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A PROLIFIC shoplifter with a penchant for stealing pens has been banned from Bury town centre.
John Hodgson, aged 45, of Coronation Road, Radcliffe, nicknamed the 'pen pincher' by traders, has been convicted 20 times for shoplifting since May, 2010, and also has convictions for drugs offences.
On January 2, Hodgson went with accomplice Edward Fitzgerald, aged 45, of Bolton Road, Radcliffe, to WH Smith in Haymarket Street, Bury, and the pair stole £600 worth of Parker pens, worth about £35 each.
Staff noticed them behaving suspiciously and handed over CCTV evidence to Bury Police and they were arrested.
This latest offence prompted police to ask for a wide-ranging anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) to be issued.
Last Thursday, both men pleaded guilty to theft before Bury magistrates, who gave Fitzgerald and Hodgson a 12-month conditional discharge as well as ordering Fitzgerald to pay £200 compensation from his benefits.
They ordered Hodgson to follow the terms of an ASBO, which means he cannot enter Bury town centre.
The ban area is bordered by Jubilee Way, Peel Way including Woodfield Retail Park, Wash Lane, York Street including Moorgate Retail Park, Lord Street, Cecil Street including Halls Mill and Angouleme Retail Park, Market Street and Angouleme Way.
However, Hodgson will be allowed to attend appointments with the community drugs team in Bury.
After the hearing, a WH Smith spokesman said: "We are pleased with the outcome.
"Hopefully, this will put him off coming here."
A trader working in the town centre, who asked not to be named, said: "I've seen him trying to sell pens on to people before. We call him the pen pincher. It's great that the police have finally come down hard on him."


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Incontinent Urinary Diversion Using an Autologous Neo-Urinary Conduit
This study has been completed.
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: March 15, 2010
Last updated: December 9, 2014
Last verified: December 2014
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study has been completed.
|Study Completion Date:
|December 2014
|Primary Completion Date:
|December 2014 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

subset: commoncrawl


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The material a wader is manufactured from varies depending on the water temperature that wader was intended for. Waders intended for warm-to-moderate water temperature are often construction from fully waterproof material or a waterproof/breathable membrane like Gore-Tex, whereas cold-weather waders may use insulation or material like neoprene.
Like the gaiters that keep snow out of your snow boots, gravel guards secure around the top of your boots to prevent sand, gravel, and other debris from getting in your wading boots. These guards can be a huge help in rivers and creeks that are particularly silty, rocky, or thick with debris. Gravel guards are a common feature on most waders.
Wading booties are footwear integrated into the wader designed to keep your feet warm when you're wading in cold water. Often, these booties have integrated drain holes, reinforced taping, and some form of hook-and-loop closure at the instep. You may see wading socks also referred to as 'booties.'


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Get an overview of this hotelLuxury hotel in garden setting steps from Orchard Road
Popular property highlights
In heart of Singapore
Located in the heart of Singapore, this 20-story tower is around the corner from Orchard Road, a popular shopping street. The Botanical Gardens and National Orchid Garden are within 2 kilometers (1.25 miles).
Spa, rooftop pool
The Four Seasons Hotel Singapore has a rooftop pool and garden with city views, a private club with tennis courts and fitness center, a full-service spa, and a business center.
LCD TVs, MP3 docks
Guestrooms at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore feature high ceilings and original Asian art and include marble bathrooms with deep-soaking tubs and separate showers, LCD televisions, DVD/CD/VCD players, MP3 docks and pillow menu.
Guest Highlights
- Spotless guestrooms
- Good location
- Breakfast
- Pool
- Helpful staff
- Guestroom size
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
At the 20-story Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, guests can escape the bustle of the city and enjoy access to the private club with indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a fitness center, outdoor lap pool, and full-service award winning spa. The rooftop outdoor pool and gardens feature panoramic views of the skyline. The hotel was voted TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice for 2017.
The bistro grill serves Singaporean and international cuisine while the Chinese restaurant specializes in Cantonese cuisine. The bar has a comfortable indoor area and an outdoor area that overlooks Orchard Boulevard. Throughout the hotel, there are over 1,500 original pieces of Asian art on display. Early morning coffee, tea, and pastries are available for guests.
The hotel's 1,565 square meters (16,855 square feet) of meeting space includes two ballrooms, two meeting suites, and on the 20th floor, two conference rooms with views of the city. A business center and multilingual concierge are both available. Airport shuttle and limousine service are available for a surcharge as is self parking and valet parking. Other amenities include air conditioning in public areas.
- 24-hour front desk
- Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)
- Airport transportation (surcharge)
- Conference space
- Total number of rooms - 255
- Number of floors - 20
- Babysitting or childcare
- Bar/lounge
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Business center
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Newspapers in lobby (surcharge)
- Concierge services
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Express check-in
- 24-hour health club
- Full-service spa
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Number of outdoor pools - 2
- Designated smoking areas
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free WiFi
- Laundry facilities
- Limo or Town Car service available
- Meeting rooms 3
- Multilingual staff
- Rooftop terrace
- Luggage storage
- Long-term parking (surcharge)
- Self parking (surcharge)
- Tennis on site
- Number of restaurants - 2
- Indoor tennis courts - 2
- Outdoor tennis courts - 2
- Sauna
- Spa services on site
- Spa tub
- Steam room
- Wedding services
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Long-term parking (surcharge), Self parking (surcharge)
Room Amenities
- DVD player
- Free newspaper
- Air conditioning
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Phone
- Free bottled water
- Refrigerator
- Minibar
- Coffee/tea maker
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Bathrobes
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Separate bathtub and shower
- Bidet
- In-room massage available
- Deep soaking bathtub
- Desk
- In-room safe
- MP3 docking station
- Cable TV service
- Free WiFi
- Room service (24 hours)
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Rollaway/extra beds (surcharge)
Where to Eat
One-Ninety Wood-fired Steaks and Seafood - Grilled steaks and wood-fired ocean-fresh seafood take center stage at this award-winning restaurant, led by Executive Chef Giovanni Speciale. The intimacy and understated luxury of the restaurant includes a show kitchen enclave, to catch glimpses of our culinary team working their magic over arched open wood-fired grills and oven, fired by aromatic apple wood.
Jiang-Nan Chun - This Chinese restaurant specializes in authentic Cantonese cuisine. Signature dishes include Peking Duck with caviar, handcrafted dim sums, and double-boiled soups. Open for lunch and dinner daily.
One-Ninety Bar and Terraza by Javier de las Muelas - The bar has a club-like setting with sofas and armchairs while the outdoor area is surrounded by a tropical garden and overlooks Orchard Boulevard. Open for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea along with light fare and cocktails throughout the day. Lead by our creative partner Javier de las Muelas, master of the award-winning Dry Martini bar in Barcelona.
24-hour room service offers an extensive menu.
Nearby Things to Do
The rooftop free-form pool is surrounded by a landscaped terrace and features views of the city skyline. On the third floor is an outdoor lap pool along with a spa tub. Poolside amenities include frozen fruit and bottled water.
The Club at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore includes a gym with cardio equipment, weight-training machines, free weights, an aerobics studio, and men's and women's saunas and steam rooms. The club also has four tennis courts: two are indoors and air conditioned and two are outdoors with flood-lights for night play. Aerobics classes, bicycle rentals, and personal training are available on request.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Fitness classes on site
- Bicycle rentals on site
- Tennis lessons on site
Spa Services
The full-service spa is located in the Four Seasons Spa & L'OCCITANE at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore and has five treatment rooms. L'OCCITANE offers spa treatments. Massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and nail services are also available in the guestroom.
- Swedish massage
- Steam room in spa
- Thai massage
- Reflexology
- Sports massage
- Manicures and pedicures
- Aromatherapy treatments
- Sauna in spa
- Spa tub in spa
- Massages
- Body treatments
- Facial treatments
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
- Roll-in shower
Hotel Policies
Check-in time ends at midnight
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Special check-in instructions:
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available for SGD 112 per day.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets allowed for an extra charge of SGD 100 per accommodation, per stay
- 1 per room (up to 15 lb)
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
- Deposit: SGD 200 per night
Optional extras
- Breakfast fee: SGD 46 per person (approximately)
- Airport shuttle fee: SGD 140 per vehicle (roundtrip)
- Self parking fee: SGD 15 per day
- Pet fee: SGD 100 per accommodation, per stay
- Rollaway bed fee: SGD 112 per day
Hotel Name
- Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
- Four Seasons Singapore
- Singapore Four Seasons Hotel
- 4 Seasons Hotel Singapore
- Singapore Four Seasons
We should mention
Reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.


