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ESPN Parts Ways With Eric Johnson Columbus Official Pitches Crew Stadium Curry Promotes Signature Shoe On NBC CBS Stations Pulled From Dish Salt Lake City, Calgary Condsier Games Bids Ticketmaster Extends With Orlando City Eagles Games To Remain On WIP-FM MasterCard Sponsors Online TPT Video Riot Games Awards 10 LoL Slots Auburn Appoints AD Search Committee
SBD/March 18, 2011/MediaPrint All
To The Fourth Power: NCAA Tourney Overnights Up 24% Over Last Year
The second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament averaged a 5.7 overnight Nielsen rating across CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV Thursday, marking the best overnight for the first Thursday of the event since '91, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day. The 5.7 overnight is also up 24% from a 4.6 rating for CBS' coverage last year. Each window Thursday saw year-over-year overnight ratings gains.THURSDAY
(CBS)% +/-12:00-4:15pm18.104.22.168%3:00-6:45pm5.13.545.7%7:00-9:45pm6.56.08.3%9:15pm-12:30am220.127.116.11%
TOP GAMES: CBS' telecast of BYU-Wofford at 7:00pm earned a 3.5 overnight, which led all NCAA games. truTV's top overnight was for the Wisconsin-Belmont game at 7:15pm, which earned a 0.9 overnight rating. The late window telecasts led TBS and TNT yesterday, with TBS' UCLA-Michigan State earning a 1.8 overnight, while TNT's Cincinnati-Missouri earned a 1.2 overnight (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).START (ET)
MATCHUPOVERNIGHTCBS12:00pm West Virginia-Clemson2.22:45pm Kentucky-Princeton2.57:00pm BYU-Wofford3.59:45pm Gonzaga-St. John's3.1truTV12:30pm Butler-Old Dominion0.63:15pm Pittsburgh-UNC Asheville0.57:15pm Wisconsin-Belmont0.910:00pm Kansas State-Utah State0.8TBS1:30pm Morehead State-Louisville0.94:15pm Richmond-Vanderbilt1.17:00pm Florida-UC Santa Barbara1.09:45pm UCLA-Michigan State1.8TNT2:00pm Temple-Penn State0.74:45pm San Diego State-Northern Colorado1.07:15pm UConn-Bucknell1.110:00pm Cincinnati-Missouri1.2
DIAPER DANDY: In Houston, David Barron writes things "couldn't have gone better for CBS and Turner on the first afternoon of their NCAA Tournament partnership." The spacing of games across the four networks "was sufficient that you could get by well enough with one TV and particularly well with a TV and a March Madness on Demand broadband connection." It appeared that the "only technical glitch" on the first full day of tournament coverage came during the opening games, when truTV "cut to about 30 seconds of 'Family Guy' on TBS during a commercial" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/18). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes, "The new normal in NCAA TV has arrived. And it's about time." CBS and Turner Sports aired each game nationally for the first time, "finally turning NCAA TV into regular TV, and the next step might be to create an NFL RedZone-like channel devoted to constantly switching viewers to the best action" (USA TODAY, 3/18). In St. Louis, Dan Caesar writes the "performance was smooth" on the opening day. The "strip across the top of the screen that lists the scores of other games in progress and what network they're on is helpful," and so is "having the logo of the network flash when a close game on another outlet is winding down." Caesar: "Another bonus was widespread coverage of late afternoon games, which didn't exist under the old system. ... So far, so good" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/18). But in California, John Maffei notes there "seemed to be a bit of a picture-quality issue from CBS to TNT, TBS and truTV." Maffei: "Could be the venues, could be the networks, but I noticed that CBS had a better-quality picture" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 3/18).
