text:
Machinery Health Monitoring – Sense & Respond Logistics
Kathy | December 1, 2005
All eyes fixed on the future, the United States Navy looks to extend condition-based maintenance (CBM) technologies into the supply chain.
The Vision
In the year 2015, on some future naval platformÐperhaps USS BLUE SKYÐa machine will begin to falter in one of its pre-defined failure modes. This automatically will trigger a series of events to correct the failure and update the mission-readiness status of the platform in real-time. The "trigger" for some failure modes will, in fact, precede the actual functional failure, thus allowing for mitigating action to prevent an unplanned failure. This includes the pre-ordering of parts to complete necessary (and timely) maintenance without the inccurring of unnecessary logistics delays.
The type of early warning outlined for the futuristic USS BLUE SKY also will allow a commander to assess the potential risk of the impending failure against the mission profile. That's because a pre-validated, engineered work-order candidate, residing in a current or future database, will contain the required configuration data to identify the parts and tools necessary to accomplish the repair. In turn, the ship that work-order candidate is on will no longer be required to carry a large load of contingency spare parts, since the trigger mechanism will provide ample lead time for those parts to be put into the supply chain.
Building blocks for the adjacent sidebar's "BLUE SKY" vision of the future are in-place now—yet, much still remains to be done. Why should we do it?
The answer lies in existing Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) policy and validated requirements for future naval platforms. Navy and and Department of Defense (DoD) initiatives, such as SHIPMAIN, CBM Plus, Engineering for Reduced Maintenance, Sense and Respond Logistics, Focused Logistics, and various Future Naval Capabilities provide vehicles and, in some cases, resources to achieve this future vision.
The Navy's Integrated Condition Assessment System (ICAS), as the program of record for shipboard machinery condition monitoring, provides the technology insertion opportunity to advance CBM and Sense and Respond capability. There is no silver bullet in any of the aforementioned efforts. Acquisition managers and technical warrant holders need to skillfully steer the work of these diverse, but related efforts, and harvest the offerings that support the requirements. There have been and will be successes to build upon, and there will be disappointments along the way. With no ready-made solutions available, there needs to be continued investment, engineering and trials, demonstrations and incremental fielding of advances via spiral development. The advances that are fielded will come largely from operating within the current framework of programs, organizations and policies.
The case for condition-based maintenance (CBM) has been made. CNO effectively ended any debate in 1998 by issuing OPNAVINST 4790.16 (Condition Based Maintenance Policy). This instruction extended the more limited 1992 CBM directive (OPNAVINST 4700.7J) by mandating CBM application to all naval platforms.
The intelligent application of sensing, processing and decision support technologies has a significant role in supporting Navy CBM policy. In the intervening years, there has been significant R&D investment in enabling technology, resulting in incremental improvement of fielded technologies and the associated maintenance and logistics applications, including, but not limited to, the previously referenced ICAS, the shipboard Preventive Maintenance System (PMS) Scheduler (SKED) and the Organizational Maintenance Management System—Next Generation (OMMS-NG). What has been missing is a tight integration between systems and linkage to supporting logistics and supply chain applications.
Navy enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation is on the horizon. However, as of this writing, (October 2005), there is no afloat ERP template.
Application integration, to include available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products through development of software adapters, provides the vehicle to improve effectiveness and efficiency of today's legacy applications onboard fielded platforms. Integration also will provide a stepping stone to the future of seamless information exchange among maintenance, logistics and operational readiness applications, both afloat and ashore.
Development and acquisition of CBM-enabling technologies must follow the same reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) engineering principles of applicability and effectiveness as those used for development of maintenance requirements and tasks. A key concept is illustrated in Fig. 1, which plots resistance to failure versus operating age. In summary, a CBM enabling technology needs to be able to sufficiently detect the onset of a dominant failure mode (Potential Failure) in advance to prevent Functional Failure. In cases where this may not be possibleÐeither due to the nature of the failure and/or limitations of the technologyÐthere may still be value in automating the detection of a failure for automated generation of a pre-defined work-order candidate.
Assuming, first, that RCM principles are employed for the identification of dominant failure modes to which enabling CBM technology can be applied, and second, that the technology being inserted is both applicable and effective, other issues need to be considered. Most significantly among these are information technology (IT) interface requirements and bandwidth limitations.
The NAVSUP MHM – S&RL initiative
As sponsored by the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP), the Machinery Health Monitoring, Sense and Respond Logistics (MHM – S&RL) system was de-signed to enable and demonstrate auto-nomous initiation of a technically validated, pre-formatted work-order candidate, populated with associated parts and related material. The work order trigger is based on the automated recognition and validation of a predefined failure mode on a machine of interest, resulting in actionable information being passed up-line to legacy maintenance and logistics systems.
MHM-S&RL is focused on demonstrating this capability on the GSS 200 STAR Low Pressure Air Compressor (LPAC), a Navy design manufactured by both Dresser-Rand and Rix Industries. Failure modes are detected and processed using RLW Inc.'s S2NAP technology interfaced with legacy shipboard applications (ICAS, PMS SKED, and NTCSS suite). MIMOSA-based software adapter interfaces were developed under this project between S2NAP and ICAS, as well as between ICAS and PMS SKED.
The team
MHM – S&RL interfaces with multiple applications and networks. No single entity has all of the required expertise to develop the technology and interfaces. Under sponsorship of NAVSUP's Command Science Advisor, the engineering group RLW assembled a multi-disciplinary team as shown in Table 1.
Additionally, by way of acknowledgement, the Navy organizations listed in Table 2 also are involved in this initiative, either by lending support, defining requirements or providing data, technical reviews and comments in support of project objectives. Table 2 illustrates the imperative to involve the entire spectrum of fleet, maintenance and logistics organizations in development and demonstration projects such as MHM – S&RL.
The system
The MHM – S&RL System is a technology development and applications integration effort in support of Navy CBM. It is designed to automatically generate work-order candidates based on objective evidence of need for maintenance, as determined by intelligent machine monitoring.
For a planned shipboard implementation, machine data for two individual LPACs in the same machinery space will be monitored by the S2NAP- embedded software device via both sensors and the LPACs' control system. A health assessment is made based on this data, and if a predefined failure mode is recognized, an appropriate fault message is sent upstream, either using wireless 802.11b or wired Ethernet to ICAS. Raw sensor data also is passed to ICAS for display and trending. ICAS in turn, via an API, triggers a pre-formatted work-order candidate in OMMS NG, complete with required parts and the material (e.g., tools and consumables) necessary to effect the repair and cue the applicable work center via the SKED application utilizing the MIMOSA software adapter.
The dominant, most-likely-to-occur, failure modes of the STAR LPAC identified by the MHM – S&RL System were determined through detailed analysis of 3-M History, a recent Type Commander Air Compressor Reliability Study and existing integrated class maintenance plan (ICMP) "Qualified" repair tasks (Q tasks). These failure modes were then validated through interviews with auxiliary-machinery work-center sailors aboard the USS BATAAN (LHD-5). The failure modes of interest are listed in Table 3.
Each failure mode of interest (as listed in Table 3) is associated with current ICMP tasks and/or maintenance requirement cards (MRCs). Among the factors in their selection was consideration of the capability to realistically simulate occurrence of the failure in a demonstration environment. If a failure mode cannot be simulated, then there is little point in designing that failure into the demonstration system. This is a fact of life for development and demonstration of machinery health monitoring capabilities.
System operation
The MHM – S&RL System will communicate failure data from the S2NAP, integrated with the LPACs, to the ship's Fiber Optic Data Multiplexing System (FODMS) Local Area Network (LAN), either via wired (Ethernet) or wireless (802.11b). Any wireless solution will incorporate the FIPS-140-2 security standard.
The MHM – S&RL System also is applying the Machinery Information Management Open Systems Alliance (MIMOSA) standard as a software interface adapter to legacy applications onboard the ship for this demonstration. Specifically, the MIMOSA-based software adapter will enable interfacing between the S2NAP device and ICAS, as well as between the ICAS and SKED applications.
The demonstration system is currently operational at the Land Based Engineering Site (LBES) in Philadelphia, PA. The initiative will conclude with a shipboard test in Spring of 2006, potentially associated with an ongoing Distance Support remote monitoring experimentation initiative. In order to demonstrate the system, additional hardware will be installed onboard ship, along with required software interfaces.
In the Main Engine Room #2 (MER2), additional sensors (pressure sensors and accelerometers) and S2NAP devices will be installed on two LPACs (LPAC #2 and LPAC #3). The S2NAP will receive data directly from these added sensors, as well as from the LPACs' Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). A network access device will be located in MER2 connected to the ship's FODMS network to enable communications with ICAS. This network device will either be a wireless access point or an Ethernet switch, depending on the configuration allowed by the ship.
A translator is used to pass data between the Linux-based S2NAP device and Windows-based shipboard applications. This device is being added to avoid software installations on other shipboard computers for this demonstration which would otherwise be required to facilitate communications; the translator allows for all of the software to reside on a single computer. This device can be located anywhere on the FODMS network. Its eventual location will be determined in consultation with the cognizant installation authority.
The flow of data from the machine through legacy shipboard applications is shown in Fig. 2, which reflects the network architecture that will be implemented at the LBES in preparation for the shipboard demonstration.
The SKED application currently resides on the IT21 network and is accessible via ICAS. This is the only bridge between the FODMS and the IT21 LANs.