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Home decor finds for looks you'll get lost in.
Your coupon will be applied to the highest regular-price, eligible item in your cart.
Offer good for one item at regular price only. Limit one coupon per customer per day. Must present coupon at time of purchase. Offer is not valid with any other coupon, discount or previous purchase. One cut or one bolt of fabric or trim "by the yard" equals one item. Online fabric & trim discount is limited to 10 yards, single cut. Excludes CRICUT® products, Gemini Machine™ Crafters Companion, Silhouette CAMEO® Machine, candy & snack products, gum & mints, helium tanks, gift cards, custom orders, special orders, labor, rentals or class fees. Cash Value 1/10¢.
Home decor finds for looks you'll get lost in.
Hang out here for DIY-day essentials.
Fabrics and trims your friends will love.
The smallest goodies make the biggest impact.
Happy days start with happy bouquets.
Where prep is just as fun as the party itself.
Life slows down when you make time to create.
Once you stitch, you just can't quit.
Fall Collections
Welcome to your fall dream-come-true.
DIY jewelry - accessories are necessities.
There are no rules in the game of style!
Bring your flat paper crafts to a new level with Round Bright Polka Dot Brads! These metal brads feature a simple circle design with tiny, white polka dots and bright colors including pink, orange, yellow, lime green, blue, and purple. Use them to fasten on fun flower embellishments or to finish cards, gift tags, scrapbook pages, gift bags and boxes, and so much more for a groovy pop of dimension.
Package contains 36 brads (6 of each color).
Warning: CHOKING HAZARD: Small Parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.
I love it! Add to wish list


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… Actually, the winners are. In a few different ways.
First, there are the nominees for the Golden Globe awards, which came out this morning. Among those in contention: Glenn Close and Janet McTeer for playing trans men in Albert Nobbs (look for a feature in Dallas Voice next week on that film), Leo DiCaprio for playing the gay FBI chief in J. Edgar, Kenneth Branagh for playing the bisexual Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn, Christopher Plummer for playing a gay man who comes out late in life in Beginners, Rooney Mara for playing the bisexual investigator in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jodie Foster as a mom in Carnage and Michael Fassbender as a sex addict in Shame. That's a lot of gay for the Oscars… A lot of them are also winners of other awards from the National Board of Review, New York Film Critics and the Screen Actors Guild.
The other winner this week: Liz Mikel. I have to say, I take a little credit for being about the only local critic actually to like the world premiere of Lysistrata Jones (back when it was called Give It Up). Mikel was the only original cast member to move to the Broadway version, and the New York Times raved about the premiere last night, singling out Mikel for praise. Good for Liz, good for the Dallas Theater Center, good for everyone.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Liz Mikel actually isn't the only Dallas cast member to make it to New York — Patti Murin, Lindsay Nicole Chambers and Katie Boren are also in the show.


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CALL US : 817-918-4411 LIVE SUPPORT : 8am-4:30pm, CST M-F FEDEX, UPS, USPS
This item is a key, cut to a specific E-Series key code. If you need HON E series plugs - please Click Here.
Keys by code are a custom made item, please verify you are ordering the correct key number.
Mr. Lock
1820 Reliance Pkwy Ste# 400
Bedford, Tx 76021
Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm CST M-F
Email Us


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Burton Wall Mural, Hannah Teter
No longer available
- Overview
Keep on shredding even when you're not on a mountain with our powder-packed Burton Wall Mural. This high-energy action shot features halfpipe hero Hannah Teter in a snowy scape.
- 72.5" wide x 0.5" thick x 48" high
- Printed with water-based ink on a durable nonadhesive panel.
- Matte finish eliminates glare on the surface.
- Top and bottom rails ensure a smooth and easy hang.
- Dimensions + Care
- Art canvas is nonwoven 66% polypropylene, 25% polyester, 9% viscose.
- Aluminum tube and hanger.
- Water-based ink.
- Includes metal hanger and end caps for mounting.
- Dust with a soft, dry cloth.
- Avoid the use of any adhesive-backed products (tape, stickers, etc.) on the mural's surface.
- Shipping Info
This item will arrive in 3-5 business days. Please proceed to the Payment & Review page of Checkout for a precise delivery estimate.


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Dallas -- The Merchant Customer Exchange announced Tuesday that Bed Bath & Beyond, Dillard's, Dunkin' Brands, Gap, Sheetz and Wakefern Food Corp. are among those joining the existing lineup of merchants who are committed to creating a seamless mobile-commerce solution.
"We are seeing tremendous interest from merchants of all sizes," said Dodd Roberts, MCX executive. "Merchants recognize mobile payment adoption will be limited until it can be used where consumers regularly shop. MCX offers unmatched scale, representing merchants with more than $1 trillion in annual sales across nearly every merchant vertical."
According to Gap Direct president Toby Lenk, the retailer joined MCX in order to offer its customers a "mobile-payment choice that provides the highest levels of convenience, value, and security."
Development of MCX's mobile platform is underway, with initial focus on offering consumers and merchants a mobile-commerce solution that seamlessly integrates payments with a wide range of offers, promotions and services through virtually any smartphone.
Among those retailers that are already part of MCX are Wal-Mart Stores, Target, Sears Holdings, 7-Eleven, Best Buy, CVS/pharmacy, Darden Restaurants, Lowe's and Publix.


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Join our newsletter for new products, special offers, and more!
Enter email address
Sell your stuff or turn those old games into new!
Don't see what you're looking for? Create a Want List!
Partner with the Knight!
Produces toolbox-sized miniature storage cases, as well as pewter collectibles, giftware, and plaques. Custom-cut liners are available.


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Randomized Control Trial of Using Tongue Acupuncture in Autistic Spectrum Disorder Using PET Scan for Clinical Correlation
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Autism Autistic Disorder
|Procedure: Tongue Acupuncture (Procedure)
|Phase 3
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|Randomized Control Trial of Using Tongue Acupuncture in Autistic Spectrum Disorder Using PET Scan for Clinical Correlation
- Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) consisting of 4 subscales before (Week 0) and after (Week 8) acupuncture
- Reynell Language Developmental Scale (RLDS) before (Week 0) and after (Week 8) acupuncture
- Symbolic Play Test (SPT) before (Week 0) and after (Week 8) acupuncture
- Functional Independence Measure for children (WeeFIM) with 3 domains before (Week 0) and after (Week 8) acupuncture
- Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGIS) before (Week 0) and after (Week 8) acupuncture
- 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (PET) before (Week 0) and after (Week 8) acupuncture
|Estimated Enrollment:
Autism or Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting language, communication, social interaction and behavior. Autism is a heterogeneous disorder makes the assessment of treatment difficult. Only few measures have been used in a standardized way to document the outcome of different modalities of treatment in autism. Most claims of treatment effect in autism have been quite anecdotal.
In Traditional Chinese acupuncture, nearly 400 acupoints on the body surface are interrelated to various functions. Acupuncture had been practiced in China for over 2 millennia. The surface acupoints are linked through 14 meridians to various organs or viscera of the human body. The approach in TCM, in sharp contrast to western medical concept, is a "holistic" approach with a more philosophical background of balancing the "Yin-and-Yang". The main objective of TCM is to improve health of body and mind.
The pathophysiological basis of TCM aimed to improve "energy" or "body-flow" ["de-qui" in Chinese]. Even a normal human subject will respond to acupuncture due to the flow of energy. The effect of acupuncture was hypothesized and proven in animal and human studies to be due to direct neural stimulation, changes in neurotransmitters such as endorphin, immunological markers and endocrinological signals. Thus, acupuncture is Thus, acupuncture is effective in chronic disorders, especially in neurological disorders.
We had demonstrated clinical efficacy of acupuncturing the surface or base of the tongue in specific acupoints in improving various functional modalities in patients with chronic neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, stroke and drooling problems. In our experience, TCM approach for autism is more holistic. Autism is postulated as part of the spectrum of lower intelligence. Thus, the approach to autism is considered as lower intelligence due to "Heart-meridian and Kidney-meridian yin-yang imbalance" resulting in communication problem and "Liver-meridian yin-yang imbalance " leading to behavioral problems.
We attempted to use a different approach in looking at autism and to assess the efficacy of an innovative method in TCM in improving the functional status of these children. Specific acupoints in the tongue corresponding to various organs and meridians were used for autism. The organ and meridian concept in TCM model has been assumed as a fundamental basis to improve the behavior, cognition and communicative ability in children with autism. The objective is to study the efficacy of a short course of TAC in improving the overall functional status of autism.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|3 Years to 16 Years (Child)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- The diagnosis of autism was made using standard criteria of the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R).
- The diagnosis of autism was made if the score in the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)was greater than 30.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Children with associated neurological disorders such as Tuberous Sclerosis, Fragile X Syndrome and epilepsy.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00355329
|Hong Kong
|Duchess of Kent of Children Hospital
|Hong Kong, Hong Kong
|Principal Investigator:
|Wong Virginia
|The University of Hong Kong
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00355329 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|July 20, 2006
|Last Updated:
|October 19, 2006
Keywords provided by The University of Hong Kong:
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Tongue Acupuncture (TAC)
18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Autistic Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
Pathologic Processes
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Mental Disorders
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 20, 2017


