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Archive for June, 2012
Every summer, the Alliance gets a big boost of help – our summer interns! They're here to help with the conference, assist the policy team, and generally make the Alliance offices an even livelier place. Today, we introduce our summer crew and provide a little information on why they're here, what they're doing, and their thoughts on their summer home! They hail from all over the country and have already made big contributions. We look forward to working with them this summer, and we hope you get a chance to meet and interact with them throughout the summer and at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. And without further ado….
Christian Brandt, Federal Policy Intern
My name is Christian Brandt, and I'm from the illustriously un-illustrious town of Moscow, Idaho and just graduated from Dartmouth College in June with a Bachelor's in Anthropology. I am currently working at the Alliance as a Federal Policy Intern doing various things for various people on the Program and Policy team. I wanted to intern at the Alliance because of its emphasis on policy and research, a duo that I haven't really combined in my previous experiences with homelessness and housing. I hope to greatly expand my knowledge of legislation and policy regarding those two issues (got a leg up with the Research Council Meeting; talk about Baptism of Fire! Check out my recap blog next week.), and to hone my research skills in both areas. DC has been great so far (especially the concerts in the sculpture garden!). Except for the humidity – that I could do without! And the heat. Too. Much.
Nichole Friday, Meetings & Events Intern
My name is Nichole Friday, a rising senior at Louisiana State University down in the good ole bayou. I am the Meetings & Events Intern here at the Alliance and I am working with D'Arcy on the National Conference on Ending Homelessness that will be taking place in July. In particular, I will be working closely with the volunteers as well as the scholarship recipients. I hope to learn more about the meetings and events side of a nonprofit organization while I work at the Alliance this summer. I also hope to learn more about policy and other issues that surround the homelessness problems we are experiencing in the US. I am from the Washington, DC area and continue to expand my love for the city the older I get (being a new 21-year-old sure helps to expand my options!) and look forward to what the rest of the summer has in store for me here!
Amanda Jensen, Federal Policy Intern
My name is Amanda Jensen and I hail from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (the steel/Christmas city). I am a rising senior at American University, and hope to graduate by December. I am a federal policy intern at the Alliance and while here, I hope to generally gain experience working in a nonprofit through the internship experience. More specifically, I am interested in expanding my knowledge on legislation vital to ending homelessness and I also hope to see the impact of the Alliance's policy work on federal legislation through my time here. The best thing about DC would have to be the endless opportunities to acquire free food, and the worst part is undoubtedly the constantly out-of-service Metro escalators. I was just not meant to walk that much.
Tessa Knight, West Point Fellow
My name is Tessa Knight and I'm from Boise, Idaho. I am second-year cadet (sophomore) attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. I applied for this academic trip with the intent of learning as much as I can about the situation of homelessness, an issue that really speaks to me as a national priority. As one who has never participated in either government/nongovernment organizations, I seek to understand and define my future role in the system. Working with the Alliance fits with how I think I personally might "change the world," for I always go back to the basics: feeding the hungry, taking care of the poor, housing the homeless, etc. While I'm at the Alliance, I hope to undertake a lot of research and perhaps create some sort of synopsis on the effectiveness of certain veterans' programs for the future use of the Alliance. As far as being in Washington DC, well, there are a lot of cool things to do, but people really need to smile more. In Boise, everybody smiles! If you're in DC reading this, please work on that.
Eduardo SanFilippo, Youth Policy Fellow
Hola, me llamo Ed, and I'm this summer's Youth Policy Fellow. I was born in California but spent nearly my entire childhood in the Canadian Prairies. I returned to CA for my undergrad at San Diego State University (Aztec for Life!) and completed degrees in Religious Studies and Political Science. In the fall, I'll be starting my last year of law school at the University of Pittsburgh, where my focus is on how the structure of law/legal structures can be used to advance social change. I promise this is a lot more exciting (and fulfilling) than it sounds. I'm excited to work with the Alliance because I was homeless for a short time and view this as a terrific opportunity to give back and help those still struggling. My big projects for the summer focus on LGBTQ and rural youth and I look forward to contributing to the wellbeing of these populations. I previously did homeless outreach with the Hot Metal Faith Community in Pittsburgh and I'm sure I'll find similar organizations here. DC is my favorite American city so I'm excited to actually spend some time here and see the sites. The humidity leaves a lot to be desired (especially for a kid from Canada) but that's a fairly nominal complaint. I hope to spend the summer working and checking out the whole region on my bike.
Maulin Shah, Federal Advocacy Intern
Hi! My name is Maulin Shah, and I'm this summer's Federal Advocacy Intern at the Alliance working on Capitol Hill Day. While originally from Nashville, TN, I'm currently a rising junior at Birmingham Southern College studying Math and Chemistry. The opportunity to work at the Alliance appealed to me for several reasons: the most prominent being that it gave me an opportunity to ground myself in the context of what homelessness is. Sometimes it becomes hard to fathom that you can deal with issues like homelessness when confronted with the somewhat overwhelming size and scope of those issues. Working at the Alliance gives me a chance to try and begin to understand the structural aspects of the issue which in turn changes it from being an impossible series of numbers to a focused set of strategies. By working here, I'm not trying to just put one issue in context, but rather I hope to gain a greater understanding for the process by which you assess and create when addressing problems of seemingly insurmountable scope. I can't say getting to try and do so in DC isn't a really big perk, though. Thus far, my favorite part about the city is the food trucks. The only thing that could make them better is if there were any 24-hour ones. If you know of any please feel free to contact me.
Originally only in the wonky DC-based policy blogs, but increasingly also in the mainstream media, the phrase "fiscal cliff" has been appearing. It describes a number of simultaneous events scheduled for the beginning of 2013 that together would disrupt the federal budget, cutting federal spending and raising taxes in an unprecedented and clumsy manner. What does it mean, in general and for homelessness in particular? This blog will attempt to answer that question.
To start, with the way things usually go in the mainstream media, you can virtually count on the phrase "fiscal cliff" soon being abbreviated by writers, so I'll get that over with by coining the word "FisCliff" right here. FisCliff consists of at least the following, all happening around the beginning of next year:
- Domestic and military spending for nonexempt discretionary programs is cut across the board under the "sequestration" provision of the Budget Control Act;
- Emergency unemployment insurance for long-term unemployed people expires;
- The "Bush tax cuts" (since extended under President Obama) expire;
- The Alternative Minimum Tax is applied to households with lower incomes than those who must pay it currently;
- Monthly payroll taxes go back up to their usual levels;
- Miscellaneous other tax breaks worth $65 billion per year expire;
- Temporary increases in Medicare payments to doctors expire; and
- The limit on the federal debt is reached again, as it was last summer, requiring another expansion.
All of this adds up to $483 billion in revenue increases and spending cuts in one year. This is big-time deficit reduction, but done in a way that's not necessarily very intelligent. The most relevant example is that sequestration cuts high-priority, extremely effective programs (like homelessness programs!) by exactly the same percentage as lower-priority, inefficient programs.
Probably the biggest single negative impact on homelessness, however, is likely to be the impact on a fragile economy. Economists largely agree that raising taxes and reducing spending that much in one year would make joblessness substantially worse – people would have less money to spend, so businesses would have fewer customers and would lay people off. High unemployment over the past several years has sent millions of people to shelters. More unemployment means more bad news for homeless assistance systems.
As noted before, spending cuts under sequestration would negatively impact homelessness programs. The exact impact is still unclear because Congress has not yet passed final fiscal year 2013 spending levels, but we believe a likely estimate is that about 150,000 people would be homeless instead of housed, just from the impact on the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and the Continuum of Care (CoC) programs. The large antipoverty entitlement programs like SSI, TANF, and SNAP are exempt, as are all VA programs for veterans – there is still an open question, to be resolved by the White House, whether the HUD rent vouchers under the HUD-VASH program are exempt. Otherwise, all HUD programs are subject to the across-the-board cuts of sequestration.
One thing to remember about FisCliff is that the word "cliff" probably implies a suddenness of impact that will not be evident. Tax cuts and spending increases would go into effect over time. HUD's Homeless Assistance programs are one example. Reductions in ESG would take place when contracts for 2013 are signed, which occurs in different places over the course of the year. For the CoC programs, the impact would not be felt until the 2013 awards are distributed in early 2014.
In other words, if Congress meets after the election, in a so-called "lame duck session," and can't pass a reasonable alternative to FisCliff by January 1, they should keep working!
And what will a "reasonable alternative" look like? For those concerned about homelessness and similar issues, key criteria are:
- First, do no harm to the economy, particularly employment at the low end of the job market. With HPRP running out, the fight to end homelessness will get a lot harder if joblessness gets worse.
- Protect the poorest Americans. So far, the biggest antipoverty programs are exempt from sequestration, with the notable and unfortunate exception of HUD housing programs.
- Resist further cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending. This is actually the focus of a new national "coalition of coalitions" that had its first meeting last week – for more information click here. This coalition is circulating an organizational sign-on letter, and the Alliance encourages you to join by next Friday, June 22.
- Prioritize what works. Across-the-board cuts almost always represent bad, lazy policymaking. Congress has the ability to figure out which programs really work, and it is irresponsible to act otherwise.
