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Onyango Obama is the second of the President's ubiquitous African kinsmen to have entered the country illegally and gotten away with it.
The one good thing in the story about the President's uncle is that he didn't kill anyone, unlike many other illegal aliens, as the The New American has amply documented.
"Sufficient Evidence"
Onyango Obama, the President's father's half-brother, admitted in Framingham (Mass.) Circuit Court that prosecutors had "sufficient evidence" to convict him. But such an admission is not a guilty plea. It merely means the defendant knows he won't win the case if he attempts to fight the charges in front of judge, jury, or both.
Despite the elder Obama's disregard for American immigration law and run-ins with the police, the judge was lenient.
According to the Associated Press, the "judge continued the case for one year without a finding, meaning that if he does not get arrested during that time, the charge will be dismissed. A judge also ordered him to attend a driver alcohol education program."
On Tuesday, the judge ordered him to give up his driver's license for 45 days. But his lawyer said he will apply for a hardship license to allow him to drive to and from his job as the manager of a liquor store in Framingham. Two other traffic violations were dismissed.
"He felt it was in his best interest to put this behind him," said his attorney, P. Scott Bratton. "He wants to return to his normal, quiet existence in society."
Part of that "quiet existence," of course, has been evading a deportation order for two decades, something the authorities don't care much about.
Drunken Motorist
Police arrested Onyango in late August last year. According to the Boston Globe, officers "said the car he was driving darted in front of a police cruiser, nearly causing the officer to hit his car." Before that, the Globe reported, he had lived a "quiet life" in the Bay State.
Uncle Onyango's blood alcohol level at his arrest was 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit in Massachusetts. A man of Obama's size, 175 pounds, needs to consume a half-dozen drinks in an hour to get that inebriated.
Yet "quiet" life is a relative term. He somehow obtained a Social Security card in 1992, which in turn paved the way for him to procure a driver's licence, the Metro West Daily reported at the time.
In 1994, thugs beat and robbed him. As well, he sold alcohol to minors, the newspaper reported.
[In 2010], police conducted a sting by sending an underage man into the store to buy liquor. Obama sold the 19-year-old man alcohol without asking for an ID, police said. The store lost its license for three days.
In 2006, Obama also sold alcohol to two underage men using fake IDs, police said.
After the latest arrest, Obama said, "I think I'd like to call the White House." Presumably, he thought his nephew at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. would pull some strings.
No Deportation
Apparently, handling the Obama case left immigration authorities confused. After last year's arrest, they locked him up at a federal detention facility. But as the Globe reported, they "refused to say whether the 67-year-old Framingham resident posted bond, whether they are keeping track of his whereabouts, or even whether they are still seeking his deportation, raising questions about public accountability in the case."
He has not, of course, been deported.
Another relative of the President, his Aunt Zeituni, also simply ignored the law. She was revealed in a television interview as having lived for years in the country illegally, costing the Massachusetts taxpayers thousands of dollars for her public housing and disability checks, even after having been asked twice to leave the country. She instead hired a lawyer who persuaded a judge to grant her "political asylum."
Obama's Amnesty
It wouldn't much matter, it turns out, whether these two Kenyan illegal immigrants are the President's relatives or not. That's because their nephew unilaterally declared an amnesty for illegals when he stopped the deportation of 300,000 illegals last year.
That move came after John Morton, the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, issued a memorandum giving ICE personnel "prosecutorial discretion" in deportation cases. Morton published a long list of criteria the agents can use to determine if an illegal alien can stay in the country.
Morton's lengthy list includes the illegal's length of residency here, the age at which he crossed the border illegally, his educational achievements, whether he or any relatives serve in the military, whether he is sick or crazy or cares for a sick relative. Pregnancy is another escape from deportation.
The person's ties to the community can be considered, as can their ties, or lack thereof, to their home country. The memo says grave concern must be expressed for elderly or youthful illegals. And agents might also consider whether immigration authorities will permit the person stay.
In effect, Morton's list expanded and codified the list of criteria leftist legislators put in the DREAM Act, the proposed amnesty that failed in the U.S. Senate in December 2010. Although the measure failed, Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has repeatedly said the administration has, for all intents and purposes, declared the failed measure a law simply by refusing to deport illegals and applying DREAM criteria to do so.
Napolitano claims that her deputies at ICE want to focus on "criminal" illegals.
Obama made that usurpation of legislative authority official when he ordered a halt to the 300,000 deportation cases.
Police Lucky
The upshot is that the President's aunt and uncle fit nearly all the criteria in the DREAM Act, as well as Morton's elongated list. ICE would not have deported them even if they hadn't been related to the President.
That said, given the record of illegal aliens, alcohol, and driving, the police that Onyango Obama nearly hit were lucky.
Just four days before his arrest, police in Milford, Massachusetts, collared Nicolas Guaman, an illegal Ecuadorian. As The New American reported at the time, officers charged Guaman with vehicular homicide for killing 23-year-old motorcyclist Matthew Denice. In October, a grand jury indicted him for second-degree murder. Guaman pleaded not guilty.
Citing police, the Milford Daily News reported that Guaman dragged Denice a quarter-mile before Denice's body "was dislodged from under Guaman's truck when he ran off the road," after which "Guaman backed up over Denice and drove off."
Guaman is another illegal who, like Obama, repeatedly crossed paths with the police, and not peacefully. Officers knew him as a violent thug convicted of assaulting a policeman and firefighter. Yet he too was never deported. That is why Matthew Denice is dead.
As with their apparent insouciance concerning the President's uncle, immigration authorities didn't much care about the Guaman case. A key witness in the case, an illegal Ecuadorian in the car with Guaman when Denice was killed, fled the country after immigration officials fitted him with a global positioning device and released him. Police did not learn of his escape until he failed to show up to testify at a grand jury hearing about Guaman. Milford law enforcement officers were dumbfounded.
Federal immigration authorities flatly stated they didn't much care whether a witness to the vehicular murder of an American citizen disappears.
Photo of Onyango Obama: AP Images


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16 U.S. Code § 470h–4 - Professional standards
prev | next
(a) In general
Each Federal agency that is responsible for the protection of historic resources, including archaeological resources pursuant to this subchapter or any other law shall ensure each of the following—
(A) All actions taken by employees or contractors of such agency shall meet professional standards under regulations developed by the Secretary in consultation with the Council, other affected agencies, and the appropriate professional societies of the disciplines involved, specifically archaeology, architecture, conservation, history, landscape architecture, and planning.
(B) Agency personnel or contractors responsible for historic resources shall meet qualification standards established by the Office of Personnel Management in consultation with the Secretary and appropriate professional societies of the disciplines involved. The Office of Personnel Management shall revise qualification standards within 2 years after October 30, 1992, for the disciplines involved, specifically archaeology, architecture, conservation, curation, history, landscape architecture, and planning. Such standards shall consider the particular skills and expertise needed for the preservation of historic resources and shall be equivalent requirements for the disciplines involved.
(b) Guidelines
In order to promote the preservation of historic resources on properties eligible for listing in the National Register, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Council, promulgate guidelines to ensure that Federal, State, and tribal historic preservation programs subject to this subchapter include plans to—
(1) provide information to the owners of properties containing historic (including architectural, curatorial, and archaeological) resources with demonstrated or likely research significance, about the need for protection of such resources, and the available means of protection;
(2) encourage owners to preserve such resources intact and in place and offer the owners of such resources information on the tax and grant assistance available for the donation of the resources or of a preservation easement of the resources;
(3) encourage the protection of Native American cultural items (within the meaning of section 3001 (3) and (9) of title 25) and of properties of religious or cultural importance to Indian tribes, Native Hawaiians, or other Native American groups; and
(4) encourage owners who are undertaking archaeological excavations to—
(A) conduct excavations and analyses that meet standards for federally-sponsored excavations established by the Secretary;
[1] So in original. Probably should be "give".
Source(Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 112, as added Pub. L. 102–575, title XL, § 4014,Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4761; amended Pub. L. 106–208, § 5(a)(9),May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 319.)
October 30, 1992, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(B), was in the original "the date of enactment of this Act" which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 102–575which enacted this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
2000—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 106–208inserted closing parenthesis after "title 25".
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.

subset: commoncrawl


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XEROX Corporation
(company) A US company, founded in 1906, specialising in document related technology and services including photocopiers, printers and office software. Xerox's acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services added business process and document management to their product range. In 2013 they have 140,000 employees.Their research centre, XEROX PARC, prototyped several revolutionary advances in computing, which the company failed to exploit, including the WIMP desktop metaphor and XEROX Network Services. http://xerox.com/.
Last updated: 2013-04-30


