purpose of catastrophic illness or injury as defined in subsection (c) of this section and shall reduce, to the extent of such donation, the number of days of annual or sick leave to which the employee is entitled.
(c) For the purpose of this section, a catastrophic illness or injury is one that is expected to incapacitate the employee and create a financial hardship because the employee has exhausted all sick and annual leave and other paid time off. Catastrophic illness or injury also includes an incapacitated immediate family member as defined by a governing board, the commission or the council, as appropriate, if this results in the employee being required to take time off from work for an extended period of time to care for the family member and if the employee has exhausted all sick and annual leave and other paid time off.
(d) A leave bank or banks may be established at each state institution of higher education, the commission or the council to which employees may donate either sick or annual leave. The bank or banks may be established jointly by the policy commission and the governing boards or may be established for the commission, the council, and each of the governing boards. Sick or annual leave may be deposited in the leave bank, and shall be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the depositing employee.
Donated leave may be withdrawn by any employee experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury when the following conditions are met:
(1) The president of the institution or the chancellor of the commission or the council, as appropriate, verifies that the employee is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or injury; and
(2) The president of the institution or a chancellor, as appropriate, approves the withdrawal and provides written notice to the personnel office.
The withdrawal shall be reflected as a day-for-day addition to the leave balance of the withdrawing employee.
(e) Sick or annual leave may be donated to an employee experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury. The leave shall be donated at the request of the employee after appropriate verification that the employee is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or injury as determined by the president of the institution or the appropriate chancellor. When transfer of sick or annual leave is approved by the president of the institution or the appropriate chancellor, any employee may donate sick or annual leave in one-day increments by providing written notice to the personnel office. Donations shall be reflected as a day-for-day deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the donating employee. An employee receiving the donated sick or annual leave shall have any time which is donated credited to his or her account in one-day increments and reflected as a day-for-day addition to the leave balance of the receiving employee.
(f) Use of donated credits may not exceed a maximum of twelve continuous calendar months for any one catastrophic illness or injury.
(1) The total amount of sick or annual leave withdrawn or received may not exceed an amount sufficient to ensure the continuance of regular compensation and may not be used to extend insurance coverage pursuant to section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code.
(2) An employee withdrawing or receiving donations of sick or annual leave pursuant to this section shall use any leave personally accrued on a monthly basis prior to receiving additional donated sick or annual leave.
(g) Donated sick or annual leave deposited in an institutional leave bank or transferred under subsection (d) of this section may be inter-institutional in accordance with the policies of the appropriate governing board. Each institution, the commission or the council is responsible for the administration of the sick or annual leave deposits, withdrawals and transfers of its employees. Rules implementing the provisions of this section may be adopted jointly or separately by the governing boards, the commission or the council in accordance with section six, article one of this chapter and, in the case of the commission and council, in accordance with article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(1) Developing a fair and rational policy based upon best human resources practices for covering reductions in force, furloughs and other issues relating to seniority including determining how employees shall be treated whose salaries are derived from funds other than state appropriations;
(2) Determining the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the internal preferences for hiring, promoting and transferring classified employees;
(3) Collecting and analyzing data and developing recommendations on the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing certain functions at the organization level. The data shall include, but are not limited to, the following items:
(A) A current database of outsourcing practices followed by each organization including procedures or rules developed to inform policy decisions;
(B) The total number, disaggregated by organization, of positions or services being outsourced or filled by temporary employees;
(C) The amount of actual cost savings, if any, that are realized or may be realized as a direct result of organizations' outsourcing decisions;
(4) Recommending a rational, uniform policy to determine the status of employees whose positions are funded, in whole or in part, by an external grant or contract from a federal, state or local government or a private entity.
(b) The commission and council shall complete the work and
report their findings, conclusions and recommendations, together
with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate the
recommendations, to the Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability no later than January 1, 2012.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2015 Regular Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.


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"For the A/W11 issue of Another Man, we wanted to put our modern gentleman into a nighttime world. A world where he could be free from the restraints and morals of the day and express his secret desires. We were inspired by the old entertainment magazine After Dark – this become our title for the issue, and its vision of glamour and nightlife our focus. There is definitely a more sexual charge coursing through this issue: from the fetishistic images of Robert Mapplethorpe and Count Zichy to femme fatales like Chloë Sevigny in her opulent centrefold and the siren-like women in the David Lynch feature. There is an air of danger and excitement as well: leather and erotica come together in the Gentleman's Digest piece Objects of Desire; debauchery runs wild in our peek at Rick Owens' Paris nightclub Spotlight; and deadly icons like Helmut Berger and Alain Delon come alive in Tim Blanks's essay. Our cover star Michael Pitt embodies all the After Dark qualities we are fascinated by: he is mysterious, adventurous and always elegant – it's a devastating combination." Ben Cobb, editor of Another Man, on the latest issue.
Every edition of Another Man is created with an overarching theme, and this season the erotic, the sumptuous, the mysterious and the decadent all came together to fully emulate both the spirit of After Dark, and the undercurrent of glamour and eroticism that was shot through the A/W11 Menswear collections. Here, Senior Fashion Editors Bryan McMahon and Sofia de Romarte selected their favourite images from the shoots, and AnOther discussed inspirations and their realisation with stylist Alister Mackie, a key protagonist in sculpting the overall aesthetic of the issue.
For the sumptuous centerfold, inspired by 1920s erotic postcards and 1970s erotic films, Mackie turned actress Chloë Sevigny into a raven-haired screen siren, draped in fur, crowned with a diadem. A world away from the sunshine filled Lyndsay Wixon story from Another Man 12, Sevigny instead exudes a quiet mystique, sensual and self-possessed amid a backdrop of tapestry and velvet. Contrarily, in a shoot with Hedi Slimane, Mackie exchanged women for men, velvet for tweed, tiaras for specially commissioned masks fashioned from leather, chains and twine. For Mackie, the starting point for the story was a tweed Lanvin suit. "In the combination of a humble, homespun fabric in a superlatively glamorous cut, so reminiscent of Bowie, we found a tangible representation of the story's essential themes of glamour, fetishistic savagery and nature itself."
Moving away from overall themes, Mackie's final story, Any Day Now, is a narrative touched by a veritable maelstrom of different inspirations. Working with photographer Alasdair McLellan, American yearbook photos, actor Helmut Berger and 70s footballers all came together in a character Mackie described as "a glam rock fan growing up in the provinces', who moves from wool polonecks and a mullet to reclining, legs akimbo, in one of Gary Glitter's original stage costumes. Lurex, fur, sequins, leather underwear, military caps, an iridescent homage to Pierre and Giles...all rub shoulders in this glittering visual feast, and rightly so. As Mackie says, 'there was a sense of fun inherent in the original After Dark - expressing that enjoyment was the entire point of this story."
Another Man, Issue 13 is out now.
Text by Tish Wrigley

subset: commoncrawl


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The 1.6 update for Minecraft--dubbed "Horse Update"--will launch July 1, Mojang announced today.
As its name suggests, Horse Update brings horses to the world of Minecraft, as well as donkeys and mules. The update also adds horse armor, hay bales, blocks of coal, and carpets, among other new game elements
The Horse Update will also fix a number of Minecraft bugs, including an issue that kept players from hitting mobs while jumping on horses.
For more, check out the full 1.6 pre-release notes on Mojang's website.
Yesterday, Minecraft for PC/Mac/Linux crossed 11 million in life-to-date sales. A new version of the game is currently in development for Xbox One.