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In my opinion,
Nick Young = Decent scorer, decent upside, bad defense, horrific shot selection
In other words, not an upgrade. Sure he's a nice piece, but he just doesn't do anything that our wing rotation can't do.
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In my opinion,
Nick Young = Decent scorer, decent upside, bad defense, horrific shot selection
In other words, not an upgrade. Sure he's a nice piece, but he just doesn't do anything that our wing rotation can't do.
I have. But there's no way in hell I'm trading PG AND a lotto protected first for him. That's absurd.
I don't claim Tyler to ever be a star. But you're telling me Blatche will be? With one of the worst attitudes in the NBA, you're convinced beyond all belief that he'll be a star?
I don't know if Lance would ever be a star. But he probably could be. Know why he, in all likelihood, won't be? His attitude.
Stop quoting people I have on ignore!
k_lewis, I think Psyren's reply was mostly directed at La_Confidential, not you my friend.
The way I read it he said something in this tone, "Yeah, I've seen him play. He's an okay player. But he isn't worth the first round pick and Paul George that some of the others were offering."
Again, that is at least the way I took it.
Last edited by BringJackBack; 12-26-2010 at 07:38 PM.
Yeah, count me out on any trade that involves us getting Blatche. He is a toxic personality in the locker room and a very mediocre player. Sure he can score (albeit with extremely low efficiency) but he doesn't do ANYTHING else well. And I don't think that combination suits us and our vision for the future.
And Nick Young is just really below average. He seems to heat up and score in bunches occasionally, but for every game that he scores 30 with good efficiency, he's going to have 10 games where he shoots 3-13 and contributes absolutely nothing.
My apologies to k_lewis if you felt that it was directed at you, because it wasn't. It wasn't really directed at anyone.
I was just adding to the fact that if this trade was offered to me, I'd hang up the phone and laugh at the Wizards.
Again, my apologies if you felt this was directed at you, k_lewis.
Stop quoting people I have on ignore!
Here is the thing guys. You are over reacting to alot of the points that LA was trying to make. He saw two up and coming players with loads of talent that could probably be had from a struggling franchise. I think the Wizards will be more apt to make a move out of impatience than we ever would. Andray Blatche is has excellent talent. He is a player that needs to be surrounded by vocal and tough veterans as he gets older. He was 18-20 when he entered the league, of course his mentality will be, "Oh damn, I have millions in my pocket, let's see what kind of trouble I can get into." Here's the thing. He is a very good scorer. He has a very nice skill set and the athleticism to match. He has touch and good vision for a PF. He plays good defense when he wants to, which, if you have seen him play this year, that has been a major improvement IMO. His best role model over the last two years has been Arenas. C'mon. He is a diamond, but needs a lot of polishing I agree. I would take a chance on the guy, because he has legit upside. I like Tyler and McRoberts, but if we could get Blatche for fairly cheap, I would take a chance on him. His teammates seem to like him though, so I don't know. He was the youngest player in the NBA at one point. I wouldn't give up the farm for him, and I think what was suggested would be a bit much, but I think LA is on the righttrack.
As for Nick Young. The guy has improved immensely since he has been in the league. I think he is a solid young player who is reaching his potential, but I wouldn't for him at all. We have so much more current talent and future talent at the wing that I wouldn't waste my time including him in any sort of deal.
If we were to swing a deal such as
Last guy off the bench
2011 Unprotected first
It would make more sense.
The Wizards have been said to be looking to move McGee and Blatche. They seem to be testing the waters for the two young bigs to try to add more talent while their potential still exists.
I would prefer to go after McGee. He is super long and athletic. He would be able to play both PF and C. Nobody would be able to shoot over us as a team if you add him to your front court. He needs some work on fundamentals still, but his ability is there. I would love to plug him into our rotation as a Player "X", the term that tbird affectionately named our front court need.
I don't have a clue what the Wizards would be looking to get for him though. I would prefer McGee to Blatche, but Blatche is definitely more skilled at this point.


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well I bought the reissue Renny Gold and BRP. I liked them both but I have some issues.
Renny Gold
it's Renny Gold. I've played it twice and it IS that tough of a course (I know exactly how Doss felt).
I was able to turn the commentary to the original which was a bit more pleasurable. the course designer also had really interesting things to say.
the color was weird in the scenes they were able to "remaster". everything seemed too red and washed out. I guess it was a product of the digitization or whatever. maybe JR can explain
overall: a good watch for me since I've played the course.
where to begin. the course is awesome. Timmy Gill is a great commentator and a very polite man. the play was great; the "old guys" can still shoot the lights out. the picture quality was good but with a huge caveat (read below).
I think it was filmed in 16x9 but not in an HD resolution. I had to use the "zoom" setting on my HDTV to get the picture to fill the frame. otherwise it was a 1/2 size box in the middle of the screen. I know they are putting a lot of hard work into making these but that just made it feel bush league. I didn't lose much of the picture in zoom mode but it was still irksome.
overall: I think it is the best of the series with RG a close second. so far...


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Get an overview of this hotel3-star hotel with free airport shuttle and restaurant
Popular property highlights
Situated near the airport, this hotel is steps from Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum and Dixie Convention Center. Fiesta Family Fun Center and Thunder Junction All Abilities Park are also within 2 mi (3 km).
Hotel Features
This smoke-free hotel features a restaurant, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center. Free WiFi in public areas, free self parking, and a free airport shuttle are also provided. Other amenities include a bar/lounge, a spa tub, and a business center.
Room Amenities
All 150 rooms provide conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves, plus free WiFi and flat-screen TVs with cable channels. Room service, coffee makers, and free weekday newspapers are among the other amenities available to guests.
Guest Highlights
- Good location
- Breakfast
- Pool
- Helpful staff
- Clean guestrooms
Hilton Garden Inn St George
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to an outdoor pool, Hilton Garden Inn St George provides a spa tub and a fitness center. The hotel offers a restaurant. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. Wireless Internet access is complimentary.
Business-related amenities at this 3-star property consist of a business center and a meeting room. Event facilities measuring 4,000 square feet (372 square meters) include conference space. This business-friendly hotel also offers tour/ticket assistance, gift shops/newsstands, and a picnic area. Onsite self parking is complimentary.
Hilton Garden Inn St George is a smoke-free property.
- 24-hour front desk
- Free airport transportation
- Total number of rooms - 150
- Number of floors - 5
- Bar/lounge
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Business center
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Conference space
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Express check-in
- Express check-out
- Fitness facilities
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Grocery/convenience store
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free WiFi
- Laundry facilities
- One meeting room
- Picnic area
- Restaurant
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Free self parking
- Conference space size (meters) - 372
- Number of meeting rooms - 9
- Conference space size (feet) - 4,000
- Shopping on site
- Smoke-free property
- Spa tub
- Outdoor pool
- Television in common areas
- Wedding services
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Grocery/convenience store
- Laundry facilities
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- Air conditioning
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Free weekday newspaper
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Shower/tub combination
- Iron/ironing board
- Desk
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Cribs/infant beds available
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Cable TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Free WiFi
- Room service (limited hours)
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
Where to Eat
Cooked-to-order breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning.
Great American Grill - This restaurant specializes in American cuisine and serves breakfast and dinner.
Room service (during limited hours) is available.
Nearby Things to Do
An outdoor pool and a spa tub are on site. Other recreational amenities include a fitness center.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Snowmobiling nearby
- Snowshoeing nearby
- Rafting nearby
- Water skiing nearby
- Scooter/moped rentals nearby
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Skydiving nearby
- Personal motorized watercraft on site
- Ecotours nearby
- Golf lessons available nearby
- Hiking/biking trails on site
- Mountain biking on site
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- Roll-in shower
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time ends at 1 AM
Minimum check-in age is 18
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available.
- Cribs (infant beds) are available.
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Optional extras
- Fee for cooked-to-order breakfast: USD 9.95 per person (approximately)
Hotel Name
- Hilton Garden Inn Hotel St George
- Hilton Garden Inn St George
- St George Hilton Garden Inn
- Hilton Garden Inn St. George Hotel St. George
- Hilton Garden Inn St. George Utah
- Hilton St. George
- St. George Hilton
- Hilton Garden Inn St George Hotel
We should mention
The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.


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Preferred Baileys Crossroads Land Use Concept to Be Presented on April 15
April 1, 2010
News Highlights
More Information
On Thursday, April 15, 7 to 9 p.m., the public is invited to a presentation on the preferred land use concept for a portion of the Baileys Crossroads Community Business Center (CBC).Based on public input,the concept will be presented at the Goodwin House Auditorium, 3440 South Jefferson Street, Falls Church. Parking is available in the visitors lot.
The concept is intended to stimulate revitalization of this area, as well as take advantage of the proposed streetcar route to run between the CBC and Pentagon City. It features more mixed-used development; easier pedestrian, bicycle and transit rider access; and increase green spaces. Future development also would be compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods.
It is envisioned that the densest development will be focused in the area near the future streetcar stop along South Jefferson Street on the north side of Leesburg Pike. This urban-style downtown will incorporate mixed-use buildings with ground-floor retail, a tree-lined grid of streets and a new arts center. A greenway will connect the north and south sides of Leesburg Pike.
The preferred concept will be used to recommend changes to Fairfax County's Comprehensive Plan. Later this year, both the Fairfax County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors will hold public hearings on these recommendations.
The preferred concept is based on public input on two previous conceptual options, incorporating desired elements from both. An 11-member Citizens' Advisory Committee led the efforts to solicit public feedback.
The land use concept specifically covers the area to the south and east of the interchange of Leesburg Pike (Route 7) and Columbia Pike (Route 244) in the Baileys Crossroads Community Business Center area.
For more information, visit the Baileys Crossroads Planning Study Web pages, contact the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-324-1380, TTY 711, or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
Contact: Merni Fitzgerald, Director, Office of Public Affairs
703-324-3189, TTY 711, Media Pager: 703-324-NEWS (6397)
To request this information in an alternate format, call 703-324-3187, TTY 711


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Local activist Dawn Meifert said her group, Dallas Uncut, will protest outside Bank of America at 6300 Mockingbird Lane on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 8:30 a.m.
U.S. Uncut, begun in Jackson, Miss., protests businesses that have paid no income taxes but have reaped large financial gains for executives and stockholders. Their slogan is, "You Caused This Crisis. Now YOU Pay."
Meifert said she formed the Dallas chapter this week and will be participating in protests against the bank along with groups in more than 30 cities across the country, from Boston and New York to Los Angeles and Honolulu.
Meifert said she expects to be out at the protest location for about two hours, handing out information about how the bank received $45 billion in bailout money while funneling money through accounts in 115 offshore tax havens and offering below rate loans to politicians while refusing to use the bailout money for loans.
For more information, visit USUncut.org.