As you can see, FisCliff would greatly harm our efforts to end homelessness, so we must educate Congress on these impacts. As a result, advocates from across the country will educate their Members of Congress about these very issues during Capitol Hill Day 2012, held in conjunction with the Alliance's annual National Conference on Ending Homelessness in July in Washington, DC. For more information or to get involved in Capitol Hill Day, contact Kate Seif.
The following was originally posted by The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. We have reprinted it here with their permission. You can find the original blog here. Katharine Gale is a frequent trainer at the Alliance's Performance Improvement Clinics.
Three Key Things with Katharine Gale
Key steps for making the transformation to a housing crisis resolution system.
Commit to using local data for change. Use information from HMIS and from grant and program budgets to understand system performance and cost. We need to learn what outcomes we are buying with our current mix of funding and programs and ask how we can more closely match our collective resources to the unmet need. While our efforts would certainly benefit from increased funding, the greatest resources our communities are likely to be able to direct to the problem soon are the ones we already have. Making sure that the data we have to work with is of high quality so we can trust it to inform our decision-making is everyone's responsibility. (It also better positions us to expand our resource base in the future as more funders ask us to demonstrate return on their investment.)
Expand the range of reality-based housing solutions. Look at the lives of our clients, what their realistic housing options are and where they go when they leave us. Most of the people our system works with do not escape being low-income through our efforts, even when we invest significantly in them at the expense of others we do not serve. Most can, however, regain housing with our help, even if deep subsidies are in short supply. We can rehouse more people, and continue to assist them with other resources, or connect them to other services (if they want them) that support further progress, by focusing our rehousing efforts on the right next step that resolves this housing crisis, instead of the forever solution. We shouldn't stop advocating for long-term affordability, but we must also recognize that it is not reality now for many people who are just like the households we serve, but who have housing.
Work as a system with shared responsibility. Everyone should be clear (clients, providers and funders) about how people can access help from the programs that make up our system. If we currently distribute most of our support based on luck or persistence, we need to fix that; if there are people who no program will take we need to fix that. In setting up a coordinated front door, our responsibility is not just to make sure that agencies get the clients they will serve, it's to get clients the support they need. Knowing who gets in and who goes unserved will help us refine programs and services to better meet the combined need. The importance of working more collaboratively to increase impact applies to funders as much as to programs. As one director I know puts it "we need to fix our relationships for the sake of our clients."
Katharine Gale is an independent consultant from Berkeley, California with 20 years experience in the fields of homelessness and special needs housing. She provides services to public and non-profit agencies including community-wide planning, new program development, data analysis, research and evaluation. Ms. Gale helped design and delivers the Alliance's Performance Improvement Clinics. In 2011, she co-founded Focus Strategies, a joint venture dedicated to helping communities use local homeless data to prepare for HEARTH and make effective system change. Prior to consulting, she worked for seven years as a manager and Deputy Director for Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department.
The following are remarks from the Alliance's President and CEO, Nan Roman, regarding the U.S. Department of of Health and Human Services' new framework to advance the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020, as announced at a live webcast of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness meeting.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness applauds the commitment of Chairman Sebelius and the members of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) to end youth homelessness by 2020. For far too long the plight of unaccompanied children and young adults has gone unaddressed. Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness brought much needed attention to this particularly vulnerable population. The USICH Proposed Framework for Ending Youth Homelessness is an important next step in laying out what the Federal government will do to achieve this goal.
The Alliance concurs with the major focus areas in the Framework: sizing the population; identifying the key segments of the population; identifying solutions for each segment; and going to scale with the solutions for each segment. We also support the outcomes of housing, connection, wellbeing, and education/employment.
Earlier this year the Alliance made a preliminary effort, using existing data, to estimate the size and segments of the population and examined this information for implications to policy and practice. Based on this framework as well as the USICH Framework presented today, the Alliance offers the following thoughts for the future.
Improving Data. The Alliance concurs that better data is essential to size and address the problem to scale. Further, the experiences of both HUD and VA clearly indicate that setting numerical goals for ending homelessness, and driving performance toward these goals, works. Without solid data there is no baseline and progress cannot be measured. For all of these reasons, the need for better data is critical. The Alliance recommends:
- Merging RHYMIS and HMIS in 2012 and beginning to create the tools by which the increasing volume of youth data can be analyzed.
- Requiring youth providers and local Continuums of Care to include youth in the HUD mandated point in time counts in 2013. Any inclusion of youth will be an improvement.
- Prioritizing research and evaluation of different intervention models for different subpopulations of youth to better inform resource allocation and targeting.
Serving High Need Youth. Approximately 40,000 youth have higher levels of physical and mental health problems and rates of substance use, as well as longer or more frequent episodes of homelessness. These youth may spend long periods on the streets because they cannot or do not access programs that lack either the ability or the inclination to address their need for treatment. While on the street, they face a host of challenges, including violence, drugs, and the risk of sexual exploitation. HHS and HUD should incentivize youth-targeted programs to serve the most vulnerable youth by providing bonus points in the competitive granting process to programs that target "street youth" with a diagnosed/diagnosable mental health, substance abuse, physical and/or developmental disorder; and that clearly define the outcomes they will achieve. Evaluation of these efforts, and practice collaboratives to share best practices are also recommended in order to advance successful approaches.
Mainstream Resources. Reunification with family remains the most practical and promising solution for a vast majority of homeless youth, particularly those under 18. Additionally, the reason that families break apart is often poverty and eviction rather than conflict. The homelessness system is not sized to address these needs. As Opening Doors points out, mainstream programs such as child welfare, TANF, juvenile justice, and housing must assume much of this responsibility. The education system has a critical role both in identifying risk and improving outcomes. Ending youth homelessness will require a clear plan for how mainstream programs will assume responsibility for these vulnerable youth. HHS should encourage state child welfare agencies to include these minors as a targeted population in state plans, with goals for reducing homelessness. HHS could also provide guidance as to how child welfare agencies can work collaboratively with RHYA programs to better serve homeless youth. The Administration could set goals for other mainstream programs including affordable housing, TANF, juvenile and criminal justice, and mental health and substance abuse treatment to strengthen families and both prevent youth from becoming homeless and facilitate youth returning to their families.
Once again, thank you to Chairman Sebelius and the members of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, as well as the HHS Administration on Children, Youth and Families, for the commitment to end youth homelessness. The Alliance looks forward to being a partner with the Administration on these efforts.
Today, June 12, at 1:30 p.m. ET, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USHICH) meeting, chaired by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, will be streamed live online. Today's meeting will feature a presentation by the U.S. Department of of Health and Human Services (HHS that will announce a new framework to advance the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020.
The Alliance's own Nan Roman will be on a panel of experts who will participate in a discussion immediately following the presentation of the new framework. The other experts on the panel will be Dana Scott, State Coordinator for Homeless Education for the Colorado Department of Education and Vice President of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth; and Bob Mecum, Executive Director of Lighthouse Youth Services.
Check back here at the Alliance's blog this afternoon to read more about the presentation and the Alliance's response.
Leaders and innovators in supportive housing convened in Chicago last week for a multi-faceted look at integrating housing and health care. The Leadership Forum, sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, was also the occasion for the release of a "business case" for states to tap Medicaid to pay for key services in permanent supportive housing. The presenters at the day-long conference and the paper on the business case speak to recent innovations with health care and supportive housing — demonstrating what's possible under the Affordable Care Act, and what's actually happening in communities where state government and homeless providers are proactive.
Two stand-out ACA provisions enable homeless advocates to persuade state policymakers that supportive housing is a worthwhile Medicaid investment.
- First, the "health home" benefit can be a good vehicle for funding care management and service coordination, services that make supportive housing viable as a strategy to end chronic homelessness. As the Forum audience heard, a Medicaid health home is a unique concept that has to be understood in a health policy context. But once that context is understood, it is easier to bring relevant data and analysis to Medicaid decision-makers. The business case illustrates that if Medicaid pays appropriately for care management via this new benefit, states can expand their service capacity in supportive housing. That's because Medicaid allows the state to access federal funding to pay a portion of what the state would otherwise have to pay all by itself for a given number of supportive housing units.
- Second, when Medicaid expands in 2014, states will have new responsibilities to care for very vulnerable people who currently lack coverage and tend to incur very high public costs, especially in hospital emergency rooms. They tend to have severe behavioral and physical health conditions, often co-occurring. And they tend to have unstable housing histories. This is not news to homeless advocates. However, the expanded Medicaid role creates an opportunity to talk to state decision-makers about the value of Housing First for clinical outcomes and managing health care costs.
This is all promising for systems of care addressing chronic homelessness. Safety net systems may always be somewhat fragmented financially, but in any case they need to be integrated and high-performing for the vulnerable people who rely on them. Of course, more needs to be done to finish the job of ending chronic homelessness, and Medicaid in supportive housing is not the answer by itself. As the business case also points out, new strategies should also consider "new processes and/or technologies to identify high-cost, chronically ill clients who could most benefit from supportive housing." Those who are now experiencing chronic homelessness should be a priority.
The Medicaid proposition for ending chronic homelessness requires advocates to be active in statewide arenas – with Medicaid administrators, of course; but also with their partners – such as mental health directors, hospital systems, and even managed care organizations that deliver on Medicaid contracts. Advocating statewide is the theme of an Alliance pre-conference session on July 16, immediately preceding the start of the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. "Opening Medicaid Doors: State Strategies to Support Homeless Assistance for Vulnerable Populations" is co-sponsored by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. The half-day program will examine several key facets of how to make Medicaid a stronger partner in programs that house and stabilize people who have been chronically homeless. Space is limited and pre-registration is highly recommended. RSVP at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Image courtesy of donbuciak.
