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Testimony on Medicare+Choice by Mike Hash
Deputy Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Health
February 25, 1999
Chairman Bilirakis, Congressman Brown, distinguished Committee members, thank you for
inviting me here to discuss our efforts to pay health plans accurately and fairly. The Balanced
Budget Act of 1997 requires Medicare to "risk adjust" payments to Medicare+Choice
organizations, starting January 1, 2000. That means we must base payment to Medicare+Choice
plans on the health status of their enrollees.
Risk adjustment is an essential component of the Medicare+Choice program, and represents a
vast improvement over the current payment method. It helps assure that payments are
appropriate and curtail the disincentive for plans to enroll sicker beneficiaries.
Under risk adjustment, data on individual beneficiaries use of health care services in a given year
will be used to adjust payment for each beneficiary enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan the
following year. The payment adjustments are based on the average total cost of care for
individuals who had the same diagnoses in the previous year. In order to prevent disruptions to
beneficiaries and health plans, we will phase this change in over five years. Initially, we will use
data on inpatient hospital stays and move in an orderly fashion, as envisioned in the Balanced
Budget Act, to use of data from other health care settings.
We would like to thank plans for their cooperation in providing the data needed to implement
this important advance.
Currently, some 6 million of Medicare's 40 million beneficiaries have chosen to enroll in
Medicare+Choice plans. Risk adjustment will increase payment to plans for their sickest
patients, and thus curtail the disincentive for plans to enroll these beneficiaries. It also will lower
payment to plans for their healthier patients. Risk adjustment is an essential step forward for
beneficiaries, taxpayers, and health plans.
Risk adjustment will help beneficiaries feel confident in all their Medicare+Choice
options. It will assure beneficiaries that Medicare pays plans the right amount to provide
all necessary care because payment to plans will take each enrollee's health status into
account. That will help people with serious illnesses, such as cancer or cardiovascular
disease, who can benefit most from the coordination of care health plans can provide.
Risk adjustment will help taxpayers by addressing the main reason that Medicare has
lost rather than saved money on managed care. Many studies show that health plans
enroll Medicare beneficiaries who, on average, are much healthier and therefore less
costly than those who remain in traditional Medicare. This "favorable selection" of
healthy beneficiaries has cost taxpayers $2 billion a year, according to a 1997 report by
Congress' Physician Payment Review Commission (now part of the Medicare Payment
Advisory Commission).
Risk adjustment will help level the playing field among Medicare+Choice plans. It
will temper the risk of significant financial loss when plans enroll beneficiaries who have
expensive care needs, and focus competition more on managing care than on avoiding
risk. Risk adjustment also will help plans by alleviating concerns among beneficiaries
that plans have financial incentives to deny care.
Phasing-In Risk Adjustment
The law requires us to proceed with risk adjustment starting January 1, 2000, and does not call
for a transition. However, we believe we must implement these changes in an incremental and
prudent fashion, as was done with other new major payment systems. We are, therefore, using
flexibility afforded to us in the law to phase in risk adjustment over 5 years to prevent disruptions
to beneficiaries or the Medicare+Choice program.
In the first year, only 10 percent of payment to plans for each beneficiary will be calculated
based on the new risk adjustment method based on inpatient hospital diagnoses. The remaining
90 percent will be based on the existing method for calculating plan payments, which are flat
amounts per enrollee per month based on the average cost to care for Medicare fee-for-service
beneficiaries in each county and adjusted for basic demographic factors like age and sex. In
2001, 30 percent of payment amounts will be risk adjusted. In 2002, 55 percent of payment
amounts will be based on risk adjustment. In 2003, 80 percent of payment amounts will be based
on risk adjustment. By 2004, we and health plans will be ready to use data from all sites of care,
not just inpatient hospital information, for risk adjustment. Then, and only then, will payment to
plans be 100 percent based on risk adjustment.
Using Inpatient Data
During the first year of data collection for risk adjustment, both the statute and practical issues
require that we use hospital inpatient data alone. About one in every five Medicare beneficiaries
is hospitalized in a given year. Data on these hospitalizations are relatively easy to gather, easy
to audit, and highly predictive of future health care costs. We will use the data to pay plans more
for beneficiaries hospitalized the previous year for conditions that are strongly correlated with
higher subsequent health care costs. While we will eventually be using a broader data base for
risk adjustment, that is simply not feasible at this time.
The Balanced Budget Act clearly stipulated that more comprehensive data on outpatient,
physician, and other services could be collected only for services provided on or after July 1,
1998. That was prudent, because it has been no small task for plans to learn how to gather the
inpatient data we are using for the initial phase-in of risk adjustment. Requiring plans to provide
additional data on outpatient, physician and other services would have been unduly burdensome
at this time.
This year, we will issue a schedule and guidance to plans for reporting other encounter data, such
as outpatient information. The schedule will provide sufficient time for plans to gather accurate
data and for HCFA to analyze and incorporate the data into accurate risk adjusted payments. We
are now confident that by 2004 we will be using data on all health care encounters to assess
beneficiary health status for risk adjustment. If we could base risk adjustment on more
comprehensive data now, we would. But we cannot. The law requires us to move forward.
And, even with its limitations, this initial risk adjustment system based on inpatient data alone
will increase payment accuracy 5-fold.
The initial risk adjustment system uses only the approximately 60 percent of inpatient hospital
diagnoses that are reliably associated with future increased costs. For example, beneficiaries
hospitalized for conditions such as heart attacks in aggregate are at higher risk of subsequent
cardiovascular problems, and they consistently have higher health care costs in the subsequent
year. Hospitalizations for such diagnoses will lead to higher payments to plans in the following
year under risk adjustment. Hospitalizations for acute conditions such as appendicitis, however,
rarely lead to increased subsequent care costs. They will not lead to higher payments under risk
The 60 percent of hospital admission diagnoses that are clearly associated with increased
subsequent care costs account for about 30 percent of all Medicare spending the following year.
It is important to note that, while risk adjustment is initially based only on inpatient data, the risk
adjustment payments account for all costs of care associated with each diagnosis. It is also
important to note that risk adjustment is not cost-based reimbursement; it is reimbursement
adjusted for projected need based on health status in the previous year.
Determining Diagnosis Groups
The relevant diagnoses will be used to classify beneficiaries into 15 different cost categories.
One category is for beneficiaries who were not hospitalized the previous year with relevant
diagnoses. For beneficiaries included in any of the other categories, plans will receive an
additional payment to cover the increased risk associated with diagnoses in that category.
Payment will continue to be adjusted for demographic factors, such as age, gender, county of
residence, and whether a Medicare beneficiary is also a Medicaid beneficiary. We have revised
these demographic factors for use with risk adjustment, for example, by no longer including
institutional status because the risk adjustment methodology itself does a good job of predicting
expenses for nursing home residents.
Medicare will calculate a score for each beneficiary to determine the payment that will be made
if they choose to enroll in a Medicare+Choice plan. For example, Medicare's average payment
per year to health plans is $5,800. Under risk adjustment, payment for an 85-year-old man will
on average be $6,414. It will be an additional $2,060 if he is on Medicaid, another $1,207 if he
is disabled, and $8,474 more if he was admitted to the hospital for a stroke the previous year, for
a total of $18,155. The score for each beneficiary will be calculated annually, and will follow
them if they move from one health plan to another.
Protecting Program Integrity
Most health plans operate with integrity and play by the rules, and we doubt that plans will
compromise successful medical management programs that keep patients out of the hospital in
order to game the risk adjustment system. However, plans themselves have raised concerns that
risk adjustment based on inpatient data alone could create perverse incentives for unnecessary
hospitalizations. We, therefore, have taken solid steps to prevent gaming of the system with
inappropriate hospital admissions or attempts to inflate the data submitted for use in risk
The risk adjustment system does not include hospital stays of just one day, in order to help guard
against inappropriate admissions. And it excludes diagnoses that are vague, ambiguous, or rarely
the principal reason for hospital admission. In addition, we will use independent experts to
assess the validity and completeness of data plans submit to us by conducting targeted medical
record reviews and site visits. This will help ensure that plans do not "upcode," or claim that
hospital admissions were for more serious conditions that would result in higher payment.
Protecting Taxpayers
It is essential to stress that risk adjustment will not and cannot be budget neutral if we intend to
protect the Medicare Trust Fund and be fair to the taxpayers who support our programs. The
whole reason for proceeding with risk adjustment and specifically with risk adjustment that is
not budget neutral is that Medicare has not been paying plans properly.
There is considerable evidence that we have overpaid plans and continue to overpay plans, in
large part because payments are not adjusted for risk.
Congress also recognized that plans have been paid too little for enrollees with costly conditions,
and too much for those with minimal care needs. The simple demographic adjustments made
now for age, gender, county of residence, Medicaid and institutional status, do not begin to
accurately account for the wide variation in patient care costs. Risk adjustment will.
The vast majority of beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare+Choice cost far less than what Medicare
pays plans for each enrollee. Medicare fee-for-service statistics make clear why risk adjustment
must not be budget neutral. More than half of all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries cost less
than $500 per year, while less than 5 percent of fee-for-service beneficiaries cost more than
$25,000 per year, according to the latest available statistics for calendar year 1996. The most
costly 5 percent account for more than half of all Medicare fee-for-service spending.
Since Medicare+Choice enrollees tend to be healthier than fee-for-service Medicare
beneficiaries, the ratio of high to low cost beneficiaries in health plans is even more stark.
Clearly, care for the overwhelming majority of Medicare enrollees costs plans much less than
what Medicare pays because our payments are predicated on the average beneficiary cost of care,
calculated by county. This average includes the most expensive beneficiaries in fee-for-service,
who generally do not enroll in managed care.
If risk adjustment was budget neutral, Medicare and the taxpayers who fund it would continue to
lose billions of dollars each year on Medicare+Choice. Accurate risk adjustment inevitably and
appropriately must change aggregate payment to plans.
Budget neutral risk adjustment would cost taxpayers an estimated $200 million in the first year
of the phase-in, and $11.2 billion over 5 years if health plans maintained their current, mostly
healthy mix of beneficiaries. It is important to stress that actual savings to taxpayers from risk
adjustment will vary to the extent that less healthy beneficiaries enroll in Medicare+Choice
plans, resulting in higher payments than health plans receive today.
The amount of payment change will vary among plans and depend on each plan's individual
enrollees. Total payment may be higher for some plans as they enroll a mix of beneficiaries that
is more representative of the entire Medicare population. As part of our Medicare+Choice March
1 rate announcement, we will send a letter to each health plan with an estimate of how payment
will differ from what they are paid now, based on their current mix of enrollees.
Overall, we project that payment to Medicare+Choice plans on average will change by less than
one percent in the first year. How it will change over time depends on the mix of beneficiaries in
each plan. Risk adjustment significantly changes incentives for plans and could well lead to
enrollment of beneficiaries with greater care needs. That could result in plans receiving higher
payments than they do now. Phasing in risk adjustment also substantially buffers the financial
impact on plans. The federal government is forgoing $1.4 billion in savings in the first year and
as much as $4.5 billion over the full 5 years because of the phase in.
Payment changes will be further buffered by an annual payment update for 2000 that our
preliminary estimate suggests will be 5.2 percent. This is substantially larger than projections
that were made last year. The final figure will be released March 1, 1999. This annual update is
based on formulas set in law and projected expenditures for Medicare that are included in the
President's fiscal year 2000 budget.
Risk adjustment is an essential step forward for Medicare, beneficiaries, taxpayers and the
Medicare+Choice program. It will help Medicare pay plans fairly and accurately. It will curtail
disincentives to enroll less healthy beneficiaries. It will help taxpayers and the Medicare Trust
Fund start saving, rather than losing, money on managed care. It will help level the playing field
among plans. And it is required by law.
We are aware of the magnitude of the impact of risk adjustment and are, therefore, phasing in
implementation to avoid undue disruptions. We are also taking proactive steps to prevent
potential gaming of the system. We will closely monitor the impact on beneficiaries and plans.
We will continue to consult with beneficiary groups, health plans and academic experts.
Adjustments can be made each year as we proceed.
But, clearly, we must proceed. Risk adjustment is too important to postpone and too important
to implement without a prudent phase-in that allows time for any necessary refinements. Again,
I thank you for inviting us here today to discuss this, and I am happy to answer your questions.