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BEATLES 50TH ANNIVERSARY events
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles
When: 8 p.m. Sunday.
Where: CBS.
The Beatles! 50th Anniversary Collection
What: Photo and collectibles exhibit
When: 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Sessions at the Loft, 2465 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo.
Admission: Free.
Information: 805-383-3333, www.sessionsattheloft.com.
Beatles Blast! Party & Jam Session
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: $50.
Where: Sessions at the Loft, 2465 Ventura Blvd., Camarillo.
Tickets: $50.
Information: 805-383-3333, www.sessionsattheloft.com.
The Fan Four
What: Redlands tribute band, The Fan Four, will take the stage to commemorate the Beatles.
When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: The Renaissance Banquet Hall, 19 E. Citrus Ave., Redlands.
Tickets: $4 for pre-sale tickets; $5 at the door
Information: 909-798-34444, thefanfour.com
Beatles vs. Stones
What: Grove Theatre celebrates 50th Anniversary of British Invasion with
Beatles vs. Stones show featuring tribute bands Abbey Road and Jumping
Jack Flash.
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 22.
Where: Grove Theatre, 276 E. Ninth St., Upland.
Tickets: $20-$50
Information: 909-920-4343, www.grovetheatre.com.
In My Life — A Musical Theater Tribute to the Beatles
When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, March 14-30.
Where: Covina Center for the Performing Arts, 104 N. Citrus Ave.
Tickets: $35-$45.
Information: 626-331-8133, option 1; www.covinacenter.com.
Has it really been 50 years ... half a century?
That kind of time span sounds so historic. So serious. Maybe even a little pretentious when describing a pop phenomenon like The Beatles.
But this was, after all, the band whose youth, cheekiness and musical brilliance taught us that sometimes lightning can be captured in a bottle.
We first heard it with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You." Pop songs, to be sure. But they were surprisingly sophisticated and well-crafted pieces of music. Melding Everly Brothers-style harmonies with jangly guitar work and a heavy dose of American rock 'n' roll, the music had definite roots. But it was somehow unlike anything we had heard before.
And it literally jumped out of our turntables.
When John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr landed at John F. Kennedy Airport — 50 years ago today — on Feb. 7, 1964, 3,000 screaming fans were there to greet them.
That was an event. But the cultural explosion occurred two days later when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
This was America's introduction to The Beatles, and as a musical moment in pop history, it remains unequalled. An estimated 70 million Americans tuned in that night. The streets emptied and crime nearly ground to a halt.
Ask anyone who is old enough to have seen that show and they will likely tell you exactly how that performance changed their lives.
After "The Ed Sullivan Show," Beatlemania quickly took hold and never let go.
In retrospect, the Beatles tenure in America was amazingly brief. They arrived on our shores in 1964 and had disbanded by 1970. But their musical trajectory was nothing short of astounding. In seven years time, this British quartet moved from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Love Me Do" to "Eleanor Rigby," "A Day in the Life" and "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Their music had grown more complex and so had their recording techniques. Credit must be given here to George Martin, who produced nearly every Beatles album. The band created the music and lyrics, but it was Martin's pristine production that brought the songs to life on vinyl.
Using everything from feedback and sampling to double-tracking and backwards recording techniques, their albums bristled with energy and innovation.
In an interview conducted years later, McCartney remembered those heady days.
"We would say, 'Try it ... just try it for us. If it sounds crappy, OK, we'll lose it,'" he said. "But it might just sound good."
It nearly always did.
And as with anything of value, the true test of The Beatles' music lies in its longevity. Most of the best Beatles songs — and there are plenty — sound as good today if not better than anything else that's out there. Put simply, the songs stand up.
And then there are the records. Consider this: As of Dec. 23, 2013, the group logged more than 2.3 billion albums sold. The band produced 15 No. 1 hits and spent a total of 1,278 weeks on the charts.
That's more than 3 1/2 years.
Each new Beatles album was an event, an object lesson in how far musical innovation could be pushed forward. "Beatles 65" was worlds beyond "Something New." And "Rubber Soul," "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" were all quantum leaps in popular music.
And guitar hooks? They were unforgettable. Songs like "Day Tripper," "I Feel Fine" and "And Your Bird Can Sing" still boast some the catchiest guitar lines ever.
And we can't forget The Beatles' influence on American culture because it has been massive. They ushered in a British invasion that brought us everyone from The Stones and The Who to Dusty Springfield.
Their interest in Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the sitar music of Ravi Shankar changed Western attitudes about Indian spirituality and music.
Their mop-top hairstyle was adopted by nearly every youth in America.
But perhaps most of all, their relentless quest for musical innovation inspired countless other musicians to push their own musical boundaries.
Not bad for a scrappy bunch of kids from Liverpool.


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Allison Maykuth '11 earns Phi Sigma Iota scholarship
Allison Maykuth '11 has been awarded the Dr.
Henry Ward Church Founder's Scholarship from Phi Sigma Iota, the
international foreign language honorary. She is one of only five
recipients in the United States.
Maykurth graduated from Muskingum on May 7 with majors in Spanish, French, international affairs and English.
During her career at Muskingum, Maykuth studied in
Guadalajara, Mexico and in Nice, France. She also traveled to
academic conferences in the United States, volunteered to help prepare
students for study abroad, made public presentations on her experiences
abroad and published numerous articles in the university's newspaper, The Black and Magenta.
Maykuth has also received an Ohio Foreign Language
Association Award for Excellence in French and has been inducted into
the Muskingum University chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, an academic honorary
that requires its members to be in the top five percent of their class. A
native of Columbus, Maykuth plans to pursue graduate studies.
Her faculty advisors at Muskingum were Associate
Professor of French Dr. Jean Morris and Assistant Professor of Spanish
Dr. Sandra Alzate. She was nominated for the scholarship by the faculty
of the World Languages Department and the faculty advisor to Phi Sigma
Iota's Muskingum chapter, Professor of German Dr. F.J. Wehage.
Maps & Directions
Academic Affairs
Undergraduate Admission
Financial Aid
Graduate & Continuing Studies
Business Office
Academic Catalogs


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In trying to study Buddha's teachings, it feels like I am jumping back and forth through it. I would like to study his original teachings, without discourse, from beginning to end. Can you suggest a book/s ( I would prefer hard copy to e-books). Currently I am trying to fathom the Abhidhamma, but feel I must return to basics and study just Dhamma.
Many thanks.


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Don't miss out on a lower price on this hotel
Get an overview of this hotelLuxury St. Petersburg hotel in Admiralteyskiy, near State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace
Popular property highlights
Located in Admiralteyskiy, this luxury hotel is steps from State Museum and Exhibition Centre for Photography, Monument to Nicholas I, and Alexander Garden. Admiralty Building and Mariinsky Palace are also within 5 minutes.
Hotel Features
Along with a full-service spa, this smoke-free hotel has an indoor pool and a health club. WiFi in public areas is free. Additionally, a bar/lounge, a coffee shop/café, and a sauna are onsite.
Room Amenities
All 192 rooms feature thoughtful touches like bathrobes and slippers, plus free WiFi and TVs with satellite channels. Other amenities available to guests include 24-hour room service, wired Internet, and minibars.
Guest Highlights
- Good location
- Breakfast
- Helpful staff
Angleterre Hotel
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to a full-service spa, Angleterre Hotel features an indoor pool and a health club. The hotel offers a coffee shop/café. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. Public areas are equipped with complimentary wireless Internet access.
Business amenities at this 4-star property consist of a business center, limo/town car service, and meeting rooms. 5 meeting rooms are available. This luxury hotel also offers a sauna, spa services, and tour/ticket assistance. For a surcharge, the property provides a roundtrip airport shuttle (available 24 hours) and a train station pick-up service.
Angleterre Hotel is a smoke-free property.
- Indoor pool
- Coffee shop or café
- Airport transportation (surcharge)
- Business center
- Conference space
- 24-hour front desk
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Total number of rooms - 192
- Number of floors - 5
- ATM/banking
- Bar/lounge
- Breakfast service
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Concierge services
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Express check-in
- Express check-out
- Full-service spa
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Hair salon
- Health club
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free WiFi
- Wired Internet access - surcharge
- Laundry facilities
- Limo or Town Car service available
- Spa treatment room(s)
- Meeting rooms 5
- Multilingual staff
- Porter/bellhop
- Luggage storage
- Train station pickup (surcharge)
- Number of restaurants - 1
- Number of meeting rooms - 5
- Sauna
- Smoke-free property
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Spa services on site
- Wedding services
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Indoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi , Wired high-speed internet ( RUB 800 per hour )
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi , Wired high-speed internet ( RUB 800 per hour )
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- Pay movies
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Premium bedding
- Air conditioning
- Phone
- Minibar
- Daily housekeeping
- Designer toiletries
- Private bathroom
- Bathrobes
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Shower/tub combination
- Slippers
- Satellite TV service
- In-room safe
- Television
- Desk
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Cribs/infant beds available
- Free WiFi
- Wired Internet access (surcharge)
- Room service (24 hours)
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Rollaway/extra beds (surcharge)
Where to Eat
Buffet breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM.
Borsalino - Onsite brasserie. Guests can enjoy drinks at the bar. A children's menu is available.
24-hour room service is available.
Nearby Things to Do
Recreational amenities at the hotel include an indoor pool, a health club, and a sauna.
Spa Services
The onsite spa has massage/treatment rooms. Services include massages, facials, body treatments, and manicures and pedicures. The spa is equipped with a sauna and a spa tub.
- Manicures and pedicures
- Sauna in spa
- Spa tub in spa
- Massages
- Body treatments
- Facial treatments
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 2 PM
Special check-in instructions:
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! One child 3 years old or younger stays free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available for RUB 2000.00 per night.
- Cribs (infant beds) are available.
- Restrictions apply
- For more information contact the property at the number on the booking confirmation
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
- No onsite parking is available.
- A mandatory registration fee for foreign citizens is charged at this property.
Optional extras
- Fee for buffet breakfast: RUB 1700 per person (approximately)
- Fee for in-room wired Internet: RUB 800 per hour (rates may vary)
- Fee for wired Internet in public areas: RUB 800 per hour (rates may vary)
- Airport shuttle fee: RUB 3500 per vehicle (one way)
- Rollaway bed fee: RUB 2000.00 per night
Hotel Name
- Angleterre
- Angleterre Hotel
- Angleterre Hotel St. Petersburg
- Angleterre St. Petersburg
- Hotel Angleterre
- Angleterre Hotel St Petersburg
- Angleterre St Petersburg
We should mention
If you require a visa to enter the country, your property may be able to help with the supporting documents needed to obtain one. To learn more, you can reach out to the property via the contact details included on your booking confirmation. The property may charge for this assistance, even if you end up cancelling your reservation. All arrangements are solely between the property and yourself. This property offers transfers from the airport and train station (surcharges may apply). Guests must contact the property with arrival details before travel, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. One child 3 years old or younger stays free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation. Guests can arrange to bring pets by contacting the property directly, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.


