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Bob Bashara retorted prosecutors' allegations of an insincere plea by apologizing and expressing regret in court before he was sentenced Monday to 80 months to 20 years in prison.
Bashara made comments before he was sentenced for solicitation of murder, hiring a would-be hit man last June to kill Joe Gentz. Gentz is charged with murder and conspiracy after telling police Bashara hired him to kill Bashara's wife, Jane.�
Bashara pleaded guilty two months ago in front of Judge Bruce Morrow in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit.
"The prosecution's (sentencing) memorandum states I wasn't honest in my plea," Bashara told Morrow. "Absolutely wrong. I fully admitted that I tried to solicit someone to kill Mr. Gentz. I can't begin to tell you how ashamed I am of what I did and how absolutely regretful I am for my actions."
Assistant Wayne County prosecutor Robert Moran moments earlier accused Bashara of dishonesty, noting that Bashara at his plea said he merely "foolishly and regrettably offered" to pay money to a Detroit furniture store owner to have Gentz killed while he was housed in a Wayne County jail facility.
"What he did not say to the court was that he did pay some money to take a life," Moran said, accusing Bashara of also minimizing his role during recorded jailhouse conversations.
"He indicates over and over again on a number of calls that he was set up, that he was trapped, that, 'I was pressured into doing this act,'" Moran said. "Again, blaming someone else. ... He says, 'I'm going to get a state paid vacation ... because this guy sucked me in and I didn't say no.' Now that's not an indication of someone who accepts responsibility for their actions because he's still blaming someone else, not himself."
Bashara countered to the judge: "My attempts to minimize my actions to those who continue to support was a desperate attempt on my part to somehow make sure that they would not abandon me as so many people have. ... I understand I must pay for what I have done. I absolutely stand before you, my family and the world, and take responsibility for my actions."
Bashara's voice cracked when he talked about his contributions to the community and his promise to a grandparent to take care of his mother during her hold age, during his several-minute statement. At one point he wiped his cheek.
His mother, Nancy, aunt and a cousin attended the sentencing. They declined comment afterward.
Gentz, Bashara's target for death, sat 30 feet away in the courtroom, dressed in a tan suit; at one point Gentz rested his elbows on his knees and kept his head bowed while Bashara talked.
Bashara's sentence was near the top of the sentencing guideline range of 51 to 85 months. Bashara's attorney, Mark Kriger, argued for 63 months while Wayne prosecutors argued for the top.
Gentz's attorney in the murder case, Susan Reed, said after the sentencing that her client was pleased with the outcome.
"It's near the high end," she said. "That's what we wanted."
Reed in court read a relatively short, prepared statement by Gentz: "Bob has used me and threatened me. He told me he had friends in the mafia and would have me killed. Bob tried to make me look bad so no one would believe me. I was afraid for my life because he can get to you anywhere, even in jail. I went to police. No one believed me. I am still in fear and don't feel safe anywhere."
Reed said afterward that Gentz's fear kept him from reading the statement himself.
"This is the first time he has seen Mr. Bashara since all of this happened," she said. "He was shaking. He really shaking back there, being in the same room with him."
Kriger, in response to a post-hearing question about his reaction, pointed out that prosecutors withdrew their request to sentence Bashara between 85 and 135 months after agreeing Bashara's conduct was not "predatory."
"At one point the prosecution thought he could get as much as 135 months," Kriger said.
Gentz faces a pretrial Friday and a Jan. 7 trial date in front of Judge Vonda Evans.
Gentz, Bashara's former handyman, told police Bashara paid him to strangle Jane Bashara, 56, a Mount Clemens native, on Jan. 24 in the couple Grosse Pointe Park garage. Her body was found the next day in her SUV parked in an east side Detroit alley.
Bashara was named by Grosse Pointe Park police as a person of interest but has not been charged, although it is widely believed he will be charged.
Police and prosecutors say Bashara paid Steve Tibaudo $2,000 as a 10-percent down payment to have Gentz killed in the William Dickerson Detention Facility in Hamtramck to prevent Gentz from testifying against him.
After Bashara's initial offer, Tibaudo went to police and wore a hidden wire to secretly tape-record further conversations with Bashara.


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Experience Swimming Pool and Bay View condos and Ocean Views from the rooftop plaza. The Sea Witch Model offers an open floor plan, insulated doors and windows, granite countertops and a standard appliance package. Upgrades available. Enjoy your own private balcony on the Southside overlooking the rooftop saltwater pool Immerse yourself in a resort lifestyle. Relax by the indoor saltwater pool (fee), enjoy the fitness center (fee), and the Plaza Courtyard featuring a fire pit, grilling area, water fountain, multiple sitting and lounging areas. Enjoy onsite restaurants like Que Pasa, The Lighthouse and more. Direct Access to Bay Front amenities including Kayak, Stand-Up Paddle, Jet Ski & Boat Rentals, reduced slip fee rentals at adjacent Rehoboth Bay Marina. Pictures are reflective of a previous model! Pricing reflects base price only and does not reflect view premiums or additional upgrades!
Listing Area: Sussex County (31000)
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subset: commoncrawl


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Get an overview of this hotelLuxury San Diego hotel in Civic Core, near San Diego Convention Center
Popular property highlights
Located in Civic Core, this luxury hotel is within a 10-minute walk of Westfield Horton Plaza and Copley Symphony Hall. Petco Park and San Diego Convention Center are also within 15 minutes.
Hotel Features
A restaurant, an outdoor pool, and a 24-hour fitness center are available at this smoke-free hotel. A manager's reception is free. Additionally, a bar/lounge, a poolside bar, and a rooftop terrace are onsite.
Room Amenities
All 211 rooms offer comforts like Frette Italian sheets and down comforters, plus MP3 docks and LCD TVs with digital channels. Other amenities available to guests include WiFi, wired Internet, and first-run movies.
Guest Highlights
- Good location
- Proximity to shopping
- Helpful staff
- Clean guestrooms
- Comfy beds
- Location was a bit noisy
Kimpton Hotel Palomar San Diego
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to an outdoor pool, Kimpton Hotel Palomar San Diego provides a 24-hour fitness center and complimentary bicycles. The hotel offers a restaurant. Guests can unwind with a drink at one of the hotel's bars, which include a poolside bar and a bar/lounge. A complimentary manager's reception is offered each day. A computer station is located on site and wired and wireless Internet access is available for a surcharge.
This 4.5-star property offers access to a 24-hour business center and meeting rooms. Event facilities measuring 21884 square feet (2033 square meters) include conference space. This Art Deco hotel also offers a rooftop terrace, tour/ticket assistance, and multilingual staff. Parking is available onsite for a surcharge.
Kimpton Hotel Palomar San Diego is a smoke-free property.
- 24-hour front desk
- Babysitting or childcare (surcharge)
- Total number of rooms - 211
- Number of floors - 20
- ATM/banking
- Babysitting or childcare
- Valet parking (surcharge)
- Bar/lounge
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Concierge services
- Conference space
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Express check-in
- Express check-out
- 24-hour fitness facilities
- Computer station
- Tours/ticket assistance
- WiFi (surcharge)
- Wired Internet access - surcharge
- Meeting rooms 16
- Multilingual staff
- Rooftop terrace
- Poolside bar
- Porter/bellhop
- Luggage storage
- Restaurant
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Year Built 2008
- 24-hour business center
- Conference space size (feet) - 21884
- Conference space size (meters) - 2033
- Number of meeting rooms - 16
- Free reception
- Smoke-free property
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Outdoor pool
- Wedding services
Available in all rooms: Wired high-speed internet ( USD 12.99 per day ), Wired high-speed internet ( USD 12.99 per day )
Available in some public areas: Wired high-speed internet ( USD 12.99 per day ), Wired high-speed internet ( USD 12.99 per day )
Valet parking (surcharge)
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- Pay movies
- Premium bedding
- Hypo-allergenic bedding available
- Air conditioning
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Phone
- Minibar
- Daily housekeeping
- Designer toiletries
- Private bathroom
- Bathrobes
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- In-room massage available
- In-room childcare (surcharge)
- Iron/ironing board
- Desk
- In-room safe (laptop compatible)
- Digital TV service
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- MP3 docking station
- WiFi (surcharge)
- Wired Internet access (surcharge)
- Room service (limited hours)
- Down comforter
- First-run movies
- Frette Italian sheets
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Rollaway/extra beds (surcharge)
Where to Eat
A complimentary manager's reception is offered each day.
CURADERO - This restaurant specializes in Mexican cuisine and serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Guests can enjoy drinks at the bar. Happy hour is offered. Open daily.
Arriba Room (Taco Window) - This restaurant specializes in Mexican cuisine and serves light fare only. Open select days.
Level Four Pool Lounge - This rooftop bar is located by the pool. Open select days.
Room service (during limited hours) is available.