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Category: Poet names for girls
It's National Poetry Month, the perfect moment to celebrate the bards and bardesses of the past and present, a surprising number of whom just happened to born with birth-certificate-ready surnames. In addition to those below, there are other great choices like Auden, Eliot and Emerson, Lowell, Millay, Nash, Owen, Poe, Reese and Schuyler, but we've picked what we think are the best poet names for now.
Post Categories:


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Carryover Action
Wednesday's optimistic action has carried over to this morning, but there are signs of nervousness, and many traders are ready to hit the eject button at the first sign of negative news. We already had one jiggle on comments from a congressman that they are "far from a deal." Speaker John Boehner is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. EST and the market is losing momentum in front of that event.
Overall, we have good breadth again at about 3-to-1 positive. Most sectors are green but there is a little weakness in homebuilders and retailers. Apple (AAPL), Priceline (PCLN), Google (GOOG) and a number of big-caps are leading the action, which is probably a function of traders looking for liquid names that they can exit quickly should they need to....56 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
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Tag: beach boys
Malt Shop Memories Cruise
If you have never taken a music cruise, trust me, it takes cruising to a whole new level, far better than you ever imagined. It's like the sum of one plus one becomes three as you become completely esconced in a world where the music is the only thing that matters. There are several music […]
Posted: March 4th, 2011 under Paul Motter.
Tags: 2011, beach boys, Carnival Inspiration Oct. 27, chubby checker, malt shop memories, music cruise
Comments: 3


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Lions signed OT Barry Richardson.
Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel expects the Packers to lighten Ty Montgomery's workload going forward.
Jordy Nelson (quad) expects to play in Sunday's game against the Bengals.
Jordan Howard (shoulder) was limited in Wednesday's practice.
Eagles LG Chance Warmack is expected to start Week 3 against the Giants.
Jets coach Todd Bowles said it's too early to tell if TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins will be active this week.
Demaryius Thomas (hamstring) was limited at Wednesday's practice.
Gerald Everett (thigh) is questionable for Week 3 against the 49ers.
Updating an earlier report, Rob Gronkowski (groin) did not practice on Wednesday.
Corey Davis (hamstring) has been ruled out for Week 3.
Jordy Nelson (quad) is practicing in full for Week 3 against the Bengals.
DeMarco Murray (hamstring) didn't practice on Wednesday.


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(UPDATED COVERAGE 5:12 p.m.) A Florida grower says the Food and Drug Administration is mandating a recall of curly parsley five weeks after it was harvested — and long after its shelf life had expired — after a positive test for salmonella.
However, FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said the recall is voluntary.
Rick Roth, owner of Roth Farms Inc., Belle Glade, Fla., said he is cooperating with the agency, but the recall was not voluntary. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the Roth Farms parsley.
"We were told it was required," Roth said Feb. 13. He said officials collected a random sample at the packing house level.
Roth Farms harvested the parsley Jan. 7. The FDA e-mailed the recall notice to alert subscribers on Feb. 13.
The company's agent said FDA notified Roth Farms of the positive test result on Feb. 11. It wasn't immediately known what date the FDA recorded the positive test.
The FDA notice covers lot number AG01GN, which was shipped in three-wire wooden crates. Roth's sales agent Gary Norman, owner of Gary Norman Produce, Wellington, Fla., said 500 cartons with 60 bunches of parsley are included in the recall.
"This is not voluntary," Norman said Feb. 13. "We called everybody we shipped to and they all told us (the parsley) is long gone. The FDA said we had to do this recall."
Norman said the curly parsley has a shelf life of about two weeks. According to the FDA recall notice, production of the product has been suspended while the agency and company investigate the possible source of the salmonella.
FDA's Eisenman said snowstorms closed agency offices in the Washington D.C. area Feb. 13, but she were seeking additional official comments on the recall.


text: Seller: indoasiangroceries2015 (1,060) 99.1%, Location: Belmont, Victoria, Ships to: AU, Item: 332190361776 Brand: N/A, Details: IAG - Rice Flour - 1 KG Yes, We do provide Combined shipping Postage IAG - Rice Flour - 1 KG Yes, We do provide Combined shipping Postage × Buy now and save! Tell a friend Visit store Watch now Postage info Price: $7.97 (local shipping) Click the Postage tab above the listing description for more info Additional delivery notes PICK UP OPTION Sorry, our items are NOT available for pick-up. PAYING VIA PAYPAL We accept PayPal on our all our items so you can shop with confidence. Simple choose the PayPal option when proceeding through the checkout. Additional Information No additional information at this time Ask seller a question You might also like Bakers - Tennis Biscuits - 200 gm Bakers - Romany Creams Classic Crunchy Choc Coconut Biscuits - 200 gm Bakers - Choc Kits Classic Crunchy Oat Choc Biscuits - 200 gm Bakers - Iced Zoo Vanilla Biscuits - 150 gm Contact To contact our Customer Service Team, simply click the button here and our Customer Service team will be happy to assist. Ask seller a question © Indo-Asian grocery Postage Shipping is a flat rate across AU at a rate of $7.97 Payment Accepted Payment Methods PayPal Returns Returns are accepted Items must be returned within 30 days of the auction ending Buyer will pay for return shipping. eBay integration by


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Utah Jazz: Utah Jazz fall to Portland Trail Blazers
Portland, Ore. • It wasn't Mo Williams' thumb, Gordon Hayward's shoulder or Earl Watson's right leg, but, boy, this one hurt.
The Utah Jazz led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but squandered that lead and missed on opportunities to seize another one, falling 105-99 to the Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.
Randy Foye led the Jazz (26-22) with 23 points, but he went ice cold after making his fifth 3-pointer of the game with 6:05 left in the third quarter, putting the Jazz up 63-53. The Blazers scored the next 14 points, and closed the quarter on a 19-4 run.
Foye made his sixth 3, tying a season high, with 33.9 seconds left in the game to cut the Blazers' lead to 99-96, but by then, the damage had been done - whether you believe it was exacted by the Blazers (24-23) or self-inflicted - and the Blazers made their free throws to seal the win.
The Jazz battled back to tie the game at 79 on a 3-pointer by Alec Burks with 8:25 left in the game, but Utah was never able to reclaim the swagger - or, more to the point, shooting touch - that they had in the first half.
Paul Millsap scored 18 points, and was among five Jazz players to reach double figures. But all of them were once against outshone by former Weber State guard Damian Lillard, who fnished with 23 points and 8 assists, bringing his two-game total against the Jazz to 49 points.
Portland center J.J. Hickson finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and small forward Nicolas Batum (12 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) was one assist away from his third triple-double in two weeks.
The result also spoiled a resurgence, of sorts, for Marvin Williams. The Jazz's starting small forward was 7-of-13 from the field and finished with 15 points, his highest total since Dec. 22 at Miami, when he finished with 16 points.
It was his fifth that seemed to hit an off switch on its way down. He was 5-of-7 at the time, and gave the Jazz their biggest lead of the game. But he missed his next three attempts, as he started creating his own shots, rather than catching passes in rhythm. To wit: His final made 3, the one in the third quarter that seemed so crucial, came after Al Jefferson fed an outmatched Jamaal Tinsley in the post. Tinsley, in turn, passed out of the collapsed defense to a waiting Foye.
The ultimate result was that the Jazz squandered and opportunity to give themselves even more separation from the Blazers. They entered the game with a 2 ½ game lead on Portland for third place in the Northwest Division after beating the Trail Blazers 86-77 Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Instead of using the rare home-away back-to-back to widen a gap which could prove crucial when it comes time to sort out playoff seeding, the Jazz found themselves even with a division rival.
It was just the Jazz's fourth loss in their last 14 games, a fact that was lost on few. Into their second month without Mo Williams, their second week without Hayward and into a whole new realm of uncertainty with Watson, the Jazz have risen up to each injury.
And that has forced coach Tyrone Corbin to get creative with his lineups.
On Saturday, Corbin found success with perhaps his most unconventional lineup of the season: Alec Burks, Enes Kanter, Derrick Favors, DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap. That group brought the Jazz back from their deficit to start the fourth-quarter, going on a 10-3 run capped by Burks' 3-pointer.
Corbin likes to talk about the Jazz never wilting late in games, and on Saturday, they made a strong fourth-quarter push - except the Blazers wilted a little less.
A pair of free throws by Jamaal Tinsley cut Portland's lead to 90-87, but the visitors could then only watch as the Blazers swung the ball to the far corner and Nolan Smith buried his second 3-pointer of the game.
The Jazz weren't the only team lacking depth in their backcourt.
After suffering ankle injuries at EnergySolutions Arena on Friday night, former Jazz guards Wesley Matthews and Ronnie Price were both held out on Saturday.
Twitter: @tribjazz


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Wisteria, I have been told, does grow in the northern climes. OK. Gotta say, tho, wisteria in the south is more than special.
*Photos taken with the Cannon, in and around Oyster Bay Alabama.
Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence
This and that from my world of Family Research, Yorkies, Photography, RV's and Traveling.
Carol, Just lovely. Yes, wisteria goes up here in Massachusetts, but it sure isn't out yet!
Wonderful wisteria.
Oooh, I love wisteria. Nearby there is a big holly tree that has a huge wisteria growing up and over it - it is an amazing sight.