Best Practices and Policies for LGBTQ Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Many recommended best policies and practices have been developed for housing and serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. How many check marks would your organization earn for implementing the following policies and practices to increase LGBTQ youth's potential for increased success?
- Create a welcoming environment where non-discrimination and non-harassment policies are implemented and communicated to all youth, families, and community partners;
- Place youth in safe and appropriate shelter and housing programs based upon both their gender identity and an individualized assessment;
- Make cultural competency training available and mandatory for all employees to ensure that a welcoming and inclusive environment is created;
- Deliver family intervention services that increase family acceptance of their child's sexual orientation and/or gender identity to decrease youth's risky behavior;
- Partner with LGBT and/or transgender specific organizations in your community to better provide services and referrals to youth and their families, and participate in coalitions to make other programs aware of services for LGBT youth;
- Improve targeting and outreach for LGBT youth by tailoring street outreach efforts to locales where transgender youth congregate;
- Collect and manage confidential information during the intake process to inform programmatic and policy responses, and to ensure that staff do not violate a youth's privacy;
- Provide or make available supportive healthcare services that meet the unique health needs of transgender youth to improve their access to proper health care.
Many policies and practices that are effective for preventing and ending youth homelessness, such as targeting and outreach, family intervention services, housing, and supportive services, are the same for LGBTQ youth. Specific adjustments related to a youth's sexual orientation and gender identity, however, are necessary to address the challenges these youth face and to ensure that homeless LGBTQ youth have a real, meaningful opportunity to leave homelessness behind.
Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) approved its funding bill for fiscal year (FY) 2013. The legislation provides funding for HUD programs, including McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, CDBG, HOME, and many other homeless and housing programs. As you may have already seen from our most recent Advocacy Update, out of the legislation comes some good news and some not-so-great news.
The bill includes increased or level funding for a variety of key programs, including increases for CDBG, HOME, Public Housing, and new money for HUD-VASH vouchers. Further details can be found in the House's press release here. These funding levels are great news for HUD programs under a very difficult budget environment and will have an important impact in meeting the housing needs of many low-income individuals and families.
The legislation also includes $2 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, which is actually an increase of nearly $100 million over the FY 2012 level. This would ordinarily be fantastic, but by the Alliance's estimates, due to the increasing cost of renewals, $2 billion actually wouldn't be enough to funding all CoC renewals and maintain the existing level of Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) activities (rapid re-housing and prevention activities under the HEARTH Act). As a result, we anticipate that this funding level would result in more than 25,000 people being homeless instead of housed. In the current economic climate, this would of course be devastating.
So what can we do? We can advocate for change! The good news is that this legislation is not yet finalized, and we have an opportunity to make an impact. There are many instances along the way when this bill can be altered, but the best opportunity is right around the corner! The full House Appropriations Committee will review the legislation and have the first opportunity to make changes as soon as next week.
This means that your representatives need to hear from you NOW! We need YOUR help to send a strong message to Congress that HUD's McKinney-Vento programs need $2.23 billion to cover all CoC renewals, fund ESG activities to begin to balance the loss of HPRP, and make further progress toward HEARTH Act implementation.
Call your representatives' offices TODAY (congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121), and ask others to call, too! Mention that you are happy to see increases to key affordable housing programs, but are disappointed that the bill would make more than 25,000 people homeless rather than housed. Urge them to support the $2.23 billion funding level requested by the Administration for McKinney. If you have questions about reaching out to your representatives' offices, let me know!
The bottom line is that we can make an impact, but we need YOUR help! This is a crucial opportunity to ensure congress understands the importance and effectiveness of HUD's McKinney-Vento programs in our communities. Please take a moment to reach out and help us ensure that all families, children, veterans, and individuals experiencing homelessness have a place to call home.
There are a lot of changes that are happening or about to happen as a result of the HEARTH Act, and we'll be spending a lot of time at the conference explaining the changes and their implications. Here's a rundown of the planned content related to implementation of the HEARTH Act.
There are a few workshops where you can expect to learn about specific aspects of the HEARTH Act. Before the conference begins, there's a pre-conference session where you can ask HUD officials questions about the HEARTH Act and HUD programs (it's not on the published agenda yet, but it will be soon). There are also conference sessions providing an overview of how the HEARTH Act changes and HUD programs fit together (1.13), rural homelessness (3.13), the new ESG program (4.13), the new CoC program (5.12), and Continuum of Care leadership (6.10).
We also have several workshops about using the changes made by the HEARTH Act to improve homeless assistance, including sessions on coordinated assessment (2.6), overseeing homeless assistance (2.7), retooling programs (3.7), measuring and improving community-wide outcomes (4.7), and reallocating resources (5.7). We've put together a one page HEARTH Act Conference Track.
As with all of our conferences, the main goal is to share ideas about how to best prevent and end homelessness. The HEARTH Act provides a lot of new tools to help do that, and so you'll hear HEARTH Act changes discussed throughout.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Pre-Conference Session – 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
[Session with HUD officials to discuss the HEARTH Act and HUD Homeless Assistance Programs: title and description forthcoming]
Workshops I – 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
1.13 [Overview of the HEARTH Act and Changes to HUD Programs: title and description forthcoming]
Workshops II – 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
2.6 Coordinated Assessment
2.7 Getting the Most Out of Your System: Overseeing Homeless Assistance
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Workshops III – 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
3.7 Retooling Your Transitional Housing Program
3.13 Beyond the City Limits: Ending Homelessness in Rural and Tribal Areas
Workshops IV – 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
4.7 Measuring and Improving System Outcomes
4.13 Implementing the HEARTH Act: The New Emergency Solutions Grant Program
Workshops V – 2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
5.7 Shifting Gears: Community Planning to Re-Allocate Resources to Support New Strategies
5.12 Implementing the HEARTH Act: The New Continuum of Care Program
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Workshops VI – 9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
6.10 Effective Continuum of Care Leadership: Examples and Strategies
Today we bring you another voice of a Performance Improvement Clinic (an intensive one-and-a-half day clinic that helps communities prepare for changes made by the HEARTH Act ) trainer, Iain De Jong. We ask Iain the question: Why should my community conduct a Performance Improvement Clinic?
The plural of "anecdote" is not – and never has been – "data." Each community has a narrative to pull together on the great work that they are doing to end homelessness. But we need to move beyond samples sizes of one, good stories and intuition to prove to policy makers, funders and the general public that what we do makes a difference. In an era of limited resources, we also need to be sure that we are investing our precious time and money into those interventions that improve the system as a whole, not just a particular project.
While the HEARTH era expects communities to work as systems rather than a collection of projects, making the shift to do so has greater benefits than just meeting requirements of HEARTH. It makes good sense and it is in the best interests of the people we serve. A Performance Improvement Clinic provides the right forum to assist communities in taking increased strides towards a system-based approach to service delivery. This type of thinking helps ensure that the right person gets to the right organization for the right type of intervention at the right time. It leverages the strengths across the entire community.
With increased attention paid to data and performance in the delivery of human services, both "data" and "performance" are dirty words to some. Some well-intentioned people have overly complicated both rather than making them easily understood and useful in operations and decision-making from the frontline level right on up to management. We need to reclaim "data" and "performance" as a reflection of our efforts and hard work. We need to make them meaningful to everyone in an organization and across the entire community. And we need to know how to make the right decisions from the information to better serve homeless people by helping them access and maintain housing.
Simply put, what gets measured gets done. A community that conducts a Performance Improvement Clinic can count on having the tools in place to more easily understand and improve performance in an ongoing and sustainable way, making the best possible choices and investments for the people within their community, and explaining to one and all – including the end users of services – why performance matters.
Iain De Jong is the President & CEO of OrgCode Consulting and a long-time conference presenter at National Alliance Conferences. He will be making at least two presentations at the conference, and looking forward to learning much more from the other presenters and attendees. You can learn more about Iain at www.orgcode.com or www.facebook.com/orgcode or follow him on Twitter @orgcode.
