text:
Town Square
Atherton Little League plans face opposition
Original post made on Sep 11, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 8:38 PM
Comments (42)
a resident of Atherton: West Atherton
on Sep 11, 2013 at 1:16 pm
As an Atherton resident who voted for Measure M, I am stunned and disgusted that any of our so-called "leaders" would continue this senseless war against the children and families of little league by attempting to circumvent a 75% mandate. These plans were clear on the ballot and approved by a huge margin. The fact that there were hours of debate on this shows how dysfunctional our government is. Anyone on the Council who does not support the voters on this should be recalled, or at least not re-elected.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 7:54 pm
Had voters known the extent to which the supposedly harmless Little League ballpark would overwhelm H-B Park and destroy the peaceful ambiance there, few would have voted for it. Reminds me of High Speed Rail and Obamacare . . . it wasn't until they were passed that we found out what was in store and then we regretted them. Thank goodness for an astute Planning Commission who saw through the phony façade of a supposedly harmless little ball-field and realized that it would be a permanent intrusion and eyesore at least seven months of the year. Little Leaguers have done just fine at the many school fields they already use. Let them continue there and leave our park in tranquility for all the non-ball-players who frequent it. I'm sure that a repeat election with the truth told would turn out very differently.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 8:12 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
This is what the voters approved:
"Should the Town permit the Menlo-Atherton Little League to improve the baseball field and surrounding areas at Holbrook-Palmer Park, including covered seating for spectators, an improved playing area for children, and new restrooms for all park users, using private funds only?"
There is nothing in the resolution which relieves the Town Council from approving the details of the proposed improvements. To argue otherwise would be to accept something like a 300 seat stadium without review or constraints.
a resident of Atherton: other
on Sep 11, 2013 at 8:24 pm
Size really does matter. Do you go smaller, or do go bigger. When you're talking about size removing it does matter, and who takes care of your lawn and how it's trimmed needs to go to City Council. In a nut shell that is what thats what were talking about.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Everyone who read the ballot knew what they were voting for. The ballot included arguments which made clear exactly what little league is going to do. The minority is simply re-arguing what they said during the election. They lost. Stand strong little league; good always prevails over evil.
a resident of Atherton: other
on Sep 11, 2013 at 8:30 pm
I think most voters are not stupid, as the City Council seems to assume. Voters evaluated the artistic renditions. They studied the arguments. And SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT decided they rather liked the modern ball park.
Contrast that with the library in the park idea that went down to sound defeat. How surprising that it's the same people who wanted the library that are throwing up roadblocks!
This sounds like an excellent election platform issue. Do you support implementing what the voters wanted?
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 8:34 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
Informed Voter - You are simply wrong.
This was the only information in the Voter's Guide:
The Town of Atherton has received a proposal from the MenloAtherton Little League to construct certain improvements to the
existing Little League baseball diamond in Holbrook-Palmer Park.
It proposes a number of improvements to the field and surrounding
facilities, ranging from leveling the field, erecting temporary
removable outfield fences, and construction of a small electric
scoreboard and permanent foul line poles. Of perhaps greater
significance is a desire to install covered seating grandstands and
new restrooms that will result in permanent improvements to the
area. The cost of such improvements will be paid for by the MenloAtherton Little League using only private funds. There will be no
taxpayer's funds used to complete the proposed improvements.
The Menlo-Atherton Little League proposal has not been through the
normal Atherton planning process at this time. The City Council has
determined that it wants citizen input with respect to the significant
permanent impacts of the application. The measure therefore asks
voters to decide whether permanent structures associated with the
Little League baseball diamond area of Holbrook-Palmer Park
should be allowed to be constructed after appropriate planning
review; specifically whether or not to allow construction of covered
spectator seating, an improved playing field, and new restroom
facilities in this area of the Park.
If approved by the voters, the grandstand and restroom permanent
facilities will be allowed in Holbrook-Palmer Park; however, if
rejected by the voters, this measure will prohibit such permanent
improvements in the Park. Voter approval of the measure will not
automatically grant the Little League improvement proposal which
will still have to go through the normal Town land use review
/s/ William B. Conners, City Attorney"
What is not clear about "The measure therefore asks
voters to decide whether permanent structures associated with the
Little League baseball diamond area of Holbrook-Palmer Park
should be allowed to be constructed AFTER appropriate planning
review; "?
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Mr. Carpenter, You either have no idea what you are talking about or you are purposefully trying to mislead the readers here. But what you say simply carries no weight. Go back and read the arguments for and against. It's all there. As someone else said, your "war on children" will go nowhere. Get over it.
