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Around coastal North Carolina, we love sea turtles � especially the loggerheads that arrive on our beaches annually to lay their eggs, then swim off to spend the rest of their time traversing the oceans. Countless volunteers help guard nests after turtles lay their eggs in the sand, and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Hospital on Topsail Island nurses injured and sick turtles back to health. The eggs and new hatchlings that emerge from their nests each summer also are tourist draws.
Now these fascinating creatures have been granted greater protection from human-created hazards. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has officially declared 685 miles of Atlantic and Gulf Coast beaches and 300,000 miles of federal waters �critical habitats� for the endangered loggerheads.
It was a controversial decision, because legal safeguards always require trade-offs. It will be up to the feds and coastal communities to see to it that any restrictions are reasonable and necessary to protect the turtles, without hurting the tourist and fishing industries that are so important to North Carolina and other coastal states.
In a public hearing last year, officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made it clear that the critical habitat designation would not affect beach access or �non-federal development.� It will, however, require federal agencies to consult with the service to ensure that dredging and other marine and shoreline projects won�t harm the loggerhead population.
Still, beach towns have legitimate concerns that the federal mandate could affect beach restoration projects, which are vital both to preserve the turtles� nesting habitat and to bolster the tourism industry that is so important to the Cape Fear region�s economic health. Other projects such as offshore wind farms, drilling and controversial terminal groins also could be affected. They also were understandably nervous because they don�t know what else might be required of them, at a time when federal and state funding is tight and taxpayers are unwilling to support higher taxes.
Federal officials must work to ensure that, in protecting the turtles that have found a special place in the heart of coastal area residents, they do not impose burdens that will harm coastal towns or the local economy. It is possible to both protect the young turtles and adopt sensible policies that are good for coastal communities, too.
But protect them we must.
Location, ST | website.com


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Spreading the benefits of Allanblackia seed oil
01 April 2010 | Audio
African forests are home to a small treasure: the Allanblackia tree, whose seeds can be turned into edible oil and integrated in many products of daily use. Chris Buss, of IUCN's Forest Conservation programme, explains the value of this seed and IUCN's role in promoting its commercialisation. If you think Allanblackia is a funny name, keep listening for an explanation!

subset: commoncrawl


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"Glee" star Chris Colfer's bestselling book series "The Land of Stories" is set to hit the big screen – the actor is in talks with major movie executives about turning the tales into a new film.
The 24-year-old tells "Access Hollywood Live" he always vowed not to consider movie deals connected to his young adult books, but now he's reconsidering.
Colfer says, "I'm starting to have those film conversations. I'm a little more open-minded to it. When I first started the series, I was completely against doing a movie… I always said I would rather it be a good book that a hundred people read, than an awful movie which a thousand people see.
"But the readers want to see the world come alive so much. Who am I to deny them of that?"


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I just upgraded Zimbra Desktop from 1.04 to 2.0 Beta 4. New ZD 2.0 is much faster and sleeker, but spell schecking is driving me crazy. I write my emails in finnish and therefore ZD is underlining all my text with red color... That's very irritating and I have been trying to find how to disable spell checking, but haven't found how to do it.
I would appreciate if someone is able to share instructions how to disable spell checking.
Best regards,


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Thanks to everyone who contacted me about this. This commission has been taken.
I'm 100% newbie at commissioning to please be gentle
I am running a DnD 4th edition game in my own world but similar setting(fantasy) and am in need of a few maps of a keep. The keep is built into a mountain range and is guarding the only safe pass through said mountains. It has a strong wall that goes across the pass with a gate to allow people through. The previous owners also mined into the mountain so the keep has a very deep and complex dungeon system.
I will need the following maps:
A "cosmetic" view of the keep from afar, something I would show the players as they approach it.
A battlemap of the keep and surrounding area.
A battlemap for the interior of the keep.
A battlemap for the first level of the mines/dungeon of the keep.
I'm fairly unfamiliar with the specific dpi numbers so I'll simply say high res so we can zoom in well. Jpg or png format preferably. Full color
It's only going to be used for personal use so the author can keep the copyright.
I'm flexible with the deadline. I have a stand in for the maps so I don't need this done immediately but I am willing to pay for speed AND quality.
Payment and Contact:
I don't think I can PM yet so please contact me via email at firstname.lastname@example.com to discuss payment and map details.
Last edited by RobA; 09-20-2013 at 08:44 AM.
Thanks to everyone who contacted me about this. This commission has been taken.


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St. Louis County, Mo (KSDK) - St. Louis County police want potential victims of Donald Ingerson to come forward.
On Tuesday the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged the 67-year-old former teacher with one count of rape and second-degree statutory sodomy.
NewsChannel 5 has learned Ingerson taught at University City High School from 1976 until 1981, teaching biology and coaching football and wrestling. A spokesperson for the district says they did not receive any complaints about him while he was working for the district.
Ingerson also taught science and coached at McCluer High School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District from 1987-2010. A spokesperson for the school district said it received no complaints while Ingerson taught there.
A spokesperson for the Ritenour School District verified Ingerson was an assistant baseball coach at Ritenour High School from June 2001 to September 2005, and then he left voluntarily and returned in February 2011 to be the freshman baseball coach at the school until April 2012.
The Ritenour School District spokesperson says no complaints were filed with the district against Ingerson.
Ingerson may have taught at three or four other school districts in St. Louis County.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said at a press conference Tuesday Ingerson called in June from his home in Minnesota to confess because he thought the statute of limitations on the crimes was up. He then came to St. Louis on Sunday to talk with investigators. Ingerson found out after he was arrested and charged that the statute of limitations had not run out.
St. Louis County police identified two potential victims and are asking any other potential victims to call 314-889-2341.
Ingerson is currently being held on a $300,000 cash only bond.


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Staff Report
Published Nov. 19, 2012
Cherod Webber, president and CEO of Columbia-based Innovative Global Supply LLC, has been named to the Export-Import Bank advisory committee for 2013.
The committee advises the Ex-Im Bank on its policies and programs, in particular on the extent to which the bank helps U.S. exporters compete. Congress established the panel 30 years ago.
"Our members represent various regions of our nation and all are committed to helping Ex-Im Bank achieve its mission of creating and sustaining U.S. jobs through exports," said Fred Hochberg, chairman and president. "Our committee is responsible for offering fresh ideas, perspectives and insights, and I look forward to working with each of our new members."
Committee members represent small business, manufacturing, labor, services, finance and environmental concerns.
Webber's company is a distributor and exporter of vitamins, food supplements and fortified food products that targets emerging markets in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Innovative Global Supply is the latest resident at the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator on Laurel Street.
Webber served 17 years as a BMW Manufacturing executive before he found his company.
The advisory committee's chairman is Nelson Cunningham, managing partner of McLarty Associates in Washington, D.C.
Previous coverage