Nearby Things to Do
Recreational amenities at the hotel include an outdoor pool, a 24-hour fitness center, and complimentary bicycles.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Snowshoeing nearby
- Windsurfing nearby
- Rafting nearby
- Snorkeling nearby
- Surfing/boogie boarding nearby
- Kayaking nearby
- Sailing nearby
- Scuba diving nearby
- Water skiing nearby
- Free bicycles on site
- Scooter/moped rentals nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Mountain biking nearby
- Skydiving nearby
- Parasailing nearby
- Personal motorized watercraft on site
- Ecotours nearby
- Golf lessons available nearby
- Segway rental/tour nearby
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 4 PM
Check-out time is 11 AM
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Children 17 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available for USD 20.0 per day.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets stay free
- 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.
- Deposit: USD 100.00 per day
Optional extras
- Breakfast fee: between USD 10 and USD 25 per person (approximately)
- Fee for in-room wireless Internet: USD 12.99 per day (rates may vary)
- Fee for in-room wired Internet: USD 12.99 per day (rates may vary)
- Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: USD 12.99 per day (rates may vary)
- Fee for wired Internet in public areas: USD 12.99 per day (rates may vary)
- Valet parking fee: USD 45.00 per night (in/out privileges)
- Rollaway bed fee: USD 20.0 per day
Hotel Name
- Palomar Hotel San Diego
- Palomar San Diego
- San Diego Palomar
- Palomar San Diego a Kimpton Hotel
We should mention
Children 17 years old and younger stay 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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Train with Grain is designed to help fuel the workouts and boost the training efforts of dedicated athletes everywhere. The idea: create a well-fueled community where athletes of every level can share and learn and grow together.
It kicked off last year with Cyclocross, and this year we're eagerly expanding into road racing and triathlons, two other sports that demand great nutrition and long-lasting energy.
Participants receive an awesome training kit, packed with a delicious variety of whole grains – including Honey Oat Granola, 10 Grain Hot Cereal, Quinoa and 7 Grain Pancake Mix – as well as their choice of a sweet cycling cap or running hat (plus a few other goodies). We're including recipes and photos for how to use these products, so anyone can easily start making training-friendly food at home.
This year we're also bringing in a handful of contributors to share their training experiences and war stories on our blog along the way. This team of road warriors and triathletes comes with varying years of experience, and is well prepared to talk about everything from biomechanics and hydration to etiquette and training schedules. Count on video diaries, horrific injury stories, tips on how not to get divorced while training, and a short film on leg-shaving techniques for men. They come from all over the country, and can offer perspectives on what it's like to train and race in a variety of climates.
This crew will also provide cooking demos, meal plans and "night before" recipes based on the grains in your kit.
It should be a lot of fun.
We've also created a slick and ultra-user-friendly dashboard where you can login, choose your races, upload photos, and interact with everyone else. It's connected through Facebook, so you can post every victory directly to your wall and encourage friendly competition (read: taunt) everyone you know.
It's going to be awesome.
If you want to find out more, join the Train with Grain community right now. We'd love to have you on the team.


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Dr. Evan Fogel MD, BS, MS Patient Reviews
- Gastroenterology Indianapolis, IN
Overall Rating
14 Patient Reviews
- Friendly Staff
- Promptness
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- Spends Time With Patients
- Bedside Manner
- Fair and Accurate Diagnosis
- Easy Appointments
- Wait Time 47.5 minutes
Health Guides
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease in which your body is unable to maintain a normal blood sugar (glucose) level.
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Scientists have been warning us about the dangers of human-caused transformations of the earth's climate for about fifty years now. But in the last two to three years, there have been two important changes in the situation. First, there have been a series of very authoritative reports by different scientific groups, which assert not merely that these dangers are real but that they are occurring at a pace far faster than scientists believed even five years ago. As Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said recently, "It's not five minutes to midnight; it's five minutes after midnight."
The second change is the degree to which these changes have become visible to ordinary people. There has been the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. There has been the increase in the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes in the Caribbean, culminating in the notable disaster of Katrina. Pictures of the break-up of ice zones in the Arctic have been widespread in the press. And this year, the meteorologists in London who have been measuring temperatures for over three centuries announced that this was London's warmest winter since they have been measuring. The counterpart of the warm weather in Europe has been the tornados and other wind-driven disasters elsewhere.
So, why is so little being done? It is clearly not for lack of awareness of the problem, however much some persons try to deny its existence. Yet, the degree to which the political leaders of the world are ready to do something about it, and indeed the degree to which there is public pressure that they do something, is remarkably low. When there is such a clear disjunction between knowledge and action, there must be obstacles in the socio-political arena to explain this. In fact, there are three quite powerful obstacles to action: the interests of producers/entrepreneurs, the interests of less wealthy nations, and the attitudes of you and me. Each is a powerful obstacle.
Producers/entrepreneurs are concerned first of all with the profitability of their activity. If one asks them to internalize costs that they presently do not have to pay (the amelioration or clean-up of their polluting processes), this affects seriously their profits in two ways. First, it forces them to raise their prices, and they may find that this eliminates certain customers. And if they internalize their costs but their competitors do not, then they can lose sales to their competitors.
This is why, as a general rule, voluntary actions are unlikely to work, since voluntary actions are rarely unanimous. In this case, the virtuous producer/entrepreneur will lose out to competitors. The solution to this is government-mandated compulsory internalization of costs. Even if this solves the national competitor problem, it still leaves open the loss to international competitors as well as the fact that, over a certain price, there is a decline in customers.
The second problem is precisely that of international competition. Countries that are poorer seek to improve their ability to compete in the world market. One of the ways in which they do this is by producing given products at a lower cost level and hence items that can be marketed at a lower price level. If one mandates (say through an international treaty) certain shifts in the process of production (say, the reduction of the use of coal for energy), this requires expensive restructuring of the industries of these countries as well as the potential loss of their competitive price advantage. This is the argument currently of such very large countries as China and India, but also of East/Central European countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic.
There is of course a partial solution to this problem. It is a massive funding of the costs of restructuring of the industries of these countries by the presently wealthy countries (the United States, western Europe). But such transfers of wealth – for this is what it is – have always been unpopular, and have little political support within these wealthier countries. In any case, this doesn't affect the potential loss of price advantage, so important to these less wealthy countries.
You and I constitute the heart of the third obstacle. It is called consumerism. People have always liked to consume. But in the last fifty years, the number of people who could consume beyond a certain minimum level for survival has increased notably. If one calls upon individuals to consume less electricity or less power, or consume fewer of the products that require these inputs, one is calling on individuals who are presently consumers to change their style of life, often in significant ways. And for those who are presently not wealthy enough to engage in such consumption, one is calling upon them to renounce powerful aspirations to have access to the consumption they have been historically denied.
This too can be solved. People can reeducate each other. People can bring to the forefront of their value-system other things than more consumption. We can all accept the necessity to achieve more equal living standards across the globe, even if for some it may mean lowering their own advantages.
Fifty years ago, scientists first produced the evidence that consuming tobacco products had the consequence of an increased cancer rate. Doing something about it met all the same obstacles which doing something about climate dangers presents today. After fifty years, worldwide, the rate of smoking has gone down considerably, in part because of forcing tobacco companies through legal suits to reimburse the social costs of their previous actions, in part because of reeducated individuals, and in part because of government-mandated restrictions on locales in which one is permitted to smoke. So, something can be done, it is clear.
But do we have fifty years?
by Immanuel Wallerstein[Copyright by Immanuel Wallerstein, distributed by Agence Global. For rights and permissions, including translations and posting to non-commercial sites, and contact: [email protected], 1.336.686.9002 or 1.336.286.6606. Permission is granted to download, forward electronically, or e-mail to others, provided the essay remains intact and the copyright note is displayed. To contact author, write: immanuel.walle[email protected]
These commentaries, published twice monthly, are intended to be reflections on the contemporary world scene, as seen from the perspective not of the immediate headlines but of the long term.]


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Bone-colored tumbleweeds roll across the smooth, bright concrete parking lot toward the gas well as a volunteer steps down from his pickup and walks to the front doors of First United Methodist Church of Krum. He is one of several adults who will help prepare for an after-school program that day.
Most of the deal to uproot the old downtown church so they could set down roots at the new location, on FM1173, was brokered before she arrived, Pastor Christy Thomas says. The mineral lease was a pivotal move for both the Krum school district, its minerals also pooled in the well site, and the church. Until then, the congregation was struggling in this historically Mormon community to raise enough money to build a larger sanctuary.
Like many living above the Barnett Shale, Thomas won't launch into a thoughtful discussion about the social and cultural effects of the boom without first discussing the financial interest the church holds in a natural gas well next door — right down to the extra-wide driveway that the energy company built so that churchgoers and truckers could share access.
"That's a lot of concrete and that's expensive, so that was a definite plus for us," Thomas says.