If your community would like to learn more about the Performance Improvement Clinic, contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text: Telstra is the naming rights partner of the Telstra Premiership competition and Internet and Mobile partner of the National Rugby League.Visit Sponsor's Site Holden is the official car company of the National Rugby League and naming rights partner to the Holden Cup, Holden State of Origin and Holden Kangaroos. Holden is also the major sponsor of the Holden Monster Raffle.Visit Sponsor's Site Destination NSW was established to realise the full potential of Sydney and regional NSW as a global tourism and event destination. Destination NSW is thrilled to support and invest in the NRL Telstra Rugby League which will see the Grand Final played in Sydney for many years to come.Visit Sponsor's Site VB is the official beer of the National Rugby League and NSW VB Blues.Visit Sponsor's Site Coca-Cola is the official soft drink of the National Rugby League, the NSW Blues and Holden Kangaroos.Visit Sponsor's Site AAMI are proud sponsors of the National Rugby League referees, the AAMI Country v City Origin match and Country Rugby League. Established in 1970, AAMI today has more than 2.5 million policyholders and is a leader in car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, compulsory third party insurance and small business insurance. Insurance benefits such as no fault, no penalty; lifetime repair guarantee; lifetime rating one/maximum no claim bonus; valet service; progressive no claim discount on home insurance and the first general insurance customer charter were all introduced by AAMI.Visit Sponsor's Site KFC is proud to be a sponsor of the NRL. Whether grabbing a feed whilst heading to a game or before you watch at home, KFC looks forward to offering the great Australian public great tasting chicken, at a great price, every day. KFC and the NRL, So Good.Visit Sponsor's Site Home Timber and Hardware is an official partner of Sunday Football and are the official home hardware store of the National Rugby League.Visit Sponsor's Site Hankook Tyres are the official naming rights sponsors of Hankook Monday Night Football, and the official tyre of the National Rugby League.Visit Sponsor's Site Wild Turkey Bourbon is the Official Spirit of the National Rugby League and the exclusive naming rights partner for Super Saturday night Football. Visit Sponsor's Site GIO is a leading insurer with more than 80-years' experience protecting Australians against uncertainty with car insurance, home insurance, greenslips and business insurance. GIO are a Major Partner of the NSW VB Blues State of Origin team and Naming Rights partner of the NSW GIO U20s State of Origin team, GIO Schoolboys Cup and GIO Schoolboys Trophy.Visit Sponsor's Site nib is one of Australia's fastest growing health funds, providing affordable health insurance, travel insurance and life insurance to more than 900,000 people nationwide. As a Major Partner of the NSW Blues State of Origin team, nib is also proud to support the future generation of NSW Blues stars through the nib Born to Be Blue junior rugby league program.Visit Sponsor's Site Steeden are the official ball supplier of the National Rugby League.Visit Sponsor's Site Harvey Norman is the proud naming rights partner of Harvey Norman Rugby League All Stars, Harvey Norman NRL Touch Football, Harvey Norman Jillaroos and Women in League Round and Regional Workshops.Visit Sponsor's Site Accor is the Official Accommodation Partner of the National Rugby League and the Holden Cup.Visit Sponsor's Site Coates Hire is Australia's largest equipment hire company with over 130 years experience, supplying to a wide variety of markets including Engineering & Building Construction, Maintenance, Mining & Resources, Manufacturing, Government, and Events. Coates Hire is proud to be the Official Hire Company of the National Rugby League, Telstra Premiership Competition and NRL Nation.Visit Sponsor's Site Powerade are the official sports drink of the Telstra Premiership Final Series, and the Holden Kangaroos. Powerade are also official sponsors of the Telstra Premiership ball.Visit Sponsor's Site The Sydney Olympic Park Authority are an official partner of the National Rugby League and the NRL Referees Association.Visit Sponsor's Site

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Punch just isn't only 1 of the tastiest treats, but it is easy to make also. Make certain it's alcohol totally free of price so the mother-to-be can relish it too. You will find all types of punches you can make with orange juice, sprite and sorbet. By carrying out a search on the internet for "baby shower punch" you will be in a position to opt for a fantastic number of recipes for complimentary.
Cake is a second deal with that's a will have to for any baby shower. It is possible to decide on any variety of cake you like, but the well-known ones are chocolate or vanilla. Angle food, marble or black forest are also fantastic alternatives. There's also a diverse sort of cake that does not genuinely want to be baked and will not have the ability to be eaten. These are gift baskets that consist of issues for baby and expecting mother.
Tips on how to Throw a Memorable Baby Shower – Portion 1 of three
Generating a checklist list will assistance you chart out the tasks wanted to prepare and host the event. A checklist will assistance you with the time frame. It's right to develop a list as shortly as you agree to organize the baby shower. Demonstrate the list to another individual who has hosted baby showers to see should you be lacking anything at all. The checklist has an extra gain that in case you get a hold of by your self confused request for permit! Assign a few of the jobs to pals or relatives who is going to be an attendee of the occasion.
Design a Visitor Listing
Tired of the Similar Outdated Baby Shower Games? Construct a Scrapbook Keepsake Instead
The Crucial Element In Selecting A Gift for A Baby Shower
The most important and crucial facet of the baby shower present is the usefulness. In case you get new parents a present which is of no use to them and continues to be on the self for decades, it can be useless.
Surely assume about the issues moms and dads could well demand within the first year of parenthood when you want to pay money for a gift for them. Generally sheets baby cloths, developmental toys and blankest are the key items needed inside the to start with year.


text:
AutoGrowSpecification Structure
Element Structure
GetValueSpec Structure
IndexBound Structure
NdbError Structure
NdbRecord Interface
OperationOptions Structure
PartitionSpec Structure
RecordSpecification Structure
ScanOptions Structure
SetValueSpec Structure
This section provides a detailed listing of all classes, interfaces,
and stuctures defined in the
Each listing includes the following information:
Description and purpose of the class, interface, or structure.
Pointers, where applicable, to parent and child classes.
A diagram of the class and its members.
The sections covering the
NdbDictionary and
NdbOperation classes also include
entity-relationship diagrams showing the hierarchy of inner
classes, subclasses, and public type descending from them.
Detailed listings of all public members, including descriptions of all method parameters and type values.
Class, interface, and structure descriptions are provided in alphabetic order. For a hierarchical listing, see Section 2.2, "The NDB API Class Hierarachy".


text:
Constant diameter NeedleProbes™ for Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) have been developed and are opening up a new area of research for studies at the liquid/air interface. The NeedleProbes' cylindrical geometry enables researchers to measure surface tension, contact angle, meniscus height, evaporation rate and viscosity - all in a single force distance curve.
(PRWEB) December 15, 2009 -- New, constant diameter NeedleProbes are enabling unique measurements at the liquid/air interface. These NeedleProbes' cylindrical geometry enables a new area of research for liquid studies. "AFM can now be used to measure surface tension, contact angle, meniscus height, evaporation rate and viscosity - all in a single force distance curve" says Mehdi Yazdanpanah, inventor of the NeedleProbes. The new metallic probes have recently been introduced for a variety of applications, many of which had been impractical for AFM.
Atomic force microscopy routinely takes advantage of force-distance curves to measure interactions between an AFM tip and a sample surface. An example would be extending the tip to a liquid surface so the wetting force can be measured. Although standard probes can detect wetting force, surface tension and contact angle are very complicated to determine. Imprecise knowledge of the length of contact and angle of the meniscus with the sides of the tip make such measurements impractical using standard AFM probes. Furthermore, with increasing insertion depth, the attractive force of standard tips continues to grow as the contact line increases. The large force can eventually overcome the cantilever and result in the unintended immersion of the cantilever into the liq
|Source: PRWeb
Copyright©2009 Vocus, Inc.
All rights reserved


text:
Hello, at 48 I'm new to biking and to the forum. Hoping to get some good info.
Hello, at 48 I'm new to biking and to the forum. Hoping to get some good info.
Welcome, Matt! You're young, dude...48?
What kind of biking are ya doing?
Welcome to Bike Forums. Wish I was 48 again. I've got kids almost as old as you.
Too bad you're too young to visit the 50+ forum. Lots of activity there.
My bikes: 2001 Litespeed Tuscany (full Ultegra)--2014 Cannondale SuperSix EVO Hi-Mod Team Bike (SRAM Red)
If you worried about falling off the bike, youd never get on. -- Lance Armstrong
Hi Matt,
Welcome to Bike Forums from Texas road rider.
What color is your bike?
[SIZE=1][B]What I like about Texas[/B]
Set F1re To The Ra1n ( NY Night Rain Ride)
Hi Matt,
Are you near the GAP railtrail? Planning on going down this fall for a short trip with some of my local riding buddies. You will enjoy the forum.
We are what we reflect. We are the changes that we bring to this world. Ride often. -Geo.-


text:
Nicholas, Nice photos. How's that BearPaw inner working for you? How's the space inside?
I've only used the Bearpaw innernet on a couple of trips. So far it seems to work out fine if a little bit of a hassle to set up.There's plenty of space for two adults and their gear, in fact we fit our 100 lb lab in there with us with enough room for everyone.The set-up of the innert net is a little fiddly. Maybe I haven't mastered the most efficient method yet, but what I do is stake out four of the corners of the TS, then run the pole that will be the center pole of the TS through the inner net and place it in its position under the shelter. Then center the net tent door where I want it, get the five corners of the TS where I want them and then attach the corners of the inner net to the lines coming off the TS.The net seems to work best with a higher pitch in order to get all the slack out of the walls and maximize usable interior space. I haven't experimented too much with alternative TS pitches while using the net tent... more to come this spring, I'm sure.
Thanks Nicholas. I've experimented with two-person bug net options as well, and yes, it can be fiddly. Just the nature of the beast, I guess.
I set it up the same way—1. Plan to pitch it high.2. Stake out Trailstar.3. Insert inner with pole threaded through.4. Spread out the inner so the corners are somewhat close to the corners of the shelter.5. Connect guy lines to existing stakes on the back and sides6. Stake out two front points separatelyI've noticed I need to stake out the two door point separately for a truly taut pitch, but it works really well once it's set up! Plenty of livable space.
Bump for photos:Pitched high for 3 late summer, giving my son room to wiggle around under a quilt.Trailstar on the Ozark Highland Trail.
Do you guys find that it's easy to get in/out of the Trailstar? Pitched low, it looks like you might almost have to crawl in/out of the shelter. Even when it's pitched high, the door looks pretty low to the ground.