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Critical Appraisal
Critical appraisal refers to a set of skills for assessing the validity of sources of information, and especially of research reports measuring benefits and harms of health interventions. This assessment involves judgment about both the quality of the work that was done and its application to specific circumstances. Critical appraisal skills are important for all clinicians, policy makers, administrators, researchers, educators and consumers.
"Online source" indicates that the resource is available online without charge. A cost-free registration may be required for access to some items with this designation.
Tutorials, tools, and checklists
About critical appraisal
Toward better understanding of harms of interventions
Systematic reviews on critical appraisal
Tutorials, tools, and checklistsCore topics in evidence-based medicine, JAMAevidence, Journal of the American Medical Association.
Critical appraisal, Centre for Evidence Based Medicine.
Critical appraisal of intervention studies, National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools.
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), Solutions for Public Health, UK National Health Service.
(handouts for developing and applying critical appraisal skills)
Critical appraisal tools, International Centre for Allied Health Evidence, Division of Health Sciences, University of Southern Australia.
Critically appraised topics tool (CATmaker), Centre for Evidenced Based Medicine, University of Oxford.
Discern online: quality criteria for consumer health information, Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oxford.
(tool and other resources for assessing consumer health information)
Greenhalgh T. How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based medicine, 4th ed. London: BMJ Books, 2010.
Guyatt G, Rennie D, Meade M, Cook D. Users' guides to the medical literature: a manual for evidence-based clinical practice, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
Guyatt G, Rennie D, Meade M, Cook D. Users' guides to the medical literature: essentials of evidence-based clinical practice, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
Tips and tricks for understanding and using systematic reviews. Regular column in: Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal.
About critical appraisalAlderson P. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. BMJ 2004;328(7438):476-7.
(Online Source)
Altman DG, Bland JM. Statistical notes: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. BMJ. 1995;311(7003):485.
Barratt A, Wyer PC, Hatala R, McGinn T, Dans AL, Keitz S, Moyer V, Guyatt G, for the Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Tips Working Group. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 1. relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction and number needed to treat. CMAJ. 2004;171(4):353-8.
(Online Source)
Chalmers I, Matthews R. What are the implications of optimism bias in clinical research? Lancet. 2006;367(9509):449-50.
Glasziou P, Vandenbroucke J, Chalmers I. Assessing the quality of research. BMJ. 2004;328(7430):39-41.
(Online Source)
Hatala R, Keitz S, Wyer P, Gordon Guyatt, for the Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Tips Working Group. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 4. assessing heterogeneity of primary studies in systematic reviews and whether to combine their results. CMAJ. 2005;172(5):661-5.
(Online Source)
Lewis SC, Warlow CP. How to spot bias and other potential problems in randomised controlled trials. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2004;75(2):181-7.
(Online Source)
McGinn T, Wyer PC, Newman TB, Keitz S, Leipzip R, Guyatt G, for the Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Tips Working Group. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 3. measures of observer variability (kappa statistic). CMAJ. 2004;171(11):1369-73.
(Online Source)
Montori VM, Kleinbart J, Newman TB, Keitz S, Wyer PC, Moyer V, Guyatt G, for the Evidence-Based Medicine Teaching Tips Working Group. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 2. measures of precision (confidence intervals). CMAJ. 2004:171(6):611-5.
(Online Source)
Thacker SB, Stroup DF, Peterson HB. Meta-analysis for the practicing obstetrician-gynecologist. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 41(2):275-81.
Williams JK. Understanding evidence-based medicine: a primer. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001;185(2):275-8.
Toward better understanding of harms of interventionsChan A-W, Hróbjartsson A, Haahr MT, Gøtzsche PC, Altman DG. Empirical evidence for selective reporting of outcomes in randomized trials: comparison of protocols to published articles. JAMA. 2004;291(20):2457-65.
(Online Source)
Chou R, Helfand M. Challenges in systematic reviews that assess treatment harms. Ann Int Med. 2005;142(12 part 2):1090-9.
(Online Source)
Chou R, Aronson N, Atkins D, Ismaila AS, Santaguida P, Smith DH, Whitlock E, Wilt T, Moher D. AHRQ Series Paper 4: Assessing harms when comparing medical interventions: AHRQ and the Effective Health Care Program (EHCP). Journal Clin Epidemiol. 2010; 63(5):502-512.
Cochrane Adverse Effects Methods Group.
Cuervo LG, Clarke M. Balancing benefits and harms in health care. BMJ. 2003;327(7406):65-66.
(Online Source)
Golder SP, Loke YK, McIntosh HM. Room for Improvement? A survey of the methods used in systematic reviews of adverse effects. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2006;6:3.
(Online Source)
Herxheimer A. Communicating with patients about risks and harms. PLoS Med. 2005; 2(2):e42.
(Online Source)
Higgins JPT, Green S, editors. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions 5.0.2 [updated September 2009]; Chapter 14: Adverse effects.
(Online Source)
Ioannidis JPA, Evans SJW, Gøtzsche PC, O'Neill RT, Altman DG, Schulz K, Moher D, for the CONSORT Group. Better reporting of harms in randomized trials: an extension of the CONSORT Statement. Ann Int Med. 2004;141(10):781-8.
(Online Source, with appendices)
Ioannidis JPA, Lau J. Completeness of safety reporting in randomized trials: an evaluation of 7 medical areas. JAMA. 2001;285(4):437-43.
(Online Source)
McIntosh HM, Woolacott NF, Bagnall A-M. Assessing harmful effects in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Res Methodol. 2004;4:19.
(Online Source)
Papanikolaou PN, Ioannidis JPA. Availability of large-scale evidence on specific harms from systematic review of randomized trials. Am J Med. 2004;117(8):582-9.
Systematic reviews on critical appraisalCoomarasamy A, Taylor R, Khan KS. A systematic review of postgraduate teaching in evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal. Med Teach. 2003;25(1):77-81.
Hyde C, Parkes J, Deeks J, Milne R. Systematic review of effectiveness of teaching critical appraisal. Oxford: ICRF/NHS Centre for Statistics in Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, August 2000.
Katrak P, Bialocerkowski AE, Massy-Westropp N, Saravana Kumar VS, Grimmer KA. A systematic review of the content of critical appraisal tools. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2004;4:22.
(Online Source)
Norman GR, Shannon SI. Effectiveness of instruction in critical appraisal (evidence-based medicine): a critical appraisal. CMAJ. 1998;1582177-81.
(Online Source)
Parkes J, Hyde C, Deeks J, Milne R. Teaching critical appraisal skills in health care settings. Cochrane Database of Syst Rev. 2010, Issue 1.
(Online Source)
Taylor R, Reeves B, Ewings P, Binns S, Keast J, Mears R. A systematic review of the effectiveness of critical appraisal skills training for clinicians. Med Educ. 2000;34(2):120-5.
West S, King V, Carey TS, Lohr KN, McKoy N, Sutton SF, Lux L. Systems to rate the strength of scientific evidence. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, April 2002. (Evidence Report/Technology Assessment 47.)
(Online Source, PDF)
Most recent page update: 2/4/2011
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text:
I'm liking the painting tools in Krita, especially the mirror effect. Horizontal and Verticle mirror makes it easier for us non-artistic types.
Here's my first real effort incorporating Krita:
Edit: there are some points where the lines come together that I intend to put silver gray on to try for a solder look.


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Stephen Marro is ready for his close-up
(Page 3 of 4)
Marro, who said he's been inspired in his burgeoning film career by such directors as Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawk, wants audiences, above all, to be entertained by this movie. "It's a good story and it keeps you on the edge of your seat," he said. "Universally everyone who sees it likes this movie. Kids like it, as do adults. It seems to appeal across all ages."
The film explores the question, as Marro explained in his director's statement, "What would you do, and to what extremes would you go to if offered the opportunity to obtain what you wanted most out of life?"
"I enjoy stories about folks that have a relentless desire to achieve a goal ignoring the difficulties of their task," said Marro. "This story is about the resilience one needs to give up everything you have and go chase a dream, no matter how unlikely it is to come true. The film's characters, in spite of naïve optimism, pursue their lofty goal and inevitably encounter a far more difficult reality than expected. They are driven to extremes and realize that risking it all in a do-it-yourself society does have a down side, which begs the question; is the thing we want most out of life eventually going to kill us."
Marro's inspiration for the film came from a newspaper article, working at the writer/director's unit in the Actors Studio and his personal history.
"In many ways my experiences, in making the film, mirror what the characters go through in the film. After a long arduous undertaking there is no better feeling of satisfaction than knowing you accomplished what you set out to do," Marro said.
The cast includes Nick Cornish (Gossip Girl, Confessions of a Shopaholic), Adam Storke (Mystic Pizza, Death Becomes Her, The Stand), John Lavelle (The Taking of Pelham 123, NCIS), Larry Pine (Homeland, The Royal Tenebaums, Melinda and Melinda), and Robert Clohessy (The Avengers, Boardwalk Empire, Across The Universe). "We have a terrific cast that all responded to the screenplay and wanted to play these characters," Marro said.
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text:
Pentek PD-1-934 10" PolyDepth Sediment Filter 1 micron
Pentek PD-1-934 | Our#: 176376
Fits These Systems
- All 10" Slim Line Filter Housings
- Dupont WFPF38001C
- Dupont PF 3800 Series Housings
- Dupont PF 2800 Series Housings
- Pentek Housing 150072
Pentek PD-1-934 10" Bonded Polypropylene 1 micron Sediment Filter
The PD-1-934 Ametek / Pentek 10" Sediment filter is a Polydepth Polypropylene filter with 1 micron filtration. This filter will fit any standard 10" filter housing. The Pentek PD-1-934 filter cartridge is constructed using a thermally bonded polypropylene micro-fiber, for higher filtration efficiency. This filter gives a consistent flow rate for superior performance. This filter also incorporates a high strength polypropylene core for increased collapse strength and durability. The micro fiber construction allows for minimal fiber release, consistent filtration and flow rates. The Pentek PD-1-934 Bonded Polypropylene filter provides superior chemical resistance and is not prone to bacterial attack. This is a very effective filter at a good price. Do not use on any water supply that is microbiologically unsafe.
|Varies depending on Water Conditions
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|9-7/8" L X 2-1/2" Dia.
|Flow Rate
|5 Gallons Per Minute
|Initial Pressure Drop @ Flow Rate ( gpm )
|<2 psid @ 2 gpm (0.14 bar @ 7.6 L/min)
|Micron Rating ( nominal )
|1 micron
|Reduction Claims
|Sediment, Sand, Silt and Rust
|Temperature Rating
|40�F to 175�F (4.4� to 79.4�C)


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Law Firm Program: Small Firm Practice (7160)
This department of the Law Firm Program will focus on the types of cases and clients encountered by a small firm practitioner. The class will include issues such as simple real estate matters; District Court practice (civil and criminal); setting up a corporation and business organizations; the use of forms; and other small firm matters. Although the class will touch upon aspects of setting up and operating a small firm or solo practice, they are not the focus of the course.
Course Details
- Credits: 3


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Seagate Cheetah ST3146356SS 15K.6 146GB 15K 3.0Gbps Serial SCSI / SAS Hard Drive - Brand New
Capacity: 146GB
Spindle Speed: 15,000RPM
Interface Type: SAS Serial Attached SCSI
Disk Size: 3.5inx1.0in LFF Hard Drive
Sustained Throughput (MBps): 85.6 to 142.7
Average Seek Time (read/write ms): 3.4 / 3.9
Electrical Interface Speed: SAS Serial Attached SCSI - 3.0Gbps
On-Board Cache: 16MB
The Seagate® Cheetah® 15K.6 hard drive enables manageable tiered storage solutions without compromising performance or reliability. Cheetah 15K.6 drives deliver cost-effective solutions, allowing systems to keep up with increasing performance needs over a longer period of time.
All mainstream enterprise applications, such as:
Alt. PN: 9CE066
All SAS compatible servers including:Dell PowerEdge 2900, 2950, 69090, 6950. PowerVault MD1000
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IBM 42R4129 / 42R4131 SATA/SAS Hard Drive Tray
Dell 8FKXC / NTPP3 SAS / SATA 2.5" Hard Drive Tray/Caddy
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HP Compaq 373211-001 SATA / SAS Hard Drive Tray / Caddy
Dell F238F / X968D SATA / SAS Hard Drive Tray


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Arch Linux Women (Arch Women or A-W for short) is an all inclusive organization of Arch Linux enthusiasts with a focus on helping more women become involved in the Arch Linux community and FOSS.
To this end, we provide a safe space for people of all genders and backgrounds to share skills, learn, network and socialize. Anyone with an interest in the project is welcome to participate.
Get Involved
Do you want to teach a class, organize an event, write code, or simply join the conversation? See how you can contribute to the project!
We are also looking for sponsors and donations.