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LINCOLN, Ala. (May 4, 2014) – Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) rookie Ryan Reed led the opening 29 laps of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Talladega Superspeedway. After a career best qualifying effort of fourth, the American Diabetes Association Drive to Stop DiabetesSM presented by Lilly Diabetes Ford Mustang had a strong start to the race before a mid-race accident halted the effort, relegating the team to 24th.
"The guys gave me a fast Ford Mustang," Reed said. "I hate it for my guys because I felt like we put ourselves in contention and led a lot. We got up front and led some of the race and knew we had a fast race car and were just trying to stay out of trouble."
Friday's three-round qualifying session netted the team its best start of the season and Reed's career-best start, lining up fourth.
At the drop of the green flag on Saturday afternoon, Reed wheeled his No. 16 Ford Mustang to the front of the pack. The Bakersfield, California native led the opening 29 laps of the race, the first laps led in his NNS career.
Crew Chief Seth Barbour called his driver down pit road for the first time of the day on Lap 30. The team opted for four tires and fuel. Several teams decided to take two tires during the opening round of pit stops, which dropped the No. 16 back to ninth.
Reed tried to climb his way back through the pack during the next run. Contact resulting from a Lap 44 caution brought the No. 16 Ford Mustang back down pit road for right side tires and to assess the damage.
The 20-year-old driver restarted 24th on Lap 49. On Lap 62, the No. 16 was collected in a major accident, bringing the car behind the wall for repairs. The crew worked fast to fix the damage, sending Reed back onto the track in 28th, nine laps down to the leaders.
The team completed the remainder of the laps, gaining four positions, crossing the finish line in 24th.
"These last few weeks we've been building momentum," said Reed. "We may not have had top-fives to show for it, but we know the gains we're making and we know we're getting better each week. I'm not worried about it a bit with our speed. That's Talladega. You can't over-think it too much. You just have to take it and move on and go to Iowa."


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Hold down Control (PC) or Command (Mac) key + mouseclick to select more than one option
|Avg. Dinner Entrée
|Greater than $25
|$18.01 - $25
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|$7.01 - $12
|Less than $7
Posted by Mike Musselman on 06/27/2007
I've gotten food from here at least ten times now and have not once had a bad meal. The food is great value and they have something for everyone. Very friendly staff and quick delivery. Highly Recommended by me and all of my friends.
Posted by T.R. on 05/30/2007
This place is great! They have a huge menu and almost everything is delicious. We live close by there and sometimes just have them deliver the deliciousness to us. The Gyros, ribs, gnocci carbonera, and thin-crust pizza are tremendoous! and the homade gelato is stupendous! My wife gets the whole weat options on her piazza crust,....the stuffed crust pizza is too doughy for our liking..The place is great and has a carry out side for a quick scoop or slice. Its a good place to bring a large group and have everyone be happy, except that one jerk that somehow goes out with you guys and you dont know why..they will say that there wasnt that great and then talk of a better place and make it about them.


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Thin Ice Movie Review
Movies about the workplace don't tend to pick up much traction at the multiplexes, a destination most people flock to in order to flee their jobs. But that never held back the Sprecher sisters, Jill and Karen (Clockwatchers, 13 Conversations About One Thing), from mining combo exuberant mirth and malevolence out of office drudgery.
Directed by Jill Sprecher and co-written with sister Karen, Thin Ice is their latest venture into a daffy when not devilish dissection of the human rat race. Set in the frigid backwoods of Kenosha, Wisconsin, this seemingly incongruous bible belt noir stars Greg Kinnear as Mickey, a cynical insurance agent hustler presiding over a seedy office with little business. But convinced that he's perfected the art of seducing if not conning prospective customers into buying whatever need he might be selling of suspect value, Mickey cruises hotels on the prowl for gullible guests.
Unfortunately for Mickey, he may not be such a top notch scoundrel as he would like to believe. An inebriated woman he targets at a hotel bar later relieves him of all his own assets instead. And Mickey's fed up wife (Lea Thompson) is on to him and a few of his serial infidelities, and has tossed him out.
But good fortune seems to accidentally come his way, when Mickey is summoned to the farm of Gorvy Hauer (Alan Arkin). An eccentric and presumably senile immigrant, Gorvy is sized by Mickey as a confused old man who can be conned into signing up for anything. Including a scheme to bilk Gorvy out of enormous proceeds from selling his priceless antique violin to an appraiser (Bob Balaban) who stops by.
But problematic events ensue when a deranged ex-con (Billy Crudup) turned locksmith also visits the farm, to install an alarm system. Leading to an unscheduled, downward spiral of deception, convoluted crimes and hasty coverups.
Originally titled The Convincer - but probably more appropriately switched to the exceedingly apt notion of a guy on Thin Ice - the story sets just the precise tone, balanced between comical antics and murkier surprises. And though a bit on the lengthy side with an overload of conversation when more attention to mood and atmosphere would have sufficed, Thin Ice gets it just right when wildly conning the audience, with a character-driven abundance of shrewdly crafted storytelling.
ATO Pictures
Rated R
3 stars
Prairie Miller is a NY multimedia journalist online, in print and on radio, and on WBAI/Pacifica National Radio Network's Arts Express. Read more reviews by Prairie Miller. Contact Prairie through NewsBlaze.
Related Movie Reviews News


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Little-known harp fact: did you know that George Solti's first music teacher was a harpist?
Well, he was. When the great maestro was a boy of six, he was taught by the principal harpist at the Budapest Opera House. This would have been either Román or Otto Mosshammer - in his autobiography, Solti mentions his teacher had been a hard taskmaster, but does not name him.
Tough: Román Mosshammer
Ammann Gyöngyi writes Hungary's first harp blog. Better-known than Solti's first music teacher is the fact that Hungarian is one of the world's most difficult languages: unrelated to anything except (distantly) Finnish and Estonian, and boasting no less than thirty-five cases. Of course, Dr Ammann's blog (in fact, a family affair - she writes it with her husband and her harpist daughters) is of particular interest to Hungarian-speakers, but she has also kindly set about ensuring that some of her blog's articles are in English, and you will find them here. They include an article about Solti. October 21st, 2012 will be the hundredth anniversary of his birth, and this is celebrated in the official UNESCO Anniversary List.