"Left to right, MLD Cricket, Trailstar, and Supermid. Overnight, winds picked up on the ridge line gusting to roughly 30 miles per hour. The Trailstar definitely handled it best despite a pretty crappy pitch and none of the midpanel guy out points used."If I recall correctly, it was the Trailstar owner that got up in the middle of the night to re-stake and shovel. ;)To the Cricket question—pitched properly and with the proper stakes, this could be a legit light snow shelter. I was using tubular stakes and groundhogs, so I didn't get the taughtness I wanted, for fear of flying nighttime stakes. I also ended up accidentally pitching into the wind, which didn't help matters. With some snow stakes and a low pitch, it isn't a bad option. The downside, of course, is less space than a full trailstar, which would be especially nice for wintertime when you want more space, but the little porch does help.
Edited by ChrisMorgan on 01/31/2012 13:07:59 MST.
No restaking, just sealing a draft that was blowing snow in!
Kyle- What kind of snow anchors to you use with your TS? Eugene- Nice photos. It really is an elegant shelter, isn't it?
Since we have snow called "cascade concrete" around here, I use typical snow stakes like the MSR Blizzards. The Supermid was held in place by snow anchors like these though, and they seemed really nice to use.
Heh, yeah, I actually have both of those. I did some tests last weekend using both types on the same shelter in some powder. After work-hardening them into the snow and letting them set up over night, the Blizzards were much harder to remove than the REI ones. However, when initially setting them in the snow, the REI anchors held better.
@Nicholas, thanks for sharing your photos and experience. Is there room in the Bearpaw inner for two adults (i.e. with a 2 person quilt) to sleep next to each other without one being completely up against the side? In order to do this would you have to angle to center pole away to one side?
Bear Paw's Pentanet won't pitch properly at all with the pole askew. You could ask to have the hole in the floor moved, but I can only imagine that would make the shelter exponentially harder to pitch correctly. The wife and I sleep with a pole between us : [
How well would it work to use an inverted 'V' to open up the floor for the inner? I suppose you would have to have a second pair of poles or pole jacks to make it work... I'm just not sure how that would affect the tensions of each of the panels.
@ Andrew, The entrance to the Trailstar is not unusually low when pitched in storm mode (down to the ground), comparable toto tarps I have had in the past (MLD Grace duo, Oware Cat2). I'm 6' and a little crawl or squat is all that is necessary. Interior height isn't what you find on the Duomid or other mids of that style, but it isn't crammed- easy to sit up inside. For fair weather you can pitch the front pole high and enter with ease. There isn't one way to pitch this thing, so making a higher entrance is up to you and the conditions.
I don't know if using an off-centered pole would work when pitching the TS with the inner net. You would, at a minimum, need to have some kind of cap or piece of wood or something to rest the tip of the pole on so as to not puncture your floor. There may be problems with the geometry too and get getting a taut pitch to the trailstar and/or inner net... could be worth exploring though...Other solutions would be to hang the trailstar from an overhead branch by the exterior loop on the peak. The inner net could then be hung from the loop on the interior of the TS peak. That would eliminate poles entirely from the shelter interior and would likely provide enough room for 3.Or, if you have a 2nd set of poles (or pole jacks) handy, you could probably set up an inverted V pole arrangement to support the trailstar and again hang the net tent from the interior loop at the peak of the trailstar. This would again leave all of the interior space inside of the net tent pole-free. I don't have a second set of poles (or any pole jacks) so I've never tried this arrangement (one of us hikes with poles, the other gets to be dog handler).Maybe this weekend I can try the off-set center pole just to see if it's even possible.Here's the inner net sans trailstar; there's any number of ways to arrange the pads, I just threw them in there to show what could fit:
Thanks, Kyle and Nicholas, for your responses! It seems like an inverted V with two trekking poles could work in theory. I guess as Jeremy pointed out the key question would be if having the poles configured like that would affect the panel tension and strength of the shelter overall, one of its key benefits.Thanks for the picture of the net tent too! That really helps to see what is possible in there.
Bearpaw has two 2-person innernets that will work with the Trailstar:PentaNet 2PyraNet 2There are tradeoffs between the two, so you'll have to determine what is more important for you.The PentaNet 2 is larger, and weighs more, but provides more netting protection, and the rooms it takes up means smaller vestibules. The PyraNet 2 is smaller, but can still accomodate two people. The PyraNet 2 can also be twirled around the center pole, so you determine where you want the doors to be relative to the tent opening, and being smaller will allow more room for your vestibule space. The PyraNet 2 can also better accomodate the lower pitch configurations of the Trailstar than the PentaNet 2. So, the PyraNet 2 is more versatile than the PentaNet 2, in exchange for netting space. Also, with either innernet, you have the choice of what material to use (silnylon, cuben), the thickness of the No-See-um material, the height of the sidings, and the number of doors and where to put them on the innernet. And you can also request custom modifications. John Stultz, the owner of Bearpaw, has been very helpful with me on the numerous questions I asked him about his innernets.
Edited by Cephalotus on 02/01/2012 11:54:09 MST.
A few more Trailstar photos and a link to a video of the cuben version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vmneOE4j2s. Still waiting on mine :(.
Edited by jephoto on 02/02/2012 17:46:21 MST.
I am new to backpacking and currently use a TarpTent Rainbow, but have been interested in just using a tarp. Would this be a good way to start? The comments are all so favorable.Thanks,
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Modern Architecture
From the Field: Conserving Southern California's Modern ...
December 2014 public program highlighting 6 L.A. preservation projects.
Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment
Developing methodologies and tools to guide the design of new buildings in historic contexts and assess their impacts.
Facing Disaster: The Importance of Heritage Inventories in ...
Article discussing importance of heritage inventories in emergency preparation and response. From Volume 28.2, Fall 2013.
Incentives for the Preservation and Rehabilitation of Historic ...
Guidebook for homeowners in Los Angeles to identify financial, tax, and regulatory incentives of benefit to owners of older residential properties.
Conserving Concrete Heritage Experts Meeting Report
Summary of a 2014 experts meeting on conservation of historic concrete buildings and structures.
House Paints
Traces history of household paint industry in the US and UK over first half of 20th century.
"Heritage Inventories" issue. Fall 2013 (PDF Edition)
Entire newsletter, including articles, roundtable discussion, list of key resources, and news items. Vol. 28 no.2.
Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative
This initiative seeks to identify and address conservation challenges to modern architecture through a research and implementation program.
Contemporary Architecture in the Historic Environment
Annotated bibliography on range of views on what constitutes appropriate new development within a historic area.
Taking Stock (Discussion)
A discussion among experts in the field on heritage inventories and decision making. From Vol. 28.2, Fall 2013.
Building and Sites Department (main page)
Departmental description and links to thematic areas.
Eames House Conservation Project
A collaborative project to develop a long-term conservation management and maintenance plan for the 1949 home of Ray and Charles Eames.
Conserving Twentieth-Century Built Heritage: A Bibliography
An extensive subject bibliography on the conservation of modern architectural materials.
Minding the Gap: The Role of Contemporary Architecture in ...
A May 2013 symposium with Richard Meier, Denise Scott Brown, Richard Rogers, Robert Stern, and Paul Goldberger.
Twentieth-Century Building Materials: History and ...
Reprint of 1995 guide developed by US National Park System. New preface.
Inventories and Heritage Management: The Australian ...
Examines heritage inventories in Australia. From Volume 28.2, Fall 2013.
Managing Change: Sustainable Approaches to the ...
Examines issues of sustainability as they related to heritage conservation.
Building Seagram
Phyllis Lambert discusses history of New York's Seagram Building in this public lecture.
Changing the Heritage Inventory Paradigm: The Arches Open ...
Feature on Arches, an open source geospatial web application of cultural heritage inventory and management. From Volume 28.2, Fall 2013.
Helen Pashgian: Transcending the Material
Helen Pashgian uses industrial materials such as polyester, epoxy, and acrylic plastics to create sculptures and installations that explore light and perception.
Conserving the Eames House: A Case Study in Conservation
Details of a January 2015 lecture on the conservation of the Eames House.
Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey Assessment Project ...
Study examining potential for a comprehensive survey of historic resources of Los Angeles and steps to implement.
The Los Angeles Historic Resource Survey Report
Report from the GCI's L.A. Historic Resource Survey project gives Los Angeles a workable blueprint for conducting a citywide historic resources survey.
Lecture: Approaches to Conserving Modern Architecture in the ...
Lecture and video of a panel discussion on conservation principles in the rehabilitation of modern architecture.


text:
"This lovely bread promises a mild persimmon flavor and a hint of nutmeg. This recipe makes three sweet, smaller loaves that would make perfect gifts!"
YIELD: 3 loaves
1 cup persimmon pulp
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
PreparationPrep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease three 6x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the persimmon pulp and baking soda. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken the pulp.
3. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend until smooth. Mix in persimmon pulp and water alternately with flour. Fold in nuts. Divide batter into the prepared pans, filling each pan 2/3 full.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before


text:
Crosby Redux: Circuit Clarifies Some Important Post-Booker Issues
First, the Court finally explicitly holds that it possesses statutory authority to review the reasonableness of any sentence, even those falling within a properly calculated Guidelines range. (Fernandez received a sentence of 151 months, the bottom of the correctly calculated range). The Court explains that when a defendant challenges a sentence on appeal as unreasonable (either as to the process of its selection or as to its length), s/he "effectively claims that the sentence, whether a Guidelines sentence or a non-Guidelines sentence, was 'imposed in violation of law,'" under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a)(1). Op. 10. The Circuit's authority to hear the appeal thus derives from this statute. Id.