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In this piece, I will recap my 2013 predictions that I summarized Monday on Real Money Pro, when I covered the Daily Diary for Doug "Orson Welles" Kass. My key investment positions in 2013 are extensions of the themes I have been espousing for the last few months, so they should not be overly surprising. I hope they fall under the category of "insightful" and, to some extent, "common sense."
1. The federal budget battle continues unabated. This month's machinations are a non-solution. The U.S. still faces a trillion-dollar deficit, and the negotiations will be rehashed several times in 2013. In fact, by Valentine's Day the past month's discussions will be repeated with even more vitriol. The bill passed by the Senate defers the sequestration for two months, meaning the real battle over spending is yet to come. Even worse, although this bill "balances" $41 in tax increases for every $1 in spending cuts, President Obama has already vowed that any spending cuts will need to be accompanied by even more tax increases. No matter which side you are on, the reality is that this will create a higher-than-usual volatility in equity markets -- an argument to get long the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX).
2. So tax revenue does not even begin to cover the deficit, and we're not dealing with the prospect of no meaningful spending cuts. (Does the GOP really have the leverage to force anything through, other than by using the debt ceiling?) Given this, and given that the Federal Reserve is the only entity able to fund the deficit, we can rest assured that the central bank will continue quantitative easing -- i.e., money-printing -- if not accelerate it. This will flow into inflation, and I expect to see an accelerating rate of such during the year. Buy more gold and inflation-resistant equities.
3. The "helicopter" corollary: Interest rates will stay low, although they cannot really go much lower. Bonds offer all risk and little return. Avoid fixed income!
4. Despite the spin that taxes are only increasing on incomes above $400,000 per year, the reality is that taxes are going up for the working class. This will impact consumer spending and cause a slowdown in the economy, if not outright recession, in the first half. Avoid consumer cyclicals for now.
5. The cliff has kept Europe out of the headlines for a while but, as the old saying goes, "This too shall change." The math doesn't work in the U.S., but we can print money. The math really doesn't work in Europe, but they can print money, too. The European Central Bank will continue to run the presses at full speed, so the euro will also depreciate against most currencies. Greece will finally default, and it's highly likely that Spain will, too, although perhaps not in 2013. European equities are to be avoided as well.
As you digest my forecasts, keep this in mind: the buy side is not all that enamored of outlooks. The CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief polled its readers on the value of year-end forecasts, and found that only 8% find them useful for formulating the coming year's investment strategy. (I hope those 8% are Real Money readers!)
The CFA Institute Newsbrief has pointed out the following:
"What is Wall Street's track record when it comes to picking stocks? A 1995 study by Hemang Desai and Prem Jain examined the performance of stock recommendations at Barron's Roundtable from 1968 to 1991 and found the excess return to be essentially zero. Despite their limited utility, annual forecasts are probably here to stay because they've proved themselves to be effective marketing tools and they appeal to the herding instinct of investors. Of course, annual forecasts also can occasionally include a winning idea or two."


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It was 4 a.m. when a "very pregnant" South Carolina woman got in her car bound for Knoxville.
Officials in the Knox County Criminal Court Clerks' office had told her days before that she needed to be here in court if she wanted more time to pay her speeding ticket.
That wasn't true, according to records. She could have stayed at home.
"They told her she had to pay it by her first appearance in court or that she had to appear in court," according to an email sent from the county's district attorney's office to officials in the criminal court clerk's office and the law director's office. "The clerk didn't give the defendant the one continuance to pay as allowed by the judges."
The district attorney's office eventually "nolle prossed" the case, meaning it declined to present it to the court to prosecute.
The woman, who was not named in the records, represents just one of more than 100 driving-related cases that prosecutors during the past eight or so months have asked the general session court judges to set aside due to errors in what officials are now calling a systemic problem inside the criminal court clerk's office
Officials say the office workers are entering wrong data into the records management system, losing crucial paperwork, and providing defendants with bad information, according to a series of emails, memos and documents obtained by WBIR Channel 10 under the state's open records law.
STORY: Errors leading to wrongful arrests
STORY: Two speak out, say they were wrongly arrested
STORY: Knox officials to meet to talk about errors that led to arrests
As a result, authorities have wrongly arrested defendants and kept others locked up longer than their scheduled release date, according to the Channel 10 investigation.
Many of the mistakes, though, also focus on traffic citations, and earlier this month, officials in the Knox County District Attorney General's Office asked the sessions court judges to consider doing away with the county's Driver Improvement Program, or DIP, which lets some traffic offenders take to avoid a ticket.
"It is my opinion that we need to stop the program completely and immediately until more training is done in the (Criminal Court) Clerk's Office with anyone involved in handling anything regarding traffic citations," Assistant District Attorney Samyah Jubran wrote Oct. 8 to the five sessions court judges, the law director's office and to officials in the criminal court clerk's office.
She noted that officials in the office are entering "convictions" for "many cases that should have been dismissed."
"I'm not sure where the breakdown is happening in the (Criminal Court) Clerk's Office, but too many driving records and (bookkeeping) records are being adversely affected at this point," the email also said.
Officials in the District Attorney's Office declined to comment.
Here's a snapshot of some more of the problems WBIR discovered:
- Dismissed tickets still appear on a driver's record.
- Clerks entered county ordinance traffic citations into the system as state charges, which carry stiffer penalties. The cases were set aside.
- Cases dismissed after clerks failed to bring the paperwork to the courtroom until noon, leaving the defendants waiting for hours for a judge to hear a traffic citation
- Clerks entered wrong convictions into the system. In one case, the clerk entered "Driving Under the Influence" instead of the much lesser offense of "Public Intoxication." Another time, officials didn't update the system, so one offender appeared to be on probation when he wasn't.
- Clerks entered wrong charges into the system. Cases dismissed.
- Clerks entered wrong fines into the system. In one case, the fine was supposed to be $250, but entered as $25.
Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Joy McCroskey, whose office includes Fourth Circuit Court, General Sessions and Criminal Court, declined to comment. In the past she has suggested that the problems in her office are few and far between.
At this point, the general sessions court judges will keep the Driver Improvement Program open.
Knox County General Sessions Court Judge Andrew Jackson VI said officials discussed the matter last week but "we think the driver improvement program is a good thing . . . and we're not ready to give up on that program."
He did, however, note that the judges will more than likely call a meeting with other top county leaders to talk about the problems in the criminal court clerk's office and look for solutions, which will more than likely include additionaly training for the office and better technology.
The criminal court clerk's office uses an antiquated FoxPro system for bookkeeping and Justice Information Management System, or JIMS, for recordkeeping. The two, however, are not synched, which has led to problems, since the District Attorney General's Office and the Sheriff's Office rely on and access JIMS, and don't have access to FoxPro.
"Over the past year at least, multiple defendant's driving records and records in FoxPro are inaccurate due to the Clerk's errors," a Sept. 18 email from the DA's Office to officials in the criminal court clerk's office and the judges notes. "The cases were dismissed after completion of the Driver Improvement Program (or DIP), yet the Clerk's records in FoxPro indicate convictions, and then some of the disposition sheets sent to the Dept. of Safety indicate convictions."
Jackson said officials have met a number of times to talk about the matter and try to fix the problems, and there's been "some success."
But, he said, it's still a work in progress.
"All we can do is try to make sure they don't happen again, and until everything is correctly entered into the computer they can happen again," he said. "But we've been trying to make sure it doesn't happen. And each time we hope it won't happen again."
Officials in the Knox County Sheriff's Office are still upset about the problems, particularly after McCroskey blamed some of the mistakes on law enforcement.
Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones criticized the criminal court clerk during Monday's Knox County Commission work session when officials asked him about the WBIR investigation. He encouraged McCroskey, who quickly left the forum, to attend next Monday's commission meeting and publicly address the errors.
Knox County Commissioner Ed Shouse said he, too, wants McCroskey there.
"I'd like to hear her response, her side of the story, to hear what she's doing to hopefully turn this situation around to get it on a positive footing where we don't have this exposure," he said.
The commissioner added that he also is concerned that the county could lose revenue because of the errors.
"(Whenever) a ticket is booked it should be paid unless dismissed by a judge for cause, but not just because of bad paperwork," Shouse said. "That's terrible. That's terrible."
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett agreed.
"If somebody is speeding through a school zone, then they need to get popped and we don't need errors leading to the dismissals," he said. "Plus, you're talking about money that's not getting collected. People need to be held accountable."
Contact Mike Donila at firstname.lastname@example.com and Eleanor Beck at email@example.com.


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KAREN Morgan's hat-trick helped Winnington Park extend their winning sequence to three matches on Saturday.
She reached a personal treble when scoring the visitors' fifth goal from Helen Cartin's assist, though they had to withstand pressure from hosts Chester seconds after half time.
Earlier efforts from youngster Lauren Miller, her first score for the senior team, Leona Wyllie and Morgan had established a 3-0 interval lead.
Morgan made it four early in the second period before Rachel Tranter and goalkeeper Helen Hogben marshalled the Winnington defence through a period during which the home team were restricted to one goal.