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For further details regarding our pricavy policies including the use of cookies please click here. For instructions on how to enable cookies please click here. If you need assistance one of our customer service representatives at 1-800-850-7463 would be glad to help.
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Mission StatementThe Department of World Languages and Literatures is vital to the social and intellectual life of the College of Liberal Arts and the University of Nevada. We contribute a crucial component to the university's efforts to prepare undergraduate and graduate students for an increasingly diverse world in which communicating well across cultures and competing globally determine success. The quality and effectiveness of the department's programs are essential to the success of the university, both locally, in an increasingly multilingual State, and globally, in an increasingly networked world.
The department provides students with the cultural background, critical thinking skills, and communicative proficiency they need to navigate in a complex global environment. The department offers undergraduate students rigorous, innovative programs of study in their chosen fields, from basic courses in a variety of foreign languages to advanced courses in literature, film, culture, critical theory, translation, and linguistics. The department offers a Master of Arts degree program in Spanish that aims to provide students with a broad knowledge base from which to pursue more-specialized studies, to offer a depth of experience in scholarship, and, for graduate assistants, student teaching and research that will advance their future professional activities. The department's excellent placement record attests to its commitment to the intellectual and professional formation of its graduate and undergraduate students.
The department promotes discovery, creativity, and the advancement of knowledge and mutual understanding. Our faculty is composed of active, engaged teachers and scholars who present their research and creative work in major venues, from respected journals and leading scholarly presses to regional, national, and international conferences. Our language teachers use the latest methodologies and teaching technologies, including the foreign language multimedia facility, smart classrooms, and the Internet. The department supports the scholarly and creative work of its faculty and students at home and abroad, and recognizes that truly innovative work often changes how we view our own and other fields of knowledge.
The department serves both the university and the community. Our faculty devote considerable time to service at the university, advising students, administering programs, participating in specialized committees, and contributing to faculty governance. The department also plays a significant role in the community, engaging in outreach programs, film festivals, interpreting services, and other cultural activities. Faculty and students donate their time and professional expertise to the region, the state, the nation, and the world.
Reasons to Study a Foreign Language
In addition to broadening your life experiences and your view of the world, studying a foreign language improves your communication skills and cognitive and critical thinking abilities. In addition, language study on your transcripts will give you an advantage in any career choice. Foreign language study offers a wider understanding of the cultures of countries trading with the United States. Multinational corporations seek employees with multilingual communicative abilities to compete in a global market. An employer will see the employee with various language abilities as a bridge to new clients.
The Washington Post: The future of language.


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Musica Lux by Nuova Simonelli®
Combining beautiful form and function, the Nuova Simonelli Musica is a professional-grade espresso machine that lets you make coffee-bar-caliber beverages at home with ease. The Musica's thermo-compensated pouring group and pre-infusion system allow for full flavor extraction. Its efficient heat exchanger inside the boiler tank ensures there's plenty of steam power to foam milk for cappuccinos while simultaneously brewing espresso.
And the espresso machine is as visually pleasing as it is high-performing. Made of hardwearing stainless steel, the Musica's compact harp-shape design will look elegant in your home or office. This Lux version also features white LED-lit edging for a bright, modern touch.
Efficient heat exchanger inside the boiler tank ensures that there is always steam available for foaming milk.
Visible pressure gauge for checking pressure in the boiler tank.
Large water tank (over 100-fl oz) includes waterstop valve and anti-scale cartridge.
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Volumetric dosing system stores up to 3 different dose settings.
Thermo-compensated pouring group features a pre-infusion system for full flavor extraction.
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- Dimensions: 13"W x 16"D x 17"H
- Weight: 45 lbs
- Color: Stainless Steel with white LED edging
- Bean Hopper Capacity: none
- Water Tank Capacity: 102 fl oz
- 15-bar pump pressure
- Construction: Stainless Steel
Click here for manufacturer's warranty information.
You may also like


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ANNANDALE, Va. (WUSA) - "I went into my parent's medicine cabinet and took a bottle of Percocet," described Caitlin Acosta, 24, about the first time she thought about taking drugs. She was 12 years old.
"I just remember the principal saying, this is bad, really bad," said Acosta who was charged with a felony for narcotics possession and suspended from school for two weeks.
"I started smoking pot in the 7th grade. And drinking," Acosta explained. She said that after she got in trouble, her self-esteem and self-worth fell. Her friends dropped away and she started hanging out with the "bad kids."
Acosta is a resident of Falls Church and a graduate of George Mason High School, where her alcohol and drug additions only got worse. She was a cheerleader in high school, but kept on smoking marijuana. Then she started selling her prescription Adderall.
"We would empty our capsules into baggies and take that. And then we would refill them with sugar so that if our moms would say, 'take your medicine' we would 'take our medicine,' but really we were going to school and selling it," said Acosta.
She says some kids would take the stimulant so that could drink more alcohol without passing out.
When she was 17, Caitlin discovered painkillers.
"I was addicted for a couple of years to OxyContin and Xanax as well as alcohol. I hit an emotional bottom. I knew that I was also damaging my liver," said Acosta.
When she was 20 years old, she told her mother.
"When I said, 'I have a drug problem,' when I told that truth, I think she was relieved to know the truth and to know the problem so that we could find a solution together. And that's what we did," said Acosta.
Now she's working with theUnited Prevention Coalition trying to make other aware of the dangers of addiction. The UPC is urging people to dispose of their unused or expired prescription medications at the upcoming Operation Medicine Cabinet Cleanout May 27 - June 1. Most Fairfax County Police Stations (Franconia, Mason, Mount Vernon, Reston, Sully and West Springfield) will be collection sites and disposal is free.
The UPC says more than 70% of those who abuse prescription medications get them from friends or family and often from the family's medicine cabinet.
Caitlin Acosta knows she's lucky. She says her family's love and patience, along with support groups helped her get off the drugs and alcohol and into recovery. She says she's closer now to her family, her parents and young siblings, than she has ever been. And she's grateful for their help.
"Nobody ever made me feel ashamed."
Acosta now has a full time job as an office assistant for a woman-owned architecture firm. She has a boyfriend and drives a pickup truck. She still lives with her parents but hopes to break out on her own soon.


