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Agroforestry research begins and ends with the farmers; characterization and diagnosis exercises help researchers understand the needs and problems of the farmers in an area. Researchers also catalogue indigenous knowledge of rapidly diminishing species trees and shrubs that farmers value and collect information on indigenous agroforestry systems that have worked well for centuries, and focus their efforts on policies that can help safeguard these environmentally and economically successful systems.
In other areas, researchers identify appropriate technologies and suitable tree and shrub species and test them on station and on farm, through researcher- and farmer-managed trials. Researchers work closely with farmers to ensure that trees and technologies meet their needs and their approval. Strategic research helps them understand the processes behind tree-crop interactions. This means national researchers are able to predict which species, arrangements and management techniques will work best in any given setting.
ICRAF research and dissemination activities are going on in 19 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Apart from its activities at headquarters and the Machakos research station, ICRAF collaborates with national research organizations, universities and NGOs. All the planning, priority setting and implementation of the work is done jointly. Constant input from national teams - and from farmers - ensures that the research is relevant to the problems of the ecoregion and the country.
This means, for example, that in the densely populated and mountainous region of Central and East Africa, research focuses on reducing soil erosion and degradation on steep slopes, using trees on contours that can perform these services at the same time as they ease the perennial shortage of timber and the seasonal shortage of fodder. In southern Africa, where there is a problem of decreasing soil fertility and declining crop yields and where the cost of fertilizer is prohibitive for subsistence farmers, researchers have developed a system that can reverse these trends; it involves the tree - Sesbania sesban - planted as improved fallows that increase subsequent maize yields and provide valuable fuelwood. These fallows also help save remaining stands of the miombo woodlands that once covered much of the Southern African plateau.
Similarly, researchers in Indonesia are examining the intricacies of complex agroforests that simulate natural forests in their wealth of biodiversity but which are planted for profits; they are also looking at ways government policies can protect these invaluable farming systems. And in Latin America, where slash-and-burn agriculture contributes so much to deforestation and to emission of greenhouse gases, researchers are coming up with alternative farming systems that involve multi-layered systems of leguminous pastures, under trees that provide various valuable products.
A tree revolution
One particularly exciting area of work, and a new dimension of ICRAF's research, is that of domestication and improvement of indigenous tree species. These valuable trees are known as Cinderella species, since they have been largely overlooked by researchers and their full potential has yet to be realized. Fruit, medicines, high-grade timber, food additives, oils, fibres, resins and fodder have long been harvested from trees, and they often have important local markets. These are trees with high-value and low-volume products, with enormous potential for regional and even international markets. Some notable examples are
- the bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis), a West African species with edible fruits whose cotyledons are used for thickening soups and stews and to make a staple bread, while seeds are used as spices
- peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), a Latin American palm that produces fruits, heart of palm, medicines from the roots and wood for parquet floors
- masuka (Uapaca kirkiana), a southern African tree that is valued for its edible fruits, eaten fresh or used to make wine, borer- and termite-proof timber, and roots that produce extracts for treating indigestion
- camu camu (Myrciaria dubia), an Amazonian species that produces berries with 40 times the concentration of vitamin C as citrus fruits- pygeum (Prunus africanus), an African highland tree whose bark extracts are used in the treatment of prostate cancer
ICRAF is working to tap these high-value tree resources, to start what researchers like to call a tree revolution, to follow up on the Green Revolution of the past few decades in which agricultural crops were so successfully domesticated and improved. The challenge is to identify the most valuable species and to learn about them from the people who know them best - the farmers. Research therefore involves extensive ethnobotanical surveys that reveal farmers' own priorities in tree species and even identify individual trees that farmers feel are superior.
Together with national partners, ICRAF researchers make collection missions, to obtain the material needed to begin the domestication of trees. Trees are propagated using simple vegetative methods, using stem cuttings, followed by clonal selection. In this way, high-quality and productive varieties can be developed relatively quickly, much faster than with traditional breeding methods. The current focus of the research is on indigenous fruit trees, which farmers would like to flower and fruit earlier. To achieve this, trees must be propagated from mature shoots that have acquired their reproductive capacity. Unfortunately, these mature shoots are the most difficult to propagate, and research on reproductive biology and phenology is in its infancy in many cases. Pioneer work is concentrating on the physiology of aging.
Optimism is high for this research program, which aims to produce cash income for farmers. Not only that, fruit trees grown on farms - in home gardens and in complex multi-layered agroforests - can be a lasting and practical alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture. ICRAF is also investigating the possibility of linking with the private sector in this enterprise.
ICRAF research emphasizes management of natural resources, and is working with several technologies that can maintain and improve soil fertility. In many parts of Africa, low farm income and high costs for fertilizer pose serious threats to the soils; farmers simple cannot afford to fertilize their fields and population pressure on land precludes the use of long fallows to restore nutrients to soils depleted by intensive cultivation. Under these conditions, soil fertility declines, and the land produces little. It is possible to turn this trend around, to make these areas productive again? On most African soils, the two nutrients that tend to be most lacking are nitrogen and phosphorus. ICRAF has been studying agroforestry systems that restore both nutrients back to the soil. This "recapitalization" of vital nutrients is an investment in natural resources, similar to that made in irrigation systems.
Agroforestry systems can add nitrogen directly to soils in two ways: biological nitrogen fixation from the air and nitrates captured deep in the subsoil, beyond the reach of crop roots. Trees accumulate these nutrients in their leaves, nutrients which are then transferred to the soil when the leaf litter is incorporated. Organic nitrogen inputs have an advantage over inorganic nitrogen fertilizer because they come together with carbon - carbon that is used by soil microorganisms to incorporate the nitrogen not used by crops - in active pools of soil organic matter. Research indicates that the slow accumulation of soil organic nitrogen from agroforestry systems can have long-term benefits in building up nitrogen capital.
Researchers are exploiting these principles to develop short-duration fallows to regenerate soil fertility. Recent research has highlighted the potential of Sesbania sesban, a fast-growing African legume. In Eastern Zambia, two-year sesbania fallows show remarkable results -doubling maize yields each season for 3-4 seasons following the fallow. In 1995, over 180 farmers in the area are working with the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture and ICRAF, raising their own seedlings to plant and test improved sesbania fallows. But the excitement is so high among farmers that more than 500 have already begun trying - and experimenting with -sesbania fallows.
Where farms are too small and land pressure too great for any fallows, research focuses on improving soil fertility without interrupting the cropping cycle. One of the most promising technologies for this niche appears to be "relay cropping," a system in which sesbania seedlings are established at the same time as maize. During the rainy season, the trees grow slowly in comparison with the crops, making for little competition. After the maize is harvested, the sesbania grows more rapidly, surviving on residual moisture in the soil. About 2-3 tons of fuelwood are harvested every year, for use at home or for sale in the market, and the leaf and twig litter from the trees is incorporated into the soil before the next crop of maize is sown. The resulting seasonal input of organic matter from the trees has more than doubled maize yields over those where the maize is not fertilized. Farmers are enthusiastic about this technology and the research project in southern Malawi is working with 46 farmers to evaluate relay cropping on their farms.
The phosphorus story
Many soils in Africa are sorely limited by the lack of phosphorus, to the extent that other inputs cannot have any significant effect. Research indicates that agroforestry can only supply up to half the phosphorus needs of crops on soils deficient in phosphorus - the rest has to come from inorganic sources. For this reason, ICRAF is a major actor in the World Bank-funded "Phosphorus Initiative" the aim of which is to use African phosphate rock sources as a one-time application to recapitalize African soils. The application is seen as a capital investment that should permit farmers to reap returns - in the form of increased harvests - for up to ten years. Removing phosphorus as the limiting factor in these soils will have a multiplier effect on other inputs, including biological nitrogen fixation. Researchers are also working on developing and testing complementary technologies, such as contour hedgerows and vegetative strips, to control soil erosion and keep phosphorus on the farm. Other research will look at biological technologies to control weeds and accessibility to improved tree germplasm, to guarantee the initial investment. Biophysical research will concentrate on interactions between inorganic and organic sources of phosphorus in the soil, and country case studies conducted with partners in national agricultural research institutions during 1995 will assess the economics of the initiative, taking environmental costs and benefits into account.
Where water is scarce
In many agroforestry systems competition between crops and trees for water is a major concern. However, trees that tap water from below the crop rooting zone - water that is unavailable to the crop - increase the use of the available water and the nutrients it carries. Recent research at ICRAF's Machakos Research Station in Kenya has demonstrated that a pure maize crop uses only 30 percent of the available rainfall, while a system with maize and Grevillea robusta trees uses 76 percent. This is an exciting result with important implications for areas where water is a limiting factor, as it is, for example, in subhumid areas of Eastern and Southern Africa and the semi-arid lowlands of West Africa where ICRAF is working. Current research focuses on quantifying water uptake by various components of agroforestry systems and develops models to predict and extrapolate how and where water will be used within an agroforestry system. This knowledge can be used when trees and crops are being selected, based on their appropriate architecture and ecology, for agroforestry technologies in any given area.
ICRAF assesses the effects of its work by measuring impact in three areas: impact on science, impact on capacity building and impact on development. Researchers are developing ways to measure the overall impact of their work, including social and ecological effects on a community and in a region. Environmental accounting methods that put values on factors such as decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing carbon sequestration, decreasing stream sedimentation and eutrophication, and preserving biodiversity, are being developed.
The link between research and development is key; ICRAF is particularly interested in the rates at which farmers are adopting agroforestry technologies - because adoption and experimentation by farmers are the real test of a technology. By validating technologies on farms, researchers are able to learn from farmers and adjust technologies to fit their needs, and farmers themselves learn about the technologies. Such tests also reveal policies that encourage - and in some cases discourage - adoption of sustainable and positive technologies. There are many examples of areas where on-farm experimentation has peaked farmer interest in agroforestry, and led them to take on the technologies. In southwest Uganda where there is an acute shortage of fuelwood, farmers are keen to develop nurseries and grow trees to supply fuelwood for home use and for sale. In Zambia, where declining soil fertility is a problem, farmers are so enthusiastic about sesbania for fallowing that the technology has already spread far beyond the confines of Chipata where the research began. In the central highlands of Kenya, where prices for dietary supplements for dairy cows are prohibitive to the small-scale farmer, farmer interest in fodder trees is more than keeping up with the pace of the research itself.
Farmer demand for research is intense - be it biophysical geared towards tangible options that solve their problems, socio-economic aimed at improving production on their farms so that they can cover education and medical costs for their children, or policy research that can identify constructive policies that encourage good management of natural and farm resources. ICRAF researchers, together with their national partners and NGOs and because of their close working relations with farmers, are trying to keep up with the demand for lasting solutions to the problems of rural poverty, land degradation and deforestation in the tropics.
One of the most severe limitations on the establishment of a lasting capacity for agroforestry research and development is the shortage of a knowledgeable and skilled staff. Since agroforestry is a new but rapidly developing science, the shortage of expertise is acute.
In 1994, ICRAF built up the African Network for Agroforestry Education (ANAFE), a unique endeavor to strengthen agroforestry education for the next generation of agroforesters. Membership has grown rapidly, and now includes 74 universities and technical colleges in 31 African countries - 18 anglophone, 12 francophone and 1 lusophone.
ANAFE supports curriculum review and implementation; specialists have been developing teaching materials in a host of national and international workshops. Staff exchanges and research internships are arranged between educational institutions and national agricultural research systems. ANAFE is supporting 18 postgraduate fellowships at 8 African universities for MSc students of agroforestry. These students are doing their thesis research at agroforestry network sites and are supervised by both ICRAF and university staff.
But research and training activities are not limited to academic and institutional circles. ICRAF's information division concentrates on making all its research activities and findings known to the broadest possible audience. Policy documents and research reports that highlight major breakthroughs are published and made available to policy- and decision-makers, who, by keeping abreast of the latest findings, are able to make sound decisions affecting the welfare of their constituents and the environment. Information specialists also put together a quarterly magazine that provides specialists and practitioners of agroforestry with easily digestible and applicable information on new technologies, trees and trends. In 1995, broadcast-quality videos are being produced, which should reach television viewers around the world, making "agroforestry" a household word.
In all of these ways, ICRAF research, training and information programmes are a small but important part of the movement that emerged from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 - a movement for sustainable development that aims to improve living standards through sensible management of natural resources throughout the tropics.