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DETROIT --ĀIt used to be Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker who formed the Keystone Combination for the Tigers, up the middle at shortstop and second base, defensively.
Now it's Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder who've become the Tigers' Keystone Combo, anchoring the Tigers batting order from the middle.
It's inarguably the toughest combination of hitters back-to-back in baseball at the moment, and one of the best combos in recent memory.
And with the Terrible Twosome providing some of the biggest blows, the Tigers slugged out nine extra-base hits in Friday night's series opener, beating the Cleveland Indians, 10-4.
"That's the best 3-4 hitting combination, maybe in the history of the game. You can put some other guys in there -- if they're not better, they're right there with them," said starter Max Scherzer (5-0), who basked in the offensive support to push his win streak to five games.
"It's just special to watch what they do, every single night. You see them every single day, and they come up with big hits, in clutch situations, and it just shows you how good they are, just how difficult it is to face our lineup."
It's a lineup which had been held to just five runs in the previous two games, but still came into the game fourth in MLB in scoring (169) and first in hitting (.284).
"I thought we had good at-bats that entire road trip, and I thought we brought them home with us," said manager Jim Leyland, who's always reticent to make absolute comparisons with teams or players, but knows he has a special offense this year.
"I don't know. It's awful good. I don't really like to compare. I had a pretty good order along the way, with the (Edgar) Renterias and the (Gary) Sheffields, Devon White ... and VanSlyke, Barry Bonds, and Bobby Bonilla.
"Certainly this is good.
"I think I can honestly say it's the best 3-4 hitter combination I've ever had. I don't think there's any question about that. That also included Bonds -- and I'm not saying someone's better than Bonds -- I'm just saying the combination of the 3-4 is probably without question the best I've ever had. Those two guys are pretty impressive."
Cabrera came in leading all of baseball in batting average (.382) and RBI (37), and merely added to both with a monster homer. Fielder entered with more RBI than any big-leaguer not named Miguel Cabrera, and had a monster homer of his own.
"I don't think I've got to tell you that, in all my years, the best 3-4 that I've ever seen," Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter said. "I've seen some 3-4s, but these guys are doing it --Āin a big ballpark, too."
After falling in a 1-0 hole, the Tigers got it right back in the second inning on a walk and three straight doubles -- the third on an Omar Infante blooper that dropped in off the glove of Jason Kipnis, trying to make an over-the-shoulder catch. Hunter's two-out RBI single scored another for a 3-1 lead, but his base running faux pas cost them another, as he was tagged out having taken the turn toward second.
Fielder made it 4-1 in the third inning with a solo home run that appeared to hit off the brick wall of honor in right-center field, to the right of Sparky Anderson's No. 11. It traveled an estimated 460 feet, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Cabrera tried to equal Fielder's solo blast, his three-run homer to left-center coming up just shy of the other honor wall, landing in front of Hank Greenberg's No. 5. ESPN Stats and Info estimated it at 453 feet.
The three runs driven in gave him an MLB-best 40 on the season. Last year, Cabrera didn't get No. 40 until May 27. The only other Tigers player to have 40 RBI in the first 33 games of the season? Greenberg in 1937, when he led the league with 183.
He finished the night in the lead in two of the three Triple Crown categories, average and RBI, and within hailing distance in the third, home runs.
Is it possible we could see him ...
"Doing it again? Yeah. I could definitely see him doing the same thing he did last year For him, as a competitor, why wouldn't you want to do it? Us as competitors, athletes, we always want to top everything. I have nine Gold Gloves, I want 10. I don't have a World Series, I want a World Series ring. We always want the best, every year," Hunter said. "What did he hit last year, .330-something? He might definitely hit .350 this year."
Jhonny Peralta doubled and scored on Alex Avila's RBI single to make it 8-2 in the fifth, then Andy Dirks homered to make it 8-4 in the seventh.
Despite all the offensive fireworks so far this season, the Tigers came into the game 10th in the American League with 94 extra-base hits.
That was plenty of run support for Tigers pitchers.
If not for Nick Swisher, Tigers starter Max Scherzer would've had a heck of a game.
"Minus what I did against him, I thought what I was able to do against the rest of the lineup was pretty good," said Scherzer, of facing the Indians (18-15), who hit 20 homers on an 8-1 homestand to move within a game of first to start the series.
"You know what? Every time we face somebody in the AL, you can make a case that they're hot, or the best team. You face so much talent here, you really just go numb with it. I respect everything that Cleveland does. They're a great hitting team. They manufacture runs in a lot of different ways."
Scherzer, who'd only given up one first-inning run in his first six starts, gave up another to start Friday's game, as a pair of rocket doubles from Jason Kipnis and Swisher put the Indians up, 1-0.
Scherzer retired eight straight after Swisher's RBI double in the first, until the Indians DH came up again in the fourth, and tripled down the right-field line. He'd score on a groundout, cutting the Tigers' lead to 4-2.
Eight more Indians batters went down in order before Swisher led off the seventh with a single, moved to third on Carlos Santana's double, and scored on another groundout. Santana scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4 at the time.
He'd get through a scoreless eighth with 103 pitches, but did not return for the ninth to pursue his first-ever complete game. Joaquin Benoit would pitch a scoreless ninth.
Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Read his "Out of Left Field" blog at opoutofleftfield.blogspot.com.


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LOUDONVILLE -- As Cam Girard goes, so goes Glens Falls' boys basketball team.
At least that was the case in a 59-51 victory over rival South Glens Falls Sunday.
Girard's 21 first-half points led Glens Falls to a 12-point halftime lead, but the senior was held scoreless in the third quarter as the Bulldogs took a two-point lead into the final period.
Two free throws early in the fourth, however, helped Girard catch fire again. He followed those with two 3-pointers during an 11-0 run that ended up being the difference in the game.
Senior Rick Buser led the Bulldogs with 16 points while junior Travis Ramsey had 15.
The game was the first of five contests played at Siena's Alumni Recreation Center for the Coaches Vs. Cancer High School Challenge.
"Cam is a great player," Buser said of Girard. "He's really quick and he's a great 3-point shooter. You're expecting that 3-point shot and when you go out there, he crosses you over and beats you to the hole."
The victory helped Glens Falls (8-2, 9-5) move into sole possession of second place in the Foothills Council while South Glens Falls (7-3,
8-6) dropped to third.
"It was huge not only for the league standings but also from a personal standpoint because we don't like losing to South High," Girard said of the rivalry.
Whether it was Buser, Ramsey or Luke VanDixhorn guarding him -- or all three at once -- Girard could not be stopped in the first half.
The Glens Falls senior opened the scoring on a contested 3-pointer then used a combination of dribble penetration and outside shooting to finish the first quarter with 11 points.
"I knew I had to come out and make a few shots," Girard said. "Once I hit my first one, I felt that I had it so I kept letting them fly."
Balanced scoring from Justin Ducey and Ramsey kept Bulldogs within 27-22 midway through the second quarter, but Girard answered with seven straight points to give Glens Falls a 34-22 halftime lead.
It took the entire third quarter for the Bulldogs to erase the 12-point deficit.
Buser scored on consecutive lay-ups then stepped back for a 3-pointer that forced a Glens Falls timeout. After Jake Dailey stopped the run with a steal and a lay-up, the Bulldogs scored the final six points of the quarter to take a 41-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
"The kids responded," South Glens Falls coach Al Vasak said. "Especially in this environment Coaches Vs. Cancer (event) we wanted to put on a good show with the kids from Glens Falls."
The hustle of Dailey, however, helped Glens Falls regain control of the game.
The senior had two steals that led to easy baskets and beat his man down court for an easy lay-up during a 16-2 fourth quarter run.
"Jake came up big defensively for us when things were going against us," Glens Falls coach Tony Hammel said. "He came up with a couple steals and easy baskets that helped us out a lot. He's our spark."
Buser made consecutive 3-pointers to bring the Bulldogs within 55-51 with 1:46 to play, but it turned out to be their final points of the game.
VanDixhorn's 3-point attempt rolled around the rim and out and Ducey went 0-for-2 from the line on the ensuing South Glens Falls possession. Glens Falls made all four of their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Girard was named a scholar athlete and player of the game for his effort, while Bailey was named to the all-tournament team. Buser was named to the all-tournament team for the Bulldogs while Josh Hay earned the scholar athlete award.
It was the second game in two days for South Glens Falls after beating Johnstown 52-41 Saturday afternoon.
The quick turnaround may have hurt the Bulldogs on Sunday as starters had to be rotated in the fourth quarter and the bench was held scoreless.
Girard scored 28 points against the Bulldogs in their first meeting this season but it was during a losing effort.
"It was a disappointing loss when they beat us at our place," Hammel said of the 55-52 defeat. "They're a good, quality team. We just picked it up defensively and ran some sets offensively."
Stopping those sets is something Vasak hopes his team will do come playoff time.
"Those were sectional screens," the first-year varsity basketball coach said. "Getting through those screens will be our focus to make sure we're ready for sectional play and those kind of teams."
Glens Falls 21 13 5 20 -- 59
South Glens Falls 18 4 19 10 -- 51
Glens Falls (8-2, 9-5): Cam Girard 10-6-31, Mike LaNoir 2-4-8, Jordan Green 3-0-8, Lee Girard 1-3-6, Jake Dailey 3-0-6.
South Glens Falls (7-3, 8-6): Rick Buser 6-1-16, Travis Ramsey 6-1-15, Josh Hay 3-0-6, Justin Ducey 3-2-8, 2-2-6.
3-point goals: (GF) Cam Girard 5, Green 2, Lee Girard 1; (SGF) Buser 3, Ramsey 2.