THE MORE, THE MERRIER: On Long Island, Neil Best writes, "By partnering with Turner and expanding the event to four channels from one, CBS eliminated what had been the most thankless job in sports television: Deciding when and where to send viewers during the frenzied early days of the tournament." CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said yesterday, "There is infinitely less pressure in doing this, absolutely." Announcers were instructed to "remind viewers of good games on other channels, and late in a close game, the logo of the relevant network began to flash on the live scoreboard." But there also was "some flexibility to show brief, late-game action from elsewhere." Best notes three of the four channels "showed Butler's buzzer-beating game-winner live" (NEWSDAY, 3/18). Freelance journalist Kyle Stack tweeted, "Announcers on CBS, TruTV doing a good job updating viewers on games occurring on other networks." But DirecTV's Andrew Siciliano tweeted, "Even with 4 networks, you still have to watch on the computer if you truly don't want to miss anything" (TWITTER.com, 3/17). In California, Jim Carlisle writes, "The beauty of this setup -- if there is beauty to be found -- is that every game is now shown nationally in its entirety" (VENTURA COUNTY STAR, 3/18). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes, "First day of the NCAA's on four networks? Fine. Make your own salad/buzzer beater. Instead of waiting for CBS to switch games, it was left to us to switch channels" (N.Y. POST, 3/18). In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley wrote under the header, "NCAA Tourney On TV Clicks Along Fine." The choice of which game to watch "now belongs to the viewer, and not to a CBS director or producer." At first view, the "top scoreboard, which had the same look on all four channels, seemed intrusive," but "after a while it seemed less so" (JSONLINE.com, 3/17). In Philadelphia, John Gonzalez writes the "TV suits are right" to say that "flipping to a cable channel -- or not having cable at all -- isn't that big a deal, since all the games are available online for free" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/18). In DC, Tracee Hamilton reviews the coverage under the header, "Four Channels, One Remote, A Bracket And One Tired Thumb" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/18).
Writer feels Barkley adds "much-needed edge"
to Turner's New York studio show
BREAKING DOWN THE ANALYSTS: USA TODAY's Hiestand writes Charles Barkley, "one of the Turner NBA announcers added to NCAA coverage, brought a much-needed edge to its New York studio show from the get-go." He said that it was "really unfair Clemson had a short turnaround from its Tuesday game to its tip at noon ET Thursday, it was a disgrace for Tennessee's athletics director to publicly question coach Bruce Pearl's job security on the tournament's eve, and the Big East was the most overrated league" (USA TODAY, 3/18). The NORTH COUNTY TIMES' Maffei writes while Barkley "can be a bit ridiculous at times, there is no question he's knowledgeable and entertaining" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 3/18). NEWSDAY's Best notes it "didn't take long for Barkley to be Barkley" on Thursday. McManus said of his performance, "I don't cringe; I listen carefully. I am prepared to perhaps cringe. But I haven't yet" (NEWSDAY, 3/18). The HOUSTON CHRONICLE's Barron writes for "all the pre-Tournament attention paid to Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith was the most effective analyst" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/18). In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom wrote, "Nothing's better than Barkley, but the truTV halftime with Matt Winer setting up Seth Davis, Steve Smith and Tom Crean was solid. Good insight, nice pace, like they'd done it before this week" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 3/17). But in N.Y., Peter Vecsey writes CBS and Turner Sports took Barkley and Kenny Smith "away from the environs where they ought to have a clue but don't and put them into one where they admittedly are oblivious" (N.Y. POST, 3/18). The N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Bob Raissman writes CBS and Turner "need Dick Vitale," who is "college hoops' most recognizable voice" but has never called an NCAA tournament game. Raissman: "The CBS/Turner broadcast partnership should not permanently exclude Vitale" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/18).
LOSING OUT? BROADCASTING & CABLE's Michael Malone noted with CBS splitting its coverage with truTV, TNT and TBS, "viewers in several markets are having trouble finding the games." CBS' affiliate in Cincinnati, WKRC, is scheduled to air "just one first-round game involving the four teams of local interest (Xavier, U. Cincinnati, Ohio State and Kentucky)." The network had received "around 100 calls by Wednesday afternoon, with a much larger flood expected closer to tip-off for the various games." WKRC VP & GM Les Vann: "Some viewers have never heard of the Turner networks and don't understand what happened." Malone noted GMs at several CBS affiliates are "disappointed that the new contract with Turner no longer allows the so-called 'home-school rule' to exist, denying stations access to their local games of interest" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 3/17). Broadcasting & Cable's Ben Grossman: "CBS affils are starting to hear it from viewers who can't find local team's games." San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami: "What took longer: Louisville to score a point vs. Moorehead St or me to find the channel it's on... winner: ME! (6:22 into the game. Wow.)" (TWITTER.com, 3/17).