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Coyote warning
Coyote warning
I live on Vista Drive in southeast Huntsville. My yard backs up to Green Mountain. We know there are coyotes in the area, as we see them often. I put a game cam in my back yard and photographed a huge one last fall.
Several nights ago, our three pound Yorkie vanished from our back yard while out to potty.
I found her next evening about 50 yards up the mountain. The large puncture wounds on either side of her body confirm what I suspected, she was taken by a coyote.
Just wanted to pass this along as warning for other small pet owners.
Les Hall
Huntsville, 35803
Preserve NIH funding
As Congress works on the fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget and the threat of sequestration looms, I urge U.S. Representative Mo Brooks and U.S. Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions to support not cutting biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Sequestration could result in an 8 percent cut to the NIH budget, which means 25 percent of all the grants that NIH issues in 2013 would not be funded.
As one of the 500,000 to 1.5 million Americans living with Parkinson's disease, these cuts would be devastating to me. NIH needs $32 billion in FY 2013 to continue research toward much-needed treatments for people like me with Parkinson's and those with other chronic diseases.
These cuts could also result in a loss of $1.8 million for Alabama, which may have a devastating impact on the local economy.
NIH research funding is an investment in our country's future, and I will be watching for our congressional delegation's leadership on this issue.
Carol Meenen
Gurley, 35748
Protecting children
Regarding story of the misguided former boy scouts returning their awards because the Boy Scouts of America will not allow gays to invade their ranks.
They think it is a civil rights issue. It is not. It is a civil wrong issue. Penn State's Jerry Sandusky is perhaps the greatest example of harm that can be done by gay, perverted thoughts on young people. And he single-handedly destroyed a wonderful university and a world class coach. Folks, he was convicted of a crime. I guess poor Jerry's civil rights were trampled upon.
To allow gays in scouting would be like allowing Sandusky to destroy again. Why does anyone want to expose children to the risk that someone will destroy their lives? Let's get the moral compass calibrated and keep our children out of harm's way. We cannot allow the Sanduskys of the world to win this battle.
George W Wells
Huntsville, 35803

subset: commoncrawl


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West Mount Vets - Elland
Our Elizabeth Street surgery is open every weekday and on Saturday morning.
Vet Chris and his colleagues offer appointments in the mornings, afternoons and evenings for health checks, preventative care and treatment of sick animals. Most regular surgical procedures can be performed here too. With our own in-house laboratory and x-ray facilities investigations can often be completed on the same day as your appointment.
If your pet has a problem with obesity please ask for a free weight check appointment with vet nurse Dinah who will be able to calculate the dietary requirements for your pet. We run nurse clinics for this and many other routine treatments.
Services and facilities at this surgery include:
Vet appointments, Vet Nurse appointments, consultations, health advice, weigh-loss advice, vaccinations, micro-chipping, blood tests, surgical facilities, neutering, dental care, X-Ray, warm comfy kennels, pet-food advice and sales, effective wormers and flea products. Special clinics for pensioners.
Our patients include dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamster, gerbils and ferrets.
Normal hours: Please call 01422 376702 for advice or an appointment.
Night-time / Weekends / Public Holidays: If your pet has a condition that needs urgent attention or has been involved in an accident, call any of our surgery telephone numbers.
Your call will be answered with a message giving the procedure to follow and the number to call. Cases will be seen at our Veterinary Hospital in Halifax, where vets and support-staff are on-site every day and night to care for emergencies and sick animals.
11, Elizabeth Street
Monday - Friday
8:30am - 6:30pm
After completing his studies in London's Royal Veterinary College in 1995 Chris took up the vacancy with the practice. Since moving to the area Chris and his wife Caroline have settled near Ripponden with their four flat-coated retrievers. Caroline is also a vet and works in this practice.
Chris is the practice 'webmaster' and his main areas of interest are knee surgery and radiology.
When not at work Chris & Caroline enjoy the Pennine countryside and working with their dogs - and what better way to combine the two than to walk The Pennine Way, an ambition fulfilled in 2000. Other long distance walks completed more recently include the Cumbria Way and the Inca Trail, in the Peruvian Andes
Caroline graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1995 and joined the practice in 1999 - working part-time. She mainly works at the Elland branch with her husband Chris and also does occasional surgeries at all our other branches. They have four flat-coated retrievers, a chicken and few pond fish.
Caroline's hobbies include walking, cycling and gundog training and showing.
Veterinary Nurses
My career with Holborow and Tapsfield (now West Mount Vets) began in 1987 at the Gibbet Street surgery which evokes some lovely memories.
I was fortunate to be involved in the practice development with the opening of Elland and then Paddock surgery, and then the move and expansion to our premises in 1997 at Pellon Lane which was an exciting move forward.
I began my Veterinary Nursing training at Myerscough College, Preston in 1996 where I was the oldest student but fortunately qualified in 2000.
I have worked at the Halifax, Paddock and Hebden Bridge surgeries before moving to work nearer home at the Elland surgery in 2005 where I feel very "at home".
I have taken further courses in physiotherapy, animal behaviour, pet nutrition, dentistry and have enjoyed been able to attend veterinary congress the most memorable being The World Veterinary Congress in Orlando, Florida.
I have a German Shepherd Dog 'Darby' - who keeps me on my toes and a ginger cat 'Darcy' who has a the unfortunate reputation of being a good hunter, despite a large noisy bell!
Nursing Assisstant
How to find us
The surgery is a short walk from Elland centre.
From the A629 Elland by-pass take the Elland junction and follow the Elland-Riorges Link road, go through one roundabout and at the second roundabout (by the Co-op supermarket) take the third exit onto Southgate. Turn left on Elizabeth St beside the Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant. West Mount Vets is 100 yards on the left.
View West Mount Vets Surgeries in a larger map


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Welcome to Glock Talk
Why should YOU join our Glock forum?
- Converse with other Glock Enthusiasts
- Learn about the latest hunting products
- Becoming a member is FREE and EASY
If you consider yourself a beginner or an avid shooter, the Glock Talk community is your place to discuss self defense, concealed carry, reloading, target shooting, and all things Glock.
45 ACP ballistics question
Discussion in 'Caliber Corner' started by pokersamurai, Apr 17, 2012.
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Page 2 of 3


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Bugs in the Garden
written by Beatrice Alemagna
Phaidon Press | ISBN 9780714862385
Board book – 36 pages
Member's price: $15.26
Usually ships within 2–11 business days.
Beatrice Alemanga returns with a follow up to the charming Bugs in a Blanket. What happens when the bugs venture out into the big, wide garden to find some new friends? This sturdy board book introduces children to lovable bugs who learn how to accept creatures they are initially afraid of. Author Beatrice Alemagna invented a whole new technique of illustration for this book using a felted wool technique and an amalgam of applique, fabrics and stitching. Ever since Little Fat Bug's birthday, the bugs in the blanket have been great friends. They are such great friends, and have spent so many hours playing together, in fact, that they are beginning to get bored of playing 'hug-a-bug' with each other. And so, at Little Fat Bug's suggestion, the bugs venture out into the garden to find new friends to play with. But will these bugs dare to make friends with creatures they have never seen before?