Antech Systems developed a demonstration release of SKED 3.1 to support this project. A pre-defined set of 'U-Cards' (standardized "Unscheduled Maintenance" cards emulating current MRCs) corresponding with the principal failure modes was developed by NAVSEALOGCEN (Norfolk Detachment). The U-Cards are integrated into the demonstration version of the SKED application. They will be triggered upon receipt of appropriate information from ICAS through the MIMOSA interface.
The U-Cards also will identify parts and material (e.g., consumables and tools) required to complete each specific maintenance task. In addition to U-Cards, the system will trigger a pre-defined standardized work-order candidate (Form 4790-2K) for the applicable failure mode. This work-order candidate will then be routed to the Current Ships Maintenance Project (CSMP) through the OMMS-NG application.
A MIMOSA interface to ICAS has been implemented in order to have failure modes that are already recognized by ICAS (i.e., clogged water injection filter – FM1, and fouled heat exchanger – FM10) passed by ICAS to SKED. Remaining failure modes (FM2-FM9) recognized by S2NAP then will be passed to ICAS for real-time display and for work -ordercandidate triggering in OMMS NG.
Projected benefits
There are many potential benefits to be obtained from the MHM – S&RL project. On the maintenance side, the time required for watch standers to take equipment readings will either be eliminated or substantially reduced by the application of sensors and remote monitoring. Additionally, some level of reduction is anticipated in the amount of scheduled (planned) maintenance required for the target equipment. There also will be some time savings from the automatic generation and management of 3-M documentation.
On the supply side, the obvious benefit is that costly investment in large quantities of onboard spare parts can potentially be reduced. With planned maintenance reduced, the amount of parts and tools required to accomplish scheduled maintenance actions should also decrease.
Finally, the amount of time required by shipboard maintenance and supply personnel to conduct technical research to identify required repair parts will diminish as this information is automatically provided on the U-Card associated with the pre-defined failure mode.
To summarize
At time of publication, this project is in the land-based demo phase. The associated Ship Change Documentation (SCD #558) is in the SHIPMAIN process for technical evaluation and the System Security Authorization Agreement (SSAA) process has been initiated. Additionally, the S2NAP platform has been evaluated for suitability to support the Distance Support initiative and is in the FIPS 140-2 validation process for wireless implementation.
Future enhancements to this system planned for FY06 include: incorporating the evolving Ships' Material Condition Model or "Corona Model"Ð Functional Index Numbers (FINs) and Equipment Operational Capability (EOC) values for equipments and failure modes; and follow-up fleet demonstration onboard an acquisition platform, most likely in the LPD-17 class. Furthermore, integration with ICAS's Integrated Performance Analysis Reports (IPARs) will be explored.
Ship configuration data matters. The capability described here is dependent on accurate configuration data from hull to hull. We know that the required level of accuracy does not exist, today. Perhaps this level of accuracy will become available through efforts such as Navy ERP and development of the Corona model.
Network security is a big deal – and getting bigger. The Distance Support Innovation Lab at Naval Surface Warfare Center,, Crane Division, provided invaluable assistance in running a security vulnerability assessment on the S2NAP platform. The platform was subsequently tweaked, and it is now deemed suitable for shipboard network implementation. In general, advances made and lessons learned under projects like this will be made available to progressive programs such as the DDG Modernization Program, the ICAS Technology Refresh initiative, and acquisition (transformation) programs such as LPD-17, LCS, DD(X) and Navy ERP.
Tightly coupling maintenance requirements and readiness imperatives with the supporting supply chain is a future state that is achievable through continued investment, experimentation, demonstration and fielding of enabling technologies. By employing and leveraging emerging technology, visions such as BLUE SKY can evolve into reality.
- "Condition Based Maintenance for Shipboard Machinery," G. William Nickerson. Proceedings of the 44th Meeting of the Machinery Failures Prevention Group, 1990.
- Condition Based Maintenance Policy, OPNAVINST 4790.16 (Washington DC: Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1998).
- "Applying RCM Principles in the Selection of CBM-Enabling Technologies," Kenneth S. Jacobs. Proceedings of the Annual DoD Maintenance Symposium, 1999.
- "Planned Maintenance System: Development of Maintenance Requirements Cards," Maintnance Index Pages and Associated Documentation, Mil-P-24534(Navy), 1985.
- "Taking the Integrated Condition Assessment System to the Year 2010, " Michael DiUlio, Chris Savage, Brian Finley, Eric Schneider. Proceedings from Thirteenth International Ship Control Systems Symposium (SCSS) in Orlando, FL, April 2003.
- "Enterprise Remote Monitoring (ICAS & Distance Support), Tomorrow's Vision Being Executed Every Day." Christopher Savage, Michael DiUlio, Brian Finley, Ken Krooner, Pete Martinez, Pat Horton. Proceedings from 2005 ASNE Fleet Maintenance Symposium.
Joe Gaines is currently the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science Advisor to the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). In this capacity, he is the senior representative of the Commander, RADM Daniel H. Stone, for all Science and Technology (S&T) issues. He also ia responsible for the Navy Logistics Productivity Program (a logistics R&D program) and the NAVSUP Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Gaines is the command's representative to the Virtual SYSCOM Systems Engineering Steering Group and Technical Authority Board. He established the Logistics R&D Executive Steering Group at NAVSUP with senior leadership representation from across the NAVSUP enterprise. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Peter J. Sisa joined RLW, Inc., a small business specializing in embedded software solutions, in May 2004. Today, he manages the NAVSUP sponsored S2NAP Machinery Health Monitoring Sense & Respond Logistics initiative for RLW, in addition to the related "Smart Spaces" Small Business Innovative Research project. He recently has served as a representative on the Office of the Secretary of Defense's CBM Plus working group – representing DD(X) as a Navy's Ôselect' platform for CBM capabilities. Prior to joining RLW, Sisa, held a number of positions with American Management System, in Fairfax VA, He retired from naval service in 1997, with extensive operational and staff experience, including duty on Chief of Naval Operations staff and with the Office of Naval Research. He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MPA from Troy State University. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
February 08, 2008 at 22:14:39 Feb 08, 2008 @ 22:14
Do you mean Zack Snyder's next "comic book" film, Watchmen?
And Speed Racer's trailer, at first, I thought was too cheesy.
I still think so.
ya the Speed Racer trailer i mean ya its nice looking and all dont get me wrong but for some reason i get the "Spy Kids" feel from this( Remember that flim ? wayyyy corny ) like its over the top corny ...but like it said it will be nice to look at all the bright colors and effects as sad as that sounds and i already the plot is gonna suck ass
and yeah i think it might be the Watchmen not sure but i know Miller is suppose to do another from his comics
and YEEESSSS INDY 4 TRIALER DEBUT !!! but stuidos says the public has to wait until Next Friday because its going to
be shown with the Spiderwick Chronicles that Nickoleadan flim and later on it will be on the net
so in my understanding it should be on the by Wed. LOL

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When I meditate it feels intolerable
freefall wrote:When I meditate it feels intolerable.
Sure, I'm willing to elaborate. I just find that I can tend to go on and on and on searching for a way to say something in a better way and I probably am more clear if I can say something in a very few words. Everyone is correct in telling you to set aside expectations but they are likely well aware of many things of which you may not be aware. Things you need to understand. You can live life with out any expectations at all if you are willing to accept whatever happens and you do not care what happens. Does this describe you? Or do you expect more? Do you expect that if you are well instructed and well trained that you will be able to get a job done or do you expect that you can just go apply for any job in the world and be just as qualified to do it as the next guy? Does this make sense to you?freefall wrote:Do you mind confirming or reexplaining what you are saying? Thank you, and sorry for the thick head.
We can't deny either that there is nothing that MUST be done. Draw air maybe? If one wishes to live. I am sure you mean as I do that IF one wishes to meditate then one needs to understand how and the Buddha's teachings show us how by studying the teachings. Then IF we meditate will have the opportunity to see if by this means we will see and know in some same way rightly and truly also. As we begin and persist unknowingly we will require some faith that we will see and know better and when we then do see and know better we will be increasingly convinced by this same knowing and understanding.fijiNut wrote:Meditation is something you don't have to do. It should be something that you want to do.
So you have to convince yourself, have some faith in the Triple Gem.
Yes, the Buddha was fully enlightened, yes, the Dhamma was well expounded, and yes, the Sangha has achieved the achieved the aspired results through practice.
Convince yourself that meditation and Nibbanna is the heart of Buddhism, a process of self purification.
Every time you sit, you set a cause for future success, and little by little you chip away at the defilements of the mind.
And little by little you find some more peace and happiness, in yourself which overflows into your work, your friends and your family.
Don't take anybody's word for it, see for yourself.
Only when you see the benefits of meditation (bhavana) for yourself, will you really want to sit (even if your hair was on fire).
Wishing you all the best on the Path,
Return to "General Theravāda Meditation"
Users browsing this forum: Yahoo [Bot] and 40 guests


text:
Sep '11 - Jan '13
I remember reading something recently (I can't seem to find it right now so you'll have to believe me on this stat) that said that the majority of entry-level positions in architecture are not advertised. Assuming my memory serves me well and this is indeed the case, then you might say that your best option for finding a job is just to ask for one rather than sitting around waiting for a job posting to show up on Archinect's job boards.*
It's only natural that you have a few firms that you already know about and are familiar with as the first ones you contact about work. But what do you do when all of them have turned you down? Where do you look to find new firms to solicit when there aren't any postings in the classifieds? The following are just a few things I've tried (or wanted to try) to find firms I didn't know about. There are probably plenty more options out there, hopefully some not so apparent, so please share what you know in the comments.