text:
- Books → Literature
- Books → Asian art → Japan
The Tale of Genji
written by Murasaki Shikibu
Tuttle Publishing Inc | ISBN 9784805310816
Paperback – 1184 pages
Member's price: $43.20
Usually ships within 2–11 business days.
Centuries before Shakespeare, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji was already acknowledged as a classic of Japanese literature. Over the past century, this book has gained worldwide acceptance as not only the world's first novel, but as one of the greatest works of literature of all time.
The hero of the tale, Prince Genji, is a shining example of the Heian-era ideal man—accomplished in poetry, dance, music, painting, and, not least of all to the novel's many plots, romance. The Tale of Genji and the characters and world it depicts have influenced Japanese culture to its very core. This celebrated translation by Arthur Waley gives Western readers a very genuine feel for the tone of this beloved classic.
This edition contains the complete Waley translation of all six books of The Tale of Genji and also contains a new foreword by Dennis Washburn with key insights into both the book and the importance of this translation for modern readers.


text:
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Ashworth hopes to sweep people off their feet with its new saddle shoes
Walking 18 holes is great overall for your body but can be taxing on your feet. That's why Ashworth didn't hold back anything in the way of comfort with its new Leucadia Tour golf...
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2015 Shoe Guide: Gaining Traction
Golf's new shoes are changing the look, feel and fit of performance.
April 2015
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Adidas brings its Boost cushioning technology to golf shoes
There is nothing casual about the adipower Boost, the first golf shoe from Adidas to incorporate the company's proprietary Boost foam-cushioning technology. Adidas has used Boost technology previously in its basketball, running and baseball footwear...
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Early success has New Balance expanding golf-shoe line
Following its entry into the golf-shoe market this year, New Balance will introduce a spikeless version of its first offering this fall.Built on the same frame as its popular running shoe, the 574B weighs...
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Heart and Sole: Steve Madden
Steve Madden's obsessed with two things: shoes and golf.
September 2014
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A slip-on golf shoe that, well, actually looks like a golf shoe
Derived from the Greek word bios, for "life," Biion seeks to bring new life to the golf-shoe industry. The brainchild of Toronto fashion entrepreneur Rick Buchanan, the slip-on shoes are made of a lightweight...
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Nike's Lunar Adapt shoes will have women wanting to wear them off the course
By Keely Levins Nike has added the athletic, spikeless Lunar Adapt to its women's golf shoe line. The two-tone, waffle-pattern bottom is designed to keep your feet close to the ground to help maintain...
Sunday, 7/27/2014 at 10:31AM
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Adidas looks to keep golfers well grounded with new Gripmore line of hybrid shoes
By Marty Hackel When hybrid shoes debuted a few years ago, the goal was an all-in-one product you could wear from car to course without having to change. Still, concerns over the lack of...
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Game improvement: 5 slip-ons that will keep your feet styling
By Alex HolmesNo matter who you are, chances are you've got some gear in your game that could use an update. While we don't advise retooling everything at once, trading up a few staples at...
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Gear On Tour: The Masters
A glimpse of what players are using this week during the Masters at Augusta National
April 2014
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text:
Rockford, IL Christian School
Allegro Academy and Rainbow Learning Center
Allegro Elementary Academy in Rockford, IL offers non-denominational Christian education for students age preschool through eighth grade. Our Rainbow Learning Center also offers licensed daycare for children ages six weeks to five years. Both our elementary school and day care center are open year round and open to the public.
Our Educational Services Include:
- Advancement of students according to ability, not simply age
- Classical education -- studies in fine arts and academic topics
- Phonics and reading from early daycare through eighth grade
- Controlled access to all buildings on our three-acre campus
- Christian perspective integrated into all academic subjects
- Before- and after-school care and holiday care
- Rainbow Learning Center -- licensed daycare facility for kids to age 5
- Academic Summer Camp after the traditional school year ends
Allegro learning really works! Half of our eighth-graders recently tested at post-high school levels on SAT reading tests. We offer a great education for children and a good financial deal to parents.
Call Allegro Elementary Academy today at 815-877-7980.
Contact Information
6419 Forest Hills Rd
Rockford, IL 61114
Hours of Business:
Monday - Friday 5:30am - 6:00pm