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Featured Golf News
'Medicinal' Remedy - USA 2012 Ryder Cup Chances Strong at Medinah
Editor's Note: Cybergolf's Jay Flemma is already trembling with anticipation about the upcoming 2012 Ryder Cup. The biennial competition that pits the Americans against their European counterparts starts September 28 at Medinah Country Club near Chicago. Here's Jay's take on those three days of intense festivities, his views of the host course, and how he thinks the Ryder Cup will play out.]
They will represent Europe, but they will feel like they are on an island.
When the Ryder Cup comes to Chicago with all its pomp, circumstance and ethnocentrism, you can expect a rough ride for the European team. This year, all the momentum is on the American side. It's Chicagoland, a fists-up, bare-knuckled, roughneck of a town perfectly reflected in long, charmless and brutish Medinah No. 3, a blunt instrument of a golf course.
It's the Ryder Cup, perhaps the most exciting event in golf, but perhaps also the most divisive and acrimonious and, without question, the most pressure-filled. And it's an American team firing on all cylinders buoyed by the rabid craziness of its lathered-up fans.
Is it golf's greatest spectacle? Perhaps. Does it underline several of the gravest problems with modern-day sports events? Sometimes.
As the size of the event has grown the sportsmanship exhibited by the fans (and sometimes the teams) has devolved accordingly. This year the home-field advantage - rowdy Chicago - is already so palpable that the Europeans' success in recent years won't matter much out there on the golf course.
They're going to feel like they walked into the Coliseum and Caesar just released the lions. The only worse place for Europe to be playing would be Bethpage, and that's coming soon. Meanwhile, Chicago will do its best to prove that it is no "Second City" when it comes to volume and passion.
Home course advantage: USA - big time.
The Teams
The switch to four at-large picks is working deeply in the U.S.'s favor. You can debate Mahan or Fowler vs. Snedeker or Dustin Johnson - if you absolutely must, but that's nitpicky. Nobody got picked who's a total fish, and nobody got left off who was indispensable. Here are the lineups:
USA - W. Simpson, Z. Johnson, B. Watson, Mickelson, D. Johnson, Snedeker, Furyk, Woods, Kuchar, Dufner, K. Bradley.
Europe - Garcia, Westwood, G. McDowell, Donald, Colsaerts, P. Hanson, Kaymer, McIlroy, Poulter, Rose, Lawrie, F. Molinari.
"We'll play that hand just fine," said golf expert Bruce Moulton, and he's right. All 12 Americans are playing in the Tour Championship. Europe is sending just five.
Love has his choice of strategies with this deep a team. If he uses the "pod" system begun at Valhalla, he has three strong groups, each teeming with veterans:
A) Simpson, Z. Johnson, D. Johnson, B. Watson - aka the "God Squad"
B) Mickelson, Bradley, Snedeker, Dufner
C) Woods, Stricker, Furyk, Kuchar
Woods, usually so persnickety about his partners, can actually play with any of the three in his pod. He feels comfortable with both "Jimbo" and "Stevie" (and plays well with them!), but he also respects "Kooch" enough to play nice in the sandbox. Moreover, Woods is playing his best and most consistent golf since coming back from his scandals and injuries. In his mind, he's back.
The God Squad boys - the Johnsons, Watson and Simpson - are still vastly underrated by the media and Madison Avenue, but three of the four are major winners, two within this calendar year. Worry a little about Dustin and Bubba, because they each can get wild, and when that happens things go south quickly. Just like you can't mate two horses that are both a little fast and a little crazy because their offspring will be very fast and very crazy, so too is it a risk to put those two volatile drivers of the golf ball and even wilder free spirits together. They could be a powerhouse, but they also need a tight rein.
Conversely, Webb and Zach are eminently cool under pressure; they don't rattle and don't hit the ball all over the park. Webb can be a birdie machine and Zach is Steady Eddie, even in the crucible heat of the biggest events. He's also a consummate team player and has had a great campaign over the last few months.
Speaking of looking at the last year, not long ago people were remarking that a Mickelson-Bradley duo would be Filet-O-Fish for the Euros. Now it looks like a juggernaut. Which Mickelson and Bradley will show up in Chicago? They're both mercurial. If they go 1-3 over four matches will that kill the USA's chances? Probably not. The team is so deep and so strong, they win in a laugher if Mickelson and Bradley play well, and win despite them should they lay an egg. The other eight guys will do the heavy lifting. Anything Bradley, Lefty, Sneds and Dufner give you is a bonus.
Even better, there are interchangeable parts to the U.S. team. Dufner and Dustin Johnson could trade places so D.J. could pair with Phil or Keegan and Dufner could play with Zach and/or Webb. Or D.J. and Kuchar could switch, leaving D.J. to play with Furyk, perhaps a good four-ball team. You could also trade Zach Johnson for Snedeker and have Zach team with Dufner, and Sneds with Dustin Johnson, leaving Bubba to go with Webb.
Thinking defensively, foursomes (alternate shot) needs more careful attention to pairings due to the intimate nature of the game. That's where you want to protect (meaning "sit") the wild drivers of the ball - to wit Phil and D.J. (and if he gets in a funk, Bubba). Conventional wisdom seems to indicate sitting rookies for alternate shot as well, perhaps Dufner and Sneds.
Who are the Euro pairs? That's a good question! Traditionally, Europe holds a strong edge in the doubles phases of the Ryder Cup - four-sevenths of the matches, half of that being the archaic crustiness of alternate shot, a format we just don't play in America.
But this year the U.S. team is deeper than the Euros. McIlroy-McDowell look formidable as a lead or anchor, then Donald-Westwood is the second strongest on paper. But that tandem may be yearning for Blackpool if they come out flat, get behind in their match, and the crazies in the gallery smell blood. And even if they come up short, who else can take up the slack? Poulter and Rose? Maybe. Do you perhaps switch things up and play Westy with Rose and Poulter with Donald? The performances by this all-England pod could determine the fate of Europe's hopes.
Europe's options dwindle the deeper one looks in their line-up. Kaymer has been ice-cold since winning the 2010 PGA Championship and Colsaerts has chilled off since a hot spring. They could be vulnerable, a soft underbelly that needs to be protected, but sit them too much and they'll be cold for the singles. Hanson has played well in big moments on a number of occasions and is the kind of man who could come out of nowhere to make a difference. Garcia is finally rounding into the form, but is loathed by American fans. He'll need the same brand of earplugs that Boston Red Sox owner John Henry wears when he goes to Yankee Stadium.
The bottom of the European line-up - arguably Molinari, Kaymer and Lawrie - will need the players above them to play over their heads. Is any combination of Poulter, Rose, Hanson and Colsaerts better than any of the American groupings? I like the U.S. chances.
Advantage: USA
Proposed singles line-up: Woods, Webb, Stricker, Phil, Bradley, Furyk, Sneds, Dufner, Zach, Kuchar, D.J., Watson
Rock solid 1-3, even money 5-8, and good strength 10-12. If Phil wins, it's a bonus, same for Zach. The middle - where you put the guys that need protection - actually can hold their own quite well.
Advantage: USA
Medinah is a big, ugly dog nobody likes except Chicago. Every golf magazine has, at one time or another, called it everything from the "most overrated golf course in America" to "the worst major championship venue." Yet, because no one has built a course in Chicago that's 1) big enough to hold the infrastructure necessary to host a huge event, and 2) difficult and interesting enough to be reasonably challenging to the best players in the world, we get saddled with "Medicinal" by default.
Chicago Golf Club and Shoreacres are magnificent architecturally, but can't handle the crowds and equipment. The only other option is Olympia Fields, which surrendered record scores at the 2003 U.S. Open. Cog Hill is basically a public Medinah, just without the ostentatious clubhouse (which looks like the Marrakesh Hyatt - which way to the Jemaa-el-Fnaa?)
"Medicinal," that's a good name for it because the golf course will put you to sleep. Indeed, it's a sleepwalker's course. Long, straight drive down the center-line, hit the green, make the putt - lather, rinse, repeat.
Speaking about good match-play venues in an interview last year (http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/interview_with_geoff_ogilvy_royal_melbourne_the_presidents_cup_golf_course_architecture), Geoff Ogilvy said that the best courses aren't the ones where golfers just grind out pars all day. Great match-play courses tempt players into risks - either they hit great golf shots and make birdies or eagles or miss and make bogey or worse.
When describing a strikingly similar, equally milquetoast course, Atlanta Athletic Club, Ogilvy described it thusly: "Although it's difficult because it's super-narrow and super-long, it doesn't hold your interest. There were some interesting short holes, but as a general rule, when they had a choice, they just made it long and narrow . . . It wasn't interesting to play. There was very little where you had to make decisions and use thought to approach the course."
The same is true for Medinah. It has exactly one half-par hole, a newly configured 15th that's now a 300-yard par-4. You can try to drive it, but the green is guarded by water. The media blitz by architect Rees Jones and the PGA of America has been so relentless you'd think Jesus walked in Galilee again. Look at us! Now we're strategic!
Reaction: What took so long? Medinah has undergone more facelifts than Michael Jackson and now, 85 years after opening, finally has a strategic hole? And they wonder why people look sideways every time a tournament is announced there.
But if you don't want to take my word for it . . . or Golf Magazine's, or Golf Digest's, or Golf World's or Golfweek's, here's what Tom Doak said in his seminal "Confidential Guide to Golf Courses":
". . . not quite as tight as Olympic Club, but at 500 yards longer it is definitely a maximum security prison: poor compensation, in my book, for its lack of strategic challenge. If you believe in the test that great golf courses produce great champions, it would be wise to reflect on the career of Lou Graham and to recall that Mike Donald was one swing away from becoming a national champion here. I consider to be the course's weakness the total lack of finesse play required."
Doak went on to call the 1975 U.S. Open a fiasco, while no less a personage than Dan Jenkins described the 1990 Open as a bad rash curable only if you had a little Hale Irwin Ointment. Perhaps not surprisingly, Medinah has hosted an inordinate number of lackluster tournaments for supposedly so great a venue. That's because it may require you to hit good shots, but it doesn't require you to make many strategic decisions.
Too hard in '49 (won by Cary Middlecoff) and '75 (Graham), 2-over 286 and 3-over 287 were the winning scores, respectively. But somewhere along the line the vampire lost its fangs . . . and dentures! In the 1990 U.S. Open, 124 sub-par rounds were recorded, shattering the old U.S. Open record of 64.
"They turned it into the Quad Cities Open," groused one member at the time.
Since then golfers have been treating Medinah like knights treat wenches in HBO's "Game of Thrones," rudely and brusquely. Tiger in particular has made it a home-away-from-home, primarily because of the flat greens.
Never quite right architecturally and certainly lacking character (other than the Frank Geary-esque corrugated metal struts lining the water hazards), straight and safe does well at Medinah and the U.S. team has plenty of that.
So it's off to Lake Unpronouncable (it's "kuh-DEE-juh" if you care), where Medinah will crown itself with laurels again, but happily so should the U.S. team. The bomber's paradise requires no deep thinking. As long as they don't let the pressure get to them like in 1991, the Yanks can dominate. Get out of the gate early on Friday, coast to a lead on Saturday, take a victory lap in the sun on Sunday. Get ahead, stay ahead, play smart, make everything you look at on the greens, let the crowds buoy you.
Advantage: USA
Prediction: U.S. 15½ Europe 12½
Between the fans, the Cro-Magnon man of golf course that is light on strategy (length is strength at Medinah), and a deeply talented American team, this one could be a laugher.
Match-ups Everybody Wants to See
I know they've done a blind draw since forever, but if TV can demand Sunday finishes and prime-time major championship broadcasts, you'd think they could do something about the weird mish-mashes we get from not alternating seeds like they do at the President's Cup and Potomac Cup for amateurs. Ryder Cup pairings resemble what poker players call "computer hands" (random matches such as K5, J7, Q3 and the like), so we rarely get the uber-stars squaring off against one another. We have a 1-in-14 chance of seeing Rory-Tiger in singles (but a much higher likelihood they'll cross paths in foursomes or four-balls), but a much higher chance of seeing Hanson vs. Mickelson or Lawrie vs. Zach Johnson or Molinari vs. Snedeker or Donald vs. Dufner.
But if the stars align, how much fun would it be to see: Rory-Phil, Rory-Tiger, maybe even Rory-D.J. or Rory-Keegan?
Rory, Rory, Rory
He's is the draw in golf right now. He's a cast-iron Player of the Year candidate as well as a Madison Avenue darling. (And with his tennis tart for arm candy, the wags might actually deserve a drop of ink, but no more.) Golf is as sexy as it was when Woods was soaring.
"He is even better than everyone said. He definitely lives up to the hype," said golf fan David Barone, a life-long Tiger-phile. "He really is Number 1 in the world right now." When the Tiger apologists become self-aware, that's big!
Woods-Garcia, Woods-GMac, Woods-Donald
Woods is still a draw too, and getting stronger with each passing tournament. He is finally putting four days together and contending. He's got every facet of his game under control. How about a steel-cage, mega-grudge match against Garcia, a slobber-noggin against gritty, defending Ryder Cup-clincher McDowell, or a round with Donald and a match involving former No. 1s? Any of these is TiVo-worthy.
GMac-Furyk, GMac-Phil, GMac-Webb
Westy and Donald have the star power, but McDowell has the hardware and clinched the last Ryder Cup. If he can't face Woods, a rematch of this year's U.S. Open final-round contenders or an exchange of broadsides with Phil would be electric.
Phil v. Anybody
By now golf fans are used to the best reality show in sports: "The hair-raising, death-defying hijinks of that wacky Phil Mickelson." He'll drive it all over the state, try some zany recovery shot, then get up and down from the deck of a sinking ship. He's mercurial to begin with. Then there's his insufferable habit of playing to the level of his competition. He could beat Westy or Donald, or he could get smeared by Kaymer or Lawrie.
"You yell two things at the TV," said Barone. "It's either 'Yeah, Phil!' or it's 'AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH! Phiiiiiiiiiiiil!' But it's riveting."
Which Phil will we get at Medinah? Probably both. He'll give us shingles all weekend, but it's always fun - if infuriating - to watch. Similarly, with the mojo he could generate with Bradley as a potential doubles mate could be sensational. Phil and Keegan vs. Westy and Donald or Rory and GMac are highlight reels waiting to happen.
Since launching his first golf writing website in 2004, http://jayflemma.thegolfspace.com, Jay Flemma 's comparative analysis of golf designs and knowledge of golf course architecture and golf travel have garnered wide industry respect. In researching his book on America's great public golf courses (and whether they're worth the money), Jay, an associate editor of Cybergolf, has played over 420 nationally ranked public golf courses in 40 different states, and covered seven U.S. Opens and six PGA Championships, along with one trip to the Masters. A four-time award-winning sportswriter, Jay was called the best sports poet alive by both Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports writers and broadcasters. Jay has played about 3 million yards of golf - or close to 2,000 miles. His pieces on travel and architecture appear in Golf Observer (www.golfobserver.com), Cybergolf, PGA.com, Golf Magazine and other print magazines. When not researching golf courses for design, value and excitement, Jay is an entertainment, copyright, Internet and trademark lawyer and an Entertainment and Internet Law professor in Manhattan. His clients have been nominated for Grammy and Emmy awards, won a Sundance Film Festival Best Director award, performed on stage and screen, and designed pop art for museums and collectors. Jay lives in Forest Hills, N.Y., and is fiercely loyal to his alma maters, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Trinity College in Connecticut.
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I was super bummed as I bought this dance bag for my 8 yr old daughter for Christmas. I had a special patch with her name professionally made and sewn on to the bag so that was an additional cost on top of the almost $30 already paid for the bag. Within a couple of months, there was already rips on the pockets, the plastic lining on the inside kept shedding and I often had to empty her bag to get all of it out. She had a lot of classes, but it wasn't like this was traveled with a lot - just to and from class. I would not recommend this - ESPECIALLY for the price!!
Age: 30-39
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I purchaced this bag about a month ago and was very pleased with it and the fact that it had 8 different pockets (I love pockets). But just after 4 weeks of use, 2 of the seams have ripped, and I am not hard on my dance bag.
Pros: many pockets for different shoes and everything
Cons: seams are not durrable and tear easily