Second, the Circuit explicitly "decline[s] to establish any presumption, rebuttable or otherwise, that a Guidelines sentence is reasonable." Op. 12. This refusal arises from Crosby, in which the Court "expressed a commitment to avoid the formulation of per se rules to govern our review of sentences for reasonableness." Id. (citing Crosby, 397 F.3d at 115).
Unfortunately, what Judge Cabranes giveth, he also taketh away. Despite the Court's express refusal to adopt any presumptions on appellate review, and despite the laudatory sentiment that "the record as a whole [must be examined] to determine whether a sentence is reasonable in a specific case," Op. 13 (emphasis added), the opinion sneaks in some very bad, contrary language.
To begin, it repeats dicta from Rubenstein that "the Guidelines range should serve as 'a benchmark or a point of reference or departure." Op. 13 (quoting Rubenstein, 403 F.3d 93, 98-99 (2d Cir. 2005). Along similarly lines, the opinion remarks in a footnote that "[i]t was not error for [the district judge] to employ the Guidelines range as a starting point and then to determine whether the arguments presented pursuant to the § 3553(a) factors warranted 'lightening' of, or fashioning of an 'alteration to,' the advisory Guidelines sentence (or, in other words, imposing a non-Guidelines sentence)." Op. 23 n.11. But see Op. 22 ("The district court's reference to 'an alteration to a guideline sentence,' standing alone, might be interpreted as a misapprehension that a Guidelines sentence should presumptively be imposed.") (emphasis added). How these sentiments can be squared with the notion that a Guidelines sentence is not to be accorded a presumption of reasonableness, rebuttable or otherwise, is anyone's guess.
Even worse, the opinion also states that "We recognize that in the overwhelming majority of cases, a Guidelines sentence wil fall comfortably within the broad range of sentences that would be reasonable in the particular circumstance." Op. 12. No explanation is offered to justify this assertion; the Court simply assumes this to be true. But given this statement, what's the point of then saying that a Guidelines sentence is not accorded a presumption of reasonableness? Doesn't it amount to the same thing?
Third, the Circuit rejects Fernandez's argument that the district court failed to "consider" one of her arguments for a non-Guidelines sentence (the one based on disparity with a co-defendant's sentence, see infra) because the court did not specifically mention or address this argument at sentencing (though it was raised in Fernandez's written submission). Relying principally on Fleming, 397 F.3d 95, 100 (2d Cir. 2005) , the companion case to Crosby, the Court rejects this argument and holds that it will "presume, in the absence of record evidence suggesting otherwise, that a sentencing judge has faithfully discharged her duty to consider the statutory factors." Op. 17.
Of course, a court is still required under § 3553(c) to "state in open court the reasons for its imposition of the particular sentence," and a district court will faciliate the appellate function "by providing complete and detailed explanations regarding their sentencing decisions." Op. 17 n.8. However, quoting Fleming, "As long as the judge is aware of both the statutory requirements and the sentencing range or ranges that are arguably applicable, and nothing in the record indicates misunderstanding about such materials or misperception about their relevance, [the Circuit] will accept that the requisite consideration has occurred." Fleming, 397 F.3d at 100.
Fourth, the Circuit leaves open the question of whether a disparity between the sentence received by the defendant and a co-defendant can constitute an "unwarranted disparity" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6), and thus possibly justify a non-Guidelines sentence. Op. 19-20. This is actually quite a good outcome, since the Circuit in pre-Booker days explicitly barred departures based on disparities with a co-defendant's sentence, on the ground that the disparities referred to in (a)(6) concerned nationwide disparities, not disparities in any particular case. E.g., United States v. Tejada, 146 F.3d 84, 87 (2d Cir. 1998); Op. 19 n.9.
The Court concludes that it need not resolve this question here because Fernandez and her co-defendant (who also received a Guidelines sentence, but of only 135 months) were not similarly situated. Among other things, the co-defendant pleaded guilty and thus received a 3-level acceptance reduction (Fernandez was convicted at trial), and also qualified for the safety valve (Fernandez did not). Op. 20.
Fifth, the Court clarifies that "the requirement that a sentencing judge consider an 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factor is not synonymous with a requirement that the factor be given determinative or dispositive weight in the particular case, inasmuch as it is only one of several factors that must be weighted and balanced by the sentencing judge." Op. 20 (emphasis in original). "The weight to be afforded any given argument made pursuant to one of the § 3553(a) factors is a matter firmly committed to the discretion of the sentencing judge and is beyond our review, as long as the sentence ultimately imposed is reasonable in light of all the circumstances presented." Op. 21; accord Op. 23 ("[T]he requirement that the sentencing judge consider a § 3553(a) factor that may cut in a defendant's favor does not bestow on the defendant an entitlement to receive any particular 'credit' under that factor. . . . [So long as the ultimate sentence is reasonable,] we will not second guess the weight (or lack thereof) that the judge accorded to a given factor or to a specific argument made pursuant to that factor.").
Finally, the Court holds that even where the Government has not filed a § 5K1.1 motion based on a defendant's cooperation, a sentencing judge must still consider the circumstances underlying the defendant's (ultimately unsuccessful) efforts to cooperate in determining an appropriate sentence. Op. 21-22. The Court relied on § 3553(a)(1) (requiring court to consider "the history and characteristics of the defendant") for this conclusion: This "sweeping provision" is "worded broadly," "contains no express limitations as to what 'history and characteristics of the defendant' are relevant," and requires consideration of "the contention that a defendant made efforts to cooperate, even if those efforts did not yield a Government motion" under § 5K1.1. Op. 22; see id. (§ 3553(a)(1)'s "sweeping" language "presumably includes the history of a defendant's cooperation and characteristics evidenced by cooperation, such as remorse or rehabilitation."). Unfortunately, this did not help Fernandez, since the relevant facts support the district court's refusal to impose a non-Guidelines sentence based on Fernandez's half-hearted and incomplete efforts to cooperate.


text:
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Dear Members,
Welcome to Marina Bay Walking Meetup.com
Please join us for a walk at 8:45 am. We usually meet at the Olympic Walk sculptures @ Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade Singapore, near Marina Bay Sands, in the year 2012.
Now, the organizer and his team chooses new location on each week, and all our Marina Bay walking members love the idea. So, please view our meetup site, which direction we are heading every *Saturday morning for the year 2015.
Who can join?
Anyone can join the walking group. . . It is open to male and female walkers, and if you're handicapped and think you can't participate, think again. Please take note for safety reason, participants who are handicapped please bring along your assistance.
You will discover a new journey of life all over again!
Plus, walking and chatting creates new friendship and builds our immune system at the same time. In addition, not forgetting we are getting healthier by doing this morning walk.
Interested in Marina Bay Walking Meetup.com?
It's free to be a member...
Join us!
Let's get busy right now and start making your walking plans. You'll be thrilled with all the new friends you'll meet! You may be wondering if this is just a singles group... the answer is no. Although 90% of the members are single, that is not the focus of the group. This group is about making plans for walking, enjoy Singapore sightseeing by foot and getting to know new friends from all walks of life. We found that everyone is much more comfortable in our Marina Bay Walking Meet-up club. Sign up today for an event and have fun! It will be one of the best choices you have ever made. . .
But aside from that, the organizer also does get together once a month, we will meet up for a dinner, and/or sunset walk for LUPUS. . .
Lastly please RSVP your attendance for joining our event.
Thank you and see you........
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Blizzard has just released a special trailer for its next big patch for World of Warcraft, in the form of update 5.2, also known as The Thunder King.
World of Warcraft has once again seen a decrease in its number of subscribers, but this doesn't mean that developer Blizzard is giving up on its popular online role-playing game.
The studio is now preparing to release the final version of World of Warcraft update 5.2, which has been available on the public test realm for quite some time.
In order to promote the big patch, which is also known as The Thunder King, a brand new video has been released, focusing heavily on the new villain, Lei Shen The Thunder King, as well as on the new adventures that will be available for all high-level players.
From new locations, to a new ride and various other events, not to mention factions or bosses, the new update brings something for all World of Warcraft players.
As such, check out the video about the new update above.


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"You've got the whole world in your hands, you got the whole wide world, in your hands…"
Dear Friends,
The 2013 Winter Solstice is at 9:11AM PST, on Saturday December 21.
If we could say everything there is to say about this Solstice all at once, it would be:
It's here! It's now! It's love, destiny, ignition, evolution – and about time!
Got that?
If you'd like a little more back-story on the amazing gift that is being offered to us, let's get down to business:
You literally do have the whole world in your hands.
And the time has arrived for us to creatively shape a new world of abundance, peace, and joy – by collaborating with Great Spirit.
This is simply the truth.
But for you to directly experience your awesome abilities as a co-creator of "reality," it will take stepping out of linear time into the field of the eternal – into the field of infinite possibility.
How do we "step out"?
By aligning ourselves with the doors of perception that open into the infinite. Let's take a sneak peak – let's look, right now, together, OK?
We are the "Vast Self." You are it. All of it. The One.