a resident of Atherton: West of Alameda
on Sep 11, 2013 at 9:11 pm
I love the idea of first class seating. An inch or two matters to a full bodied person. If nothing else it allows me to put my feet on the seat in front of mine for back support. A number of grand parents I hope will go to games it allows handicap access. Hip & Knee surgery people it helps to have the freedom to move there legs. I love the fact that I can bring family members without making them feel handicapped with the first class seating. Isn't that why we live here. I prefer the best, and it matters to me. Why are we arguing over a couple of inches in 23 acres. I want a first class park in a first class town. Why are we focusing on inches. Isn't that like bringing a wash cloth to a title wave.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 9:12 pm
Informed? Voter - you did not answer the question :
What is not clear about "The measure therefore asks
voters to decide whether permanent structures associated with the
Little League baseball diamond area of Holbrook-Palmer Park
should be allowed to be constructed AFTER appropriate planning
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Well said, Colleen. "Appropriate" planning in this context means adherence to zoning ordinances and other legal reqiurements. Unless there are legal issues here which I'm not aware of, the vote of the overwhelming majority cannot be changed. As I understand, Measure M was not an advisory vote.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Please read the voter approved measure:
. Voter approval of the measure will not
automatically grant the Little League improvement proposal which
will still have to go through the normal Town land use review
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 9:47 pm
You should research what the "normal" land use review process is in our Town. Once educated, you will understand that what the minority is trying to do to this project is anything but normal. It is a pathetic attempt to ignore the voice of the super majority, which is just plain wrong and probably illegal.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 11, 2013 at 10:12 pm
You assume I'm a "he"? Par for the course for the "old guard" in this Town who will always resist change for the better and will run us into the ground if we let them.
a resident of Menlo-Atherton High School
on Sep 11, 2013 at 11:24 pm
I think Mr. Carpenter has been very kind to "Informed Voter", an ironic handle to use as it turns out.
Holbrook-Palmer is a multi-use park, and the vote does NOT mean that Little League gets to repurpose the park any way they see fit. There are other sports that play at HP and other events that use the field, and their needs are every bit as important as Little League's.
And shame on "Appalled" for playing the "children and families" card. There are other children and families that use the park, too, and their use and enjoyment of the park is every bit as important as Little League's.
The world does not revolve around you.
a resident of Atherton: West Atherton
on Sep 12, 2013 at 5:03 am
Let's not forget that Little League is being very generous relative to other park uses, as it has offered to donate real money for resurfacing of tennis courts and enhancement of surrounding landscape. It also will construct new restrooms which will be available to all park users, not just baseball players and families. Of course, all of that was on the ballot, along with the amount of seats which will be constructed and the other features. With the exception of a small group of folks who seem to not respect the democratic process, the Town is excited about these improvements and would like to see the work begin. Thank you Little League for doing this. I don't see any of the other organizations who use the park offering to do the same.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 12, 2013 at 6:15 am
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
Measure M was not a blank check for building whatever Little League wants to build.
The Argument For Measure M, which I voted for, states:
"• covered stands and dugouts designed to BLEND PERFECTLY with
existing park structures;"
The Impartial Analysis states:
"should be allowed to be constructed after appropriate planning
" Voter approval of the measure will not automatically grant the Little League improvement proposal which will still have to go through the normal Town land use review process."
We have an appointed Planning Commission of respected citizens and an elected Town Council of respected citizens to whom we look to for the stewardship of our public lands. It is to them that falls the responsibility for determining if the covered stands and dugouts have been designed to BLEND PERFECTLY with
existing park structures.
I again challenge mr/mrs/miss Informed Voter to come out of the shadows and to use your real name And I urge you to stop trying to characterize this discussion as a 'war on children" - what a horrible example to set for our young people on how to conduct a thoughtful dialogue!
a resident of Menlo Park: Felton Gables
on Sep 12, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Atherton's War on Children has a long history.
Look at all the legal actions and sanctions against youth in schools in Atherton. Look at the way Atherton treated youth sports organizations from Lacrosse to Little League to Pop Warner. Look at the way Atherton treated creative youth in fighting the MA PAC with lawsuit after lawsuit.
Lawsuits First, Children Last - the Atherton Way ™
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 12, 2013 at 12:51 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
Atherton voters gave the Little League a great gift of the use of public property in return for payments that are a fraction of the fair market value for the use of the property in question.
What is lacking is an understanding that this remains public property and the Little League cannot simply do what it wants with this gift - there were very clear strings attached and the voters knew this when they approved the gift.
And all the talk of 'war on children' is hogwash by adults who should know better than to use that language. I note that such language has only been used by posters who are afraid to use their real names.
a resident of Menlo-Atherton High School
on Sep 12, 2013 at 1:35 pm
"Atherton way" wrote:
> Lacrosse
It's ironic you'd mention Lacrosse since, if little league has its way, their fencing could impede on the ability to play Lacrosse. Hello?
So using your logic, there IS a "War on Children", but the battle is from the Little League, attacking everyone else that wants to use the park for purposes other than exclusively Little League.
Which makes LL and the people clamoring for a dedicated field SELFISH.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 12, 2013 at 1:56 pm
I am a 43 year resident of Atherton and have raised two children here. I along with friends coached soccer and little league in the mid 1970's at Holbrook Palmer Park. I am reminded how little infrastructure we had and yet had a wonderful baseball and soccer league with children, parents and coaches using the Park perhaps as the donor envisioned. It was not very fancy but then you don't need to be fancy playing baseball. Periodically, we had to appear before the Council to make a case for use of the Park and often there was tremendous resistance to organized youth sports. My memory still serves me well hearing Stanford baseball great Jack Shepard plead for Atherton's Little League to some stern looking Council members.
Fast forward a little to 1996 and the linked article describes the development of the field 17 years ago.