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After the last few years, we've grown quite accustomed to Clive Owen as the headlining, slick star, whether that be chowing down carrots and shooting people up, living black and white and dangerous as Dwight, or dealing with a world that no longer has children. What's easy to forget in all of his fame, however, is that the man has more than an irresistible delivery and on-screen charm. He's an actor with subtlety, one whose very presence can change. In films like Closer, that meant a fresh layer of smarminess and sleaze. In The Boys Are Back, it means showing the familial heart underneath the macho exterior.
Based on Simon Carr's novel, Owen stars as Joe Warr – a sports reporter in Australia who is the classic father figure, the loving but slightly absent provider. But when his wife suddenly falls ill and passes away, Joe is forced to take on a new role as the sole parental figure. He still must provide security, but now that means a lot more than just money. He is the caretaker to his young son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty), and must not only provide for him, but also help the young boy deal with the loss of his mother, and give the boy the emotional comfort he needs to heal. At a loss for how to deal with Artie, Joe adapts by taking on a "just say yes" mentality that, at first, seems to work. Their lives become a chaotic boys' club of laughs, dangerousness, and messiness, whether that be a beautiful whirlwind ride along the beach for Artie on the roof of Joe's jeep, or just piling up dishes in the sink like a classic bachelor's pad. This new life allows Joe to lull himself into a false sense of security, which is inevitably threatened by the sudden arrival of his older son, Harry (George MacKay). (Before Joe's idyllic Australian life, he had a failing marriage and son in the UK that he had to leave behind.) Only a teen, Harry serves as the moral challenge to the home's chaos. He's grown up in a structured environment and can't relate to Joe and Artie's chaos, but is still looking for a connection with the father he barely knows.
From a score by Sigur Ros to the beautiful backdrop of a deep blue sea contrasting the rolling lands of green and yellow, The Boys Are Back has the basis to be a great film, and, at times, it is. In solitary moments, the film offers both the laughs and heartache that Joe must face, but it's not in a perfectly formed package. This is a slow path of mourning and discovery, and it moves as such – comfortable to sit back and allow things to unfold, rather than forming a concise and carefully edited path.
Although this is the film about a journey to a new way of life, the magic is in the moments, which are, at times, so sweet, sad, or carefree that they carry the rest of the film to a satisfying conclusion. While we only know his wife for a short time, it's easy to feel the pain of her passing and Joe's unswerving love for her. One can't help but be charmed by the joy in Artie's eyes as he clutches to Joe's jeep roof, or chuckle when Joe tells his son to put his shoes on the other (right) feet, and Artie retorts: "These are the only feet I've got." In fact, as great as Owen is as the man learning to connect with his sons, his younger co-stars are scene-stealers. McAnulty is the wild, but good-hearted boy who instantly grabs your heart, while MacKay does a great job balancing the myriad of emotions and thoughts Harry is plagued with. He desperately wants to connect with his father, but is also bitter that he was abandoned. He is a curious and normal teen, but not necessarily the quintessential movie teen we've come to know who makes bad choices to provide moments of crisis. (In one of Harry's best scenes, he is thrust into a situation he could give in to or fight against, and his choice allows for the needed drama without the expected actions.)
This is, yet again, another film that doesn't really live up to the success and critical acclaim director Scott Hicks had with Shine, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
categories Toronto Film Festival, Reviews, Cinematical