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In 2002, then-Santa Fe Mayor Larry Delgado—a political moderate who treated his role in the city's top office as more ceremonial than hands-on—faced stiff opposition in Patti Bushee, a councilor who had amassed her own popularity in the '90s and challenged Delgado from the progressive side. Delgado won re-election against Bushee by 3 percentage points.
Since then, Santa Fe's population has grown more than 30 percent. The biggest influx of new residents is on the city's south side, where families are twice as likely to live below the poverty line than residents in the north.
As Santa Fe and its challenges become more complex, city politics, in turn, are playing out on a larger stage.
Today, Bushee, who's now been a councilor for 20 consecutive years, is once again seeking the city's top job in the March 4 municipal election. But this time, she's running on the strength of her institutional memory and experience at City Hall—a strength that could also serve as vulnerability among voters seeking something fresh and new. Bushee faces tough opposition from Javier Gonzales, a big name Democrat who is presenting himself as the hip, progressive go-getter ready to move Santa Fe to the next level.
Gonzales, who belongs to a well-known family with strong ties to governance, promises he'll bring to the mayor's office the needed regional approach—a familiarity with the county as a former commissioner, state government as the Democractic Party chair and education as a regent at two public universities—to tackle the issues Santa Fe will face in the next four years.
Yet his past as an elected official is marked with contradictions and a tendency to follow the will of the political winds of the moment.
And then there's mayoral candidate Bill Dimas, a current city councilor who is attempting to stay above the fray. So far, Dimas has refused to attend public forums on the premise that they're run by "special interest" groups. Instead, he's printed his phone number on his campaign material, inviting the public to call him personally. He's also dotted the city with huge campaign signs and sent out direct mail to tell voters about his plans.
But Dimas' vision of the future is arguably the Santa Fe of yesterday, a throwback to a time when city government didn't get distracted on big picture issues like same-sex marriage but instead kept the focus on fixing the potholes.
If each candidate has his or her flaws, the plus side is that more people will get a chance to vet them than ever before. Recent city annexations now put Santa Fe's total population at 82,000, and the implications for March's municipal election couldn't be greater. More than 4,000 registered voters were added to the city's rolls this month, which now total 57,694. The deadline for registering to vote is Feb. 4, while early voting begins on Jan. 28.
And this year marks the first time that all mayoral candidates are running publicly-financed campaigns, an experiment Santa Fe voters approved in 2008 to make the candidate playing field more equal. (For details on the first round of reports on how each is spending the public money, visit SFReporter.com on Friday) The mayor earns a salary of about $29,400, although the election will also feature a proposal to increase the salary and give the mayor more power beginning in 2018.
SFR takes a deeper look at the three candidates seeking the keys to Santa Fe's top office:
Institution of Patti Bushee
On the campaign trail, Patti Bushee brings up her 20 years of experience at City Hall as her biggest asset in the race. It's her major campaign theme.
Her accomplishments, which she's listed on several sheets of paper inside a black folder that she brings with her to mayoral candidate forums, are extensive. On addressing the region's dwindling water supply, Bushee touts her role in establishing a community water budget and the Santa Fe River Commission. On quality of life, she cites her efforts in helping establish outdoor trails, dog parks and a law that mandates all new city roads to include bike lanes.
"Now is not the time for on-the-job training," Bushee, whose most recognizable features are her deep, blue eyes and closely-cropped brown hair, says in her stump speech.
Indeed, her contributions to the city cannot go ignored.
"I use the river trail—it's great," says Cris Moore, who served on City Council with Bushee during her first eight years there.
But along the way, some have criticized Bushee for being hard to work with. It's a point that Gonzales and his supporters raise in public forums and on the campaign trail.
"When we agreed, I found her to be an effective advocate," says Moore, who's supporting Gonzales in the mayoral race. "When we disagreed, I found her difficult to have a conversation with."
Steven Farber, an attorney who also served on the council alongside Bushee, disagrees with that assessment.
"I think that her record of getting things done speaks for itself—it is simply a reality that a person does not accomplish all the legislative achievements and programmatic changes that Patti was involved with ... without being flexible and capable of building and working with consensus. She has been doing this for 20 years," he writes to SFR, noting that she's his candidate for mayor.
Either way, it's hard to imagine a City Hall without Bushee, whose name, by the way, is pronounced Boo-Shay, rather than Bushey. She's represented the northwest side of town through three very different mayoral administrations.
Bushee, 54, grew up in Maine and came to Santa Fe in the early '80s. From there, she got involved in the community and advocated for issues like human rights, water and the environment—she spent some of her early years in New Mexico living in a cabin in the Santa Fe National Forest.
Still, she was relatively unknown in politics in 1994, when newly-elected Mayor Debbie Jaramillo appointed her to fill the City Council seat Jaramillo had vacated. Bushee's beginning on the council came as a wave of populism hit the city. Jaramillo, an underdog candidate, won the mayor's seat on a platform aimed at appeasing a shrinking Hispanic working class that felt left behind during the city's unprecedented boom in tourism.
During a year with many political milestones for Santa Fe, Bushee brought one of her own—becoming the first openly gay city office holder.
Though avowedly liberal, Bushee, who runs a small landscaping business, developed a fiscally conservative tendency early on. Her 1996 campaign literature boasted about how she "makes sure that public money is spent wisely for the benefit of Santa Feans."
"Some of the candidates have large families, and what I have is People for Patti."
—Patti Bushee
In the current mayor's race, Bushee makes an issue out of calling for an "independent" city auditor who doesn't answer to the city manager. She's also said she will consider imposing a new tax to pay for public safety.
At her campaign kickoff earlier this month, she boasted her ability to cite "a variety of examples I can give you of where government gets in the way."
One included an anecdote about how she stopped the city from charging a $500 fee to an international stonemason group that held a conference in Santa Fe and wanted to work on a public art project. "I tell you this story just to tell you the kinds of things that I confront and have confronted daily in my job as a councilor," she told the crowd. "And that will change when I am mayor."
Even though she's played a big part there for two decades, Bushee styles her campaign as a call to reform the way business is done at City Hall—namely what she criticizes as backroom dealmaking and the sometimes sloppy spending of the public coffers.
But in recent years, she has sometimes adopted the position as the City Council's lone wolf. She's taken notable votes against Mayor David Coss' city budget plan, a housing plan in the Northwest Quadrant of town and the city's purchase of land on Siler Road. In the summer of 2012, Bushee vocally opposed a deal for the city to buy undeveloped office space at the Market Station building in the Railyard, which she characterized as a bailout to a failed business.
"We have had several purchases that have been made behind closed doors," she said of city government at a recent mayoral forum.
But Bushee hasn't been immune to similar criticism levied against her. The same summer, city government greenlighted an investigation into allegations from Steve Duran, a principal of the development company that owns Market Station, claiming she owed him money for plumbing work. And last fall, her former mayoral campaign manager filed a complaint to the city's Ethics and Campaign Review Board alleging that Bushee violated the city's public finance code.
Both probes were eventually dismissed. Bushee's recent role of lone wolf also hasn't always paid off when it comes to pushing her own initiatives. Her proposal to ban high-capacity gun ammunition magazines, for example, failed lopsidedly during a June City Council meeting that featured nearly 50 gun rights advocates speaking against the idea. One of the bill's own co-sponsors, City Councilor Ron Trujillo, ended up dropping his support from the measure that night.
So far, the only publicly-released poll in the mayor's race found Bushee with a lead of 24 percent among likely voters against Gonzales' and Dimas' 11 percent each. Though that poll, released last fall through liberal group ProgressNow New Mexico, was conducted in late October when many more candidates were still in the race, it featured one telling point for Bushee—she simultaneously had the highest positives and the highest negatives among likely voters.
"One side or the other, you're going to make people happy or not happy," she told SFR last fall.
Ambition of Javier Gonzales
Slick in his mannerisms, confident in his public speaking, Javier Gonzales isn't shy about flashing a boyish grin on the campaign trail. There, he stresses his commitments to maintain the city's living wage, invest in early childhood education and support the "green economy."
He speaks about creating opportunities for Santa Fe's young population by forming a "youth services corps" for teenagers. He floats the idea of establishing a public bank to help small businesses make big investments. His overall thinking is boiled down into one campaign slogan:
"Santa Fe Forward."
It's all a part of an attempt by Gonzales, 47, to portray himself as the progressive choice for the mayor's office, effectively continuing the legacy of popular outgoing Mayor David Coss. His campaign team, full of some of the same operatives who helped elect and reelect Coss to the mayor's office over the past eight years, is the most organized of the pack.
So far, Gonzales has rounded up endorsements from traditional liberal supporters like the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the AFL-CIO's Northern New Mexico Central Labor Council and the Sierra Club. His elaborate campaign events feature appearances from celebrity residents like actress Ali MacGraw, former covert CIA spy Valerie Plame and Southwest environmental author William deBuys.
And in many cases, Gonzales is redefining himself for a new generation. He is simultaneously an advocate on simmering national issues like marijuana legalization and a toe-tipper on heated local issues like whether Santa Fe should own a public power grid. He is both a young, recently out-of-the-closet livewire and a middle-aged divorced father concerned about the well-being of his two young daughters.
"I'm not running for mayor of Santa Fe to fix anything. I want to continue this great journey."
—Javier Gonzales
At 27, Gonzales was elected to his first public office on the Santa Fe County Commission. There, he curbed some development plans such as a proposal from Vista Ltd. for 20 acres near the intersection of NM-599 and I-25.
Gonzales says that among his proudest accomplishments was helping secure $30 million for a countywide open space program "that literally saved thousands of acres of development,"—a credit which Coss cites in his endorsement of Gonzales' campaign.
Behind the scenes, though, he ran into allegations that he wasn't living up to his public facade. During his first term, Gonzales was linked to family members who were attempting to develop land for mobile homes in La Cienega, a rural community located roughly five miles southwest of city limits. At the time, a county planner accused Gonzales of using his political power to expedite development of the area by helping his relatives skirt the normal processes and jump straight to the land use director for approval [cover story, April 1, 1998: "Subdivided Loyalties"].
Gonzales denies any wrongdoing. "The county had conflict of interest forms that I filled out," he tells SFR. "I was certainly attentive to any perceived conflict."
More infamously, Gonzales took a walk in 1997 during a controversial commission vote to expand Santa Fe Ski Basin's parking lot, which was itself favored by developers but strongly opposed by environmentalists. Though he later explained that a family emergency caused his absence from the vote, some perceived the move as an attempt not to alienate future deep-pocketed support for a run for higher office down the line.
Indeed, Gonzales' family connection to old style Santa Fe politics—his father was elected mayor of Santa Fe in 1968—sometimes comes up on the campaign trail.
"There's some people in town who they're not sure they can support Javier because he comes from an old Santa Fe political family and somehow that means when he's elected he's going to behave poorly," Carla Lopez, a former city employee who's supporting Gonzales for mayor, told a crowd at a recent campaign event. "Well, Javier has a record, he has a track record over a very long time, and… never [do you] see or hear those kinds of behaviors from Javier."
He also presided as commissioner during a tough financial time for the county. In his first four years as commissioner, the county budget more than doubled from $31.3 million in 1994 to $67 million in 1998. Part of the trouble was the high cost of building a large new jail that commissioners, including Gonzales, unanimously approved two years earlier. The jail was built with a capacity for 500 beds, far more than the 280-bed threshold in similar jails. A private contractor eventually began running the jail, but over the years many beds remained empty.
In 2000, Gonzales voted for a plan to bring more revenue by allowing Cornell Companies, a private incarceration company, to use the jail to house immigrant prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Gonzales at first argued that the plan would bring needed jobs and money to the county. But after the vote, an Albuquerque Journal editorial questioned his personal friendship with Cornell's former top executive, which Gonzales contended would not influence his decision on the project.
"At the time, I was wanting to look for ways to increase revenue for the county. Job opportunities for local Santa Feans was certainly a component," Gonzales says today. "But I recognized there were bigger things."
Heavy resistance over the plan from immigrant rights advocates and Catholic Church clergy grew and, eventually, Gonzales had a change of heart and publicly rescinded his vote.
"It's wrong to support any efforts where profit can be made on the misery of individuals who find themselves in tough situations," he says.
Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who a decade later urged Gonzales to run for party chairman, says Gonzales' ability to listen to different constituencies in tough situations like this is one of his biggest strengths.
"I always appreciated his style, which was not bombastic," Denish tells SFR. "I think he understands the good and the bad that go with politics."
By the end of his time on the county commission, Gonzales' political career continued to grow. He became president of the National Association of Counties in 2001, a role in which he testified in front of US Congress the following year to support an affordable housing bill. Through the next decade, Gonzales served in stints as a regent at New Mexico Highlands University and later at New Mexico State University, his alma mater.
He worked for a time in the private sector in Washington DC and consulted with Santa Fe Studios before taking a job as an executive at a commercial real-estate company with a downtown office.
In 2009, he ran for and won the seat for chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, where he served for four years through one really bad election and one really good election for local and national Democrats.
jump into this year's mayoral contest represents a return to electoral
politics, and if the past is any indication, Gonzales is a man of
political ambition. As much as Gonzales promises a win in the mayor's
office is a shift "forward" for Santa Fe, the same can be said to the
career of the man behind the slogan.
Nostalgia of Bill Dimas
A foreshadowing of Bill Dimas' campaign philosophy came in late November, when former Santa Fe mayor Sam Pick eloquently explained to a civically-minded crowd at a neighborhood law conference his idea of how the city should be run.
"You've got to understand what local government is," Pick, who served as mayor in the 1980s and early 1990s when the city's tourism industry exploded, said in a tone both jovial and bitter. "It's a civic commitment. It's not political. It's keeping the streets clean, it's keeping the libraries open, it's paying for the police and the fire and the planners and parks. That's what it is."
Dimas, a former police officer, three-term magistrate judge and current city councilor, reflects a similar, albeit toned-down rhetoric in his quest for mayor—a philosophy that harkens back to a smaller, more innocent Santa Fe of days past.
Nostalgia like this filled the air during Dimas' recent campaign kickoff in a small office at the corner of Cerrillos Road and Don Diego Avenue.
"When we were growing up as teenagers and they had their band, we'd go to all their dances," says Joann Schutz, a retired resident who's known Dimas since the mid-1960s. Dimas' was a member of bands including The Sprints and The New Things, which played early rock and roll standards like "The Twist" and "La Bamba."
Dimas, 68, sums up his campaign with the motto "unity, honesty and integrity." But his message is not without critical undertones; Dimas' mayoral announcement included warnings that Santa Fe "is in danger of losing its ways, distracted by fringe issues and bending to special interests."
"We're talking about peripheral issues that City Hall doesn't really have jurisdiction over," Dimas tells SFR.
Like? "Like the gay issue—that's not our concern," Schutz says. "I have nothing against that, but I just think, well, we need to focus on roads, helping people heading to work, not doing stuff that isn't at the city level."
Last April, Dimas abstained from a City Council vote to recognize same-sex marriage on the grounds that the city didn't have jurisdiction to get involved in the issue, which at the time was being weighed by the US Supreme Court. He later told a reporter that he didn't personally mind same-sex marriage "if it's legal" and that he has several gay friends and a gay stepson, but that the issue "did nothing but polarize our community."
Indeed, former mayor Pick, who hasn't made a public endorsement for mayor this year, suggested a similar stance about the city's action when he claimed "they want to tell me who to marry."
Whatever Dimas' personal beliefs on samesex couples may be, his candidacy provides an opening for socially conservative voters in search of a hetero alternative to two gay candidates. In explaining the difference between Dimas and his opponents, Jerry Swartz, who serves on the Dimas campaign's executive committee, says both Bushee and Gonzales are "just taking from the same voter base."
"And just they're, of course they're both gay and stuff, you know," Swartz says, "And of course, [Dimas is] not discriminatory to anybody, so he's not against anybody. He's open to everybody."
Dimas is likely to draw from a base of those with strong family ties to Santa Fe and those who personally know him. At his recent campaign kickoff, the atmosphere resembled more of a family barbeque than a campaign event. And instead of rallying the attendees under a rousing speech, Dimas approached each one-on-one. The majority of them were friends.
"Santa Fe is in danger of losing its ways, distracted by fringe issues and bending to special interests."
—Bill Dimas
Like the other two candidates, Dimas' campaign material illustrates his support for green energy jobs, renewable energy practices and water conservation measures.
But his major topic is crime, which he maintains is mostly the symptom of a drug epidemic. The issue is personal, he says, citing the recent death of his daughter to a drug overdose.
But even his answers to that issue sometimes follow a nostalgic solution. To solve Santa Fe's drug problem, Dimas brings up the 1970s, when the police department and the schools "worked together" on drug and alcohol prevention plans.
And his efforts on City Council to address the problem haven't always worked to the level of his vision. Last fall, Dimas proposed a measure to bring back a narcotics unit in the Santa Fe Police Department. Police Chief Ray Rael, however, publicly warned that such a move would be costly and jeopardize SFPD's roles in a regional task force. Dimas amended his measure to "explore the options" of establishing a hotline for residents to report illegal drug activity and lobby the state Legislature to establish mandatory minimum sentences for drug traffickers.
That resolution passed in late October.
But specific issues like these don't come up often on the campaign trail. During his door knocking, Dimas says he often tells constituents who he is, why he's running for mayor and that he hopes they consider voting for him. "Most people are congenial," he says. "A few ask questions about where you stand on an issue, but not that many."