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Schick Intuition Reviews
LOVE ITI'm a big fan of this product, not only is is super easy to use but smells good and you don't have to use shaving cream with it. One cartridge lasts forever for me and I use it all over, it's great for a quick shave when your in a hurry and I've never even cut myself with it. No razor burn either. — 6 years, 1 month agoBon_Bon | 522 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 3 of 4 people said helpful
very nicei love the razor it comes with and the soap is actually very moisturizing. my legs were so soft and smooth and moisturized when i used this. but my big problem is that its easy to run out of soap, meaning you spend more money on replacements even though the razor is still good. it doesnt seem worth it to me. — 6 years, 9 months agokenya | 504 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 3 of 5 people said helpful
Just okayThis product does work for the first few uses, but then the soap part get so low that it doesn't have any effect. The refills are quite pricey. The handle grip is very comfortable and did help reduce nicks, especially from a slippery hand. Overall, though the product is too pricey. I find that other schick razors - especially the disposable ones - work just as well and are much cheaper. — 5 years, 9 months agoTheLacqueredLady | 751 reviews
It's goodIt's a good razor, nothing amazing. It does leave your skin pretty soft, but I have cut myself using this product more than others, even while using shaving cream. I like that it is cheap and for the price it does a pretty good job. — 5 years, 4 months agoyestfl | 239 reviews
50/50I got a Schick Intution "Plus". My opinion about this razor is 50% good and 50% bad. First of all, the big size is easy to hold, but it is too bulky as my regular travel toiletry. On the other hand, with moisturizer around the blades you may not need to bring shaving gel. The actual shaving experience is mixed too. It gives very close and clean cuts, but even with the moisturizer it does...read more not give enough smooth shave than when I use shaving gel. But if I choose not to use the shaving gel, this razor saves time and reduces mess. The moisurizer part gets dry if you don't use it for sometime, and the refill cartridges are a bit pricey. — 9 years, 2 months agoluckybetty | 895 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 2 of 3 people said helpful
Silky SoftThis is a great razor because it shaves completely in one sweep and leaves my legs silky and soft. This is a great razor to use on sensitive skin and always makes a clean shave and easy to hold and use. — 8 years, 4 months agoStef42678 | 500 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 1 of 1 people said helpful
so easyi love this. its so easy, all you do is grab it and run it over your wet skin, and it shaves you. so its like magic...the only bad thing is i only get 2-3 uses out of one refill, which makes it more expensive than anything else i use, but for some things which need shaved everyday its the best...OH BTW, i used everykind of refill, and the pivot head one too, and the only really bad thing is the 's...read moreensitve skin'... id ont know why, but im allergic to only that variety of this, and it gave me the only razor rash ive ever had. the rest are great tho, no problems! — 9 years, 4 months agocorizotti | 550 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 7 of 8 people said helpful
Don't waste your moneyI had high hopes for this product. It's a great concept but it doesn't come together in action. It felt like the razor blades couldn't get close enough to my skin so no matter how many times I went over the same spot, I could never get a close shave. Without a close shave, the moisturizing effect is really a non issue. I can always soap and moisturize separately. I need a close shave! — 4 years, 7 months agoitaliaca | 257 reviews
good thing i got a free sampleb/c it wouldn't be worth the $10 price tag! i like the idea of an shave gel/razor combo and use this as my "travel shaver" so i don't have to lug a can of shave gel in my already overpacked suitcase. it's decent for removing hair but: (1) this is not substitute for shave gel - it's more like shaving w/ a soap bar and razor: no lather and minimal moisturizing; (2) the razor itself is big ...read moreand bulky and not easy to maneuver around ankles; (3) in theory the plastic cover is great but it doesn't attach easily/securely; (4) not a close shave - my legs are stubbly just a few days after (unlike the longer lasting effect other razors give me; (5) the darn soap/razor attachment always falls off! i've actually cut myself unpacking the razor and picking it up off the shower floor. =( — 7 years, 11 months agojenstar313 | 101 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 1 of 1 people said helpful
dissapointedThe idea is good, but I still got razor burns and the only part f the bar that gets used is right under the blades. Even the sensitive skin version was irritating. — 4 years, 2 months agoKelseaT | 168 reviews
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My Reasons for Reporting This


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TWO Hampshire colleges are set for a multi-million pound boost to encourage economic growth.
Sparsholt College near Winchester will receive £5.8million to refurbish engineering workshops, and to create new facilities for vocational learners.
Fareham College will get £9.8 million for a new centre of excellence for engineering and manufacturing technologies at the Solent enterprise zone in South Hampshire.
The investment is part of a £70.3 million investment for colleges across the south-east.
Sparsholt College principal Tim Jackson said last night: "We are delighted to receive this grant towards our investment programme in sports, motor vehicle and engineering facilities."
These funds recognise and support our on-going commitment to providing inspiring and industry-relevant working spaces facilities for learners in Hampshire. We are looking forward to seeing the transformation of these spaces and the undoubted benefits they will bring to skills development and employability for learners, apprentices and employers."
Kim Thorneywork, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency, said: "Following a high demand of inspirational applications for the Enhanced Renewal Grant, it is great news that the Agency and BIS are able to announce the successful colleges who will receive government funding, through the Agency, to support their projects and enable them to be brought to life."
Julian Gravatt, Association of Colleges assistant chief executive, said: "These grants will provide much needed capital funding to colleges across England.
"These colleges will now be able to improve their facilities for the benefit of the learners, businesses and the communities they serve," added Mr Gravatt.


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Ukiah Daily Journal
Ukiah Unified School District announced Thursday that it increased its Academic Performance Index score by 21 points during the 2011/12 school year, up to 729.
The API is part of the state's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 and shows how much districts and schools are improving from year to year based on student performance on statewide tests. The state API goal is 800, and schools that fall short of this target need to meet annual growth targets until the goal of 800 is met.
Frank Zeek Elementary School's API of 816 exceeded the state target this year. Students, staff and parents of Frank Zeek held a celebration to recognize those students who scored proficient and advanced on the California Content Standards test.
Principal Jeanne Yttreness said, "Frank Zeek staff, students and parents have worked hard on mastering the grade level standards for each grade. I am so proud of every student and staff member for their hard work. I believe that using the concepts of best first instructions throughout the school really helped. Thank you parents for your support."
Although Oak Manor Elementary School did not reach the state target of 800, its API grew by 63 points to 725. Principal Jeni DeVinny attributed this growth to "a dedicated staff that put time and effort into professional development. The teachers received training and coaching on best first instruction strategies. They worked together as a staff and in grade level teams and focused on the specific needs of the students. I am proud of the efforts of the teachers, but also the response of the students to the expectations."
Yokayo Elementary School's 794 API is hovering close to the state target and grew by 41 points. According to Principal Daniel Hoffman, "This is a result of a passionate and collaborative staff, good instruction, hardworking students and committed parents. We are proud of our students and take an earnest ownership in providing them with the best education we possibly can."
Both of Ukiah Unified's middle schools, Eagle Peak and Pomolita, increased their API scores. Eagle Peak increased by 34 points to 739, and Pomolita increased 45 points to 725. According to the district, the middle schools continue to provide a comprehensive program for students including academics and extra-curricular activities.
Additionally, Calpella scored 739, an increase of 19 points; Grace Hudson scored 708, an increase of nine points, Nokomis scored 692, a decrease of 16 points; South Valley High School scored 492, a decrease of 35 points; and Ukiah High scored 721, an increase of three points.
UUSD Board President Glenn McGourty stated, "I am proud to celebrate our students' achievement. The growth in the UUSD API reflects the great work by teachers happening in our classrooms. I am confident that Ukiah Unified will continue to increase student achievement."