Web Link
Seems like the same arguments that have been going on for years but it is ridiculous that the proponents of this colossal baseball facility make the case that it is needed "for the kids". We have been playing baseball here for years and it has been just fine!... thank you.
I did vote YES for the improvements but shame on me in that I did not understand the extent and how it would impact the Park. I hope the Planning Commission and Council will realize they will do real damage to the nature of the Park that has been resisted all these years.
a resident of Menlo Park: Belle Haven
on Sep 12, 2013 at 4:25 pm
"a great gift of the use of public property in return for payments that are a fraction of the fair market value for the use of the property in question"
A great gift???? Letting children use a park at 'below fair market value' is now a 'great gift'????
There is not a non-profit youth sport in the world that can possibly pay "fair market value" for the time required to run a youth league, practices and games.
Athertonians! Sheesh! "fair market value for" kids to use a PARK!!! Take your head outta...
The sand.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 12, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
Dear Ostrich (how appropriate a name) - Park space is a scarce commodity and granting one small group of youth exclusive access to that space for extended periods of time denies that space to all other users. This exclusive access is indeed a gift to that small group and the price is the loss of access to all other park users.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 12, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
Scott - Thank you for your concern. I have a great life and part of the reason is a heavy involvement in my community.
Are the kids you are concerned with the ones who will be getting exclusive access to the park for a considerable amount of time or the ones who will be excluded by that exclusive access?
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Sep 12, 2013 at 9:44 pm
It's obviously been a few decades since a certain someone has had a kid in a youth sports group.
Make sure to pull up the ladder behind you!
a resident of Menlo-Atherton High School
on Sep 13, 2013 at 12:35 am
> Are the kids you are concerned with the ones who will be getting exclusive
> access to the park for a considerable amount of time or the ones who will
> be excluded by that exclusive access?
Ultimately, I'm concerned for both. But the the risk I see here is that, without oversight, what little league (LL) wants to build will result in the exclusion of non-little-leaguers to equal usage, like Lacrosse as suggested earlier.
Holbrook-Palmer is a multi-use park, and all reasonable efforts should be made to accommodate using it for a variety of functions, not just LL. LL ALREADY has use of the park, and ALREADY coexists with others that use the park as well. That coexistence should not be changed at the expense of anyone using the park.
But to be clear, I did vote yes to the LL ballot measure. Like you (and unlike some of the folks posting here) I actually read it and felt that some modest improvements could be a win for everyone, and reading the ballot measure and additional information left me assured that there was still reasonable checks and balances to ensure LL wouldn't go roughshod on the park, and deny usage to others.
I hope you, the Planning Committee and the Counsel continue to fight the good fight and protect the park for enjoyment for all. Even including Little League and its friends (though based on their behavior in these posts, I'm not sure I want to associate with them. Perhaps when I have my jogs in the park, I'll just give them a WIDE birth, which I guess I need to anyways since they need 36 inches to sit on a bench :) )
a resident of Menlo-Atherton High School
on Sep 13, 2013 at 12:41 am
As a side note, I was in attendance at the counsel meeting where the ballot measure was approved. I thought that was a bad idea; there was no reason to do so. LL was still going to have to go thru the planning committee and counsel approval processes.
In my opinion, the ballot was created as a consequence of the Library fiasco. The people didn't want it in the Park and (apparently, tho I didn't live here at the time) were not engaged in the process that resulted in almost moving the library there. So now the council has swung too far into requesting input on too many issues.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 13, 2013 at 8:51 am
peninsula resident states, "In my opinion, the ballot was created as a consequence of the Library fiasco. This is a very astute observation in that the LL and library in the Park ballot were parallel events with outside entities trying to use park land for their own objectives. The library JPA like the LL folks marketed the idea that there project was for the greater good, an expanded service area and, of course, for the benefit of the "children". All was to paid for by using free money at no cost to Atherton residents. We know how the library vote ended but the LL project was too superficial in detail (contrary to the library proposal)for residents to sort out. The feckless Council in a fit of pique over being unable to shove the library project through without a vote bucked the LL offer to voters with a poorly designed and ill designed ballot measure. Now the town residents are being mugged. The best thing would be to now delay and require the LL project be a plan developed by Atherton and not a outside third party. Taking third party money always has hooks, doesn't it Council?
Hopefully maybe the LL people would drop their plans and go away leaving Atherton to develop and pay for improvements with their own money. This should have been the way it should have been done in the first place.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 13, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
At that meeting, council members worked toward developing a compromise proposal for the Sept. 18 meeting, when the council is scheduled to vote on an agreement with the Little League."
18 Sept Council was just posted and this item is NOT on that agenda.
associate editor of The Almanac
on Sep 13, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Renee Batti is a registered user.
Peter, I just checked with the city clerk, who said the Menlo-Atherton Little League requested more time to work on its proposal, so the town postponed the issue. The item actually had been on an earlier version of the agenda.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 13, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Perhaps Atherton is waking up to MA-LL plan?