text:
Browse New Arrivals
Modest Mouse - No One's First, And You're Next
Label: Epic
88697 46289 1
Format: Vinyl, LP, EP
Has inner Lyric Sleeve
Country: US
Released: 18 Aug 2009
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock
A1 Satellite Skin
Piano, Steel Guitar [Lap] Tom Peloso
A2 Guilty Cocker Spaniels
Keyboards Dann Gallucci
A3 Autumn Beds
Banjo Isaac Brock
Bass Johnny Marr
Keyboards Jeremiah Green
A4 The Whale Song
Drums Jeremiah Green
B1 Perpetual Motion Machine
Keyboards [Wurlitzer] Dennis Herring
Percussion, Backing Vocals Joe Plummer
Backing Vocals Derrin Wiener, James Mercer
Horns Dirty Dozen Brass Band
B2 History Sticks To Your Feet
Guitar [Loop] Eric Judy
B3 King Rat
Mastered By Howie Weinberg
Mixed By Dennis Herring, Joe Zook
Engineer Clay Jones, Joe Zook
B4 I've Got It All (Most)
Piano Eric Judy
Bass Dann Gallucci
Mixed By, Recorded By Dennis Herring, Jacquire King
Artwork By [Art Direction And Design] Joshua Marc Levy
Artwork By [Illustration] Chris Mullins
Bass, Guitar Eric Judy (tracks: A1 to A4, B2, B4)
Drums Benjamin Weikel (tracks: A2, B2, B4)
Drums, Percussion Joe Plummer (tracks: A1, A3 to B1)
Guitar Johnny Marr (tracks: A1, A4 to B2)
Keyboards Tom Peloso (tracks: A3, A4)
Lyrics By, Guitar, Vocals Isaac Brock
Mixed By Clay Jones (tracks: A3 to B2), Isaac Brock (tracks: A3, B2)
Music By Modest Mouse
Producer Clay Jones (tracks: A1 to A3, B1, B2), Dennis Herring (tracks: A1 to A3, B1 to B4), Isaac Brock (tracks: A1 to A3, B1, B2)
Producer, Engineer Joe Blaney (tracks: A4)
B3 mixed at Sweet Tea, Oxford, Mississippi and recorded at Sweet Tea, Oxford, Mississippi and Audible Alchemy, Portland, OR. Mastered at Masterdisk, New York, NY
With No One's First, And You're Next, Modest has given it's fans something to tide us over until a new album is released. A lot of reviews I've been reading online have not been to kind to this release. It's as if they don't get that this a b-sides collection, and are treating it like a full fledged album. Something that surprises me about these so called "music critics", is that none of them have mentioned the track I Have It All(most). It has already been released twice before. Once on the Float On single and the other as a bonus track on the dual disc version of Good News. While it's a great track, it is my only complaint about the album. The rest of the album is great, I agree with the previous reviewer on that you can tell which tracks came from which sessions. And suprisingly some of the tracks do have that older Modest feel to them. My advice if you love Modest as much as I do, pick up this album. I'm sure you will love it.
Modest Mouse - Satellite Skin
on David Letterman..
I can't explain it really, but something about seeing Isaac playing alone in the beginning, and playing so well BY HIMSELF just gives me chills. Such a great song by the best band alive right now..
Modest Mouse - I've Got It All (Most)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
We don't ever call them sports `nuts,' around here," says ESPN President and CEO Steve Bornstein, taking mock umbrage at an interviewer's question. "The correct term is sports 'enthusiasts.'"
Whatever the nomenclature, there are enough of that red-blooded bunch to have made ESPN an icon of popular culture: Syndicated columnist George Will is reported to have said that if all of his cable channels were taken away except ESPN, he probably wouldn't notice. So many, in fact, that the network last year kicked off a second affiliate, ESPN2, a service that caters to younger viewers those aged 18-34.
While Bristol, CT-based ESPN updates scores in traditional fashion, via on-screen "windows" during broadcasts, Deuce" as the second network is called some viewers last year featured "Jock- and-Roll" scores set to rock music. ESPN has dour faced balding college basketball maven Dick Vitale. ESPN2 has former MTV personality as 'Downtown" Julie Brown, who has been known to patrol locker rooms asking players how they keep their buns in shape. But perhaps most important while the staples of ESPN remain flagship sports such baseball and foot ball, ESPN2features rough-and-tumble pro hockey, along with "extreme" .sports, such as snowboarding, sky surfing, skateboarding, and beach volleyball.
"All of the sports that I can't do," says Bornstein, 42, a bespectacled, youthful-looking man with just a hint of a paunch.
If Bornstein can pinch an inch these days, it's partly because he's a couch potato to by corporate conscription: He spends much of his time evaluating his product, an associate says. Given the network's rapid expansion over the past several years there's- lots more to follow. While ESPN Radio is affiliated with 275 stations, ESPN International broadcasts in 120 countries. All told, Bornstein says, the network covers 65 sports in 11 languages, transmitting 4,500 hours of original programming each year, excluding ESPN2.
ESPN-which is 80 percent owned by ABC/Capital Cities, with the remainder held by The Hearst Corp.-is the largest cable network in the
Bornstein, also a corporate vice president with Cap Cities/ABC, acknowledges that the network is well positioned to take advantage of a number of trends, including the information explosion and the increasing importance of entertainment-driven businesses in the national economy. ESPN increasingly is a news-gathering operation: Bornstein recently expanded "SportsCenter," the network's prime-time anchor program, from 30 to 60 minutes.
"When many people today say they watch 'the news,"' writes sports columnist Frederick C. Klein in The Wall Street Journal, "they mean they tune into SportsCenter.
In addition, the network's documentaries on such topics as steroid use and autograph fraud remain an industry standard. To boot, Bornstein is accelerating on the information superhighway: Under a joint venture with Prodigy Network an online information and entertainment service-ESPN offers a sports information data base, ESPNET. The network also makes instructional sports CDROMs, and video games under a joint venture with Sony Corp.
Of course, Bornstein-a former TV cameraman and crew chief before signing on at ESPN in 1980 – faces his share of challenges. Madison Avenue has been slow to board the Deuce bandwagon, he says, though the new network should hit the black "somewhat faster" than the six years it took the original ESPN. Cable industry re-regulation-including the entrance of the Baby Bells into the business-threatens to roil the distribution mix, and channel capacity issues cloud the prospects for expansion. Then there's the increasing cost of carrying such marquee sports as baseball and football. ESPN reportedly lost $50 million a year on its last Major League Baseball contract, over four years, a factor that caused it to cut back from five games a week to three when it renewed its option in 1993 for six more years.
In addition, Bornstein says, competition is stiffening from both network television and national cable networks such as TNT, HBO, and
A master of one liners-"We don't want to be roadkill on the information superhighway," Bornstein says-the executive is curt almost to the point of being confrontational. "I do [have an opinion on re-regulation]," he says, "but I'm not going to talk to you about it," Meanwhile, he also has a fondness for collecting pithy sayings in the form of framed calligraphy, hung on his office walls: "No Guts, No Glory," and "Kill The Ones We Eat, Eat The Ones We Kill." A commemorative World Cup soccer ball rests on a coffee table, and a clutch of Emmy awards sits on the windowsills. Also on the wall is a motorcycle helmet: Off hours, Bornstein says in a conversation with CE Managing Editor Joseph L. McCarthy, he rides the back roads near his
"As you get older," Bornstein says, 'you get bigger toys." Then, turning playful, he drops the CEO persona. "What kind of toys do you have?"
Has television sports reached the saturation point?
Possibly, at least as it's currently distributed through broadbased broadcast or cable networks. But you'll continue to see the selection of sporting events increase.
Thus the decision to launch ESPN2, a network that specializes in bungee jumping, sky surfing, and beach volleyball.
All the sports that I can't do. Generation X sports; what you see the kids doing when you go down to the beach.
What are the early returns?
Demographically, it's way ahead of our projections. But its franchise cornerstone program, SportsNight, akin to SportsCenter on ESPN, needs to be refined. That will help to separate our two services in the marketplace. Advertising revenues for ESPN2 are slow but on target.
Any concern with the new network that there are fewer members of "Generation X" than there were baby boomers? And that, as a result, there are fewer sports nuts out there?
We don't ever call them sports "nuts" [laughs]. The correct expression is sports "enthusiasts."
To answer your question, despite the size of the respective groups, an interesting phenomenon is taking place. The percentage of the younger group that participates in some of the newer sports is larger. Mountain bike racing. Skateboarding. And demographically, in the eyes of many advertisers, the young consumer is a desirable target.
Though it's not a younger people's sport, auto racing, covered by ESPN and ESPN2, continues to enjoy almost exponential growth. So, we anticipate there'll be no shortage of viewers.
How much cannibalization has occurred with the second channel?
Shockingly, very little, though we're talking about a small universe at this point: ESPN2 reaches only 15 million homes, mostly new viewers. We expect the trend to decay, however, and that some cannibalization will result. That's where the differentiation challenge comes in.
Any difference in advertising content?
We're seeing more new-release movie ads on ESPN2. Some soft drink manufacturers do both channels, though ESPN seems to get Diet Coke, while ESPN2 gets Classic Coke and Pepsi, along with Mountain Dew.
Says something about the caloric intakes of the two viewing groups, doesn't it?
Yeah [laughs].
You say televised sports might be reaching the saturation point. Does that mean a decrease in competition or competitors?
Every time I think that the rights payments for major sporting events might be reaching the peak, somebody like Rupert Murdoch comes along and bids an outrageous amount for the rights to National Football League games.
I think it's unlikely that any new 24-hour network would be successful right now. But there are promising niche opportunities. Within a couple of years, when regulatory issues over rates and distribution are resolved, channel capacity will expand, and we might consider the launch of a motor sports and a sports news network.
What are you doing to keep the original network fresh?
We continue to explore new concepts: I think the success of the World Cup soccer championship on ESPN and ABC is a prime example of that. And we continue to search out the next America's Cup, the yacht race many people point to as the moment when ESPN delivered on the promise that we were going to give you unique, original programming.
Analysts talk about the "entertainment economy." Is there such an animal?
There appears to be. We're increasingly becoming a service economy, and the entertainment dollar is becoming a bigger and bigger portion of our budget.
How will you take advantage of entertainment trends?
Primarily through brand extensions. Not so much in products: We're solicited on a regular basis to slap our name on everything from health clubs to sporting equipment, but I don't see ESPN sunglasses or sweat socks as a logical business. But we are going to continue to launch new networks and franchises. This year we started ESPNET, a data base news service that is a joint venture with the Prodigy Network, which is a partnership between IBM and Sears.
Computer sports?
Online. We package information and provide access to it: scores, box office information, electronic bulletin boards, and someday customized video, when the system is able to handle it.
Smells like multimedia to me.
We're experimenting where we think it makes the most sense. Multimedia is important. We certainly don't want to be roadkill, or a driveby shooting victim, on the information superhighway.
Right now, computer users are more interactive than television viewers, though, of course, that might change. In terms of sports, at least in the short term, interactive TV probably will be confined to customized graphics: say, for example, a viewer's ability to call up a hitter's lifetime statistics versus a certain pitcher.
Will ESPN2 be the first to carry virtual-reality beach volleyball?
I certainly hope so.
Does television have the power to make or break a sport by creating a media event, much the way a fashion designer molds taste?
Television can play a part in stimulating interest, depending on how a sport is presented. In the recent soccer World Cup, for example, ESPN focused partly on personalities: Who are they? Guess what: They're bigger than rock stars in most of the world. We also explained the nuances of soccer, a game most Americans haven't grown up with. But this approach was successful only in getting viewers to sample the product. Once you sample it, then you either like it or you don't. In terms of manufactured demand, I don't think so. Look at the now-defunct North American Soccer League. It had contracts with CBS and ABC, and it failed anyway.
So you don't see tractor pulls for the mass market anytime soon?
I-Icy, don't knock tractor pulls. They may not he big in
Enough with sports as games-let's talk sports as business. As we speak, the owners of baseball franchises are crying poverty, while the players, referring to free agency, say, "Give me liberty or give me death." What's your take, and how does it affect the broadcast business?
I have no problem with multimillion-dollar ballplayers, per se, they're attracting interest and helping to create the product. Even so, in the end, the consumer winds up paying. And in the long run, that doesn't help to build a fan base and replenish the supply of consumers. The smartest leagues and franchises take a hard look at some kind of a partnership arrangement.
With salary-cap arrangements, revenue-sharing, and the like?
I'm no expert on whether the ideal mechanism is a cap. But it makes sense to have peace between labor and management so you can grow your sport. For ESPN, meanwhile, this cuts two ways. Successful, highly paid players create interest in our broadcast/telecast package, but they also mean, among other things, that we pay more for that package.
Is pay-per-view either a panacea or a way to sustain both continued salary growth for players and higher revenues for owners?
The short answer is no. Very few franchises sell out every seat they have. If they can't get you to go to the game, how is the answer charging you in your home? Ultimately, I think pay-per-view undermines fan support. And I don't see any of the major sports franchises going in that direction.
I think pay-per-view ultimately is a very small business. But there are some attractive aspects to it. Consumers gain choice-that's always a positive. And if you're a Lehigh graduate, you may really be able to get all those Lehigh football games [laughs].
Let's talk about the international side of the business.
Sports is an international language. And it's a product that exports well.
What's the biggest problem operating offshore?
Protectionism, same as for any business. We're lucky, because sports is perceived to be apolitical, but sometimes we're painted with the same brush as other news and entertainment operations.
What are the most important regulatory issues confronting ESPN?
The industry is being re-regulated, and there are a lot of unknowns in terms of distribution. What's the future of personal communication networks? Will there be 75 channels or 500? When will the phone companies make a mark in the cable business? Will there be two wires running into everyone's home, or one wire? Will consumers be able to choose?
Any technological developments that will revolutionize the industry, the next satellite dish or fiber-optic cable?
Every day we read about new advancements and the potential for telecommunications. If you really want to talk technology, let's talk sporting goods. There's a quantum leap between a skateboard today and a skateboard 25 years ago. Racing bicycles are made with space-age titanium alloys.
ESPN2 is about participatory sports. So equipment technology is what's really driving our business.


