text:
It's an otherwise slow Monday night, but Officer Casey Hettman is tense. He and two other Portland police officers move through a dingy hallway and flank the locked apartment door.
Behind the door is an agitated man who believes President Obama is ordering him to kill.
The cops have been summoned to the Helen M Swindells Apartments in Old Town by the man's county social worker, who believes he's become a risk to himself or others.
The social worker tells the cop the man inside suffers from mental illness. He wants cops to put the man on a mental-health hold and deliver him to a hospital for observation.
Oh, and one thing, the social worker says: He likes to fight cops.
The social worker knocks. The officers brace themselves. Nothing.
Hettman is thinking, What's this guy doing? Maybe this guy is getting something to hurt us?
"It's not until that door opens," Hettman says later, "and you can see their hands, see their face."
Hettman and the other officers are about to enter what are often the most critical moments between police and those in a mental-health crisis: the first 30 seconds of contact.
That's when officers have to spot the warning signs of someone who may have lost touch with reality—the person's motion, tone, level of aggression—and decide whether the threat to their own safety outweighs the needs of the person they're supposed to be helping.
In the past, the choices a few Portland police officers have made in these pivotal few seconds prompted a U.S. Department of Justice investigation and a finding in September that cops have a "pattern and practice" of using excessive force against people with mental illness.
Portland quickly reached a settlement with the DOJ and scrambled to find $5.3 million to beef up social services, create a triage center, and expand units of officers trained to deal with the mentally ill.
Mayor-elect Charlie Hales and Police Chief Mike Reese (whom Hales plans to keep on the job) say they will also demand better investigation when cops do use their fists, baton, pepper spray, Taser or gun.
Beneath this tone of compliance runs an undercurrent of resistance and resentment. Reese, while talking about being a reformer, had earlier signaled he disagreed with the DOJ's findings. And the Portland Police Association, the city's police union, says the DOJ settlement threatens the safety of front-line officers.
And it's simply hard to buck the decades-long attitude of police, says Mike Stafford, a former training coordinator at the state's police academy. Stafford says police are trained to protect themselves first and face the consequences for their actions later.
"A common saying is, 'It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by six,'" he says.
Missing in this debate have been the voices of the officers themselves.
Over the past several weeks, WW has ridden with officers on patrol, watched how they deal with people with mental illness, and talked to them at length about what the proposed changes will mean.
Some say a fundamental cultural shift in the bureau's attitudes about the use of force is inevitable. But many others echo the union's view that the DOJ settlement means greater risk to officers.
"The DOJ appears to be willing to sacrifice police lives," Officer Kevin Macho, who patrols the East Precinct, tells WW. "A Portland officer, I believe, is going to get killed because of hesitation."
In fact, all the plans and money that will be spent may overshadow a central truth: Some officers are simply more adept and flexible than others in their approach to people with mental illness. They're the ones less willing to default to using force. In other words, they get the problem.
The question facing the city is whether the new DOJ-imposed strategy will keep officers who don't get it away from those with mental illness.
The door of the apartment in the Swindells opens, and Hettman and his partner, Brad Yakots, see why it took so long for the man inside to respond: He's using a walker.
The cops loosen their tight shoulders a little. They tell him they are taking him for a mental-health hold, and it requires putting him in handcuffs. "Can I have a cigarette first?" the man asks.
Yakots says sure. Hettman and the third officer, James Escobar, guide the cuffed man down the hall. It's a slow shuffle, and the man's pants slide down his hips. He complains, so Yakots—28, with a runner's build and close-cropped red hair—hikes them back up for him. They put the man in a patrol car. He never gets his smoke.
Later that day, the officers say most incidents with people suffering from mental illness go without incident.
"This guy has a walker and is probably not much of a threat," says Hettman, 31, who is tall and still lives up to his college nickname of "Skinny."
"But what if he has a gun or a knife and wants to kill me? We're constantly having to make split-second decisions."
With Oregon's broken mental-health system, Portland's police are often de facto front-line social workers. Police estimate they come into contact with 1234s (their dispatch code for person in crisis) more than 34,000 times a year, although they lack a good way to track such calls.
The DOJ settlement calls for reinstituting a team of officers whose first duty is to deal with the mentally ill.
The two have been partners for 2½ years—a rarity, given that most patrol officers work alone. In that time, they've made 921 arrests and used force 12 times.
Their number of arrests is high by department standards. But their use of force is low—just over 1 percent. Overall, Portland officers used force in 3.86 percent of arrests in 2011.
"Your tongue is the biggest tool in dealing with people in crisis," Yakots says as the car drives near Central Precinct. "Casey and I have different strengths, and we deal well with people who aren't playing with a full deck that day."
That's part of the reason Yakots and Hettman signed up for the latest version of a crisis intervention team.
Details of how large the CIT squad will be, and how much more training its members will get are still being worked out, Reese says. But the team will surely get far more than the 40 hours of standard mental-health training every line officer gets each year.
The Police Bureau declined to give WW a list of officers who applied for the CIT squad, but it says 56 cops, or about 15 percent of the department's 365 patrol officers, signed up.
Portland had the state's first CIT program, from 1995 to 2006. A small band of officers who had volunteered handled as many crisis cases as possible. The unit had some success, but high-profile deaths still occurred when no officer from the CIT team was on the scene or available.
That includes Jose Mejia Poot, a day laborer who was on a mental-health hold when an officer gunned him down inside the BHC-Pacific Gateway Hospital in Sellwood in 2001. CIT officers had already calmed Poot earlier that day, but hospital staff called when Poot got out of a secured area. Poot, who could not speak English, tore off a strip of an aluminum door frame and threatened staff. CIT cops weren't available a second time, and the two officers who showed up shot him dead.
CIT officers also weren't on hand for the death of James Chasse in 2006. Chasse was a mentally ill man police chased and knocked down in the Pearl District, believing he had urinated in the street. An autopsy showed he had 26 broken bones, including 16 of his ribs, some of which punctured a lung. The city later paid Chasse's family $1.6 million to settle a wrongful death case.
In response, then-Mayor Tom Potter required all officers to get 40 hours of annual crisis intervention training—but then did away with a dedicated CIT team.
Chris Bouneff, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Oregon, says the DOJ's demand that Portland reinstate the CIT team is a positive sign.
Having officers with advanced mental-health training will help, he says, but it will require one important thing: that the CIT squad is big enough to respond whenever needed.
"There are officers who just don't think it's necessary," Bouneff says. "You don't want those officers dealing with people in a mental-health crisis."
In the past, many officers didn't see CIT as a way to get ahead in the bureau. Now, Yakots and Hettman say, they see it as an essential skill set for a cop.
"Attitudes will change," Hettman says, "and the more senior people and the holdouts, they won't have a choice but to change."