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Thunder (1-0, 1-0 road) vs. Timberwolves (1-0, 1-0 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 1430 AM The Buzz Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 101.4 (16th), Wolves– 108.3 (8th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 98.3 (10th), Wolves – 103.8 (16th)
Pace: Thunder – 99.7 (7th), Wolves – 100.3 (6th)
View from the enemy: A Wolf Among Wolves
The Thunder always have problems in Minneapolis. They've won there, no doubt, but it's never easy. And coming off the mess that was the opener, this feels like a night full of potential problems. The good news is that the Wolves aren't an overly excellent defensive team. The bad news is, neither were the Jazz, and unlike them, the Wolves have ample offensive weapons to punish you if things go stale for six or seven minutes.
I personally think the Wolves are going to be pretty good this season. In terms of dark horse teams that could climb into the fifth or six-seed conversation, the Wolves appear to be a likely contender to pull that off. Assuming good health with Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin, that's a pretty explosive offensive group. And one that's going to be tough to guard.
Where the Thunder have to improve tonight is in actually deploying the things they've claimed to have worked so hard on. It's a common basketball buzzphrase to say, "trust the pass." But the Thunder do not trust the pass. Especially when the situation breaks down and things get tight. I honestly don't blame them all that much because look at the options. Four-point game with five minutes left, would you rather give the ball to Kevin Durant and let him work, or try and move and space and trust the pass that could end up in Thabo Sefolosha's hands with four on the shot clock?
To me, it's more about establishing that rhythm and flow and trust throughout the game and then transitioning into letting Durant close when the time is right. Against the Wolves tonight, I think there will definitely be an opportunity to rework this.
Three Big Things
1. Rebounding. Love and Pekovic own both ends of the floor on the boards, so it won't just be about Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka, but others will have to get involved and help. Durant will need to get on the glass, Reggie Jackson, Sefolosha and whoever else plays. Give the Wolves extra opportunities and they're going to pay them off.
2. Serge Ibaka. Shooting 4-15 isn't going to cut it for him. His face up/midrange game is where he's strongest and I think he's going to battle the balance between being aggressive and assertive with his shot and remaining within the flow and rhythm of the offense. One thing that would help a lot? Actually running some sets for him, rather than just isolating and expecting him to do something.
3. Rotations. I have a feeling this is going to be a thing for a few weeks. Scott Brooks went with 10 in the first quarter against the Jazz. More of the same? Is Steven Adams backing up Perk again tonight? Will Perry Jones play? Will Brooks stagger his rotation to try and keep either Jackson or Durant on the floor at all times?
Tip at 7:00 CT. Go Second Game.


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C. 2013 Seaman Schepps 22.70 ct. t.w. Aquamarine and Shell Earrings With Cultured Pearls in 18kt White Gold
Item#: 819517
C. 2013. Seaman Schepps jewels are especially cherished for their elegant wearability and flattering designs. This gorgeous pair of earrings features 22.70 ct. t.w. aquamarines, natica onca shells, cultured freshwater baroque pearls, all set in 18kt white gold. Hanging length is 5/8". Clip-on, shell and aquamarine Seaman Schepps earrings. Note this is a tremendous value on a rare pair of earrings in "as-new" condition with a current retail value of $4,900.
Product Details (for C. 2013 Seaman Schepps 22.70 ct. t.w. Aquamarine and Shell Earrings With Cultured Pearls in 18kt White Gold)
1 inch
1 inch
18kt close 18KT: Karat (abbreviated kt or K) is a unit that indicates the purity of gold in the metal. 18kt is 75% gold. In Europe, 18K yellow gold is most favored and used in jewelry. White Gold close WHITE GOLD: Gold is a precious metal which is naturally quite soft. To give it a white color and increase its strength, gold is alloyed with white metals, such as silver and/or palladium, and often plated with rhodium. The purity of the metal is indicated by a unit called a "karat," with 24kt having the highest percentage of natural gold.
Polished close POLISHED: A buffed-out finish used to produce a mirror-like shine.
Clip close CLIP: An earring that clips-on with a clamp backing, relying on tension and friction to hold it in place. Perfect for people who don't have pierced ears.
Hanging Length:
5/8 inch
Gemstone 1:
Shell close SHELL: A treasured gift of the sea, shell has been used for ornamentation since recorded time. Shell makes a classic choice for cameo designs and is often carved in relief to display a ladylike motif, presented in a frame of precious metal. (Color: White, Quantity: 2)
Gemstone 2:
Cultured Freshwater Pearl close CULTURED PEARLS: Likened to the moon, pearls have been valued for their luminous glow and natural beauty for thousands of years. Today, high-quality cultured freshwater pearls make pearl jewelry affordable to all. Pearl is the traditional birthstone for the month of June. (Color: White, Quantity: 2, Shape & Cutting Style: Baroque)
Gemstone 3:
Aquamarine close AQUAMARINE: The birthstone of March, harbinger of spring, aquamarine's powers of revelation are legendary. Usually cut as a brilliant or a step cut, and a member of the beryl family, aquamarine can be found in a range of pale blue hues and aqua green colors. (Color: Blue, Quantity: 2, Shape & Cutting Style: Oval close OVAL: An elliptical shape that resembles an egg. , Weight: 22.00 ct. t.w., Size: 14x12 mm)
Gemstone 4:
Aquamarine (Color: Blue, Quantity: 2, Shape & Cutting Style: Round Faceted Bead close FACETED BEAD: A stone with a drilled hole and a faceted surface. Strung together to decorate bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. , Weight: 0.70 ct. t.w., Size: 3.5 mm)
All weights and measures are approximate.
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SAN DIEGO -- The Cowboys added three more points to their total on a long field goal by Dan Bailey. After three quarters, we've had the wave, the Cowboys' first preseason touchdown and two Bailey field goals. The Cowboys have a 13-7 lead over the Chargers.
Some thoughts:
*Cornerback Mario Butler had a nice open field tackle on a short pass in the flat and came up on run support to bring down Le'Ron McClain. The Cowboys would like to see Butler step up and become the fifth corner. Then again, if Mike Jenkins can't return in time for the start of the regular season, Butler could be the fourth corner.
*Dan Connor didn't look good in coverage on a 28-yard reception by Randy McMichael. Safety Danny McCray was able to push McMichael out of bounds. The Cowboys can't afford to have linebackers struggle in coverage this season, regardless of how well their corners are playing.
*Akwasi Owusu-Ansah had the coverage on the first touchdown allowed by the Cowboys defense this preseason. Charlie Whitehurst completed a 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Brown, who suffered a left ankle injury and had to be carted off the field. Owusu-Ansah couldn't contain Brown, and with Danny McCray trailing the play Whitehurst found an open man.
*When quarterback Stephen McGee gets time, he can do some things. He made a strong throw for a 10-yard completion to Dwayne Harris. Harris needs to make some plays with Kevin Ogletree rising up the depth chart. Then again, this is why he's a backup, or rather No. 3 on the depth chart for the third receiver. McGee put a little too much air on a pass to Raymond Radway that was broken up, and he didn't see a wide open Dwayne Harris down the seam. Instead, he opted to complete a 3-yard pass.
*Fullback Shaun Chapas did a poor job of blocking a blitzing Melvin Ingram off the edge. McGee had no chance and was sacked for a 13-yard loss.
*Teddy Williams is a sprinter by nature. He's still learning how to play football, but at times -- like on a kick return in the third quarter -- he didn't show any wiggle. Yes, the blockers set up for a left return, but Williams has to make defenders miss.
*Charlie Hughlett took over the deep snapping duties in the third quarter for L.P. Ladouceur.
*Faced with a fourth-and-1, the Cowboys' backup line didn't get any push and Jamize Olawale was stopped for no gain.
*Linebacker Orie Lemon recovered a fumble with 2:59 to play in the quarter. Lemon was pretty active Saturday night and his recovery of a fumble led to a made 49-yard field goal by Bailey.


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Orlando Acupuncture & Wellness
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We encourage you to take on goals and achieve them! Rewrite your family history and avoid the expression of genetic diseases. Science can now explain how our environment and mental belief systems truly affects our lives. Your family genealogy can have much less of an impact than you might think. Happiness promotes good mental and physical health and the opposite is also true. Even if you currently have neither you can set your mind right and achieve both. We show you how to make this happen and turn it into a way of life. A healthy body and positive mental psychology are crucial to getting the most out of life. Many people miss out on so much because of poor health and negative self image or belief pattern.
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Here you will discover solutions from around the world, which cater to you and your family.


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Muccigrosso Vineyards
Award Winning Wines!
To know is to taste. In the interim, here are some brief descriptions
of our current releases to whet your whistle.
Lyn Zin
Zinfandel all the way, exhibiting full body, bright raspberry,
varietal black pepper spiciness with licorice and chocolate
on the nose. Sense is, this wine is fixin' to mature with
characteristic aplomb. You might want to spread it on toast.
But that's our idea. We look forward to hearing about your
Table Two
This wine is a lot of things to us. It's a nod to our forefather's
hailing from Macchia Valfortore, in Campo Basso, Italy. It's
our take on a Super Tuscan. Mostly, it's another robust and
complex red wine we love to drink. Here's the rough breakdown:
50% Syrah (what?), 50% Sangiovese. Yah, it's pretty big and
ripe (this is California after all). But you'll find the balance
quite nice with blackberry fruit preeminent and cassis on
the nose.
Pinot Noir
To complete the triumvirate, we reveal our Santa Cruz Mountain
Pinot Noir. Some of you may already know that Pinot Noir fulfills
another passion. You may also know that the Santa Cruz Mountains
are one of the preeminent Pinot Noir appellations in the country.
Bringing the Pinot Noir from vine to glass takes us close
to Mother Nature. Unpredictable, susceptible, volatile, yet
subtle, exquisite and multifarious. Year after year she rewards
us with challenges. This year our trials and tribulations
yielded an exceptional example of Santa Cruz Mountain wine.
Big bodied with ample Cherry fruit, a subtle vanilla bouquet
and modest minerality, this Pinot Noir is racy. And it's in
short supply.
So there you have it. These aren't wines you'll
find for practically nothing at discount grocers. In fact,
you probably won't find these wines through your usual sources.
No matter what you are accustomed to drinking, if you are
inclined to having handmade artisan wines suitable for any
occasion and capable of dazzling your senses, we would be
much obliged if you would try ours. You may find fine wine
habit forming.