It's sort of a no-brainer but google "architect" and the city you're looking in and you're bound to come up with something. The drawback to this is you could get a lot of results to sift through, some of which may not even offer architectural services (software architects, anyone?). The other side of the coin is that some firms may not have a website, or may not show up in a google search due to poor search engine optimization. You still need to keep searching.
Local AIA Chapter
Your local AIA chapter will generally have a list of firms with AIA members. You can find your local chapter here and contact them directly or just use the architect finder on the AIA website. One benefit to contacting the local chapter office is that, depending on who you talk to, they may have some insight on which firms are doing well and may be looking to hire. Downside to this method ... not all practicing architects are dues-paying members of the AIA and consequently, may not be listed.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth could mean a lot of things but generally this involves getting out there and asking about firms and who might be hiring. One one hand, I'd call this networking, but on the other, I think that calling it such can sound negative to people who don't think they have a network to work with. You should talk to fellow graduates and/or former professors if they know of any firms you haven't already contacted (I got an interview out of this one). Talk to professionals you might encounter at lectures, meetings, social functions, or conferences (prerequisite is that you attend these things). Ask the firm that just turned you down saying, "we aren't hiring currently," if they know of any firms that are (I've really wanted to do this but I haven't yet). They may be willing to refer you and put in a good word ... "We think this Brian kid has potential, but we can't afford to hire him right now. You'd be a fool not to take him on to work on that new project of yours." I've even talked to contractors about which firms they like working with. You get a different perspective of the firm this way, and if the contractor has a good relationship with the architect you can get a good referral this way. In the end, anyone you talk to could be helpful.
Like I said before, there are obviously more ways to find firms to solicit employment from than these three. Let us know what you've tried, what has worked and what hasn't.
*The counter argument to your best chance to find a job would be that applying to positions that are advertised means that 100% of the firms you contact are hiring and despite the larger pool of applicants if you do your leg work and make your materials stand out you have a better chance of getting hired. But in all the time I've been looking locally, I have only seen one company advertise for a position I was close to qualifying for, "architectural drafter" at an engineering firm. Don't worry, I still applied.
P.s. The following video may not be 100% related but I think it is still applicable in that when it comes to putting yourself out there and asking for you work you tend to, "... just sit here and do nothing and regret it for the rest of the day. So now, [you] will do the opposite, and [you] will do something." Let us know how it goes.
Reading your post reminded me about this about how to really get hired I haven't tried everything they suggest but some helpful ideas.
r75!, I've been holding onto that link for a whole now with the intention of writing a post about it, and some others. Build has some great points. Very good advice. if there was ever a reason to stop waiting and do something it's the statement that make saying that at a lecture they gave once only one person had the guts to ask if they were hiring ... That person now works at Build.
Here's the quote from the Build link above:
"We recently gave a lecture with Gordon Walker downtown, and out of all the young architects in Seattle slinging their resumes around, only one individual took the initiative to introduce himself after the lecture. Smart. He had a card with his contact info and links to his online resume and portfolio. Smart. He now works at BUILD LLC."
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Commentary on looking for work, portfolio and resume design, networking, social media and the job search, interviews, dealing with rejection and the joy of landing a job.


text:
For twelve years Charles Felton had not smoked. He'd quit cold. Quit forever, he told himself. Never again would he light up a cigarette and invite demon nicotine into his body.
Then in October 1993 he went to work for Dade County, and within a few months of taking over as director of the Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, Felton realized that an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and emphysema was the least of his worries. Two and a half years later, the 52-year-old Felton sits in the smoking section of Don Shula's All Star Cafe, extinguishing a cigarette butt with one hand while reaching for his pack of Marlboros with the other. "I really should try and quit again," he says between table-rattling fits of coughing.
Now, however, is not the time.
Like the haze of cigarette smoke surrounding him, a cloud of a different sort now hangs over Felton. He is a director without a department, a leader with no one to lead. Six months ago County Manager Armando Vidal "reassigned" him from his command post in West Dade to an unused office on the 29th floor of County Hall following allegations he had misused county money to furnish his home with office equipment. "The whole thing was politically and not substantively motivated," he charges.
Felton acknowledges he spent $2538 to purchase a desk, three chairs, a file cabinet, a 27-inch television set, and a VCR for his Pembroke Pines home. He told investigators he believed the items had been approved, noting that former county manager Joaquin Avi*o told him he could set up a home office with a computer and a fax machine, and he assumed that furniture was part of the package. This past December the Dade State Attorney's Office cleared Felton of any criminal wrongdoing, but Vidal refuses to reinstate his corrections chief. Two audits of the corrections department are still pending, and Vidal says that until those are complete Felton will remain in administrative limbo -- temporarily assigned to a low-profile project -- while collecting his $113,000 annual salary.
Stubbing out another cigarette, Felton is barely able to contain his anger. "There was no desire to give me the benefit of the doubt," he huffs.
And he's right.
Charles Felton's problems have virtually nothing to do with a desk and a couple of chairs. They have even less to do with a pair of pending audits, which are so commonplace that Felton may well be the only department head ever removed while they were being conducted.
Instead Felton's current predicament is the result of Dade County's peculiarly vicious brand of politics, intensified in a department so torn by employee antagonisms that it would probably be better off if the inmates ran the place. No other county bureaucracy is as racially and ethnically divided -- and manipulated -- as corrections, held hostage as it is by warring factions claiming to be advocacy groups but which in fact are little more than instruments of sedition.
As director, Felton ultimately must take responsibility for some of that chaos, but much of it existed long before he arrived, and will almost certainly remain after he's gone. There still might be a last-minute reprieve for Felton, but the odds do not seem to be in his favor. Like any condemned man, all he can do now is stare at the clock and fire up another cigarette.
Felton could have done more to help his cause. When the controversy surrounding his home office became public, he managed to annoy his bosses further by using on-duty corrections officers and inmate labor to return the furniture to the county. Stupid. But it was in keeping with Felton's presumptive manner and his lack of appreciation for how his actions are perceived by others.
As the State Attorney's investigation into the purchase noted, Felton's conduct wasn't illegal, but it did show a level of "fiscal insensitivity" that was unbecoming a county official. Similarly, Felton was among those cited in a New Times investigation last year for running up exorbitant bills on his county-issued cellular telephone with long-distance calls to family and friends.
He came to Dade County believing he had all the answers when he didn't even understand the questions. He was far too sure of himself, and came across to those around him as cocky and arrogant. But when understood in the context of his career and accomplishments, Felton's attitude was not without justification. He was born in Mississippi Delta country but grew up in Nebraska, where his father worked in an Omaha packing house slaughtering hogs and cattle. His father died when the boy was just ten years old, and his mother singlehandedly raised him and his five brothers and sisters. Evidently she instilled in him an intense drive to succeed.
Felton graduated from the University of Nebraska, then went on to obtain a master's degree in social services from the prestigious program at the University of Chicago. He began his career in corrections in 1968 as a juvenile probation officer. By 1973 he was named warden of the state penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois. He was only 29 and was dubbed by inmates and the media "the baby warden." Within a few years, he was appointed superintendent of the sprawling Cook County jails.
Felton became the first black in the state of Florida to lead a corrections department in 1981 when he took over the jail system in Pinellas County. Ten years later then-president George Bush nominated him to be United States Marshal for the Middle District of Florida, but his appointment stalled in the Senate -- along with hundreds of other nominations -- owing to election-year politics. When Bush lost to Bill Clinton, Felton found himself looking for a new job.
The opening in Dade County seemed to be a wonderful opportunity, and Felton's impressive resume won him the job. But not long after coming aboard as director, he experienced his first taste of local politics. He had some immediate decisions to make after taking charge of the department, the most pressing being selection of his senior staff. One of the names that kept popping up for promotion was Donald Manning, an eleven-year veteran and a commander in the department. But Felton rejected the idea. "It was a situation where I was not enthusiastic about Manning," he recounts. "I felt that I needed some time to work with him." Furthermore, he says he was put off by Manning's attitude. "Manning knew his name was in the mix," Felton says, adding that when they talked, Manning made it clear he expected to be promoted, and even announced which of the three assistant-director slots he intended to assume: operations, which oversees the day-to-day running of the system. "He was saying, 'I want operations,'" Felton recalls. "It was very insulting. It didn't sit well with me at all."
After Felton decided not to promote Manning, he says, his immediate supervisor, Assistant County Manager Ari Rivera, told him they were going to have to explain that decision to Commissioner James Burke. Manning has served as his campaign manager in every political race Burke has entered in the past ten years. The two men are such close friends that for a time after Burke's separation from his wife, he slept on Manning's couch.
"They put me in a very difficult situation," Felton says. "I found it very annoying. There is a certain amount of power that elected officials have that you have to recognize. They have a feeling they are invincible, that they are not as vulnerable as we are."
On April 1, 1994, Felton says, he and Rivera met with Burke and the commissioner's chief of staff, Billy Hardemon. As tactfully as possible, Felton tried to explain to Burke that he had concerns about Manning's abilities and did not believe it was appropriate to promote him to the position of assistant director. Burke was incensed, Felton recalls, and repeatedly asked the director to reconsider. But Felton refused. "He was very unhappy," Felton says. "He was very unhappy and he was being very persistent: 'Why don't we put him in there temporarily?'" (It is a violation of the county charter for any commissioner to become directly involved in personnel decisions of county staff. Commissioners have the authority only to hire and fire the county manager and the county attorney; interference in any other area is punishable by removal from office.)