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Servus and perdono my valkyrie.^^ I think I broke your record because it is two months since I was able to answer. It happened so much in the last time that is hard for me to compensate. First of all my new job left me no time to do anything. One of my colleagues went on Holiday and decided so it was up to me to operate the compactor down in the basement due to my other colleages don`t know how to use it. That means I had to make overtime. Unfortunatly at that time I get know to a new girl in our company that I just call Honeybunny. She got something that pulling me to her. Maybe her bright blue eyes or her soft character. But I need that girl for me. So to make contact and known to her; I eved made more overtime to met her. Was partly successfull, partly not, because Honeybunny already has a boyfriend. Oh I am sure you can imagine how disappointed I was. But instead of being truly disappointed - as usual - I was and I am still being much more angry. I thought about it and recognized that my evil ex took my moral with her when she left me suddenly and unexpected. So it was easy to decide to take that girl into my arms. But you know, I am not experienced in being a false dirtbag.^^ So I am asking around, if you got any Ideas. Every advice is very welcome.
I am wondering how Christmas looks like in Sweden. Here we had a cold break in early december and it was comfortable cold with around 1° to -2° Celsius with lots of snow. Than some fucking high came and now we have 8° Celsius. Every atmosphere fell off and got destroyed. :( If I want a warm winter, then I move to Africa or Australia, but I surely do not expect such a mild christmas here in Bavaria. X( It is quite easy to sleep half naked with an open window, because I sleep inside the blanket. The sleep is even more deep and comfortable the colder it is, because inside your blanket it is warm, but the cold air effects more in your sleep than warm air. If it is warm your sleep is short and by far not so recreative. The most cold temperatures I ever experienced were -18° Celsius and and of course, my window was open. And on the countryside you don`t have any cars that make noises. Just cats and weasels fighting but that happens not so often and is fast over. The noises of the nearby highway are completely blocked by the woods around. So it is pretty quiet where I live.
In Italy it is warmer and the seasons are not so clear over there. In general down there it is 5° to 6° warmer than in Germany. They are more close to the Äquator and the alps blocks most of the heat waves. In summer they have sometimes around 37° to 40° Celsius and in winter just around 5° to 10° Celsius. Snow is pretty rare and just be found in northern Italy. In autumn I saw some Italian tourists in Munich and they were clothed like on a trip to the north pole with warm 11°. And they still complained that is cold what I understood with my little Italian. :D
Heisan. Sounds like a mixture between English and Japanese.^^ As far as I know Northern language had an important influence on the modern English.
You don`t have to apologize for being late. I know the problem when you`re out of time. Luckily it was very quiet over the last days so I could get all my shit done. Damn, I almost forgot how relaxing it can be writing with no pressure on the back. I mean, the pressure is good to train your skills, the practise and the goal-oriented work. But without pressure or force you really can be creative.
Yes, you`re right. We had a pretty warm summer which ranged into autumn. Not exzessive warm like two years ago, but also with temperatures around 35° to 37° Celsius. And that over long periods of time. Sweating all the time, no rainy days and very sunny also. Even in early Autumn we had our 27° Celius. I am sure you would have loved it. I for my self suffered a lot under the heat wave. Like I told you before It wasn`t easy because you know I cannot stand tempertures of 20°; . Seems there must circle some viking blood in me too. :D
5° at night are almost perfect for me. Honestly still a little bit to warm for me. Even in Winter I keep my windows open at night and sleep half naked. If its to cold you for I may come and heat you up, including a bottle of met. Do you have met over there? Im sure you have. Recently I thought a lot to leave Germany behind and start a new life elsewhere. My stomach says I should go South to Italy, though every other person I ask tells me to go to Scandinavia. Norway, Sweden or Finnland. Relatives and friends compare me with some Suomi anyway and all the time.^^ Don`t know if its true.
At least I hope in Scandinavia there would be much more snow. I missed Snowboarding too over the last years. I just discovered waveboarding as a nice alternate. Going to work away your Speck around your hips.^^ But it`s also quite a fun.
Hi and servus - like we Bavarians say - I`m very sad and sorry for my late response. I had a quite stressfull time too. Short before the summer started right thru all labels, publishers and moviemakers wanted to sell their stuff just right on one time. Therefore, now nothing is going on! From hero to zero within just a few days. Damned summer-hole. Now it`s pretty boring and also earning money gets more difficult. One more reason why I avoid the summer.
Over the last weeks we had here some kinda a killer weather: Periods with 34°Celsius in the shadows, aggressive sun all the time and broken by extremely harsh tempests; followed by almost 40°Celsius in some areas. I don`t understand why people searching for more sun. Seems Swedish and German citizens are pretty the same; traveling to the south of Europe and Thailand. And also I don`t know how they can do it. Our taxes have always been pretty high, about 40% to 50% for a single while married people with kids have pay a lot less. In former times it was able to have one professional job, nowadays you`re getting more and more into the situation that people need two or more jobs to make your living. The situation got so serious, that our first court canceld the electorial low, because the big parties cheated the smaller ones about the votes. So next year we have to face new elections. Else most of the goverment is done and sent to jail. The whole situation results in an escape to work in other countries like Denmark, Britain, the swiss and also Norway and Sweden, while people from Spain, Italy and Greece move to Germany. Quite funny, Germany became an immigration country.
Well, I wouldn`t say Germany is interested in the Swedish Royales. The females are just interested in every kind of that gossip-stuff from all around Europe. Including the Danish Royales, the royales of Norway, UK, Netherlands and Belgium; else actors, musicians and stuff like that. So it`s more Gossip in general and all that stuff.
If possible, I really would come to Sweden, especially if it`s more and more nightly as Germany. Oh how I miss some Ice and Snow right now, the feeling of standing alone in an empty field full of snow while it`s full moon and the stars came out. I am not good at skiing; but I prefer snowboarding. :D
No problem. I know you were in exams. At least I think you mentioned something like that. 4°Celsius sounds like a perfekt summer in the arctic area.^^ I wish I could travel over there in the summer. Not an easy life if you have celtic skin type.
Yes, many Germans like to travel a lot. In fact Germans are the world master in traveling for vacation, proofed by several statistics. But I think they go more into the south of Europe. Italy, Spain, South France, Croatia, London is famous aim but also the DomRep and Thailand. It feels like 99% searching for more sun and heat while laying on some beach.
On the other side many many many Germans want to life in Scandinavia for the work; especially Norway and Sweden. Because in fact Scandinavian countries are having the best social and economic conditions in the world; by far better than in Germany or the rest of Europe. With Norway and Sweden on top. Sweden is the country which is reported most here in Germany. I cannot say why. My mother always dreams about living in Sweden. She feels connected to the country due her love for the culture, skin type and fish.^^
I am similar but for some reason it is pulling me more to Finnland. I am thinking about doing an expressive journey through all Scandinavian states. I am search for cooler areas with lots of snow. To see Sweden or Norway must be so exiting.^^
Strange, I always thought people from northern Europe prefer cold weather. At least I do.^^ I cannot stand warm and sunny weather. I have to sweat, cannot sleep, getting agressive and sun-burnt within a very few minutes. No easy life for me in summer. I guess my Italian origins lost against my northern origins.^^ I wish I could visit Skandinavia at least for one time.
I wish you all luck for your studying and your exams. Education is very important nowadays. Don`t miss your chances.