Energy companies tout not only the millions in royalties and thousands of jobs they bring, but also their tax-paying and philanthropy, saying their presence benefits the North Texas economy. Local economists agree the Barnett Shale boom softened the region's entry into the recent recession, says University of North Texas economics professor Terry Clower.
Last year, G&G Tractors closed on Denton's south side, after decades of outfitting the county's farmers. An Oklahoma company, Beck Oilfield Supplies, moved into the building. While plans for a retail mecca on Denton's west side have languished, city leaders offered tax incentives to lure a local office of Schlumberger Ltd., an international oilfield services conglomerate, away from Gainesville.
Before the boom, local economists pointed to western Denton County as the next place in the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth area for big housing developments. But to support the rush to drill, Barnett Shale gas operators have bought up, leased or condemned thousands of acres of prime North Texas land to support well sites, production facilities and pipelines. Now, more than 1,200 miles of natural gas pipelines — with thousands of pieces of production equipment — crisscross Denton County, nearly all of it west of Interstate 35.
In places where an extraction industry needs lots of land, an area also risks becoming a mono-economy, as happened in Appalachia, says Suzanne Tallichet, a rural sociologist at Morehead State University in Kentucky and an expert on coal mining and communities.
The transformation of coal's all-encompassing reach took a long time, she says. Before the Civil War, many Americans viewed Appalachia as a desirable place to live, and in the decades after the war, they tried to return to farming and the way of life they valued.
At the same time, logging and coal companies were buying huge swaths of land — entire mountains. People could no longer afford their agrarian lives. Public officials went along with the change, and people were forced to sell their land, beginning a cycle of dependency, Tallichet says.
With a regional annual economy of about $360 billion, even the most generous estimates of the Barnett Shale's part — $11 billion in gross area product and 111,000 jobs — show little risk to the greater economy of Dallas-Fort Worth, Clower says, at least not the way Midland fell after the oil bust in the 1980s.
However, smaller towns and other outlying areas could have a harder time.
"Oil and gas still cycle," Clower says.
Some of the research Clower has done in the U.S. and in Australia shows that small towns with few employers are more exposed to economic risk. But those that can adapt will survive.
"You can ride a wave like the Barnett Shale," Clower says. "You have to use the money to reinvest and be ready to move on."
A decade ago, Americans faced the prospect of running out of natural gas. Most natural gas came as a byproduct of oil drilling and production. Other easy-to-get reserves were tapped out. Talks had begun over building shipping ports capable of docking tankers filled with compressed natural gas, so the nation could import what it needed.
Breakthroughs in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing changed that outlook. And Texas' energy-producing infrastructure — a skilled workforce, idled drilling equipment, injection wells and, perhaps most important, sympathetic politicians — was primed to get at the mammoth natural resource known as Barnett Shale gas.
There was just one hitch. More than 6 million people, and the immeasurable amount of infrastructure that supports their daily lives, reside above the shale's estimated 27 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Legislators and local officials have labored for a decade to make the two infrastructures coexist. Some experts say, historically, the chances for the region to come out ahead aren't good, even before any down cycle begins.
In the early 1990s, researchers studied Third World countries with extraction industries, and then began studying communities in the U.S.
Centuries ago, mining spurred the development of other inventions and industry, and local communities benefited from those new economic linkages. Today, mining doesn't have that robust effect on a local economy, in part because technology helps fewer workers complete tasks that once took many workers, according to the late Bill Freudenberg, a rural sociologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
What researchers found is that poor countries get poorer over time, he said.
They call it the resource curse.
When drilling began in the Barnett Shale in the 1970s, about 1,500 vertical wells were concentrated in rural areas, mostly in Denton and Wise counties. Now the Barnett Shale region has about 14,000 wells drilled in 23 counties. Some industry officials say only a fraction of the field's potential has been tapped.
In regions that have been saturated by a singular activity, such as coal mining or poorly managed agriculture, researchers have discovered that a long-term recovery depends, in part, on the numbers, according to Daniel Bain, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
"There's lots of good faith on the part of the actors in the industry to do things right," Bain says.
In other words, if a only a small percentage of wells, such as one or two out of a thousand, cause problems in the environment, there is less to remediate. But the scale changes when extraction has saturated an area, he said.
Then, even when the percentage of problems in the activity stays small, the number of problems looms large, he said. Long-term recovery means remediating hundreds or thousands of places in the land that don't function the way nature intended.
Once the scale has changed, he said, difficult problems emerge when basic elements and systems get out of balance. Salt, for example, accumulates.
"Salt changes the way water interacts with the environment," Bain said.
Texas has seen salt damage. The state's regulatory push for injection wells came after saltwater contamination in the oilfields during earlier booms. Land near Big Lake in West Texas, known as the "Texon Scar," has been denuded for generations because of saltwater contamination.
Researchers have planted salt cedars on the Texon Scar, but very little else grows there except tumbleweeds — the non-native, salt-tolerant Russian thistle, which can remove more than 40 gallons of water from the soil while competing with crops.
Understanding that kind of effect on the land is fairly new, coming from different research disciplines, Bain said.
They call it the legacy effect.
In order to benefit from resource extraction over the long term, people need quality government, orderly development and effective protection of the environment, according to Simon Taylor, director of Global Witness. An investigative non-governmental organization, Global Witness has tackled the resource curse in Third World nations, bringing international awareness to such issues as conflict diamonds.
Political and business leaders must get a handle on the resource curse for shale gas areas, he cautions. If they cannot, he paints a bleak view of the future, pointing to the social unrest in the Niger Delta, for example.
"Although shale drilling is a recent phenomenon and not going for 50 years, there [in the Niger Delta], the entire population is utterly affected. Their water systems, their fishing, their farming — it's all being conducted in a toxic waste dump," Taylor said. "And the political unrest there is unbelievable. There's sabotage."
In Krum, tank farms and other production equipment sit between businesses, homes and even among historic buildings in old town. Krum hasn't required screening with masonry walls and landscaping, or other kinds of aesthetic buffers seen in other cities.
In fact, compared with residents in other Barnett Shale communities, Krum residents have complained to environmental regulators very little. The first complaint lodged with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality came in November, according to Alyssa Taylor, who heads the Barnett Shale inspections out of the agency's office in Fort Worth.
By contrast, residents in Corinth, who have just one gas well site inside city limits, have been vocal in their efforts to contain natural gas facilities to certain areas of the city.
In Corinth, shrubs are sculpted like meatballs and blades of Bermuda can be found lined up like endless tidy rows of toy soldiers. Battles have been fought to bring down controversial stands of unconventional plantings of native Texas grasses. So, neighbors on Pottery Trail and other streets along Sharon Lake were stunned when, a year ago, XTO Energy applied to drill up to 22 wells at Lake Sharon Christian Center, a spiritual and natural retreat in the heart of this bedroom community of nearly 20,000 people.
Allan Biel is one of many Corinth residents who, on a Thursday night, would have been somewhere else, rather than waiting for a turn at the podium to address the City Council.
He had first come to a council meeting months earlier, as did many other residents, in a citywide push to deny the permits. Weeks later, he and other residents returned, calling for a moratorium and an overhaul of the city's rules.
Now he was back again, after he and other residents read over new rules drafted after months of work by a special committee. Biel was worried about exemptions still possible within the city's new gas drilling and production setbacks — rules that didn't seem to alter the likelihood of drilling near Sharon Lake.
On this approach to the dais, Biel picked his words spontaneously but carefully, spending his three minutes to convey what he thought about the venture of gas drilling into the heart of his neighborhood. He and his neighbors had demanded quality government, orderly development and protection of the environment. Many weren't sure they got it, and told the council to eliminate the exemptions. Others said they felt even the new 1,000-foot setback was too short. They asked for a mile.
Something altogether different came from Biel.
"My thoughts are this — all these companies want to have the citizens leave the state so they can do what they want," Biel said. "Texas wants to push me out of my home."
PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com .


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Every Marvin Window and Door is made to order, one at a time. An unparalleled value in the market, Marvin offers craftsman-quality construction, energy-efficient technology and the industry's most extensive selection of shapes, styles, sizes and options.
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Bauer handcuffs Astros to give Tribe series
Right-hander fans nine over six-plus scoreless frames for fifth win
CLEVELAND -- The crowd inside Progressive Field rose to its feet and grew louder as Trevor Bauer headed off the mound in the seventh inning on Sunday. Before disappearing down the dugout steps, the young pitcher answered the show of appreciation with a quick lift of his hat.
Cleveland's rotation has provided plenty of reason for the fans to cheer of late. Building on the recent work of his fellow starters, Bauer turned in a strong performance against the Astros to guide the Tribe to a 3-1 victory at Progressive Field.
"It's been unbelievable," Bauer said of the Tribe's rotation. "Every day, you run a new guy out there and have this feeling that he's going to post a really good start and we're going to win the game. It's nice to have that confidence as a team every day."
The Indians (66-63) have now captured three consecutive series wins and have won or split seven of their past eight series. Across that stretch, pitching has been the primary component that has kept the club on the edge of the postseason picture.