Felton says he has had general conversations with other commissioners about staff changes within corrections, but he has never encountered the level of "heavy-handedness" he experienced with Burke. Following that meeting, he believes, Burke considered him to be an enemy. "After that the attitude was set: 'We're going to get Felton,'" he says.
Not only did Felton snub Burke's closest ally in corrections, but one of the people he did promote in the general reorganization of the department was Anthony Dawsey, an active supporter of one of Burke's opponents in the last election campaign. Felton says Burke confronted him regarding Dawsey's promotion, and wanted to know how the director could possibly promote someone who, he recalls Burke saying, "wasn't with us."
Felton says he was only interested in promoting the best people regardless of their political connections. If it angered those in power, he says, so be it. He wasn't going to worry about the consequences. "I don't think you have any choice," he asserts. "You either roll over and do what they tell you to do or you are going to have enemies. Either you let them dictate to you how that department is going to be run or you don't and they are going to hate you. It's either one or the other."
Burke denies becoming involved in any personnel decisions within corrections. "I absolutely didn't do it," he insists. "I'm not the brightest guy in the world, but I can read and I know what the charter says."
Assistant County Manager Rivera acknowledges he attended a meeting with Felton and Burke on April 1, 1994. "I recall the meeting," Rivera says. "I don't recall the specifics of the conversation. I remember that during the meeting the commissioner raised some concerns that were generic about promotions. The commissioner may have brought up the name of Manning, but I don't recall."
Manning claims he knows nothing about the meeting and says he has never discussed with Burke A or anyone else A his desire to be promoted. "I never asked anyone for any position in this department," he says. "If that meeting took place, I think at the time Commissioner Burke was chairman of the public safety committee and he probably would have had some concern about who was being placed in what position and what their qualifications were."
Manning is mistaken. At the time of the April 1994 meeting between Burke and Felton, county records show that Burke was no longer chairman of the commission's public safety committee, which has limited supervision of the corrections department. Rather, he was chairman of the finance committee, which has nothing to do with the operation of the county's jails.
Manning adds that he doesn't understand why this meeting is even being raised as an issue: "Obviously nothing happened from that because I didn't become assistant director."
Burke says he finds Felton's allegations disturbing because "as a fellow African American I've tried to protect him" from questions that have been raised about his conduct and character. "People have attempted to help this guy by not publicizing certain things that would be embarrassing to him," Burke claims. That may change, Burke warns, because "this guy has a big problem with the way he operates. . . . He thinks attacking me is the only way he is going to get to keep his job."
The type of political cronyism Felton alleges is certainly not unique to corrections. Several commissioners maintain a special interest in certain county departments that goes beyond the expected standard review. But other problems Felton began experiencing were indeed unique.
A form of bureaucratic apartheid exists in Dade County government. Out of the county's 59 departments, only eight have black directors, and only two would be considered to lead major departments -- corrections and solid waste.
While blacks make up 35 percent of the county government's total work force according to county records, they compose 63 percent of employees in corrections and 74 percent of employees in solid waste. These are the jobs nobody really wants -- dealing with society's refuse, human and otherwise. So they are taken by blacks, historically disadvantaged and perpetually segregated from mainstream Dade society. Some county bureaucrats argue that given the number of black employees, it is only appropriate that their department heads should be black as well. During the past fifteen years, for example, corrections has had black directors exclusively.
But as Felton discovered, this also has had the effect of marginalizing his department in the eyes of other administrators. "I'm not saying that it was deliberate or that it was anyone's fault," he says, "but what has happened is that they have created an organization that is viewed as a 'black department,' and it does not have the credibility or the respect that a lot of these other departments have." Such dismissive attitudes, he contends, extend to the directors as well: "Even though you may be eminently qualified, there will be people who will say you only got the position because you are black, and treat you accordingly."
This bureaucratic segregation has also bred resentment within the corrections department, especially among those who are not accustomed to being viewed as minorities in Dade County A namely, the department's Hispanic officers. In the past, corrections was viewed by Hispanics as a stepping stone to a career with Metro-Dade police, but increasingly it is being seen as an end in itself. Today 22 percent of the corrections work force is Hispanic.
Other Hispanics working for Dade County have awakened to their political power over the past five years, but those inside corrections are feeling left out. As a result, the Hispanic Association of Correctional Officers (HACO) has been demanding major changes in the county's hiring procedures. "Corrections doesn't represent the community," asserts Edgar Nieves, HACO's vice president. "We want the department to reflect the people who are paying the bills in the county." That means eventually they want 50 percent of the department's officers to be Hispanic.
Such a goal places them in direct conflict with the Organization of Minority Correctional Officers (OMCO), which is a predominantly black group. (Unlike the Police Benevolent Association, which negotiates contract issues such as salary and benefits for all corrections officers, OMCO and HACO are advocacy groups that push for the rights and political agendas of their dues-paying members.) OMCO's president, Sgt. Walter Clark, says he sympathizes with HACO's desire for equity but will fight it until all other county departments begin making efforts to increase their percentages of black employees. Why, Clark asks, isn't anyone talking about the dearth of blacks in the county's Building and Zoning Department (seventeen percent), or among Metro-Dade police officers (seventeen percent), or within the fire department (fifteen percent)?
Clark has been with corrections for 26 years, dating back to a time when the department was almost entirely Anglo. During the Eighties, when the number of corrections officers jumped from 500 to more than 2000, Clark helped lead the drive to recruit heavily in the black community. In light of the large number of black inmates, he believed it was important that the staff also be predominantly black. "Nobody is going to look out for black folks but black folks," he says. "Nobody is going to march for us but us. Nobody but blacks are going to protest the fact that in 1996 we don't have a black captain in the Metro Police Department. The highest-ranking black woman over there is a lieutenant."
Felton says he tried to work with both groups, each of which claims a membership of about 500 officers. He offered plans to gradually increase the number of Hispanics in the department, but for OMCO any move toward that goal went too far; for HACO it was never enough. The tension between the groups could be measured in the complaints they filed. Since he took command, Felton has received hundreds of letters from OMCO's Walter Clark and from HACO president Cpl. Manuel Aladro outlining every slight, no matter how small. It was not uncommon for Aladro to write Felton three letters in one day. His complaints ranged from the serious to the picayune. For instance, if during a meeting Felton called on a representative from OMCO but failed to acknowledge a HACO officer, the director would get a letter admonishing him. "A lot of these letters from HACO, they are designed to create an atmosphere of discrimination to support a lawsuit," Felton believes. "Every little thing that happens, boom A they charge racial discrimination and they send in a letter. And the OMCO organization does the same thing. You spend all of your time dealing with these groups." Worse, he says, they would go behind his back to meet with commissioners and county administrators, undermining his authority.
During a recent interview, HACO vice president Nieves and HACO executive director Margarita de Pazos were asked how many times they've met with Assistant County Manager Ari Rivera.
"Several," Nieves said cautiously.
"Numerous," de Pazos said simultaneously.
Which is it? "Let's put it this way," Nieves said. "If I could have the same access to Commissioner Burke or [Commission Chairman Art] Teele the way they [OMCO] have, I'd be happy."
Whether Frank Dennis knew it or not, he was about to become a martyr A an unlikely role for a 24-year-old whose rap sheet included nineteen felony convictions. In the summer of 1994, he'd been arrested, and then released, on charges he'd pummeled his girlfriend with a bottle and a stick. Soon he was arrested again, this time on drug-possession charges.
On the morning of August 21, 1994, five days after his most recent arrest, Dennis was standing in the rear lobby of the county jail at NW Thirteenth Street and Thirteenth Avenue, waiting to be shipped off to another county facility. He was more than a little irritated about his pending transfer. How was his girlfriend going to visit him, he complained to corrections officers, if he was way out in West Dade?
While waiting for the jail van to arrive, Dennis was causing problems for the officers nearby. He had apparently been leering at, or making some sort of statements about, the posterior of a female officer. After a short while, Dennis eyed a nearby phone, walked over, and placed a call. He wasn't handcuffed or in shackles, and none of the guards noticed his movements for several minutes until a supervisor, Ofcr. Manuel Diaz, spotted him and yelled to another officer, Daniel Arocho, to tell the inmate he wasn't allowed to use the phone.
"I'm talking to my people!" Dennis shouted at Arocho when the officer told him to hang up. Arocho grabbed the phone from Dennis's hand, slammed the receiver down, and ordered Dennis back against the wall.
"You fucking Cuban, you hung the phone up on my people!" shouted Dennis, who is black. "I'll whip your Cuban ass! I'll whip your Cuban ass!" By now Diaz was standing alongside Arocho as Dennis finally moved against the wall. According to reports the two officers later filed, they decided Dennis should be locked up until the van arrived, and escorted him to a secluded portion of the building where the jail's holding cells are located. What happened next remains a matter of dispute. This account is drawn from official reports and depositions.
One witness, Ofcr. Curtis Wright, said that after Diaz and Arocho placed Dennis in the holding cell, the two officers returned to the lobby, put on protective latex gloves, then went back to the area of the holding cells. A few minutes later Dennis began screaming for help.
In a handwritten statement to investigators, Dennis concurred that the officers left the holding cell but soon returned. They were still angry, he stated, about the way he supposedly looked at one of the female officers and said they were "going to stop his punk ass" for being so disrespectful to a woman. "Then one of the officers hit me in the eye," Dennis wrote. "And I said, 'What's going on?' Then I grab the officer that hit me in the eye, trying to keep him from hitting me again. That's when three more officers jumped on."
Diaz and Arocho contradicted both Wright's and Dennis's account. They maintained that while they were escorting Dennis to the holding cell, the inmate sucker-punched Arocho in the face and then bit Arocho on the forearm. There is no disagreement, however, that a melee ensued, with several other Hispanic officers joining the fracas.