text:
As the losses piled up and the losing streak hit double digits, redshirt junior Jermaine Marshall hit his breaking point. Marshall and redshirt sophomore D.J. Newbill carried the team all season and that also meant they were the two pulled into the media room after nearly every game where they were peppered with questions about where it went awry.
They players' disappointment came through during those interviews where they insisted their team was better than it played and they said they still had a lot of fight left. It could've been the company line coming through, but behind closed doors Marshall, like many of his teammates, was tired of losing.
"At some point you just get tired of the record being a reflection of our team," Marshall said. "I kind of took that personal and I knew we were a lot better than what we were showing."
That point came before the Lions' upset of then No. 4 Michigan on Feb. 27. In a team meeting with the Lions' fate already seemingly sealed with then 14 consecutive conference losses, like a leader does Marshall spoke to his teammates and said they all had to find a way to change.
"We just talked about it and just said we've got to go out with some type of bang," Marshall recalled before Tuesday's practice. "We don't want to really reflect on how we started but we can end great so that's what we're trying to do."
The Lions made their mark with the win against Michigan and a week later beat Northwestern on the road, securing the team's first Big Ten road victory during Patrick Chambers' second year as head coach. They played with Wisconsin all the way to the buzzer, giving the Lions some optimism heading into the start of Thursday's Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
The 12th-seeded Lions (10-20, 2-16 Big Ten) play No. 6-ranked Michigan (25-6, 12-6 Big Ten) for the third time in three and a half weeks Thursday at 2:30 p.m. If Penn State has another upset in them, it would set up a rematch with Wisconsin on Friday.
If the Lions are going to have a shot at the upset they're going to need Marshall to continue his red-hot ways. The former Red Land standout has scored 20-plus points in three of the last five games and is shooting 48.6 percent (17-35) from beyond the arc during that span. He's been nearly everywhere Penn State's needed him to be and it'll have to be more of the same in the tournament.
"He's playing great basketball. He really is," Chambers said. "He's doing some good things. He's shooting the ball, he's playing with confidence. He's become the leader that we hoped all season long he would be."
His leadership role is where Marshall said he's matured most this season. Coming into this year he said he was used to "playing in the background" where former teammates like Talor Battle, Jeff Brooks and David Jackson used to take the pressure off of him. It's been the Marshall and Newbill show this year with both players carrying the team in Tim Frazier's absence and it resulted in the two being named All Big-Ten honorable mention honorees.
"Jermaine is always going to be my wingman," Newbill said. "In any situation I know he's going to come out and play as hard as he can and give it his all. He's been a great leader. I think him getting better as a leader and as a player helped us pick up our basketball. A lot of guys see him, they follow behind him and it impacts our whole team."
It was Marshall who told his teammates toward the end of the season to throw caution to the wind because they have nothing to lose. Why not play looser, keep hustling and see what happens?
"Before the games he's always in the huddle talking about, 'Man, do it for each other. We don't have anything to lose,' " Newbill said. "And he's been showing it. He embraced attitude."
Newbill said Marshall's attitude points, which are the record of practice hustle statistics Chambers keeps track of, have "increased tremendously" during the past 10 games. Sometimes Chambers breaks out the heart-rate monitors to see who is giving it their all at practice and makes lineup decisions based off of that. It's all part of being in the attitude club, something Marshall has grown to love.
"Guys see that and they just follow behind him," Newbill said. "I'm following too."