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is joy in Atherton—mighty MA-LL has struck out.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 13, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
" the Menlo-Atherton Little League requested more time to work on its proposal,"
Perhaps the Little Leagues is listening to the feedback from the supporters of Measure M that the Little League does not have a blank check to do whatever it wants. So much for the pontifications of the so-called Informed Voter, Ostrich etc.
a resident of Atherton: other
on Sep 13, 2013 at 5:08 pm
It is unfortunate to see the degradation of the discourse over the potential changes or improvements (depending on one's POV) to HP Park proposed by the Menlo Atherton Little League. What started out as a good deed and a needed benefit for the Park and MA-LL and its participating families, has now degenerated into a "spit-fest" between generally good citizens who care about the town, good governance and trying to make playing/viewing a youth baseball game in the Park more enjoyable.
I was involved with MA-LL for eight years as a coach and board member. Several of those eight years were after my son had aged out and no longer could play Little League ball. I can personally vouch that the parents involved were and are not "evil people" looking to hoodwink the Town and destroy the park for their personal interests. They are decent men and women who are passionate about their kids, their community and baseball. Simply put, the League wants a better and safer experience for both players and spectators alike and is willing to fund the entire cost plus other needed park renovations. And that I believe, in its most basic state, is why the majority voted their approval to move forward with the project.
Similarly, the people who express objection to some of the proposed enhancements in the proposal or want the full process to take its course aren't heathens or the devil incarnate either. They too have reasonable rationale for their POV's, be it adherence to good governance or concern about how the enhancements might impact other sports or activities in the park. It is their prerogative as users of the park and residents of Atherton.
While healthy debate is good and necessary for initiatives like this one, it doesn't do the Town, its citizens or the League any good to drag individuals and entities through the mud in the course of its approval. All we end up with is resentment, hostility, tarnished images and even more intransigence on future issues.
If there is a formal and legal approval process to be followed for this project, then it should be followed, whether one likes it or not. Has it taken a long time to get to this stage – indeed it has (almost five years from initial inception). That's painfully long. Yet, if it takes a while longer to get to closure, then so be it. The process needs to play out and the Planning Commission and Town Council need to provide their input and final approval respectively. If that also means some of the proposed field enhancements don't get approved, then so be it. In the end, the League, the Town, the Park and the kids will be better off having a better - safer field and viewing conditions than what we have today. Patience and persistence are often hallmarks of noble undertakings, particularly ones in the public domain.
M-A Little League has been a real benefit to our community and the local youth sports scene and has served its families well over many years. I for one don't want to see all the good work and good will undermined on the path towards the project's finalization. I hope the League continues to move the project forward and continues to listen to and adapt to feedback along the way. To an even greater degree, I hope that we can keep the discourse healthy and collaborative as the proposal moves towards final approval.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 13, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
Scott Barnum - Well said - Thank you
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Sep 13, 2013 at 5:41 pm
The simplest answer may be to combine the West Menlo-Alpine and Menlo-Atherton Little Leagues into a single league for Menlo Park, Portola Valley and west Woodside. Atherton shouldn't need to play baseball any more than share or maintain its fields. Correction: grassy area in the park.
a resident of another community
on Sep 13, 2013 at 8:05 pm
The MA-LL probably pulled their agenda item from Council Meeting because the consulted their attorneys. They will be filing suit against the Town for not following the wishes of the voters.
Everyone knew what they were voting for. Perhaps the decision to put the measure on the ballot was arrogant and ill-advised. But, that's what WMD did. And, not it's time to pay the piper.
It was gargantuan library vs. stadium. The voters went with the stadium. Time to enact the will of the voters.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 13, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
"Everyone knew what they were voting for. "
Yes they did:
"The Menlo-Atherton Little League proposal has not been through the
normal Atherton planning process at this time."
"The measure therefore asks voters to decide whether permanent structures associated with the Little League baseball diamond area of Holbrook-Palmer Park
should be allowed to be constructed AFTER appropriate planning
review; "
"Voter approval of the measure will NOT automatically grant the Little League improvement proposal which will still have to go through the normal Town land use review process."
Any law suit would fail.
Due process will prevail.
a resident of Menlo-Atherton High School
on Sep 13, 2013 at 10:39 pm
Scott Barnum wrote:
> {a fair minded and thoughtful post]
Ah, a voice a reason. Thank you. We need more voices like yours. The only thing I'd add in response is that your post implies there's an equal level of hostility on both sides. Respectfully, I beg to differ.
Many of the folks that have shown concern about the impact of what LL proposes voted FOR the measure; clearly there is an understanding that some modest improvements could be a win for everyone, both LL and others that use the park. Even among the folks that are resisting the scale to which LL wants to change the park actually WANT LL to continue to use HP, and are agreeable to making it more functional for athletic play and spectating.
But some from the LL side (hopefully a minority) clearly want the space configured for their exclusive use, AT THE EXPENSE of other equally valid uses. Baseball is not the only game in town, literally, yet these LL parents are quite obstinate and vocal in their refusal to work with others to find a common ground, that allows all equal enjoyment of the park.
Respectfully, the problem here isn't the Town of Atherton, Athertonians or nearby residents. The problem is the hard-headedness of a few little league parents.
> Has it taken a long time to get to this stage – indeed it has
> (almost five years from initial inception).