The commotion in the holding cell attracted the attention of other officers. Six black female officers later came forward to say they were horrified watching the Hispanic officers beat Dennis. They claimed the officers had Dennis face-down on the ground and were punching, kicking, and choking him. "Help me!" they said Dennis screamed. "I've had enough! Help me! I can't breathe!" When one of the women, Ofcr. Sara Walker, approached the scene, she said, Dennis grabbed her leg and began pleading, "Sister, please help me!"
Walker wrote in her initial report that Diaz appeared out of control, screaming over and over again: "He bit Arocho!" When she tried to move Diaz away from Dennis, the officer shoved her so hard she nearly fell to the ground. Diaz claimed he didn't realize it was Walker and thought it was another inmate attacking him, but Walker said Diaz knew it was her and began shouting, "Get the fuck out of the way!" Other female officers recalled Diaz screaming at them: "All you bitches get the fuck from back here!"
Meanwhile, Arocho was in a panic himself. His forearm was bleeding and he, too, kept shouting, "He bit me! He bit me!"
"What do you expect!" Ofcr. Sylvia Simmons screamed back. "You all are kicking on him. Just handcuff him." But Arocho could only think about the possibility that Dennis might be infected with AIDS.
Eventually Dennis was handcuffed behind his back and his feet were placed in shackles. He was then dragged to the jail's medical clinic. Sara Walker followed them there and later said several officers continued "kicking, banging, knocking" Dennis while he awaited medical attention. "Enough is enough. Stop!" Walker recalled telling the officers, who then left the clinic.
As Dennis lay handcuffed in one of the clinic's cells crying and bleeding, Arocho was taken to Cedars Medical Center for treatment of his bite wound. News of the incident spread quickly through the jail.
A few hours later, when Charles Felton heard what happened, he ordered an immediate investigation. He knew in his gut this one would be trouble.
Within 24 hours, OMCO and HACO were circling the Frank Dennis beating, looking to see how it might best play to their own agendas. Copies of the initial incident report written by the officers involved -- which should have been kept confidential during the investigation -- began circulating throughout the downtown jail and were soon being faxed to other county jail facilities.
Clark, OMCO's president, called an emergency meeting on Wednesday, August 24, 1994, to address, according to the group's flyers, "the brutal beating of a black man at the Dade County Jail," and "the racial tension centered around the excessive use of force by Latino officers," as well as "the lack of confidence in the department's internal affairs bureau."
Several of the female officers who reported the attack received death threats and had notes taped to their lockers, some of which read, "Die Nigger" and "Down with niggers!! This means you. Cubans rule Miami bitch." Who wrote the notes remains a mystery, although it is not impossible to imagine that they were written by a black or an Anglo hoping to fuel racial animosity toward Hispanics.
On September 8, 1994, HACO president Manuel Aladro wrote Felton three separate letters dealing with different aspects of the investigation into the Frank Dennis case. In the most extensive of the letters, Aladro questioned the credibility of each of the six black female officers who witnessed the altercation, and suggested they were deserving of investigation themselves. In attacking Ofcr. Sylvia Simmons, for example, Aladro noted that "according to other officers' statements, she was conducting a conversation away from her duty post. Is this a routine occurrence?"
In his letters, Aladro wrote that "it is imperative that the ethnic and racial tension stop," but then went on to attack the six black officers, arguing that they couldn't be trusted because, among other reasons, "they are all from the same racial and gender group."
Racially charged flyers began appearing throughout the jail system on September 15, 1994. One of them, from a group called the International African Movement, launched a racist tirade against Cubans. "If you read the history of Spaniards (white Cubans) and their relationship with people of African descent, you will find that Spaniards have treated people of African descent as crudely as anyone ever has," the flyer stated. "And with the recent incident involving the savage beating of a black inmate by several Hispanic (Cuban) corrections officers, we believe this is an example of things to come."
A second flyer, this one unsigned, recounted some of the events surrounding the Frank Dennis incident and named the Hispanic officers allegedly involved. "As of today, nothing has happened to the attacking officers," the flyer noted. "Not yet anyway."
That veiled threat was deemed all the more serious when it was discovered that the flyers were being posted in areas where jail inmates could read them. It was bad enough having such material circulated among the staff, but publicizing the names of the Hispanic officers among correction's 4500 black inmates, and suggesting it was a matter of black pride that something be done, sent shock waves through the system.
Police Benevolent Association president John Rivera couldn't believe what was happening. As head of the official bargaining unit for all corrections officers, Rivera normally tries to distance himself from internecine battles such as those between OMCO and HACO. But with the situation escalating dramatically, Rivera wrote Felton a letter dated September 29, 1994, in which he threatened to go to the State Attorney's Office and demand a grand jury investigation into the jail's command staff for allowing HACO and OMCO to interfere with a criminal investigation.
"The PBA is resorting to this drastic measure because all of our efforts to persuade both the department and the county to curtail the activities of said faction groups have been to no avail," Rivera wrote. "As a result of continuous illegal and improper discussions, several officers have been threatened to the point their safety may be jeopardized. The department is fully apprised of the divisive agenda of said factions, yet it continues to tolerate and entertain such groups at the expense of the safety of its officers and other personnel."
Word of the Dennis incident had also spread beyond the corrections department. The weekly black newspaper Miami Times wrote a story about the alleged beating based on a leaked copy of the original incident report. On September 26, 1994, the local civil rights group PULSE (People United to Lead the Struggle for Equality) held a meeting with Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle at which leaders demanded a thorough investigation of the allegations. The Miami Herald published a story the next day, noting that leaders in the black community were drawing comparisons between Frank Dennis and Rodney King.
"There was no beating," counters HACO vice president Edgar Nieves. "It was completely blown out of proportion. They [OMCO] used it as a race card. Every little thing that occurs between a Hispanic and a black is a race issue."
As tensions heightened, reports began circulating that fistfights were breaking out between black and Hispanic officers and that officers from one group were not backing up those from the other group in confrontations with inmates.
Felton blamed HACO president Manuel Aladro and OMCO president Walter Clark for the escalating crisis. He had warned both of them, he says, to stay out of the Dennis investigation. "But Clark and Aladro just kept going on," Felton recalls. "It was outrageous. It was a circus, an absolute circus. It was very dangerous. It was a very deliberate and direct defiance of my authority."
Felton says both HACO and OMCO exploited the incident for their own ends. "To keep the conflict going, to keep the racial tensions going," Felton asserts. "It brought attention to their organizations."
Finally, on October 3, 1994, Felton suspended both Aladro and Clark. He sent them home with pay while an internal affairs investigation commenced into their conduct. "For the most part, I do not believe people are seething with anger and hatred toward another member of the department because they are Hispanic or black," Felton says. "I think you have these organizations that are trying to get something, move their organization's agendas."
Once Aladro and Clark were removed, says Felton, tensions began to ease. But he had made two more fairly powerful enemies. "Both of them hate me with a passion," he acknowledges.
"Pick a fight with me -- I don't care, I'll fight you back," Clark responds defiantly. "I will fight back as long as I can breathe."
"It was not a high point," HACO vice president Edgar Nieves admits, referring to the relationship between HACO and Felton.
As Felton's first year with the county came to a close, he had managed to accomplish something no one ever thought possible: unite HACO and OMCO in a common cause. The only problem was that the two groups were now united against him.
After nearly four months, Felton lifted the suspensions against both Aladro and Clark, and the internal affairs investigation failed to find enough evidence to punish either of them for interfering in the Frank Dennis case.
On March 28, 1995, the State Attorney's Office concluded its investigation into the alleged beating, and decided not to press charges against any of the officers involved. "It would be difficult to find a more unsympathetic victim than Frank Dennis," prosecutor Dennis Bedard wrote. He also noted that the witnesses' statements were contradictory enough that "we would never be able to establish beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of any officer."
As a certain measure of normality returned, Felton says, he went about the business of running the department. He cites among his accomplishments a significant reduction in the amount of money spent on overtime -- a fact that made him even less popular with staff members.
He successfully dealt with the issue of overcrowding and established a formal classification system for new inmates, something a federal judge had ordered Dade County to do years before. He also improved medical screening procedures for new inmates and instituted a more coherent plan for dealing with mentally ill inmates. He dramatically increased the number of inmates receiving GED diplomas, and worked toward developing the department's boot camp program for teenage offenders.
The corrections department, he acknowledges, was still plagued with problems, including a serious lack of supervision in the house-arrest program, which allows certain nonviolent inmates to be released from jail provided they agree to remain at home. Ironically, the commander responsible for this program was Donald Manning, who received a series of sharply critical memos about the subject from Felton and assistant chief Ann Vendrell. "Mr. Manning, this is my last appeal to you to clear up your area of responsibilities," Felton wrote on September 19, 1995. "If I don't see positive results within 30 days, I'm going to take corrective and decisive actions."
Felton never had a chance to follow up on his letter. A few days later County Manager Armando Vidal summoned him downtown. Felton says he had no idea what the meeting was to be about, and was amazed to discover that Vidal wanted to talk about Felton's home-office furniture -- which had been purchased more than a year earlier. Vidal explained that he had just learned of the purchase and informed the director he was sending the matter to the State Attorney's Office for possible criminal prosecution.
"I didn't understand it," Felton says today. "I didn't understand where they were coming from. I felt I had been set up, that this whole thing was orchestrated to get rid of me. This was bullshit."
