text:
Report of the State-level Committee to
recommend a policy framework for the Chandigarh Periphery Controlled
Area and regulating constructions therein.
The Chandigarh Periphery Controlled area was created with the twin objectives
of ensuring a planned future expansion of the New Capital City and to
prevent mushrooming of unplanned construction around it. The Punjab
New Capital (Periphery) Control act, 1952 accordingly aimed at regulating
the use of land and preventing unauthorized and unplanned urbanization
in a 16 kilometre periphery.
Since then, planned satellite townships of SAS Nagar (Mohali) and Panchkula
have come up in the Periphery in addition to a large cantonment. Further
in 1990, the State Government declared an area of 10,000 Acres near
Dera Bassi, falling within 23 villages of Patiala district, to be a
Free Enterprise Zone (FEZ), where the setting up of industries was to
be permitted.
1.3 Notwithstanding the regulatory
framework, enforcement has been patchy. Appreciating the emerging ground
realities, the Punjab Government had in 1998 decided to permit an across-the-board
regularization of all unauthorized constructions, which had already come up within the Periphery up to and including 7.12.1998.
Simultaneously, it was also decided to evolve a policy framework which
would permit the setting up of institutions related to education, health
etc., with low density of built-up area, within the Periphery, apart
from permitting activities related to leisure and tourism.
2.1 Accordingly, a
Committee headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted by the State
Government in its order of September 10, 2003 to suggest an appropriate
and transparent policy framework for the Periphery.
Taking cognizance of this Committee, the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana
High Court in Civil Writ Petition No. 14357 of 2002 directed:
(i) that the Committee should critically examine
the problems and bottlenecks in the proper development of Periphery
and to suggest a policy framework which would ensure planned development
of the area;
(ii) that the issue of regularization of unauthorised
constructions which have already come up in Periphery should also be
examined by this Committee;
(iii) that on the basis of the recommendations
made by the Committee the State Government shall take a decision whether
or not to regularize such constructions;
(iv) that the State Government shall also examine
the reasons for the coming up of unauthorized constructions, rationale
for their regularizing and steps to stop such construction in future
including imposition of exemplary fine and setting up of Special Courts
to deal with such illegal constructions;
(v) to fix responsibility of the officers/employees
responsible for abetting such constructions and setting up a Tribunal
headed by a retired Judge of the High Court to deal with the cases of
illegal constructions.
Further, in Civil Writ Petition No. 7187 of 2003 the Hon'ble Punjab
and Haryana High Court has also sought the views of the State of Punjab
about extending the abadi deh area/lal lakir of the villages
in Periphery, and this issue was also referred to the Committee.
The Committee held numerous meetings and also formally obtained the
comments of relevant Departments of the Government such as Revenue,
Industries, Housing and Urban Development and Local Government. Views
of the public at large were also sought through placement of advertisements
in news papers to which there was considerable response.
At the outset the Committee observed that it was first necessary to
take into account the changing character of the city of Chandigarh.
It was seen in this context that the city was initially conceived as
the capital of post partition Punjab and its planning by and large reflected
the needs thereof. Over time, however, Chandigarh is not only the administrative
capital of two State Governments and a Union Territory but also an important
commercial and institutional hub which houses the regional offices of
Companies and Institutions catering to several States in the northern
region. It has also become an important investment destination for Indian
and multinational Companies. The changed character of the city has put
considerable pressure on housing and social infrastructure, which was
not initially catered for. There is also increased need for connectivity
and the provision of civic amenities. A special mention needs to be
made of a large population of the city, which is unable to afford housing
on account of its very high cost and has gravitated into the villages
in the immediate vicinity of the city as well as several unplanned and
unauthorized new colonies. It is in this backdrop that a fresh look
has to be taken of the regulatory framework that governs the areas immediately
surrounding the city of Chandigarh so that the future needs of the city
can be adequately catered for in a planned manner.
It is also necessary to take note of the fact that even with all difficulties
being faced, Chandigarh is still one of the more liveable cities in
the northern region. With its close proximity and easy connectivity
to the national capital, it has also become an attractive investment
destination. It would, in the view of the Committee, not be realistic
for any State Government not to take advantage of this opportunity and
leverage its proximity to Chandigarh to its best economic interest.
Thus, industrial promotion in the vicinity of Chandigarh has also to
be envisaged and provided for.
In the light of the issues brought out in the foregoing paragraphs,
the broad policy framework within which the Committee approached the
entire issue of controlling the periphery of Chandigarh are enumerated
Housing for the increasing population of the city is perhaps the most
urgent requirement that has to be provided for. In that context, a realistic
view has to be taken of existing unauthorized structures. Policy also
needs to cater for the normal growth of village populations as well
as migration from outside specially of persons from economically weaker
It is necessary also to take into account the increased attraction of
the city and its environment as in investment destination.
Catering for further growth would involve heavy investment in road connectivity,
provision of civic amenities, electricity, water supply and sewerage.
Accordingly, it was considered desirable that the overall policy framework
should also generate adequate resources for the provision of such facilities.
A multidisciplinary sub group was asked to advise on the imposition
of such charges after studying the existing pattern in neighbouring
State of Haryana.
The Committee noted the wide disparity between the level of civic and
urban infrastructure in the city and its surrounding towns and villages.
Accordingly, the available resources needed to be suitably deployed
to ensure balanced growth. Such resources, it was felt, could also be
raised and credited towards a dedicated fund which could be used for
developing and upgrading basic infrastructure in the periphery area
and specially for the settlements therein.
the above approach and considering the ground realities, existing status
of the Periphery, emerging problems of unregulated and unauthorised
development, need for promoting planned development and eliminating
unauthorised and illegal constructions, the Committee, proposes to address
various issues on the following lines:-
Periphery Controlled Area Plan
order to meet the emerging needs of population growth, promote planned
and systematic development of the entire area and to check haphazard,
unregulated and unplanned development, the Committee suggests the preparation
of a comprehensive Land Use Plan for the entire Periphery Controlled Area. Such a broad land use plan
could provide for urbanisable zones, industrial parks, institutional
and residential areas where such development could be taken up while
also highlighting the trunk services and infrastructure to support such
development. It should also highlight the sub-areas which need to be
preserved and conserved in order to effectively protect the quality
of environment and ecology in the Periphery. However, until such a Plan
becomes final in statutory terms, change of land use may be permitted
as in interim measure, by the State Government in accordance with other
specific recommendations of this Committee. This plan needs to be put
in place in the shortest possible time frame as that would then provide
the framework for future growth based on well established principles
of town and area planning. To implement a plan of this magnitude, it
would be advisable to consider setting up of an independent Statutory
Authority with a dedicated initial corpus and full administrative, financial
and planning autonomy.
Housing Schemes in the Periphery
only limited planned urban areas available in the cities of Chandigarh,
SAS Nagar and Panchkula and the growing demand for housing, it was noted
that those who could not afford shelter in these urban areas, found
place on the fringes of the city, usually in the adjoining settlements/villages,
inside or outside the Abadi areas in an unauthorized manner. Considering
the above situation, it is proposed that suitable pockets for Housing/Residential
use in the Periphery area be earmarked which can be developed by the
Private parties or Government/Semi-Government Agencies. While permitting
such development, it must be ensured that adequate provisions are made
for public utilities/facilities and services. Special care must be taken
to ensure that housing needs of the economically weaker sections are
catered for in adequate measure. Detailed policy prescriptions in this
respect are at Annexure
Unauthorized Constructions
The Hon'ble High Court in its orders in CWP No. 14357
of 2002 had tasked the Committee to examine the issue of regularization
of unauthorized constructions and also desired it to examine the need
to set up a Tribunal to deal with cases of illegal constructions, besides
suggesting imposition of exemplary fines to stop such constructions
in future. The issue relating to unauthorized constructions were discussed
in detail. In the absence of any detailed formal survey, a broad figure
of about 1500 constructions was estimated based on the number of notices
issued by PUDA's Regulatory Wing since 8.12.1998, the date till which
all the previous constructions had been regularized. With
a view to preventing large-scale demolitions and consequential human
problems, the Committee recommends a strictly
one time regularisation of unauthorised constructions, adopting, however,
a well defined and selective approach restricting it only to small/medium
residential and petty commercial constructions.
Committee recommends that such regularization, with a cut-off date should
involve the imposition of reasonable composition fees and land-use conversion
"charges" on a pre-defined scale, which may be pegged at a lower rates
for smaller plots. Large residential units could be considered for regularisation
in accordance with the policy proposed for farmhouses. Alternatively,
such units could be regularized on imposition of substantively higher
composition fee. No regularization would be allowed in any case where
the construction interferes with the provision of trunk infrastructure.
However, no such regularization should be permitted in areas prohibited
for development by virtue of being covered under the Indian Forest Act,
1927, the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 or the Punjab Land Preservation
Act, 1900 or in areas where construction is not permitted under any
other law. To avoid any misuse of such regularisation, the committee
proposes to fix the cut off date with slight retrospective effect like
1st November, 2005.
Committee feels that the problem of unauthorized constructions needs
to be addressed by constant and effective vigil, for which the field
officers like Sub Divisional Magistrates and their staff besides PUDA
officers need to be fully involved and held accountable. Clear
administrative guidelines need to be put in place bringing out the staff
who is to be responsible for detecting illegal construction, taking
legal action and enforcing the same. Statutory powers of the Deputy
Commissioner under the Periphery Act to carry out demolitions could
also be delegated to designated officers (e.g. SDMs).
A dedicated field enforcement machinery within PUDA or in the Department
of Town and Country Planning also needs to be created so that the demolition
orders are implemented in letter and spirit and, more importantly, mushrooming
of illegal constructions is nipped in the bud. Suitable amendments in
the Act may also be made to vest the Deputy Commissioners with statutory
powers to issue injunctions against unauthorized construction, in addition
to the existing powers to demolish such constructions. It is further
suggested that the Act be amended so as to provide a fine which may
extend up to Rs.50,000/- instead of Rs.5,000/- presently and in case
of continued violation, with a fine of Rs.5,000/- per day instead of
the present rate of Rs.500/-. Regular monitoring of progress in respect
of tackling unauthorized construction cannot be overemphasised. It is
felt that at least a quarterly review needs to be undertaken at Government
Committee is of the view that in case the proposals in the above paragraph
are operationalized, there may not be any necessity to set up the Special
Tribunal to deal with cases of unauthorized construction. However, the
credibility of a sustained campaign in this respect would depend critically
on the fairness of the process. Towards that end, the setting up of
an Ombudsman could be thought of who would oversee the entire process,
entertain complaints from citizens and is empowered to give directions
to the concerned authorities. The Ombudsman would have to be vested
with suitable powers but care needs, at the same time, to ensure that
there is no intervention in matter relating to the hearing of cases
and the execution of orders passed by the Competent Authority.
the fact that Chandigarh and SAS Nagar are emerging as fast-developing
nodes, it is natural that institutions with larger land requirements
would tend to get located here. In addition, the area is becoming ripe
for establishing sports, recreation, leisure and tourism-related activities.
The Committee feels that such institutions and activities, which have