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Firefox's mobile browser, Fennec, is available in "milestone" (read: very alpha) downloads for HTC Touch Pro phones, but also most any Windows Mobile phone running at VGA (480×640). Early reports say it's working, if slow. As the Mozilla team itself notes, this release has plug-ins disabled, features no soft keyboard input, doesn't allow for program or add-on updating, and a few other "punts" made to get a working release out. Still, if you want to test out Fennec's unique navigation and mobile browsing helpers and you've got a Windows Mobile phone, it could be worth a try—even if web site loading is not exactly snappy at this point. Fennec is a free download, built for the HTC Touch Pro but capable of running on Windows Mobile phones. A direct CAB link can be found right under the "Installation" heading in the link below. Fennec Milestone Release for Windows Mobile [Brad's Blog (Mozilla) via Gizmodo]


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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa is getting some rave reviews.
In the past few weeks, the Birmingham resort has gotten international recognition. Honors include:
Travel + Leisure's Top 500 Hotels in the world in the January 2012 issue, the only Alabama destination on the list
AAA Four-Diamond Award
Golf Digest "75 Best Golf Resorts in North America" in November 2011
Renaissance Ross Bridge is owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama.


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The free flow of money is fundamental to our capitalist system and the entrepreneurial spirit that defines America. Investors vote with their wallets and the best ideas prevail. However, this only works when the government does not inject itself into otherwise private matters.
It's not easy for anyone to be the head of either the Republican or Democratic national committee when your party is out of power at all levels in Washington. For Michael Steele, it's always been a bumpy ride.
Steele was battling a buzz saw last week after some less than enthusiastic comments about the war in Afghanistan, a war that conservative Republicans are required to support.
That's what this year's Big Island Post 217 entrant in American Legion baseball is: flat-out loaded.
Rome was not built in a day.
In fact, it was quite a lengthy process to build that city.
World Cup enthusiasm rolls on. It continues in this country, unaffected by our team's ouster by those pesky Ghanaians (Ghanians? Ghananians?).
Robin Reed has loved history since he was a boy traveling around the East Coast with his family visiting every historical site they could find. The fact that his chosen profession deals with telling the stories of history comes as no surprise.
"To make it a profession is one of the great joys of my life," states Reed, the newly selected president of the National D-Day Foundation. "I'm an avid living history historian."
Like many organizations that help people going through tough times, the Bedford Christmas Station is facing the double challenge of a drop in donations and an increase in need.
Fifteen area law enforcement personnel were honored during the seventh annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day Awards ceremony held last Wednesday. The goal of the event is to recognize those who have promoted safety for domestic violence victims and their children along with holding the batterers accountable for their actions.
Central Virginia Area Agency on Aging (CVAAA) is celebrating 35 years of helping elderly people stay home longer.
Rubatex has, for the second time in 10 years, ceased operating.
The company was once a major fixture of Bedford's industrial landscape, employing 1,200 people. It was just a shadow of its former self when it closed its doors for a short period in 2004. It reopened after being purchased by SEDO Chemical, a German manufacturer, later that year. The company was later purchased by Dominik Menakker, a German national. He became sole owner of Rubatex on January 1, 2008. At its most recent peak it employed about 60 people.
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"They're waiting forever," she said, calling it horrible. "They need to get back in their homes."
Ms. Anzel, a South Shore resident for 28 years, said folks have already sat around for more than three months.
"Nothing is done yet," she noted.
For many, Sandy is still a raw, fresh wound. If you've helped victims of the hurricane in some way, let us know. Email firstname.lastname@example.com. Please type "Soap Box" in the subject line and feel free to attach a picture.


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Dozens of student-athletes could find themselves without a fall sport on which to play on next year since the Southern Cayuga Central School District voted on Monday to sack its merged sports program with Union Springs schools at the end of the year.
The Southern Cayuga board of education made the decision largely because it lacks enough students to participate on all the teams that are offered, Superintendent Mary Kay Worth said today.
"As our enrollment continues to decline we've had a very difficult time in fielding the teams,'' said Worth, who added money concerns also contributed to the decision.
Union Springs officials, who said they were unaware the vote was scheduled until just before Monday's meeting, reacted with disappointment.
"I just feel badly for the kids who are on the merged sports teams … and I'm concerned about the sports that we'll be able to provide in the future, Union Springs Athletic Coordinator Todd Salls said.
The two neighboring districts started the merger some 12 years ago so that their schools could offer more athletic teams and share program costs, according to Union Springs Superintendent Linda Rice.
The districts fielded combined football, field hockey, cross-country, boys and girls swimming and wrestling through the merger, Rice said. Some of the teams were at the modified level too.
More students in Union Springs could be affected by the decision than in Southern Cayuga. Some 70 Union Springs students played on the falls sports teams and an additional 15 are participating in boys swimming and wrestling, Rice said.
Union Springs has yet to decide on what sports it will offer next year but Rice and Salls both said it would be difficult to continue with all the teams that were offered -- especially football -- because of costs and shrinking enrollment.
"Football would be a challenge,'' Rice said.
Southern Cayuga has already decided to scrap football and field hockey next fall, Worth said. About 15 students participated in those programs last year, she added. Her district plans to offer boys and girls soccer, cross-country, girls volleyball, baseball, softball, track and field, and possibly boys and girls swimming next year.
Rice said she was disappointed in Southern Cayuga's decision. She had hoped the districts could strike a compromise to keep the merger going.
Worth said the decision was not easy for her district to make and only came after months of discussions.
"This was not something we came to easily….It really was about what is the right amount of opportunities to offer kids in a district our size,'' Worth added.
Scott Rapp can be contacted at email@example.com or 289-4839