The director claims that during the meeting, Vidal asked him to quit. "He said, 'I think the best thing for you to do would be to resign,'" Felton recalls. "It angered me. There was no justification for it."
Felton says he refused, and told the manager he wanted to hire an attorney. Before Felton and Vidal could meet again, however, news of the furniture purchases was leaked to WPLG-TV (Channel 10), which promptly aired a report on the pending flap.
When Felton and Vidal got together again -- this time with Felton's attorney present -- the director says Vidal denied asking for his resignation, that he was merely suggesting it might be best if Felton quietly left after the investigation was complete. (Vidal declined to comment for this story.) Under the terms of Felton's "reassignment," he was to report to County Hall, where he would busy himself drawing up plans for a new juvenile assistance center. "It was purely a situation where they wanted to put someone else in the position," Felton argues. "And they have."
County Manager Vidal studied the roster of possible candidates to succeed Felton as interim director while the State Attorney's Office conducted its inquiry into the director's spending habits. The three assistant directors -- Ann Vendrell, Kevin Hickey, and Lois Spears A each had more than twenty years of service in the department. Any one of them would have seemed an obvious choice if Vidal had viewed this as a short-term, caretaker's assignment. They even represented a full range of racial and ethnic choices: Vendrell is Hispanic, Hickey is an Anglo, and Spears is black.
But Vidal skipped over them and promoted the one man he felt best qualified for the job: Donald Manning.
At long last Manning would have his promotion. Did Burke play a role in this move? "The only thing I can say is that the charter says that commissioners do not get involved in personnel decisions, and the person who appointed me interim director was Armando Vidal," Manning responds. "Now, I am not so naive as to believe that he did not know that I have a connection with one of the commissioners. But guess what -- there are several people in our department who have connections to several commissioners."
Rather than being viewed as sinister, Manning adds, his political connections should be seen as an asset. He says in the past he has worked closely with Burke, and commissioners Betty Ferguson, Art Teele, Dennis Moss, Katy Sorenson, Bruce Kaplan, and Gwen Margolis. "Because of my connections to them, that's one of the qualities that I bring to this department," he says. "I'm a person who can sit and talk to these commissioners via the manager's office and help this department get some of the resources it needs." (Assistant County Manager Ari Rivera says Manning's friendship with Burke and his being black played no role in his being named interim director.)
Manning took up his new responsibilities with all of the subtlety of a cell door slamming shut. With apparent disregard for the temporary nature of his assignment, he immediately began making personnel changes. He transferred two of Felton's closest allies, including Anthony Dawsey, who had worked in the Reverend Victor Curry's county commission campaign against Burke. The move infuriated Felton: "I asked, 'Why are these people being transferred?' and Manning's exact words to me were: 'If I'm director for even a day, I don't want those people around because those people are loyal to you. Those are your people.' And I said, 'I take it that means you are not loyal to me.'"
Manning says he reassigned Dawsey and the others to work directly with Felton at his new assignment because he was afraid that if they stayed, they might eventually be accused of trying to "sabotage" his efforts, and "to safeguard that from happening, to keep that rumor from happening," he moved them. "I felt it was in the best interest of this administration that they work with Mr. Felton," Manning says, adding that it is pure coincidence that two of the first people he promoted had worked with him on Burke's election campaign. "I felt they were all the most competent persons," he says.
Manning is proud of what he has accomplished in the past six months. He says he has further reduced the overtime budget and begun a recruitment drive in the Hispanic community for new officers. "Our department is one of the few departments in the county that is a majority minority, and anytime you have that sort of situation, that department seemingly comes under more scrutiny than any other department," Manning says. "Our department is not an old department, and we've gone through a lot of transitions, and we've been trying to find our way."
Charles Felton is also trying to find his way. After being cleared of any wrongdoing by the State Attorney's Office (prosecutors noted that he never tried to hide his purchases and filled out all the proper paperwork), Felton expected to be reinstated. But both Vidal and Assistant County Manager Ari Rivera decided he should remain out while two audits were pending.
The first audit concerns the department's use of emergency purchase orders, and whether corrections could be saving money if it used more-established county buying procedures. The second audit is examining whether the department misspent about $250,000 that had been earmarked for training but which seemed to have gone to other departmental functions. (The initial results of that probe indicate most of the money actually was spent on training.) Both audits are expected to be completed "soon," county officials say.
"Based on all of the things that have happened," OMCO's president Walter Clark says, "it would not be in the best interest of the department for Felton to return." Clark likes the current arrangement, with Manning in charge and Ann Vendrell as his newly promoted second-in-command. "She's marching to the tune of Mr. Manning," he says cheerfully.
Ask Clark if he would have supported Vendrell had she been named interim director instead of Manning and he laughs out loud. "The manager wasn't going to do that," he says. And if he had, what kind of trouble might he have caused? "Let's put it this way," Clark grins, "it would have been very interesting, very interesting indeed."
"What's ironic about this entire thing," says HACO's Edgar Nieves, "is that OMCO is the one that lobbied tremendously to bring Felton in. And now they don't want him here? Come on. You brought him here, now you've got to live with him."
Equally ironic is the fact that HACO has turned on the person it once backed for director -- Ann Vendrell. Since working for Manning, Vendrell has become his biggest booster. In sharp contrast to her earlier criticism of his handling of the house-arrest program, she now has nothing but glowing things to say about Manning. "It is my sincere hope that as the department's transition period concludes he will be able to continue as director," she wrote in a January 29, 1996, letter to the county manager.
That letter, coupled with a recent Miami Times article in which she was quoted as saying she believed that a black should be in charge of the department, has infuriated HACO. "I was outraged and disgusted at this statement," HACO's executive director Margarita de Pazos wrote to County Manager Vidal.
If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.
You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!
HACO has also begun a campaign to undermine Manning. In a subsequent letter to Vidal, de Pazos noted that of Manning's first nine promotions within his senior staff, seven blacks were promoted, one Anglo, and only one Hispanic. De Pazos went on to decry the fact that out of 58 general promotions announced late this past month, only seven Hispanics moved up the ranks. "That's outrageous!!!" de Pazos wrote, her exclamation points driving home the extent of HACO's anger. "If this is any indication of Mr. Manning's agenda, it is hereby rebuked by this association and our affiliated organizations as well.
"If your advisers are telling you that things are fine at the Metro-Dade Corrections Department, nothing can be further from the truth," de Pazos continued. "Racial tensions are once again rising among staff members, and biased, slanted appointments on behalf of this interim director do not help matters at all."
De Pazos then pleaded with Vidal -- Cuban to Cuban: "Many of us fled a communist regime in Cuba to experience the American dream, but in corrections it has been the American nightmare. Enough is enough!!!


text:
Effects of Pleural Effusion Drainage on Respiratory System Mechanics
The recruitment status of this study is unknown. The completion date has passed and the status has not been verified in more than two years.
Verified July 2012 by Soroksky Arie, Wolfson Medical Center.
Recruitment status was: Not yet recruiting
Recruitment status was: Not yet recruiting
Wolfson Medical Center
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Soroksky Arie, Wolfson Medical Center
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: July 23, 2012
Last updated: July 25, 2012
Last verified: July 2012
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
The effects of pleural drainage on lung mechanics are unknown. Insertion of esophageal balloon will allow us to measure and assess pleural pressure, and thus assess any possible effects of pleural fluid drainage may have on lung mechanics.
|Pleural Effusion
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Cohort
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|Effects of Pleural Effusion Drainage on Respiratory System Mechanics in Mechanically Ventilated Patients, as Measured by Esophageal Balloon.
Further study details as provided by Soroksky Arie, Wolfson Medical Center:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- chest wall and lung compliance [ Time Frame: 1 year ]The use of esophageal balloon allows us to partition respiratory system into its components, namely, chest wall and lung compliance. These measurements have not been described so far in patients undergoing pleural fluid drainage. Thus, assessment of esophageal pressure which is a surrogate of pleural pressure will allow us an accurate measurement of the effect of pleural fluid drainage on chest wall and lung mechanics.
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- oxygenation [ Time Frame: 1 year ]We suspect that pleural fluid drainage will be associated with improved chest wall and lung mechanics. If this will be the case, then we expect a concomitant improvement in oxygenation.
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|July 2012
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|July 2013
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|July 2013 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
candidates for pleural fluid drainage
patients who are candidates for pleural fluid drainage.
Detailed Description:
Esophageal balloon will be inserted prior to pleural fluid drainage.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Study Population
Mechanically ventilated patients with significant pleural fluid documented by CT scan or US.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Mechanically ventilated patients with significant pleural fluid documented by CT scan or US.who are candidates for pleural fluid drainage.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients with any of the following were excluded from the study. Previous lung or chest wall surgery, previous esophageal surgery, known Achalasia or any other esophageal motility or spasm disorder, presence of chest thoracostomy tube, and any significant chest wall abnormality such as kyphoskoliosis.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01652521
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01652521
|Contact: Arie Soroksky, M.D.
|Wolfson MC
|Not yet recruiting
|Holon, Israel
|Principal Investigator: Arie Soroksky, MD
Sponsors and Collaborators
Wolfson Medical Center
|Principal Investigator:
|Arie Soroksky, MD
|Wolfson MC
More Information
Keywords provided by Soroksky Arie, Wolfson Medical Center:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 20, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Soroksky Arie, M.D., Wolfson Medical Center
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01652521 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|July 23, 2012
|Last Updated:
|July 25, 2012
Keywords provided by Soroksky Arie, Wolfson Medical Center:
lung compliance
pleural effusion
esophageal pressure
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Pleural Effusion
Pleural Diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases
Respiratory System Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 20, 2017


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
After the successful opening of its first location in Shepherdsville, Charlie's Pizza recently opened a second operation in Hillview off Brooks Hill Road.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the The Pioneer News, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
If you are new to the award winning The Pioneer News and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.
|ZIP Code:


text: These Keiko Raca Gis feature new sleeve patches and contrast trim on the skirt and cuffs that separate them from Keiko's standard models. The knees and armpits are reinforced so it will last you through tough training and competitions. Rope-tie pants make for a more convenient knot. If you're in between sizes, order up because you can shrink these Gis to fit.