GETTING TO THE TRUTH: truTV averaged a 0.8 U.S. rating and 1.142 million viewers for coverage of the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday night, according to Nielsen fast-national data. Wednesday night's doubleheader averaged a 0.7 U.S. rating and 1.014 million viewers, compared to a 0.8 rating and 1.268 million viewers for Tuesday night's doubleheader. The UTSA-Alabama State game in the early window on Wednesday finished with a 0.5 rating and 786,000 viewers from 6:30-9:06pm ET, while the late window featuring VCU-USC earned a 0.8 rating and 1.253 million viewers. By comparison, truTV averaged 1.195 million viewers last week for its block of programming on Tuesday and Wednesday night from 6:30pm-12:00am. The net's Wednesday night block during that window last week averaged 1.179 million viewers, which consisted of eight episodes of "Operation Repo" and one episode each of "Cops" and "TruTv Presents: World's Dumbest" (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
Turner's "MMOD" Feed Delivers On iPad, Has Its Hiccups On iPhone
Turner Sports added the iPad as a platform for the popular March Madness on Demand this year, delivering terrific picture quality for Thursday's early games and a bevy of fun features on the tablet device. The free iPad app downloaded and loaded without trouble, opening to the main screen highlighted by a center video console. The main page also features a scoreboard header, team and player statistics synched with the selected game and a handful of permanent on-screen advertisements. NCAA sponsors AT&T, Coca-Cola and Capital One have logo placement in the upper right corner of the screen, while a fourth rotating ad sits directly under the video. Buick and HP, among others, activated in that space. In addition to watching any game on the main page, viewers can switch to zoomed-in feed that eliminates all surrounding ads and game information, offering only the live video. The game coverage streamed well both in the smaller and larger video screens. As in past years with the MMOD computer feed, the video was behind the live TV feed (about 30 seconds on the iPad) and had a handful of hiccups when it needed to buffer. For the most part, however, CBS delivered a remarkably crisp, smooth picture on the iPad. The MMOD app does not offer the famous "Boss Button" on the iPad, but it does feature handy tie-ins to Facebook and Twitter. Users can click one button and type a post for either social media outlet, all while keeping the game video in the background. The messages posted to Twitter just as quickly as it would on the company's own website, and caused no noticeable delays in the iPad app. Meanwhile, the MMOD experience on the iPhone, greatly expanded this year from a more limited pay model last year to a free application, was very much a mixed bag in the tournament's early going. With solid, strong 3G or Wi-Fi connections, video flowed well and in near real-time. But anything less than an optimal connection quickly prompted video dropouts, lags in score updates and a general loss of fluidity within the app, not unlike a dynamic seen for other mobile distributions of live sports (Helfrich & Fisher, THE DAILY).
iWITNESS ACCOUNT: In Houston, David Barron writes, "March Madness on Demand worked smoothly for me on Comcast's broadband network, although I'm not crazy about the fact that the screen goes dark during commercials and you can't mute the sound or change to another game. The MMOD mobile application took forever to load on the iPhone but worked well (albeit 40 seconds behind the TV picture) once it loaded" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/18). CNET.com's Rick Broida noted the MMOD app works for iPads, iPods and iPhones and wrote, "If you like college basketball, you need this app, plain and simple. It's free, and it's fantastic" (CNET.com, 3/17). On Twitter, Sports media blogger Ken Fang wrote, "I love the March Madness on Demand app giving me alerts when a game is close. On the web, 'Crunch Time' is under the score of a close game." But GMR Marketing Dir of Sports Strategy Jonathan Norman wrote, "Not liking how @MarchMadness On Demand video lags behind scoreboard at top of app. Score tells final outcome before video. Fail" (TWITTER.com, 3/17).