text:
Chrysler Repair in Ontario
Our master mechanics identify the best Chrysler repair shops in Ontario. Edit search×
There are 21 Chrysler service shops and mechanics in Ontario. Edit search
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Chrysler repair shops and dealerships near Ontario.
1480 Ridge Rd, Webster
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3759 Route 104, Williamson
1638 Atlantic Ave, Walworth
Muffler & Exhaust, Oil Change & Lube, Service & Repair, Tire Sales/Repair, Transmission Repair
1530 Ridge Road Box 219, Ontario Center
45 East Main Street, Webster
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4090 Ridge Road West, Williamson
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2437 Canandaigua Rd, Macedon
5610 Rt 104, Williamson
993 Ridge Road, Webster
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1344 Route 104, Ontario
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109 West Main St, Webster
665 Macedon Center Rd., Macedon
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text:
A tool to assist in the field removal of a rifles's hand grips or hand guards, comprising a pair of releasably joined split ring segments which are adapted to urge the slip ring of a rifle away from the rifle's mounting ring, thereby freeing the rifle's hand grips. Elastic means are provided linking the device with the rifle's stock thereby permitting pressure to continuously urge the slip ring away from the mounting ring.
1. A tool for urging a rifle's slip ring toward the stock of said rifle, said tool comprising:
a split ring, cylindrical collar having a pair of opposed sections and means for releasably securing said sections together, said securing means including a pair of fastener passageways in each section, and a pair of each of male and female fasteners releasably engageable with each other; and
said collar including serrations adapted to be compatible with external serrations provided said rifle's slip ring; and
each split ring collar section includes a semi-annular lip of greater depth than the adjacent serrations.
2. A tool for urging a rifle's slip ring toward the stock of said rifle, said tool comprising:
a split ring, cylindrical collar having a pair of opposed sections and means for releasably securing said sections together, said securing means including a pair of fastener passageways in each section, and a pair of each of male and female fasteners releasably engageable with each other; and
said collar including internal serrations adapted to be compatible with external serrations provided said rifle's slip ring; and
said elastic member includes an offset handle portion.
Modern American field weaponry, specifically its field rifles, as exemplified by the M-16 and AR-15 may fire rapidly. This generates intense heat in its barrel. If a user were to touch the barrel, severe bums may result. Thus, hand guards are provided and elaborate gas dissipation systems have been developed. Nevertheless, weapons must be disassembled for cleaning purposes. In the field, heretofore, this has usually required two or more personnel to remove the hand guards and hold the stock. Sometimes this may not be possible. Thus it would clearly be advantageous to permit a single person, the user, to dissemble the hand guards and thereby be able to clean the device. This problem has been dealt with by this invention.
The purpose of this invention is to assist in the ready removal of hand grips from various weapons, primarily rifles such as the M-16 and AR-15. It comprises a new tool that will attach to the slip ring, using a cable to exert a force on the slip ring and allow the cable to be locked in position by hooking it behind the stock of the weapon.
Among the advantages of this tool is that it can be left on the weapon while cleaning the barrel, and also while the weapon is in active use. It does not have to be removed to fire the weapon.
Another advantage of the tool is that it will allow a single individual to perform a function that currently requires two persons. At this time, one person must pull down the slip ring, while a second person removes the hand grip from the barrel. In order to reassemble the weapon the same procedure must be performed in reverse.
The tool works in a fashion similar to a crossbow, in that a cable or rope is drawn back and locked behind the stock of a weapon. When the cable is drawn back, pressure is applied to the slip ring, which disengages, and allows the hand grip to be released for removal. This allows the handler to remove the hand grip on his own, as well as to reinstall it. This tool eliminates the need for a second person to help perform the task. It will save time and manpower in the field.
FIG. 1 is an exploded, party broken, perspective, of the split ring, fasteners, and one embodiment of the connector, comprising the tool of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the tool, partly broken, shown attached to a rifle illustrated in phantom lines;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged, detail plan of the portion of the connector shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a front plan view of the split ring and the connector of FIG. 1, the cable portion being broken;
FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the split ring and one set of fasteners, the other set shown in exploded fashion;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are Axial sections through the split ring of two separate embodiments, one for use with a slip ring of uniform diameter, and the other for use with decreasing diameter from rear to front;
FIGS. 8 and 9 are partly broken elevations of two different slip rings positioned in rifles so as to accommodate the separate split ring devices of FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively;
FIG. 10 is a vertical section through the assembled split ring of FIG. 7 and slip ring of FIG. 9; and
FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively are an isometric view of a broken part of a split ring segment and connector, and an elevation of an assembled split ring and a broken part of said connector, both figures depicting a second connector embodiment.
Initially, consider FIGS. 2, 8 and 9, and particularly the rifle shown therein.
Conventional rifles, such as an M-16 or an AR-15, include a stock 90, a barrel 20, and receiver 30. Adjacent the receiver, the barrel is provided with a hand grip or guard 40, which is usually bifurcated axially, for obvious reasons, into sections 40-A and 40-B. This invention is directed to permitting one person to easily remove this hand guard from the barrel, while in the field.
Near one end of hand guard 40, mounting ring 41 includes a depending skirt (not specifically shown) which is movably slidable on barrel 20 and receives a depending partial skirt from each hand guard half. The mounting ring, in turn, abuts combination ramp sight and sling connection 42, which may be secured to the barrel, thereby prohibiting further axial movement of the mounting ring and the hand guard to the right, in FIG. 2. Moving now to the left of FIG. 2, and more particularly to FIGS. 8 and 9, the hand guard is releasably secured to receiver 30, via slip ring 43-A or 43-B. These slip rings are limitedly axially movable along skirts depending from guard segments 40-A and 40-B. This movement is controlled by an internal spring mechanism, not shown. The slip ring is spring biased by said mechanism toward the hand guard 40, but may be urged and moved toward receiver 30, thereby releasing said guard segments' skirts from within the slip ring. The mechanism comprising the rifle described thus far is not claimed to be new, save for the varying diameter slip ring of FIG. 9, more specifically detailed hereafter. A conventional rifle, such as that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,676 illustrates the internal spring mechanism discussed above, but not forming a part of the invention, as such.
Move now to that which does comprise the invention. It does comprise structure permitting the hand guard 40 to be removed by one person. It does this by exerting a force against slip ring 43-A or 43-B. The structure permitting the same is best shown in FIG. 1.
The split ring is joined to either embodiment of a connector.
The central component is the split ring or collar 50 or 51. The only difference between these two variations lies in the fact that ring 50 has a uniform thread diameter, while such thread diameter of ring 51 tapers, i.e., decreases from left to right in FIGS. 9 and 10. This latter variation is designed to accommodate those rifles having an accommodatingly configured slip ring. Other than in discussing FIGS. 9 and 10, most of this description will be written in the context of a uniform diameter slip ring and split ring.
Ring 50, or 51, includes two similar halves numbered 50-A and 50-B. These halves, or segments, are removably joined by a pair of externally threaded male fasteners 59 and a further pair of internally threaded female fasteners 52. Tangentially oriented passageways 53 are provided to ring segment 50-A. These passageways may be threaded or may receive an internally threaded bushing (not shown). The internally threaded female fastener would rest against the bushing. The ring segment 50-B has opposed unthreaded, tangentially oriented passageways 54 (only one shown in FIG. 1), to receive the male fasteners' threaded portion there through. Thus, the split ring when assembled may clamp the external periphery of slip ring 40.
Note the presence of annular chamferred face 55 extending around one side of both segments 50-A and 50-B. This chamferred face faces the front, or ramp sight 42 end, of the rifle. Likewise, note depending annular lip 56 extending around the inner or rear face of said ring segments. This lip assures the desired range of motion of the split ring in certain rifles, i.e., the inventive tool (split ring 50) is prevented by the slip ring from moving forwardly of said slip ring. As described later, the tool grasps or clamps the slip ring, with the beveled face 55 facing forwardly and the lip 56 at the rear of the slip ring which extends radially inward of the aforementioned serrations. Internal serrations or threads 57 (forming peaks and valleys) as formed on split ring 50. Note that the internal serrations of one embodiment of split ring 50 includes equal diameter serrations to match the similar configuration of slip ring 43-A. (See FIG. 8). Likewise, the split ring 51 of FIG. 9 includes a varying diameter set of serrations to match the like configuration of slip ring 43-B. Note that lip 56 is of lesser internal diameter than the adjacent serrations, i.e., extends more radially than do the serrations.
To this point, the tool, sans connector, may be assembled on the rifle. The two sides 50-A and 50-B are positioned encircling the slip ring 43-A or 43-B. Male fasteners 59 have their threaded ends inserted through passageways 54 of member 50-B, threadedly engage passageway 53 (or a bushing inserted therein) and threadedly engage female fastener 52 which would be positioned adjacent threaded passageway 53, or its bushing. The threads or serrations of the split ring would have been chosen so as to match those of the slip ring.
Consider now the connector or harness portion of the invention, disconnecting the hand guard from the barrel. Two embodiments of this connector are illustrated.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12, a field goal appearing device is attached to the unthreaded end of male fasteners 59. A like device is positioned on the unthreaded end of female fasteners 52. Each such goal device includes a pair of spaced skirts 61 linked by a rod or like linking member 62. An elastic cable or rope 71 is hooked, clamped, or otherwise linked to member 62, by a clamp or other tethering means 72. An elastic handle 73 (see FIG. 1) allows the user to pull rope 71 around and secure rope 71 around the rifle stock, thereby withdrawing the slip ring from locking the hand guard shirts.
The alternate connector embodiment of FIG. 1 includes the rope 71 and handle 73 previously described. Instead, however, of using the skirts 61, to secure rope 71 to female fasteners 52, this embodiment utilizes a pair of nooses 75 linked by a shaft 76, to which shaft rope 71 is connected. This arrangement also permits pulling the slip ring away from the hand guard's skirts, allowing the guards to be removed.
Although limited embodiments have been described, it should be obvious that numerous modifications would be possible by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is determined by the following claims.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
Original Image