Isn't this great?
We are the Vast Self that brings the gift of ignition – the Holy Fire from the center of being – to ourselves, here in this field of limitations.
So, let's do it!
On this Saturday morning, join with your family and friends – your community – outside, in a place of wild beauty. Get out under the wide open sky! Hey – I know your back yard is sacred too – and so are the cement sidewalks of the big city. Wherever you are, find a place to gather outside. And if you're by yourself, you're with us all in Spirit.
Together, gather in a circle. Everyone is essential. Turn together to the directions – recognizing and welcoming all aspects of being, including our bodies, our emotions, our minds, our spirits. Include all our relations – all creatures that we share life with here on planet earth.
Turn to the center, and move to silence together. With everyone's support, allow yourself to open to the deep resonant notes of the harmony of the Universe – the wild song of the cosmos – the song we sing to ourselves.
Then, bring that Presence back to what we call this "normal reality" – and begin to reshape and redirect the energy of being into the creation of heaven on earth – start by bringing this profound encouragement to your own heart!
Then deliver the good news to others. Celebrate! Have snacks, hug! Create big stories of wild beauty and purpose – including a story of how we healed our species of it's self-destructiveness using nothing but LOVE! And with that, we loved all of life back into happiness.
With gratitude for you,
Francis Rico
If you are in Northern California, you are invited to join a group of brave celebrants on the sacred cliffs of the Bodega Headlands, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Bring something for the altar – herbs, a crystal, or a photo of a loved one – bring whatever you feel inspired to include.
It could be a little windy – we'll see – so have layers of clothing available. Bring snacks for after ceremony sharing.
Be at the Bodega Head parking lot by no later than 8:15AM – we're walking out to the cliff site at 8:20AM.


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Are Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Cost-Effective?
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have been among the more popular crime-fighting measures of recent years. Such laws require that a judge impose a sentence of at least a specified length if certain criteria are met. For example, a person convicted by a federal court of possessing half a kilogram or more of cocaine powder must be sentenced to at least five years in prison.
Mandatory minimums have enjoyed strong bipartisan support. To proponents, their certainty and severity help ensure that incarceration's goals will be achieved. Those goals include punishing the convicted and keeping them from committing more crimes for a period of time, as well as deterring others not in prison from committing similar crimes. Critics, however, believe that mandatory minimums foreclose discretionary judgment where it may most be needed, and they fear these laws result in instances of unjust punishment.
These are all important considerations, but mandatory minimums associated with drug crimes may also be viewed as a means of achieving the nation's drug control objectives. As such, how do they compare with other means? Do they contribute to the central objective--decreasing the nation's drug consumption and related consequences--at a cost that compares favorably with other approaches? Jonathan P. Caulkins, C. Peter Rydell, William L. Schwabe, and James Chiesa have estimated how successful mandatory minimum sentences are, relative to other control strategies, at reducing drug consumption and drug-related crime.
The DPRC researchers focused on cocaine, which many view as the most problematic drug in America today. They took two approaches to mathematically model the market for cocaine and arrived at the same basic conclusion: Mandatory minimum sentences are not justifiable on the basis of cost-effectiveness at reducing cocaine consumption or drug-related crime. Mandatory minimums reduce cocaine consumption less per million taxpayer dollars spent than spending the same amount on enforcement under the previous sentencing regime. And either enforcement approach reduces drug consumption less, per million dollars spent, than putting heavy users through treatment programs. Mandatory minimums are also less cost-effective than either alternative at reducing cocaine-related crime. A principal reason for these findings is the high cost of incarceration.
Reducing Consumption: More Enforcement Against Typical Dealers
Caulkins, Rydell, and their colleagues first estimated the cost-effectiveness of additional expenditures on enforcement against the average drug dealer apprehended in the United States (whether that apprehension is by federal, state, or local authorities). Increased enforcement places additional costs on dealers, which they pass along to cocaine consumers in the form of higher prices. Studies have shown that higher cocaine prices discourage consumption. By mathematically modeling how cocaine market demand and supply respond to price, the researchers were able to estimate the changes in total cocaine consumption over 15 years for an additional million dollars invested in different cocaine control strategies. These consumption changes, discounted to present value, are shown by the first two bars in Figure 1.
Figure 1--Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative Cocaine Control Strategies
Those bars show the results of spending a million dollars[1] on additional enforcement against a representative sample of drug dealers. As shown by the first bar, if that money were used to extend to federal mandatory minimum lengths the sentences of dealers who would have been arrested anyway, U.S. cocaine consumption would be reduced by almost 13 kilograms.[2] If, however, the money were used to arrest, confiscate the assets of, prosecute, and incarcerate more dealers (for prison terms of conventional length), cocaine consumption would be reduced by over 27 kilograms. As a point of comparison, spending the million dollars to treat heavy users would reduce cocaine consumption by a little over 100 kilograms (rightmost bar).
The results from spending an additional million dollars can be extrapolated to multiples thereof. A case can thus be made for shifting resources from longer sentences to a broader mix of enforcement measures. A case might also be made for shifting resources to treatment, although legislators might find such a shift less palatable. In any event, extrapolation is valid only up to a point. These results certainly do not support shifting all drug control resources from one approach to another, e.g., from enforcement to treatment. Very large changes in enforcement levels or in the number of persons treated would change cocaine supply and demand relations in ways that are not predictable with much confidence.
Reducing Consumption: More Enforcement Against Higher-Level Dealers
The first two bars in Figure 1 represent enforcement approaches applied to a representative sample of drug dealers. Perhaps mandatory minimum sentences would be more cost-effective if they were applied only to higher-level dealers, who make more money and thus have more to lose from intensive enforcement. To approximate such a restriction, Caulkins and his colleagues limited the set of dealers analyzed to those prosecuted at the federal level who possess enough drugs to trigger a federal mandatory minimum sentence. Again, they analyzed how costs imposed on dealers influence cocaine market demand and supply. The results are shown in the dark bars in Figure 1.
Spending a million dollars on mandatory minimum sentences for higher-level dealers does indeed have a bigger effect on cocaine consumption than spending the same amount on either enforcement approach against typical dealers. Nonetheless, against any given type of dealer (or at any given level of government), mandatory minimums are less cost-effective than conventional enforcement. Moreover, although federal mandatory minimums do better relative to treating heavy users than do longer sentences for all dealers, treatment is still more cost-effective.
Why is conventional enforcement more cost-effective than mandatory minimums? Drug enforcement imposes costs on dealers through arrest and conviction, which includes seizure of drugs and other assets, and through incarceration, which involves loss of income. It turns out that, per dollar spent, the cost burden from seizures is greater. A million dollars spent extending sentences thus imposes less cost on dealers--and consequently reduces cocaine consumption less--than a million dollars spent on conventional enforcement, which includes asset seizures.[3]
Reducing Cocaine-Related Crime
Many Americans are worried about the crime associated with cocaine production, distribution, and use. Working with data on the causes of drug-related crime, Caulkins and his colleagues estimated the crime reduction benefits of the various alternatives. They found no difference between conventional enforcement and mandatory minimums in relation to property crime. Conventional enforcement, however, should reduce crimes against persons by about 70 percent more than mandatory minimums. But treatment should reduce serious crimes (against both property and persons) the most per million dollars spent--on the order of fifteen times as much as would the incarceration alternatives.
Why is treatment so much better? Most drug-related crime is economically motivated--undertaken, for example, to procure money to support a habit or to settle scores between rival dealers. The level of economically motivated crime is related to the amount of money flowing through the cocaine market. When a treated dealer stays off drugs, that means less money flowing into the market--therefore, less crime. When a dealer facing greater enforcement pressure raises his price to compensate for the increased risk, buyers will reduce the amount of cocaine they purchase. Money flow equals price times quantity bought. Which effect predominates--the rise in price or the drop in consumption? The best evidence suggests that they cancel each other out, so the total revenue flowing through the cocaine market stays about the same. The effect of the enforcement alternatives is therefore limited almost entirely to the relatively small number of crimes that are the direct result of drug consumption--crimes "under the influence."
Sensitivity of the Results to Changes in Assumptions
The values shown in Figure 1 are dependent, of course, on various assumptions the researchers made. If the assumptions are changed, the values change. As an example, the results are dependent on the time horizon of interest to those making decisions about cocaine control strategy. Figure 1, for example, ignores any benefits and costs accruing more than 15 years beyond program initiation. A 15-year horizon is a typical one for analyzing public-policy effects. But what if that horizon were closer?
Figure 2 shows the relative cost-effectiveness of treatment and the enforcement alternatives against typical dealers, analyzed when time horizons are set at various points from 1 to 15 years. At 15 years, the lines match the heights of the two short bars and the tallest bar in Figure 1. As the horizon is shortened, treatment looks worse, because treatment's costs, which accrue immediately, remain, while the benefits, which accrue as long as treated individuals reduce their consumption, are cut back. If the horizon is made short enough, long sentences look better, because the costs of additional years of imprisonment are ignored, while the benefits remain. Those benefits, again, are the cocaine price increase and consumption decrease that occur as soon as the imprisonment risk increases. The time horizon must be shortened to three years before long sentences look preferable to additional conventional enforcement, and to little more than two years before they look preferable to treatment. Hence, longer sentences for typical drug dealers appear cost-effective only to the highly myopic.