Final Nielsen Ratings: CBS' Selection Show Down From '10; NBC Up For WGC At Doral
CBS' NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Selection Show led all sports telecasts last week with a 4.0 final Nielsen rating. That figure is down slightly from a 4.1 rating last year. CBS ended up with ratings gains for coverage of the men's conference championships last weekend. The net saw increases for the Big Ten Championship (+8.7%), Pac-10 Championship (+30.8%) and Atlantic 10 Championship (+33.3%). The net's coverage of the Conference USA Championship was flat. ABC's coverage of the SEC Championship saw a ratings drop of 30.8%. NBC saw year-over-year ratings gains for the WGC-Cadillac Championship on both Sunday (+21.1%) and Saturday (+7.7%), while the Blackhawks-Capitals telecast was flat compared to the same matchup on the same weekend last year. ABC was down for its NBA telecast last Sunday, which featured Magic-Suns. Ratings for the game were down 41.7% from the comparable Celtics-Cavaliers game last year. The charts below list final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts. Figures for Fox were not available at presstime (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
TELECASTDATENETTIME (ET)RAT.VIEWERS (000) NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
Selection Show3/13CBS6:00-7:00pm4.0n/a
NCAA Basketball: Big Ten
Championship: Ohio State-Penn State3/13CBS3:24-5:22pm2.53,735
WGC-Cadillac Championship:
Final Round3/13NBC3:05-7:00pm2.33,316
NCAA Basketball: SEC Championship:
NCAA Basketball: Pac-10
Championship: Washington-Arizona3/12CBS6:09-8:39pm1.72,572
NCAA Basketball: Big Ten Semifinal:
Penn State-Michigan State3/12CBS4:06-6:09pm1.62,536
NCAA Basketball: Big Ten Semifinal:
Ohio State-Michigan3/12CBS1:47-3:43pm1.72,505
NBA: Magic-Suns3/13ABC3:26-6:02pm1.42,101 WGC-Cadillac Championship:
Third Round3/12NBC2:00-6:00pm1.42,025
"NBA Countdown"3/13ABC3:06-3:26pm1.4n/a NCAA Basketball: SEC Semifinal:
NCAA Basketball: SEC Semifinal:
NHL: Blackhawks-Capitals3/13NBC12:30-3:05pm0.81,241 NCAA Basketball: Atlantic-10
Championship: Richmond-Dayton3/13CBS1:00-3:10pm0.81,180
NCAA Basketball: Conference USA Championship: Memphis-UTEP3/12CBS11:30am-1:47pm0.81,139 "Road to the Final Four"3/13CBS12:00-1:00pm0.8n/a Sprint U.S. Snowboard GP (taped)3/12NBC1:00-2:00pm0.5669 TELECASTDATENETTIME (ET)RAT.VIEWERS (000) NBA: Lakers-Heat3/10TNT7:15-9:51pm3.14,844 NCAA Basketball: Big East
Championship: UConn-Louisville3/12ESPN9:00-11:18pm2.03,291
"Fab Five"3/13ESPN9:00-11:00pm1.82,746 NBA: Knicks-Mavericks3/10TNT9:51pm-12:25am1.62,429 NCAA Basketball: Big 12
Championship: Kansas-Texas3/12ESPN6:12-8:17pm1.52,351
"College Gamenight: Bracketology"3/13ESPN7:00-9:00pm1.62,340 NCAA Basketball: Big East Semifinal:
NCAA Basketball: Big East Semifinal:
Louisville-Notre Dame3/11ESPN9:44pm-12:09am1.32,238
NCAA Basketball: ACC
Championship: Duke-North Carolina3/13ESPN1:00-3:05pm1.42,076
"College GameDay"3/12ESPN8:17-9:00pm1.21,768
HITTING THE GREEN: Golf Channel's first and second round coverage of the WGC-Cadillac Championship last Thursday and Friday averaged 1.07 million viewers for combined live and replay coverage, marking the best audience for the event's early rounds since '02, when coverage aired on USA Network (Golf Channel). Golf Channel's Erik Kuselias said TV "ratings have been unprecedentedly good so far through the first two months of the golf season," and the main reason is "they decided to go to sexier pairings or groupings" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 3/18).
NOTES: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic averaged a 2.18 local rating in the DC market for last Friday's Hurricanes-Capitals game, marking "the 15th time the Caps have hit at least 2.0 this season" through 59 broadcasts. Last season, the Capitals earned at least a 2.0 local rating "14 times in their 76 CSN broadcasts." Two seasons ago, the team's local ratings "didn't hit the 2.0 ratings mark until the playoffs" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/14)….TNT's Lakers-Heat game last Thursday earned a 3.1 U.S. rating and 4.844 million viewers, marking the third most-watched NBA game on cable this season. Through 44 telecasts, the NBA on TNT is averaging a 1.6 rating and 2.446 million viewers, up 31% and 35%, respectively, from a 1.2 rating and 1.814 million viewers at the same point last season (Turner Sports).