text:
The Obama-supporting Priorities USA PAC has released anti-Bain ads before, but it's reached a new level of dishonesty with this latest one. It features a former GST Steel worker blaming Mitt Romney for the loss of his job and health care, which he suggests led to his wife's subsequent illness and death. Politico reports:
The commercial casts Mitt Romney's business background in a severely negative light, but it's not a typical slash-and-burn attack ad. Instead, it features former GST Steel employee Joe Soptic speaking to the camera about what happened when the plant where he worked shut down.
"I don't think Mitt Romney understands what he's done to people's lives by closing the plant. I don't think he realizes that people's lives completely changed," Soptic said. "When Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my health care and my family lost their health care. And a short time after that my wife became ill."
He continues: "I don't know how long she was sick and I think maybe she didn't say anything because she knew that we couldn't afford the insurance. And then one day she became ill and I took her up to the Jackson County Hospital and admitted her for pneumonia and that's when they found the cancer and by then it was stage four. It was — there was nothing they could do for her. And she passed away in 22 days."
The effort to link Romney to GST Steel's collapse is fairly flimsy on its own, as the plant declared bankruptcy and shut down years after Romney left Bain. But as Politico's Alexander Burns reports, the Priorities USA ad also suggests that GST Steel worker Joe Soptic's wife died shortly after the factory closed, as a result of losing their health insurance. That timeline is misleading, according to Burns:
In the case of this particularly jarring super PAC ad, it may also be relevant that Soptic's wife died in 2006, years after the GST factory closed down.
A 2006 story in the Kansas City Star reported the death of Ranae Soptic, a former champion roller skater: "Soptic went to the hospital for pneumonia, but doctors found signs of very advanced cancer, and she died two weeks later on June 22."
I asked Priorities USA strategist Bill Burton to explain the connection between Romney, Bain and a cancer fatality that happened near the end of Romney's tenure as governor of Massachusetts. The lapse in time between the plant closing and Soptic's death doesn't mean the ad is invalid, but it raises questions about the cause and effect relationship here.
The Washington Examiner also looked back at some of Soptic's previous media appearances, and argues that details in his story have changed:
Why is Soptic upset? Primarily, its because his pension was cut. In this interview, Soptic clarified that his 401k was not affected but he lost $400 a month from his pension.
But in a January 2012 Reuters story, Soptic reportedly said that he only lost $283 per month from his pension.
Soptic isn't a figure the GOP will have an easy time responding to, because his story is deeply personal and sad. But Priorities USA deserves all the criticism it's getting for exploiting this story to launch a misleading attack on Romney. To insinuate that Romney was responsible for the death of Soptic's wife seven years after he left Bain and five years after GST Steel shut its doors is a terrible slander, even by Priority USA's usual standards.


text: Since living here, my street has been the set for two movies. A few weeks ago a Bollywood film crew took over the street for a movie called Happy New York. Tonight it's the set for the movie Friends with Kids starring the beautiful Megan Fox. I love taking the kids to see the big lights and cameras. I have to say, the curry for the Bollywood film crew looked much better than the spread they had out tonight. Your basic american crackers, fruit, and even PB&J. That got my son's attention.


text:
Egypt's doctors strike in critical phase
The Egyptian doctors' strike is entering its "decisive week," the strike's general committee said Monday.
The doctors began an open-ended strike on 1 October to demand better working conditions and an increase in the healthcare budget.
The committee confirmed its commitment to abide by decisions of the Doctors' Syndicate's general assembly and to ignore decisions by the syndicate's leadership which is "simply against the strike."
The committee added that doctors would not examine patients in outsourced clinics or perform non-urgent surgeries, either paid or unpaid, and stressed that they would examine patients in emergency rooms for free.
The health ministry on Monday criticised Sunday's call by the committee for an escalation in strike action.
Doctors resumed their strike on Sunday after a three-day suspension.
The strike, which began on 1 October, was temporarily halted on Thursday in order to treat patients with chronic conditions.
The partial strike does not include university, police and army hospitals, or emergency rooms.
The strikers have been calling for 15 per cent of the state budget, instead of the current 5 per cent, to be allocated to health, an improvement in doctors' salaries, and an improvement in security at hospitals and medical centres which have been the target of recent attacks.
There are approximately 100,000 doctors working at state-run hospitals in Egypt.
Top Headlines
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- Dulsco conducted recycling awareness campaign with students of Al Khansaa
- An unreadable reality: 21 million children in ME may 'miss education'
- Not giving in: Saudi women increasingly demand higher positions