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In a presentation to City Council Feb. 19, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. unveiled an unexpected parking proposal that will solve a $25.8 million budget deficit for the 2014 fiscal year and avoid full privatization. The 30-year plan will also put more than $100 million toward economic development in the city.
The plan involves teaming up with the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and some private operators to manage and modernize Cincinnati's parking assets. Dohoney called it a "public-public partnership" that will allow Cincinnati to keep control over rates, operation hours and the placement of meters.
The money raised by the plan will be used for multiple development projects around the city, including the I-71/MLK Interchange, Tower Place Mall and a high-rise that will house a downtown grocery store.
The new parking plan will cap rate increases at 3 percent or the cost of living, with any increases coming in 25-cent increments. Private operators will not be allowed to change operation hours, but hours will be initially expanded to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. downtown and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in neighborhoods.
The proposal will not immediately increase downtown's $2-an-hour rates, but it will increase all neighborhood parking meters to 75 cents an hour. Afterward, the rate cap will make it so downtown rates can only be increased every four years and neighborhood rates can only be increased every 10 to 11 years.
But the rate hikes will only come after technological improvements are made to parking meters. The new meters will allow users to pay with a smartphone, which will enable remote payment without walking back to the meter. After the plan's 30 years are up, parking assets will be returned to the city with all the new technological upgrades, according to Dohoney.
Some critics were originally concerned that private operators will aggressively enforce parking rules to run bigger profits, but Dohoney said enforcement standards will remain the same.
Enforcement will be done through booting instead of towing, according to the plan. Booting will only be used after the accumulation of three unpaid parking tickets, which is similar to how towing works today. The boots will be automatically removed once the tickets are paid, which will be possible to do remotely through a smartphone.
The plan, which is a tax-exempt bond deal, will provide the city with $92 million upfront cash and $3 million in annual installments after that, although the city manager said the yearly payments will increase over time. The city originally promised $7 million a year from the deal, but Dohoney said estimates had to be brought down as more standards and limitations were attached to address expressed concerns.
The money will first be used to pay for a $25.8 million deficit in the 2014 fiscal year. Another $6.3 million will be set aside for the working cap reserve and $20.9 million will be put in a reserve to pay for a projected deficit in the 2015 fiscal year.
The rest of the funds will be used for economic development. About $20 million will go to the I-71/MLK Interchange, which would match $40 million from the state. The project is estimated to create $750 million in economic impact, with $460 million of that impact in Hamilton County. Dohoney says the economic impact will create 5,900 to 7,300 permanent jobs, and ultimately bring in $33 million in earnings taxes, which means the plan will eventually pay for itself. He also says the funding from the parking deal will allow the city and state to complete the project within two to three years, instead of the seven to 10 years it would take if the city waited for support from the federal government.
If the state does not agree to take up the I-71/MLK Interchange project, Dohoney promised a "mega job deal" that will create 2,500 jobs.
With $12 million for development and $82 million in leveraged funds, the city will also take on massive development projects downtown. Tower Place Mall will undergo a massive conversion. The city will also tear down Pogue's Garage at Fourth and Race streets and replace it with a 30-floor high-rise that will include 300 luxury apartments, 1,000 parking spaces and a grocery store.
The plan will also use $3 million for the Wasson Line right-of-way and $4 million for the next phase of Smale Riverfront Park, which should be completed in time for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
AEW, Xerox, Denison and Guggenheim will partner with the city and Port Authority for the plan. AEW will manage assets, Xerox will handle parking operations and on-street spaces, Denison will operate off-street spaces and manage facilities and equipment and Guggenheim will act as underwriter and capital provider.
After the City Council hearing, Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld released a statement that raised concerns about expanded meter operation hours, which Sittenfeld fears could burden certain neighborhoods. He also pointed out the plan will not fix Cincinnati's long-term structural deficit problems. Still, he said the local Port Authority's management could make the plan "worthy of support."
Sittenfeld has been skeptical of the parking plan since it was first announced in October. In the past, he warned privatization could cause parking rates to skyrocket. ©
The company that would operate Cincinnati's parking meters
if the city passes its controversial parking plan this week was mired with audited problems and
complaints in the past. The issues surfaced years before Affiliated
Computer Services (ACS) was bought by Xerox in 2010, and Xerox now denies any wrongdoing.
A 2007 audit found ACS had failed to take care and keep track of parking meters it operated in Washington, D.C. The audit claimed 35 percent of parking meters listed in ACS's inventory were missing, about 16 percent of the remaining meters were completely inoperative and 65 percent had problems that ranged from defacing to improper height and stability. ACS also failed to fix meters within the 72-hour period mandated by its contract, according to the audit.
For some residents, the broken meters led to unfair
tickets, with 6,888 tickets, or nearly 1 percent of parking meter
tickets, being improperly issued at unfixed meters, according to the audit. The audit also found a 903-percent increase in overall parking meter complaints under the privatization contract with ACS.
The audit also questioned the financial gains for Washington, D.C., which had to pay $8.8 million, or 33.4
percent, more under privatization than projected trends under public
The bad audit wasn't enough for Washington,
D.C., to cut its contract with ACS, which still manages the city's
parking meters today.
The audit was among a few other problems tipped to multiple media outlets by Tabitha Woodruff, an advocate at Ohio Public Interest Research Group. In 2007, ACS was accused of bribing police officers in Edmonton, Canada, but a judge ruled in favor of ACS, stating there wasn't sufficient evidence. In 2010, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) charged ACS with backdating and falsely disclosing stock options between 1996 and 2005, and ACS consented to a permanent injunction without admitting or denying the charges.
All the discovered problems occurred before 2010, when Xerox bought ACS.
Kevin Lightfoot, a spokesperson at Xerox, says the audit's findings were based on "faulty information." He says Xerox and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation found ACS had saved Washington, D.C., money. He also claims the auditor had misunderstood the parking meters' screen displays, which he says led to the improper identification of inoperative or malfunctioning meters.
CityBeat previously covered the parking proposal, which would lease the city's parking assets to fund deficit reduction and economic development, in detail. Mayor Mark Mallory and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls have endorsed the plan, and it's currently expected to have the five votes necessary to pass a possible City Council vote today.
On Friday, Councilman Chris Seelbach revealed Plan S, an alternative proposal that would not lease the city's parking assets and would instead use $7.5 million in casino revenue, cut $5 million based on the results of the city's priority-driven budgeting and allow voters to choose between a $10-per-month trash fee or a 2-percent increase in the city's admissions tax.
City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. also put forward
his "Plan B," which would lay off 344 employees, eliminate Human
Services Funding and close pools and recreation centers, among other
changes. In response, mayoral candidate John Cranley proposed his own
plan, which would use casino revenue, parking meter revenue and cuts to
"non-essential programs" to tame the deficit.
Plan B, Plan S and Cranley's plan all fix the structural deficit in the city's budget, while the parking plan only fixes the deficit for two years.
Speaking at a press conference today, city officials did not mask their contempt for the ruling that put the parking plan on hold earlier in the day, saying it will force the city to make cuts and layoffs to balance the 2014 budget and potentially eliminate the passage of expedited legislation.
The press conference was in response to a ruling from Hamilton County Judge Robert Winkler, which opened the parking plan to referendum and ordered a permanent injunction on the plan pending any referendum effort. City Solicitor John Curp said the city is appealing the ruling.
Mayor Mark Mallory and City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr.
explained the city will now have to close a $25.8 million shortfall in
the budget for fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1.
Dohoney said he has already ordered city departments to begin
preparations for Plan B, which will lay off 344 employees, including 80
firefighter and 189 police positions, to balance projected deficits.
"Part of the irony is we're swearing in a recruit class tomorrow," he said, then shook his head. "Too bad."
In addition to meeting the July 1 budget deadline, the city has to expedite some layoff notices to meet union contracts, which typically require a notice 30 days in advance.
Curp said the ruling also poses significant legal challenges that will hinder the city's ability to expedite legislation with emergency clauses. Emergency clauses are often used by City Council to remove a 30-day waiting period on passed laws, and the city argues they also remove the ability to referendum.
The layoffs could be retroactively pulled back if the city wins in appeals courts or if the referendum effort fails to gather enough petitions.
"Don't sign the petition," Mallory said. "If you sign a petition, you're laying off a cop or firefighter."
Dohoney said the delays make the city look sluggish — an image that he says the city has been trying to overcome. "One of the criticisms I've gotten is that this city takes too long to get deals done," he said. "This complicates that."
City Council approved the parking plan to lease the city's parking assets to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to help balance the budget for the next two fiscal years and fund development projects around the city, including a downtown grocery store ("Parking Stimulus," issue of Feb. 27).
Opponents of the plan argued that there were alternatives that did not involve laying off cops or firefighters. Councilman Chris Seelbach proposed Plan S, which would redirect $7.5 million in casino revenue to help balance the deficit, cut $5 million based on the results of the city's priority-driven budgeting process and put two charter amendments on the ballot that, if approved, would include up to a $10-per-month trash fee and increase the city's admissions tax by 2 percent.
At the press conference, Mallory called the alternatives "unworkable." He said Plan S in particular does not work because it relies on a ballot initiative that would have to be voted on in November. "We don't have until November," he said.
Opponents say they're concerned the parking plan will cede too much control over the city's parking meters, which they say will lead to a spike in parking rates.
The city says rate increases are initially capped at 3 percent or inflation — whichever is higher — but the rates can change with a unanimous vote from a special committee, approval from the city manager and a final nod from the Port Authority. The special committee would be made up of four people appointed by the Port Authority and one appointed by the city manager.
In the legal proceedings, the two sides are arguing whether emergency clauses eliminate the ability to hold a referendum on legislation. Opponents of the parking plan, headed by the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), say the city charter is ambiguous with its definition of emergency clauses, and legal precedent demands courts side with voters' right to referendum when there's ambiguity.
Supporters of the parking plan cite state law, which says emergency legislation is not subject to referendum. Terry Nestor, who represented the city in the court hearings, said legal precedent requires the city to defer to state law as long as state law is not contradicted in the city charter.
Winkler sided with opponents of the parking plan in his decision. He wrote in his ruling, "If the people of Cincinnati had intended to exempt emergency legislation from their referendum powers, they could have done so when adopting Article II, Section 3 of the City Charter."
Mallory says the city is not disputing voters' right to referendum in a general sense; instead, he says the city needs to expedite the budget process to balance the budget before fiscal year 2014.
City officials say the parking plan is necessary largely because of Gov. John Kasich's local government funding cuts, which Dohoney previously said cost Cincinnati $22.2 million in annual revenues ("Enemy of the State," issue of March 20). Opponents argue Cincinnati had structurally imbalanced budgets years before Kasich took office, but the city says Kasich's policies have made the situation much worse.
The parking plan is one of the few issues dividing Democratic mayoral candidates John Cranley and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls. Cranley opposes the plan, while Qualls supports it.
City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. and other city administration officials say the city will have to carry out Plan B, which would lay off 344 city employees, including 189 cops and 80 firefighters. But council members Chris Seelbach, P.G. Sittenfeld, Charlie Winburn and Chris Smitherman claim there are other ways — casino revenue and cuts elsewhere — to balance the budget.
The meeting got testy after a few council members called the city administration "disingenuous" for framing Plan B and the parking plan as the only two budget options, prompting Mayor Mark Mallory to slam council members for attempting to pin the city's budget woes on the city administration.
"I don't think anyone in the administration wants to see their colleagues laid off," Mallory said. "The administration makes a recommendation to this mayor and to this council. The final decision makers are the elected leaders."
He added, "What's disingenuous is to create a crisis and then criticize the administration for its response to the crisis when those responsible for dealing with the crisis are the elected leaders. It would be like an arsonist setting a building on fire and then complaining about how long it took the fire department to get there and what equipment they used to put out the fire."
Lea Eriksen, the city's budget director, said the ideas she heard at the special session today would not be enough to close the budget gap.
Throughout the discussion, the city administration repeatedly dismissed ideas presented by council members as not enough to overcome the city's $35 million deficit and avoid layoffs. By the city administration's admission, even Plan B would only close about $26 million of the projected deficit.
How that budget gap is closed may come with additional expenses. Eriksen said the budget gap may reach $45 million if the city carries out Plan B because the city would also be forced to pay for accrued leave and unemployment insurance.
Still, Assistant City Manager David Holmes admitted the city could balance the deficit without Plan B or the parking plan, but the numbers must "add up" and would require direction from City Council.
When the discussion came to casino revenues, Holmes said the city administration feels "uncomfortable" projecting casino revenue because the state's projections have trended downward in the past few years. In 2009, the state government estimated Ohio's casinos would take in $1.9 billion a year, but that projection was changed to $957.7 million a year in February.
Eriksen said the city estimates between $9 million and $11 million in casino funds will be available to the city. She said even if Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino hits its $100 million goal, the city will not be able to get the $21 million previously touted by Horseshoe Casino General Manager Kevin Kline because the money is pooled with money from other casinos around the state, which has fallen far below projections, before it's distributed to cities and counties.
When asked about shifting parking meter revenue to the general fund to help balance the budget, Eriksen said doing so would ultimately be a "wash" because of expenses currently attached to parking meter revenue.
Seelbach suggested making more cuts through the
priority-driven budgeting process. Eriksen explained Plan B does cut
programs that were poorly ranked by the process — the mounted patrol
unit, arts funding and recreation centers were a few examples she cited. But
only relying on programs ranked poorly by the priority-driven budgeting process would "decimate" departments and
programs that the city deems essential, she said.
In the original 2013 budget proposal put forward by the city manager, mounted patrol was cut, but Seelbach lobbied for the program's restoration.
Multiple council members brought up traveling and training costs as potential areas to cut, but Eriksen said the city administration had not considered further cuts in those areas because the leftover expenses are currently used to get certifications that city employees "need to do their jobs."
Councilman Charlie Winburn, the lone Republican on City Council, asked the city administration if they tried to balance the budget without layoffs. Eriksen replied, "Yeah, that was called the parking plan." She added without the parking plan, it would be "mathematically impossible" to balance the budget without layoffs.
When Winburn suggested city employees should take salary cuts, Eriksen said such cuts would require extensive negotiations with unions because about 90 percent of the city's employees are unionized.
In November, Winburn was one of the prominent supporters of giving the city manager a raise and bonus.
Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, a Democrat running for mayor, said she would be open to using any revenues possible for reducing the budget gap, but she said City Council must acknowledge the harsh budget realities facing the city — further re-emphasizing points she made in a blog post Sunday.
John Cranley, another Democrat running for mayor, has said in the past that the threat of layoffs is "the boy crying wolf." Cranley released his own budget plan on March 28 that he says would avoid layoffs and balance the budget without the parking plan, but some critics say the budget's revenue estimates are unrealistic.
Eriksen said Cincinnati has run structurally imbalanced budgets since 2001, but city officials say deficits have been made much worse by state cuts in local government funding carried out by Gov. John Kasich and the Republican legislature since 2010 ("Enemy of the State," issue of March 20).
City Council approved the parking plan in a 5-4 vote on March 6 that would lease the city's parking assets to the Port Authority to raise funds that would help balance the deficit for the next two fiscal years and pay for new development projects, including the construction of a downtown grocery store ("Parking Stimulus," issue of Feb. 27).
Opponents of the parking plan, who say they fear it will lead to rate hikes, filed their petitions for a referendum effort today. It is so far unclear whether they have the 8,522 verified signatures required to put the issue on the November ballot.
Cincinnati council members and community leaders today explained and defended plans to use the parking lease to fund a disparity study that would gauge whether the city should change its contracting policies to favorably target minority- and women-owned businesses.
But before City Council unanimously passed the motion at today's meeting, it was amended to allow the city administration to find alternate sources of funding.
Since the city dismantled its last minority- and women-owned business program in 1999, contract participation rates for minority-owned businesses have plummeted, while rates for women-owned businesses have remained relatively flat.
But because of a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, governments must conduct a study to prove there's a race- or gender-based disparity before policies can be adjusted to favor such groups.
Cincinnati has not taken up a disparity study since 2002. That study found evidence of disparities but ultimately recommended race- and gender-neutral policies to avoid legal uncertainty that surrounded the issue at the time.
"This is an opportunity to respond to a complaint and concern that has been around for as long as I can remember," Councilman Wendell Young said.
City officials claim they couldn't conduct another study until the administration finished implementing recommendations from OPEN Cincinnati, a task force established in 2009 after Mayor Mark Mallory and his administration were criticized for neglecting the city's small business program.
But the holdup has also been brought on by the study's cost, which city officials currently estimate between $500,000 and $1.5 million. Some critics argue the money would be better spent elsewhere.
Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who's running for mayor this year, defended the cost by explaining a disparity study can potentially lead to economic development by lifting minority groups, who currently face unemployment rates higher than white Cincinnati residents. She said it's on the city to ensure everyone, including women and minorities, benefit from Cincinnati's economic growth.
Other critics, particularly mayoral candidate John Cranley, have criticized the motion's suggestion for funding. The motion asks the city administration to fund the study with part of the upfront money that will come from leasing the city's parking meters, lots and garages to the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority, but it does allow the city administration to find other funding options if possible.
Cranley, who supports conducting a disparity study but opposes the parking lease, says the money should come from other, unnamed sources because parking funds are currently being held up while the city hashes out legal uncertainty surrounding the lease and the Port Authority works out contracts with private operators that will manage Cincinnati's parking assets.
In response to those concerns, Qualls said that "money doesn't grow on trees" and Council has to make do with what it has.
Councilman Chris Seelbach voted against the parking lease, but he supports using parking funds for the disparity study. He says that, while he may have voted against the lease, the vote is done and the money is there.
The amended motion was unanimously passed by City Council today. It asks the city administration to present a budget and timetable for the study at the Budget and Finance Committee's first October meeting.
Updated at 3:18 p.m. with results of City Council meeting.
Mayor-elect John Cranley and the newly elected City Council announced on Tuesday that, upon taking office in December, they will terminate the city's plan to lease its parking meters, lots and garages to the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority, following an agreement with the Port Authority to hold off on a bond sale that would have financed — and effectively sealed — the deal. But it remains unclear how much it will cost to terminate the plan, default on the lease agreement with the Port Authority and allow the Port to break its contracts with private companies that would have operated the assets under the deal. The current city administration argues the parking plan is necessary to help balance the budget over the next two years, pay for economic development projects around the city and modernize the city's parking assets so, for example, parking meters can accept credit card payments. Opponents argue the plan gives up too much control over the city's parking assets by outsourcing their operations to private companies based around the country.
But some business leaders are upset with the death of the parking plan because it leaves no visible alternative for funding major development projects like the interchange at Interstate 71 and Martin Luther King Drive.
Cranley now says he will not allow a referendum on any ordinance undoing the streetcar project and will instead try to work with supporters of the project to find another way to put it on the ballot if they can gather enough petition signatures. Cranley says blocking a referendum is necessary to avoid spending money during a referendum campaign that could last months. But for supporters of the streetcar, Cranley's decision seems highly hypocritical following his repeated praise for the "people's sacred right of referendum" on the campaign trail after City Council blocked a referendum on the parking plan. If the project is placed on the ballot, it will essentially be the third time it's brought to a public vote; opponents of the project in 2009 and 2011 pursued two ballot initiatives that many saw as referendums on the streetcar.
Meanwhile, Over-the-Rhine businesses and residents yesterday officially launched a campaign to save the streetcar project from Cranley and a newly elected City Council that appears poised to cancel the project. Touting the project's potential return on investment and cancellation costs, the group plans to lobby newly elected officials to vote in favor of keeping the project going. The group invited Cranley and all elected council members to join them at a town hall-style meeting on Nov. 14 at the Mercantile Library, where supporters will discuss their path forward. So far, supporters have publicly discussed a concerted lobbying effort, a ballot initiative if council passes an ordinance undoing the streetcar project and possible legal action against the city.
The Cincinnati Enquirer's editorial board is apparently unpleasantly surprised that Cranley undid the parking plan, even though the board endorsed Cranley for mayor after he ran in opposition to the parking plan for nearly a year.
An Ohio Senate bill caps the spending ability of the Controlling Board, a seven-member legislative board that previously approved the federally funded Medicaid expansion despite the Ohio legislature's opposition. Gov. John Kasich angered many Republican legislators when he decided to go through the Controlling Board to get the Medicaid expansion, which is a major part of Obamacare.
Meanwhile, the Ohio legislature is working on changes to Medicaid that would cap future cost increases and employ professional staff for a Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee that would have the ability to review Medicaid programs and agencies. The bill also includes a portion that clarifies its passage "shall not be construed with endorsing, validating or otherwise approving the (Medicaid) expansion."
Despite attempts from city officials and local business leaders, Saks Fifth Avenue is leaving downtown to open a store at Kenwood Collection.
Kentucky's state auditor will look at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport board's spending policies and expenses, following reports from The Enquirer that the board spent exorbitant amounts on travel, dining and counseling.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Milford-Miami Advertiser's request to appeal a 2012 ruling that charged the Gannett-owned suburban weekly with defamation and ordered the paper to pay the defamed plaintiff $100,000 in damages. In a story titled "Cop's suspension called best move for city," the newspaper wrongly implicated a Miami Township police officer who was previously accused but later exonerated of sexual assault.
Attorney General Mike DeWine warns that some typhoon relief requests could be scams.
Not satisfied with the mere wonder of beginning to exist, some stars explode in a rainbow of colors when they're born.
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In a ruling today, Hamilton County Judge Robert Winkler said the city will have to allow for a referendum on the parking plan and imposed a permanent injunction pending the outcome of a referendum.
The ruling means the city may be unable to rely on the parking plan to balance fiscal year 2014's budget, and the city may be forced to find cuts elsewhere by July 1, when the new budget will kick in.
The ruling may be appealed, but City Solicitor John Curp says he is not aware of any filing yet. He says Mayor Mark Mallory and the city administration plan to hold a press conference later this afternoon to discuss the ruling in further detail.
For opponents of the parking plan, the ruling comes as a big victory that will allow them to put the parking plan on the ballot if they gather enough eligible petition signatures by April 5.
For the city, the ruling potentially leaves a $25.8 million hole in the 2014 budget.
When the restraining order was extended for two weeks on March 20, city spokesperson Meg Olberding told CityBeat the delays were causing the city to approach a "pressure point": "We respect the court's right to do that (the extension), and know that every day that we cannot make the parking deal happen is a day that we are closer to having to lay people off."In the past, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said the plan will force the city to lay off 344 employees, including 80 firefighter and 189 police positions.
But opponents argue there are ways to solve the budget without laying people off. As an alternative to the parking plan, Councilman Chris Seelbach proposed Plan S, which would redirect $7.5 million in casino revenue to help balance the deficit, cut $5 million based on the results of the city's priority-driven budgeting process and put two charter amendments on the ballot that, if approved, would include up to a $10-per-month trash fee and increase the city's admissions tax by 2 percent.
City Council approved the parking plan on March 6 to lease the city's parking assets to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to help balance the budget for the next two fiscal years and fund more than $100 million in development projects, including the creation of a downtown grocery store and more than 300 luxury apartments ("Parking Stimulus," issue of Feb. 27).
Opponents of the parking plan say they're concerned the city will cede too much control over its parking assets and cause parking rates to skyrocket. The city says rate increases are initially capped at 3 percent or inflation — whichever is higher.
But the rates can change with a unanimous vote from a special committee, approval from the city manager and a final nod from the Port Authority. The special committee would comprise of four people appointed by the Port Authority and one appointed by the city manager.
The ruling comes after the city and opponents of the parking plan met in court on March 15 to discuss whether the plan is subject to referendum.
Curt Hartmann, an attorney who represents the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) and opponents of the parking plan, said the city charter is vague on its definition of emergency clauses, and legal precedent supports siding with voters' right to referendum when there is ambiguity.
The city cited state law to argue emergency clauses, which remove a 30-day waiting period on legislation, eliminate the possibility of referendum. Terry Nestor, who represented the city, said legal precedent requires the city to defer to state law as long as state law is not contradicted in the city charter.
With his decision, Winkler sided with opponents of the parking plan. He wrote in the ruling, "If the people of Cincinnati had intended to exempt emergency legislation from their referendum powers, they could have done so when adopting Article II, Section 3 of the City Charter."
The parking plan is one of the few issues dividing Democratic mayoral candidates John Cranley and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls. Cranley opposes the plan, while Qualls supports it.
If City Council does not agree to lease Cincinnati's parking system, the city manager's office says the city will be forced to lay off 344 employees, including 80 firefighter and 189 police positions, but critics argue there are better alternatives.
In a memo dated to Feb. 26, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. wrote that the city will also have to close three community centers and six pools; eliminate Human Services Funding, which aids the city's homeless and poor; and reduce funding for local business groups, parks, nature education for Cincinnati Public Schools and environmental regulations, among other changes. In total, the cuts would add up to $25.8 million — just enough to balance the deficit that would be left in place without the parking plan.
In addition to the cuts, failing to approve the parking plan, which leases the city's parking meters for 30 years and lots and garages for 50 years to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, would displace plans to convert Tower Place Mall, construct a 30-floor tower with a grocery store downtown, accelerate the the I-71/MLK Interchange project, acquire the Wasson Line right-of-way for a bike trail and add $4 million to the next phase of Smale Riverfront Park ("Parking Stimulus," issue of Feb. 27).
Democratic Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who's running for mayor, has come out in favor of the parking plan, but John Cranley, another Democrat running for mayor, says he opposes the deal because it will hurt downtown businesses.
"It's the boy who cried wolf," Cranley says. "In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 … they threatened to lay off police and firefighters, and it never happened."
Cranley says he would rather take $10 million from projected casino revenue and $7 million from current parking revenues to help clear the deficit. For the remaining $8.8 million, he would cut non-essential programs, which would exclude police, fire, garbage collection, health, parks and recreation, street pavement and Human Services Funding, across the board by 10 to 15 percent. If that wasn't enough, he would then move to the essential programs, which he says make up about $300 million in the $368.9 million budget, with a 1-percent across-the-board cut.
He says his solution would have the upside of fixing structural deficit problems in Cincinnati's General Fund, whereas the one-time lease of the city's parking assets will only take care of the deficit for the next two years.
Meg Olberding, city spokesperson, says City Council could use the casino revenue to pay for the deficit, but $4 million of it is already set for the Focus 52 program, which funds neighborhood development projects.
"Council can use whatever revenue sources they want," Olberding says. "That's why the memo … says we can either use this plan or another plan."
Cranley says he would not do away with the Focus 52 program, but he would instead find funding for it in the Capital Budget, which is separate from the General Fund.
Olberding says City Council could approve the use of about $3 million in parking meter revenue for the General Fund, but the rest of the parking money, which comes from lots and garages, is tied to an enterprise fund, which, by state law, means the city would have to sell its parking lots and garages before it could obtain money for the General Fund.
Cranley, who also opposes the streetcar project ("Back on the Ballot," issue of Jan. 23), says it
would be possible to pay for the I-71/MLK Interchange and other projects
if the streetcar wasn't taking up funds. If it was up to him, he says
he would remove streetcar funding and use it on other development
projects "without batting an eye."
In the Feb. 27 City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls said the Budget and Finance Committee will likely vote on the city manager's parking plan on March 4 or March 11.
Two Ohio senators, including Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney of Cincinnati, are pushing a bill that will require the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles to grant driver's licenses to the children of illegal immigrants. The senators claim state BMV offices are inconsistently applying President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows the children of illegal immigrants to remain in the country without fear of prosecution, but the Ohio Department of Public Safety says the issue is still under review. CityBeat originally broke the story after hearing of Ever Portillo's experiences at a Columbus BMV office here, and a follow-up story covered the internal conflict at the BMV over the issue here.
Ohio officials have said the state has only put $1 million toward JobsOhio, but records recently acquired by The Columbus Dispatch show $5.3 million in funding has been directed to the program
so far, and the public investment could be as high as $9 million. State
officials said the funding is necessary because constitutional
challenges, which the Ohio Supreme Court recently agreed to take up,
have held up the program's original source of funding — state liquor
profits. JobsOhio is a nonprofit company established with the support of
Gov. John Kasich that's meant to attract investment and bring jobs to
the state. Kasich says he wants to replace the Ohio Department of Development with the nonprofit company in the future.
City Council's Budget and Finance Committee approved a plan to lease Cincinnati's parking assets to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority in a 4-3 vote yesterday, but the plan will require five votes to become law in a final City Council vote tomorrow. The plan, which CityBeat previously covered, would lease the city's parking assets to fund development projects, including a 30-story tower and a downtown grocery store, and help balance the deficit. The deal would produce a $92 million upfront payment, and the city projects that additional annual installments would generate more than $263 million throughout the lease's duration. Critics are worried the city will give up too much control of its parking assets as part of the deal, and concerns about the city's long-term deficits remain. The alternatives — plans B, C and S — would fix structural deficit problems, while the budget only helps balance the deficit for the next two fiscal years.
The company that will operate Cincinnati's parking meters if the parking deal is approved by City Council had problems in the past, according to a tip received by multiple news outlets from Tabitha Woodruff, an advocate at Ohio Public Interest Research Group. The issues surfaced years before Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) was bought by Xerox in 2010, and Xerox now denies any wrongdoing. One of the issues is a 2007 audit, which found ACS mismanaged parking meters in Washington, D.C. Kevin Lightfoot, a spokesperson at Xerox, says the audit was based on "faulty information," and a lot of the problems found were because the auditor improperly read parking meter screen displays.
An approved commitment by the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District (HCTID) may ensure a rail service is ready for Cincinnati in time for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune is pushing for local and state governments to break down any barriers for Oasis Rail Transit, which will carry passengers from Downtown to Milford.
The Ohio Board of Education will decide between two candidates for state superintendent next week: acting Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Sawyers or Dick Ross, Gov. John Kasich's top education adviser.
After years of development and anticipation, Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino opened yesterday. The casino comes with the promise of jobs and economic development, but it also poses the risk of crime, bankruptcy and even suicide. State and local legislators are also looking forward to extra government revenue from the casino, even though casino revenue around the state has fallen short of projections. For Over-the-Rhine residents, the grand opening, which culminated in a fireworks display, was sort of like being in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Livability.com named Cincinnati the No. 10 spring break destination because of the Cincinnati Zoo, Botanical Garden, IKEA, Cincinnati Art Museum, the 21c Museum Hotel, Newport Aquarium and the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, among other places and family-friendly activities.
Science doesn't want pregnant women to be capable of anything.
Here are two pictures of Venus from Saturn's view.
City Council's Budget and Finance Committee today approved a
plan to lease Cincinnati's parking assets to the Port of Greater
Cincinnati Development Authority in a 4-3 vote, but the plan will require five votes to become law in a final City Council vote on March 6.
Council members Roxanne Qualls, Yvette Simpson, Cecil Thomas and Wendell Young voted for the plan, and council members Chris Seelbach, Chris Smitherman and Charlie Winburn voted against it. Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld was absent, and Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan abstained, although she said she could vote yes if she sees more details about how the city will curb its long-term budget problems.
The plan, which CityBeat previously covered ("Parking Stimulus," issue of Feb. 27), would lease the city's parking assets to fund development projects, including a 30-story tower and a downtown grocery store, and help balance the deficit for the next two fiscal years. The deal would produce a $92 million upfront payment, and the city projects that additional annual installments would generate more than $263 million throughout the lease's duration.
Before the vote, several City Council members said the parking plan would not solve Cincinnati's structural deficit problems, but City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said the plan would help reduce the deficit by generating recurring revenues through long-term economic growth and development.
"The situation that we're in requires that we accelerate
growth right now, not later," he said. "If we do not do that, then we're going to
have further negative ramifications to deal with."
Still, Dohoney admitted the plan would not solve all the city's budget woes — just like he has repeatedly said in the past. Even with the parking plan, the city projects a $10 million deficit in 2014, $15.5 million deficit in 2015 and $20 million deficit in 2016.
The council members insisted there are alternatives to the parking plan and Dohoney's Plan B, which would lay off 344 employees, eliminate Human Services Funding and close pools and recreation centers, among other changes.
On March 1, Seelbach proposed Plan S, which would not lease the city's parking assets to balance the budget and would instead use $7.5 million in casino revenue, cut $5 million based on the results of the city's priority-driven budgeting and allow voters to choose between a $10-per-month trash fee or a 2-percent increase in the city's admissions tax.
On the same day as the hearings, Winburn, the sole Republican on City Council, proposed Plan C, which would reduce city employees' salaries across the board — with exemptions for police, fire, health, garbage, recreation, parks and road paving — and use casino and parking revenue to clear the deficit.
At the City Council hearings, Quinlivan listed a few other
possibilities, including sharing public safety services with other
local communities. She also advised the city to put together a long-term deficit reduction plan. "We don't want to kick the can down the road any more," she said.
Thomas suggested putting an earnings tax hike of 0.1 percent or 0.2 percent on the ballot. He said, "It would solve this (deficit) problem once and for all."
Some council members also raised concerns about the release of bond documents, which will further detail the framework of the parking agreement. Dohoney and Laura Brunner, president of the Port Authority, said the bond documents have not been crafted because a lease agreement has to be approved by City Council first, but the documents will be made public once they are put together.
Before the final committee vote, Smitherman successfully
motioned to separate part of the parking plan from the budget, which opens the plan to referendum. The motion was in response to City Solicitor
John Curp, who said appropriation ordinances, or ordinances that are essentially budgets, aren't subject to
referendum, according to state law.