Officer Herb Miller, 47, was a truck driver and National Guardsman before joining the Portland Police Bureau 15 years ago. He's spent most of his time on the force dealing with the mentally ill, as one of the original members of the CIT unit and then spending a year on the bureau's Mobile Crisis Unit. That assignment—limited to a year—ended in June.
The MCU is supposed to help people with mental illness who show up frequently on cops' radar, before they have another confrontation with officers. The mobile unit consists of one sworn officer and a social worker with Project Respond, which is run by Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, a private mental-health agency.
The DOJ settlement calls for expanding the availability of the unit. It doesn't involve any extra training, but the bureau says the close on-the-ground work provides a wealth of knowledge.
Miller found a special draw to both the crisis intervention team and the mobile unit: Both his nephew and niece committed suicide.
"Somehow, with my training and experience, if I can help prevent that tragedy for someone else's family, that would be rewarding," Miller says.
Yet his time on the MCU was often frustrating. He and his partner tracked one man with mental problems who they knew had a gun. But under the law, the MCU team can't force anyone into treatment, and can't arrest anyone until they become a danger to themselves or others.
Last October, the man locked himself in his apartment and was pointing his gun out the window at people in the street. The situation ended peacefully, but only after it turned into a lengthy negotiation and an evacuation of the building.
"We had done all of that work ahead of time," Miller says. "We still weren't able to intervene and prevent the incident from happening. I saw the whole trajectory of the way it went, and we couldn't intervene until he crossed the line.
"I had no more control or power than a regular officer."
Because of his experience, Miller says he signed up for the CIT this time around out of a sense of obligation.
But the price of keeping beat cops apart from the mentally ill may be the psychological toll it takes on the officers who specialize in crisis intervention.
Hettman, during his first week as an officer, watched a woman he was trying to help jump from the Fremont Bridge to the pavement below; he heard her hit the ground. "That was my rude awakening to the mental-health issue," he says.
Miller couldn't save a man who jumped from the Vista Bridge. "Things like that get to you," he says. "You have to compartmentalize it and leave it at work."
And for these front-line teams, the psychological toll can mount.
"Going in as a CIT officer, they're going in with a sense of, 'OK I've been trained to help these people,'" says John Nicoletti, whose Denver-based firm, Nicoletti-Flater Associates, specializes in police psychology.
"When that doesn't work, especially when it's a traumatic ending like a suicide, you get the combination of the trauma, and second-guessing of what you could have done differently."
Officers say that since the DOJ started its investigation in June 2011, they've been increasingly reluctant to use force, even when they think they should. The bureau says it was shifting its culture before that: Statistics show use of force has declined 33 percent since 2008.
But some cops say the DOJ report has created a chilling—and dangerous— effect.
During one ride-along WW took with police, three officers responded to a domestic-violence call at an apartment near Southeast Glisan Street and 106th Avenue. A pregnant woman was hurt, but she insisted she had fallen and that her boyfriend—with face tattoos and a bad attitude—hadn't pushed her.
The angry boyfriend was bigger than the officers. In the end, they didn't need to make an arrest—despite their fears they might have to use force to do it.
"I thought for a minute we would have to go hands-on," one officer, Michael Roberts, says.
"I was just thinking about the Taser," says another, Josh Silverman.
âIâm too scared to Taser now,â Roberts answers. âYou gotta go hands-on.â
Silverman, 28, has been a cop for three years (he is a former WW intern) and says his academy training put an enormous emphasis on officers protecting themselves—be it with less-than-lethal weapons, or by going "hands-on," using holds and other physical tactics to gain control.
"When you get out of the academy," he says, "you think there are ninjas waiting around every corner to attack you."
If there is a chilling effect from the DOJ stalling the use of force, some critics say it's good—if only because police training has instilled too much paranoia among officers.
"There are people who walk the streets all the time thinking someone is going to hurt them," says Dan Handelman, director of Portland Copwatch. "And they're the ones we call mentally ill."
Eriks Gabliks, director of the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, says the police academy's 16-week course has increased its role-playing scenarios on how to better communicate and diffuse situations. And as of Jan. 1, all cops-in-training will get 15 hours of mental and behavioral health training, up from 12.
The FBI, which tracks officer deaths nationwide, doesn't keep statistics on at what point in an encounter an officer is killed. It also doesn't track the mental health of those who kill cops intentionally.
The FBI does say that 72 American law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2011. Two were in Oregon, including one Eugene officer shot by a woman with severe mental illness.
Officer Macho, from the East Precinct, counters that he's got a pinkie finger and a thumb that no longer fully function because he was afraid to use the appropriate level of force to end a volatile arrest. He tore the tendons of his pinkie chasing down and arresting a juvenile vandal; he tweaked the thumb when he says he was attempting to keep a man from punching him. In both cases, he says that four years ago, he would have used a Taser.
"With what's come down from the Department of Justice, the public's the real loser on this because there are many times when the officer feels like he's got to choose between career survival and actually jumping in when he would have in the past."
The DOJ report, Macho says, was a âhack jobâânoting the report found fault with five cases out of thousands of arrests.
âWhat percentage of human beings get it as right as often as we do?â Macho asks.
Bouneff, of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, says the Clackamas and Marion county sheriff's departments both have good reputations for the way they handle people in mental crises.
Both agencies started crisis intervention training in 2005, without an outside mandate, such as the one the DOJ has imposed on the Portland police.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts added crisis intervention training only one month after taking office. "[Roberts] had identified there was a need for better training related to mental-health issues for deputies," says department spokesman Sgt. Adam Phillips.
Clackamas doesn't have a CIT team—Phillips says the county is too spread out to reliably dispatch a team. In Marion County, all deputies have received crisis intervention training, and those who want it can get advanced training.
"Voluntary programs around the country are really the most successful," says Deputy Kevin Rau, formerly the Marion County Sheriff's Department's training coordinator.
What will success look like in Portland? The DOJ settlement calls for a series of quantitative measurements to see if the Portland police are making improvements: for example, use of force against those with real or perceived mental illness; the number of officers who frequently use force; the rate of Taser use; and complaints against cops.
Hales says he's also looking at a more subjective measure, what he calls a more "modern and humane" police force.
"Are people that you talk to about the Police Bureau ready to call when there's a problem on their street?" Hales says. "Or are they wary about calling?"
Yakots and Hettman can't help but notice the irony in one recent call.
They were the first on the scene Nov. 26 after neighbors called police to a downtown apartment complex, where an 81-year-old man was hallucinating that cops were being shot and killed in his hallway. He was swinging a hatchet and had already chopped through a fire door to reach the imaginary police officers who had been shot.
The cops drew their guns. "He's trying to save police officers," Yakots recalls, "and we might actually wind up having to hurt the guy."
They didn't. They gave him clear commands, and he let them cuff him for a mental-health hold. He's since been committed and could be in a mental-health facility for as long as six months.