requirement of large open/vacant land area but smaller built-up area,
can be considered for location within the entire Periphery. Accordingly,
it would be appropriate to consider the option of locating such activities
within the Periphery, subject to detailed guidelines, land and development
norms being put in place, which are brought out in the detailed guidelines
placed at Annexure-B.
(e) Free Enterprise Zone
(i) Free Enterprise Zone:
area declared as Free Enterprise Zone (FEZ) near Dera Bassi should continue
to be used for industries, although institutions could also be permitted
in accordance with the prescribed guidelines. In order to ensure rational
development and provision of basic infrastructure and services in the
area, a broad developmental framework needs to be prepared along with
a development plan indicating roads/trunk infrastructure, including
areas reserved for residential and institutional needs. There shall
be no conversion/betterment charge for the new industrial units coming
up in the FEZ. However, these shall be liable to pay the External Development
Parks may also be permitted as "mega projects" in areas earmarked as
industrial & residential for such uses respectively within the Outline
Master Plan area of SAS Nagar (Mohali).
The Empowered Committee on Mega Projects has already
permitted integrated mixed use Industrial Parks, where at least 60%
of the land is used for industry, free of external development charges
and change of land use charges in the periphery. This is a major policy
incentive for making land available to industry at reasonable rates.
In the Committee's opinion such a policy may continue in respect of
the industrial sectors in the Mohali sectoral grid and FEZ for general
industry and
for areas planned in Mohali's Master Plan for IT Industry. The policy
on grant of additional incentives to industry would, however, need to
be periodically reviewed with a view to the continuation of such benefits.
(f) Municipal Towns in Periphery
recommends that the existing towns of Kharar, Banur, Zirakpur, Dera
Bassi should continue to provide avenues for future growth and development
by ensuring adequate supply of developed land for residential, commercial,
institutional and industrial purposes. Master Plans of these Towns need
to be prepared under the Punjab Regional and Town Planning & Development
Act, 1995, within the overall ambit of the Controlled Area Plan.
Further expansion in the municipal limit of these towns has also to
be regulated so that it conforms to the overall Development Plan for
the Periphery Area. It is proposed that the future expansion of municipal
limits of the existing Periphery towns should be frozen, until these
Master Plans have been finally notified. Thereafter, if need arises,
such expansion can be considered, strictly in accordance with the approved
Master Plan subject, of course, to the payment of the conversion charges
as are being proposed in the report. New Municipal Councils or Nagar
Panchayats within the Periphery should be notified only after the overall
Development Plan has been put in place.
Existing Rural Settlements
Considering the existing as well as future development needs of the
villages falling within the Periphery as well as with a view to cater
to their increasing population, it would be prudent to provide a sufficiently
compact and contiguous belt of land around the village "phirni"
for ensuring the organic growth of these villages. Any area falling
between the 'lal lakir' and the 'phirni' of the village
shall also be treated as a part of the extended belt. The area should
be allowed to be used primarily for meeting individual residential and
petty commercial needs of the existing and future population of a village.
However, charges for change of land use should be levied on prescribed
rates, except in the case of bonafide residents. No industry should
be permitted in such area. Similarly, formal colonization shall also
not be permitted in the extended 'abadi' area on the pretext
of this recommendation alone.
With these caveats, the Committee proposes to allow the village
"Abadi" area extension by 60%, subject to a minimum of 50 metres
and maximum of 100 metres in radial length from the 'phirni'.
However, where the exiting Abadi Deh or a part thereof is an
area which forms a part of the rural/agriculture and afforestation zone
of the Outline Master Plan/Draft Comprehensive Master Plan/Comprehensive
Master Plan prepared under the Punjab Regional and Town Planning &
Development Act, 1995, the extent of such area shall be limited to 50
metres. Permitting construction in the notified forest areas falling
in these villages would, of course, be subject to due approval as regards
change of land use. No permission should, however, be granted in any
area which falls within the sectoral grid of SAS Nagar (Mohali), as
reflected in the Outline Master Plan. The extent of area where such
constructions are to be permitted will be demarcated and certified for
each village falling within the Periphery by the Revenue Authorities,
subject to the final approval of PUDA. In order to promote planned development,
it is proposed that construction in the area should be regulated by
a set of simple building norms, subject to payment of Land-Use conversion
charges and in accordance with other details as contained in Annexure-C.
However, to avoid hardship to villagers and land owners, the area in
the extended abadi deh shall
be exempted from the provisions of the Punjab Apartment and Property
Regulation Act, 1995.
With a view to encouraging low-density development and
to meet the basic residential demand of landowners in the area, Farmhouses
were permitted as far back as 1966. However, they could come up
only beyond the 8-kilometre belt, in cases where land holding was more
than 5 acres. Keeping in view the high land values, it would be
appropriate that the norms for Farmhouses are liberalised, with the
area requirements brought down to 2.5 acres and construction being permitted
within the 8 kilometre belt as well. However, the construction of Farmhouses
should be regulated by guidelines as per Annexure-B.
Land-use Conversion Charge – Periphery Development Fund
has been earlier observed, any optimal development of the Periphery
has necessarily to be accompanied by considerable state-led investment
in urban infrastructure. Similarly, the existing urban and rural settlements
must also become beneficiaries in any resource-raising that might be
leveraged through a system of granting land-use change permissions.
It would be neither fair nor just to burden the State exchequer alone
with the responsibility of funding such development works, without any
concomitant additional resource mobilization. On the other hand, ignoring
this aspect at the policy formulation stage would result in irretrievably
losing the best opportunity for providing supporting infrastructure
at optimal cost.
view of this, the Committee suggests that conversion of land use and
betterment charge should be imposed if need be through an amendment
of the Periphery Act. The Committee recommends that there should be
an in-built betterment charge applicable to lands abutting the road
network within the conversion charge itself. This is fully justifiable
because of the initial investment by the Government in the form of land
acquisition and construction of National / State highways, Sector roads
and other roads. Betterment charge could be in the form of a percentage
premium over and above the conversion charge. These "charges" should
be credited to the Government treasury and should be dedicated to the
provisions and maintenance of physical infrastructure in the periphery.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development in consultation with
the Finance Department, may work out the administrative and legal details
to manage this Fund. However, the model adopted by the State Government
for regular release of Social Security pensions may serve as a useful
prototype to ensure that receipts on account of this charge are released
in the ordinary course of business to the nodal agency. The Governing
Body of this Fund should be a high level body, headed preferably by
the Chief Minister, and in addition to Ministers and the Administrative
Secretaries concerned, may also have representation of the elected representatives
like MLAs, Presidents of the Municipal Bodies and Panches/Sarpanches
whose territorial jurisdiction falls within the Periphery. While the
Governing Body would, no doubt, be in the best position to settle competing
demands for resources, it is suggested that the first charge on this
Fund should be the basic development works in the village from which
revenue receipts arise. The imposition of a fair and optimal level of
conversion charge is crucial to the success of this policy package which
must be adequate to generate enough funds to finance creation of new
roads and other physical and social infrastructure in the periphery
multidisciplinary group has worked out the details of External Development
Charges based on basic infrastructure requirements (Annexure
D-II) which need to be put in place to provide facilities
broadly comparable to Chandigarh. The scale of conversion charge is
similar to the one being levied by Haryana Government in the satellite
town of Panchkula. The Committee generally agrees with the scale of
these charges including the licence fee proposed by the sub group
D-I) as it provides a reasonable competitive edge to
Mohali compared to the charges being levied in Panchkula (Annexure D-III). It is also worth mentioning that
while suggesting the different charges, the differential between the
permissible FARs between Mohali and Panchkula has been duly taken care
charges are proposed for the outline Master Plan of Mohali and can be
suitably adjusted for remaining areas of the Periphery. Such charges
would, however, not be imposed when land is provided for public utilities
and other services such as Government Schools, Dispensaries, Veterinary
Centres, Post Offices, Police Stations and the like. The aforesaid conversion
charges and other fees should be in addition to, and not in substitution
of, the External Development Charges (EDC) that are payable within the
framework of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995.
(j) Total Repeal of the Periphery Act Not Recommended:
Committee has received suggestions from different quarters to totally
repeal the Periphery Act. In this context, attention is drawn to the
changing character of the city of Chandigarh, alluded to in paragraph
3.2 of this report. This transition also necessitates a fresh look at
the regulatory framework governing the Periphery. However, the Committee,
even after due deliberation, is unable to recommend the total repeal
of the Act, as it would remove all curbs on sub optimal construction
and haphazard urban development in the Periphery.
Committee noted that the process of drawing up Master Plans in the State
as a whole has yet to effectively take off and towards that end, the
State Government is contemplating to amend the Town and Country Planning
Act with a view to permitting quick finalization of such Plans. However,
it will be several years before Master Plans would be in place and till
then, it is necessary to have a legal framework effective in the Periphery
of Chandigarh, which is currently provided by this Act. It would, therefore,
be inadvisable to remove the legal umbrella, which is available to exercise
control over land use till such time as detailed planning is put in
place. The Committee has also separately suggested the imposition of
EDC and conversion charges in reasonable measure with a view to generating
resources for providing requisite infrastructure for urbanization which
will and is inevitably taking place. It would not be possible to levy
such charges if there is no umbrella legislation, which provides for
it and in the absence of the levy of such charges planned growth in
the Periphery area would not be possible. For all these reasons, the
Committee is of the view that it would be inadvisable to repeal The
Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952.
The Committee had to balance and optimise between divergent and often
conflicting demands and requirements. For instance, the purist
view of freezing the Periphery as agricultural was contradictory to
the very reasonable demand to allow for the expansion of the 'abadi
dehs' or for permitting housing in a planned manner. Similarly,
although institutions and leisure facilities have been recommended,
the norms of FAR and built-up area, have been pegged on the lower side.
Conversion charges were also deemed necessary to raise resources for
the overall development of the Periphery, although the Committee was
acutely conscious that it may add to overall project cost. While the
Committee recommends strict compliance with the up-to-date Outline Master
Plan of SAS Nagar, it also suggests the speedy formulation of an over-arching
Periphery Development Plan for the entire region. Nevertheless,
pending finalization of the latter, the Committee recommends that limited
change of land use may be permitted as per the recommendations contained
in this Report.
Even though existing constructions have been proposed to be regularised
on purely humanitarian grounds, the Committee has strongly recommended
a zero tolerance enforcement and regulatory regime, in the post-Policy
phase. However, enforcement of the regulatory regime would only be sustainable
in the long run if total Area Planning of the Periphery is taken up
in right earnest and brought to its logical conclusion at the earliest.
The prescription proposed by the Committee is to be viewed as a comprehensive
package, which needs to be comprehensively implemented. The Committee
sincerely hopes that it would have addressed the concerns of all the
stakeholders in a judicious, balanced and practical manner.
It is now for the State Government to consider, approve and implement
both the regulatory and development aspects of this policy in prescribed
time frames.
Chief Administrator, PUDA Secretary, Housing & Urban Dev.
(Member Secretary) (Member)
PWD (B&R) Principal Secretary,
(Member) (Member)
Principal Secretary, Local Govt. Financial Commissioner, Revenue
(Member) (Member)
Chief Secretary
These Documents are available in PDF format. Please use Acrobat
(available for free download at )