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Posted 28 December 2012 - 07:27 PM
Posted 29 December 2012 - 05:30 AM
Thanks for the heads up, John.
SkyTools Finder Chart removed. Trajectory was incorrect. Comets files was out-of-date.
Posted 29 December 2012 - 06:22 AM
Posted 29 December 2012 - 10:16 AM
Posted 29 December 2012 - 10:27 AM
Posted 29 December 2012 - 04:21 PM
Posted 30 December 2012 - 02:20 AM
Good to know it's visible. I'd like to try for it next week at the first opportunity. I've also got 6 open clusters in Ori and Mon I'd like to try for. I'm working through the AL Deep Sky Binocular. Another 3 later this winter in Pup and then I'll have them all.
M46 & M47 are among my favorites... maybe even my favorite binocular pair. They sit there like sisters but they are so different from each other. And there's a lot more happening there at the same time too... But as a binocular pair, these two clusters are at the top of my list.
Posted 31 December 2012 - 07:02 PM
Attached Files
Posted 31 December 2012 - 10:30 PM
Posted 01 January 2013 - 12:32 AM
I removed the SkyTools 3 chart I posted above. Although very recent, my comets file was either in error or out-of-date. The trajectory for C2012 K5 (LINEAR) was incorrect. Other charts with the comet's trajectory close to M 36 were a tip-off.
Posted 01 January 2013 - 01:11 AM
Posted 01 January 2013 - 03:34 PM
I went out soon after dark to look for comet LINEAR, optimistically with my 10x50 Fujinon and no luck. Decided that I would try again with my trusty 20x60s and there it was. At that time I could see a nebulous glow with no real detail and best in averted vision.
Later on when the sky was fully dark I swept it up easily in the 10x50. Best held with averted vision but looking lovely in amongst a rich starfield. Next tried the 15x60 Zeiss and could see a well defined coma with some condensation. In the 20x60s with dark adapted eyes I could now see an elongation in the coma. Time for the big guns and out came the Docter 40x80. In these there was a lot to see. The comet was now more like an elongated fan and with a small condensed nucleus held best with averted vision. A lovely object at high power but I switched back to the 10x50 and enjoyed sweeping between the comet and the auriga clusters.
My sky conditions here were good for transparency and in my rural location I have no direct lighting problems, just distant towns to the east and southwest giving cones of skyglow.
Good luck to the rest of you. I am hoping for a few more nights like tonight. A good start to my observing year!
Posted 01 January 2013 - 04:06 PM
Posted 01 January 2013 - 04:49 PM
Posted 01 January 2013 - 11:10 PM
It's well away from the 6th mag. star Mark referred to now; since then the comet has moved approx. 23'!
In the 16°F temp, my neck wished I had taken the trouble to set up the Unimount instead of the tall tripod/video head.
Posted 01 January 2013 - 11:13 PM
Posted 02 January 2013 - 12:22 AM
Edited to say M37 not 36.
Posted 02 January 2013 - 08:00 AM
I also saw it with my Brunton Eterna 15x51 hand-held and finally with my Fujinon 10x50 FMT-SX on the monopod.
Hope it's clear tomorrow so I can see it next to M 36. Time for the GO Signature 15x70.
Posted 02 January 2013 - 12:26 PM
Hope it's clear tomorrow so I can see it next to M 36. Time for the GO Signature 15x70.
Yes, seeing the comet in the same 4° FOV with M36 should be a nice sight! The CSC forecast looks good for Thurs. night in my location.
We'll be getting into the action a bit late; viewers in Europe like Mark will see the two much closer together than we will in the US PST zone.
Posted 02 January 2013 - 01:30 PM
Posted 02 January 2013 - 01:50 PM
Though it's high desert over here, winter conditions don't make viewing all that great like some might think. Lots of haze due to temperature inversion in the valleys, jet stream overhead frequently, high altitude ice crystals and thin clouds plus my ever-increasing aversion to the cold make it challenging. It was 16°F (-8.8°C) last night while viewing but it dropped to 2°(-16.6°C) by morning...
Posted 02 January 2013 - 02:24 PM
Posted 02 January 2013 - 05:46 PM
Posted 02 January 2013 - 05:50 PM
Posted 02 January 2013 - 08:10 PM