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After months of work, the resident-run Vallejo Ad-hoc Citizens Public Safety Advisory Committee is coming to a close.
The nine-member fact-finding group is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. today at Vallejo City Hall, 555 Santa Clara St., to review a myriad of recommendations it plans to submit to a Vallejo City Council public safety subcommittee.
On the meeting agenda is a request to consider holding an additional meeting on Dec. 12.
The advisory panel, designed to dissolve once it make its recommendations, was tasked with reviewing three major areas:
* Other police and fire departments' best practices in regards to efficient operations, revenue generation, reduced calls for service, crime suppression, increased police presence and enhanced crime-fighting technology;
* Other cities' best practices for citizen police commissions;
* And, present and future public safety compensation methodology trends.
The committee's draft final report is available at www.ci.vallejo.ca.us under city agendas, or in the scrolling information box.


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Green Machine wrote:Really sweet work. Not enough good electric scooter conversions anymore.
I am suprised you dont get faster than 25kph per hour.
milesinfront wrote:Awesome job! Is the carbon cut from hard sheet, or did you 'brew' it yourself? Wish my scooter was 8kgs, but then again I'm aiming for 50km/h+....
Guy H wrote:tell you the truth?
I saw your scooter in google search and thats why I built mine
sk8norcal wrote:nice!
I dislike those solid tire goped wheels, horrible ride.
pneumatic + suspension is way better...
do you see people using these small wheel e-scooters in israel ? popular?
I know kooper, moover, and trekker are from israel.
Silenthunter wrote:Guys is this motor strong enough for goped big foot conversion Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 - 6374-192kv Brushless Outrunner Motor?
Return to Stand-up E-scooters and E-skateboards
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About Tesla
About Tesla
Tesla's goal is to accelerate the world's transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs, as well as EV powertrain components for partners such as Toyota and Daimler. Tesla has delivered over 15,000 electric vehicles to customers in 31 countries. Model S is the world's first premium sedan to be engineered from the ground up as an electric vehicle. Model S was named Motor Trend's prestigious 2013 Car of the Year, achieved the best safety score of any car ever tested by the NHTSA, and Consumer Reports is calling it the best car it has ever tested.
Tesla Motors is committed to hiring and developing top talent from across the world for any given discipline. Our world-class teams operate with a non-conventional automotive product development philosophy of high inter-disciplinary collaboration, flat organizational structure, and technical contribution at all levels. You will be expected to challenge and to be challenged, to create, and to innovate. These jobs are not for everyone, you must have a genuine passion for producing the best vehicles in the world. Without passion, you will find what we're trying to do too difficult.
The Role
Tesla Motors is looking for an experienced Vehicle Technician to work on one of the most progressive vehicle brands in the world. This position requires a significant amount of customer interaction, so the ideal candidate will not only possess the technical acumen, but also the ability to provide a strong level of customer service. This position is located at our Fremont service center; however, the role will require travel as needed and directed by management. If you are interested in becoming a part of a world class service team supporting the latest EV technology, we are interested in hearing from you. More details about the job are listed below:
- Performs Journey-level work in the inspection, repair, and service of Tesla electric vehicles
- Operate a variety of hand, power, and shop tools
- Perform equipment inspections, adjustments and certifications
- Pick up and deliver customer vehicles using full size van and 20ft trailer
- Perform Pre-Delivery Inspections (PDI) of new cars
- Maintain records of time, expenses and materials
- Order shop supplies and parts
- Perform other related duties as assigned
- Help maintain cleanliness of vehicles and service center
- Effectively handle multiple priorities, organize workload, and meet deadlines
- Support entry-level technicians as needed
- Valid driver's license, clean driving record with at least 2 years of driving experience and insurable
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Associates Degree in Automotive Technology or Automobile Mechanic national certificate, preferred
- 3-5 yrs experience in a dealership environment, 5+ years in the automotive industry
- Factory Trained Master Status / OEM Training & hybrid experience, preferred
- Certification to repair A/C systems and handle refrigerant
- Maintain and perform top level professional integrity and appearance as an automotive technician
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Methods, techniques, parts, tools and materials used in the maintenance and repair of vehicles including testing, diagnosis, HVAC service, hydraulic, brakes, testing and repair of electronic systems and modules
- Operation and maintenance of a wide variety of hand and power tools, shop tools, test equipment
- Automotive equipment and servicing methods
- Extensive experience using scan tools, following diagnostics and operating scopes/DVOM equipment
- Chemicals and lubricants used in automotive servicing
- Excellent oral and written communication skills as well as the ability to follow instructions, required
- Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work, including the public
Tesla Motors is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, age, sex, ancestry, marital status, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, present or past history of mental disability, genetic information or any other classification protected by state or federal law.
Tesla's goal is to accelerate the world's transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs, as well as EV powertrain components for partners such as Toyota and Daimler. Tesla has delivered more than 2,400 Roadsters to customers worldwide and received more than 13,000 reservations for Model S. Model S, the world's first premium sedan to be engineered from the ground up as an electric vehicle, began deliveries to U.S. customers in June of this year and was named Motor Trend's prestigious 2013 Car of the Year.
|Tigertail Blvd
United States
|Web Site:
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San Carlos, CA 94070
United States
|Cleantech / Energy