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Charles, Kathy E and Egan, Vincent (2009) Sensational interests are not a simple predictor of adolescent offending: evidence from a large normal British sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 47 (4). pp. 235-240. ISSN 0191 8869Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.03.005
|Item Type:
|Print ISSN:
|0191 8869
|Uncontrolled Keywords:
|Military interests; Gothic interests; Offending; Intrasexual competition; Psychopathology;
|University Divisions/Research Centres:
|Faculty of Health, Life & Social Sciences > School of Health and Social Sciences
|Dewey Decimal Subjects:
|300 Social sciences > 360 Social problems & social services > 364 Criminology
|Library of Congress Subjects:
|H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
|Item ID:
|Depositing User:
|Dr Kathy Charles
|Date Deposited:
|26 Jun 2012 09:15
|Last Modified:
|26 Jun 2012 09:15
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Hi. I think I'm in for real now after a few false starts. The thing is, I am so very attracted to food that is bad for me that I've had to have a few "last suppers" the last few weeks which turned into "last weekends" filled with fast food, doughnuts, things that I would "never have again so I needed to enjoy today for the last time" *sigh*. If it wasn't such a pattern in my life that has kept me slightly overweight and going back and forth in a weight range I've been unhappy about for years, then it would be funny.
So I've hit a weight that is just unacceptable to me and I haven't been at this weight for a long time (like for two years) and now suddenly I've been at it many times in the last month, which means it's for real, it's not just water weight. I am 5'2" and weigh 143. I've been bouncing between 140 and 146 for the last six weeks. Before the holidays, I was mostly in a 137-139 range. So my weight has jumped up and I know I have myself to blame.
I have to get serious about this, I have to just take the plunge and do it, no more talk and then backtracking three days later. In order to do so, must acknowledge my weaknesses:
Things I will possibly miss forever and will be a challenge to give up for awhile at least:
1. cupcakes with buttercream frosting
2. fresh doughnuts
3. enchiladas
4. rice
5. naan bread
6. rice-lentils cooked with Middle Eastern spices and topped with fried onions
7. McDonald's french fries and coke and fish filet sandwich
8. Take out Chinese food (the bad stuff, not the steamed vegetable option)
9. Pizza
10. Chips and salsa
11. Margaritas and other non-wine alcoholic beverages
Also, my parents invite me over a lot for dinner and they aren't on the same wavelength, so I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle that bit yet.
I frequent another forum that focuses on calorie counting. Every single day in the forums there are posts like, "I exercise 6 days a week for an hour of intense cardio, I eat 1200 calories, I never drink alcohol or eat junk, and I haven't lost a pound." After reading so many of these, I started to feel that something just wasn't right. I mean, given the person isn't lying (seems like a waste of time to lie on a forum where nobody knows you, but who knows, lol) or making huge errors in calorie counting calculations, something just isn't right. According to CW, you eat less, you exercise more, you lose weight. So why aren't all those people losing? I couldn't tell you for sure, but what it really meant for me is that the usual calories in, calories out formula does not seem to necessarily work for some or maybe most people. I have lost weight before by counting calories, but I found it tedious and the minute I stopped paying attention for a week, five weeks of hard work was down the toilet.
Having experienced low carb in the past and knowing how it made me feel, I know getting rid of unnecessary carbs (non-vegetable-and-fruit carbs) was critical for me to lose weight and feel better in general.
I'm also interested in getting off some hormonal medication, but I don't think I can risk it until I get my diet under control and take it seriously.
So, day 1 so far:
Weighed in: 144.4
I went for a walk for 2.6 miles at a brisk pace (it was so cold or I would have walked longer). I did a modified version of Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred (I left off the ab exercises because I am also doing Pilates which is heavy-duty ab and I took some breaks while doing the strength because I'm not in shape at all as far as lifting) I also did a plank. The 30-day shred already includes push ups and squats.
I ate at 10:30 a.m. I had chicken wings I made with chicken wings, hot sauce mixed with butter. I just ate until my hunger was satisfied.
Breakfast: none
Lunch: (early): 4 chicken wings with hot sauce/butter, 1 square very dark chocolate, pinch of cashews
Dinner: ?
Yes, I realize that the nuts and chocolate are not hardcore Primal, but I need to ease into this with some treats or I might give up too soon.


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September 13, 2010 - Ray Hall (Archive)
When we talk about Welfare Queens we really ought to know what we're talking about.
A few years ago Time magazine did a story that began as follows:
How would you like to pay only a quarter of the real estate taxes you owe on your home? And buy everything for the next 10 years without spending a single penny in sales tax? Keep a chunk of your paycheck free of income taxes? Have the city in which you live lend you money at rates cheaper than any bank charges? Then have the same city install free water and sewer lines to your house, offer you a perpetual discount on utility bills--and top it all off by landscaping your front yard at no charge?
Fat chance. You can't get any of that, of course. But if you live almost anywhere in America, all around you are taxpayers getting deals like this. These taxpayers are called corporations, and their deals are usually trumpeted as "economic development" or "public-private partnerships." But a better name is corporate welfare. It's a game in which governments large and small subsidize corporations large and small, usually at the expense of another state or town and almost always at the expense of individual and other corporate taxpayers.
Politicians like to spout off about some woman bilking the government out of a few dollars worth of food stamps. There is even a lot of hubbub locally whenever a person, usually a woman, is arrested for selling food stamps or for some other form of welfare fraud.
Ronald Reagan was notorious for telling the story of a woman, on welfare driving a Cadillac and collecting food stamps. When challenged by House Speaker Tip O'Neill to have the FBI investigate the case the President acknowledged the story was fiction. But it is a story that many Americans like to believe.
How many times has the story been told about a woman too lazy to work staying at home and having one child after another just to get more welfare money. I'm sorry but welfare does not work that way—not even in New York—prove me wrong if you can.
More money is spent by taxpayers on corporate welfare each year—many times more—than in all the social safety net programs. At the same time politicians like to crow about subsidizing a company to create jobs and promote research and development. That would be good if that were true—corporate welfare increases companies profits.
Studies show that 24 million jobs were created prior to 1975, however, in the 80's when corporate welfare was soaring to dizzying heights only 18 million jobs were created and private investment showed a corresponding decrease. Actual wages have been on a steady decline ever since and wages for corporate officers has risen more than 400 times that of a typical worker.
Yet, it remains easier for us to focus our attention and our vitriol on the woman selling food stamps than it is to accuse the world's largest and most successful corporations from taking billions in handouts from the taxpayers.
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PATERSON — A plea deal rejected by a Sussex County judge in June is back on the table for a Morris County Sheriff's officer accused of flashing his badge at a state trooper to avoid drug charges, among other offenses.
Jason Campbell, 35, made his first appearance today in Superior Court in Paterson, where his case was transferred this summer after Superior Court Judge Edward Gannon in Newton refused to accept a plea deal negotiated with Morris County prosecutors, claiming his "judicial integrity" was at stake.
During today's hearing, Morris County prosecutors joined Campbell's defense attorney in announcing that they are sticking to the same agreement for Campbell, who is accused in three separate indictments of arson, official misconduct , possession of oxycodone and child neglect.
Campbell is accused of flashing his badge at a state trooper in March 2012 after he and his wife Jennifer were pulled over in their pickup truck on Route 287 in Hanover. The trooper found three tablets of the prescription painkiller oxycodone in the truck, court records show.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Reddin in Paterson delayed a decision on whether to accept the plea deal, saying he had not had enough time "to study the file in the detail I would like."
Both sides are expected back in court Oct.17.
"I don't know what I'm going to do in this case," Reddin said. "It s a clean slate for me."
Under the agreement, Campbell would plead guilty to official misconduct, drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs. He would be sentenced to five years in prison with no parole eligibility, followed by five years of parole.
The arson and child neglect cases would be dismissed.
In rejecting the plea deal in June, Gannon criticized prosecutors for giving up on an arson case against a volunteer firefighter. Campbell was an assistant fire chief in Parsippany.
Soon after, Morris-Sussex Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck removed Gannon from the case and transferred it to Passaic County.
At the time he was stopped by the state trooper in 2012, Campbell was under suspension for having set two fires in Parsippany – one in 2008, the other in 2010. In one of those cases he was alleged to have been assisted by a youth he was supervising, according to authorities.
Campbell had turned in two sheriff's badges after his suspension but secretly kept a third, which he showed to the trooper, according to court testimony.
In June 2013, Campbell was set to plead guilty to second-degree official misconduct, third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance and driving under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance. He also agreed to quit his $70,000-a-year job job with the Morris County Sheriff's office.
But Gannon rejected the plea deal, saying it "makes no sense."
"Ultimately, the public will not accept it," Gannon said. "I'm not going to be part of it. I need to maintain my judicial integrity."
Specifically, Gannon was upset Morris County prosecutors had dropped from the plea deal arson charges for Campbell's role in the two Parsippany fires.
Gannon recently wrote a letter to a Passaic County judge claiming that "political influences" prompted Weisenbeck to take him off Campbell's case.
Gannon said Weisenbeck removed him because of comments attributed to him in published reports.
"He did not have possession of the transcript and relied upon the newspapers," his letter said. "I told him (Weisenbeck) how ridiculous this was and that it appeared to violate the court rules as well as being retaliatory."
After being told that the plea bargain proposal made today was essentially the same one he rejected, an angry Gannon accused Assistant Prosecutor Brian DiGiacomo and defense attorney Jeffrey Patti of "judge-shopping."
"Ultimately, the proper disposition of this case still fails to answer the question why judicial independence was tampered with in this case and why the judiciary permitted judge-shopping," said Gannon.
Gannon also had strong words for Weisenbeck, the assignment judge.
"Ultimately, Judge Reddin will do what he thinks is right, but I am firmly convinced my legal position is correct. The powers of the assignment judge does not give him the power to interfere with a sitting judge," he said.
In his letter to Judge Greta Gooden-Brown, a Passaic judge, Gannon requested an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office.
Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the office, confirmed that his office received a letter from Gannon concerning his removal from the case but declined further comment.
Staff writer Joe Moszczynski contributed to this report.
RELATED COVERAGE• Sussex judge removed from sheriff's officer case lashes out at judicial system in letter
• Judge rejects, condemns plea deal offered to Morris sheriff's officer