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WASHINGTON (AP) - A new push by Senate Democrats to raise taxes to head off severe spending cuts in two weeks met an icy reception from Republicans on Thursday as administration officials stepped forward to lay out the biting consequences that could come if no deal is reached soon: thousands of air traffic controllers sidelined, the on and off idling of meat plants nationwide, slashed food aid and nutrition education for low-income women and children, locked gates at wildlife refuges, 10,000 laid-off teachers, and much more.
As part of their solution to the impasse, Democrats are proposing a tax on higher incomes, a non-starter with the GOP, as well as cuts to much-criticized farm subsidies and more gradual reductions in the Pentagon budget than will happen if the automatic cuts, known as sequester, kick in. Republicans vowed to kill the Democrat legislation encompassing the plan when a vote is called the week of Feb. 25 - just days before the across-the-board cuts would start to slam government operations and the economy.
Release of the plan set off a predictable round of bickering in a capital that remains at a loss over how to prevent the sequester, even as more and more details on the impact of the cuts are being released by panicked agency heads.
Article Photos
AP Photo
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, arrives to meet with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday.
"Their whole goal here isn't to solve the problem, it's to have a show vote that's designed to fail, call it a day, and wait for someone else to pick up the pieces," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "Well, my message this morning is simple: There won't be any easy off-ramps on this one."
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash., called the Democrat measure, with its mix of new tax revenue and spending cuts, a "fair and balanced approach" that "protects our country from moving into a very, very fragile position."
The automatic sequester cuts that both sides are trying to avoid would drain $85 billion from the government's budget over the coming seven months, imposing cuts of at least 8 percent cut on the Pentagon and 5 percent on domestic agencies. Medicare payments to doctors would be cut by 2 percent. Actual cuts may be in the order of 13 percent for defense and 9 percent for other programs because lawmakers delayed the impact of the sequester, requiring savings to be achieved in a shorter time.
Administration officials, in testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee or letters to the panel, gave more shape to what they say is likely to happen absent a breakthrough.
Lawmakers were told 15,000 air traffic controllers would be laid off for more than two weeks, the furloughing of inspectors for up to 15 days would force intermittent closures of meat and poultry plants, a relief fund for disaster victims would lose $1 billion, 70,000 pupils would be removed from the Head Start pre-kindergarten program, and mental health treatment could be denied to more than 373,000 people who need it. More than 3.8 million people out of work six months or longer could see their unemployment benefits reduced by close to 10 percent, and up to 600,000 women would be dropped from the Women, Infants and Children program that gives aid and nutrition education to pregnant and postpartum mothers.
To be sure, officials were casting the likely consequences in dire terms, as is always the case when agency budgets are threatened. The sequester law exempts Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps and Medicare recipients' benefits from cuts, and the White House has instructed agencies to give priority to avoiding cuts that "present risks to life, safety or health." But there is no question the cuts would bite deep, and most programs are vulnerable.
The across-the-board cuts would result from the failure of a 2011 deficit "supercommittee" to reach agreement on a deficit reduction plan. The original idea was to make the prospect of sweeping, automatic cuts so severe that Democrats and Republicans would be motivated to strike a budget bargain to head it off.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters on Thursday it's up to Senate Democrats to see if they can pass legislation to replace the sequester with other spending cuts.
"The sequester, I don't like it," he said. "No one should like it. But the sequester is there because the president insisted that it be there. Where's the president's plan to replace the sequester that he insisted upon?"
The Senate bill would forestall the cuts through Dec. 31 and substitute about $110 billion in deficit savings over the coming decade. Almost $1 trillion worth of cuts over the coming eight years would remain in place.
But Republicans oppose the bill because it contains a 10-year, $54 billion tax increase that would require people with million-dollar incomes to pay at least a 30 percent income tax.