text:
A couple of weeks ago Darren Rowse asked readers should (external) links open in a new window?. Actually Darren had been asked by one of his readers and Darren was smart enough to know the question would make for a good blog post so he asked the rest of us. Today he read through all the comments and posted the results and surprisingly ProBlogger readers preferred to have a new window 54% to 45%. Surprising, because I think this is one of the worst things a site can do.
The main argument site owners give for opening a new window is to keep visitors on their site. In fact much of the time it's phrased as "I want to force my visitors to stay on my site." Forcing your visitors to do something is never a good idea. We're living in the age of respecting your visitors and being transparent to them. Forcing people is never a good way to earn their trust.
When I hear people say they want to keep visitors by not letting them leave it makes me wonder how much confidence they have in their content. If your content is good people will come back. You don't need to hold them hostage. I visit many websites multiple times in the same day. I visit, I leave, and I come back. I know you do the same thing. If you want to keep visitors give them a reason to return. If you have to keep visitors by refusing to let them leave then keeping them there isn't going to do you any good. If your content can't keep them they'll still leave.
Why do people think when you open a link in a new window you keep someone on your site anyway. That person has still left your site. They just happen to be in a different window. It doesn't matter, though. Either way they are not interacting with your site.
When I'm surfing I open most links in a new tab. I do this myself without needing it done for me. I do it because sometimes as I'm reading I want to know what you've linked to, but I know I'm not ready to leave your site yet. Sometimes though, I am done with your site and when I'm ready to leave I don't appreciate not being allowed to. When you force a new window you take away the choice from your visitor. That's not showing them respect.
The technical arguments amuse me in regards to the issue. Some will tell you that non tech savvy users won't be able to figure out how to get back to your site. Really? Is the back 'button' that hard to use? Please don't try to tell me that the 'close' button is any easier to use. Someone who is confused by one is confused by the other. The person you hope to keep on your site is the one who continues on in the new window. You're hoping that when they do eventually close that window they'll see your site sitting there and start interacting with it again. The person who's gone off surfing for awhile in a new window is done browsing when they closed that window. That's why they closed it. You know what they're going to do when they see your site sitting there? They're going to close it too.
Let's pretend for a minute that you should open external links in a new window. That's going to be a fun web to surf isn't it. Every time you click a link a new window opens. How many links do you click over the course of a few minutes? Think of all the new windows you'll have open after an hour of surfing. Think of how slow your computer is going to be running with all those windows competing for the attention of your computers processor.
I understand people have preferences. Some people do like new windows (or tabs) opening. Not forcing a new window doesn't take that option away from you. Forcing a new window (or tab) does take away the option for someone who wants the same window. That's the main issue. All the technical arguments of savvy and non savvy users are meaningless.
Savvy users are finding their way back. If they can't figure out how to get back to your site they're not savvy.
Non savvy users can certainly get confused and as site builders part of our job is to keep that from happening. How does opening a new window make it easier for a non savvy visitor? If a 'back' button is beyond their grasp then so is a new window. If anything a new window will confuse them more. Now they have two confusing computer things in front of them instead of one.
When It Is Ok To Open A New Window
Now I'll admit there are some reasons why it would be ok to open a new window. I think when you're linking to a PDF or other non-html media it's fine. Even then I think you should still let the person know the link will open in a new window before they click. I also think it's fine to open a new window when you're very confident the reason to click the link is only temporary. Clicking a thumbnail to see a full size image is a good example.
You might be surprised that with everything I've said I have a page with links that do open a new window. It's my portfolio and some of the links open a larger image in a new window and some of the links open the site I developed in a new window. The reason for the new window in both cases is I feel very confident a person who clicks on either link isn't really done with the page. It's certainly a possibility they weren't planning on coming back, but since the only information I'm giving about those other sites is in relation to how I developed it I feel safe in saying that people clicking aren't clicking to interact with that site. They are still interacting with mine.
I could go on with more reasons why I think it's a bad idea to open new windows, but chances are you were either with me from the start or think I'm a raving lunatic by now. The same window/new window argument seems to get emotionally charged rather quickly. I'll leave you with a few more articles on the subject. They will all open in the same window. I trust you can find you're way back.
- Open New Windows for PDF and other Non-Web Documents
- Beware of opening links in a new window
- Should links open in new windows/tabs?
- Not opening new windows
Download a free sample from my book, Design Fundamentals.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Vancouver Up 1-0
Posted on 16 Apr 2010 by Eric Cooney.
It's a 7 game series for a reason. Unfortunately that reason appears to be to stress the hell out of me. (more…)
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Former Leafs in the NHL play-offs
Posted on 15 Apr 2010 by Ben Fisher.
Just because the Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off their fifth consecutive campaign without a postseason appearance doesn't mean there aren't those with connections to the blue and white still bidding for a chance to raise the Cup. Let's take a look at former Leafs who will have a role in this year's postseason, along with who will make a difference and who the Leafs wouldn't mind still havin...
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Splitting Hairs: Canucks vs. Kings – Series Preview
Posted on 14 Apr 2010 by Luke Mirza.
Series Preview (3) Vancouver Canucks (103 pts) Vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings (101 pts) Offense By the numbers, Vancouver ranked #2 in the league with 3.27 Goals/Game for a grand total of 268 goals scored overall. Los Angeles ranked #9 with 2.82 Goals/Game and finished the year with 231 goals scored. Both teams obviously quite capable of putting the puck in the net and most recently the LA Kings wal...
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Kings vs. Canucks: Series Preview
Posted on 13 Apr 2010 by Eric Cooney.
After years of wearing the "rebuilding" tag, the Kings have shed that label and reached the next echelon: a playoff team. Are they for real? Let's take a look. (more…)
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Through the Looking Glass to July 1 – Assessing the Market for Goalies
Posted on 3 Apr 2010 by Corey Krakower.
In the second of three segments previewing the offseason UFA market, this week's edition will look at the goaltending depth of each team heading into the summer, and what each team's expected plan of attack will be. Note that it was assumed that every RFA will re-sign, which obviously won't be the case; and when identifying top prospects, only those deemed to be close to NHL ready were li...
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Is the honeymoon over for Phoenix?
Posted on 3 Apr 2010 by Matt Shott.
Oh no! The Phoenix Coyotes are entering the month of April riding their worst losing streak since the Olympic break, going 0-2-0 in the past week against the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames. The first game of the week against the Canucks was a poor showing by team MVP Ilya Bryzgalov who allowed an Alex Burrows goal a mere 37 seconds into the game. But that wasn't the worst of blunder...
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Panthers got something good out of the Luongo trade???
Posted on 14 Mar 2010 by Robert Uzzo.
At the time, I think everyone knew that the Panthers were going to get screwed in another trade. Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek and a 6th round draft pick sent to the Vancouver Canucks for Alex Auld, Todd Bertuzzi, and Bryan Allen. Heads all over the NHL and the rest of the sports world turned. Huh?? Did the Panthers just trade their "franchise goaltender" for a wash up, and unpr...
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PP & PK Very Special … Canucks Up 3 Zip
Posted on 20 Apr 2009 by Mark Gage.
Breaking down the first round match up between the Canucks and Blues the stats told us that of all the categories, it was Specialty Teams where St Louis had a distinct advantage as they had the 8th best Power Play and 3rd best Penalty Killing units in the league while Vancouver plodded along at 16th with a man up and a man down. As you've heard in this space numerous times, stats can be ve...
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Team-Win Gives Canucks Game #1
Posted on 16 Apr 2009 by Mark Gage.
While it wasn't very pretty, and the Referees were far too prominent on the night for both team's liking, the Canucks continued to do what they did in the final two games of the regular season … play a very solid team-game and get the job done. GM Place was jacked for this one as the expectations are as high as they have ever been in this city, and some may have liked to see a l...