While you didn't explain why it took almost 5 years to get to this point, I thought I'd mention that I'm highly skeptical that Atherton or HP had anything to do with the bulk of that time. I was at the meeting when the Council agreed to put the LL issue on the ballot. It was LL that came in at the last minute proposing a ballot, and the Council agreed, with the included stipulations on going thru the normal planning committe process.
It's unfortunate that this issue has taken as long as it has to get resolved, but...to paraphrase an old saying, "lack of planning on their part doesn't constitute an emergency on our part."
If LL wanted this done sooner, they should have submitted plans sooner.
a resident of Atherton: other
on Sep 14, 2013 at 11:00 am
I was not at the council meeting, but rememeber reading in the Almanac about the council rushing staff to put something on the ballot:
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Atherton's full plate: meetings on Little League, Town Center
by Renee Batti
The Aug. 7 meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The council will try to hammer out ballot language for a measure that will ask voters whether they support aspects of a Little League proposal for facilities in Holbrook-Palmer Park, and another measure pertaining to the plan to rebuild the Town Center.
Council members tabled the same agenda items at a special July 25 meeting after acknowledging that details of both proposed projects were so vague that neither they nor staff could figure out what they would be asking voters to decide.
Council members Jerry Carlson and Elizabeth Lewis oppose putting the two additional measures on the ballot, but the council majority asked the staff to come back with more information so the council can come up with appropriate language, which must be submitted to the county by Aug. 10.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Sep 14, 2013 at 11:17 am
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
I predict that:
1 - There will be a LL field with amenities at HP Park
2 - It will be designed to blend perfectly with existing park structures
3 - Everyone will be able to continue to enjoy the park
a resident of Atherton: other
on Sep 16, 2013 at 3:09 am
Oh yes PLEASE build this monster ego park ball field so that the terms if the will of M. Holbrook can kick in -- Atherton will lose the park and the new owners under the terms of the estate can sell the land for high density infill housing.
That is truly thinking "for the children." Think how many will be able to live there. Sadly the fat butt residents of Atherton will have to perch their egos and derrières somewhere else . But the children will benefit. And that is what counts.
a resident of Menlo Park: Felton Gables
on Sep 19, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Yes the measure passed with a large majority but it never gave LL a green light to build a facility that was out of proportion to the park. Please build a new, safe facility but one that is repsectful to the natural open space we now enjoy and allows other users of the park to use the grass in the off season.
Clearly the proposed "Grandstand" is too large for the park and will only serve as a trophy to a few. I have never been to a LL game where more than 40-50 people were attending and often it is less than that. The idea of a large baseball facility that sits idle half the year is an eyesore and should be scaled back.
I think the LL organizers need to stop fighting for a new Yankee stadium in the park and recognize that a smaller, more respectful structure will serve the same purpose, please the other users of the park and stand the test of time.
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text: The previous post addressed how to become better acquainted with your craft as a future Group Fitness Instructor (GFI), from understanding your career options to preparing for the exam. Now we'll discuss how to truly hone in on your skill set as a newly certified ACE-GFI with these 8 additional tips: Tip 9: Follow a mentor In the first 8 tips, I suggested you get a mentor. At that time it wasn't important if that person was someone who taught the class modality you were pursuing or not. This time, however, you'll need to find a mentor specifically in your discipline who can watch you teach occasionally (either recorded or live) and give you feedback that helps you grow within your craft. It's important that this person really understands all of the nuances within your discipline, so choose carefully. Tip 10: Earn your certification You've studied hard and now it's time to take your ACE certification exam. If you don't pass the first time, remember some of the leading fitness presenters of the world experience the same thing. Don't let it discourage you from your passion! Schedule your examination on a calendar to help you plan your study course of action and take advantage of all of the great study tools and resources at your disposal, including ACE's free Study Coach program. Tip 11: Take classes Making a plan to take at least two group fitness classes per month from different sources is key to help stay abreast of what others are doing in the industry, especially in your local area. Just as instructors attend conventions to see what is current on a large scale, so too is it imperative to stay current with what's transpiring on a smaller scale in your surrounding area. Attending classes will help connect you with other practicing group fitness instructors, and will also help build your professional network, which may include occasionally pairing up with other instructors for special event classes. Tip 12: Ask for honesty When you're teaching, ask for honest feedback. Not every class participant feels comfortable telling you where you need to grow, so also offer people the opportunity to make comments through occasional surveys, in-person immediately following class or online. Violet Zaki, an ACE-certified Group Fitness Instructor for Equinox in New York City, always finishes her experiences telling her clients, "Once again, my name is Violet, and if you enjoyed today's workout, please tell your friends. If you didn't, please tell me. I'm always available for questions and comments." Remember, no one grows from praise. Whenever people tell me they enjoyed a session, I always go to colleagues I trust to find out how I can GROW. We all love praise, but it doesn't make us grow in the same way that honest, valuable feedback does. Tip 13: Purchase liability insurance Upon earning your professional certification, purchase professional liability insurance, which you can do at a discounted rate as an ACE-certified professional! Having liability insurance can help protect you no matter where you teach, whether its in a gym, a church or outdoors at a park. Tip 14: Hone your message I consistently ask my mentorees "what is your message?" Rarely do they have an answer. Your message is not what you like to teach or the catchphrase you say over and over. Your message is not the theme you create from class to class. Your message is your mission: what you find yourself saying to all people as a true teacher, regardless of equipment or class discipline. My message is "wellness without walls," which doubles as my mission statement on my website. To be successful in today's competitive industry, you should have a message that you can incorporate into all aspects of fitness that you do. Knowing what your message is – and following that message – will also help you make good choices throughout your fitness career by allowing you to ask yourself with each decision you make: "does this bring me closer to my message or push me further from it?" Tip 15: Script yourself! Write out and memorize your initial start and final phase. Regardless of class discipline, try to develop a script for your unique style as an instructor. The best actors do not invent their lines on the spot; they memorize tone, gesticulations and eye contact that accompany wonderful scripteds. Use your notebook to gather sayings from other instructors that may also apply to you and incorporate those into your openings and closings. Write out the requirements in words that match your personality that sound authentic, and then try to memorize your script. Tip 16: Practice teaching Practice cueing and coaching your classes verbally, visually and kinesthetically. Far better than sitting in the subway or driving in the car and mentally "going over" what you plan on doing with your classes, you have to discipline yourself to stand up, get the equipment you need, play the actual music you'll use in class, open your notebook to the script you created following the previous tip, and run through the entire class at least three times. First, practice just the things you will say and rehearse the best way you want things to come out of your mouth. Second, practice moving through the exercises silently, both to practice visual cueing and your own efficacy in the movements. Third, put the first two steps together and cue verbally and visually, adding mentions to how movements should "feel," incorporating the words "sense" and "imagine" for the kinesthetic learners. The more you practice your classes, the more professional you will become.