Dating back to Aug. 9, Cleveland has won nine of 13 games, during which the team's rotation has turned in a 1.71 ERA, .176 opponents' batting average and 0.90 WHIP. Over 79 combined innings in that period, Bauer (three starts), Corey Kluber (three), Carlos Carrasco (three), Danny Salazar (two), T.J. House (one) and Josh Tomlin (one) have piled up 87 strikeouts against 22 walks.
The Indians understand that their pitching has the potential to help the team climb in both the American League Central and Wild Card standings.
"We haven't been scoring a ton of runs," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "And we've won a couple series in a row because of [our pitching]. The hope is the pitching stays strong, we start scoring a few more runs and we stretch a couple of games out."
Bauer has alternated between solid outings and rocky ones over his last seven turns, allowing five runs in three starts during that stretch. Against the Astros, who have featured one of the AL's top offenses in the second half, the right-hander found a rhythm and worked one batter into the seventh inning before bowing out to cheers from the Cleveland faithful.
Offensively, the Indians did just enough against Astros lefty Brett Oberholtzer to help Bauer's showing hold up.
Carlos Santana provided a sacrifice fly in the third inning, Lonnie Chisenhall contributed an RBI single in the fourth and Jose Ramirez drove in a run with a single in the seventh. That was all Oberholtzer allowed in his 6 2/3 innings for Houston, but it was sufficient for Bauer to collect his fifth victory of the season for the Tribe.
"Obie did a good job," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "He did a good job battling and had us right there in the ballgame."
In his scoreless outing, Bauer struck out nine, scattered four hits and walked three in a 115-pitch effort. During the first inning of his previous start in Minnesota, Bauer surrendered five runs to the first five batters he encountered in the first inning. Since that ugly stretch, the righty has not allowed a run and held batters to a .114 (4-for-35) showing at the plate.
"I was trying to throw strikes," said Bauer, who had a 63-percent strike rate on the day. "That was kind of the focus all day long. It turned out well. I got away with a couple mistakes that helped out. The defense made some really nice plays that helped out, too."
Specifically, Indians rookie outfielder Tyler Holt came up big for Bauer in the field.
In the first, Holt -- manning right field on this afternoon -- made a spectacular diving grab to rob Marc Krauss of a potential run-scoring hit, ending the inning and stranding a runner on second. With a runner on first and no outs in the sixth, Holt made another diving catch in right to once again steal a hit away from Krauss.
"That was awesome," Bauer said. "I kind of felt bad for Marc. I played with Marc, too, in the Minor Leagues [with the D-backs]. He squared those two balls up and got robbed. It was definitely nice to be on the winning side of that exchange."
Holt did not feel too bad for Krauss.
"Not at all," Holt said with a laugh. "He got that last one and made things interesting. I was just playing 'D' and [trying to] help this team win."
Holt was referring to the eighth inning, when Krauss singled to left off Tribe reliever Bryan Shaw and then scored on a double by Jon Singleton, cutting Cleveland's lead to 3-1. Houston then loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but closer Cody Allen struck out Dexter Fowler to seal the win and notch his 17th save.
Once again, the Tribe's rotation led the way to the win column.
"We have our work cut out for us," Francona said. "But, if we pitch like that, we'll give ourselves a chance."
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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The Police Academy is a Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Certificated Training Academy for California law enforcement. It meets the basic requirement for employment as a municipal, county and state law enforcement officer. State law requires completion of a POST-Certified Basic Course for lateral-entry level employment in law enforcement. The Police Academy is made up of two phases, which requires 10-1/2 months to complete. (AJ 41– Police Academy I = 12.5 Units and AJ 42 – Police Academy II = 12.5 Units)
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Bucs rally to hand Burnett victory vs. Cards
Pirates pitcher adds to NL-leading strikeout total in victory
ST. LOUIS -- You can get them down. You can even kick them when they're down.
Knocking the Pirates out, however, could be another matter entirely, as the Cardinals found out on a dreary Missouri afternoon when the Bucs' chins should have been falling along with the raindrops.
But instead of giving in to a series of depressing developments, the last of which was being in a 2-0 hole to Jake Westbrook after six innings, the Pirates unleashed their usual late-game lightning for a 5-3 victory Saturday in Busch Stadium.
"You never take it for granted," manager Clint Hurdle said after the Pirates ambushed yet another bullpen, "but that's your plan. When you aren't getting things done, that's what you hold onto: 'Find a way to get [the starter] out.'"
The Bucs batted around for four runs in the seventh and added another in the eighth to return within a half-game of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
Besides reaffirming their never-say-die resolve, the Pirates (14-10) clinched a winning April record and made good on an IOU to A.J. Burnett for not being able to score for him at all earlier in the season. Burnett departed for a pinch-hitter early in the decisive seventh inning, thus was out of the game when the rally gave him his second victory.
"I didn't really have my hook today, and any time you go up against a guy throwing the ball the way Westbrook was, it definitely makes it tougher," Burnett said after squaring his record at 2-2. "But it feels good. We're never out of it, no negative thoughts."
Batterymate Russell Martin, who tied the game and sounded reveille with his two-run homer in the seventh off Joe Kelly, called the rally to get Burnett the win "gratifying."
"That was great, man, really happy about that," Martin said. "A.J. has been pitching his butt off all year, and today seemed to go the same way, but we were able to muster up some runs and do it for him."
The day had started badly for Pittsburgh. Hurdle, with the club's medical staff in his ears, weighed whether to place Neil Walker and his gashed right hand on the disabled list. And Jonathan Sanchez drew a six-game MLB suspension for Friday night's pitch off Allen Craig's shoulder.
Then it got worse. Right fielder Travis Snider, one of the Pirates' hotter hitters, was a lineup scratch with discomfort in his right side.
And then the actual game began, the signal to invert those frowns.
Burnett allowed five hits and two runs in his six innings, walking three while striking out six to increase his National League-leading total -- and Pittsburgh April record -- to 48 strikeouts.
The Pirates could not do much against Westbrook, who shut them out through six. So the Ambush Alley plot remains the same: Wait out the opposition's starter, rally against his relief.
"I don't think Jake could've thrown much better against us today," Hurdle said. "He leaves, having pitched probably as well as he's ever pitched. Turns a 2-0 lead over to the 'pen, and still can't get the 'W.' It doesn't happen every day, but when you do that, it does build confidence for you."
Following that script, the Pirates pounced without delay on Kelly and Trevor Rosenthal for the go-ahead runs in the seventh. Kelly gave up Westbrook's lead in an instant: Pedro Alvarez led off with a single, and Martin tied it at 2 with an opposite-field homer, his third. After Clint Barmes singled and Starling Marte walked with one away, the hard-throwing Rosenthal took over -- to plunk Jose Tabata with a full-count pitch, loading the bases, and to walk Andrew McCutchen with another full-count pitch, forcing in the go-ahead run.
"I was really trying to get a ground ball there," Rosenthal said, "and get out of the inning. It was probably a little bit low. He's a very good hitter, and he did a good job of recognizing that it was down in the zone."
The Pirates got the insurance run when Garrett Jones' grounder to second, likely to lead to an inning-ending double play, was slightly bobbled by Daniel Descalso before he tossed to first for one out, while Marte scored to make it 4-2. They padded the insurance on Gaby Sanchez's eighth-inning sacrifice fly, scoring Martin after his double.
Burnett had an early challenge to keep the beginning of this game from being a carryover from Friday night's depression, and he responded. Matt Carpenter and Carlos Beltran -- who had set the dismal tone the previous night with back-to-back homers -- led off this one with consecutive singles to put men on the corners with none out. But Burnett induced Matt Holliday to bounce into a double play, as Carpenter scored, and retired Allen Craig on another grounder to minimize the toll to a 1-0 deficit.
If that tested Burnett's resolve, the next serious jam tested his nerves. After retiring the first two men in the fourth, he nicked Jon Jay with an 0-and-2 pitch and loaded the bases with walks of Pete Kozma and Descalso. He then ran the count full on Westbrook -- but had the conviction to get him looking on a 3-and-2 sinker.
"He fought and fought without his best stuff, and at times he was part of the problem," Hurdle said of Burnett, pointing out his difficulties with the bottom of the St. Louis order and the seven three-ball counts he had to survive. "But he gave it everything he had."
And this was another day for such individual valor to convert into team victory. The Cardinals turned their fourth and fifth hits -- Jay's two-out double and Kozma's RBI single -- into a 2-0 lead in the sixth. They were not heard again, kept at bay for an inning apiece by Tony Watson, Mark Melancon then Jason Grilli, who improved to a perfect 10 in 10 save opportunities.
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. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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← Back to the full Events Listing
Jun 23
Zoo By Moonlight
Sunday, June 23, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary - 1403 Heritage Park Rd., Prescott
This late-night event opens the Zoo after dark. Visitors are encouraged to bring their flashlights and see the nocturnal animals of the zoo. Visit the HPZS website for more information.