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About Ideal Foundation
Ideal Foundation was registered in the year 2003, in Mumbai with the registration number-20948 M. The people associated with the Foundation are engaged in rendering various types of social services, like Ideal group contributes substantial amount every year and donates it to a charitable institution which is not related to any religion or any political party.
Details of its Promoters including their Background
The promoters consist of professional educationalists; the chairman of the trust Professor Jagdish Walawalkar is commerce and law graduate as well as a chartered accountant and a company secretary and is teaching for more than 3 decades.
Academic Objectives
To produce competent Engineers having high technical facility, upgrading their capabilities in time with rapidly changing technological scenario and globalization.
With the growing branches in Engineering, the demand for engineering in India is at mass upsurge. And, requirement of the professionals in the area will increase in coming years. But, the number of students opting in the field is very low and the percentage of opting for research is at all time low. Looking at the scenario, the institute wishes to stress more on various research programs thus attracting the nation's youth by assuring new opportunities in the industry
This unique practice wills enable aspiring engineers to explore to new ideas and learn the core skills in order to juggle easily in the challenging field of research projects.


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Should Texans be allowed to wear handguns openly?
The issue has been discussed before, and it's sure to gain momentum after action from a neighboring state. As Reuters reported, "A bill to allow Oklahomans with a concealed-carry permit to openly carry their handguns is headed to the governor, who is expected to sign the legislation that passed the state Senate on Thursday. "The […] [Read More]
Is it prudent or panicky to buy a gun because Obama might be re-elected?
The presidential election is still eight months away, but many people apparently believe that President Obama is a shoo-in to win again. And they are not happy about it. According to the AP, "Gun sales are booming across Texas, and some buyers say their growing belief that President Barack Obama will inevitably be re-elected is […] [Read More]
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KRWG.ORG-The Region's Home Page
10:20 am
Tue September 29, 2009
City Settles With Man Over Gun Rights
By KRWG News
Alamogordo – Alamogordo paid a Holloman Air Force Base sergeant $21,000 after he alleged the city violated his right against unreasonable search and seizure when police removed him from a theater for wearing a gun.
Matthew St. John's attorney, Miguel Garcia, says the settlement pays damages and legal fees.
Federal court records say St. John went to a theater June 27, 2008, and another patron complained he was wearing a gun.
Records say police removed St. John from the theater, questioned him and ran a check on his handgun before returning it.
U.S. District Judge Bruce Black ruled the search was unreasonable because there was no suspicion St. John committed a crime.
But the judge denied St. John's claim for false arrest and battery.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.


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After one listless and uninspired season on Fox's struggling X Factor, US Weekly is reporting that Britney Spears "will get fired" from her role as a judge on the program. According to their report, there seem to be two main issues at play here. The first is her $15 million salary, which a source tells them is an awful lot "for her to say 'amazing' and offer half-claps." Her mental state is also being reported as an issue, but not in the way that you might think.
X Factor creator/evil genius Simon Cowell is reportedly second-guessing his decision to cast the seemingly heavily medicated Spears on his show. "He wanted crazy Britney, but he got boring Britney," a source tells US Weekly, which strikes us as one of those things that is okay to think but definitely not okay to say out loud. While there's no denying that Spears lacks the ability to riff on an impromptu basis, this is not exactly what we in the business call "breaking news." Ever since her head-shaving incident, she has been kept on a short leash by her team of caretakers, rendering her as a personality-challenged shell of her former rambunctious self (who, in her "defense," does make hilariously inappropriate crazy faces on the reg). Cowell should've recognized this deficiency from the start, and not placed a foolish bet that the stress of being on live television twice a week would revert Miss Spears back to her dangerous and emotionally challenged self. That seems incredibly callous, even for someone generally held in low regard like Cowell.
We just hope that Britney's agents/conservators/creepy boyfriends did their due diligence when Brit Brit signed her X Factor contract and that if and when this news actually comes to fruition, she'll be the recipient of a generous severance package. After all, judging by the stinging reviews she received during the Femme Fatale tour, the last place Britney Spears needs to be right now is out on the road.
Exclusive: Britney Spears Will Get Fired From X Factor [US Weekly]
[GIF via Breathe Heavy]


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Moscow United Electric Grid Co. 'BB-' Rating Placed On Watch Positive On Regulator's Tariff Increase Nov 12
- Language: English
- Published: November 2012
We think that the medium-term tariff structure approved by the regulator for Russia-based electricity distribution utility Moscow United Electric Grid Co. (MOESK) in November 2012 somewhat reduced regulatory uncertainty and will in our view support sound cash flow generation and modest debt leverage. We also note improvements in the company's liquidity, and have revised our assessment of that factor to "adequate" from "less-than-adequate." We are therefore raising our assessment of MOESK's stand-alone credit profile to 'bb-' from 'b+', and in turn the ratings to 'BB/ruAA' from 'BB-/ruAA-'. We are also removing the ratings from CreditWatch with positive implications. The stable outlook reflects our view that MOESK's key credit metrics and liquidity will likely remain commensurate for the ratings. On Feb....
Companies mentioned in this report are:
- Moscow United Electric Grid Co. JSC
Action: Outlook: Stable
Action: Removed From CreditWatch
Action: Upgraded
Standard and Poors RatingsXpress Credit Research provides in-depth coverage of international corporates, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, sovereigns and structured finance programs. RatingsXpress Credit Research lets users determine the credit rating of holdings and identify key factors underlying an issuer's creditworthiness, distinguishes the different risk exposures for new and existing deals, and provides an understanding of how their analysts interpret key regulatory, political and environmental events and their economic impact.
Product Type: Research Update
Research updates complement media releases. They offer more depth and detail than summary analyses by incorporating all information published in the media release. They are more up to date than summaries in that they are published simultaneously with media releases. SHOW LESS READ MORE >
- Moscow United Electric Grid Co. JSC


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Those pursuing careers as Personal Bankers in the United States may have to make do with less; average incomes for people in this area hover around only $35K per year. Overall cash earnings for Personal Bankers stretch from $26K on the lower end to $46K near the top, and the heftiest packages can encompass around $8K from bonuses and $3K from profit sharing. Compensation for this group is mainly affected by the company, but the particular city and experience level are influential factors as well. A large number enjoy medical while a fair number get dental coverage. Vision coverage is also available to the larger part. Women Personal Bankers who took the survey just slightly outnumber men. Job satisfaction for Personal Bankers is high. The data for this synopsis comes from respondents who took the PayScale salary survey.
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Personal bankers are responsible for helping individual clients manage their money in order to balance financial risks and returns. These bankers typically work in indoor office environments, and some limited travel may be required to attend social networking events and appeal to potential clients. Although they generally work during traditional business hours, extended hours may be required depending on the organization and needs of the client.Read More...
Most entry-level personal banking positions require a bachelor's degree in a field such as economics or finance, as well as experience in business statistics, economics, and calculus, and many upper-level positions require further education. Prior experience in risk management, corporate finance, quantitative reasoning, and investment theory is also beneficial. Personal bankers may need to be registered with the financial industry regulatory authority, wherein an exam is required, and other license requirements may apply depending on the employer.
Personal bankers have a variety of responsibilities, including: various banking duties; overseeing all financial activities of accounts; marketing to potential clients; building a reputable customer base; maintaining proper licensing; selling financial services; and accessing and updating account information of clients.
Aspiring bankers should be highly knowledgeable in their fields and willing to constantly expand their knowledge. Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain highly technical terms to "everyday" customers, are also important.
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There are some Personal Bankers — though it's uncommon — that transition into Private Bankers, where earnings are an average $78K annually. The most common next step for a Personal Banker is to become a Banking Branch Manager or an Assistant Branch Manager of Banking. The former position pays an additional $16K per year on average, and the latter position pays $3K more per year.
Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America Corp. (BOFA), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPMCC), U.S. Bank, and Chase Bank are among the top companies that take on many Personal Bankers. Salary cannot be beat at Citibank, where median pay comes to $42K. The range seems somewhat confined, however; the lower end sits at $32K, and the higher end is not far away at $55K. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPMCC), KeyBank, and Bank of America Corp. (BOFA) also offer top salaries for Personal Bankers. Workers at these firms can expect to earn about $41K, $40K, and $39K, respectively.
The smallest paychecks in the field are found at Woodforest National Bank, where the median salary is a mere $24K, 71 percent lower than the top payer. Also approaching the lower end are The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. at $31K, U.S. Bank at $32K, and Citizens Financial Group, Inc. at $34K.
Personal Bankers report using a deep pool of skills on the job. Most notably, skills in Spanish Language, Mortgage Loans, Customer Relationship Management, and Sales are correlated to pay that is above average, with boosts between 4 percent and 6 percent. It is often found that people who know Banking are also skilled in Sales.
Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.
Personal Bankers do not generally earn higher incomes from more experience in the field. Workers in their first five years can expect to earn $34K, but people who have been around for five to 10 years earn a noticeably bigger sum of $37K. Personal Bankers claiming one to two decades of experience make an estimated median of $38K. In the end, more experience does seem to mean larger paychecks; seasoned Personal Bankers with more than 20 years of experience earn a predictably higher median salary of $40K.
For those looking to make money, Personal Bankers in New York enjoy an exceptional pay rate, 25 percent above the national average. Personal Bankers will also find cushy salaries in San Francisco (+23 percent), Los Angeles (+10 percent), Miami (+9 percent), and Chicago (+8 percent). Falling short of the national average by 4 percent, the area with the worst salaries is Denver.
|Highly satisfied
Rated 4 out of 5
based on 895 votes.
55 %
45 %
|Medical: 85%
|Dental: 78%
|Vision: 64%
|None: 13%