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With a hit TV cooking show and a growing restaurant empire, chef Emeril Lagasse's career is simmering.
TV cooking shows have a term for the finished dish--be it a chocolate soufflé or rack of lamb en croute--that the chef magically pulls from the oven in reciprocal legerdemain to the freshly prepared version going in. Created less hurriedly and fussed over in a second kitchen backstage, this culinary stand-in emerges magazine-cover perfect and is called "the hero." On most cooking programs, it's clearly the star of the show.
But not on "Emeril Live," a recent addition and runaway ratings star on cable television's TV Food Network. The hero of this hour-long show is not the food, which is nonetheless spectacular--bold, spicy, wonderfully creative and varied--but the chef, 39-year-old Emeril Lagasse, who is amassing a rock-star-like following while whipping up some real magic in the kitchen. Arguably more so than any chef who has ever graced the small screen, Lagasse is bringing haute cuisine to the masses. Cops and firemen love him. Grandmothers dote on him. Children sit mesmerized by his performance, awaiting each opportunity to join him in shouting "Bam!" when he seasons a dish with a theatrically jettisoned shower of spices. In its year-end issue, Time magazine named "The Essence of Emeril" (his previous show, still broadcast in re-runs) Best Television of 1996.
There is something about this down-to-earth chef with the dark, caterpillar eyebrows, the hand-in-the-cookie-jar glint in his eyes, an accent thick as New England clam chowda,
who talks about working in a bakery as a boy growing up in Fall River, Massachusetts, and pays frequent homage to his Mom (Hilda) and Dad (Mr. John). He cooks brassy, assertive food, guy food, mischievously flaunting some of cooking's "sacred" rules. Dishes are invariably "kicked up a notch" and occasionally "to notches unknown to mankind." He seems an instinctive teacher, skilled at setting the stage and the proper mood and delivering his lesson on a gust of fun. His recipes are on public display on the TV Food Network Web site (www.foodtv.com). Above all, he comes across as a regular guy: Everyman in a chef's jacket and apron.
The second of three audiences of the day awaits their hero's entrance at the New York City taping of his program. Most of the 140 Emeril lovers in attendance are seated on bleachers. Others have been steered to the dozen café tables closer to the set. The luckiest occupy the four stools, two at either end of the cooking counter. They're virtually assured of sampling whatever Chef Emeril has planned or improvises for this, the 53rd taping in the series.
The sound of his energetic theme music fills the studio. The audience explodes Pavlovianly in cheers and claps. A monitor shows Lagasse bounding down the hall. Damned if he doesn't actually leap into the studio, surprisingly agile in a pair of black leather clogs, before heading into the bleachers, politician-like, to press the flesh. He shakes a few hands, accepts a present and a kiss from a blonde in the second row, and then introduces the theme for the show:
"In an area called the Lombardy region of Italy, people rarely eat pasta. Not until the 1950s did they eat pasta there. They mostly eat polenta, risotto. The region is responsible for giving the world the most mispronounced dessert on the planet: tiramisu."
Lagasse leans to within inches of the camera, presenting himself comically, almost in peep-hole close-up, and switches to a back-alley rasp: "Hey, have you had your tiramisu yet?"
Lagasse generally reads some of his opening remarks from the prompter--and basically ignores it thereafter, creating the show as he goes, ad libbing off audience comments and veering off into whatever mischief crosses his mind. Part of the appeal of the show is its unpredictability. You never know when he'll invite someone from the audience up to cook with him or when he'll step out from behind the stove and head into the crowd, as he did on a so-called "Manly Man" show, when he shouldered a case of beer into the audience, passing out cold cans, before cooking such hunting lodge fare as bacon-wrapped stuffed pork chops and venison stew.
Like any show that strikes a chord with an audience, "Emeril Live" has its routine moments as well: running bits, catch phrases, recurring props, an ongoing taunting of "a certain late-night show up the street," even the ritual on-camera dressing of Lagasse just after his opening remarks. This off-with-the-black-sports-jacket, on-with-the-white-chef's-jacket-and-apron operation is a high-energy echo of Fred Rogers' classic shedding of his suit coat in favor of his zip-up sweater and works here just as brilliantly: The chef is in the house! Dish towel in hand like a baton, he's ready to lead.
Lagasse points to his left, introducing tonight's live musical component: "The Jammin' Queen and Marko." The duo has a violin and guitar in hand and other instruments at the ready. Live music is to the show as salt and pepper are to the food. "And we've got Hilda in the house."
The audience roars its approval. Beside her at one of the café tables is Mr. John, who'll be seated at the counter and treated to a special Father's Day feast during the subsequent taping. Once a month Lagasse flies to New York from New Orleans and tapes three shows a day, roughly from 2 o'clock till 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That demanding pace is actually far less frenetic than the past rigors of taping the half-hour "Essence" programs, when a typical day in the studio began at 8 a.m. and ended, eight shows later, around 3:30 p.m. "In those days," he explains, "I'd be in the restaurant Saturday night till 4 a.m., on an airplane at seven, get off the airplane at 11:30, be in the studio at one, shooting four shows on Sunday afternoon--my day off. I mean, fried to a crisp."
This day, a Wednesday in May, Lagasse awakes at 7:30 in his room at the Upper East Side New York hotel where he is staying and soon unclasps the humongous, doctor's bag-style briefcase he lugs around as a traveling desk. "I work every day on the restaurants through the various channels I've set up," he says over a cappuccino in the hotel's dining room. Besides his flagship restaurant Emeril's, in the warehouse district in New Orleans, and NOLA in the French Quarter, his growing empire includes Emeril's New Orleans Fish House in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, named the number one restaurant in the city by Zagat's. Emeril's Home Base, his corporate office, which is located near Emeril's, functions as command central for this culinary empire, which includes the cooking show and cookbooks, and which is on track to open two restaurants in as many years.
Lagasse recently acquired the venerable, though dowdy, Delmonico on St. Charles Street, and the plan was to reopen this century-old New Orleans restaurant in mid-December with a back-to-the-future concept. "We're going to bring back a bit of the grander New Orleans traditional family dining that's being lost in the city," he says. "Club service, some tableside cooking, great sommelier, great wine program and a lot of those classic New Orleans dishes: en Papillote, caramel cup custard, ice cream bombs."
The second restaurant, set to open late in 1998, will be straight-to-the-future. Emeril's Orlando at Universal Studios is targeted as the upscale dining spot in the twenty-first century entertainment complex that will link the massive theme park addition that is slated to double Universal's Florida footprint. Universal, clearly, is banking not only on Lagasse's cuisine and TV stardom but also his professionalism.
On camera, Lagasse may play the lovable goofball, proclaiming "Pork fat rules," and cavalierly adding ingredients such as wine-- "Aw, what the hell, let's dump in the whole bottle." Off camera, far different emotions generally rule. "When it comes to his food and restaurants, he's extremely serious," says Tony Cruz, Lagasse's business manager. "From day one, he'd say, 'Tony, you have to analyze this. These costs may be too high.' Invariably he'd be right. I give him reports every morning on all the restaurants, what's selling, what's not, how many meals served, check averages. He's absolutely on top of profit and loss. He is a very smart businessman."
Lagasse's earliest culinary memory finds him at age seven or so at Hilda's elbow, helping her add vegetables to a big soup pot. He credits his mother's side of the family and its Portuguese roots for his innate love of food.
He credits his father with guiding his nose to the grindstone. When he was 12, Mr. John had to quit school to work on a farm to help support his family. Now 68, he recently retired after 35 years dyeing suit linings at Duro Finishing, a Fall River textile company. A third of those years he worked the second shift. Generally, he moonlighted--driving cabs, maybe, or working as a security guard--to help ensure that his three children (Emeril has an older sister, Delores, and younger brother, Mark) would have it better than he had.
Mr. John, whose heritage is French-Canadian, doesn't say much until spoken to. "He's not a talker. He's a very shy, quiet guy, but he has tremendous respect for people and tremendous respect for the work ethic," Lagasse says, explaining what he took to be his father's credo. "You can cry all you want that life is hard. The only way you're going to get ahead is to push and work hard. If you do it from your heart and don't screw anybody over along the way, eventually you're going to get ahead, because it all comes back to you."
Lagasse has always worked hard, squeezing hours out of the day like every last drop of juice from a lemon. As young as 12 he'd work through the night in a donut shop, go to school, and grab some sleep in the afternoon. His answer to the obvious question: "B-plus student." He was an even more talented musician, as young as eight playing drums in a local 45-member Portuguese band that toured on summer weekends as far away as Canada. He also drummed in a trio that played at weddings.
Recalling the bakery job he started when he was 13, Lagasse's face lights up. Sometimes he'd work after school, sometimes at night. "I remember sitting on stainless steel flour bins. Mom would have sent over my dinner with my dad, and when the Portuguese men would take their dinner break, I'd heat my supper in a brick oven," he says. "They took a liking to me and they'd teach me about the bread and the Portuguese specialties. If you understand people and understand their culture, then you can easily understand their food."
As much as Lagasse enjoyed music and entertained rock star fantasies, the call of the kitchen proved louder. He lasted only a few weeks at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he'd been awarded a scholarship, before transferring to the vocational-technical high school to study cooking. He worked evenings at a huge banquet-style restaurant called Venus de Milo in nearby Swansee, Massachusetts. Lagasse started as a prep cook, peeling onions and potatoes, and worked his way to a chef de cuisine post. By then he was working 60 hours a week while attending Johnson & Wales, the noted cooking school in Providence, Rhode Island.
After graduating, in 1978, Lagasse began working in the kitchen of the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia, realized how little he knew about fine dining, and bolted to France for a three-month nestage, an unpaid apprenticeship. Upon his return he joined a team headed by Wolfgang Puck that brought nouvelle cuisine to The Berkshire Place hotel in Manhattan and learned, among other things, "how to work on a high-pressure [cooking] line." Next stop: the legendary Parker House in Boston, where, intent upon learning everything he could about all aspects of fine restaurants, he began keeping a wine book.
"Every week on Friday, or whenever my 'Friday' was, I would go buy a bottle of wine for $10 or less. Smell it, taste it, make notes, read about it," he says, crediting this self-education process with helping to stimulate his great love for wine. He also took note--literally--of what the top American chefs were doing at the time. He ate at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse and Larry Forgione's An American Place, studying each restaurant down to the flatware and cleanliness of the bathrooms, where he'd write down his observations. Someday, he knew, he'd cook at a restaurant with his name over the door.
Lagasse's climb up the culinary ladder continued with the head chef job at Seasons, a then-troubled restaurant in Portland, Maine, owned by the Dunfey Hotel chain. His cooking and tight management of the kitchen soon stemmed the flow of red ink. He was successfully turning around another Dunfey property on Cape Cod when the phone rang, and he first spoke with the woman who would become his employer, mentor and friend.
A new chef was needed at the legendary Commander's Palace in New Orleans, and a headhunter had suggested that owners Ella and Dick Brennan consider a 25-year-old unknown chef whose food he'd happened to taste while vacationing on the Cape. Forget his résumé, the headhunter said, this guy can cook. In her inimitable, eminently Southern way, Ella Brennan interviewed Lagasse for four months by telephone. He recalls:
"Every week we would talk. She would say, 'Today, I want to talk about what inspires you. Is bread inspiring you? Is a book inspiring you?' Ella is a genius with people. We would talk for a half hour, 40 minutes. The next Wednesday, the phone would ring: 'Today, I want to talk about your philosophies about people. How do you motivate people?
"The last week she called three times. 'OK, I guess now I'm convinced you deserve a trip down here, but I want you to know, you have to give me a long weekend, not just Saturday and Sunday. I have to have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, because my family is so big.'
"I'll never forget," he continues. "I had a plane ride from hell. They lost my luggage. I stepped out of a taxicab in front of Commander's Palace about 9:30 at night. The whole place was glowing. I see this lady walking some people out the door, saying goodnight to them. I knew it must be Ella Brennan. She looks at me and says, 'You must be Emeril Lagasse. Come on in.' We go in the front door and she asks if I'm OK. I tell her about the lost luggage and she tells George the maître d': 'Get him a toothbrush.' And to me: 'Come this way, we're going to have a drink.' And we have to go through the kitchen to the bar. I'm a nervous wreck. On the way, she asks, 'So what do you think of all this?' I went: 'Smells just like my mom's kitchen.' "
Though Lagasse pretty much sealed the deal with those words, the "weekend" interview--a grand tour of the city and meetings with the extended Brennan family--continued as planned.
"The enthusiasm, the integrity, the energy, it was all evident," says Miss Ella today, adding: "I'm not surprised one bit by his cooking show success. Emeril can do anything he wants to. He has great talent and great energy."
If anything, Lagasse is even more effusive in his praise of this sage, gentle woman who brought him to New Orleans and provided him with a fitting stage for his blossoming culinary artistry and helped refine his still raw talent. "She's the best. She's still my mentor and she doesn't know how to boil water," he says. "But she's got an incredible palate for food and wine. She'd hand me a new cookbook, and she'd have dishes flagged that sounded good or looked good, but she'd say, 'Oh, that's too foo foo. Emeril, you could take this general idea of ingredients and Creolize this into a great New Orleans dish.' "
Perhaps a handful of times in Lagasse's seven-and-a-half-year stint at Commander's, Miss Ella sent him carbons of handwritten notes that invariably began, "You're smarter than that..." At issue: his low boiling point. Schooled in kitchens run by European-trained chefs as noted for their tempers as for their low opinion of Americans in toques, Lagasse had adopted their explosive style of management. His mentor helped dial him down a couple notches, smooth some of his rough edges, help polish his people skills.
"Miss Ella really influenced me to change my style. I had everything going for me, but I was harsh," Lagasse admits late on a Monday afternoon as he sips Evian water at a table in Emeril's, during the brief lull between lunch and dinner. "I didn't know any better because that's how I was trained. She really sort of turned the world around for me: you know, you don't need to be an asshole to people. If you respect people and treat them the way you want to be treated and do it with intelligence and finesse, you could walk into the room wearing a T-shirt and they'll know you're the chef. I have my sessions where I have to get my point across, but I never do it in public anymore. It's always closed-door. I'll take them for a ride in my car, buy them a cup of coffee, or have them over to my house. I've calmed way, way down."
Though essentially dormant, the Lagasse volcano occasionally still blows. Enraged at a fish monger who persisted in trying to pawn off subpar seafood, he shotputted an entire bale of fish out the door onto the sidewalk. And when a know-it-all customer insulted one of his waiters, insisting that the restaurant was misidentifying that night's salmon, Lagasse soon appeared tableside, brandishing a 15-pound whole salmon, none-too-subtly asking the customer to please enlighten everyone.
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The fight for congressional attention is quickly turning into a fight between the looming fiscal cliff and the farm bill as Congress heads into its post-election, year-ending session. However, with no major changes made to the presidency, Senate or the House, there's little chance that this lame duck session will be anything but lame.
That's what Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), told AgriTalk's Mike Adams in an interview on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of high-priority items (other than the farm bill) that have to be done," she said. "It's going to be a very uphill push to get this farm bill done in the lame duck session."
The fiscal cliff notwithstanding, urgent issues remain for farmers.
"You look at something like the Milk Income Loss Contract program that has ended as of Sept. 30. We have to do something for dairy farmers," Thatcher said.
"We can't leave our livestock producers, given the high prices they are paying for feed and the problems they had with the drought. Those kinds of things are going to have to be done," she added.
To address the biggest issue facing Americans – the fiscal cliff - Thatcher doesn't sense that either side is willing to budge. If Congress does not take action on avoiding this fiscal cliff, taxes on essentially everything will go up on Jan. 1 and automatic spending cuts will kick in. Many economists think this could cause the economy to slip into a recession next year.
"I think you can easily see these taxes not getting done before Christmas," Thatcher said.
To listen to more of Thatcher's interview with AgriTalk, click on the audio bar at the top of this article.
Matt Erickson, an economist with AFBF, noted earlier during an interview with Newsline that rural Americans would be most affected by this fiscal cliff if Congress can't work out a solution to the predicament. Read, "Rural America the biggest loser as fiscal cliff looms."
In late-October, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., caused a stir after indicating that a stand-alone farm bill would come to the House floor following the election. The Hill reports that farm lobbyists have pointed that the last – and best – hope for passing the 2012 farm bill would be for it to ride on fiscal cliff legislation. Click here to read more.