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La Guma, (Justin) Alex(ander) 1925–
A black South African novelist and short story writer, La Guma is an outspoken critic of apartheid. In his overriding concern to portray apartheid's moral injustice, La Guma depicts a violent urban landscape peopled by oppressed characters in generally hopeless situations. His later work has been progressively revolutionary. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 49-52.)
The Times Literary Supplement
It is difficult to separate Alex La Guma's novel, And a Threefold Cord, from its author's life and the circumstances of its writing. One of the Coloured leaders against apartheid in Cape Town, where he was born, Mr. La Guma … wrote the book between two terms of imprisonment while under house arrest in 1963…. [The novel] is a restrained account of a few days in one family's life in the shanty slums on the outer fringes of Cape Town. The book has no overt message—save the simple one of its epigraph, from Ecclesiastes, which gives the work its title—yet it is impossible to read the description of death, birth, crime, tragedy and brutality in these lower depths of South Africa, of the maggot-infested...
(The entire section is 180 words.)
Lewis Nkosi
What distinguishes La Guma's work is that it shows real people waging a bloody contest with the forces of oppression: they celebrate their few short moments of victory, credibly enough, in sex, cheap Cape wines and stupid fights with one another.
A Walk in the Night describes for us what happens to Michael Adonis, a Coloured boy thrown out of his job for talking back to a white foreman, and a supporting cast of thugs, derelicts, spivs and neurotic cops doomed for a certain term to walk the night. (p. 165)
Lewis Nkosi, "Annals of Apartheid," in New Statesman (© 1965 The Statesman & Nation Publishing Co. Ltd.), Vol. LXIX, No. 1768, January 29,...
(The entire section is 111 words.)
Gideon-Cyrus M. Mutiso
A Walk in the Night is a representative novella and six short stories by Alex La Guma.
The novella, "A Walk in the Night," is set in the slums of Capetown where living and getting ahead are based on violence…. In "A Matter of Taste," La Guma explores the relationship between a white tramp who wants to go to America and two African railroad workers who are the ones who teach him the "trick" of jumping the train to travel to Cape Town to catch the ship. In the story, there are vivid details of how the Africans sublimate some of their knowledge of European culture which they cannot afford. "Blankets" is a story of deep anguish. Although the protagonist is near death because of a street...
(The entire section is 225 words.)
The Times Literary Supplement
In the Fog of the Season's End is best described as a novella, for it is short and confines itself almost entirely to one character. This is "Buke" Beukes, full-time underground organizer in Cape Town…. Mr La Guma does not pay much attention to exploring Beukes's psyche. He is defined by his actions, a type, a man of great integrity and real courage if little imagination. He organizes his cadre in the activity possible in police state countries: distributing pamphlets and helping to smuggle out of the country men prepared to topple the government by force.
Mr La Guma's prose is usually spare and deft. He tells it like it is, but is capable of using imagery imaginatively, and of illuminating...
(The entire section is 224 words.)
Angus Calder
In the Fog of the Seasons' End reminds us that South Africa is not merely an 'issue', some abstract fixture to arrange in the liberal conscience; it is a complicated country full of living people and able to retain the love of those who suffer in it. The novel tells us chiefly about three men, two Coloured, one African, who work in a political organisation which, years after bans and arrests have driven all radical opposition underground, still distributes revolutionary leaflets and ferries volunteers out to train as guerrillas. The elegiac title is not misplaced….
No one is especially brave or particularly clever. Even the dedicated Beukes is essentially an average sensual man, always...
(The entire section is 346 words.)