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Former pastor arrested in prostitution sting again
A former Kings Mountain pastor has been arrested for a second time on charges that he tried to solicit sex from an undercover police officer.
Clinton Alexander Feemster, 60, of Gastonia, was arrested after Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said that he asked an undercover male officer for sex Oct. 26 at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport overlook.
Police said they were conducting a sting operation at the overlook. Police said another officer in the sting task force recognized Feemster from an arrest last year on the same charges. A judge found Feemster not guilty on that charge.
Mount Pisgah Baptist Church pastor Charles Turner said Feemster stepped away from leadership roles at the Bessemer City church after he was accused.
Copyright 2012 by WYFF All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Top Definition
Just in case you didn't know. Used when explaining something blindingly obvious to all but the most egregious n00b, but you don't want to hurt your correspondent's feelings.
The "Start" menu can be found at the bottom left of your screen, JICYDK.
Porcospino tarafından 8 Şubat 2008, Cuma
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City Hall
228 S. Massachusetts Avenue
Lakeland, FL 33801 (Map It!)
Ph: (863) 834-6084
Fax: (863) 834-5017
Email: Property Information
For property or addressing information located within the city limits of Lakeland, please call (863)834-6084.
You may also use the Address Lookup tool that provides often sought after information regarding addresses throughout the City of Lakeland.
For Polk County parcel information: parcel maps, tax records, owner-of-record, legal descriptions, etc. (includes City of Lakeland) please visit the Polk County Property Appraiser's Web Site.


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PHILADELPHIA – As good as the Philadelphia Phillies have been in close games this season and over the last four years of championship baseball, they might have met their match at this stage of this season.
The San Francisco Giants never look scary at the plate. They don't even seem to play small-ball very well. They can't steal. They don't have any speed to run the bases. And they don't have an abundance of situational hitters.
But defense and pitching can go a long way, especially in the post-season. And the Giants have one of the best defensive teams in baseball as well as one of the best pitching staffs, deep both in the starting rotation and at the back end.
The knock on them most of the year was that their bats were so anemic, they had no one other than Tampa Bays Rays castoff Pat Burrell to get them a big hit.
Well, Burrell delivered here Saturday night in front of the fans he played before most of his career. And an import from Miami they acquired just before the trade deadline off waivers – mainly to prevent the division-rival Padres from getting him – came through again in what's becoming a storybook inaugural playoff run.
Cody Ross the Phils know well, though not in this sort of circumstance. Playing four seasons for the Marlins, he usually has been the star of nutty games of little consequence in sweltering heat, punctuated by tropical rain delays, in a badly converted football stadium before 12,000 indifferent fans.
Ross never seemed to belong in such a laisez faire atmosphere. He more resembled the kind of guy who'd fit into a championship ballclub, not a ragtag bunch run by a talented malingerer like All-Star malcontent Hanley Ramirez.
So, when the bald, bearded little outfielder from New Mexico with the long-ball pop in his bat joined the Giants in September, he looked like a man given shock parole. He came to a team overloaded in outfielders and carved out a space with timely hitting and heads-up defense. Former Phillie Aaron Rowand, signed three years ago to a $12 million-a-year contract, had already hit the pine due to a sub-.230 average, replaced by Andres Torres in center field. And Ross began getting at-bats in right.
The Giants responded, outlasting the similarly light-hitting Padres and the late-charging Rockies in a wild NL West race.
"We all had to check our egos at the door, put the statistical concerns aside and play as a team," said Ross last night. He had just clocked not one but two home runs off Roy Halladay inside fastballs that staked San Francisco to a slim early lead they never quite relinquished.
Burrell followed with the deciding hit of the game, a two-out RBI double in the sixth that Raul Ibanez should have caught but dropped at the wall. More maddening still for the Phillies, the preceding pitch that would have seated Burrell on a called third strike was judged a ball by persnickety home plate umpire Derryl Cousins.
And the rest was handled by the Giants pitching staff on what was for their star number-one starter Tim Lincecum a very tepid night.
Other than championship pedigree, the main reason many gave the Phillies a much better shot against Cy Young winner Lincecum than his NLDS victims was that the Atlanta Braves were a callow, impatient bunch missing their best (Martin Prado) and most savvy (Chipper Jones) hitters due to injury. Their most feared remaining hitter was a rookie – sweep-swinging outfielder Jason Heyward who spent his first playoff series with goggle eyes waving at bad pitches. Lincecum and the other Giant starters made quick work of Atlanta after a speed bump in Game 2 provided by Rick Ankiel's homer.
And patience the Phillies did display early. Because of it, they had repeated chances at hitter's pitches that could have busted the game open. They squandered way too many to deserve a win.
In the first 14 hitters he faced, the last being fourth-inning lead-off hitter Jayson Werth, Lincecum fell behind a remarkable eight of them 2-and-0. This is a recipe for disaster against a lineup of fastball hitters like the Phillies in a bandbox like Citizens Bank Park.
Only Carlos Ruiz, maybe the best fastball hitter among them, really made him pay. Ruiz's line shot into the right-field stands off a 2-0 heater drew the Phils even at 1-1 in the third.
But much more often, Lincecum wriggled out of jams with his split-fingered fastball or he somehow snuck a fastball by in a hitter's count. Ryan Howard actually swung and missed a fastball so high that it turned into a wild pitch and advanced two runners. Then he simply swung through another, right in his wheelhouse, to end what could have been a knockout third-inning.
Lincecum never did really gain his best command and it helped neither pitcher that Cousins called a tight strike zone. He left a lot of pitches up. He many times didn't seem to have the good bite on his breaking pitch. But often the best pitchers prove how good they are when they aren't in the rocking chair. The kid who looks like he might as well be loitering on his trick bike outside a convenience store proved tougher than he appears.
Through derisive wolf whistles meant to mock his shoulder-length hair, Lincecum pitched like a survivor through seven tough innings and actually finished with his strongest frame of the night.
Again in the sixth the Phillies had him on the ropes. Werth found a 2-2 outside fastball to his liking and bombed it over the right field fence to bring the Phils within 4-3. But Lincecum then bore down and fanned both a lost-looking Jimmy Rollins and Ruiz, the catcher on his 101st pitch of the night.
And in the seventh, he seemed to reach back and find some of his liveliest deliveries as the Phillies became more antsy. Lincecum blew through pinch hitter Domonic Brown, Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco in nine pitches to complete his night with an exclamation point.
Brian Wilson, the better closer in this series, finished off the last four outs with Ks, laying a 96-mph fastball over the fat of the plate to blow away Victorino.
The Giants are old hands at close ball games. And in the same way they've tormented their own fans all year, they pulled Phillies fans over the rack inch by inch in the breezy chill.
That's a talent they've perfected so far this year. It's one the Phillies need to reacquire quickly.
DAVID JONES: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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MILWAUKIE -- Given the landscape of Class 5A girls basketball this season, Milwaukie must feel as if it is stranded on an island.
From their location in the Northwest Oregon Conference, the fourth-ranked Mustangs are at least 85 miles from every other team receiving votes in this week's Class 5A coaches poll. They haven't played any of those teams all season, and they won't see one before the OSAA playoffs.
"That's one of our concerns," coach Kevin McElroy said. "We know some of those other conferences have the higher-ranked teams that they are playing on a nightly basis. The thing we've stressed to our team is we've got to make sure we're improving no matter who we're playing against."
All Milwaukie can do is take care of its business at hand. And Friday night, the Mustangs (13-2, 6-0) extended their winning streak to 12 as senior guard Lorissa Martine scored 19 points and all five starters made three-pointers in a 55-44 win over visiting Parkrose (6-8, 3-3).
The margins of victory have been comfortable during the winning streak, but at this point in the season, how hungry are the Mustangs for some top-notch competition?
"Oh, starving," senior guard Alexis Noren said. "That competition in those other leagues, like with Springfield and Willamette, they're battling every single night and learning their strengths and weaknesses. It's a challenge for us mentally more than physically. Our goal is not to play down to the level of anybody."
Martine said complacency is a very real threat.
"It's harder for us to have the mentality to play hard all the time," Martine said. "We come out like, 'Oh, we're going to win this game, no big deal,' and then we don't play as hard as we could. We're not going to be prepared if we don't keep up our game, play to our level."
On Friday, senior April Meads made two three-pointers in the first quarter as the Mustangs opened a 17-6 lead. Meads, Noren and Martine hit three-pointers in the third quarter as the lead grew to 39-21.
But Parkrose, which got 17 points from 6-foot-1 junior Audrey Frison, fought back and stayed just close enough to keep the Mustangs on their toes.
"I think we could've handled Parkrose in the first half, but we let them hang with us the whole game," Noren said. "It's completely a mental game. We have yet to put together four quarters."
After a breakthrough 2011-12 season, when they won their first conference title in 32 years and reached the state quarterfinals, the veteran Mustangs have their eyes on the big picture.
"Since I have most of the same group back, they understand the importance of putting ourselves in position to play three games in Eugene," McElroy said, referring to the site of the state tournament. "The one thing that our team can do is adapt to a lot of different situations."
Milwaukie showed its ability to adapt Jan. 18 in beating Liberty 41-35, its only single-digit win over a Class 5A team. The cold-shooting Mustangs trailed by 10 in the second quarter before attacking the basket in the second half.
"That was a wake-up call," Noren said. "We needed that game to happen. I think we just came out arrogant."
No. 1 Springfield, No. 2 Willamette and No. 3 West Albany appear to have separated themselves as the elite teams in Class 5A, and Milwaukie will have to wait until the postseason to prove that it belongs in that group.
"I think we can keep up with everybody," Martine said. "I definitely think we have the ability, we just need the concentration to do it."
-- Jerry Ulmer


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BREAKING: Activist Judge Strikes Down Defense of Marriage Act
Thursday, July 8, 2010, Federal District Judge Joseph L. Tauro ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Constitutional right of married same-sex couples to equal protection under the law and upends the federal government's long history of allowing states to set their own marriage laws.
The Catholic Advocate community might remember we previously alerted you to this campaign to repeal DOMA legislatively.
We predicted back on January 4, 2010:
"Advocates of same-sex marriage are working overtime to have H.R. 3567 reach the floor of the House this year and repeal a 13 year-old law previously supported by 85 percent of Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton. If they succeed in passing the bill, and it is signed by President Obama, 40 states will be forced to recognize same-sex marriages making the successes in Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont that much more relevant. Democrats will have learned nothing from the current health care debate or the voices of the voters in the states that have repealed gay marriage initiatives. Democrats in Congress are nearing desperation from their low-approval ratings. The base of the Democrat party dealt with a year of disappointment when campaign promises did not translate into actions. Democrats will be looking for ways to re-energize their disappointed base leading into the November 2, 2010 mid-term elections. The unfortunate casualty will be the sanctity of marriage."
President Obama is still committed to his campaign promise to repeal DOMA calling it "discriminatory." The case in Massachusetts was brought by state Attorney General Martha Coakley (D), the Kennedy-clan hand-picked candidate who lost to now Senator Scott Brown. Since the suit was filed against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regarding a federal law, it was defended in court by the U.S. Justice Department, specifically the Office of the Solicitor General led by now Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.
This case will no doubt now move to a higher court where once again the Obama Justice Department will need to "defend" DOMA.
Check back with Catholic Advocate to learn how you can lend your voice to oppose this latest attempt to redefine marriage through judicial activism.