Media Notes
The N.Y. POST's Page Six wonders if ABC's Robin Roberts agreed "not to throw hardball questions at Tiger Woods" during an interview on "Good Morning America" Thursday. NBC's Jimmy Fallon "mercilessly ripped into" Woods on "Late Night" Wednesday night, but Roberts "handled Woods with kid gloves." However, an ABC official said, "There were no ground rules. We set out to talk to Tiger about where he is currently in his life, and topics we felt our audience was curious about -- from his golf game to his family life and being a divorced dad to his new golf game" (N.Y. POST, 3/18). Meanwhile, in N.Y., Phil Mushnick notes after Woods "shot 66 but finished eight behind winner Nick Watney" during the final round of last weekend's WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, NBC's Roger Maltbie said to Woods, "Thank you for playing well today. That always makes these things more fun and easier to do." Mushnick: "Ugh" (N.Y. POST, 3/18).
EYEING NFL DEAL: National CineMedia Chair & CEO Kurt Hall, whose company "sells in-theater advertising and distributes pre-show programming and live events," Thursday at the Gabelli & Co. Movie & Entertainment Conference indicated that he "would love to do" a deal with the NFL. Hall said that his company "can have 'more meaningful' conversations with big names like the NFL, but he didn't provide a possible time line." Hall "cited success with last year's offer of soccer World Cup games." He also "predicted it will take viewing without 3D glasses to make 3D TV take off, and that could be five to 10 years away" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 3/17).
WE'RE GOING STREAMING: DIGITALSPY.com's Andrew Laughlin reports ESPN "has announced the launch of a new live streaming service providing post-match coverage of football matches in England and Scotland." The service, called ESPN Extra Time, "will immediately follow TV coverage of all ESPN's live matches from the Premier League, FA Cup and Scottish Premier League" (DIGITALSPY.com, 3/18).


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East Bay Open Studios 2013
Posted by: Janaka Ruiz
East Bay Open Studios 2013
Artists in the East of the Bay Area in California open their studios to the public during the first two weekends of June, 2013. In my case, my art work will be on display on June 8-9.
East Bay Open Studios is produced by Pro Arts, an Oakland-based nonprofit that supports the arts within communities by serving the ongoing needs of artists. Open Studios connects the public with over 400 regional artists and is accompanied by the Directory of East Bay Arts.
More information and online gallery at http://www.proartsgallery.org.

subset: commoncrawl


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General Question
Why would I owe taxes?
Asked by haleyray07 (225) January 31st, 2013
Total Income this year was around $29,000.00. I am single and claiming only myself. Not married, not a homeowner, no children, ect. Federal Tax withheld for 2012 was around $1,800.00. When I do the Turbotax Federal it is saying I owe around $500.00. In the past, at this same job and same income I have gotten money back…is there a reason why this would change?
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Stephens Plaza Halloween Celebration
Trick-or-Treating at Stephens Plaza
Additional Information
Come join us for our Halloween Celebration here at Stephens Plaza, located on the corner of Cache and Sheridan Road. On Thurs. 10/31/2013, each store located at Stephens Plaza will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters from 4-6pm. These stores include Pro-Cuts, Lawton Gold Exchange, American Ear, Express Personnel, Checkmate Loans, Chianti Wine Bar, and WingStop. For more information, contact Joshua Chafton PR:Checkmate loans at 580-355-1201.


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Man jailed for gun purchase tied to border agent's deathFernanda Santos
Published: December 14 2012 - 3:00AM
PHOENIX, Arizona: A man who bought two weapons found at the scene of a US Border Patrol agent's killing, and subsequently linked to the botched gun-trafficking operation known as Fast and Furious, has been sentenced to 57 months jail, closing another chapter in a case that ignited a political firestorm in the US Justice Department.
Jaime Avila bought 52 guns over several months, including powerful assault and sniper rifles, which Judge James Teilborg of the US District Court called ''weapons of war''.
As many as 2000 guns were bought by straw buyers like Avila between 2009 and 2011 - in cash from licensed merchants in and around Phoenix and under the watchful eyes of agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The agents were supposed to keep track of the weapons, part of a plan to stem the flow of illegal guns into Mexico. Instead, the weapons vanished into the hands of drug gangs.