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hello all!
I tryed to install the latest version of maya on my recently installed debian based os (ubuntu 5.04) but I was unsuccessful. (I got rpms converted to .deb format, and installed but I get the return error: (** Error: line 1: line 1: Cannot find procedure "getFileSequenceFormats".) so I assume directories aren't linked right.
I'm sorry to bother you guys with this really newbie-like post, but could someone please explain the steps needed to get maya installed properly?
thanks a lot in advance
i have installed Maya 7.0 from rpms this way:


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The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are one of the most important education initiatives of our time. While historically each state had its own academic standards, which varied widely in quality, under the Common Core students in the 45 adopting states (plus the District of Columbia, four territories and the Department of Defense Education Activity) will be held to the same internationally-benchmarked educational standards.
These standards were developed with input from educators and other experts in math and English/Language Arts, and educators continue to support them. A recent survey from the National Education Association showed more than 75% of their members (teachers, administrators, support staff and other education professionals) support the standards either wholeheartedly or with some reservations, tracking closely with results from an earlier American Federation of Teachers' poll finding that 75% of teachers surveyed support the Common Core. Even more recently, a preview of the 2013 Primary Sources project highlighting 20,000 teachers' thoughts on the Common Core shows that overall, 73% those who teach math, English language arts (ELA), science and/or social studies in Common Core states are enthusiastic about the implementation of the standards in their classrooms.
But the general public is another story. The 2013 PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools found that prior to taking the poll, only 38% of respondents had heard of the CCSS. Of those who had, just 41% said the standards will make U.S. education more competitive globally, and significant percentages believe misinformation about them. And rhetoric in states that are revisiting involvement in the initiative indicates widespread concern that the standards are a federal intrusion into education (though development was led by state governors and education commissioners), as well as concerns about the impact on student privacy.
For the Common Core to succeed, it needs the support of the public. That support is critical for a number of reasons, but one very pragmatic one stands out: Without the support of the public, state legislatures might not appropriately fund Common Core implementation, and governors and state boards of education might pull back from the high standards, to the detriment of students. So in addition to implementing the standards, educators must build public support for them.
Ideas to build support among parents:
Ideas to raise awareness in the community:
While education leaders face a daunting challenge in Common Core implementation, with responsibilities ranging from developing staff to obtaining the technology necessary to implement the forthcoming CCSS assessments, they cannot overlook the importance of building community support for this work. Without it, they will not succeed.
A version of this post appeared on the Microsoft Partners in Learning Leadership and Strategic Innovation blog. Views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the endorsement of the Learning First Alliance or any of its members.
Image by Basil D Soufi (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Click here to browse dozens of Public School Insights interviews with extraordinary education advocates, including:
The views expressed in this website's interviews do not necessarily represent those of the Learning First Alliance or its members.
Keeping It Real: Preparing Students for College and Career
A Toledo public school is helping students see an immediate connection between their school work and their career interests. Learn more...
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Please direct media inquiries to Kevin Hamilton, Vice President for Communications, or 603.543.1700, ext. 1185. To get you started, here's some basic information on SCA, its mission and its members.
Media Kit
News Releases
SCA Alumna Named Top Graduate in UMaine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
"Summer internships are the most important thing," Woods says. "They gave me opportunities to experience natural resource management from the species level to the human waste and large ecosystem levels."Read more
Key deer get a hand with federally funded study
By Phil KloerRead more
SCA Partners with ARAMARK on Earth Day Service Projects Nationwide
The Student Conservation Association (SCA), a national leader in youth service and stewardship, has announced a partnership with ARAMARK, a world leader in professional services.Read more
SCA Takes Off with Southwest Airlines
Charleston, NH (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 8, 2010 — Today, the Student Conservation Association (SCA), a national leader in youth service and stewardship, named Southwest Airlines its "Official Airline."Read more
Conservation jobs offer varied experiences and opportunities
By Gerry RisingRead more
Botanists At Grand Canyon National Park Working to Bring Plant Back from the Brink
Read more
CBS Cites SCA as one of the Best Ways to Get a Summer Internship
"One way to use the web for an internship search is to hone in on the most targeted Web sites for the field you hope to pursue.Read more
Alternative Spring Break at the Grand CanyonRead more
Spring Break Students to Give Grand Canyon a "Green-Lift"
Volunteers to Restore Former Parking Lot by Planting Thousands of FloraRead more
SCA Interns decide career paths
Read more


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In late October, faculty and staff from MIT joined leaders from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and partnering institutions in Moscow, Russia, to reflect on one year of collaborative activities. Skoltech, as the university is known, was also celebrating its first anniversary.
The university was founded in October 2011 as a private graduate research university, aiming to catalyze research, teaching, and innovation around pressing global issues. A pillar of Moscow's Skolkovo innovation district, Skoltech focuses on biomedicine, energy, IT, nuclear science, and space, with a cross-cutting emphasis on entrepreneurship.
In his remarks to the gathered community, Skoltech president Edward F. Crawley thanked attendees for their commitment and hard work. He pointed to a series of milestones that had been achieved over the course of twelve months, ranging from early research capacity to community building, underlining the matriculation of the first class and the selection of the first 10 faculty members.
Crawley highlighted the institute's global ties as one piece of Skoltech's vision for connecting Russia with international innovation. The pilot student cohort, and several faculty, are embedded at leading institutions around the world as part of what Crawley calls "a globally distributed campus." The first course on innovation was also piloted remotely, taking place on MIT's campus in August.
Reach the full story globalMIT.