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The LGBTQ day youth summit on June 26, 2013 will be focusing on the needs of foster children and the needs of these children. The summit will take place at the Washington DC convention center located in downtown DC. The Walter E. Washington Convention center is just a a little under 2 miles from our bed & breakfast in DC and right off the metro line.
The American Guest House is a wonderful way to enjoy the great city of Washington, DC as your travels will only be heightened with the personal service and hospitality of our innkeepers and the relaxation of a perfect nights rest. We are located right across the street from the Washington DC Hilton and Washington DC Marriott hotels in Dupont Circle. Hotel reservations can be made through our website and this summer we will have deals in DC for your hotel accommodations.
Below is a map from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to the American Guest House in Washington DC
View Direction to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in a larger map


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Hi acinteyyo
Above we may have learned that DO may be interpreted this way (e.g. several lives) or another way (e.g. atemporal understanding). Sankhara implies "volition". Selecting one understanding out of two or three or several possible understandings could be perceived as "volitional activity".
Now there are several possible responses to this:
1. No this is not Sankhara, because ...
2. Yes this also is Sankhara, but this does not mean that any apprehension is the result of ignorance (1st link), because ...
Response of kind 1 might elucidate the interpretation of Sankhara more specifically.
Response of kind 2 might elucidate the approach to discerning "delusiveness" and "validity" of interpretation of teachings (exegeses of scriptures).
Kind regards


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Economists and outlook specialists provided various views on land values, world grain production and third-world development as part of the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers organized along with the AgroNomics agricultural investment conference.
Some attention-grabbing comments and short statements from key speakers that seemed to inspire conversation by attendees in Indianapolis at the end of October are paraphrased and quoted.
Projections are that wheat will pull acres out of U.S. corn and soybeans planted acres in 2013.
Ag production and food consumption per capita are on the increase with beef being the least rapidly meat consumption increase in the world.
Livestock producers will continue to decrease inventory, which will bring ending stocks of corn and wheat to levels of less concern. "We are at the lowest we've been in corn per animal unit, including DDGs in the calculations, even back to 1988. What it shows us is that we probably need more contraction in the livestock industry than we have seen because current animal numbers aren't sustainable."
The U.S. is being surpassed in soybean production by Brazil, and U.S. percentage of total soybean production in the world is decreasing. "In 1992, the U.S. produced 51 percent of the soybeans in the world. Now we produce 29 percent of the soybeans. Back in 1992, South America produced 30 percent of the soybeans in the world, and they now produce 55 percent."
The record high year for U.S. export of corn was 2007, and the U.S. share of world corn export was 63 percent. That percentage has dropped to 35 percent in 2012 partly because of South American and Black Sea country competition.
Farmland values are continuing to increase because of income potential from grain production and because of ultra low available financing. "Farm income has been a big driver in the increase in the value of farm and ranch assets. But a bigger piece, twice as much of the valuation in the current model, is coming from the ultralow financing situation we find ourselves in."
Even though world population will rapidly expand in the next 90 years, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization population estimates cannot be completely accurate. The Nigeria, Africa, estimate of 1 billion people in 2100 would mean that Nigeria will have 8 ½ times the population density of today's China.
There has been a sustained decrease in demand for U.S. ethanol from 2007 to today. The U.S. has been exporting a large volume of ethanol, and production of corn ethanol plants will continue to produce biofuel although they might be converted to various other feedstock.
At higher prices, corn farmers are pulling out the stops to increase per acre production faster than almost every other country in the world, except Brazil. "We take it for granted that we are going to set the price in so many markets, but as others grow their supply in a per capital basis, they either exclude imports or they grow their ability to export. The cumulative change has a big impact."
Enhancing farmland can be a better investment than going out and buying new farmland to increase income. He says too many farmers are taking the easy way in increasing their production by buying land instead of relying on technology and their management. "If you go back and look at the cost to tile, level, irrigate or soil enhance an acre today versus 2005 or 2006, the actual cost per acre is not substantially different than what it was back in that period."
The Chinese population is expanding at an unbelievable rate. In 1990, there were 10 cities in China with more than 1 million people and there were 10 cities in the U.S. and about 35 cities in Europe with 1 million people. "Today, there are still 35 in Europe, and there are still 10 in the U.S., but by estimate more than 120 cities in China have more than 1 million people."
China is unable to be self-sufficient with the water, land productivity and inability to keep adding enough new technology. "China is pretty much at its maximum output production at the moment. Despite several decades of self-declared policies of self-sufficiency, they are ultimately going to have to look at more of an import policy."
Africa is three times the size of the U.S. including Alaska and three times China, too. "The important thing to remember is that Africa is not a country, it is 54 incredibly unique, incredibly different countries with very, very different risk return projections."
China is getting involved in Africa and South America to rent or own land, establish processing industries or develop marketing agreements. The majority of the focus is in South America at the moment but will shift to Africa. In 2010, an estimate was that 1 million Chinese were in Africa, and today the estimate is 1 ½ million. "China is not doing much in the way of direct massive large-scale investment at the moment in Africa, but I think that will change."
If you look out 50 years, North America and Europe will be "increasingly irrelevant to the overall program" of international ag products supply.
Advanced technology development and adoption is the way that the U.S. and Canadian ag sectors will stay competitive for export. Improved infrastructure is also a major need. "We have to continue to push the technology that the West has been so good at developing to stay competitive."
Land investment still looks like a solid investment when compared to the return on savings and fluctuations in the stock market, and definitely better than buying gold because you won't see land prices drop 40 percent in two years as could happen with gold. "One of your worst nightmares, if you own a bunch of gold, is if Congress comes in and starts to balance the budget over a five-to-10-year period. I would rather own 160 acres of very high priced farmland than 160-acres worth of gold."
No matter who is in the office of President or in Congress, the "incompetence in Washington" will limit the economic growth of the country. Until tax policy is straightened out, the economy is only going to grow at an anemic level of about 2 percent a year, that being in spite of Congress instead of with its help.
Japan cannot print enough money to get their economy going again. By the end of 2012 Japan will probably have a national debt of $1 quadtrillion, and their debt is 200 percent to gross domestic product and getting bigger. But their interest rates are lower than ours, and they haven't had any inflation since 1989.
In the absence of congressional policies to encourage job growth from having the public spend their money, all the U.S. government has left for economic improvement is monetary policy to make the public feel richer and go out and spend. Much of the success of the economy depends on "velocity," the more times or faster a dollar turns, which means more jobs can be supported by each dollar.
If Congress refuses to address cutting social security, Medicare and welfare, then the budget deficit has to continue increasing. "The government is going to print $1 trillion into infinity and ultimately they won't be able to pay it back, and ultimately when a government does that and cannot pay it back, they cancel their currency and start all over with a new one. And that farmland that someone over paid for, paid $21,000 for it, the guy or gal might not be feeling all that badly when the green currency you had in your pocket is canceled and you turn it in for a red one that has a completely different value to it. That farmland is not going to care if your currency is green or red; it is going to grow something and produce some income. So, in my mind that is why people are doing this, and I don't see an end to it."
The southeast U.S. has been the area where agricultural land has not tracked at quite as high of a percentage of increases as the Midwest.
Farmer income should still be high in 2013 and renters could still make a profit with adjusted higher rents in many cases.
During the fall, quite a bit of farmland came onto the market for auction sale. "We have a little land rush going on right now, but after we get through January 1st, although no one knows for sure what supplies will do, I expect they will tighten up once again because people just don't want to sell land unless they are a third or fourth generation and they have a one-third or one-fourth interest in 40 acres and they might as well have the cash."
Farmers have kept their leverage down and kept adequate working capital, but there are other considerations. "Watch for political interference and watch for China having a hard landing, which does not seem to be the case, even though you hear a lot of chatter about it. They still are getting an 8 percent growth rate, which is a very strong rate for keeping China going as a very strong factor in going forward to 2015 and beyond."


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Saints coach Sean Payton says he feels "pretty good" about RB Reggie Bush making his return Thursday at Dallas, his first game since breaking his leg in Week 2.
"He's moving around and he continues to get better," Payton told The Times-Picayune.
RB Pierre Thomas (ankle) is unlikely to play, Payton said (ankle) after missing practice Tuesday.
-- Not too long ago, Lovie Smith seemed primed to get punted right out of Chicago. Now, the odds are shrinking.
The Bears are tied with Green Bay for the NFC North lead at 7-3 after winning three straight. The coach's position is sure looking a lot more secure.
Smith got a strong endorsement from G.M. Jerry Angelo on Thursday before the Bears crushed the injury-ravaged Dolphins 16-0 for their third straight win. With six games left, they've already matched their victory total in two of the last three seasons and are challenging for their first playoff appearance since the 2006 Super Bowl run.