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Student records are managed by the SITS system, which uses Evision as a more user friendly interface to perform certain functions. In general Academic Staff will access SITS system functions via Evision, whereas Academic Registry Staff use SITS directly.
SITS provides support for the following (not exhaustive) processes:
Admissions and Enrolment:
- Online course applications
- UCAS/GTTR course applications
- Direct course applications
- Course application processing
- Offer processing
- Student offer acceptance
- Welcome week timetables
- Enrolment of new and fast track students
- Re-enrolment of continuing students.
Programme Management:
- Creation of new students' first semester programme of modules
- Module registration
- Programme changes
- Student course transfers and changes of mode of attendance
- Student withdrawals
- Student intermissions
- Attendance monitoring
- Student data changes
- Progression and awards.
- Course work submissions
- Marking assessments
- Conversion of assessments to module marks
- Results publication
- Mitigating circumstances
- Academic misconduct
- Academic monitoring
- Deferment
- Management of assessment process.
Student Reporting, including the production of statutory returns including:
- Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) return
- Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES) return
- Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DELHE) return.
Staff requiring a SITS account should request it from their Line Manager. The manager should fill out and submit the SITS Account Request Form
For technical support contact the Service Desk
For further information on these processes please refer to the Academic Registry
Evision may be used by staff for the following (not exhaustive) functions:
- Student enrolment
- Set module assessment deadlines and weightings
- Assessment mark entry
- Attendance monitoring
- View class lists
- Enter student sponsor details.
Note: The services provided to Students via Evision are defined in the Student section of this Service Catalogue.
Staff requiring an Evision account, must first get their line manager to fill out and submit the SITS Account Request Form . Once a SITS Account is created; access to Evision is made available.
Technical support for Evision is via the Service Desk
Access to the Evision is from the Metranet Home Page, under QuickLinks or click here Evision. This link also provides detailed help pages after you have logged in.
If you think the details displayed in Evision might be incorrect please contact the appropriate undergraduate or postgraduate office.


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Annie Gives BackHeather Spohr
When I was asked to participate in this Target Holiday Toy program, I was excited about the idea of getting toys for my daughter, Annie. But as the days went by, I started to feel guilty. I looked at the pile of toys I'd already bought her for Christmas morning (I'm an early shopper), and I realized she really didn't need anymore toys. So, I decided to take the opportunity to teach Annie about giving to others. Annie and I went to Target and I had her pick out a bunch of toys to donate to kids who are less fortunate.
She had so much fun running around, grabbing toys. She hasn't asked me once about the toys since I bought them, which makes me think the experience of buying the toys was just as fun to her as actually playing with them.
I am leaning towards donating these to Toys For Tots, but if you have other suggestions, please leave them in the comments! I'm looking forward to Annie coming with me to drop off our donation.
A big thanks to Target for sponsoring this campaign. Click here to see more of the discussion.
Do you know a deserving family, school, or charity this holiday season? We're giving away one grand set of 20 toys from Target, including those mentioned in this post! To nominate, simply comment and tell us why you've selected them!
Read more from me on The Spohrs Are Multiplying
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Don't miss the latest from Babble Voices Like Us on Facebook!
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Fulham get their ultra busy December schedule underway with a trip to Holland. The top two clash in Group K, but having already qualified, how motivated will Twente be?
With Liverpool, United and Chelsea all looming in the fixture list, the Whites may be forgiven for downgrading the importance of Thursday night's Europa clash at Twente Enschede. Fulham can probably afford to drop points here but still qualify by beating Odense at the Cottage in our last group game on the 14th. That game incidentally comes ahead of two home fixtures in four days - lowly Bolton and then Fergie's faltering champions - yes, United may be playing catch up to arch rivals Citeh, but any game against the Old Trafford all stars remains daunting.
Leading at the Emirates up to the 81st minute we gave the Gunners an almighty scare. Pity it was only a point, but Fulham found a way to stifle the hosts and fully deserved to draw.
The bald facts tell you Fulham never win away to Arsenal. Twenty-five attempts down the years, three draws and twenty-two losses. The bookies have Arsenal 9/4 on to maintain the winless streak this weekend.
It was underwhelming to say the least. For our sixth away game of a frustrating season the Whites were yet again second best, and this against a very modest Sunderland outfit.
Seems like a lifetime ago, but two weeks after battering Spurs and coming away with nowt to show for it, it really is time for Martin Jol's revolution to start building momentum
We've asked a guest contributor to cast his eye over the international scene in relation to how some Fulham personalities fared. Peering through the fog for a sight of Clint Dempsey was Washington freelancer and Fulham nut Nathan Savin Scott
Our dismal record in London derbies continues with yet another loss to Spurs. But what a gutsy show in making strong and in form opponents look second rate. It bodes well for the future.
And how sweet it was. The ground rocked to another famous Europa night under the Craven Cottage lights. Four goals provide the coup de grace in supporting the old maxim, "Cheats never prosper."
Far from being just another routine Europa night against opponents we know little about, a certain Oscar Nunez elevates this tie to a whole new level
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Drama of the sort that the Syracuse Chiefs produced on Tuesday night makes the team wish it could hit the reset button on the entire season.
Zach Walters' leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Chiefs to a 3-2 comeback win over Indianapolis on Tuesday at NBT Bank Stadium. The Chiefs rallied from a 2-0 deficit with two runs in the eighth before Walters ended the night.
Syracuse took three games in the four-game set against the Indians and won the overall regular season series 7-1. But while the West Division-leading Indians (73-59) are ready to clinch a playoff spot, the Chiefs (62-70), basement dwellers in the North, are on the cusp of postseason elimination and the start of their off-season.
"I wish it would have clicked a little sooner,'' Walters lamented. "That's what every team wants, to get off hot from the start of the season. If we play like that from the start of the season, we're definitely a playoff team.''
Instead, Syracuse's 17-12 July and 12-9 August were cancelled by a 33-49 mark in April, May and June.
"That's the nature of this level,'' said Syracuse manager Tony Beasley. "It's hard to keep a team together all year. We were without a lot of our core players for most of the season.''
Walters' shot over the right-field wall was his 29th homer of the season, a total that paces the IL. It came on a 2-2 slider, after he stayed alive by fouling off a pair of pitches from reliever Vic Black.
"I was standing at third (coaching), saying, 'End it Walters. End it,'' Beasley said.
"It was there, then I hit it, then it was up in the air,'' Walters explained. "I was like, 'Please get out.'''
After Indianapolis starting pitcher Stolmy Pimentel locked down the Chiefs with seven shutout innings, Syracuse mounted the tying rally against the Indians' bullpen in the eighth.
With two out, no one on and Syracuse down 2-0, Eury Perez singled off Indianapolis reliever Kyle Farnsworth. Jeff Kobernus followed with a single, and Danny Espinosa's double brought home Perez to make it 2-1.
"Guys started chipping away, putting together better at-bats here and there,'' Walters said. "You could feel the momentum kind of favor us.''
Farnsworth intentionally walked Corey Brown, and Black then took the mound. On a 3-1 count, Chris Marrero crushed a shot that barely curved foul down the left field line.
"That had to make him (Black) a little uncomfortable to challenge him 3-2,'' Beasley said.
Instead, Black walked Marrero to force home Kobernus with the tying run.
"Lately, this team has been grinding, putting together some good at-bats,'' Marrero said. "Everyone is trying to finish strong and have a good end of the season.''
Syracuse's Will Rhymes then drilled a hard grounder to Indians third baseman Jared Goedert. Goedert snared the ball and threw to first in time to nip Rhymes, although the runner disagreed. When Rhymes protested too animatedly, first base up Tom Honec threw him out of the game.
Syracuse's Caleb Clay allowed just one earned run in five innings, becoming the tenth straight Chiefs starter to surrender three runs or fewer in a start.
But Clay he got himself in trouble in the fourth by plunking Brett Carroll to open the inning. Felix Pie moved Carroll to second with a sacrifice bunt.
Clay whiffed Goedert, but Lucas May delivered a two-out single for a 1-0 Indians lead.
Indianapolis' Ivan De Jesus Jr. opened the fifth by reaching on a fielding error by second baseman Rhymes. Pimentel bunted him to second, and two batter later Russ Canzler blooped a soft, two-out single to center that plated De Jesus for a 2-0 lead.
Kobernus extended his string of reaching base to 25 games, the longest current run in the International League.
After a day off Wednesday, the Chiefs open another four-game set by hosting Charlotte on Thursday.
- Boxscore