text:
July 29, 2015
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an interview with the inventor of the scratch…
For me, someone who lives for scratch music, visiting legendary DJ Grand Wizard Theodore—the creator of the scratch—at his Bronx, NY home could only be compared to an Elvis Presley fan making a pilgrimage to Graceland to visit the King of rock'n'roll in his day. I had met Grand Wizard Theodore (GWT) once before a few years earlier when he had been flown out to San Francisco to receive an ITF award. Our meeting was brief so I really had no idea what kind of person he really was. And after years of interviewing hip hop and other music stars I had admired, I was used to discovering that some of the greatest artists were the biggest assholes in person. But such was far from the case with GWT. When my disoriented white face emerged from the "D" subway station deep in the Boogie Down Bronx among a sea of black and brown faces, GWT was there to pick me up in his sturdy but old American car. You can't have a fancy new car in the Bronx, he explained in his soft-spoken but firm voice as we drove the fifteen blocks back to his modest Bronx apartment. Like many of the great pioneers of hip hop that created the genre here on these Bronx streets three decades earlier, GWT was not rich from a culture that he helped shape and form. But unlike many of his contemporaries from hip hop's seminal years, who are embittered by the fact that they live in comparative poverty/obscurity while so-called "hip hoppers" like mogul Puff Daddy are making millions off something they created, GWT is not at all bitter. In fact he is a warm and humble man who is gracious to be a part of a cultural movement that he never thought would spread from these Bronx, NY streets to every other corner of the world.
BILLY JAM: How did you first create the scratch 26 years ago in 1975?
GRAND WIZARD THEODORE: I used to come home from school and go in my room and practice a lot and this particular day I came home and played my music too loud and my mom was banging on the door and when she opened the door I turned the music down but the music was still playing in my headphones and she was screaming 'If you don't turn the music down you better turn it off' and I had turned down the speakers but I was still holding the record and moving it back and forth listening in my headphones and I thought 'This really sounded something….interjecting another record with another record.' And as time went by I experimented with it trying other records and soon it became scratching.
BJ: At that time Kool Herc was around here doing his thing but he wasn't doing anything like scratching, was he?
GWT: Well Herc is like an old school DJ. Basically he would put a record on and let the record play. He might have both on at once but the cross-fader was on one side only. I think many people were on the verge of discovering it back then but I happened to be the first.
BJ: After you discovered the scratch who did you show first?
GWT: Well actually I didn't show anyone. I just did it. I was always the type of DJ who wanted to be different from everyone else coz everyone else was playing the same records the same way. So after a time people started to notice that I played different records and was scratching the records and interjecting different records and needle dropping coz I also invented the 'needle drop' and basically I would just display my talents when it was time to do a party. At first I would only scratch maybe one or two records during a party but as time went by I would scratch more and more and soon I would scratch on every track I played.
BJ: So what kind of parties would these be and how did people initially react?
GWT: These would be house parties and big parties here in the Bronx and people loved it when they first heard it. It was raw and they appreciated it!
BJ: What was it like in the very early days of hip hop?
GWT: I had an older brother named Mean Jean and he was down with Grand Master Flash. They were partners and I was like the record boy for them and I would carry their records for them or go downtown to Downstairs Records and pick up 45's for them. But Flash and my brother had different ideas about music so they split up and Flash formed the Furious Emcees and my brother and me and my other brother Corleo we formed The L Brothers since our last name is Livingston and everybody was like 'The Livingston Brothers'and for a while they called us the 'The Love Brothers.' And we took on two emcees… and later on my brother quit DJ'ing and I went on and formed my own group… and back in those days it was not just Blacks but Latinos as well who helped form the culture of hip hop: like a lot of the graffiti artists and break dancers were Latino. We were all down together
BJ: Does the fact that hip hop is so popular all over the world today amaze you?
GWT: It does and it doesn't but really I just did it for the love. The money was good but I did it all coz I love music. My mother and my uncles and my family growing up would always gather around and play good music and eat good food so I was always surrounded by music so I had the love for it and when I would DJ parties I would always try to make it a good time for people to forget about their problems.
BJ: How important is the DJ in hip hop?
GWT: The DJ sets the tone for the party. He has the records, the speakers, the amps—he has everything. The b-boy couldn't come out and break until the DJ was playing the music. And the rapper: all he has to do is show up and pick up the mic and just start rapping, but not until after the DJ had set everything up. Back in the day with someone like Kool Herc, he was the DJ and he had rappers with him but he was the one out front and they just backed him up. But as time went by the rappers started phasing out the DJ as they became more and more popular and moved to the front. So I think it is great that the DJ is now making a comeback coz the DJ played a major, major part in this hip hop culture.
BJ: What do you think of all the new techniques being developed by today's 'turntablists' and how companies are streamlining DJ equipment for scratch DJs.
GWT: With all of these new developments, like say the new needles made just for turntablists, it means that the art form of DJ'ing is going to keep evolving and I think it has a little further to go until it is fully evolved.
BJ: What are you working on nowadays?
GWT: I am working on a new CD called The Nights of the Round Table coz the turntable is round and when you think of a DJ he does his work at night… And I do a lot of traveling to other places like Europe. I just want people to know that I am still out there and I want to educate people on the culture coz a lot of people do not know about the culture.
BJ: Which brings us to Heineken beer's recent TV ad campaign in which they got their facts all wrong and misinformed people saying that scratching began in 1982, seven years after you created it.
GWT: I don't know if they knew what they was doing and just decided to make a spoof out of it or whatever but they have to realize that this is a culture and that this culture affects a lot of peoples' lives and we want people to understand the truth of a culture so it won't be misinterpreted. Like back in the days we never called women 'bitches' or 'hoes' but nowadays you've got guys calling women these things and rapping about 'my big car this and that' and 'selling drugs this and that.' But back in the day hip hop wasn't about that. It was only about 'clap your hands' and 'stomp your feet, you know?' People have to learn the culture.
BJ: Do you think that the new documentary Scratch that you are featured in is a fair portrayal of the scratch DJ?
GWT: Yes I do.
BJ: And where do you see the scratch DJ in the future?
GWT: I see scratch DJs getting more and more recognition and winning awards like Grammies just like rappers and any other type of musician. And nowadays you have a lot of bands with DJs in them so I see the DJ evolving and getting the type of recognition that they have always deserved.


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Vietnam Memorial replica in place
MILTON -- Organizers of the annual West Virginia Pumpkin Festival are honoring veterans of the U.S. armed forces this year and have secured a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to be on display during this weekend's festival.
The Wall That Heals, which was unveiled on Veterans Day in 1996, has visited more than 350 communities throughout the nation with its goal of allowing veterans and loved ones a chance for their own healing and closure.
The memorial made its way to town Tuesday, escorted by members of the U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club's Huntington chapter and Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.
T.L. Calhoun, the road captain who led the group of bikers, said it was an honor to ensure its safe arrival at the Pumpkin Park in Milton.
"I hope people take this and learn," said Calhoun, who spent six years in the Army right after the Vietnam War. "The wall is for the lost brothers we haven't gotten back."
The Wall That Heals exhibition features a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is approximately 250 feet in length, and, like the original memorial, is erected in a chevron shape. There are more than 58,000 names on the wall.
The trailer which carries the wall serves as a mobile museum and contains display cases containing photos of service members whose names are on the wall. There also is a map of Vietnam and a chronological overview of the conflict in Vietnam.
Dave Vititoe, vice president of the pumpkin festival and chairman of the special events committee, said festival organizers have worked nearly two years to get The Wall That Heals to town. He said he is especially excited to know that about 5,000 elementary students will be able to see and learn about it on Thursday and Friday during kids' days.
"We can put this on their minds that the Vietnam War is something other than what they heard their grandmother or grandfather talk about," Vititoe said.
The memorial is set up at the bottom of the hill where the kids usually pick out and decorate their pumpkins. The hillside itself is decorated with about 256 American flags that were part of the Healing Field display at Spring Hill Cemetery during the anniversary of Sept. 11.
The memorial will remain open following the closure of the Pumpkin Festival at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, Vititoe said. He said at 8 p.m., the gates will reopen, and people who want to come in and search for a name or find some personal peace can do so. It will remain open throughout the night until noon Monday.
The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.