text:
Gemline Sport Bag: Flex (4511)
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Product:
- Esther Light Grey 51-5006
- Family:
- Esther
- Manufacturer:
- Kasthall
- Designer:
- Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg
- Architonic ID:
- 1061436
- Country:
- Sweden
Key facts
Size. Custom made sizes, width 70-600 cm.
Or choose amongst our suggested sizes:
90x240 cm 140x200 cm│170x240 cm│200x300 cm│250x350 cm.
Also suitable as an exclusive wall-to-wall carpet.
This bouclé rug has a loop yarn that shimmers in many different shades. The yarn is specially made and inspired by the close-cropped fleece of sheep. The mix of linen and wool in various shades creates a marbled, shimmering surface. This rug is hard-wearing and has a robust texture. Shaft-woven in pure wool and linen. Esther is also suitable an exclusive wall-to-wall carpet.
NOTE! When ordering a customised size you can choose any width from 70 cm to 600 cm, and any length. Depending on the natural materials used and the different handicraft processes in production, dimensions of the rug may vary by up to 5%, so please state maximum or minimum dimensions when placing your order.


text:
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Steve Hunter Releases New Album
Posted: May 13, 2013
With support from a Kickstarter campaign, Gretsch guitarist Steve Hunter released his fifth studio solo album, The Manhattan Blues Project, on April 30.
After recording and touring with Alice Cooper in 2011, Hunter decided to get off the road to write and record this latest effort, which is an ode to his love of the Blues and New York City.
"Most albums that I hear in regards to New York are generally jazzy, which is cool," said Hunter. "But I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something in a bluesy way because I kind of saw the more soulful part of Manhattan, and I wanted to bring that to this album. Each of the songs that I've written are about some piece of Manhattan that I've looked at in kind of a different way."
The album also features two instrumental covers. The first is "What's Going On" by one of Hunter's favorite artists Marvin Gaye. He also does an instrumental version of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," a song he had played the guitars on for the original album version in 1977.
Hunter, whose other tour and album credits include working with Lou Reed, Tracy Chapman, David Lee Rother, Julian Lennon, Aerosmith and Glen Campbell, had several artists willing to guest on this latest effort.
Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman lent solos to "Twilight in Harlem," while Johnny Depp and Joe Perry teamed up on "The Brooklyn Shuffle."
"I told Johnny and Joe to plug their guitars in and have a blast, and it sounds like they did to me," shared Hunter.
Other artists who contributed to the album include Tony Levin, Michael Lee Firkins, Phil Aaberg, 2Cellos and Tommy Henriksen.
The tracklisting for The Manhattan Blues Project is as follows:
Prelude to the Blues
What's Going On
222 W 23rd
Gramercy Park
Solsbury Hill
Ground Zero
A Night at the Waldorf
Twilight in Harlem
Daydream by the Hudson
Flames at the Dakota
The Brooklyn Shuffle
Sunset in Central Park
Tags: Joe Perry, Joe Satriani, Johnny Depp, Steve Hunter, The Manhattan Blues Project
Posted In: Artists Blogs | Leave a comment
Fall Out Boy Light Up Leno
Posted: May 11, 2013
Fall Out Boy continue to ride the wave of success of new album Save Rock and Roll with an appearance last week on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The quartet played their latest single "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)," with singer Patrick Stump clutching a white version of his signature Gretsch Stump-O-Matic Electromatic CVT guitars.
Watch the guys do their thing at the end of the full episode after the jump and visit Fall Out Boy's official website for more information. (more…)
Tags: Fall Out Boy, My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, Patrick Stump, Stumpomatic, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Posted In: Artists Blogs | Leave a comment
Portugal. The Man Performs on Kimmel
Posted: May 11, 2013
Portugal. The Man recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to perform their latest single from their upcoming album Evil Friends, a delightfully dark and poppy track called "Purple Yellow Red and Blue."
In addition, the Portland, Ore., based band pulled out "People Say," one of the hits off their 2009 album The Satanic Satanist.
Check out both clips below and visit Portugal. The Man's official website for more information.
Tags: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Live Performance, People Say, Portugal. The Man, Purple Yellow Red and Blue
Posted In: Artists Blogs | Leave a comment
The Killers Perform All-Star Set in Tucson
Posted: May 9, 2013
Guitarist/keyboardist Ted Sablay has known the guys in Las Vegas arena rockers the Killers for a few years, having joined them as a touring musician in support of 2006's Sam's Town.
Now, as the Killers embark on their North American tour on behalf of their supremely powerful Battle Born, Sablay can still be seen on stage with the Killers playing keys and his (left-handed) guitars.
The Killers' tour recently ran through Tucson, Ariz., where they appeared at KMFA Day at Kino Stadium with Cake and Bad Religion.
With frontman Brandon Flowers holding the rabid crowd in the palm of his hand, Sablay added depth to the lush anthems the Killers have created over their accomplished career. (more…)
Tags: Battle Born, KMFA Day, Live Performance, Ted Sablay, The Killers
Posted In: Artists Blogs | Leave a comment
Two Door Cinema Club Rock Coachella
Posted: May 8, 2013
During the recent two-weekend Coachella music festival, Irish rockers Two Door Cinema Club performed an evening set at the Outdoor Stage that had a huge crowd jamming along with them.
Perhaps that was because of their excellent opener of "Sleep Alone," which was the first single off their 2012 album Beacon.
Check out Two Door Cinema Club playing "Sleep Alone" in the clip after the jump and visit their official website for more information. (more…)
Tags: Coachella, Live Performance, Sleep Alone, Two Door Cinema Club
Posted In: Artists Blogs | Leave a comment
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text:
Which Joe gave his name to 'sloppy joes'? We look at five interesting sandwiches and their lexical origins.
Definition of Moulin Rouge in English:
Moulin Rouge
proper noun
A cabaret in Montmartre, Paris, a favorite resort of poets and artists around the end of the 19th century. Toulouse-Lautrec immortalized its dancers in his posters.
French, literally red windmill.
Moulin Rouge/mo͞oˌlan ˈro͞oZH/
Further reading
12 synonyms for foolRead more
Are you looking for a word for a foolish person? We explore twelve interesting words to describe the dunderheads in your life.
6 'run' phrases you probably don't knowRead more
Before you run for the hills, let's run through a list of 'run' expressions that are running through our minds.
How brothers became buddies and brosRead more
The definitions of 'buddy' and 'bro' in the OED have recently been revised. We explore their history and increase in popularity.


text:
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text: Our 2016 season has come to an end, but if you are an experienced derby skater and looking to join us for 2017, now's your chance! On Monday September 26 we will be holding a Transfer Test at 7pm at the Bunker. To sign up, and for any questions about the transfer test, send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com!