David Rabkin
La Guma is a committed opponent of the South African system of government, and his writings reflect this political stance. At the same time, they avoid the pitfalls of South African writing on the colour question, which Lewis Nkosi has accused of being 'journalistic fact parading outrageously as imaginative literature'. Nkosi considers that black South African writers have failed to satisfy the requirement of literature as a 'maker of values'. On the other hand, La Guma's novels, especially [In the Fog of the Season's End], would satisfy Dr. Gurr's request for 'Third World' writers who 'help us to change the world'. (p. 54)
A Walk in the Night is about crime, not politics. A robbery is...
(The entire section is 1964 words.)
John Updike
["In the Fog of the Season's End"] delivers, through its portrait of a few hunted blacks attempting to subvert the brutal regime of apartheid, a social protest reminiscent, in its closely detailed texture and level indignation, of Dreiser and Zola. (p. 84)
In Alex La Guma's novel of South Africa, white men are everywhere, "pink and smooth as strawberry jelly." They function as bosses, owners, policemen, and torturers. "In the Fog of the Season's End" has a setting … [thoroughly urban]. (p. 89)
Mr. La Guma is not … one to let his message slip by unnoticed, nor is his descriptive prose shy of insistence. Similes proliferate; at their best they quicken their referent … and at...
(The entire section is 417 words.)
Leonard Kibera
[In the Fog of the Season's End] marks a new and refreshing direction in South African literature. For in this novel the characters are no longer merely acted upon by events but are themselves acting, showing a marked determination to control their future through positive struggle. (p. 59)
La Guma is still as angry about apartheid as he was in his earlier works. But here the anger is carefully controlled and the self-pity that his characters indulged in A Walk in the Night is here absent. In that bitter work the oppressed of South Africa were capable only of turning their anger on themselves. Michael Adonis was caught without having done anything more to recognise the real enemy in...
(The entire section is 1187 words.)
Samuel Omo Asein
[Alex La Guma's novels] tell a long continuous story of oppression, exploitation and dehumanization of blacks by a ruthless social machine.
La Guma's appraisal of the agony of South African blacks and coloureds is well represented in two suggestively dramatic and symbolic situations in And A Threefold Cord and The Stone Country, respectively, accounts of a fly trapped in a cup, and of a prison cat sadistically chasing a mouse. In the first, we are given an insight into the gruesome struggle against the stifling, almost elemental, force of apartheid. In the second, La Guma attempts to capture the life of haunted blacks as they enact their tragic drama against the parched background of...
(The entire section is 1132 words.)
David Dorsey
[In Time of the Butcherbird] La Guma has again deftly constructed a novel whose action develops as a puzzle. Individuals are independently introduced, fleshed out with current concerns and flashback biographies and placed in the setting where they collide. The event which results is brief and final, but all that has preceded is needed either for explanation or evaluation of the denouement. An epilogue suggests the future of the survivors.
The oppression of blacks in a South African hamlet permeates the setting, offers a sketchy, unintegrated subordinate plot and motivates one character, whom we may identify with the proverbial butcherbird, "a hunter and smeller-out of sorcerers, because he...
(The entire section is 299 words.)


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Discussion in 'NFL Zone' started by Sean50Lee, Dec 7, 2012.
One of the Giants has it, too.
Canty, Tuck, maybe.
Seems like they could open up the viewing angle a bit if the player has a visor.
Seems like they could make the mask a whole lot more open and put visors on everyone. Maybe not the tinted ones but clear.
It looks like it would be hard to see out of
Yeah, it's Tuck but his is a little different.
This is the one I was referring to.
He wore this for the opener I believe.....problem all games but whatever
In 30 years, all players are going to look like an extra in Robocop/Judge Dredd.
Exactly...it looks dumb.
Why does he need a new mask anyway, thought he was out for the year.
Nope he will be back next week. Those facemasks are good. Ware got one recently (not nearly as ridiculous, but passrushers get their fasemasks grabbed more than any other player and its almost never called. When I was a 3-4 MLB in high school I called the defense so of course I just always blitzed haha and I can't tell you how many times I was jammed in the face with fingers and whole hands (it was illegal to wear the eye shields which is super dumb).
Yep. Lewis returns incredibly early from a biceps tear. What a medical marvel. I would drug test him immediately. :laugh2:
His return will bring about a much needed leadership boost to that team though.
Same goes for Suggs..
He reminds me a bit of Bane from the Dark Knight part 3.
Looks like a complete clown
Peyton Hillis was a little more like Bane to me
Speaking of Bane and to go OT.
I watched that movie the other night on DTV OnDemand.
Blown away. Hands down the best Batman movie ever made.
Back OT..
Ray Lewis looks like a Halloween prank in that get up.
No no really.....wear this. It makes you look SCARY!!
I hate to question what Ray Lewis does when it comes to football but that looks stupid.


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Renegade Chef: Morels, fiddle-heads and lots of garbage
Morels, fiddle-heads and lots of garbage
I roam the woods frequently this time of year. The morels have popped up, the ferns are uncoiling their fiddle-heads and even the dead, fallen birch and oak trees exude a simple beauty that seems to intensify against the dark green backdrop of the forest floor.
The canvas subtly changes in color and depth as the day passes — from the mist of an early morning rain, through a cloudy afternoon and into the pre-twilight when the sun finally breaks through and casts a brilliant shimmer to the edges of emerging ferns and the green velvet of dead oak. Even the poison ivy is beautiful.