-- Panthers coach John Fox says he hopes rookie QB Jimmy Clausen is able to start Sunday at Cleveland, but that decision is out of his hands. Clausen, who missed last week's game with a concussion, still must clear the league-mandated exams by team doctors and independent doctors to be eligible.
"If he's cleared, that's probably more than likely," Fox said of starting Clausen. "If he can stay cleared."
If Clausen is not cleared, Fox again will have to choose between Brian St. Pierre, who just joined the team 10 days ago, or rookie sixth-round pick Tony Pike.
-- What's different about the 2010 Eagles who are 7-3 and the 2009 Eagles who went 11-5? Well, obviously, Michael Vick is the QB instead of Donovan McNabb. This week, G Todd Herremans was asked to compare the two.
"Mike seems a little more determined when he's in the huddle," Herremans told WPEN-FM. "I guess determined is a good word for it because I would say both of them are confident when they are in the huddle.
"Donovan would always have that relaxed, kind of lackadaisical feel to him where he tried to keep a cool head the whole time. He always thought if he stayed relaxed and didn't act like anything was bothering him that he felt like that was the best way to carry out the game. Mike comes in the huddle and he has a look of sheer determination on his face to where he's gonna get it done.
"Mike's attitude, whether it's how he carries himself, his determination or whatever, it's very contagious to the rest of the players on the field. I think people have been able to see that when he's out there with us, we're a totally different team. Let alone his ability but the the others players on the team, it seems they step their play up when Mike's on the field."
-- Wade Phillips, who hadn't talked publicly since being fired two weeks ago by the Cowboys, defended his record in a radio interview this week and says he realizes he probably won't get a fourth shot to be a head coach. And he's OK being a coordinator going forward.
"The perception is once you're fired that you're not a very good head coach," Phillips told WXTG-FM. "It happened to me in Buffalo. We were 29-19 in Buffalo. Once I was fired there I couldn't get a head-coaching job because they thought, you know, I wasn't a good enough coach. They didn't look at my record, they just said, 'Oh, gosh, he's fired, so we gotta get somebody else.'
"It took me a long time to get another head-coaching job. You know, we went 34-22, which is pretty good. I went out as the same winning percentage of Tom Landry, so I don't feel bad about my head-coaching career. I think they're gonna look at me more as a coordinator, and that's fine with me. I just wanna coach."
-- Now that Bears coaches have left Israel Idonije at end and no longer are bouncing him along all four line spots, he is having a breakout season at age 30. Idonije has a team-high six sacks, four tipped passes and 10.5 QB knockdowns. Perhaps the biggest factor is the presence of Pro Bowl DE Julius Peppers on the opposite side, drawing attention and allowing Idonije to face one-on-one blocking.
"He's getting some good looks, some nice looks," Bears defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli told The Chicago Tribune. "But he's doing something with the looks he's getting."
-- The injury-ravaged Giants signed ex-Bucs WR Michael Clayton on Tuesday. New York lost star WR Steve Smith to a partial tear in his pectoral muscle Nov. 11 and backup Ramses Barden to a broken ankle three days later. Leading WR Hakeem Nicks is going to be sidelined about three weeks after needing a surgical procedure Monday to relieve pressure in his right leg. Clayton has been playing for Omaha in the United Football League. He had 16 catches in 13 games with the Bucs last season.
-- Rams rookie LT Rodger Saffold, who is battling ankle and shoulder problems, is questionable for Sunday's game at Denver after MRI tests came back negative on both injuries.
"They thought initially it was a rotator cuff injury," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He felt something pop, and then it was sore, certainly lost a little bit of strength."
-- Veteran WR Kevin Curtis had hoped to sign with a team this week and make his '10 debut in Week 12, but he had to postpone his comeback after needing an emergency root canal, according to ProFootballTalk.com. Curtis, 32, hasn't played since early last season because of a knee injury and a bout with testicular cancer. He already has worked out for the Lions, Giants and Seahawks and hopes to find a new home next week.
-- Cowboys CB Bryan McCann wasn't invited to the NFL's pre-draft combine and wasn't drafted. The Cowboys had him all preseason, then cut him. The Ravens picked him up, made him inactive for the opener, then sent him on his way. At the start of November, he hadn't played in an NFL game.
-- Good thing McCann remained confident. Because now the rookie cornerback has a nifty slice of NFL history, back-to-back NFC player of the week awards and is a big part of the Cowboys' surge under interim coach Jason Garrett. McCann returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown two weeks ago and followed it up by grabbing a swatted punt and returning it 97 yards for another touchdown this past weekend. He's the first rookie ever to have touchdowns of at least 97 yards in consecutive games. According to STATS LLC, he's only the second player to do it since 1950, joining Tony Horne of the Rams in 1999.
-- Getting whipped by the Falcons last week and facing a tough stretch has not diminished Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo's optimistic outlook. Being a member of the weakest division in the NFL can have that effect. At 4-6, the Rams are only a game out of first place, and everyone else in the NFC West also lost Sunday. So even though their four-game home winning streak is history and they're 0-3 on the road and set to be the visiting team the next three weeks, nothing changes.
"We're still in the thick of it, and that's the way we're going to look at it," Spagnuolo said. "We're going to focus on the prize we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the year, the NFC West."
-- The Redskins signed CB/S Macho Harris on Tuesday to bolster their injury-depleted secondary. Harris, a 2009 fifth-round pick of the Eagles, has struggled to find a spot on defense, bouncing between cornerback and safety and was waived in preseason.
-- The Lions released linebacker Caleb Campbell and signed guard Donald Thomas.
Campbell says he will be re-signed to the practice squad on Wednesday.
He was on the active roster in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Campbell earned a spot on Detroit's practice squad this season, playing football for the first time since the 2007 Army-Navy game.
Detroit drafted Campbell in 2008 after the Army gave him its OK. But the Army later told Campbell he would be required to serve at least two years on active duty before he could apply to be released.
Thomas was among the Miami Dolphins' final cuts in September. Thomas was a starter for the Dolphins last season after they drafted him in the sixth round of the 2008 draft.
-- The Saints on Tuesday signed rookie Justin Drescher as their third long snapper this season. The addition of Drescher means that the long snapper, holder and kicker on Saints field goals all went to the same high school in the Dallas area. Like Drescher, K Garrett Hartley and holder/backup QB Chase Daniel attended Southlake Carroll.


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30 Years of a Galaxy Far, Far Away!For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire... Celebrate the Star Wars saga with this collection of miniatures inspired by the original Star Wars film. From the landmark films to the computer games and the novels, this set pits the Rebellion against the Empire in battles to decide the fate of the galaxy.


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ABC and CBS shared a ratings win Sunday night, while ABC's "Once Upon a Time" was the highest-rated show and CBS drew the most total viewers, according to preliminary numbers.
CBS shared first place in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic with a 1.9 rating/5 share, and took first place in total viewers with an average 10 million. "60 Minutes" at 7 p.m. increased from last week to a 1.7/5 and 12.7 million total viewers. "Amazing Race" the following hour dipped slightly for a 2.5/7 and 9.1 million total viewers. "The Good Wife" at 9 ran even with last week for a 1.8/5 in the demo and 10.3 million total viewers, while "NYC 22" slipped from its soft premiere last week to a 1.4/4 and 7.5 million total viewers.
ABC, like CBS, received an average 1.9/5 in the demo and took second place in total viewers with an average 7.5 million. Following an "America's Funniest Home Videos" at 7, "Once Upon a Time" inched up from its last original three weeks ago for a 2.9/8 — the night's best performance in the demo — and 8.8 million total viewers. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "Firelight" at 9 posted a 1.6/4 and 7.6 million total viewers.
Fox, marking its 25th Anniversary celebration, took third place in the demo and fourth in total viewers with an average 1.7/5 and 3.9 million total viewers. Following repeats of the "Married With Children" and "Simpsons" pilots, the 25th Anniversary Special from 8 to 10 drew a 1.8/5 in the demo and 4.3 million total viewers.
NBC came in fourth in the demo and total viewers with an average 1.5/4 and 6.3 million. "Dateline" at 7 dipped in the demo for a 1.2/4 with 4.2 million total viewers. "Harry's Law" the following hour was flat with last week, receiving a 0.9/3 in the demo and 8.5 million total viewers. At 9, "Celebrity Apprentice" dropped 9 percent from last week, receiving a 2.0/5 in the demo with 6.2 million total viewers.


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Key attributes
- Works for Velo Management and in cyclist training;
- 20 years' experience in outdoor education;
- National Technical Advisor for the Scout Association;
- An active Cycling UK Trainer since 2003;
- Based in Staffordshire.
Graham has been working within outdoor education for around 20 years, organising and running mountain biking, climbing and hill walking activities. He currently works for Velo Management in Stone where he oversees the National Standards Bikeability delivery they provide for Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent. He also runs the Cycling UK Centre of Excellence.