text:
The local area had climbed into the ranks to receive one of 20 runner-up grants of $50,000 as of Wednesday evening, and community leaders were hoping residents would keep voting to help feed the hungry here at home.
"The need is so great from every angle we look at due to the financial issues and economic status of our towns," said Capt. Maria Stephenson of the Bridgeton Salvation Army. "I think it would be amazing what we could do with the money to be able to serve the public better."
Walmart chose 200 communities to participate in the initiative based on the highest unemployment rates across the nation, as determined by the Department of Labor. The Bridgeton/Millville/Vineland metropolitan statistical area was deemed eligible to participate due to its unemployment rate of 13.3 percent.
"The programs here need to be enlarged; I'm sorry our community is that in need," said the Rev. Gerritt Kenyon, the retired pastor of First Assembly of God, a Help & Hope Ministries Food Closet contributor in Millville.
"We've watched our unemployment go heavy, and I'm concerned right now that the prices on things have continued to go up but the income has not gone up," he added. "I don't play the Lottery, but this is not that kind of thing. I will continue to vote because the money is there, and we'd like to have it here."
Anyone can vote for the community they would like to see awarded grant funds through the initiative by visiting www.facebook.com/walmart and clicking the "Fighting Hunger" icon. Voters can select New Jersey from the state drop-down menu, then click on the "Vineland-Millville, NJ Area" link to cast a vote for the local community.
"You just go to the community's page and click 'Vote' then 'Share,' and you can vote once a day," Walmart spokeswoman Kelly Cheeseman said on Wednesday afternoon.
The Bridgeton/Millville/Vineland community advanced from 23rd most votes on Wednesday afternoon to the 20th spot by the evening with a tally of 107 votes. The Johnson City, Tenn., area was the leader for the $1 million grant with 981 votes at that time.
The community receiving the highest total number of votes on Facebook will be awarded $1 million, and each of the 20 communities with the next highest number of votes will receive $50,000. Participants can vote once every 24 hours through April 30.
"Once the winning communities are selected, the Walmart Foundation will reach out to elected officials, community leaders and others to get direct feedback from the local community and determine which organizations are making the biggest impact fighting hunger in the community," Cheeseman said. "There will likely be multiple nonprofits awarded, and we will announce which are the winning organizations in each community on May 15, then the funds will be mailed out."
The "Fighting Hunger Together" initiative Facebook page was designed to help locals get involved and work together in their communities, and Stephenson voiced support for increased communication between like-minded residents and community leaders in Cumberland County's three cities.
"We're better when we're together, and when we're focused on a goal, we can do wonderful things," she said. "Exchanging ideas and resources, networking with each other openly — I think that will help all of us in the community at large."
Contact Lauren T. Taniguchi at (856) 451-1000, ext. 419 or email@example.com.


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$850—$1,185 1—2 bed 2505 E Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs CO, 80909
from $850 1—2 bed
2505 E Pikes Peak Ave, Park Hill, Colorado Springs, 80909
Commute to Downtown Colorado Springs
The rent at Grand View Apartments ranges from $850 for a one bedroom to a $1,185 two bedroom. Apartments in this building are about 12% more expensive than the Park Hill average. This is a pet-friendly apartment.
This apartment is in the Park Hill neighborhood in Colorado Springs. Nearby parks include Memorial Park, Otis Park and Betty Krouse Park.
Grand View Apartments has a Walk Score of 57 out of 100. This location is Somewhat Walkable so some errands can be accomplished on foot.
Grandview Apartment Homes in Colorado Springs, CO is upscale living in the perfect location. Grandview is conveniently located with easy access to Colorado Springs Airport, Peterson Air Force Base, Memorial Hospital and a private dog park. Apartment amenities include 9-foot Vaulted Ceilings*, Gas Heat / Wall Unit AC, Covered Parking, Washer Dryer Connections, Wood Burning Fireplaces with Brick Mantle, Spacious Pantries, Spacious Walk-in Closets* and Ceiling Fans (*Select Floor Plans). Community features include 2 Swimming Pools and Indoor Jacuzzi, Cardio and Weight Room, Pet Friendly Apartments, Private Dog Park, 4 Laundry Facilities Onsite, Free WI-FI Access in Clubhouse and 24-Hour Emergency Maintenance.*Join the Future Residents Club and reserve your spot now! Visit the Future Residents Club page for more details.
Pets allowed:
Owner/manager tools | Report bad listing | From apartmentlist.com
Park Hill, Colorado Springs, 80909
Some errands can be accomplished on foot.
A few nearby public transportation options.
Mostly flat, some bike lanes.
About your score
Explore how far you can travel by car, bus, bike and foot from Grand View Apartments.
Grand View Apartments has some transit which means a few nearby public transportation options.
Bus lines:
7 Pikes Peak Ave. - Citadel
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5 Boulder - Citadel
0.4 mi
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Popular apartment searches include pool, fitness and single family.
Search for homes in Colorado Springs or find a Colorado Springs real estate agent who knows walkable neighborhoods. Links will open on our partner site Redfin.com.
Grand View Apartments is in the Park Hill neighborhood. Park Hill is the 9th most walkable neighborhood in Colorado Springs with a neighborhood Walk Score of 48.
Moving to Colorado Springs from another city? View our moving to Colorado Springs guide.


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By Max Miedinger with art direction by Eduard Hoffmann at Haas. Design began in 1956 and first shown as Neue Haas Grotesk in 1957. Revised and released for the Linotype as Helvetica in 1959. [Kupferschmid]
Helvetica in use
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Fonts in Use is a collaborative project. Create an account and submit your own work or other examples of typography.
Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen Website
- Laurenz Brunner
- Cornel Windlin
- Nazareno Crea
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
"It's the real thing." Coca-Cola Ads (1969–74)1969
- McCann Erickson
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Staff Pick
Camus and Sartre. Crisis and Commitment by Germaine Brée1972
- Ann Spinelli
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
Posters for the Film Helvetica2006
- Gary Hustwit
- Experimental Jetset
- Build
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Staff Pick
The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As told by John Seelye1970
- J+M Condon
- John Condon
- Mary Condon
Contributed by Chris Purcell
Staff Pick
The Empire Strikes Back Polish Movie Poster1983
- Miroslaw Lakomski
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Staff Pick
OCCII 2009 Yearbook2010
- Our Polite Society
- Matthias Kreutzer
- Jens Schildt
Contributed by Manuel Wesely
Julia Born: Title of the Show2009
- Julia Born
- Laurenz Brunner
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Staff Pick
CreativeMornings original identity and website2010
- swissmiss studio
- Tina Roth Eisenberg
Contributed by Stephen Coles
Staff Pick


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Causality assessment of cialis and prostate adverse reactions to drugs—I. Application to druginduced liver injuries. A novel cialis and prostate method based on the conclusions of international consensus meetings.