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Hi wizi
This is very interesting and appreciate your help as volunteer.
I attended a retreat in Thailand last year and currently looking for a center where I can volunteer to serve during the summer (Jul-Aug). Do you have any recommendation? Normally I would go to center in Thailand but I am currently studying in France and maybe I can contribute by serving centers in this region.


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Don't miss out on a lower price on this hotel
Get an overview of this hotelBoardwalk aparthotel in Hollywood with free parking
Popular property highlights
Situated on the boardwalk, this aparthotel is within 1 mi (2 km) of Hollywood Beach Theater, Hollywood North Beach Park, and Anne Kolb Nature Center. Dog Beach and West Lake Park are also within 2 mi (3 km).
Property Features
Along with laundry facilities, this aparthotel has a 24-hour front desk and a computer station. Free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Other amenities include express check-in, express check-out, and barbecue grills.
Room Amenities
All 16 apartments provide conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves, plus free WiFi and flat-screen TVs with digital channels. Patios, coffee makers, and free long-distance calls are among the other amenities available to guests. Weekly housekeeping is available.
Guest Highlights
- Spotless guestrooms
- Good location
- Beach
- Helpful staff
Villa Europa Hotel
Property Amenities
Property Amenities
Villa Europa Hotel features barbecue grills, a picnic area, and laundry facilities. A computer station is located on site and wireless Internet access is complimentary. This Hollywood aparthotel also offers express check-in and express check-out. Onsite self parking is complimentary.
Villa Europa Hotel has designated areas for smoking.
- Total number of rooms - 16
- 24-hour front desk
- Number of floors - 1
- Free self parking
- Barbecue grill(s)
- Express check-in
- Express check-out
- Free WiFi
- Computer station
- Designated smoking areas
- Laundry facilities
- Picnic area
- Year Built 1971
- Number of buildings/towers - 3
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Air conditioning
- Phone
- Hair dryer
- In-room safe
- Patio
- Ceiling fan
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Free long-distance calls
- Free local calls
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Weekly housekeeping provided
- Private bathroom
- Free toiletries
- Shower only
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Digital TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Free WiFi
Nearby Things to Do
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Snorkeling nearby
- Surfing/boogie boarding nearby
- Kayaking nearby
- Sailing nearby
- Scuba diving nearby
- Windsurfing nearby
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Parasailing nearby
- Ecotours nearby
Property Policies
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Minimum check-in age is 21
Special check-in instructions:
Check-out time is 11 AM
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! One child 8 years old or younger stays free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Cribs (infant beds) are not available.
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Optional extras
- Weekly housekeeping provided; additional cleaning fee: USD 10.00 per day
Property Name
- Europa Villa
- Villa Europa
- Villa Europa Hollywood
- Villa Europa Hotel
- Villa Europa Hotel Hollywood
We should mention
One child 8 years old or younger stays free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms. 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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AIKEN, S.C. – The
nationally 10th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team
completed its three-game Peach Belt Conference sweep of rival Augusta
State on Saturday at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.
USC Aiken (30-8, 16-5 PBC) won game one, 7-3, and then took a 6-4
victory over Augusta State (10-28, 3-18 PBC) in game two. The Pacers
opened the series with a 7-1 win on Friday.
The three-game sweep of Augusta State leaves the Pacers with 30 wins in
the 2013 season already. In head coach Kenny Thomas' 14 seasons at the
helm, USC Aiken has claimed 30 or more wins in 12 of the 14 seasons.
USC Aiken has also now claimed eight of its 10 three-game series this
season (Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman, Shepherd, Francis Marion,
Flagler, Young Harris, North Georgia and Augusta State). The Pacers
swept Lincoln Memorial, Shepherd, Flagler, Young Harris,
North Georgia and Augusta State.
The Pacers have now taken all four of its meetings against Augusta State
this season to move to 68-20 all-time against their rival. USC Aiken
and Augusta State will close out their five-game season series in the
second game of the 2013 Outback Cup at 6:30 p.m.
on April 24 at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.
The Pacers garnered a 4-1 victory in 10 innings in the first game of the
Outback Cup on Wednesday, March 27 in Augusta State. The Pacers are 8-1
all-time in Outback Cup games.
No. 10 USC Aiken will next close out its regular-season three-game
series with No. 30 Catawba at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9 in Salisbury,
N.C. USC Aiken and Catawba split a two-game midweek series earlier this
season at the 'Bert. Then No. 6 USC Aiken bested
then No. 25 Catawba, 7-6, in game one on Tuesday, March 5. Catawba
claimed a 7-4 game two victory one day later on Wednesday, March 6.
Game One: #10 USC Aiken 7, Augusta State 3
The two teams were tied at 2-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning,
but USC Aiken would outscore the Jaguars 5-1 the rest of the way in its
four-run win.
USC Aiken out-hit Augusta State, 13-7, in game one.
Josh Miller (Chapin, S.C./Chapin HS) led the Pacers with three hits in
the game. Miller was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Four Pacers ended their efforts with two hits with Branden Millhouse
(Summerville, S.C./USC Upstate), Bryce Baur (Moncks Corner,
S.C./Florence-Darlington Tech), Bill Gerstenslager (Solon,
Ohio/Mercyhurst) and Ty Barkell (Denver, Colo./Palmer Ridge HS)
with two hits in the game.
Ryan Metzler (Glen Burnie, Md./Siena) blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the Pacers.
Justin Mee and Hunter Boose each had two hits for Augusta State in the game.
Wyatt Brown (Suwanee, Ga./Middle Georgia) picked up the win in game one,
dealing the first six innings. He fanned four to move to 5-2 on the
Augusta State's Josh Barks suffered the loss to drop to 0-3 on the season.
Game Two: #10 USC Aiken 6, Augusta State 4
USC Aiken utilized the long ball to acquire the victory in game two.
Down 1-0 in bottom of the fourth, USC Aiken blasted its first tater of
the game when Metzler hit a shot to left field that scored JJ Loker
(Elkton, Va./Spotswood HS), who had singled up the middle to get on
The Pacers would add three more runs in the inning when Miller blistered a three-run dinger to left field.
Augusta State would get as close as 5-4 in the top of the eighth inning,
but USC Aiken would add an insurance run in the home half of the frame
to claim the two-run victory.
The Pacers out-hit Augusta State, 13-11, in game two.
Four Pacers closed out the game with multiple hits with Baur, Barkell, Loker and Metzler each obtaining two hits.
Boose and Kevin Dodson led the Jaguars in game two with three hits each.
USC Aiken second game starter Danny Wissmann (Arbutus, Md./Hammond HS)
picked up his second victory of the year on the mound in the game. He
fanned three in his five innings on the hill.
Taylor Grover (North Augusta, S.C./Midland Valley HS) pitched the final
1.2 innings of the game for USC Aiken to claim his league-leading eighth
save of the year. Grover struck out three.
Game One:
Game Two:


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It's still early in the new year, and there's lots to worry about in the investment domain and in the broader world. But one item tops my "worry list" for 2010: interest rates. And it's hard to decide which is the greater worry—the status quo, or a change in it.
The status quo for rates is simply unbearable. Money market yields are below .05%. I just rolled over a CD at 1.1%. Conservative savers and income investors are reeling.
The unprecedented level of short-term rates is of course a conscious policy of the Federal Reserve. The textbook economics argument is that low rates are needed to stimulate the economy, but overnight money at 2% would actually do the trick. Instead, today's exceptionally low rates are a policy instrument to support the banking sector.
Thus, my bank borrows from me and other CD investors at 1%, and it is also refinancing my mortgage at 4.25%, pocketing the spread. Gains from this type of transaction are offsetting losses on bad mortgages from earlier years. It's a great deal—an historically exceptional deal—for borrowers. (If you have a mortgage and haven't refinanced, you should look into it—now.) But not for yield-hungry savers and investors, who are paying for the policy in the form of depleted investment income.
Over the past year, we have also seen the inevitable reaction of investors to a low-rate environment—a shift out the yield curve. Assets have poured into bond funds as investors and savers have sought higher nominal yields. Last night, as I started writing this, 10-year Treasury bonds were yielding 3.65%—not the golden 5% yield that so often catches the attention of retail investors, but certainly a lot more than 0.5% or 1%. It's not only individual investors who have the bond bug. 401(k) plan administrators want to add bond fund options for their workers, partly in reaction to the '08/'09 decline; managers of traditional defined benefit pensions are also shifting to bonds to manage their plan liabilities.
And therein lies the risk of a change in the status quo: a sudden rise in longer-term interest rates, and plunging bond prices. Many investors may remember 1987 for the sudden stock market crash that occurred on Black Monday, October 19. I remember the spring of 1987 instead, when bond yields soared and bond prices plunged by 10% or more over a short period. It's not inconceivable to imagine the following scenario: The bond market—anticipating stronger economic growth, and perhaps spooked by an inflation report and a shift in Federal Reserve policy—pushes current Treasury 10-year yields to 5% in a hurry, driving bond prices lower.
Perhaps all bond fund investors are smarter than they were in 1987. Perhaps many are permanently shifting portfolios away from equities to bonds, and they plan to ride out any fluctuations in bond prices. Perhaps. Odds are, a lot of the money in Treasuries and other fixed income instruments is there because investors are thinking these investments are substitutes for cash, which they aren't. Or investors are thinking they can time changes in interest rates and shift to cash at just the right moment, which they can't.
Meanwhile, for all of the equity investors out there (which is most of you), here's another wrinkle. Higher rates mean that fixed income investments become more appealing than equities, all things equal. They also mean that the prices of stocks (based on the discounted present values of future dividends) will be lower. In other words, in most scenarios, rising rates mean stagnating, or falling, stock prices.
Stocks rose sharply last year in the face of the receding risks of Depression 2.0. If rates rise in 2010, stocks will come face to face with their traditional nemesis: the "wall of worry" known as rising rates.
Pick your poison: low short-term rates making cash an unappealing option, or higher long-term rates leading to falling bond prices and stock prices. Two scenarios, none particularly appealing. My top reason to worry in 2010.
For the patient long-term investor, the strategy is to stick with your investment plan and ride out the fluctuations. Just be prepared for the bond market crisis, if it ever arrives, and steel yourself for the volatility. For the panicky investor, now is the time to revisit your portfolio—before, not after, the possible damage.
Note: All investments are subject to risk. Investments in bond funds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.