Amongst his other qualifications, Graham is a Cycling UK Leader Trainer, and has run Mountain Bike leadership qualifications, maintenance, fleet management, safe working practices and skills courses both in the UK and France.
Graham has worked within a number of local authority settings and his experience includes direct delivery of activities, health & safety, emergency planning and contract management.
He works within the Scout Association locally and is their National Technical Adviser for mountain biking. He also advises Staffordshire's Young People's Service on cycling issues.


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Whether the young girls and boys in your life are into the latest electronics, video games, crafts, jewelry and more, we found great gift ideas for tweens and teens.
To see more holiday gift guides, visit newsday.com/giftguides.
Sparkle Sequin Slippers(Credit: PB Teen)
Lined with ivory Sherpa, these super soft slippers have a padded rubber sole and feature sequins in dark mint, red, pool, gold, silver and more. Available in sizes small to x-large. $35. More information: http://bit.ly/2d83yuH.
Meccano Micronoid(Credit: Spin Master/Spin Master)
The Micronoid is a pocket-size robot that tells jokes, laughs and moves. They can even interact with each other. Easy direction controls and LIM (Learned Intelligent Movement) programming. $29.99. More information: bit.ly/2dej4qM; For the best price: bit.ly/2d9cAKS
NFL Licensed Logo Pillow Cover(Credit: PB Teen)
This soft pillow features NFL teams' logos from the AFC and NFC inside a helmet's shape. It's made of cotton jersey. $39.50. More information: http://bit.ly/2e0Y0my.
Escape The Room: Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor(Credit: Think Fun/Think Fun)
This mysterious, interactive party game lets the host spend an evening working with guests to solve puzzles, unlock hidden clues and unravel the mystery of the Stargazer's Manor. $21.99. More information: bit.ly/2dhukTG; For the best price: bit.ly/2d9dqXV
Chatbooks(Credit: Chatbooks/chatbooks)
The 2016 Highlight Book lets you pull someone else's 30 best Instagram photos and have them made into a 6-by-6-inch hardcover photo album. Available Oct. 17. Visit chatbooks.com/highlights to make the book. $15 with U.S. shipping included.
Simple Pleasures by Savannah bracelets(Credit: Savvy Designs)
This bracelet features the sentiment "Fearless - Go for it!" Simple choose a charm, for example, an arrow (pictured), butterfly, heart, a peace sign and more for the stretch black band. $18. More information: http://bit.ly/2eHlUUQ.
Shower Truffle Boxed Set(Credit: Feeling Smitten)
This shower truffle gift set features tangerine melon, pink grapefruit and jasmine, and lavender vanilla. $16.50. More information: http://bit.ly/2e91CIc.
Pinch Binge-Watching Survival Kit(Credit: Pinch Provisions)
Movie and TV-watching fans will enjoy this kit, which contains breath drops, two coasters, couch yoga guide, decision coin, dental floss, deodorant towelettes, facial tissues, hand cleaning towelettes, socks, snack clip, sporks, stain removing towelettes and more. $20. More information: http://bit.ly/2e0UDfm.
LINKEE trivia game(Credit: Big Potato/Big Potato)
LINKEE is a family trivia game. Players answer four questions and try to spot the link between the answers faster than the other teams. If they get it right, they win a letter. Collect enough letters to spell LINKEE and win the game. Best for ages 14 and older. $24.95. More information: bit.ly/2dpAiRs; for the best price: bit.ly/2dAx9lg
Feeling Smitten Holiday Travel Set(Credit: Feeling Smitten/Feeling Smitten)
This travel-size set comes with strawberry mint hand cream, a peppermint bark cupcake bath bomb and peppermint pink gelato sugar scrub. $21. More information: bit.ly/2dHJDr5
Art With Edge coloring books(Credit: Crayola/Crayola)
Crayola has launched a new line for tweens and teens called Art With Edge, meant to bridge the gap between kid coloring and the recent adult-coloring fad. The content draws from pop culture, including zombies, skulls, superheroes and more. The line features seven coloring books of 40 pages each and two coloring kits that come with 20 coloring pages and 20 Crayola fine-line markers. $6.99 for each coloring book and $14.99 for a coloring kit. More information: bit.ly/2dxWZqK
Xtreme Cycle Moto-Cam(Credit: Wicked Cool Toys)
This radio-controlled motorcycle features a gyroscope stabilization system that is designed for ramp jumping, driving on various terrains and even recovering from crashes for non-stop action. The built-in helmet camera allows kids to record video. $79.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2gLo4s7; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2ghfOyL.
Bluetooth Beaded Fur Headphones(Credit: PB Teen)
Kids can listen to their favorite tunes in these faux fur, lightweight headphones, featuring beads and more. They're also small enough to fit in their backpacks. $79. More information: http://bit.ly/2fouCrU.
K-Force Build and Blast: K-20X(Credit: K'Nex)
Build four different blaster and target models in one set with the K-Force Build and Blast: K-20X from K'Nex. The set includes rods and connectors plus special parts to create different blasters. $27.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2cAL9uW; Find the best prices: http://bit.ly/2d7xA3y.
Yvolution Neon Street Rollers(Credit: Yvolution)
These heel skates can fit most shoes and feature innovative wheel technology with bright light-up LED's. Available in pink, green and blue; $22.99 at Toys R Us.
Space Expedition: Star Planetarium(Credit: Uncle Milton)
The Space Expedition: Star Planetarium projects hundreds of stars and constellations on the walls. Use the goggles to see augmented-reality planet images come to life as you go on a 360-degree virtual reality journey into the Milky Way. The package includes the Star Planetarium, Virtual Explorer goggles, activity guide and a free downloadable augmented reality app that brings each themed experience to life. The experience requires a smart phone with standard-size screen that fits securely into the goggles. $49.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2czolXT; Find the best prices: http://bit.ly/2dpLvFD.
Real Cooking Sprinkle Cupcakes Baking Set(Credit: Skyrocket Toys)
The Sprinkle Cupcakes Baking Set includes real cooking tools, two proportioned mixes to make 16 cupcakes, edible toppings and decorations. The set also comes with two mixing bowls, a unique egg cracker, a silicone mini cupcake baking sheet and more. $29.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2d78Vh8; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2d4dg7o.
StikBot Studio Pack(Credit: Zinga)
The StikBot Studio Pack from Zinga is a stop-motion animation set that includes a green screen. Users can upload their own photos, animated backdrops or the images provided in a new Animation Studios app as the background in their stop-motion animation movie. $19.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dhFeKM; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dhDddV.
Sonic 25th Anniversary 3 inch Collector Figure 3 Pack(Credit: TOMY)
The Sonic 25th Anniversary 3 inch Collector Figure 3 Pack with Coins from TOMY marks the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. Get the original Sonic, Knuckles and Tails figures featuring the styles from 1991. $19.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dayoVy; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dkZGKT.
Monster High Great Scarrier Reef Peri & Pearl Serpentine Doll(Credit: Mattel)
The two-headed daughter of the Hydra, Peri and Pearl are double trouble with this Monster High Great Scarrier Reef Serpentine Doll. The twin sisters feature glow-in-the-dark bioluminescent effects in the fins and a scaly tail that curls. $21.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dh0EYz; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2cAfRVm.
Knot-a-Quilt Chevron(Credit: Alex Toys)
The Knot-a-Quilt Chevron from Alex Toys lets kids create a quilt by simply knotting the 24 pre-cut pieces together. $33. More information: http://bit.ly/2dzVYel; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2drV82A.
Mega Bloks American Girl Grace's 2-in-1 Buildable Home(Credit: Mattel)
The large, buildable Mega Bloks set includes multiple rooms with fun features. The set comes with three American Girl mini fashion figures, including Grace, as well as accessories for every room in the house. $69.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dd2fgm; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dp0IH3.
Extraordinaires Design Studio PRO(Credit: The Creativity Hub)
The Extraordinaires Design Studio PRO from The Creativity Hub is for teens, to inspire them to think before they make or design something. Users may be challenged to design a drink carrier for a pirate, a place to sleep for a giant, or a source of light for a superhero. $79.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dd0K1K; Find the best prices: http://bit.ly/2cyMtK8.
SIMON AIR Game(Credit: Hasbro)
The SIMON AIR Game from Hasbro gives the classic SIMON gameplay a modern twist with touch-free technology. Remember the sequence, repeat the pattern using hand motions and conquer the game. Three "AA" batteries are required. $19.99. More information: http://hasb.ro/2d6GH4C; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2doxFUr.
Meccano Meccasaur(Credit: Spin Master)
Kids can build and program this interactive, 3-foot dinosaur. Use Room Guard mode to protect your stuff. If he notices any sounds or change in light, he'll charge at the intruder while roaring. Meccasaur responds to petting and answers yes or no to questions; $99.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dyWNpW; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dlXHbk.