Danan G, Benichou C. J Clin Epidemiol 1990.
About 9% to 20% of adults have cialis and prostate gallstones, in studies performed in the United States and Italy. STONEs, SLUDgE, AND POLYps Cynthia W. Ko, MD, MS, and Sum P.
Lee, MD, PhD 1. How common are gallstones cialis and prostate in Western populations?. In the United States, the age-standardized prevalence of gallstones is similar for non-Hispanic white and Mexican American men (8.5% and 8.5%, respectively) men but lower in non-Hispanic black men (5.2%). In women, the age-adjusted prevalence of gallstones was 22.8% for Mexican Americans, 12.5% for non-Hispanic whites , and 11.5% for non-Hispanic blacks.
3. What is the natural history of asymptomatic and symptomatic gallstones?.
1990, knapp cialis and prostate and Pohorecky. Walters, 1974 Ho et al., 1974 Kiianmaa, 1977 [Table adapted from Sellers et al., 1991a.] FIGURE 7.16 Mean percentage of ethanol lever-responding and mean percentage of control response rates following administration of ethanol (n = 6), ketamine (n = 5), or phencyclidine (n = 7) in mice trained to discriminate ethanol from saline. Sellers et al., 1990b. Tomkins et al., 1994 Parker and Radow, 1977. Ethanol (1.25 g/kg) and saline were tested before (1) and after (3) each dose-response curve determination.
At 1.37 g/kg ethanol, 30 mg/kg ketamine, and 6 mg/kg phencyclidine, the n used to calculate the mean percentage of ethanol-lever responding was 5, 5, and 6, respectively. Weiss et al., 1991 Roberts et al., 1997 Fadda et al., 1987. [Reproduced with permission from Grant et al., 1992.] NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISM—NEUROCIRCUITRY 205 in limited-access conditions (Fadda et al., 1992. Hodge et al., 1992.
Infancy to cialis and prostate childhood (pp. Cicchetti & M. University of Chicago Press. Beeghly (Eds.), cialis and prostate The self in transition. The ontogeny of autobiography.
313– 232). In D.
In S cialis and prostate. Rao (Ed.), Neurobehavioral aspects of multiple sclerosis (pp. (1990).
M. Euphoria in multiple sclerosis. 280–175).
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors Results cialis and prostate of studies using irreversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) have been mixed. In general, MAOIs have led to improvement in intrusive symptoms and insomnia but not in avoidance and numbing, hyperarousal, depression, or panic (Southwick et al. Side effects (e.g., sexual dysfunction, dizziness, sleep disruption, weight gain) and dietary restrictions tend to limit use of these drugs. Small open studies of anticonvulsants have demonstrated moderate to good improvement of PTSD.


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Contrary to some assertions, the very nature of engineering students' majors in college is a strong indicator of not only their optimism about solving important problems but also of their commitment to public welfare, writes Scott Hummel, the William Jeffers director of the engineering division at Lafayette College. Numerous organizations also attest to this commitment, Hummel notes, including Engineers Without Borders, Engineering World Health and the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges, all formed in the just the past 25 years.
Full Story:InsideHigherEd.com


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TroopTube a boon to military families
Keeping in contact with soldiers serving thousands of miles away just got easier.
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Minister for Business and Growth Ole Sohn:
"In early February, my European colleagues and I set out clear policy targets for creating a digital single market. Today, Europe's experts have taken the next step, pointing out a number of issues that we need to address. I will use the results of the conference in future work to realise the growth potential in the Digital Single Market in Europe".
The experts point out, that in order for Europe to exploit the potential for growth in the Digital Single Market, consumers must have confidence in shopping online. It should be easy for citizens and businesses to get online. European companies must increasingly think in terms of digital business development. Productivity can be increased, and companies can gain new business opportunities, if they manage to use data innovatively. Among other things, there may be an economic benefit for Europe of €140 billion per year associated with the re-use of public data in the EU.
"There is an untapped potential for growth in the use of data to create new innovative products and services. For example, by linking data on the age, construction, insulation and energy consumption etc. of houses, companies can identify homes in need of energy saving measures. The potential market value on energy saving measures is estimated to be as much as € 2.6 billion in the case of Denmark alone. During the Danish Presidency, we will advance negotiations on a revision of the directive on the re-use of public sector information as much as possible".
Watch the sessions from the conference online
Conference: Henrik Kjær, Danish Business Authority, (firstname.lastname@example.com / +45 21 28 59 95)Press: Søren Møller Nielsen, Ministry of Business and Growth (firstname.lastname@example.com / +45 33 92 31 15).
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PSP gets new Prince of Persia
The Sony PSP handheld is being lined-up a new version of the latest in the Prince of Persia series, news today from the publisher reveals. Unfortunately, it isn't a brand new title designed exclusively for the platform, but unique content and enhancements are promised. Based on the latest console outing, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones will be out in-time for the festive season, and marks the Prince's second outing on Sony's PlayStation Portable.
Pipeworks Software are developing the new game, presumably based heavily on the PS2 original, and a release in America in 2007 will follow PAL-region launches at the end of this year. One aspect of the new title that could be worth getting excited about is the multiplayer component, which we're told will allow gamers to play as the Prince and his nemesis the Dark Prince, swinging and leaping through trap-ridden levels attempting to out-manouver and ensnare each other.
A number of special levels will be present, but the basic premise and plot will not differ from the console original - the Prince returning to Babylon from the Island of Time. The fighting system has reportedly been evolved somewhat, too, and we'll learn more as the game nears our UMD-drives.
Latest News
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III is coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 after all
- Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third gets a release date
- Adr1ft is coming to PC and consoles at the end of the summer
- EA gives the new Mirror's Edge a name – Mirror's Edge Catalyst
- ZombiU PS4 and Xbox One port reportedly in the works
- Mike Bithell's Volume to be released this August
- Gearbox's new shooter Battleborn gets a pre-E3 trailer
- Steam Controller launches in October, Steam Machines arrive in November
- Gears Of War devs Black Tusk change their name to The Coalition ahead of E3


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With a stay at Thanh Binh 1 City Hotel in Hoi An, you'll be minutes from Hoi An Museum and Hoi An Ancient Town. This hotel is within close proximity of Tran Family Chapel and Assembly Hall of the Fujian Chinese Congregation.
Make yourself at home in one of the 14 air-conditioned rooms featuring minibars and flat-screen televisions. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms with bathtubs or showers feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and complimentary bottled water, and housekeeping is provided daily.
Take advantage of recreation opportunities such as bicycles to rent, or other amenities including complimentary wireless Internet access and concierge services.
Take advantage of the hotel's 24-hour room service.
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include dry cleaning/laundry services, a 24-hour front desk, and luggage storage. Free self parking is available onsite.