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Two Williston men died Saturday following an accident that occurred around 6:30 p.m. on US 27A and NE 40th Street.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Curtis Leon Dallas, 32, and Rickey Thurline Wilcox, 55, both of Williston were traveling in the southbound lane of US 27A. Witnesses told the FHP that Dallas, the driver of a 2001 Geo Prizm, was traveling at a high rate of speed when he collided with the 2003 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Deborah Hammonds Bouchard, 58, of Williston.
Five convicted sex offenders were arrested April 1 after the Levy County Sheriff's Office, Florida Department of Parole and Probation and the United States Marshal's Sex Offender Investigation Branch conducted compliance checks on registered predators/offenders in Levy County.
The purpose of these checks are to ensure the registered offenders are complying with their probation conditions. Some offenders are prohibited from having internet access or even possessing a cell phone.
The Levy County Sheriff's Office reports the following arrests:
• April 1, Jesse Baggett, 34, Williston, VOP. Bond $300.
• March 31, Jerald Billups, 39, Inglis, DWLS, possession of marijuana, out of county warrant. Bond $3,660.
• March 30, Kim Marie Bouterie, 47, Inglis, criminal mischief.
• April 5, David Paul Cox, 35, Chiefland, DWLS.
• March 31, Christopher Thomas Davis, 40, Williston, fraud/swindle. Bond $25,000.
It did not take Chiefland Police Department long to solve the theft of more than $7,000 in jewelry from Mitch's Gold & Diamonds – they simply stopped in at a nearby pawn shop and checked out a couple who had just pulled into the parking lot.
But police had a little help from the suspects who told the clerk at Mitch's they were heading to Cash Munny to sell a steel penny the jeweler refused to buy.
Charged with grand theft are Kirsten Michelle Moore, 18, and James Dale Bryant, 44, both of Old Town.
An Inglis man who went missing March 23 while on his way to do an errand in Clearwater was found Monday afternoon in Chicago.
Michael Wayne Floyd left his home that morning and credit card records indicated he stopped at a BP to get gas.
Video surveillance showed an unknown individual with him.
Two days later, his vehicle was located in a parking lot in Chicago where his keys, cell phone and other personal items were found.
Attention traffic ticket scofflaws! Your opportunity to get that overdue traffic fine off your conscience and that suspension off your driver's license for the unpaid ticket is coming.
Operation Green Light, sponsored by the Florida court clerks, will be underway on April 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. where you pay just the fines and fees and not the 40 percent overdue collection fee and then get your license cleared.
"This could help restore your driving privileges," said Levy County Clerk of Court Danny Shipp in announcing the program on Thursday.
Matthew Holder, 23, of Trenton was arrested on Saturday, Feb. 21, by Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers after he and another man were found to have an explosive device sitting between them in the vehicle they were in.
Holder, who was released on his own recognizance, is charged with possessing, making or attempting to make a destructive device and possession of drug equipment.
On Feb. 24, Ronnie L. Floyd registered as a sexual predator and on March 9 Timothy R. Thomas also registered as a sexual predator with the Levy County Sheriff's Office.
By Florida law Floyd and Thomas are required to notify law enforcement whenever he changes addresses.
• March 5, Kelby Andrews, 52, Chiefland, order of indirect criminal contempt.
• March 7, Garry Edward Barnett, 32, Bronson, out of county warrant.
• March 4, Nicholas Edward Barnett, 25, Odessa, possession of marijuana, possession of drug equipment. Bond $1,500.
• March 7, Jarrod Byron Behrens, 35, Gainesville, DUI. ROR.
• March 5, Sesaley Bretz, 30, Bell, domestic battery, battery. Bond $1,000.
AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary 88 will host a basic gun class Monday, March 9 from 6-10 p.m. with the $50 fee benefiting Relay for Life.
The class is taught courtesy of the Levy County Sheriff's Department.
Participants must pre-register.
Contact Anna Elkins at 352-222-9453 for more information or to register.
Copyright © 2016
The Chiefland Citizen is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Chiefland Florida, and the surrounding area.


text: It is very difficult to get into it now. In the old days, reservations were taken on Monday morning at 8am for all the shows that week, they had to change that, but I am not really sure how they do it now. It is also a different crowd that attend these shows as well as the ones on the mountain. Used to be a crowd that was very respectful of the artists, actually listened attentively, not so much anymore. Makes it less fun for the ones who really want to hear the songwriters. Once the hullabaloo dies down from the TV show, it should go back to normal. The early shows are usually free (well with a minimum tab of $8), and are every bit as good as the late shows but have people who are not yet famous. The old Ryman is a great place to see a show as well, fantastic acoustics and reasonably small venue. It is definitely a fun town!


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FARM FRESH . . . Thousands of people will trek to Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu from 9 a.m. to 4 pm. Saturday to attend the fourth annual Maui County Agricultural Fair.
While most of it is free and open to the public, the Grand Taste Education Tent will charge admission for people who want to sample 13 farm-fresh tastes prepared by teams of farmers, ranchers and chefs.
Tickets are being snapped up fast as they are priced to be affordable. The most expedient way to buy them is to visit www.mauicountyfarmbureau.org.
Article Photos
Kapalua's new Village Cafe & Sweet Shoppe is dishing up early-bird dinner deals with a different theme each evening.
Photo courtesy of David Hanley
In addition, make sure to bring your canvas shopping bags as the Grown on Maui Farmers Market will feature more than 40 vendors.
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AT THE MACC . . . "Contemporary dance, original movement, funky excitement! You name it, Aszure Barton & Friends will bring it to the Castle Theater Stage tonight," says the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's food and beverage co-manager Luana Argel.
"Our new courtyard will open at 5:30 p.m. for cocktails. Or maybe you'd prefer a tasty Riesling with your dinner by Consuelo's Catering? Either way, try the chef's wild salmon in lilikoi glaze over quinoa salad, famous savory puff pastry with garden salad and chutney, or her chicken skewers with peanut sauce."
"Why not return to rock the amphitheater Friday night with the Doobie Brothers and War?" Argel continues. "It will be fabulous music and fabulous food!"
Catering from Soup to Nuts will bake ginger-shoyu chicken plates, and barbecue roast beef on onion roll. Nacho Mama's will take you south of the border with kalua pig and vegetarian nachos. Whole Foods Market will toss chicken Caesars and do hummus wraps.
"Who can say no to a Hula Cookie ice cream sandwich or some delicious Maui Kazowie kettle corn?" Argel asks. "Gates to the Events Lawn for food and beverages will open at 4:30 p.m. Come early, treat yourself, and then 'whoa whoaaaaaa, listen to the music'!"
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BITS AND PIECES . . . Hawaii residents 21 and older may complete entry forms and drop them in marked boxes at any Foodland location for a chance to win a staycation at Ihilani Resort & Spa on Oahu and a $100 credit to dine at the resort's Azul restaurant.
Taste The Happiness Sweepstakes is partnership with Tropilicious Ice Cream & Sorbet, available at Foodland in flavors such as green tea, mango and lychee.
There are dinner deals at the new Village Cafe & Sweet Shoppe in Kapalua. It's on Office Road in the old Kapalua Cafe and before that, Vino.
"One of our popular promotions is a themed early-bird special that we feature daily from 4 to 6 p.m.,"?say owners Stuart and Debbi Katz. "For instance, on Wednesdays we offer New Orleans Creole, a classic shrimp gumbo with cornbread; and Thursdays, we feature Southern Night with chicken and dumplings."
Each themed dinner costs $22.95 per person and includes classic side dish, soup or salad, coffee or tea and Roselani ice cream for dessert.
Speaking of Roselani, 12 flavors of its ice cream are sold at this family-oriented restaurant along with freshly baked desserts, and assorted sweets and candies from around the world. "We also offer fresh smoothies, ice cream shakes, specialty coffee drinks and a full bar of boutique wines, beer and island tropicals," says Katz.
Spotted at the Plantation House in Kapalua recently was singer Josh Groban, who Ali McBeal and then Oprah put in the spotlight.
Spago at Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea will flow with a Justin dinner Saturday with $25 from each person's check benefitting Maui Culinary Academy. It will also pour Storybook at a wine dinner April 8 with owner-winemaker Jerry Seps in attendance.
In response to the disaster in Japan, TD Food Group with Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations in Hawaii will donate a percentage of its sales Wednesday to the American Red Cross-Hawaii Chapter.
"It's been truly heartbreaking to see what our friends and neighbors in Japan are going through in the wake of such devastation," says Henry Katsuda, president and CEO. "TD Food Group is pleased to play a role in the relief efforts by hosting this fundraiser."
* Reach Carla Tracy at email@example.com.


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Matthew Potenski, an experienced shark biologist, captured this image of a baitfish shoal in the Bahamas, ready to retreat to the protection of the mangroves at the first sign of a predator.
SeaWeb, an international non-profit ocean conservation organization, has announced the six finalists of the Marine Photobank's fifth annual Ocean In Focus photography contest. The six images chosen as finalists tell stories of peril, passion and perseverance in the ocean and coastal communities, and have been contributed from around the world. The contest aims to illuminate the human-ocean connection and advance ocean conservation through photography.
"The photo contest receives hundreds of compelling images showing the true nature of human activity on a fragile ocean and coastal ecosystems," said Devin Harvey, Marine Photobank Manager. "These six finalists really get to the core of the human-ocean connection with their photos and tell an incredible story – even without words. We look forward to reading the real stories behind the images and sharing them with our audiences."
A panel of judges, who are experts in their respective fields, have handpicked six talented finalists. The finalists are now invited to dive deeper into the images they have captured to bring us all behind the lens, and in some cases under the surface of the sea, with an essay component. The next phase of the contest will include a written essay describing how these compelling images display the issues that our ocean is currently facing.
The grand prize winner will be rewarded with a trip for two aboard the National Geographic Endeavour for a 10-day expedition to the Galápagos Islands courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions, the expedition travel company that voyages the world in alliance with the National Geographic Society.
The Marine Photobank, a project of SeaWeb, encourages ocean conservation by collecting and providing compelling, high quality marine photos, images and graphics at no cost for non-commercial use as well as for media use under special terms.
For more information and to see the photos of the six winners, visit the Marine Photobank website.


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A Philadelphia man was killed and another wounded during a shooting outside a Bucks County Wawa early yesterday morning.
Police were called to the Wawa on Lincoln Highway in Bensalem Township at about 1:50 a.m.
Cops said the victims were shot during a fight between six to eight men from Philadelphia.
The victims - whose names were not released by police - were taken to Frankford-Torresdale Hospital. There one of the men died.
One news report identified the deceased as Matt Taylor, 19, and said that Taylor may have been trying to break up the fight.