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ISU Second, On-iam First at Hurricane Invite
CORAL GABLES, Fla.- The No. 21 Iowa State women's golf team fired a final-round 294 this afternoon to finish second at the Hurricane Invitational.
Iowa State's quest for its first tournament title since 2012 fell just one stroke short, as Northwestern nipped the Cyclones in the team race 864-865. ISU entered the final round with a three-shot lead over the Wildcats, but NU shot a 290 today to take home the team title.
It marks the second time in the last three events where the Cyclones finished runner-up.
Senior Sasikarn On-iam became the first Cyclone golfer to capture medalist honors since Victoria Stefansen did it in the 2008, tying for first in the medalist race. On-iam shot a 73 today to close out the 54-hole tournament at 211 (69-69-73), tying with Miami's Daniela Darquea, who fired rounds of 68-72-71.
On-iam's 211 tally ranks as the second-best 54-hole score in school history. It is the sixth top-10 finish of her career.
Junior Chonlada Chayanun also picked up a top-10 finish (T7th) this week, recording rounds of 73-70-72 for a 54-hole tally of 215, her second top-10 finish this season and the fourth of her career.
Senior Prima Thammaraks finished strong for the Cyclones by carding a 3-over 74 this afternoon, finishing just outside the top-10 in a tie for 16th (71-73-74) at 218.
The Cyclones will be back in competitive action on Apr. 4 at the 2014 Liz Murphey Invitational in Athens, Ga.
Team Scores
1. Northwestern 290-284-290=864
2. Iowa State 285-286-294=865
3. Miami 290-295-295=874
4. Campbell 289-296-292=877
5. Kennesaw State 289-297-292=878
6. East Carolina 290-298-294=882
7. Mercer University 291-294-303=888
8. South Florida 299-296-295=890
9. Daytona State 304-293-294=891
10. Middle Tennessee 301-296-296=893
Texas State 302-291-300=893
12. Michigan 303-300-291=895
13. Texas Tech 304-293-307=904
14. Maryland 303-309-295=907
14. Iowa 302-300-309=911
16. Longwood 306-304-308=918
17. Miami 309-300-314=923
18. James Madison 312-313-313=938
Iowa State Scores
T1. Sasikarn On-iam 69-69-73=211
T7. Chonlada Chayanun 73-70-72=215
T16. Prima Thammaraks 71-73-74=218
T26. Cajsa Persson 72-74-75=221
T65. Carmen Vidau 73-80-78=231
93. Primrawee Huang 90-82-79=251
Individual Scores
1. Sasikarn On-iam, Iowa State-69-69-73=211
Daniela Darquea, Miami-68-72-71=211
3. Avery George, Middle Tennessee-69-70-73=212


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