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Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALSK)
Q4 2007 Earnings Call
March 17, 2008 5:00 pm ET
Mary Gasperlin – Director Corporation Communications
Liane J. Pelletier – Chairman of the Board, President & Chief Executive Officer
David Wilson – Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President & Treasurer
Leonard A. Steinberg – Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
David Coleman – RBC Capital Markets
Jonathan Chaplin – JP Morgan Equity
Christopher C. King – Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Inc.
David Janazzo – Merrill Lynch
Ladies and gentlemen thank you for standing by and welcome to the Alaska Communications System fourth quarter 2007 conference call. During today's presentation all parties will be in a listen only mode. Following the presentation the conference will be opened for questions. (Operator Instructions) This conference is being recorded today, Monday, March 17, 2008. Now, I'd like to turn the conference over to Ms. Mary Gasperlin. Please go ahead ma'am.
Mary Gasperlin
Good afternoon and welcome to the Alaska Communications System's fourth quarter and year end 2007 conference call. With me today are Liane Pelletier, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of ACS, David Wilson, Chief Financial Officer and Leonard Steinberg, General Counsel.
During this call company participants will make forward-looking statements as defined under US securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may include financial projections and estimates or other descriptions of the company's plans, objectives, expectations or intentions. You are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements as actual results could differ materially from expectations as a result of a variety of factors many of which are outside of the company's control. We discuss these factors in our SEC filings. We expect to file our most recent 10K for the year ended December 31, 2007 later this week. You are strongly encouraged to carefully review the 10K; it will contain a comprehensive restatement of 2006 and 2007 financial results and other useful information. An 8K containing our earnings press release was filed prematurely by Business Wire before trading markets closed. Our earnings press release was issued subsequent to market close. These materials contain no differences in information. Lastly, any non-GAAP measurements referred to during this call have been reconciled to the nearest GAAP measure. You may find these reconciliations, today's press release and our SEC filings on our investor website at www.ALSK.com.
We will begin the call with Liane. Then David will review our quarterly and annual operational and financial performance after which Liane will close with a summary and then open the call for questions. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Liane.
Liane J. Pelletier
Welcome and thank you all for participating on the call today. First, let me say I am disappointed we weren't able to bring you our results last month. As you know from our last release we've been working through some accounting issues. The effect of the accounting changes was to increase our 2007 EBITDA performance by nearly $6 million and to increase non-cash depreciation by $5 million. While I'll let David Wilson walk you through those details I want to assure you that the issues were isolated and a function of very complex outward models, that our internal controls have been strengthened and that we don't intend for this to ever happen again.
Now, let me share the results of our 2007 performance. We closed 2007 with another year of superb execution with growth in top line, bottom line and cash from operations each exceeding 10%. Of particular importance, wireless revenues grew 19% and enterprise wireline revenues grew 45%. As you know we anticipate a substantial ROI in the enterprise segment as we bundle our differentiated long haul fiber to the lower 48 with our metro Ethernet, our MPLS and our instate fiber transport system for sophisticated users. We also anticipate a continued high ROI in the wireless segment even as we face a changed brand. The company's wireless business model builds on fast network performance with additional differentiators. Specifically, having earned the reputation of best network, the company has turned to earning the reputation of best plans and best service. We intend to enhance an already loyal customer base by proactively serving it in many new ways. Our strategies, operating priorities and budgets for the year contemplate investing for success in the enterprise and wireless segments as these two segments drive the greatest return to shareholders.
Let me turn the call over to David Wilson for our operational financial review of the fourth quarter and year 2007.
First I will review the operational details of our retail portfolios in 2007 starting with wireless where we gained 13,500 retail subscribes in the year and nearly 3,000 in the quarter. Notable is that retail wireless retention improved by 20 basis points both annually and sequentially with average monthly churn 1.5% for the quarter. Total retail ARPU for the quarter was up $3.78 or 6.3%, year-over-year to $64.20. The ongoing migration of high value and high use subscribers to the best network in the state coupled with data ARPU of $3.31 were the key drivers of the retail ARPU expansion.
On to wireline, where local retail lines declined 1.5% during the quarter as more consumers cut the cord, our local line mix shifted towards business with a higher value business lines now accounting for more than 50% of our retail lines. Our DSL customers grew by nearly 1,300 or 2.7% during the quarter to 47,500 as DSL penetration of retail lines expanded to 25.6% and the mix within the DSL continues to swing towards higher speeds.
Before providing the financial review I will provide a quick overview of the accounting issues we've been dealing with in the past month. Firstly, the need to restate depreciation expense for 2006 and the first three quarters of 2007. This issue centers on a rare set of facts and circumstances that are applicable to ACS and which require complex accounting treatments under FAS 71 accounting for the effects of certain types of regulations. Due to our unique set of circumstances we were forced to develop our own software to address the accounting implications, with a programmatic error within this software that caused the issue. Secondly, the increase in EBITDA from $132 million expectations we shared on February 22 and $138 million we reported today. The major driver of this change was a $4.5 million increase in network access revenue and the corresponding decrease in network access reserves. The reserve release is attributable to a change in estimates following management's review of assumptions used in our network access revenue reserving process. Both of these issues we have implemented additional controls and procedures to prevent repetition. Additional details on these issues together with certain other immaterial adjustments that are common during a restatement process are included in our Form 10K which we expect to file with the SEC later this week.
Now, I'll review the fourth quarter 2007 financial results compared to the fourth quarter 2006. Revenue were $99.1 million up 7.9% from fourth quarter 2006 revenues of $91.9 million. Wireless revenue was up 7.6% over the year ago period. Wireline revenue was up 8.1% from the fourth quarter 2006. As set out in schedule four of the release, we've improved visibility into the revenue drivers of retail, wholesale, access and enterprise. The components of each of these segments will be described in our 10K. Fourth quarter retail wireline revenue was up 1.4% from the prior year due in large part to a higher number of DSL subscribers. On to wholesale where wholesale wireline revenue declined by 20.9% versus the prior year to $5.6 million consistent with a 29.7% reduction in CETC lines offset in part by 17% increase in CETC ARPU. Access revenue gained 12.1% to $26.6 million benefitting from periodic carrier settlements and the release of additional access revenue reserves. Four quarter enterprise revenue was up 64% and 12.7% sequentially to $7.9 million benefitting from carrier and commercial wins demonstrating success out of the Q1 2009 launch of Alaska Oregon network also as AKORN.
On to EBITDA, which was $34 million in the fourth quarter up 7.9% from $31.5 million in the prior year. 2007 wireless EBTIDA performance was strong from ongoing operations yet was also affected by non-recurring expenses of $700,000 while 2006 wireless benefited from $2.4 million from out of period CETC. These two factors resulted in an EBITDA margin of 41.3% in Q4 2007 versus 50.1% in Q4 2006. Normalizing for these items wireless EBITDA margin was comparable to the prior year. Wireline EBITDA increased 28.4% over the prior year quarter to $19.6 million with gains in enterprise and access out pacing CETC losses.