In court, Avila's lawyer, Candice Shoemaker, pleaded for leniency, saying her client's drug habit was ''controlling his decisions'' when he signed up to buy the weapons, for which he was paid $50 apiece.
Brian Terry, from Border Patrol, was killed in December 2010 not far from the Mexican border, in the southern Arizona desert, 11 months after Avila had bought the rifles. Two of the rifles were found at the scene, although investigators have not disclosed if the bullets that killed Mr Terry were fired by them.
Making his case for the maximum sentence allowed under US federal guidelines - 63 months - Mr Terry's cousin Robert Heyer told Judge Teilborg ''you have the ability to send a message to anyone who is thinking about becoming a straw buyer for weapons'' and to tell the Terry family that ''justice has been served''.
Avila will serve three years of probation upon his release.
The New York Times
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/man-jailed-for-gun-purchase-tied-to-border-agents-death-20121213-2bcgp.html


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Parliament Hill,
Ottawa, Canada
November 6, 2006
Constitutional litigation is in everyone's interest. No one group owns the constitution and no one set of aspirations controls how the constitution will change and develop as it is interpreted over time. In an open-society the capacity for self evaluation and criticism is a good thing. In that respect, having a system that permits evaluation of laws against a constitution is to a certain extent healthy. Similarly, providing financial assistance to those who cannot afford litigation, if done fairly and appropriately, can also, with some important caveats, be a good thing as well.
I am not concerned, today, to praise the CCP as it was or to bury it. There can be no doubt whatsoever that the CCP did important and formative work in Canada for many years and significantly achieved its outcomes of influence through constitutional litigation. It had advisors of the highest ability and strategists of considerable brilliance. Its track record speaks for itself.
Perhaps we now have an opportunity to rethink what sort of programs will serve the country best going forward: programs will come and programs will go. What is buried as a "dead duck" can sometimes rather quickly, show the characteristics of a Phoenix. The effects of the program cut leads to considerations well beyond the footprint of the previous program.
Those who wish continuance of the prior program form one of the most powerful lobbies in Canada today. So I would like to offer some principles which, it seems to me, ought to concern us all and be applied to considerations should such a program of financial assistance for constitutional litigation be considered again in Canada. First, I would like to raise a concern about such methods of governmental constitutional litigation support generally and, second, set out some principles that might be useful to consider should programs of constitutional financial assistance be considered again in the future.
PART 1: Why we should be concerned about governmentally supported constitutional litigation and why we should be careful how such support is set up and who will decide on applications.
It is often said in Canada that the relationship between the courts and the legislature is a "dialogue." If that is true then it is also true that, in a further sense, the debates within cases themselves are part of that dialogue. There is a dialogue and a debate about the nature of the constitution carried on within each case and then between cases over time. Society itself and the law that is part of it are dialogical. It changes over time, in part due to the debates and discussions and self-understandings that are part and parcel of our common lives together.
Thus, in cases on any particular theme, there are, as strategists well know, developments and a good strategist chooses cases carefully with a view to obtaining the desired outcome over time. Because the results affect everyone it is essential that the greatest access possible be given to citizens.
The Repatriated Constitution of 1982 and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that forms a part of that constitution is no longer in its infancy. It is now, if we assume its birth in 1982, 25 years old. But it is, in fact, considerably older than that because, as scholars of the constitution know it is based much earlier and those principles, were not buried in order that the constitution of 1982 could live, but were incorporated in a very real way to provide the body within which such things as the Charter of Rights functions.
Interpretation of the Charter, now over two decades of it, has accomplished a great deal. Interpretation is an ongoing reality and our constitution is, as we are told frequently, a "living tree." It is useful to recall that trees are not usually found alone, they are not the only growing things and, second, they are dependant upon a soil that will nurture them. That garden, too, is a living reality. Threaten the soil and you threaten the tree itself. Constitutional documents are words on paper unless the living reality of the community breathes life into them in its day to day being.
It needs to be clearly understood that Canada is not the Charter of Rights and the Charter of Rights is not Canada. This is important to understand because there are those, in fact quite a few, who seem to speak as if Canada will be developed, furthered and based "on the Charter" which is shorthand for saying "by the judiciary" or within that "dialogue" between legislature and the courts. We must remember, however, that there are other equally important dialogues at work. One of these is the dialogue within cases themselves, the very debate of principles that is located within each piece of litigation. This dialogue needs to be as well developed as possible in order for the best arguments to be formulated for the benefit of courts or legislatures and, ultimately, the constitution itself.