Figure 2--Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Heavy Users and Enforcement Against Typical Drug Dealers, for Different Evaluation Horizons
More generally, large departures from the assumptions underlying the analysis are required for mandatory minimums to be the most cost-effective approach. Figure 3, for example, displays departures from two key assumptions underlying the results in Figure 1: that it costs the federal government $20,000 to arrest a dealer and that a dealer wants additional drug sales income amounting to $85,000 for risking an additional year of imprisonment. These two assumed values are depicted by the star in Figure 3. The bounded areas and labels indicate which program is the most cost-effective for any combination of substitutes for those two numbers. As the figure shows, mandatory minimums would be the most cost-effective alternative only if arrest cost were to exceed $30,000 and a dealer were to value his time at over $250,000 per year. Such figures would typify only those dealers who are both unusually difficult to arrest and at a fairly high level in the cocaine trade. For dealers costing less than $30,000 to arrest, cocaine control dollars would be better spent on further conventional enforcement. For dealers demanding less than $250,000 compensation for imprisonment risk, the money would be better spent treating heavy users.
Figure 3--Most Cost-Effective Strategy for Different Combinations of Values for Two Key Variables
Long sentences could thus be a smart strategy if selectively applied. Unfortunately, because mandatory minimum sentences are triggered by quantity of drug possessed, they are not selectively applied to the highest-level dealers. Such dealers often do not physically possess the drugs they own and control; they hire others to carry the drugs and incur the associated risk.
Long sentences for serious crimes have intuitive appeal. They respond to deeply held beliefs about punishment for evil actions, and in many cases they ensure that, by removing a criminal from the streets, further crimes that would have been committed will not be. But in the case of black-market crimes like drug dealing, a jailed supplier is often replaced by another supplier. Limited cocaine control resources can, however, be profitably directed toward other important objectives--reducing cocaine consumption and the violence and theft that accompany the cocaine market. If those are the goals, more can be achieved by spending additional money arresting, prosecuting, and sentencing dealers to standard prison terms than by spending it sentencing fewer dealers to longer, mandatory terms. The DPRC researchers found an exception in the case of the highest-level dealers, where sentences of mandatory minimum length appear to be the most cost-effective approach. However, it is difficult to identify those dealers solely by quantity of drug possessed. It might be easier to identify them if, in passing sentence, the criminal justice system could consider additional factors, e.g., evidence regarding a dealer's position in the distribution hierarchy. Such factors, ignored by mandatory minimums, can be taken into account by judges working under discretionary sentencing.
[1] All cost calculations in this brief are in 1992 dollars. To convert costs in 1992 dollars to 1996 dollars (the latest year for which inflation data are available), multiply by 1.119. To convert kilograms of cocaine consumption reduced per million 1992 dollars spent to kilograms reduced per million 1996 dollars, divide by 1.119.
[2] Data on quantities possessed by convicted dealers are not readily available below the federal level, so for typical dealers, the researchers assessed, in lieu of true mandatory minimums, a program applying longer sentences to all who were convicted.
[3] As shown in earlier RAND research, treatment is more cost-effective than enforcement, even though the great majority of users revert to their cocaine habit following treatment. Treatment is so much cheaper than enforcement that many more users can be targeted for the same amount of money--so many more that the sum of the small individual effects expected are larger than the effects expected from enforcement.
RAND research briefs summarize research that has been more fully documented elsewhere. This research brief describes work sponsored, through DPRC, by Richard B. Wolf of Richland Mills and by The Ford Foundation; it is documented in Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences: Throwing Away the Key or the Taxpayers' Money? by Jonathan P. Caulkins, C. Peter Rydell, William L. Schwabe, and James Chiesa, MR-827-DPRC, 1997, 217 pp., ISBN: 0-8330-2453-1. Abstracts of all RAND documents may be viewed on the World Wide Web (). Publications are distributed to the trade by National Book Network. RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve public policy through research and analysis; its publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of its research sponsors.
All rights reserved. Permission is given to duplicate this on-line document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes.
RAND's Home Page


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My name is Tyra and I took this picture in Oakland Oregon, of this Wigwam. I dont think it will be here much longer, so wanted to snap this shot before it falls down or gets torn down. I was told that they're pretty rare, and as old as it is' Its still beautiful!
Oakland "Wigwam"
By: tyrasphotosSubscribe Channel: Weather & Scenery Location: Oakland Oregon
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says ... on Monday, Aug 2 at 8:46 PM
Linda is right but only partly I think she has not lived in Oregon very long or she would know that it is a wigwam... these burners were all called wigwam burners but I guess only an old timer llike me would know that....
says ... on Friday, Jan 8 at 7:49 PM
This is not a wigwam .. but an old burner from the lumber mill that was located there years ago. I agree, it is unique and rare to see one. Most were removed years ago thoughout state of Oregon. This is on private property and remains until it falls.


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The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park is currently seeking volunteers to assist with the North Shore Bank Zoo Boo special event! The event takes place over six nights in October. Volunteer positions are varied and several different time shifts are offered. Children ages 8 to 13 can volunteer with adult supervision. A limited number of positions for children/adult pairs and groups are available each night, and a large number are available for teens and adults.
Help is especially needed in the FREAKY FOREST! "Forest Ghouls" must come dressed in costumes and prepared with skits to act out as the haunted Wagon Rides pass by – these opportunities are best for volunteers aged 15 and older. Adult positions are also available and large groups can be accommodated in the Freaky Forest. Many positions are also available within the zoo itself, including Costume Mascots, Treat Station Volunteers, and more. This is a great opportunity for students and others looking to earn community service hour requirements for school, church groups, etc.
North Shore Bank Zoo Boo 2014 takes place on October 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th.
For more information about volunteering, please email the Volunteer Coordinator.


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Product code: 348951 - Need help? Contact us


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October 1956. Calder Hall Nuclear Station
Calder Hall Power Station
The opening of Calder Hall power station by Her Majesty the Queen on October 17th will mark an epoch in the history of power development. For Calder Hall is the first power station in the world to generate electricity on an industrial scale from nuclear energy.
Moreover, Calder Hall is the forerunner of a group of nuclear power stations which will constitute the first stage in Great Britain's 10-year programme for the construction of 12 nuclear power stations by 1965.
The first group of these stations will be advanced versions of the Calder Hall design, based on the gas-cooled, graphite-moderated natural uranium reactor. They will, however, have the benefit of current technical improvements, including up-rating of the reactors.
1956 Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station
Readers' comments (3)
I was so excited to follow on the radio the Calder Hall opening by the Queen. Of course we didn't know at the time that it was ctually a subterfuge to produce weapons-grade Plutonium. The heat exchangers were there simply to stop the core from melting. I was not so pleased to receive a Strontium-90 dose from the later fire. Let's not ever become complacent about fission reactors.
The fire was not at the Calder Hall commercial station but at one of the earlier prototype Windscale pile reactors.
The race for nuclear diverted money away from the UKs space programme and killed it.
From an analysis of the industry after official secrets were shown, we only raced for nuclear power so that we could keep up the US and the nuclear arms race.
I wonder how much it cost to clean this up?
I bet there are no official figures for the moneys spent on this; whole life costing that is.
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Pope has set 'cracking pace' for reform, Cardinal Pell reports
Catholic World News - June 27, 2013
Pope Francis has "set a cracking pace" in his quest for reform at the Vatican, reports Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia.
Cardinal Pell—a member of the 8-cardinal commission appointed by the Pontiff to provide him with advice on reform measures—said that the Pope has been "working incessantly" during the first 100 days of his pontificate.
The Australian cardinal said that although public attention has focused on the calls for reform of the Roman Curia—"which incidentally I think to some significant extent will happen"—he himself has concentrated on practical reforms at the Vatican. He mentioned, for example, regular audits and efficiency studies.
While welcoming the fact that the leaks of confidential Vatican documents have stopped, Cardinal Pell said that the Pope would have to address the issues raised in a secret report by the three cardinals who were commissioned by Pope Benedict to study the leaks and trace their sources.
Cardinal Pell observed that the Pope's decision to remain at the Vatican through the summer, rather than relaxing at Castel Gandolfo, is evidence of his determination to tackle his duties. The cardinal observed, however, that "he's got to look after his health." He said: "He's obviously very tough and strong after years of work, but I think it's in the interest of everybody that he doesn't work too hard, or rather that he works hard in a way that he can cope with."
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The Prairie Heights Community Schools Board of Education met in session on Monday, March 18 at 7pm.
Graduation day this year will be June 9, 2013 at 3pm.
The Shipshewana Town Council approved the town's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plan Thursday evening.
First off, it is no longer the Shipshewana Town Center.
A LaGrange man lost his life after the vehicle he was driving went off the road on CR 600N at CR 250E Saturday night.
Located in the heart of Mennonite and Amish country, Shipshewana got its name from Chief Shipshewana of the Potawatomi tribe of Native Americans.
A domestic dispute on March 13 resulted in a broken arm for one of the people involved.
The LaGrange County Sheriff's Department received a report on March 10 that a 13-year-old male had battered his mother at a residence on SR 9 south of Howe.
U.S. Congressman Marlin Stutzman issued the following statement regarding the House Republican budget to be introduced by Chairman Paul Ryan:
Infants are full and complex human beings, absorbing every sight, sound, smell, and touch that they encounter.