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A loss of Giant proportions
Too much heat and too many turnovers proved to be the downfall of Bainbridge, as the Spartans two-year in-state winning streak came to an end Saturday.
SEATTLE CENTER The expectations were there for the Bainbridge boys lacrosse team to fulfill.
They wanted to continue its two-year in-state winning streak, take home a second straight championship and put the cap on two years of success.
But just like Super Bowl 42 four months ago, the Issaquah Eagles played the New York Giants to Bainbridges New England Patriots, coming back from a three goal deficit to take down the Spartans 11-8 Saturday at Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center and win its first-ever state lacrosse title in school history.
Issaquah head coach Brandon Fortier said he had mixed emotions about the win.
I love the fact that we beat the best and they are the best no doubt, he said. Over the last 20 years, theyre the best program in the state.
I like a lot of those kids on the team and I know them pretty well, Fortier continued. (Bainbridge co-head coach) Dejon (Hush) is one of my best friends, so its bittersweet in that department.
But to win a championship over the best is the way to do it.
Its the first time Bainbridge has lost a game in the state of Washington since Mercer Island beat them 8-7 in a state semifinal game at home in May 2006.
I think the heat got to us, senior co-captain Jordan Foster said afterward. Maybe some people were nervous the offense wasnt producing like it has the whole season.
I guess we all looked kinda tired out on the field, he continued.
But Hush felt the heat wasnt the problem.
We had too many unforced turnovers, he said. We werent able to capitalize when we had opportunities.
They showed theyre a good team and by letting them hang around, that gave them confidence, Hush continued. Giving a team like that confidence is a tough one.
With the 85-degree heat baking the turf and making things incredibly hot for both teams, Issaquah got on the board first with a score from All-American Travis Wright.
But Bainbridge countered with a goal from Sam Snow after Foster won the face off and quickly dumped it down to him as Snow fought past two defenders for the score.
Wright put another one past the cage at the 10:19 mark, but Zach Ingrasci scored two straight goals to put Bainbridge on top.
The first came when Snow kept Issaquah goalie Nick Yaap from clearing the ball, eventually allowing Ingrasci to easily dump one in.
The second came when Ingrasci took a shot from 10 yards out.
After a tripping penalty by the Eagles Jake Director put them a man down, Snow got a feed from Garrett Lund and raced right down the middle to put one in.
After Kevin Nguyen fired a rocket past the Issaquah defense and its goalie Nick Yaap to open the second quarter, it looked like the Spartans would get on one of its patented scoring runs.
Instead a mental error on defense left an Eagle player uncovered, putting Bainbridge on its heels and allowing Director to score off an assist from Evan Greenhall.
That was all the scoring for the rest of the quarter as the Spartans began having trouble completing passes to its cutters as they went to the goal.
When they did, Yaap did his best to block, deflect and turn away shots.
He had 12 saves on the day.
Fortier said he made the switch from former starter Dan Bressler to Yaap, who plays at the attack position, a few games ago to try and make a difference.
He did a great job in the net, he said. I feel bad for our other kid he did a great job this season, too but Nick was just a little more confident in clearing out the ball and he made some big saves.
Hush said he was impressed with Yaaps play as well.
Hes a lacrosse player, he said. Hes a great team player for doing whatever Coach (Fortier) needs him to do.
He made some big saves and that just catapulted their team into playing that much harder for a kid that would do that for them.
The Eagles had its chances to score as they kept control on a long possession late in the second.
Despite interceptions by defenders Dayton Gilbreath and Trent Burroughs, Issaquah forced enough ground balls to keep possession and firing shots at goalie Bryce Stevenson.
Bjorn Ostenson opened the third quarter with a score off an assist from Foster but Bainbridge was held scoreless for the rest of the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the Eagles kept working to find shots, eventually breaking through at the 3:35 mark when Joey Henderson scored off an assist from Wright.
Ten seconds later, Michael Pancottine slipped past several Bainbridge defenders and scored again to close the gap to one.
Issaquah kept the pressure up in the fourth quarter, but kept making poor passes and putting shots wide of the cage.
To be quite honest, we didnt play a smart game, Fortier said. We had a lot of poor turnovers and a lot of silly things (happen).
Finally at the 7:13 mark, Wright got his way past the defense from behind the cage and scored as he was going down.
That sparked a 4-0 run as Alex Bates, Henderson and Todd Jones all scored as the Eagles took control on the faceoff time and time again, putting shots past Stevenson as the Eagles faithful went into a frenzy.
Foster, the player usually in for faceoffs, said he banged his knee pretty bad on Wrights stick as he was guarding him, eventually forcing him out for the rest of the game.
I couldnt put any pressure on it, he said.
Jordan wants to play every minute but he couldnt really run out there, Hush said. Its a shame to see him get hurt in the championship game but hes one kid that anybody would want on his team.
Jordan Wagner finally broke the scoring drought when he scored at the 4:31 mark off an assist from Nguyen.
Snow scored a few moments later as they caught Yaap out of the box when he brought the ball up and had it knocked away to close the gap to one.
That was the last goal for Bainbridge.
Wright and Jones scored with Stevenson out of the cage to try and help force turnovers to put the game on ice and bring an end to the Spartans hopes of a second straight title.
Issaquah had lost twice in the championship game in 2005 and 2006 by one goal and lost in the semifinals last season.
I feel like we, collectively, have a little bit better talent (than in years past) and have a little bit better chemistry where guys believe in each other, Fortier said.
The bottom line is our guys believed in each other and never stopped battling.
Foster felt that one loss shouldnt derail what the team has accomplished over time.
I dont think this game should show how we actually play, he said. I dont think this game sums up Bainbridge Island varsity lacrosse as a whole.
But when next year rolls around, the Spartans will be without the services of not only its all-star defense in Gilbreath, Burroughs and Casey Weisner, but Foster, Lund, Evan Wright, Max Olson and Ingrasci are gone as well.
We lose a lot of players that played a lot of minutes for us, Hush said. We got a lot of work (ahead of us) we need a lot of kids to step into leadership roles as well as roles of getting on the field.
Along with the All-American and all-state selections, Ingrasci was selected as an academic All-American.
Bainbridge finished with a record of 20-3.
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Security Studies Program Seminar
Hillary Mann Leverett
STRATEGA (Strategic Energy and Global Analysis)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The focus of the talk is prospects for how U.S.-Iranian relations can change under the new administration. A distinctive feature of the Obama campaign was his endorsement of diplomatic engagement with Iran. In the midst of a campaign, it was courageous.
Now, in Washington, the focus has been on tactical issues, which is short-sighted:
There is a 20 year record of diplomatic engagement with Iran that should guide any new efforts. Between 2001 and 2003, I met with the Iranians on Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and Iraq. To be successful, we have learned you need to deal with all major bilateral issues. Without the right strategic framework, the engagement will fall flat.
The evolution of the American issue specific incremental approach to Iran won't work
Drivers of Iran's national security strategy.
A grand bargain that will work to put the US and Iran on a better trajectory.
Question: There are some similarities with US-China relationship - Ideological opposition in terms of world views, tactical talks with China, Chinese fears of encirclement. US gave up on Taiwan which was very important to China. In return the US got some pressure on the Soviets. It was an asymmetric bargain because the US didn't get a whole lot, but it was a framework for future cooperation. If the stronger party has to make a bolder concession in the first round, what could that be from the US perspective? What is the one thing we could offer to create space?
Answer: Some people worry the US would give up its support for Israel. Reconstruction donors meeting for Gaza excluded Iran. Iran was on the steering committee for Afghanistan meeting. I think we can give Iran a legitimate role in the region. We need to provide security guarantees to Iran. We would be giving up hope of changing the government and legitimating the Islamic government that we have refused to do before. We would be acknowledging and supporting Iran's role in the region.
Question: What was the Washington reason for turning down the Iranians so many times?
Answer: Dennis Ross concept is to have secret talks with the Iranians. Discrete talks are good sometimes. But we want secret talks because the talks are embarrassing in Washington. Pro-Israel groups would be concerned about these talks. But the problem is that whenever these talks are divulged, they are cut off.
Question: What are Israel's feelings about talks with Iran? It seems like Israel should have an interest in this situation improving. How dug in is Iran on being supportive of Hamas and against Israel? At what price can their behavior be changed?
Answer: We have not tried to keep our discussions with Iran secret from the Israelis. Sometimes we have had Israelis participate in informal discussions. These have suggested some possibilities. For example, a regional security mechanism that would not require diplomatic relations might work for both sides. Some Iranians worried about this concept leading to human rights issues getting left behind. Some Israelis see Iran as a boogey man which is irrational. For example: In February 2003, IAEA inspections in Iran, the Israelis did not want the IAEA to go in. They were worried it would validate that there was no overt nuclear program. It seems like some Israelis need to have an external threat. For example, Livny said she is with Netanyahu on the Iranian issue. I do think that Israel should see its interest in a rapprochement between the US and Iran.
Question: Why do people oppose opening an interest section in Tehran?
Answer: Opening an interest section is seen as a concession to Iran. The Bush administration saw it as legitimating the government. Now, the Obama administration is waiting to see how the elections go. The temptation with an interest office will be to deal with human rights issue and democracy funding that will be seen as subversive. The core issues are security and an interest section won't deal with those. In fact, it might make conflict more likely. The 1994 congressional funding of pro-democracy funds are an example of creating a problem between the two countries
Question: How does the grand bargain overcome the power asymmetries that exist between the US and Iran that seem to be at the heart of Iran's concerns about the US?
Answer: A public pledge of a security guarantee would be the major concession. It would give Iran to de-escalate with the US. It's hard for the US to step back from that kind of promise.
Question: Who would we negotiate with?
Answer: Iran made a formal offer to negotiate that we could still formally accept if we wanted to get involved on a grand bargain
Question: Why did the Bush administration oppose some of the tactical level talks?
Answer: When Wolfowitz and other DOD types found out about the negotiations with the Iranians, they were furious for ideological reasons. The President finally agreed to allow limited negotiations in spite of these objections.
Question: Are the Iranians just playing for time?
Answer: The Iranians know that they need a strategic rapprochement with the U.S. for their long-term security.
Rapporteur: Miranda Priebe


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Island oral history project brings generations together
It began as an idea of Islanders taking down their favorite spots on Mercer Island, with three groups of adults coming into Mercer Island Library in 2013 and giving interview clips of Calkins Landing, Luther Burbank Park and the East Society School.
But after that initial round of interviews, Mercer Island Teen Services Librarian Carrie Bowman, who proposed the project, saw the potential for something more. So Bowman connected with Mercer Island High School global studies teacher Mike Radow to see if she could get students to collaborate and interview some of the Island's older residents about their favorite Island spots.
The collaboration, which also included the Mercer Island Historical Society, resulted with twenty-two high school ninth graders interviewing community seniors and selecting their favorite interview snippets to create a virtual tour of Mercer Island. Using their district-issued iPads and posting their clips online, students found there's plenty of history on Mercer Island and you don't have to go too far to find it.
Bowman, who was especially excited to get younger Islanders mingling with older residents, said one of the goals for the project was to document some of their accounts while the people who lived them were still able to tell them.
"Right now, the differences between young people and people in their mid-80s or mid-90s is pretty extreme," she said. "The way that people had fun in earlier generations and the amount of time spent fixing cars, building things, being outside, it was quite a difference from most kids today. Most kids aren't necessarily building their own things and riding a horse from one end of the Island to the other. The freedom and desire to roam around outside has changed quite a bit."
After mingling with potential narrators at an open house in February, the teens worked in pairs to prepare interview questions for an adult who interested them, with interviews conducted at the Mercer Island Library. Following the interviews, Bowman and high school Tech TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) Justin Talmadge spent several classroom sessions helping the teens work with audio recording and editing program Audacity to extract and edit stories from the interviews.
The extracted audio clips were uploaded to the World Voices (Woices) website, a free site that allows users to create and share geolocated audio guides. The "walk," or audio tour, is marked on a Google map and each stop is associated with an audio clip (called an "echo") telling a story about that place. On the Woices website, visitors will find twelve stories, totaling 36 minutes and 13 seconds, the length of an album on CD.
Stories include an account from Joe Lightfoot, whose father George Lightfoot is considered by many the "father of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge." Lightfoot recalls his adventures chasing mud hens in a friend's canoe off the north end of Mercer Island in the 1930s.
Islander Bert Pound describes the process of building a house for his family in the late 1930s.
June Lindsey talks about the grassroots effort that focused on preserving Pioneer Park soon after its creation in the 1960s, with efforts leading to a 64 percent turnout in an election that saved the park from becoming a golf course.
And Sally Ford Brown talks about working for the Mercer Island Reporter out of college in the 70s and learning more than she initially bargained for about the people she'd run into at the grocery store.
All stories are very short and quick, easy to listen to and leave the listener wanting more.
"One thing that's really great is this community is defined by the Island. There are boundaries that make it more containable and limited, you can limit it. The community itself is pretty tight," said Bowman. "Mercer Island as a community really lends itself to this, I think, because of its boundaries as an Island and the history reflects those boundaries. The nature of the Island community is different from the nature of other communities in a lot of ways."
After finishing the project, Bowman said she still had plenty of interview subjects who they weren't able to get to due to not enough students. When asked if this might become a recurring project, she said it was still up in the air and would depend on if the collaboration and engagement is still there. She emphasized the importance of getting the two generations together, and believes the insights gathered through this project left an impression on the students involved. "These kids have exercise upon exercise at school, but to have something that's real time, real people, real events and can be shared with other people is real important. I think this was a meaningful project, and that matters to kids. In the end, I think they want to do meaningful things."
Visit http://woices.com/walk/3884 to hear the interview clips and take the "Mercer Island Places That Matter" virtual tour.
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Non-methane volative organic compounds (NMVOC) distance-to-target for EEA member countries
European data
Additional information
The 'distance to target' results are shown in dark blue (countries need to do more to be on track to meet their ceiling in 2010) and light blue (countries are on track to meet their ceiling in 2010). Gothenburg protocol targets are used for the non-EU countries without a NEC Directive target. Neither Iceland nor Turkey has signed the Gothenburg protocol. Liechtenstein has signed but not yet ratified the Gothenburg protocol.
For references, please go to www.eea.europa.eu/soer or scan the QR code.
This briefing is part of the EEA's report The European Environment - State and Outlook 2015. The EEA is an official agency of the EU, tasked with providing information on Europe's environment.
PDF generated on 28 Oct 2016, 06:54 PM