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The streaky bleeds in the logo are where the dye creeped in the vinyl on the adhesive. Cool look, but also as abstract as the saran wrap. Looks like it's on fire, and the background is the smoke.
The "X" is the middle signifies this as an x-out. Bought this from DiscGolfValues dot com. All the x-outs I got from there have a big X right in the middle
Gift for a friend -- more dyes come this week for the rest of the crew coming into town.
Yes, I know, this will be hell to find in the fall. But it's spring now...


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Apothecary wrote:i appreciate discspeeds disc reviews as well.
but you really should take those reviews with a grain of salt when hes pushing one of his sponsors molds over the competition.
It's not like my sponsors aren't listed in my signature...You are pointing out something very obvious...That someone with a vested interest (however big or small) might find more favor with that company than someone without a vested interest would. Are people not capable of assessing the value of information for themselves? Do I jump all over ever midrange thread saying THE VECTOR IS THE BEST DISC EVER!!!??? No. I gave my honest reviews and moved on. When I see someone is wanting very specifically something like the Vector I might recommend it if someone (like yourself) hasn't already. Do I represent large disc golf entities or draw people into buying the latest high speed driver (CDGS wouldn't mind this)? No...I represent MVP, and when it comes to them, as I've explained to you before, I am biased. I believe these guys are the future of disc golf in the most pure form(quality and advancement of the sport over becoming wealthy) and I will lend them a hand in any way I can, now and most likely a long time to come. I'm still not going to purposefully deceive someone into buying their products as this would be counterproductive to any long term goals of MVP as well as my credibility on these boards.


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Mercer's quick return comes vs. Gallardo
PITTSBURGH -- Lefties have been Pedro Alvarez's kryptonite during his four-year career.
He has hit just .211 against southpaws, and he often finds himself on the bench when one takes the mound.
But Wednesday, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle sat his starting third baseman against a righty for the first time since June 5 for what Hurdle called a "performance break."
Alvarez is 0-for-15 career against the Brewers' Wednesday starter, Yovani Gallardo.
The same goes for shortstop Clint Barmes, who also took a seat in favor of Jordy Mercer, who was recalled earlier Wednesday from Triple-A Indianapolis after John McDonald went on the 15-day disabled list. Barmes is 1-for-17 career against Gallardo.
"I've seen them go to bat against this guy for two straight years," Hurdle said. "This is the third year, so we'll try something different."
The 26-year-old Mercer had played nine games for the Pirates this season. He was called up May 3 when second baseman Neil Walker went on the disabled list, then sent down Monday before making a quick return to Pittsburgh 48 hours later.
Entering Wednesday, the Oklahoma State product was hitting .258 with three home runs and four RBIs in 31 at bats, including a two-homer effort against the Mets on Saturday. For Hurdle, Mercer's performance this month and quick recall indicated a growing depth and strength throughout the organization.
"[To go] get Mercer, still fresh, who just left, it's good," Hurdle said. "And I'm able to plug him right back into the lineup, which is another benefit."
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer. Steven Petrella is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.