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So I've got a confession to make: When we started working on the new Boston Globe website, we had never designed a responsive site before.
This shouldn't come as some huge shock. I mean, raise your hand if you'd built a full responsive site back in November 2010. (You can put your hand down now, Mr. Marcotte, that was rhetorical.) Since so few had done it — and certainly not on this scale — we kind've made things up as we went along. In fact, the entire Boston Globe team worked in a laboratory environment.1
Here at Upstatement, we experimented with how to solve design and layout problems within a responsive framework. We learned a helluva lot as we went, like how to choose the right design software, strategies for thinking through breakpoints, and some best practices for designing in the browser.
Ready? Good. Cos here we go …
Choose Your Weapon
Before laying down a single pixel, there was an important decision to make: What design program to use?
Eventually design would be done directly in the browser — there's no better tool for interactive design, especially when you're working with fluid layouts (more on all that later). But first we needed to establish the aesthetic and plan high-level pages. It helps to answer the big questions before getting to the browser — and it was imperative for a site as sprawling as The Boston Globe, with lots of specific page templates and multiple iterations for each breakpoint.
So we lined up the usual suspects from Adobe. Who would be our partner in crime — Photoshop? Illustrator? InDesign?
Hands down, the answer was InDesign. At its core, BostonGlobe.com is a publication website, and InDesign is the best tool for laying out publications and content. Yes, there are huge differences between designing print publications and designing for the web, but consider this: Most web pages are simply a combination of photos and text. And where Photoshop excels at manipulating images (but sucks at type) and Illustrator is exceptional at typography (but sucks with images), InDesign is built for both.
Even better, InDesign's internal logic parallels that of web design and development. Every new document begins with a grid. It uses type and object stylesheets that should be familiar to anyone who has used CSS, allowing you to change the characteristics of every headline (or object) from one master style.
For type, you adjust all the attributes you'd expect (size, color, font, kerning, tracking), and others you might not like space before / space after (which is basically just margin), and CSS3 techniques like shadow and gradient. This way of working maps directly to development work, from the style names down to the design characteristics.
Like the web, InDesign also has a notion of templates. We used master pages to hard-code common elements and create a baseline for every section, article, or project page. Heck, you can even nest InDesign files inside of InDesign files. Change the header once and it automatically updates in every template — just like using an include.
Try creating a complex system like that in Photoshop.2
And Now It's Time for a Breakdown
With InDesign locked and loaded, we were ready for the fun part — the design itself.
Knowing that we'd nail down details in the browser, early designs aimed to answer big questions. What are the key breakpoints? What do major templates look like at each breakpoint? What do the header and footer look like? What content appears on the homepage, various section fronts, and article page? What's the overall look and feel?
Lucky for us, there was an all-star team in place to help us answer some of these questions. We had Scott Jehl, Todd Parker, and the super-smart crew at Filament Group as well as two hired guns/all-around badasses in Ethan Marcotte and Mat Marquis. From the Globe, Miranda Mulligan expertly guided the whole process.
We sat down together at the beginning to lay out some of those high-level design decisions. Most important were the breakpoints, the screen widths where we would optimize our designs. A fluid grid would fill the spaces in between and adapt the design to widths that we hadn't explicitly considered (like the funky size of the Kindle Fire, which debuted a full year after we chose our breakpoints).
To figure out the breakpoints, we surveyed the available devices — smart phones, dumb phones, tablets, laptops, PCs, etc — and set some limits for ourselves. For a minute we thought, "What if we designed for TVs!" But the use case was too narrow. In the end, we settled on six breakpoints, heavily influenced by standard smartphone dimensions and the dominance of the iPad:3
- 1200px (which we also set as the max width)
- 960px
- 768px
- 600px
- 480px
- 320px
With breakpoints established, we used InDesign's master pages to create templates with appropriate grids for every breakpoint, then designed key pages for every width.
Designing Downward
"When I get to the bottom, I go back to the top of the slide …" – The Beatles
Y'all might've noticed something in the last section. I talked about the design breakpoints from largest to smallest. Gasp! That's not a strictly Mobile First approach. Uncool, man.
Well, while I love the sentiment and certainly practice it when coding a responsive site, it just wasn't the way we designed.
Our designs began at 960px, arguably the most complicated breakpoint, with several columns of content. Maybe this just came naturally after years of designing for that width. But I think it's more than that. It's easier to design with more screen real-estate — you see more at one time, you have a more nuanced hierarchy. And it wasn't just for this project; we've designed subsequent responsive sites the same way.
So starting at 960, we designed downward. Every decision informed the one before it and the one after; we flipped back and forth between breakpoints a lot. As the Mobile First mantra suggests, designing for mobile was most instructive because it forced us to decide what was most important. And since we refused to hide content between breakpoints, the mobile view could send us flying back up to the top level to remove complexity.
The process felt a bit like sculpting. We started with a big block and worked our way down, paring as we went, giving the site its shape. Later, when we started coding, there was a shift. Design had answered the big questions, freeing the development to take a layered approach, with a stylesheet that defined the base and then added more complexity (up and up and up) based on device-width and capability.
We loved working this way. As I design anything, I'm asking myself what's absolutely necessary and how I can simplify. The responsive design process regimented this way of thinking. Stepping through each breakpoint helped us stay simple.
Putting it into Practice
The header is a great case study in designing responsively. Even though it was the first design element that we completed, the team kept iterating on it. We continually refined the design while Scott and Ethan rewrote the code to make it perfect for every situation.
But let's start with the basics. The header needed to support The Boston Globe flag, search, weather, classifieds, account info, basic site utilities, not to mention the navbar, itself a world of complexity. The nav has eight standard sections that derive directly from the newspaper (News, Sports, Arts, etc.), plus Today's Paper and My Saved List.
Again, we started at 960px. The header does some heavy lifting — lots and lots of requirements up in there. We settled on a balanced arrangement that followed our simple design aesthetic. In the nav, everything fits perfectly across a nice horizontal line. And what fits at 960 also fits at 1200px (not pictured). So far, so good.
With so much content in each section and the multitude of subsections (each one has at least six), we designed a super-dropdown in the navigation that allows quick access to top stories and subcategories within each section.
At 768, things start to condense a bit. Space is getting tight. We ask ourselves, what are the shortest possible section names? Is it necessary to take up precious real estate with a section called "home"? (Answer: No.) What happens in between the major breakpoints? Can we use longer section names with ellipses? (Answer came in code: And, ummm, no way. Not unless you're comfortable asking folks to click on "Today's Pap …")
In these designs, My Saved was excluded from the navigation, largely because of space constraints. At larger widths, we expected it to appear fixed at the bottom of each page. But — oops — fixed positioning has sketchy support on some tablets, so we decided to roll it into the nav.
OK. 600px. No way everything fits. We've got to do some organizing and make some judgment calls. First thing to go is the super-dropdown. It's a progressive enhancement and besides, isn't a key feature.
Now space is tight not only in the nav, but around the Globe logo. We ask ourselves: What are the most important navigation items? What's absolutely essential? Certainly search. That's not going anywhere. It's tough to prioritize the individual sections, so they're organized into a section called, creatively enough, "Sections." Today's Paper and My Saved are the odd ones out. They're sections, sure, but they're fundamentally different than the others. Plus, we really want to promote My Saved, which is a personal list of saved stories that you can read later (even offline).
The first major design change occurs at the mobile breakpoint for landscape view, where weather pops up to the top and the flag lines up with the navigation. This keeps the header compact. Otherwise, users wouldn't have seen much of anything on the first screen.
We also ran out of room to support Today's Paper, which folds into the "Sections" dropdown. To save space on search, it turns into a button that shows the input box when clicked.
In mobile portrait view, we regain some vertical screen space, so the header stacks again.
Here's another example where we simplified things in code. The initial design called for different dropdown styles for the sections at nearby breakpoints. But with coding comes clarity. Eventually we realized that it was easier to employ the same design for each breakpoint.
Looking at the header, I ignored one key element: Weather. Clicking weather at any breakpoint opens a drawer with the five-day forecast. While it doesn't deserve a play-by-play account, the progression is worth a look. You can see how the layout transforms from horizontal to vertical, and condenses as it goes. This design barely changed in the transition to code.
On the Benefits of Designing in Browser (Or, Why Static Designs Kind've Suck)
Before we get too far, let's get something straight: We hate trying to show all the complex facets of an interactive design using design software like InDesign or Illustrator. It's inefficient, inaccurate and incomplete.
Only a masochist could enjoy producing page after page of comps just to show a simple link state or a dropdown animation. I can't tell you how many times I thought I had things like that figured out only to throw it away once coding commenced. All that time is better spent just coding the behavior.
And in the end, your design isn't an accurate representation of the final product — it's not usable. You can't place it in front of users and get much feedback of any value (unless you like to let users dictate your color scheme).
It's also easy to leave things out of a static design. What happens when the user clicks here? What happens to the design between these breakpoints? In code, you've got to answer these questions. With static pages, it's easier to ignore.
Getting to the Browser
Obviously, we wanted to move into code quickly. As soon as the big design questions were nailed down, that's just what we did. This point actually came quite early in the process — after a couple weeks of static design, we started iterating in code.
Here's generally how things worked:
- Upstatement discusses requirements with Miranda and starts designing
- Each week, the entire team meets at Filament's offices to review the latest comps and ask questions
- We do a round of revisions based on feedback
- Filament Group takes the comps and starts to code
- At weekly meeting, group reviews coded comps and asks questions
- Rinse
- Repeat
This is what Ethan refers to as Design-velopment. (Yeah, we still don't have a better name.) The heart of it is really in the conversation, the discourse between design and code. Everyone around the table was an excellent designer, and we all made contributions in different ways.
During the static comping phase, Upstatement was at the wheel, driving the design. When we delivered designs, of course we hadn't thought of everything. But everyone else was there to ask lots of questions about what was best for the user, what worked on different devices, and how the designs translated at different widths.
When the conversation continued into code, Filament took the wheel and everyone else was still there to ask questions.
In between our weekly meetings, we volleyed back in forth using different mediums. Sometimes we'd send simple code notes and sometimes they'd send quick Photoshop mockups to communicate design thoughts. Code is fast, but these tools are still often faster for quickly communicating a concept.
The process was a total joy, and we've adopted it for the projects we've worked on since. The key is understanding that the design conversation is a long one, it may start with static comps but it continues through development. The more you can fuse the two (in your process and in your personnel) the more successful you'll be.
- Experimentation was a hallmark of this project, so feel free to imagine the entire team wearing white lab coats and goggles, Dr. Bunsen & Beaker style. Here's how it went down: Ethan, Scott, and Mat concocted media query polyfills and solved for responsive images while over at the Globe itself, Miranda, Jeff Moriarty, and their group tested a novel process inside of a big bureaucracy.
- It's not as if Photoshop was cut out of the process. We still used it when the program made sense — like, say, tweaking the details of our icon set.
- I'm zooming through the discussion of breakpoints, so if you want to more, check out Ethan's brilliant little yellow book.
- And hey, sorry about the footnotes. Too much David Foster Wallace.