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Thousands of Sikhs protest 1984 Golden Temple massacre - London
Over 15,000 Sikhs travelled from their Gudwaras the length and breadth of the United Kingdom to march and rally in memory of the brutal massacre on the 6th of June 1984 of over 7,000 Sikhs by the Indian Army. UK. 5th June 2011
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Ask Charles Lieurance, the Austin-based founder of wildly popular Facebook fanpage Decaying Hollywood Mansions, what would be his favourite moment in Hollywood history to revisit, and you get a typically detailed response. "It's 1932. I'd live in the Villa Elaine on 1245 Vine Street in Apartment 10, and I would be assistant to Warner Brothers Art Director Anton Grot and moonlight for Mitchell Leisen at Paramount. I'd forever be working on screenplay adaptations of Djuna Barnes' Nightwood and Jean Rhys' Good Morning, Midnight and begging Myrna Loy to sign on to the projects. Gradually I would become so single-minded that no one will speak to me, so I sink into drunken despond and haunt the bar at Boardner's until the early 1970s, when I disappear completely, leaving my collection of Warner Brothers pay stubs to my newspaper boy."
Movie nostalgia is Lieurance's business, and his passion and spellbinding knowledge of Hollywood trivia suffuses his blog, garnering him tens of thousands of fans across the world. These fans greedily lap up his posts from the glory days of the silver screen, which throw up gems of everyone from James Dean to his personal idol Myrna Loy. Here, we gave him the impossible task of picking his Top Ten Highlights from the past four years of posts. Gamely he obliged , but we just couldn't make him choose a favourite film.
1. Apotheosis/Glamour as a Religious Icon
Stills from films made during the teens and 20s of the last century – and so many are lost now – seem as concerned with apotheosis, with rendering their players as divine, as with publicity. Often the photographs of the great portrait artists of early cinema – Max Munn Autrey, George Hurrell, Alfred Chaney Johnston, Irving Chidnoff, and others – resemble religious icons more than marketing tools for mass entertainment, and present glamour as a spiritual state. While the forces of Social Realism/Naturalism and Artifice still battle it out in movies, there was a glorious time when artifice, myth & symbolism held sway in Hollywood, and it's a time I like to remember.
2. James Dean in a Coffin, Dennis Stock 1955
I am, at heart, a morbid person. I'm drawn to bloody crime scenes, autopsies, kink, the purple prose of suicide notes, bridge-jumpers, the tangled steel of automobile accidents, impossibly beautiful people who have aged into monsters. Therefore I can appreciate the photos of a jocular James Dean visiting a funeral parlor in 1955, taken jauntily enough by famed LIFE photographer Dennis Stock, seven months before the star was killed in a collision while driving his Porsche Spyder to Salinas, California for a race.
3. Confluence
My favorite thing about Hollywood is the way it has mingled, sometimes quite uncomfortably, with the more "serious" worlds of art, literature and music – Salvador Dalí designing the dream sequence in Spellbound, William Faulkner assisting on the screenplay for Gunga Din...so many others. This image is a real treasure, Surrealists Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp sitting beneath a Parisian street sign on a Hollywood backlot in 1949. While the horrors of World War II left the human psyche and most of Europe in ruins, the resulting influx of Old World geniuses gave Hollywood a rarefied patina. Strange how tragedy seems to add to the lustre of this magical kingdom, while the rest of the world reels from it.
4. Glamour Apes & Monkey Funerals
My personal obsession with anthropomorphism, especially rabbits and foxes in Edwardian waistcoats and the elegant zoological garden chimp "consuls" nibbling cucumber sandwiches and sipping Earl Grey tea in postcards from the turn of the last century, often overflows into the posts. Movie royalty boxing stuffed bears, luxuriating on tiger rugs, walking leopards in Echo Park, cuddling ocelots on a plush divan, cavorting with live bunnies for Easter, kissing canaries, and swimming with pet lions in terracotta Beverly Hills pools – these will always have priority.
5. Foamite Snow, Backlot Surrealism & The Triumph of Artifice
Whether it be the impossibly fluffy painted-cornflake snow of post-Weimar Bavaria in Frank Borzage's This Mortal Storm or the sleepy sirocco breezes swaying the palm trees and ruffling Yvonne De Carlo's crow-black hair on a backlot desert oasis in 1951's Hotel Sahara, DHM worships at the altar of artifice. Rear-projections, painted mattes of faraway landscapes, detailed miniatures of fairy-tale Budapest and Venice, and elaborate dance routines that begin on some little Broadway stage and flower into kaleidoscopic patterns larger than the theater, the block, the city itself, are no laughing matter.
6. Hollywood Gothic & The Grand Guignol
Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd. & the works of novelist/screenwriter Henry Farrell are First Principles at DHM. Their works and those inspired by them - think Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? – nasty, overheated, and wickedly funny Gothic passion plays, revived the careers of Golden Age movie beauties such as Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Agnes Moorehead and Olivia de Havilland. Though it normally transformed them into shrieking harpies and brooding gargoyles in the process, the actresses all turned in lively, committed performances that rank in the upper echelons of screen villainy.
7. Orientalism, Exotica & Decadence
While the rest of the nation scurried after a number of trends in architecture, fashion, furniture design and home decor after the 1920s, I think we still imagine at least a few stars living like Ottoman pashas up until, well, today at noon. DHM is certain of it and won't let the sight of a few celebrities relaxing in mid-century Richard Neutra homes shake its beliefs. Somewhere in the Hollywood Hills there is a great, perhaps forgotten, star donning a jade-green turban and shuffling through his or her cavernous upscale opium den at midnight, its rooms stuffed with brocade throw-pillows, dressing screens decorated with lithesome nudes mid-orgy, and brass censers emitting lazy serpents of jasmine smoke into the mouldering elegance of a Left Coast House of Usher.
8. Bunkum, Hokum & Hoodoo
Certain literature would have you believe Hollywood was founded by hucksters, confidence men, and carnies with ambition. Other literature would have you believe ALL OF THE UNITED STATES was founded by the same folks and that Hollywood just makes a convenient microcosm. However you choose to see it, there's no better place for a carny or a confidence man to make good than in a place entirely devoted to illusion. Tod Browning -- very close to being my favorite filmmaker -- specialized in the depiction of corrupt fortune-tellers, larcenous magicians, and ne'er-do-well carnival workers, all using their gift with illusions to bilk the public, usually putting into motion plots so byzantine you can't believe they wouldn't be better off buying a pawnshop gun and rob a filling station. Of course his fascinations reached their eye-boggling apex with 1932s classic, Freaks, but his lesser-known films The Mystic, The Show, The Unholy Three, and The Unknown are cat-nip to DHM.
9. Madam Satan (Cecil B. DeMille, 1930)
Once you begin delving into film oddities from the late-1920s and early-1930s (our favorite period), you'll find the well nearly bottomless. Unless you simply demand verisimilitude from the movies you watch, I guarantee that after three or four, you'll be hooked by their sophistication, their often intense eroticism, their daft whiplash changes in tone and cock-eyed narrative reversals, and utterly breathtaking visuals. Not that there aren't hundreds of creaky, dull, stage-bound productions from this period, but spend a little time with DHM and you'll discover the wild and fantastical gems as I do. A perfect gateway drug to your new full-blown addiction is DeMille's Madam Satan. From the moment drunken pals Reginald Denny and Roland Young stumble back to Denny's mansion in dusty top hats and rumpled tails and begin undressing one another in the shower, we're in a world addled by Free Money, constant leisure, and a surfeit of reflective surfaces.
10. The Lost
Of course, the only thing more filled with possibility than the future, is a past that is lost to us, and mooning over lost films is our favorite pastime at DHM. For instance, the publicity still above is for a Vitaphone short called Murder in Your Eyes from 1934, purported to be about the goings on in an all-female detective agency. After staring at this evocative picture for an hour, you start to fill in the incredible story yourself, but what could possibly lead these gals to perform a dance routine atop a Colt .38 revolver?
Text by Tish Wrigley