text:
Correction: The TV series "Parenthood" has not been renewed for another season but it has not been canceled as indicated in this column. A KSBW-TV spokesman says it enjoyed high ratings this season and is likely to be renewed.
I became something of a Zooey Deschanel fan when she teamed up with M. Ward to form the folky musical duet She & Him. Ward's music is cooler than cool, so any partner of his is OK by me.
But her TV show, that's a whole different thing. Other than Deschanel's cuteness, it's no better than a dozen other sitcoms that try to entertain by having young folks talk about other young folks they are either hooking up with or not hooking up with.
Apparently I have officially become an old fogey, or at least a fogey. Watching TV character Susie say that she likes TV character Robert but that she like-likes TV character Jake is not as entertaining for me as it once might have been.
Fortunately, there is another show that proves that network TV is capable of producing uplifting shows with positive messages that are (A) not documentaries, but are (B) entertaining. And I'm not talking about "Death Valley Days." I'm talking, of course, about "Parenthood." I'm talking about it because it has, of course, been canceled.
There are whispers a public campaign in support of the show could save it, but petitions aren't usually enough to overcome middling ratings. Still, I will try to present a case.
The stars of the show are the Braverman family. The patriarch and matriarch are retired and living in Berkeley, though their giant suburban property exists in a part of Berkeley I have not visited.
There are adult children, each with kids of their own. They all have problems, but they're mostly real-life problems, not I-wrecked-the-Ferrari-so-now-I-have-to-murder-my-stepmother-and-steal-her-diamonds type problems. They have normal problems and they solve them by doing the right thing, by talking things through, by correcting bad behavior, by forgiving.
In recent weeks:
· One couple adopted a troubled 9-year-old boy. Mom had to quit her job to spend more time with him. The family went ahead to make the adoption formal though they weren't sure things would work out. Their commitment turned the boy around.
· The most dunderheaded adult in the lot was finally persuaded to stop whining about his mother-in-law's need for temporary housing in his home. It saved his marriage.
· A high school-age couple experienced a pregnancy and an abortion and the pain and sadness that go along with such situations. It turned out their relationship couldn't survive the stresses. It could not have made teenage sex seem any less glamorous.
· An autistic high schooler shed much of his unpopularity by sticking to his guns.
· One very serious and quiet character, surprisingly well-played by comedian Ray Romano, chose to leave Berkeley and the love of his life to move to Minnesota to be closer to his teenage daughter. By the way, he moved to Minnesota in the middle of the winter.
· The family helped a veteran of the war in Iraq deal with his psychic injuries and start a new life.
Sappy? It could be that with lesser actors or writers. But the Bravermans carry it off and their positive message arrives intact even if the viewers aren't fully aware of it. Much like "Friday Night Lights." Canceled too early, too.
Corny? Big time, sometimes. In one recent "Parenthood" episode, Christina, probably the nicest of all the Bravermans, was being told her cancer was worse that it had first appeared. Christina is mother to the autistic boy and mother to a perfect baby and it was clear from the start that the show would be a tearjerker.
I watched along with my wife and younger daughter. (I need to make it clear that there are two daughters. That's because the older one who does not live at home has started referring to herself as "the other daughter.")
We made it a contest. We would see who would last longest without crying. To this day they insist I lost by crying first even though they know full well I had something in my eye and needed to leave the room solely to spare them any discomfort.
If you see a save "Parenthood" petition, sign it, or go to the facebook page and hit the like button. You'll be glad you did, unless all you really want to see are shows about how much cleavage to show on a date.
Calkins is editor of The Herald. He can be reached at 646-4381 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
PLANS to bring a 'spy car' into Blackburn with Darwen to tackle dangerous parking are on track despite the latest expression of ministerial concern.
The council wants to introduce the £50,000 vehicle with a CCTV camera attached to its roof.
The car would use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to identify the owner of vehicles breaking traffic laws and then issue fines of up to £70 direct to their home.
The borough, which has an application with transport ministers for the necessary powers, denies it wants the car to raise cash.
This week Road Safety Minister Robert Goodwill said that using CCTV for routine parking enforcement was 'not acceptable', warning of a 'deeply rooted' public perception of councils which used such cameras as a cash-cow.
He said their use should be limited to around schools, at bus stops and on red 'no stop' routes.
Borough regeneration boss Maureen Bateson is confident the council's proposals for the spy car were in line with government policy.
She said: "People have approached me and other councillors time and time again to say one of their biggest concerns is bad and inconsiderate parking especially near schools. We are keen to explore different ways of solving these problems so we are applying to the Department of Transport for some new and additional powers.
"It's the start of the process and we are keen to get residents involved in these discussions."
The new powers, CCTV and ANPR would focus on schools and public transport priority areas.
Headteachers have welcomed the move which is strongly opposed by campaign group Big Brother Watch.
A police spokesman said: "Any powers which can help alleviate traffic problems are welcomed."
The county council has no plans to seek the ANPR authorisation.


text:
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
Grand Prairie, TX 75050
Grand Prairie, TX 75052
Enter the email address associated with your account and we'll email you a link to reset your password.
Now find out how landlords and property managers will view your rental application.
Get your credit score before they do to make sure there are no surprises.


text:
Prostate Cancer Evaluation of TaRgets in Genito Urinary Screening Program (PETRUS)
This study has been completed.
Gustave Roussy, Cancer Campus, Grand Paris
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Gustave Roussy, Cancer Campus, Grand Paris
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: December 3, 2012
Last updated: February 5, 2016
Last verified: February 2016
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Toward personalised treatment in early metastatic prostate cancer based on the assessment of biomarkers in cancer tissue samples and circulating tumour cells.
|Metastatic Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients
|Other: metastasis biopsy
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
|Official Title:
|Prostate Cancer Evaluation of TaRgets in Genito Urinary Screening Program
Resource links provided by NLM:
Genetics Home Reference related topics: prostate cancer
MedlinePlus related topics: Prostate CancerU.S. FDA Resources
Further study details as provided by Gustave Roussy, Cancer Campus, Grand Paris:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- Biomarker [ Time Frame: assessed at the end of recruitment, up to 2 years ]success to evaluate at least one molecular analysis in tumor tissues (prostate and/or metastatic site) AND in CTC
|Study Start Date:
|December 2012
|Study Completion Date:
|January 2015
|Primary Completion Date:
|January 2015 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: experimental
metastasis biopsy
|Other: metastasis biopsy
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Prostate Cancer patients
- Castration Resistant
- Prostatic tissue available
- Metastasis which may be biopsied
Exclusion Criteria:
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01786031
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01786031
|Institut Gustave Roussy
|Villejuif, Val de Marne, France, 94805
Sponsors and Collaborators
Gustave Roussy, Cancer Campus, Grand Paris
More Information
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|Gustave Roussy, Cancer Campus, Grand Paris
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01786031 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|December 3, 2012
|Last Updated:
|February 5, 2016
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Prostatic Neoplasms
Genital Neoplasms, Male
Urogenital Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Genital Diseases, Male
Prostatic Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text:
Threads merged.
'); var yuipath = 'clientscript/yui'; var yuicombopath = ''; var remoteyui = false; } else // Load Rest of YUI remotely (where possible) { var yuipath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/2.9.0/build'; var yuicombopath = 'http://yui.yahooapis.com/combo'; var remoteyui = true; if (!yuicombopath) { document.write('
The only thing that concerns me is that the deal as described could only be consummated after Ford's BYC expires on 6/30.
Unless the filler is a larger contract like Anthony Parker ($4.5) or Kapono, or the like.
Even if it can't officially happen until July, they could announce it early if it's agreed to.
May not be the best deal, but it's a relief to (nearly) have JO's status resolved.
Looking forward to a faster pace with Ford, and now the draft just got even more exciting!
"I'll always be a part of Donnie Walsh."
-Ron Artest, Denver Post, 12.28.05
Although it might not be 100% done yet here's a little something to get everyone excited...
I think Larry's going after Darrell Arthur with #17...
This is the darkest timeline.
If they had to sign him first, that would delay the official transaction for another 30 days beyond that.
(BTW...my concern comes from the pessimism that's been beaten into me the last four years...Essentially, fearing the "other shoe" dropping on my head with a report saying "This is nonsense...it's not even a legal deal." I think we Pacer fans are at the point of the protagonist of the Counting Crows song "Recovering the Satellites": We're such crazy babies, little monkey
We're so ****ed up, you and me .)
according to yahoosports.com
I agree it's unlikely...it's just that those are the guys with the dollars to do the deal officially before 6/30.
sorry didnt realize it was already posted
Thread #4...and counting
This is the darkest timeline.
So heads up for you folks with kids.
If the Cleveland negotiations were ever serious, this trade is ten times worse than the Golden State trade.
shouldn't there be a thread specifically dedicated to this deal instead of lumping it in with the larger trade threads if it is official?
This is the darkest timeline.