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The Outdoor Industry Association recently released "The Outdoor Recreation Economy," detailing the national economic impact of outdoor recreation (OR) in the United States. According to the report, OR has an annual economic impact of $1.6 trillion.
The information is based upon economic analyses conducted by Southwick Associates, Inc., and consumer surveys developed and executed by Harris Interactive Information. According to their various surveys and analyses, outdoor recreation is responsible for 6.1 million American jobs, $646 billion in outdoor recreation spending each year, $39.9 billion in federal tax revenue and $39.7 billion in state/local tax revenue.
According to the Association, the last comprehensive study was released in 2006, and much has changed since then. The Great Recession radically altered consumer spending habits, unemployment reached its highest level in decades, and federal and state deficits resulted in massive spending cuts. Yet, more than 140 million Americans made outdoor recreation a priority in their daily lives, proving it with their wallets by putting $646 billion of their hard-earned dollars right back into the economy. Even better, this spending directly results in highly sought-after jobs for 6.1 million Americans.
At the core of the recreation economy is the outdoor consumer, whose diverse interests fuel a robust and innovative industry.
In short, outdoor recreation is a growing and diverse economic super sector that is a vital cornerstone of successful communities that cannot be ignored. Most importantly, it is no longer a "nice to have," it is now a "must have" as leaders across the country recognize the undeniable economic, social and health benefits of outdoor recreation.
More than 140 million Americans make OR a priority in their daily lives, and they prove it with their wallets, as evidenced by the $646 billion. It is an overlooked economic giant and is essential to the American economy. It compares with pharmaceuticals ($331), motor vehicles and parts ($340), financial services and Insurance ($780), outpatient health care ($767), gasoline and other fuels ($354), and household utilities ($309).
The outdoor economy thrives when Americans spend their hard-earned dollars in pursuit of outdoor recreation. This spending occurs in two forms: the purchase of gear and vehicles, and dollars spent on trips and travel. Gear purchases include anything for outdoor recreation, such as outdoor apparel and footwear, bicycles, skis, fishing waders, tents, rifles, or backpacks. Vehicle purchases include vehicles and accessories used only for outdoor recreation, such as boats, motorcycles, RVs, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
The outdoor economy grows long after consumers purchase outdoor gear and vehicles. When people use their outdoor gear and vehicles, they spend money on day and overnight trips, and on travel-related expenses such as airfares, rental cars, lodging, campgrounds, restaurants, groceries, gasoline and souvenirs. They pay for river guides and outfitters, lift tickets and ski lessons, entrance fees, licenses and much more. Their spending supports innumerable small business owners. And they visit recreation areas that are cared for by land managers, park rangers, various organizations and volunteers.
A tremendous diversity of career opportunities exists beyond product-related jobs. When Americans play outside during day outings or overnight trips, their spending directly supports professions like guides and outfitters, lodging operators, park managers and rangers, concessionaires, small business owners and many more.
The outdoor recreation economy grew approximately 5 percent annually between 2006 and 2011 -- this during an economic recession when many sectors contracted. Every year, hundreds of millions of visitors -- young and old, after-work enthusiasts to international travelers, and from coast to coast -- flock to America's parks, forests and waters. From seashores and local parks to the wild backcountry, America's public lands and waters are the very foundation of the national outdoor recreation system. Outdoor recreation can increase jobs and drive the economy if we manage and invest in parks, waters and trails as a system designed to sustain economic dividends for America.
More than 725 million visits to state parks provide a collective $20 billion in economic benefits to communities surrounding them. Cities and towns across the country are tapping into the business of outdoor recreation, and for good reason. They recognize that the outdoors and open spaces are key ingredients to healthy communities, contribute to a high quality of life, and most importantly, attract and sustain businesses and families.
The Outdoor Recreation Economy report took a conservative approach in tracking direct annual spending by Americans in pursuit of recreation across 10 activity categories (Bicycling, Camping, Fishing, Hunting, Motorcycling, Off Roading, Snow Sports, Trail Sports, Water Sports and Wildlife Viewing).
Outdoor recreation is a larger and more critical sector of the American economy than most people realize. As a multi-dimensional sector, the billions spent each year flow throughout the American economy and fuels traditional sectors like manufacturing, finance, retail trade, tourism and travel.
Our nation's public recreation lands and waters support the outdoor economy. Not only is access to quality places to play outside critical to our businesses, it is also fundamental to recruiting employers and is at the heart of healthy and productive communities. Open spaces and recreation areas are magnets that draw after-work activity and tourists alike.
With the bountiful natural resources we have here in the Berkshires, I wonder whether we are doing enough to market them so that we can also tap into this robust outdoor economy.
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SUMMIT — The mayor of Summit was caught off-guard last week when she learned drug giant Merck was bailing out on a plan to move its headquarters to the city, but in the days since her disappointment seems to have been replaced with budding optimism.
"It could be a real opportunity" to attract a young and exciting company to the site, Mayor Ellen Dickson said Thursday, a day after meeting with Merck executives to discuss their plans for the 88.4-acre property.
Dickson said that Merck's head of global real estate, Willard Mayo, told her the Summit site is very marketable and that the company will seek a "like buyer" — another pharmaceutical or life sciences company who could use the specialized facilities.
In the past 30 years, the mayor said, the site has been home to four major drugmakers: Schering-Plough, Ciba, Novartis, and Merck.
Merck had planned to move its global headquarters to Summit from its current location in Whitehouse Station, but Tuesday morning the company surprised Dickson, and many others, when it announced it would instead move to the slightly larger Kenilworth campus.
That same day, Merck, the second-largest pharmaceutical maker in the U.S., also announced it would lay off 8,500 people, more than 10 percent of its global workforce.
A spokesperson at Merck declined to give details about the company's plan for the site and its prospective sale value.
Not many Merck employees live in Summit, Dickson said, though she noted the company did not provide her with the exact numbers.
The toughest foreseeable issue for the city is losing the $9 million in taxes that Merck pays on the property.
Dickson said the outlook on the tax situation wasn't too gloomy, however — the company will continue to pay its share until it sells the facilities and moves out in late 2014 or early 2015.
After that, the next tenant could file an appeal if they're using less of the property than Merck, which would be decided in tax court. Regardless, Dickson said, the city will continue to collect taxes on the land.
Dickson said she plans to meet with Merck again in November to get an update on the company's plans for the site, but until then, she remains hopeful and invites any ideas residents might have about the property.
"I think people are quite surprised and disappointed, but the effect won't be immediate, and maybe we can figure out a good new concept," she said. "We have 88 acres, this close to Manhattan and Newark airport and highways, in a town with excellent schools."


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EDC to discuss Whidbey fair plan, privately
The Island County Fairgrounds proposal to redesign the property and its buildings, criticized for being crafted without public input and held up after vocal opposition, will be discussed by the agency that hired its creator in a closed-door session April 30.
Sami Postma, executive assistant of the Island County Economic Development Council, said board meetings are typically closed to the public unless the board president decides to make them public. Wayne Morrison, president of the EDC board, declined to comment.
Secrecy around the meeting led to several phone calls to the EDC office by residents interested in the fate of the fairgrounds and the proposal. But Postma said the board which oversees EDC business including the hiring of Norm Landerman-Moore, the consultant who created the fairgrounds proposal will be reviewing the plan after a few rounds of public presentation and public input.
"The board's seeing what the final product is, basically," Postma said.
The EDC board has no authority over the proposal, she said, other than to ensure that it eventually goes before the Island County commissioners as is stipulated in the contract.
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TRURO – A 25-year-old Murray's Siding woman was fined more than $1,500 after pleading guilty to failing the breathalyzer.
Truro court news
Holly Patricia Manthorne, of 160 Valleydale Rd., has until July 2, 2015, to pay a $1,200 fine and $360 surcharge. A one-year driving prohibition was also imposed.
The incident occurred Jan. 15, 2014, in Greenfield.