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Sponsorship Presentation Materials
sponsorKit is a unique marketing tool that can be used in the search for motorsport sponsorship. sponsorKit consists of a collection of high quality marketing materials that have been professionally produced to help in the process of securing commercial sponsorship. Each sponsorKit is personalized and contains content that is relevant and specific to an individual driver, rider and series. The package is completely flexible, editable and re-useable and is supplied in different formats to suit individual circumstances.
sponsorKit has been designed to provide drivers, riders and teams with their own marketing resource and serves as an ideal platform from which to start the search for sponsorship. sponsorKit is particularly well suited to those starting out in motorsport who do not yet have their own marketing resources. The package offers a cost effective way of approaching potential sponsors and is designed to work in tandem with other available marketing materials that are supplied by teams, agencies and championships.
It can be used in any category of racing including karting, single seaters, saloon car racing and motorcycle racing.
There are four distinct components to sponsorKit:


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Running with the Goats 5K Walk/Run
Saturday, October 11 (family weekend)
Meet at the Old Union
Register/Check-in at 11 a.m.
The third annual Running With the Goats 5K Walk/Run raises money for Coins for Change, a Enactus student group at Binghamton University. Coins for Change raises money for the Maasai Tribe in Kenya, Africa. Join us in inspiring students, their families, and community members to get fit and have fun while supporting a good cause.
The cost for students is $8 and $13 for all other walkers/runners before Friday, September 26th.
After Friday, September 26th the prices will go up to $10 for students and $15 for all other walkers/runners.
Registration also includes a free t-Shirt and post-race refreshments.
Check out the 2013 results.
Check out the 2012 results.


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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. ---
From Cook to Kirk, the archetype of a captain has been romanticized into a conglomerate of nerves of steel, a predisposed curiosity and a penchant for danger. Those qualities, which separate a captain from their crew, are often tested and scrutinized, whether it's in the unknowns of the Pacific or in boldly going where no man has gone before.
Entering her senior year and final season at Northridge, Chloe McDaniel has certainly exemplified the qualities that lift a captain above the masses of able bodies. McDaniel has bucked a trend and enters her third season as the captain of the CSUN women's soccer team. Although her journeys with the defending Big West Champions has certainly not led to the peril that plagued her more famous counterparts, she carries herself as a leader in everything she does.
A 5-6 center back from Palmdale, Calif., McDaniel has achieved quite a list of accomplishments. Last year, as CSUN captured the Big West Tournament title and earned its first berth into the NCAA Tournament, McDaniel was the 2012 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She anchored a stout Matador defense that allowed just 13 goals and posted 11 shutouts.
Not that everything she does on the pitch is defensive-orientated. She headed home a pair of goals and added an assist last year, all of which came against Big West Conference opponents.
Additionally, she was recognized for her work off the pitch and was named a Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete for the 2012–13 academic year. To qualify for the prestigious distinction, a student-athlete must maintain a 3.2 GPA or higher and excel in their sport. A kinesiology major, McDaniel has also served as a tutor for fellow Matador student-athletes.
Most recently, McDaniel was named a Senior CLASS finalist, one of the most prestigious awards for senior student-athletes in the nation. Of the roughly 1,800 senior women's soccer players competing in Division I this season, McDaniel and 29 of her peers were chosen for their embodiment of the award's four tenants: character, classroom, community and competition.
"All the awards were shocking. I never expected any of this to happen, plus I would not describe myself as overly studious, so the academic awards were especially nice," McDaniel said. "Throughout the season, I was never really thinking about awards. I was just playing. The scary part is I feel like the standards are even higher and I want to exceed my expectations this year too."
On the field, McDaniel also excels as team captain. Her actions and work ethic make her a leader. Last year, on a team filled with nine seniors, some of whom spent five years in the program, it was McDaniel who was a nearly unanimous choice when it came to selecting the captains.
"When I came in, Kellie Drenner and Katie Fox were my idols. I wanted to be just like them," McDaniel said. "They helped me so much when I was a freshman, especially with all the questions. I wanted to be a team leader like them."
A regular captain on nearly every team she has competed for, McDaniel strives for her best in every situation and believes that mind-set becomes infectious.
"I like the role of being a leader. I think it comes with my personality and I hold myself to high standards. I think people like that and gravitate towards that," she added. "I think my mom has been a huge influence and leader in my life. Although I like to be positive all the time, I have my moments and she is there to reinforce the fact that I am a leader. How I act and feel can affect others."
Being a center back, McDaniel sees the position as a natural leadership role. From the back, the defense can see the play develop and create the action necessary to thwart an attack. "When I'm on the field, I think about the way the I'm acting. Energy is contagious. If I'm negative or positive that is going to be reflected by the team," she explained.
That fact is not lost on CSUN head coach Keith West, who was a team captain in his own right for the Matador men's program in the mid-1990s.
"I don't think I have ever had a player who has had the same competitive drive or work rate as Chloe," West said. "When she showed up as a true freshman, I doubt I would have forecast her to be a Defensive Player of the Year. But her willingness to improve and her determination to be the one of the best has made her a great player and a great captain.
West describes McDaniel as an overachiever who will do the hard things: challenging teammates, constantly working to improve, doing things that might not be the most alluring to college-aged students with a new sense of liberty.
In some regards, that competitive yearning can scare some people off. But the one thing West credits McDaniel with is a fierce determination to back up everything she says and does on the field. "When she came in, Chloe had a fantastic motor. As her skills started to sharpen, the leadership qualities came out. You just don't get players like that too often," West added.
McDaniel is equally effusive about the influence West has had on her game and her life.
"He sets the bar high for everyone and I think that has helped our program improve since I've been here," she added. "He sets high standards for leaders and since I've been captain, my job is never done."
McDaniel hopes all that work pays off when she is done with soccer. Having been involved in Division-I athletics for five years, McDaniel is interested in pursuing a career in athletics administration. She has met with many leaders at CSUN and also credits them for piquing her professional interests.
"I enjoy the relationships I have developed throughout my time at CSUN and I want to do something in athletics, whether it's administration, compliance, marketing or something else," McDaniel said. "I've met with [CSUN Director of Intercollegiate Athletics] Dr. [Brandon] Martin and I can already tell that there is a different vibe about CSUN athletics. He has made himself known to the team through the construction and new signage around school."
The time when McDaniel's soccer career at CSUN will end is coming soon. There will not be another season. She will have to find new outlets for that drive and determination. But until that day dawns, McDaniel relishes the chance to be a leader among her peers. She yearns for the responsibility and pressure that comes with leadership. Like Cook and Kirk, she thrives when peril is at its thickest and works determinedly to make her teammates and herself successful. That is the captain's mission, whether it is on the pitch, the ocean or in space.


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'It's just a big part of my life and always will be'
Relay for Life fundraising in Vance County is officially underway.
The American Cancer Society's kick off for the fundraising program Thursday night at the Maria Parham Medical Center auditorium honored cancer survivors and featured speakers from the community who have benefited from Relay funds.
So far this year, 60 participants and 20 teams in the county have raised more than $3,000. Last year, Vance County raised $160,095 for Relay for Life.
"We are still looking for new teams to join and businesses to be co-sponsors and anybody who wants to be part of the Relay family to join a team and get active," said James Baines, co-chairman of the Relay for Life in Vance County.
The American Cancer Society's fundraising efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates since 1991 and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates.
Stephanie Ranes, a breast cancer survivor, spoke Thursday about why the fundraiser is important to her.
"I found a small knot and immediately that day went to the doctor," Ranes said. "One week later, I had a mammogram. Exactly two weeks from the day I found it, I was in surgery having it removed. All along I was thinking positive, that it was nothing, only to find out a couple days later that it was only stage one."
Ranes said she had 12 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by six weeks of radiation.
"I have to go every six months for check-ups but as of now, I'm still cancer-free," she said. "We did the team Stephanie's Fight and it's just a big part of my life and always will be. I encourage everyone to support Relay for Life."
Relay meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month in Maria Parham Medical Center's auditorium.
The final Relay event was originally scheduled for June 13, but Baines said that date now conflicts with high school graduations.
The event has been rescheduled to June 20-21 at Southern Vance High School.
Baines said Relay for Life will hold a yard sale on April 5 at the old Aycock gym from 7 a.m. to noon.
Vance County's Relay for Life goals for 2014-2015 are:
• 47 total teams
• 750 total participants
• 350 total survivors
• $160,000 raised
To get involved in Relay for Life, go to relayforlife.org/vancenc for more information.
Contact the writer at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Technology reporter Stanley A. Miller II tracks news and trends, from the coolest new gadgets to the latest stuff on the Web
UWM's Arts & Technology Night
Dozens of interesting and creative student projects from the interdisciplinary arts and technology program at UWM will be on display 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Kenilworth Studios, 1925 E. Kenilworth Place. I had the pleasure of meeting some talented students and seeing their brilliant works in progress yesterday, and I am eager to see them finished. Mark your calendars. A preview of this event is the subject of my Sunday column, so check back for the poetic details then.
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Sturdy, flexible, and trimmed in black leather with white stitching, this personalized Leather Money Clip has a casual look and feel. Personalized with 2 lines of up to 12 characters per line. Clip measures 2 1/8" X 7/8" x 3/8". Typestyle, format & positioning only as shown.
Money not included.