Net income for the quarter was up $120.4 million or $2.71 per diluted share compared to $4.2 million or $0.10 per diluted share in 2006. Net income benefitted from a one-time non-cash income tax benefitted of $111.2 million arising from the release of the company's valuation reserve for its deferred tax assets. Absent this non-recurring tax benefit earnings per diluted share would have been $0.20 compared to a year ago net income of $0.10 per share.
Cash flow from operations of $26.6 million were in line with 2006 which benefitted from out-of-period CETC funding. Major investments in uses for cash during the quarter included $21.4 million in capital expenditures comprising of $11.8 million in maintenance cap ex and $9.6 million in growth cap ex and $9.2 million in dividend payments.
For the full year 2007 revenues of $385.8 million and EBITDA of $138.1 million both increased by more than 10% from 2006 levels. Cash from operations increased 14.3% to $104.9 million from $91.8 million. Investments in construction in capital expenditures total $60.9 million comprising maintenance cap ex of $39.3 million and investments in growth cap ex of $21.6 million.
Now, for 2008 financial guidance. Revenues for the full year 2008 are expected to be in the range of $385 million to $395 million and EBITDA in the range of $130 to $134 million excluding $6 million in startup cost related to the enterprise segment. Specifically, cost for lower 48 network operation centers to compliment the Alaska center and business startup costs such as hiring staff located near our enterprise customers in the lower 48. Net cash interest expense is expected to be approximately $30 million. ACS expects maintenance cap ex of $42 million. The investment in our fiber facility of $82 million. Our cap ex guidance excludes capitalized interest. At the midpoint of EBITDA guidance and inclusive of $6 million in startup costs for AKORN distributable cash flow of $54 million, funding a dividend of $37 million on 43 million shares at $0.86 per share and retained cash of $17 million. Our payout ratio is projected to be 69% again, based on the midpoint of 2008 EBITDA guidance and pro forma for working capital movements in line with our policy to payout 70 to 75% over the long term.
ACS expects to incur certain costs during 2008 which were outside of key guidance metrics. These include depreciation expense of approximately $70 million, stock-based compensation expense of approximately $7 million and non-cash tax expense of approximately $8 million. In order to gage our 2008 EBITDA target, 2007 should be normalized for network access revenues that management estimates was $10 million higher than long term trend driver by favorable carrier and other regulatory settlements and $700,000 in out-of-period CETC revenue received in the first quarter. These factors put 2007 EBITDA at $127.4 million. Based on the midpoint of our 2008 guidance and pro forma to the startup costs of our AKORN investment, guidance represents a 3.6% increase over normalized 2007 in line with our long term growth expectations of 3 to 4%. We expect solid growth for the year. Year-over-year comparisons for the first quarter may differ from your expectations.
First quarter 2007 benefitted from $1.4 million in network reserves true up and $700,000 in out-of-period CETC neither of which will repeat in 2008. First quarter 2008 costs include the final portion to covert TDMA users to CDMA where we'll turn down approximately 2,300 subscribers. The quarter also absorbed the front loading of new wireless program costs and costs associated with our accounting review.
Before handing the call back to Liane I'll provide a quick update on the timing and funding strategy for our fiber build. We continue to plan to fund the investment through a combination of cash on hand, cash generated from the build period and incremental debt. We continue to expect the fiber system to be operational early Q1 2009. [Inaudible] investments of approximately $105 million, $13 million was settled in 2007 leaving a residual $92 million to be funded by the end of February, 2009. At year end we had $36 million in unrestricted cash and short term investments, full access to our $45 million revolver and net debt leverage ratio of only 2.9 times and a dividend payout ratio of just under 70%. The total investment of $105 million represents an increase from the $95 million shared in our third quarter call and is primarily attributable to a more protected and therefore costlier landing of the cable of the Oregon cost, high structural network costs due to the demands placed on the Alaskan construction industry, a change in the Anchorage cable landing site, due to changed airport plans and now including all program management, internal labor and overhead costs. The total annual cash costs are expected to be approximately $12 million covering both operating and debt service costs.
Now, back to Liane for closing remarks.
Liane J. Pelletier
In closing, we posted strong results in 2007 and the same team is focused on delivery in 2008. Our game plan is to pursue high ROI in the enterprise and wireless market. It will be a very dynamic year for the ACS team and we feel we've been preparing for this transformational year for quite some time. Our priorities for 2008 are clear, we will continue to grow wireless by providing the best customer experience. We know we hold the reputation for best network. Customer research, a study of best practices and smart strategy will guide us to win the reputation for best plans and best services and through them we aim to win more high value subscribers, greater ARPU and higher retention in 2008 and beyond.
We will build and enterprise customer base that values an end-to-end Ethernet NPOS and diverse fiber path to and from the lower 48. And, as always, we will continue to leverage our resources through process improvements. As we look to the future, ample opportunities exist to continue to extract efficiencies in the way we operate to both improve the customer experience and accommodate the demands of growth.
That closes our prepared remarks so now I'd like to open the call for questions.
Question-and-Answer Session
(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Dave Coleman with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
David Coleman – RBC Capital Markets
Just a question on your guidance, if I look at the 4Q revenues of $99 million and I annualize that for 2008 and get towards the high end of your 2008 revenue guidance, I'm just wondering if there's a reason being more conservative or if I'm miscalculating there? Second question, just on the I guess you call it AKORN network, wondering if you could quantify the committed or anticipated book of business for that long haul fiber network? If it's not possible to quantify it, if you could speak about interest from carriers and enterprises, how that's changed since announcing the build out? Then final question, Dave you mentioned that you have the credit facility now that's fully available, what's the maturity date on that facility?
David Wilson
Let me start off Dave in terms of the first question which was if I look at four times Q4 revenue, how does that compare to guidance? I think we're pretty clear in our prepared remarks that we did benefit from a higher than normal network access revenue. It's probably about $3 million or so in the fourth quarter so if you were to normalize Q4 and take out that $3 million and you would then times that number by four I think you get close to our base end of our guidance for the year.
David Coleman – RBC Capital Markets
Okay. So think about that more like a $95 to $96 million?
David Wilson
Yeah, I think that's a fair way to think about it. Then, in terms of the maturity, let me just answer that one quickly, the facility was a seven year facility we entered into it in February, 2005 so we have until 2012 [inaudible], for the revolver.
Liane J. Pelletier
On AKORN, we are very happy with the dialogue we are having with the customers we are presenting that end-to-end solution. And, as you heard in the remarks, its statewide facilities, Ethernet NPOS, the diverse path and a lower 48 knock which is receiving a lot of interest from our customers. That's probably all that's prudent to share on this call.