DC Super Hero Girls(Credit: Mattel)
Iconic DC Super Hero Girls are all new in a high school setting as they learn about their powers. Choose from SuperGirl, Wonder Woman, BatGirl and more. $19.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2d7qH6E; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dkTZMX.
iBesties: Middle School Moguls(Credit: Gengirl Media)
The iBesties: Middle School Moguls from Gengirl Media is a collection of dolls, books and online "edutainment" that follows a group of five talented and adventurous middle school friends turned Internet moguls after their school project goes viral. $19.99 to $29.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2du0zly.
Wet Head(Credit: Zing)
Put on the Wet Head hat from Zing and get ready to possibly be soaked. Opponents choose a peg to withdraw from the hat in a form of water roulette -- if they picked the right one, you get drenched! If not, pass the hat to the next player. $19.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2cIWqI7; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dDFHYy.
Power Wheels Wild Thing(Credit: Fisher-Price)
This Toys R Us exclusive ride-on comes with large durable tires for multi-terrain driving with three different speed settings. Kids can cruise, spin and drive forward and reverse. $299.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dh3NFF.
Star Wars Interactech Imperial Stormtrooper Figure(Credit: Hasbro)
With more than 65 light and sound effects and precise motion sensors, this trooper can head into battle with its unique spin. Kids will also hear hand-to-hand combat sounds and the trooper yells out in defeat when falling. He comes with a blaster and jetpack that once strapped on, unlocks a variety of sounds. $29.99. More information: http://hasb.ro/2cGqUw0.
Nerf N-Strike Elite Terrascout RC Drone Blaster(Credit: Hasbro)
A Toys R Us exclusive, kids can use the live video feed featured on the controller's LCD screen to scout the battlefield, locate targets and plan their strategy. They can maneuver the angle of the drone's blaster remotely and fire a single dart by pressing and releasing the trigger. Kids can also record audio and video to an SD card (not included). $199.99. More information: http://hasb.ro/2cGWpkG; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dAd9fM.
Pokemon Z-Ring(Credit: Tomy)
The Z-Ring can be synchronized with Pokemon video game series for Nintendo 3DS to enhance the play experience through sounds, lights and vibrations. The ring can be used without the video game in role-play mode to bring battle play to life with different 4D experiences with each Z-Crystals. It also comes with a two-inch Pikachu figure. $29.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2cLxMqk.
SelfieMic(Credit: Moose Toys)
The Selfie Mic from Moose Toys is a microphone-meets-selfie stick to let users tape or photograph themselves singing karaoke style. Use the free included partner app, StarMaker, to sing along to songs from a catalog of more than 3 million choices, including hits by Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, One Direction and more. Voice and video effects enhance the performance. $24.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dpkQt6; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2d58Utr.
Sky Viper v2400FPV Streaming Drone with FPV Headset(Credit: Skyrocket Toys)
This drone streams and records in high definition, allowing kids to view the footage from the camera. Newbies will appreciate the new Flight Assist feature, which includes Auto Launch, Auto Hover and Auto Land. The Micro SD card is not included; $99. More information: http://bit.ly/1QqjlW1.
Razor Power Core E100 Electric Scooter(Credit: Razor)
Simply kick start and twist the throttle to feel the maxed-up power and take a ride on this light-weight scooter. The Power Core technology gives kids 50 percent more ride time and up to an hour of continuous use; $149. More information: http://bit.ly/2d4BgGx; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2d7tKMb.
Tyco Terra Climber RC(Credit: Mattel)
The Tyco Terra Climber RC vehicle can scale stairs up to eight inches high and climb piles of rocks and hills in any direction; $99.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2cZYEUt; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2cO8yV4.
Pom Pom Wow Decoration Station(Credit: Pome)
Kids can choose from six different ways to decorate their very own pom poms. The set folds up and is easy to carry on the go. It includes 75 pom poms, removable trays, water cup, adhesive dispenser and much more; $29.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2cmnGsx; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dafWhy.
Nerf N-Strike Elite HyperFire Blaster(Credit: Hasbro)
The motorized Nerf dart blaster fires up to five darts per second. With its 25-dart drum, it can fire darts up to 90 feet; $49.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2d4tvR4. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dBmNlS.
Fisher-Price Imaginext Ultra Ice T-Rex Playset(Credit: Fisher-Price)
Simply turn the Power Pad on from behind his tail and Ice T-Rex will walk, stomp, stand and roar. Kids can activate the LED lights in his spikes and his eyes. His mouth opens and closes with a chomping sound as well. $100. More information: http://bit.ly/2dhf5JC. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dh6vuS.
Pie Face Showdown Game(Credit: Hasbro)
Players load the arm with whipped cream (not included) or the included sponge. Then, each player places their chin on one of the chin rests and at the count of three, rapidly mashes the button nearest to them, which activates the hand on the throwing arm. The player who doesn't get "pie-faced" wins; $24.99. More information: http://hasb.ro/2bgxOmp; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dlzXyr.
Code Gamer(Credit: Thames & Kosmos)
Using the Arduino-compatible gamepad, which connects wirelessly to a tablet, kids can learn coding while playing games. In each level of the game, kids can learn a piece of the Arduino programming language and how to use it in order to solve puzzles and challenges and move forward in the game. Kids will also learn to write programs on their computer using the four sensors and invent new applications. $149.95. More information: http://bit.ly/2cO9Z5Y.
BOSEbuild Speaker Cube(Credit: Bose)
Build your own speaker and learn how a magnet and coil make a sound and how a speaker reproduces music. Kids can be coached through the building process through a free companion app that confirms success along the way. Kids can also add colored LED lights and silhouette covers. $149. More information: http://bose.life/2dsZExb. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2ddfbXl.
Sky Viper Hover Racer(Credit: Skyrocket)
The Hover Racer combines drone racing with video game battling. It can fly 20 mph while hovering three feet off the ground. Using the freetoplay app and infrared beacons, players race and battle in a course of their own design. $99.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dqvrCd. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dx4XMR.
VEX Robotics Zip Flyer(Credit: Hexbug)
This robotic gadget can shoot propellers more than 30 feet in the air once kids build the structure using snap-together pieces. Pull the zip-cord stick to release -- the faster you pull, the higher up they'll go. $12.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dKMpfg. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2ddjdPg.
Sky Rover Voice Command Drone(Credit: Auldey Toys)
The Sky Rover Voice Command Drone from Auldey Toys responds to 12 commands when spoken through the included headset. Say "take-off" and watch as the drone changes direction and does amazing stunts like 360-degree flips in response to commands. $59.99. More information: http://bit.ly/1kWot8i. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dqwzGj.
Mebo(Credit: Skyrocket Toys)
Using a touch-screen app, kids can drive the high-tech robot Mebo around the house to pick up snacks, spy on people or even have conversations. There's a point-of-view camera that streams live in high definition. Other features include two-way audio streaming and six-wheel suspension. $149.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dqjNWF; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dVkSYH.
Air Hogs Helix Sentinel(Credit: Spin Master)
This first-person view video drone allows kids to connect multiple devices to stream live video. There's a built-in, high-speed camera to capture fast moving objects, which can be stored on the included 4GB memory card. The goggles give kids the chance to see things from the drone's perspective. $199.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dVmMbK; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dEEn8Q.
Greckobot(Credit: Thames and Kosmos)
The wall-climbing robot has a motorized air suction system that enables it to walk vertically up and down smooth surfaces, such as glass, plastic, whiteboards and glossy laminates. $49.95. More information: http://bit.ly/2dphxlO. Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2cGx4MU.
Speak Out Game(Credit: Hasbro)
Players have to say different phrases while wearing a mouthpiece that won't let them shut their mouth. Players then try to decipher what their teammate is trying to say, and must correctly guess the phrase in order to earn the card. The team with the most cards at the end of the game wins. $19.99. More information: http://hasb.ro/2axr6JC; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2drdoK6.
Bloxels(Credit: Mattel)
Kids can build their own video games as they create and animate play spaces, characters and objects. The pieces in the Bloxels game set work with the free Bloxels Builder app to put them on-screen and play. $49.99. More information: http://bit.ly/2dLPPz6; Find the best price: http://bit.ly/2dz4Ovj.


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Officials with the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) are investigating a possible case of bovine tuberculosis in one of the state's dairy cows. If confirmed, it would be the first case of bovine TB since 1988.
According to the WSDA news release, the cow at the center of the case had been sent to a slaughter facility in Cowlitz County earlier this month.
A food safety inspector at the facility isolated the meat after identifying a suspicious lesion and submitted a sample for further testing at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.
The lab has since reported the sample consistent with bovine TB.
Officials reiterate that the meat has been destroyed and at no point entered food channels.
"The good news is that the safety systems in place were effective in identifying this problem and preventing it from spreading," WSDA Director Dan Newhouse said in the news release. "Now, our inspectors will work with our federal, state and agricultural partners to trace this to its source and determine whether any other cows were infected."
Officials will continue to investigate the incident.