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Solicitors in Windsor, Berkshire, Surrey and London
Goldstein Legal is a leading commercial and franchising law firm based in Windsor, Berkshire, near London, UK.
Established in 2006, our solicitors combine expert legal advice with a friendly approach for small and medium-sized business.
We specialise in:
- Business and commercial law
- Advice for franchisors
- Franchise agreement review
- Franchise contract review
- Franchising – advice for franchisees
- Franchise Agreement for clients buying a franchise
- Employment law – for employers
- Employment law – for employees
- Commercial property
- Brand Licensing and Intellectual Property
"At Goldstein legal we offer our clients the kind of cutting-edge legal expertise that they expect from top commercial lawyers. What makes us different is that we handle every case with the care and attention we'd employ if we were doing the work for ourselves. We think it's this personal approach that really helps to take the stress out of important commercial legal transactions. To see how we can help your business, phone us for a no-fee initial consultation on 01753 865165 or email us here."
Roz Goldstein, Founder, Goldstein Legal
Franchising lawyers
We are British Franchise Association affiliated lawyers, so we understand the requirements and expectations of the BFA, and we have the experience in franchising needed to support your business.
If you are considering expanding your business through franchising:
- Our franchising lawyers expert insight into what makes a successful, growing enterprise work in the franchise sector means we are perfectly placed to offer support and advice. Our franchise consultancy service can help you decide whether franchising is right for your business and take you step by step through other options such as brand licensing and product distribution.
- If you decide that franchising is the best way forward for your business, our consultants and solicitors can offer advice through every part of the process, including: market analysis, forecasts and budgets and project management. We can also advise you on marketing and franchisee recruitment.
- Once you're ready to launch, our experienced legal team can produce a franchise agreement which is tailor-made for your business, and written in plain, accessible, jargon-free English.
- You can rest assured that your franchise contract will be in a form that works for you, protects your interests, and will be a useful tool as you build your business.
Legal advice for established franchisors:
- We provide legal support in all aspects of your business, helping you to ensure its long-term health. This can include drafting and negotiating master franchise agreements, amending and advising on existing franchise agreements; and advising and assisting with franchisee disputes and franchise agreement terminations
- We frequently act for franchisors who are expanding overseas, creating international franchise agreements for international markets
For people who are thinking about becoming a franchisee:
- For a fixed price we will provide an easy-to-follow report on your franchise with all the key terms summarised and any "problem" areas clearly highlighted
For existing franchisees who are experiencing problems:
- We have a proven track-record of supporting clients who are in dispute with franchisors, frequently negotiating an exit which relieves the client of any further liabilities under their franchise agreement.
Visit the franchising page for more information, email us here; or give us a call on 01753 865165.
Business law – without the jargon
We are well-placed to support you on business and commercial law. Our commercial lawyers have years of experience in drafting commercial agreements, including business sale and purchase agreements, contracts with suppliers and customer terms and conditions.
We also provide expert legal advice for start-ups, we can help you with shareholder agreements and partnership agreements.
When it comes to drafting the documents, contracts and terms and conditions, our ability to write in easy-to-read plain English means you can get on with running your business.
Employment law
Legal advice for employers:
The seemingly never-ending stream of UK and EU employment legislation can be a real challenge for employers.
Goldstein Legal's employment lawyers can help steer you through the employment law minefield, compromise agreements, advising on disciplinary and grievance procedures, sickness absence, parental leave, discrimination, and all other hot topics.
We ensure you have the right contracts and terms in place for the right people.
We regularly assist employers facing Employment Tribunal claims.
Legal advice for employees:
Our expert employment lawyers can advise you on your legal rights, and help you to resolve disputes with your employer on the best possible terms, whether through compromise agreements, negotiation, or through bringing an Employment Tribunal claim.
Commercial property lawyers
Why is property so important to business?
For many businesses, property is their single biggest asset – and often their largest liability. Timescales are often critical and, if not managed effectively, a property transaction can be a stressful and expensive experience.
How can Goldstein Legal help?
Goldstein Legal commercial lawyers is experienced in representing landlords and tenants in commercial property transactions, particularly in the retail and restaurant sectors.
Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, our friendly, responsive, jargon-free approach to negotiation ensures you're kept up to date at every stage of the process.
Trademark lawyers
With so many companies competing for market-share, building a competitive brand is crucial to your success. In order to keep customer-loyalty and generate brand value, a strong, consistent presence is essential.
Many businesses mistakenly assume that registering a domain name will protect their trademark. Unfortunately this is not the case. In a worst case, this can leave you having to change your business name in the face of a trade mark infringement action.
At Goldstein Legal we have specialist intellectual property lawyers. We can advise you on trade marks, copyright and other intellectual property, so you can get on with building your market presence.
As well as trademark cases, we regularly support clients who are developing their business through brand licensing. For many businesses, licensing can be a suitable alternative to franchising and we are well-positioned to advise you on the best route to take.


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|Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
|Sun, 6 Jun 2004 11:58:10 -0700 (PDT)
dillon 2004/06/06 11:58:10 PDT DragonFly src repository Modified files: sys/dev/usbmisc/ucom ucom.c Log: The usbcom's device was being released too early in the close sequence. Note that this fixes a null pointer panic but we still get the following warning: 'ucom: Warning: cdevsw_remove() called while 1 device refs still exist! (major 138)' Submitted-by: YONETANI Tomokazu <qhwt+dragonfly-bugs@xxxxxxxxxx> Revision Changes Path 1.16 +6 -6 src/sys/dev/usbmisc/ucom/ucom.c http://www.dragonflybsd.org/cvsweb/src/sys/dev/usbmisc/ucom/ucom.c.diff?r1=1.15&r2=1.16&f=u


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Standards Webcasts On-Demand
The standards development process is crucial to the motion imaging industry. The process by which SMPTE standards are developed is best understood by those directly involved in it, but now, anyone can learn about SMPTE Standards by participating in this unique opportunity "peek under the hood". These live SMPTE Standards webcasts are captured for on-demand playback, so if your schedule doesn't allow you to participate in a live webcast, you can always see what you've missed.
Previous Standards Webcasts
Interoperable Master Format (IMF) - Application 2 and Beyond
Speaker: Annie Chang, Disney
Original Airdate: 18 March 2015
Webcast Series: Standards
The Interoperable Master Format (IMF) is intended to allow content creators to transform a single file containing content into various versions of the content that can be distributed over multiple distribution platforms and to numerous consumer devices. Please join guest speaker, Annie Chang, VP, Post-Production Technology, Disney, and Chair, 35PM50, as she explains the details about IMF Application 2. Topics covered will include coding formats for essence and audio, plus other important parameters. But wait, there's more! Ms. Chang will also discuss where IMF is headed and how it may prove crucial to today's evolving multi-platform, multi-device and multi-lingual world.
Immersive Sound for Cinema
Speaker: Pete Ludé, RealD
Original Airdate: October 2014
Webcast Series: Standards
Improvements in Digital Cinema image technologies have been well-publicized lately. But important advances in cinema sound systems are also dramatically enhancing the movie theater experience. Immersive Sound is the recently-adopted term for a three-dimensional soundfield, in which sound emanates not just from a few channels in a single plane (typical for 5.1 or 7.1 theater systems), but from many more positions located all around and above the audience.
In this SMPTE Standards Update webcast, we will provide an overview of what makes these new Immersive Sound Systems different from legacy technology, and review the status of adoption into worldwide cinemas.
Perceptual EOTF
Speaker: Scott Miller, Dolby
Original Airdate: 6 May 2014
Webcast Series: Standards
With technological improvements in both capture and display technology, we are now in a position to utilize a much higher dynamic range in digital imaging than in the past. However, the challenge of traditional infrastructure limitations and the desire for efficient packaging prevent utilization of large bit depths everywhere. This SMPTE Educational Webcast explores how the Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) really defines an electronic imaging signal and what that means for the use of higher dynamic range content. In addition, the development of a signal definition based on the human visual system model promises to optimize its perceptual efficiency.
Networked Media and The Joint Task Force
Speaker: Felix Poulin, EBU
Original Airdate: 4 March 2014
Webcast Series: Standards
In the broad, fast-paced, ever-changing landscape of networked media, several interested organizations realized the need to collaborate to better understand the "bigger picture." As a result, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), SMPTE, and the Video Services Forum (VSF) formed the Joint Task Force on Professional Networked Streamed Media (JT-NM). Please join Felix Poulin, EBU's senior engineer and project manager of media production technologies, as he defines networked media and its potential for opportunity, explains why the Task Force was needed to encourage interoperability, and outlines the next steps. Mr. Poulin will also present highlights from the recently published JT-NM Gap Analysis Report. Please don't miss this important SMPTE Standards Update webcast.
Click here for a PDF of this presentation
The Lip-Sync Challenge
Speaker: Paul Briscoe, Consultant
Original Airdate: 10 December 2013
Webcast Series: Standards
Since the first time a moving image was married to a soundtrack, maintaining sync between the two posed a challenge at every step, including acquisition, production, distribution and consumption. The implementation of the vast number of digital systems within the media ecosystem has increased this challenge significantly.
Please join guest speaker Paul Briscoe for a look at A-V synchronization related issues and an overview of the work underway within SMPTE to establish a standard which could solve the issue. This webcast will discuss the nature and causes of A-V sync problems, and explain, in detail, how the toolset in the proposed SMPTE Standard supports lip-sync for both live and file-based workflows, and holds the potential to provide utility through to the point of consumption.
3G SDI Interfaces
Speaker: John Hudson, Semtech Corp
Original Airdate: 10 September 2013
Webcast Series: Standards
Since its arrival in 2006, the latest generation of the Serial Digital Interface, 3Gb/s SDI, or "3G", has achieved wide-spread adoption, rapidly becoming the real-time streaming media interface of choice. But what exactly is 3G SDI and how can it be used to create a reliable real-time streaming infrastructure? Webcast participants will learn about the latest developments in "3G" standardization and technology. They will also hear practical advice on the installation and operation of reliable 3Gb/s SDI infrastructure using both copper and optical fiber interfaces. Finally, webcast guests will accompany the speaker as he explores emerging production requirements and how the core 3Gb/s broadcast infrastructure can evolve to accommodate future needs.
Video Over IP Using The SMPTE 2022 Standards
Speaker: Brad Gilmer, AMWA
Original Airdate : 11 June 2013
Webcast Series: Standards
SMPTE's latest Video over IP Standards, 2022-5 and 2022-6 provide for the transport of professional video at bit rates of up to 3Gbit/sec over IP networks. Attend this webinar to learn more about the implementation of these Standards and to learn more about the impact of IP technology on professional media networks.
For more information on this topic, check out the following resources:
Cinema Sound Systems:
Speaker: Brian Vessa, Sony Pictures
Original Airdate: 12 March 2013
Webcast Series: Standards
Movies can sound quite different depending on the theater in which you see the film. There can also be a great deal of variation between how the movie sounds on the mixing stage and how it sounds in the exhibition theater. SMPTE has a new standards committee, TC-25CSS, that is working to update the current Standards and Recommended Practices in order to address these issues, raise the bar, and help make movie theaters sound better and more consistent.
SMPTE Standards Development Update: IMF (Interoperable Master Format)
Speaker: Annie Chang, VP, Post Production Technologies at The Walt Disney Studios
Original Airdate: 27 November 2012
Webcast Series: Standards
Today's wide range of consumer options for viewing content has significantly challenged content creators who need to deliver masters to CDNs and downstream distribution companies. SMPTE is working to develop an Interoperable Master Framework (IMF) Standard. Please join Ms. Annie Chang, VP, Post Production Technologies at The Walt Disney Studios, as she explains what IMF is and specifically how it will be used.
Motion Picture Metadata:
Speaker: Karen Broome, Sony Electronics US Technology Standards Office
Original Airdate: 28 August 2012
Webcast Series: Standards
Most large studios and archival institutions realize the critical importance of metadata for development, description, and delivery of audiovisual content. Karen Broome, metadata specialist for Sony's U.S. Technology Standards Office, goes beyond the basics to discuss emerging requirements for motion picture metadata and the complexities of context.
SMPTE Timed Text
Speaker: Michael Dolan, Television Broadcast Technology, Inc.
Original Airdate: 24 February 2012
Webcast Series: Standards
The industry is moving to more and more Internet-delivered media. To date, closed captioning and subtitles have been delivered using proprietary methods. SMPTE developed a standard for the native encoding of captions and subtitles known as "SMPTE Timed Text". The webcast will cover the technical details of these SMPTE standards and is targeted at the engineer involved in using them.
SMPTE Standards 101
Speaker: Peter Symes, Director, Standards & Engineering, SMPTE
Original Airdate: 24 May 2012
Webcast Series: Standards
As you may know, SMPTE is the premier standards development body for the motion imaging industry. What you may not know, however, is how those standards are developed.
Peter Symes, SMPTE's Director, Standards & Engineering will discuss the process behind development of SMPTE Standards. You will also learn how and why you too can be involved.