This is one of the best times of year to forage the woods. Treading the forest floor is relatively easy. The mosquitoes haven't quite figured out their simple, blood-sucking destiny and the air is still cool. The ticks are horrendous, but, hey, people get Lyme disease in the winter.
The key here is visibility. In two weeks the forest will turn into a jungle of undergrowth and all objects will disappear. But today, as I write this column, I can spy a mushroom or a Monarch caterpillar hiding in the decaying compost of last autumn's leaves; animal droppings, from rabbits, deer, even bear, are everywhere. The bleached skull and bones of what? — a porcupine? — is almost fluorescent in the distance. And what is that shimmering just ahead?
A beer can — Michelob Light. A few feet away is another can — Coors Light. Apparently whoever left these cans was somewhat health-conscious but didn't give a darn about the environment. The next time I find myself in a local watering hole and see two people drinking those very same brands, I might just fine them $700 for littering.
But then I find a mushroom — a baby black morel that was too small to harvest. I marked the spot with the Michelob can. I spotted another baby morel and marked the sight with the Coors Light can. Unfortunately, I find no more mushrooms, but I do find several more cans, a rusty hubcap, a moldy couch with rusty springs, two junked dishwashers, a stove, three orange highway cones, a golf ball, a refrigerator, a shattered car windshield, a gas can, a lawnmower, two car batteries and several garbage bags filled with who knows what — Jimmy Hoffa?
Every season I find more garbage and fewer mushrooms so I bribe a veteran morel picker for advice. Search in woods dominated with deciduous trees, he tells me. Look for hills and valleys with southern exposure. And, if possible, find a place where no human has ever been.
"Do you know of such a place?" I ask.
He directs me to a remote area in the foothills near Backus, well-known for being unknown. It's easy to find, he says.
"Just take the third trail to the left. You can't miss it — it's marked with an old Kenmore water heater. Follow that trail until you come to a cluster of old creosote buckets and turn right. Once you get past the piles of sheetrock and cement rubble, turn right at the rusty burn barrel and you're home-free. If you come across a junked Pontiac, you've gone too far."
But I decide against making the long trip to the pristine, uninhabited wilderness of the foothills. There is plenty of garbage closer to home. And if I come across a nice cluster of wild mushrooms, I'll know I took the right path — the one leading to the produce aisle in Cub Foods.


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Can a computer program reproduce everything that happens inside a living cell?
Brian Hayes
The computations performed in the transcription module are quite different from those of the metabolic subunit. Instead of linear programming, we have discrete events governed by probabilities.
Transcription of a gene begins when a molecule of the enzyme RNA polymerase binds to a chromosomal site called a promoter. The enzyme then ratchets along the double helix, producing a strand of messenger RNA whose sequence is complementary to that of one DNA strand. When the transcript is complete, the polymerase drops off the double helix and releases the RNA. Each step in this process requires a variety of other molecules—initiation factors, elongation factors, termination factors, energy donors—as well as a supply of nucleotides to be incorporated into the growing RNA strand.
In the WholeCell system, each RNA polymerase molecule is an individual object with four possible states: actively transcribing, bound to a promoter region, bound to DNA elsewhere and unbound. Transitions between the states are random events with probabilities calculated to match the experimentally observed distribution. Also, various promoter sites differ in their affinity for RNA polymerase, so the probability of binding is higher in some places than others.
Because of probabilistic events like these, the WholeCell model has an element of nondeterminism. Every run can be expected to produce somewhat different results, even with the same initial conditions and environment. But of course fluctuations and chance events also have a role in real biology; even perfect clones will not follow exactly the same trajectory through life.
Reading the source code of the transcription module gives some vivid glimpses of the subtleties that a wary modeler must keep in mind. Suppose a roll of the digital dice dictates that a certain RNA polymerase molecule is to bind to a promoter site. What happens if all the promoter sites are already occupied? What happens if two polymerase molecules try to grab the same promoter site at the same time? What if two transcription enzymes collide as they move along the DNA? Nature seems to handle such conflicts without having to think about them, but the modeler has to think of everything.
Collisions between enzymes scuttling along the chromosome are not rare events. Results of the WholeCell simulation suggest they happen about once per second, or perhaps 30,000 times in the course of a full cell cycle. The model is therefore equipped with rules to decide who has the right of way.
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Cantabrians last night revelled in reclaiming their city centre with the opening of a 10-day light festival.
The world's first Festival of Transitional Architecture launched in the quake-hit city of Christchurch - laser beams, projectors and balloons were used by architecture students from around the country to create a city made of light for one night.
Thousands of residents turned out for the LUXCITY event, which brought life back into the red zone among the rubble and empty sites on Gloucester St between Manchester and Colombo streets and down Manchester St to Worcester St.
Many took to twitter to celebrate the "magic moments" for the city.
Once woman described it as "understated and beautiful", while another said the installations were "awe-inspiring".
The festival also includes pop-up bars, cafes, live music and performance venues and a night market
The aim of the event, funded by Creative New Zealand, Christchurch City Council through Gap Filler and the Todd Foundation, is to create excitement and hope for the city's recovery.