All the anger and the eloquence are bleeding into fear
is the line I usually use from that song...In fact, I used it in one of my themed game threads in the 2006-2007 season...it just seems so fitting.
yeah sorry about the music.... I didn't really give a heads up.
Just wait til we find out we took Kapono off their hands too.
I mean, why wouldn't we?
Read my Pacers blog:
Follow my twitter:
According to Yahoo, the deal is done folks. Congratulations to JO for being a standup citizen and a very good Pacer.
Thanks JO for being an all around "good guy." Hope you do well in Toronto. Welcome Rasho and TJ!


text:
The price of oil fell after the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, although it should take months for Libya's oil industry to recover and for the full impact to be felt on world markets.
Oil fell $1.08 to $85.03 per barrel in New York on Thursday. At the pump, the price of gasoline was flat at about $3.47 a gallon.
Before the Libyan civil war, Libya had exported 1.5 million barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of global demand. When Libya stopped exporting most of that oil eight months ago, it helped push the price of oil to $114 a barrel.
Oil has also become cheaper since then because of falling demand in a slowing global economy.
Libya sits atop Africa's largest proven reserves of conventional crude. Before the civil war, it was the world's 12th-largest exporter, mostly to Europe. Analysts estimate it is currently producing close to 400,000 barrels per day.
The major foreign oil firms that had operated in Libya before the start of the civil war, such as Italy's Eni SpA and Spain's Repsol, are starting to return and assess the situation.
Even if little damage was done to the fields or the infrastructure, political uncertainty and security concerns will delay the industry's recovery. Analysts say it could be another year before the country hits its pre-war output.
In a research note, Eurasia Group said expectations are that Libya's output could reach 600,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.
The country relies on oil exports for the overwhelming majority of its foreign revenue.
Associated Press writer Tarek El-Tablawy in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.


text:
Various programs -- Many recreational and community education programs are offered by the city's parks-recreation department. Among them are learn to roller skate, inline roller skating, driver education, youth and adult sports, dancing and fitness, stop smoking seminars, youth camps, dog obedience, gardening and home improvement.
Aurora Seniors meet weekdays in the Walker Building on West Pioneer Trail.
Programs include bingo, chair exercise, computer classes, wellness checks, knitting, tai chi for arthritics, health screenings, card games, chair volleyball, breakfast and lunch outings, speakers and theme parties.
Gentle yoga is offered Fridays at 10 a.m., chair volleyball Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., Zumba Gold on second and fourth Fridays at 1:30 p.m. and arthritis foundation exercise Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:30 p.m.
Blood pressure clinics are the second Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m., bingo is Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., dulcimer lessons are Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and the senior knitting group meets Thursdays at 1 p.m.
Dr. Lara Poduska provides podiatric services by appointment at 216-662-0027, while massage with Susan Lund is Wednesdays at 9 a.m. For HEAP information, call Community Action Council at 330-297-1456.
Penny poker is Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m., walking videos are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. and watercolor painting is Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.
Trips coming up are:
Jan. 9 -- Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown; Jan. 11 -- Severance Hall for Cleveland Orchestra; Jan. 14 -- lunch bunch to the Dolphin in Northfield; Jan. 16 -- Horseshoe Casino; Jan. 17 -- Palace Theater for "Priscilla."
Jan. 23 -- dinner group to Burntwood Tavern; Jan. 24 -- Cleveland Play House for "Bell, Book & Candle"; Jan. 28 -- Cleveland Museum of Natural History; Jan. 30 -- Pro Football Hall of Fame; Feb. 4 -- Great Big Home and Garden Show at IX Center.
Feb. 6 -- Tour the Spire Institute in Geneva; Feb. 11 -- lunch bunch; Feb. 18 -- dinner group; Feb. 20 -- Horseshoe Casino; Feb/ 22 Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall; Feb. 27 -- Cleveland Aquarium.
The parks-rec department is in the Walker Building on West Pioneer Trail. Hours are Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.


text:
- Doctors
- California
- Irvine
- Family Doctors
- Dr. Octaviano A. Roges
You may also like
Ratings for Dr. Octaviano A. Roges
Truly incompetent so called Dr. His prescribing techniques actually got me in trouble with the fed govt. His answer to almost any serious cond is see a specialist. Well then why am I seeing you then? He was unable to successfully treat ANY cond at ALL! As a last resort he blames the patient. Never responds to pharmacy inquires so you will go without meds. He prays on the poor and under educated really dont waste your time...
Dr. Roges is truly a gem. It's been years since I had a doctor I felt comfortable with and really trusted. I started seeing Dr. Roges eight months ago and feel so blessed to have found him. He really listens to my concerns and always takes the time to answer my questions, explains everything in detail, and has never made me feeI like he was rushing on to his next patient. I always find him to be extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and honest. It means so much to me that he is so kind and compassionate, and obviously truly cares about his patients and their welfare. I didn't think doctors like him existed anymore. God bless you Dr. Roges. Connie
My reviews are not all glowing and good. But on Roges MD I agree with all the other reviews. Its been wonderful! It sounds silly but to have a doc that actually listens treats and helps you with your problems and just improves your care in all directions is a gift. His staff reflect his attitude they are phenomenal and helpful in everything. I am sold for life! The only criticism is he can run late but its still worth it because I always leave there with something improving. I love that.
Dr. Roges is without a doubt the best FP doctor I could ask for. He was very concerned for me and was at my bedside everyday for a lengthy hospital stay. His aggressive treatment of my ilnness saved my life. He worked closely with my surgeon and monitored my status each day. He kept my family up to date through every step, explaining each treatment and process. I highly recommend Dr. Roges.
"There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.". Dr. Roges came into our family member's life just as all other doctors had given up hope. He has gone above and beyond his call of duty most times showing up at the hospital at late hours. He never ceases to amaze us. We will forever be in his debt.
Dr. Roges is an exceptionally truly unique and professional physician who has significantly made a positive difference in the management of my health issues. He has talents beyond that of superb physicians in his field of practice.
MODERN DAY HERO. Brilliant Diagnostician, razor sharp, compassionate, kind, professional. My life resembled the female lead in, "As Good As it gets," and knowing I have (finally) the unbiased care of a doctor who sits still as He listens to my cares, symptoms, and/or concerns is indeed a blessing. I'm hesitant to brag more as I like getting appointments. Just know when you see this doctor, your getting the full package of not only His support but also the caring support staff He retains. With humility, and no ego He will exceed your need. Seriously a diamond in California! Stanley,V
I remember the old days when your doctor was a personal friend and gave you advices that showed how much he really cared for your well being. Dr. Octaviano Rogas brings those days back into the present. This is one man that really cares for the good of his patience. He spends time to understand my problems and to make his diagnosis with personal attention. I thought those days are gone until I visited him for the first time and I knew I found my dream Physician. Not only his personality and expertise, but his assistant Myra is also a great person, and very caring. I feel lucky to have found Dr. Rogas. He makes himself available on a short notice, which is an endangered practice now-a-days with the HMO restrictions. Thank you very much Dr. Rogas. John Ghaly
I started seeing Dr. Roges 6 months ago and he is an amazing FP doctor. He really takes the time to get to know you as a patient and follows up on anything looking out of range on labs. Because he stayed on top of an out of normal value on a lab he was able to get a potentially serious situation quickly diagnosed and treated. He personally called the specialist to get me in right away and ultimately scheduled for surgery. He was right there once I was back in my room and continued to check up on me. He has a great network of specialist at AHRMC should more in-depth follow-up be needed. I changed from the St. Jude Heritage group because I felt my appointment were rushed, no follow-up and really little time taken to get to know me as a patient, basically lost in their machine. I couldn't be happier with my healthcare!
Dr.ROGES is very detail oriented and really pays attention to your heath concerns and questions...He has an honest friendly approach everytime you go to your appointments and he makes sure to call you by your first name...He makes you understand your Lab results in a very easy way...So far his service has been a very pleasant and satisfactory experience....His health assistance are as well very efficient and helpful...Waiting time has been on the dot...Highly recommended.
Dr. Octaviano A. Roges's Credentials
Facility Affiliations
Accepting New Patients
Other Specialties
Areas of Expertise
Awards & Recognitions
Publications & Research
Insurance accepted by this Doctor
Top Hospitals in Irvine, CA
Top Urgent Care Centers in Irvine, CA
Find a Doctor by Specialty
Featured News
You may also like
Top Family Doctors / G.P.s
#1 of 138
#2 of 138
#3 of 138
#4 of 138
#5 of 138


text:
TRACY — Police officers are seeking the public's help in trying to identify a getaway car and a suspect that shot a man and left him to die over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Tracy police officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 2700 block of Reyes Lane about 8:44 p.m. Nov. 24.
Officers found a 51-year-old man, who was transported to a hospital with serious injuries.
Tracy police Det. Timothy Bauer said the victim, whose name has not been released, is still hospitalized.
During the course of the investigation, officers located a security video from an unnamed location that captured the shooting.
A portion of the video, which was released Wednesday, shows the suspect vehicle — a two-door red sedan with a sunroof — stopped in the middle of Reyes Lane.
The video shows the car make a three-point turn and drive away from the scene after the shooting.
The shooter is described as a Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20's. He is about 5 feet 6 inches and roughly 130 pounds. He was last seen wearing dark colored clothing. Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspects, the location of the vehicle or about the incident is urged to call Det. Timothy Bauer at 209-831-6605, or leave an anonymous tip by texting TIPTPD and your message to 274637 or visit www.tipsubmit.com to submit a tip.
Contact Katie Nelson at 925-945-4780 or follow her at Twitter.com/katienelson210.