Our next question comes from the line of Jonathan Chaplin with JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
Jonathan Chaplin – JP Morgan Equity
Just two quick follow ups, I'm wondering – you guys won a big contract in the third quarter, a big enterprise contract, I think it was worth $6 million a year. I'm wondering if you've signed any incremental contracts in the fourth quarter that you're able to speak to? And, I'm not quite sure I got the comment on the bank facility correct. If the bank facility is secured, if you guys have actually drawn down on that, I know in the past that was one of the thresholds you were looking to get past before you'd consider increasing the dividend again. So, if that sort of funding is now absolutely secured, I'm wondering what else prevents you from raising the dividend? Then finally, on the fiber investment, it sounds like the investment is going to be about $10 million greater than you initially anticipated. I'm wondering if you could talk about how this has impacted your expected returns from the investment? On the other side of the investment, now that you're a number of months into this process, what are the perspective revenues and EBTIDAs on the investment look like?
David Wilson
Let me just clear off the facility first Jonathan and I think Liane will pick up the other two questions. In terms of the $45 million we referred to as part of the prepared remarks, that simply refers to the revolver, that revolver capacity has been there since February of 05. And, in terms of the remarks we had in the last call, we talked about securing $30 to $40 million of incremental debt and we're prepared to do that but that is not yet in place.
Liane J. Pelletier
Jonathan let me pick up on the other ones, you're right the Q3 enterprise account we won was of the value you talked about and yes we've continued to add to that with [inaudible] in the fourth quarter. I guess one of the quickest ways to take a peek at that is schedule four behind the press release talked about the new view and you can see enterprise revenues as a line item there just looking at the Q4 over Q4 sort of numbers. In terms of the nature of building one of these complex systems, these are obviously relatively unanticipated changes and I'll put a little more color on them. We had a focus on leaving Alaska in a very diverse way so that customers could feel good about putting some or all of their traffic on the AKORN system. The airport trumped our landing station and had us move another place which caused us to incur some incremental one-time build costs there. Similarly, the Oregon cost we have decided for security reasons of the asset to put it not necessarily deeper because we always intended to do deep burial but, further out on the shelf and that only comes about when you do more boring and more work with the local fishing community, etcetera. So, those are very legitimate, we have construction costs of the [inaudible] going on in Alaska and it's a very hot market right now, the construction community gets to call their rates so that moved up slightly.
The whole message behind this though is that the IRR on the project is still very well north of 20% so you should feel fine about that. As it relates to kind of giving an outside view of what revenues and EBITDA is, it doesn't serve us well to give those very detailed contract schedule wins and I think as we've also shared in the past, we want to get the financing in place and the numbers to cover the carry cost for the cable before we work with the board on dividend decisions. We're very pleased with the progress we've had so far both in constructing it on schedule and in the feedback we're getting from accounts who are very interested in the full product placement this represents.
(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Chris King with Stifel Nicolaus. Please go ahead.
Christopher C. King – Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Inc.
Two quick questions for you, first of all which is nothing more than a bit of a housekeeping issue at this point, we've seen a nice increase in interexchange revenues in the second half of the year. I was just wondering how much of that could be contributed to the new enterprise contract that was signed in the third quarter? Second question would be with respect to your views on the macro economic outlook, how impacted is your business plan for AKORN based on a macroeconomic environment specifically in Alaska? We're obviously seeing a worsening economic outlooks from everybody here over the last several weeks but on the flip side of that you guys are obviously much more pleased with the $100 barrel of oil prices than we are in the lower 48. So, I just wanted to get your sense in terms of the puts and takes of the macroeconomic landscape in Alaska and how you guys think about that vis-à-vis AKORN.
Liane J. Pelletier
Why don't I take it and then send it back for David to discuss the LD revenue piece. You're absolutely right to observe that there's something counter cyclical about the Alaska economy although we don't want to be too naïve about the negative sentiment that we understand is happening nationwide. But, there's a couple of factors that I think might be relevant for those who don't study the particulars in Alaska. Yesterday, our state announced that we have a record revenues at the state level of $8.5 billion, it is clearly influenced by the taxes that are collected from the oil producers. So, as we might have shared in the past, every dollar increase in the price of a barrel of oil is well over $100 million infusion into the state coffers and that does come back out and effect here. Relative to some of the other metrics we can compare to the rest of the US, we're number 42 among 50 states in mortgage defaults. Alaska didn't experience the housing bubble nor are we experiencing some of the mortgage default crisis that are hitting some of the states in the lower 48.
We do see tremendous continued strength in AKORN from the enterprise users and fundamentally Chris it is because businesses years ago changed how they do business. They are much more globally driven, they have operations throughout the world and that just means that there's a growing appetite for bandwidth connections among their work locations, their vendors and suppliers, etcetera. So, we really see that $200 million market that was under pinning the AKORN investment as solid and in fact, many of the kinds of users only increasing their appetite for bandwidth connections.
David Wilson
Chris, in terms of the interexchange revenue, it's a highly seasonal segment for us. We tend to see a big uptick in the second and third quarter. I presume you're looking at year-over-year growth of about $1.8 million from $4.2 to $6 million. That gain, essentially all of it is attributable to success in the enterprise segment.
(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of David Janazzo with Merrill Lynch. Please go ahead.
David Janazzo – Merrill Lynch
Can you describe the wireless environment these days with AT&T taking over Dobson?
Liane J. Pelletier
It's a brand change, we knew it was coming and in fact, they spent time talking to the market all fourth quarter. I think the effects of that you should see in our Q4 numbers, we had terrific retention rates churn of 1.5 which is coming down from what we had of 1.7 and very strong ARPU, 64. So while we have just put, as David said in his remarks, our customer conversion headaches behind us, we just shut off 2,300 TDMA analog subscribers, I'm so happy to celebrate that, AT&T has now the start of that whole process in front of them as does the other competitors as a matter of fact. So, the influence of a new brand in the market, we're doing well in the face of it and they will have to go through a lot of customer conversion pain and agony as we celebrate having that behind us.
(Operator Instructions) We have no further questions so I would like to turn it back over to Liane.
Liane J. Pelletier
Thank you all for dialing in today. We look forward to having you join us on the first quarter earnings call. Take care.
Ladies and gentlemen that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T. You may now disconnect.
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Do any of you guys have a Pipercross induction kit on it?
I put one on mine and when ticking over the induction kit itself sounds like a generator! It is not creating any problems, and still idles fine - just sounds wierd! The noise is only there untill about 2500rpm.
I spoke to Pipercross and they say that this is common on the 1.8 16V Ecotec engines (especially the veccy), they say it is nothing to worry about and it is just internal noise from the engine?
I was wondering if anyone else had this noise?? I'm told some other Vauxhall engines do it too....


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