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CLEMSON - Jack Leggett kinda, sorta called out his hitters in his final press conference of the 2013 Clemson baseball season.
"Players got to step up. It's as simple as that. I think that's it," Leggett said after the Tigers' 3-1 season-ending NCAA regional loss to Liberty on June 3.
"We've got some really good players. Getting big hits in big situations is why they pay those RBI guys in the big leagues their money; they can relax and take care of their business."
Leggett's rant was mostly out of emotion. The big bats faltered to a 1-for-14 clip with runners in scoring position in a win-or-go-home environment. Leggett called situational hitting "an Achilles' heel" throughout the year.
Clemson was actually closer to the ACC's middle of the pack in runs scored and RBIs (seventh in both) than batting average (ninth), reflecting a little more clutch-ness than it might seem. But there's no denying the Tigers were streaky in 2013, their ultimate undoing.
"It's all about the mindset. We've talked about it throughout the fall and the spring this year; that's something that kind of bit us in the rear end last year," sophomore right fielder Steven Duggar said. "It wasn't about getting hits; it was getting hits at the right time. It's all about situational hitting and driving guys in."
Duggar and catcher Garrett Boulware were at that season-ending press conference, hearing Leggett's slicing words. It doesn't offend Duggar, calling the criticism "the truth."
"We talk about pitching and defense is a huge part of the game, and it is," Duggar said, "but at the end of the day, you've got to put up runs to win. That's just the bottom line."
Duggar and Boulware headline an experienced roster for the 2014 campaign, which to start will only be missing center fielder Thomas Brittle (graduation) and designated hitter Shane Kennedy (knee injury).
Kennedy, Clemson's batting champ in 2013, is expected to attempt his return sometime in late April after suffering a torn ACL in the fall.
The Tigers' top six run producers are all back in a Clemson uniform, but nothing's guaranteed on Leggett's lineup card.
"I don't think there's anything that hasn't been laid out in front of them in practice, and that's, keep your head on a swivel, keep working hard, because somebody's pushing you," Leggett said. "Doesn't matter where you come from, what year in school you are, or what position you play. I'm looking for the best players who can help us win."
Primarily, the Tigers are laden with infield talent, and they added to that with freshmen like catcher Chris Okey, shortstop Eli White, infielder Weston Wilson and first baseman Andrew Cox. Leggett suggests this is "maybe one of the best infield depths" he's had in his 21 years as head coach.
"Everybody's got to play a little bit better than they played last year," Leggett said. "The returning players have to play better, so the younger guys are going to push them. If they don't, then the younger guys will be ready to play."
It also helps having the ace back. Daniel Gossett, a preseason third-team Louisville Slugger All-American, will be the starting pitcher in Clemson's opener Friday against Eastern Michigan, as well as most if not all Friday nights in ACC series openers.
"For sure, he's earned it. He's one of those guys that shoulders that responsibility really well," Leggett said. "Knowing he goes out there for us in the first game of a series for us is nice, because you know he's gonna battle, he's gonna throw strikes, he's got pretty good stuff."
Southpaw Matthew Crownover is two years removed from Tommy John surgery, prepping for increased innings in 2014 after leading Clemson with a 2.19 ERA last spring. Zack Erwin figures as the front-runner as the No. 3 starter, though East Tennessee State transfer Jake Long and freshman lefty Alex Bostic will be in the mix as well.
In his first two decades leading Clemson, Leggett's never gone more than three years without taking the Tigers to the College World Series. For the fifth time in 20 years, Leggett's Tigers face the pressure to not let that drought go to four years.
"It's always a motivating tool. You lose the last game of every year unless you win a national championship, so it's very tough to do," Leggett said. "Whether you lose in a regional, super regional or Omaha, it always stinks getting on the bus and starting over again."
Not one player in a Clemson uniform this spring has played in a College World Series.
"Every year, the goal and the expectation is to get to Omaha and compete for a national championship," Duggar said. "I think we've got the right coaches, the right mindsets, to get there and complete that."
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Alison Cleveland can't wait to meet her sons, Braylin and Devin. Twins.
She has nearly two months to go, though. April 7 is the special day — her due date.
Until then, she will count every day and do what she must to keep them from leaving the womb too early — a major cause of the state's high infant mortality rate, doctors say.
Charleston pediatrician Henry Lemon said in a January report that premature deliveries are one reason 7.4 babies out of every 1,000 born in the state died before their first birthday, as reported by Lauren Sausser.
Minority infants died 2.5 times more often than white babies.
Cleveland, 29, of Summerville, is homebound and determined to give her boys the best chance at a healthy life.
Homebound mom
Cleveland's doctor put her on bed rest Nov. 9 when she was threatening pre-term labor at 18 weeks.
It has been stressful and hard on her family. Her husband, Eric, leaves early for work, so her mother helps with her 5-year-old daughter. "I don't know what I would do without her," Cleveland said of her mother.
Cleveland works as a financial investigator. While being homebound is "driving me crazy," she said it is worth it. "I knew I had to be strict or lose my children."
She is now 31 weeks trying to make it to 36. Her doctors believe she is out of danger but want her to remain homebound until she gives birth.
Cleveland is health conscious but the added pressure of twins put her at risk. She believes her complications would have been far worse without prenatal care.
She encourages other women to seek out prenatal care long before becoming pregnant. Take prenatal vitamins and eat lean protein, whole grains and fruits, she says.
And she suggests finding a doctor who listens to you and takes time with you.
A united front
Cleveland's personal battle is to fight for her boys.
Collectively, the complex problem of infant mortality is being tackled on many levels. As it should be. State leaders and health care experts have formed the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative to help fight the problem.
On a community level, the Tri-County Black Nurses Association is doing its part.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 23, the association is holding its Delma M. Woods and Aleta McLeod-Bryant Health & Wellness Fair at the Arthur W. Christopher City Gym, 265 Fishburne St.
Ida J. Spruill, an association member and assistant professor of nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina, said the state Department of Health and Environmental Control will talk about what women can do to keep their babies safe.
A variety of free screenings also will be available, such as blood pressure, diabetes, height/weight and body mass index. For more information, call Pat Mack at 577-6627 or Ida Spruill at 724-9731.
With these united efforts, Cleveland and other mothers have a better chance of saying hello to healthy babies.
Reach Assistant Features Editor Shirley A. Greene at 937-5555.
Notice about comments:
The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point.
We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click the X that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. This will send the comment to Facebook for review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.