text:
Type: Help Request
Status: Closed (View Workflow)
Priority: Blocker
Resolution: Complete
Affects Version/s: None
Fix Version/s: None
Environment:Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit, Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM
I have tried to reinstall and also tried deleting the options.ini file. I even tried to modify it but maybe I am typing the line in an incorrect format.
I simply cannot use the software because it does not show the list of sources in advanced mode so I can choose one. I can choose d20 in the basic mode but even doing this, when I go to almost any tab besides summary, they are all empty and cannot do anything from this point on. I have gotten so far as to type a name, choose a race and class, assigning abilities and adding a level from the summary. I cannot get past this point.
My installation dir is in C:\Program Files\PCGen\PCGen5164\data\d20ogl\srd35 and my data files are in I:\data\javier files\.pcgen
How can I make this work?
Thank you.
Hi Javier,
Windows 7 does not like how PCGen works, and our full recommendation is to NOT install in the default Program Files Directory. Instead place it in it's own folder, example would be c:\pcgen
Once you do that, it should work just fine.
I uninstalled it and manually removed my .pcgen folder and any remaining folders in Program Files
I did a fresh install and it is still not working. I then replaced the forward slashes for backslashes as you can see below:
....but it didn't work either.
Not showing the list of sources sounds like you are using Java 7. If that is the case please install the latest Java 6 version.
Can we hear an update from you Javier? Did James's suggestion work?
No further word from OP - Closing.


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Full detailed profile on Craig Montgomery (PAST) Played by Scott Bryce on As the World Turns Daytime Soap Opera.
Scott Bryce
Birthday: 1958-01-06
Craig tells Rosanna to live up to her end of the deal and give him back Montgomery Enterprises. Rosanna points out that Meg didn't seem overjoyed at the pregnancy news but Craig stays on point by saying he lived up to his end of the bargain so she should live up to hers. Ro says Meg may not want to raise the child with Craig! He is certain that Meg is tied to him forever now and tells Rosanna so. She isn't so sure. Craig goes back to the lawsuit issue and tells Rosanna to call her lawyers - now! Ro says he won't get Montgomery back until she is happily married and Meg has given birth! "If you don't drop this lawsuit your marriage is at serious risk," he says and tells her that he'll tell Paul everything about their deal if she doesn't give him back his company. Craig walks away. Rosanna isn't sure what to do but finally picks up her phone and calls her lawyers to drop the lawsuit.
Craig tracks Meg down in Old Town and finds her crying. She makes up a story about the client she met with; he wonders why she is crying and she blames pregnancy hormones. He asks her to tell him the real reason and she is honest with him. "It was Paul," she says! Meg tells him that Paul found her and pointed out all of Craig's past mistakes. He swears he is a changed man and asks her to come home with him. They go to the diner to have dinner. Craig orders her a huge meal that doesn't appeal to Meg. He tells Meg that the lawyers called and told him that the lawsuit has been dropped. Meg wonders if he pressured Rosanna! Craig says he talked to Rosanna and that she offered to give the company back. Meg still isn't sure. Craig asks if Meg is having second thoughts about having his child. Meg remembers what Paul said and says she wants to be committed to Craig. He takes her hand, promising to be a devoted husband and father to their child.
Craig spots Paul and says he just stopped in. Rosanna tells Paul that she was just having a drink with Craig to get him out of Fairwinds faster! Paul angrily asks why Craig is there. Craig tells him that he was hoping that since Ro is now happy, he was hoping she would drop the lawsuit. Ro tells him she won't. Paul tells Craig to stay away. Craig leaves. Rosanna catches Paul about to make a call and he hangs up quickly. He asks her to sit down so they can talk and she begins chattering on about wedding plans. When he doesn't say anything Rosanna gets quiet. She brings up Craig, telling Paul that now that Craig knows she won't drop the lawsuits he'll stay away.
Craig returns, finds the paper and the test in the trash and gets very excited. He calls Meg but she doesn't answer so he leaves a message asking her to meet him in the lounge at The Lakeview. Then he calls Rosanna to give her the good news. He asks her to be at The Lakeview - with Paul - in an hour. Paul returns and Rosanna tells him they have a meeting with the wedding planner in an hour. He begs off. Rosanna begs him to come along and he finally gives in.
Meg arrives at The Lakeview and Craig makes a toast loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, including the newly arrived Rosanna and Paul, about their pregnancy. He calls for a round of champagne. Rosanna and Paul hurry off. Meg turns on Craig, telling him it is too early to make such an announcement and asking why he had to tell everyone so soon. Craig apologizes, telling Meg that he just had to celebrate. In the hall, Paul tells Rosanna that he can't stand that Paul is having a child, any child. Rosanna points out that Meg will be a great mom. Paul asks about the wedding consultant and Rosanna leaves. Paul sends Meg a text message to meet him right away. Craig returns and Meg makes up a story about meeting a private duty patient. He doesn't like the idea but she insists that it will be good for her - and the baby! Meg leaves. Rosanna returns to Paul and tells him the planner has been held up. He leaves to go home. Rosanna heads in to the lounge. Craig tells Rosanna to stick by their arrangement - and give him back Montgomery Enterprises!
Meg is eagerly awaiting Paul's arrival when Craig walks up, surprising her. He wants to know what she is doing there. Meg gets angry, thinking that Craig followed her there. He says he was just driving by and was worried about her; she apologizes and tells him she was just trying to get some space so she could think. He asks her to return to town with him and she agrees.
Paul is wandering around the woods looking for Meg when Rosanna calls. He doesn't answer because just then Meg walks up! She asks how long he can stay and tells him she is still in love with him! Paul is quiet for a minute and then asks if she has told Craig yet. He gets angry and points out the fact that Rosanna is waiting at home for him. He asks how she can sleep with Craig and be in love with him; Meg turns his words back on him, reminding him that he's slept with Rosanna and declared his love for Rosanna many times over. She finally gets him to admit that he is in love with her and wants to make a life with her. They kiss! Meg tells Paul they have to tell Craig and Rosanna - now! Paul hesitates. He says he can't go with Meg because he can't dump Rosanna! Paul brings up Carly's illness, Rosanna's lawsuits against Craig and tells Meg that he can't leave her alone right now. Meg tells him that Rosanna is perfectly able to stand on her own two feet but Paul ignores her. "If you keep lying to her you're going to hurt her more than Craig ever did," Meg says. Paul starts thinking about Rosanna but isn't sure he can break her heart. Meg tells him it is the only thing he can do. Paul tells her that he loves her and they kiss. He says he has to take things slowly with Rosanna and leaves.
Meg listens as Paul declares his love for Rosanna and she declares her love for him. Craig walks up, catching Meg eavesdropping! Seeing that she is upset, Craig tells Meg that he loves her and that Paul will never understand her the way he does. Meg walks away and he follows. Outside, Craig puts his jacket over Meg's shoulders. He flirts with her, telling her how great she looks from behind in high heels. Meg wonders why he isn't more mad at her. They sit down and Craig tells her that he loves her and he understands how she still feels about Paul and Rosanna being together. Meg isn't sure whether to believe him. He suggests Meg take a walk or shop while he makes a quick business call and that they meet back at their hotel room in a half-hour for movies and whatever else they can think of.
Back in the lounge, Barbara decides they need a little girl-time and tells Paul he needs to get lost! She goes to the ladies room to freshen up before they leave. Once alone, Paul asks Rosanna if she can deal with his mother. Ro obviously isn't sure but decides Barbara is just being a mother. Paul can't keep his mind on Rosanna and flashes back to making love with Meg! On their way out of The Lakeview, Barbara and Rosanna run into Craig. He asks if he can see Rosanna in private and she convinces Barbara to go on ahead. Alone, Craig tells Rosanna she is doing a great job of keeping Paul distracted and away from Meg. Rosanna asks Craig how the pregnancy plans are coming along and tells him to keep working - hard! - because she won't turn over Montgomery Enterprises until Meg is wearing maternity clothes. She walks away.
Meg arrives at the hotel room to find Craig waiting. He asks her to model her new outfit. She does. Meg walks out of the bath wearing the new negligee, kisses Craig and pulls him on to the bed. She can't get Paul out of her mind, though, and pulls away from him! Craig is understanding and kisses her on the shoulder. She waits until he is asleep and then leaves the hotel room. In the lobby she sends a text message to Paul, asking him to meet her at the lake tomorrow! Paul gets the message and throws his phone against the sofa.
« Back to Craig Montgomery (PAST) profile


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Whistler Mountain Bike Park has something for every level of rider. Gentle, banked cruisers through the Coastal forest. Tight and twisty single track - perfect for intermediate riders. For the advanced riders there are steep rock faces, gnarly, root strewn lines, drop offs of all descriptions and more.
Injuries are a common and expected part of mountain-biking. We strongly suggest that full face helmets, full length gloves, biking armor and a full suspension bike be used in the Bike Park. If you are new to the mountain-biking program at Whistler Blackcomb, or the Parent or Guardian of a younger rider, please familiarize yourself with the mountain-biking activities we offer. Introductory mountain-biking lessons and beginner mountain-biking terrain are available. More challenging terrain and features should not be attempted unless the rider has the appropriate skills, experience and equipment to effectively negotiate such trail sections. Please speak to Guest Services for more information regarding mountain-biking at Whistler Blackcomb.
The Air Dome is an 8,400 square foot covered indoor mountain bike training facility with a huge foam pit, ramps, and a quarter pipe and half pipe.
These athletes have the skills and dedication to make us look good so we returned the favor hooking them up with full rides from all of our sponsors.
Check out where to re-fuel with grab-n-go smoothies, coffees, iced coffees, paninis and a patio BBQ. Or grab a front row seats to the bottom of the Bike Park at the GLC.
The Garbanzo Zone encompasses an area more than five times as big as the rest of the Bike Park.
Whether travelling by air, shuttle or car rental to Whistler BC Canada, we make it easy to get here.
Dates and hours of operation for the Bike Park for the 2013 season.
View the Bike Park Map. Explore over 1,500m / 4,900ft of lift-serviced descending mountain bike trails.
The Peak Zone and the new Top of the World alpine trail are the latest additions to the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.
The Whistler Mountain Bike Park is not like any other biking experience you have ever had. There are trails to suit a wide variety of tastes and abilities.
The Whistler Mountain Bike Park trails require constant physical and mental effort in order for all riders to maintain control.
Your source for updates and events in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.
Check out the latest trail status, complete details of what's open, what work is being done, and what the weather is like at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.
The Whistler Mountain Bike Park is not like any other biking experience you have ever had. The trails often have sustained stretches of downhill riding and the lifts allow you to ride much more vertical than you would normally do in a long day of riding.
Watch for the signs at the bottom of the Fitz chair with info on where Coast Mountain Photography will be shooting and keep your eyes peeled for their flag on the trails for a heads up on the photographer's location.


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'Narnia' bolsters box office in strong debut
Reuters - 12/11/05
Full Story - 'Narnia' bolsters box office in strong debutQuote:
'Narnia' bolsters box office in strong debut
LOS ANGELES, Dec 11 (Reuters) - "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" scored a much-needed box office hit for Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , taking in $67 million for the second-biggest debut ever in a weekend in December.
"Narnia," based on the popular children's books by C.S. Lewis, fell just below the record $72.6 million three-day opening for 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," but outpaced the first "Rings" film, "The Fellowship of the Ring," which grossed $47 million in 2001.
Deutsche Bank analyst Doug Mitchelson estimated in a Dec. 4 note to clients that "Narnia" would gross about $50 million in its opening weekend.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, said the strong "Narnia" debut helped boost ticket sales by nearly 17 percent over the same weekend one year ago.
Disney, whose studio posted a $313 million operating loss last quarter, has high hopes "Narnia" will be the first in a series of seven fantasy films based on the Lewis novels. Disney needs "Narnia" to spur a franchise like the "Harry Potter" movies to bolster it as a top provider of family fare.
The movie took in an estimated $42 million in 14 international markets, too, Disney said.
"This is one of those movies that's playing to everybody, and everybody is loving it," said Chuck Viane, Disney distribution chief. He said the film scored an "A-plus" rating in audience polls by industry researcher CinemaScore and seemed "poised to do well."