This wider perspective has long been recognized as important in a constitutional assistance project. Recall that the Court Challenges Program funded not only litigation but conferences and even discussion between government officials and members of activist organizations on a particular theme1 and in recent Reports suggested that it should be extended to the provinces as well.2 In such an environment it is important that this be done openly and fairly and not just from one perspective.
Any method of governmental assistance for constitutional litigation needs to be aware of the problem of rights' disputes in terms of society itself3 and the fact that ALL citizens should be encouraged to be part of the dialogue that is constitutional litigation. If we assume that courts are not merely necessary but are sufficient for the maintenance of a constitution we assume too much about the role of law. That is the central point of my comments today.
For any program of constitutional litigation assistance to be just it must be open to everyone not just to those challenging laws but to those defending them or arguing against a particular sort of challenge (where there is no "law" as such in the area—which was the situation in the "same-sex marriage" cases). If constitutional litigation is going to effect everyone then those who may need assistance in relation to that litigation do not all come neatly labelled as "challengers" and therefore any program seeking to develop constitutional interpretation must do so on a neutral basis and not only assist one side of the arguments.
What is constitutional is not just what is new and challenging; it can also be what the parliament and legislatures, federal and provincial, may have brought into place already.
In addition to this we must realize, as well, that litigation is not the best strategy for a state to use as a method for nation building or the creation of communities of respect. There are serious drawbacks to litigation.
As Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor has noted:
Judicial decisions are usually winner-take-all; either you win or you lose. In particular judicial decisions about rights tend to be conceived as all-or-nothing matters . . . The penchant to settle things judicially, further polarized by rival special-interest campaigns, effectively cuts down the possibilities of compromise.4
When litigation is being used this way, however, because we are encouraging it to be so used, it would make sense to ask what kind of equality is being pursued. Is the outcome, for example, based upon an assumed "rights as trumps" model or the establishment of a genuine diversity respect around a modus vivendi.5
Any program suggesting that the courts are the best or only place to develop constitutional principles confuses the ability to do so with the appropriateness of doing so. It is true that the ultimate word of interpretation is the courts, but that is not to say that it is the only or best place to raise matters of interpretation and debate in relation to already established or currently wished for alternatives.
In other words, we need to consider that recourse to courts should be a last resort not a first one. To view "court challenges" as the best, only or most appropriate means of developing principles to "change society" asks too much of the litigation process due to the limitations of that process to which I have already referred.
It invites us to view law as a means of social re-structuring and will inevitably (as we have seen) provide a temptation to use law inappropriately to achieve legal outcomes of a particular kind not outcomes argued for in the give and take of democratic debate and social consensus. While laws can, and often are, remedial (a principle of interpretation has it, in fact, that all statutes are assumed to be remedial and must be interpreted in a generous and liberal manner so as to further their purposes), it is quite another thing to view constitutional litigation itself as the means of achieving social change rather than just the protection against inappropriate state action. Why is this?
Litigation is not suited for balancing interests. In the courtroom are those who can afford to be there or those who are being severely negatively affected by the costs of the litigation, nowhere more so than on large-scale constitutional cases. Many times cases before the court fail to include those, who while they may have an interest in the area, cannot afford to be part of the discussion. To that extent, governmental assistance for constitutional litigation could be a good and necessary thing, if done fairly and with the national interest in mind, so that everything it does is done in a fair, transparent and time-appropriate manner.
Providing access to a privileged fund for litigation to those who fit a politically driven conception of disadvantage and the necessary outcomes may sound fair, but it is not, when a framework of litigation itself end runs the possibilities of debate and balancing that can occur better elsewhere. In short, it does not assist those with a perfectly acceptable "traditional" view of a matter whether it is abortion, same-sex marriage or the funding of public education; it only assists those who oppose them.
With invitations to use the courts precisely to change society in a pre-ordained direction, or, as it is put in the newspeak "advance equality seeking groups" the focus of social change and development is liable to be judicial, not legislative and one-sided instead of inclusive. There are many reasons this is unwise in a democracy.
For one thing, funding one-sided litigation is no way to frame a society because litigation is a big game of "king of the castle." Each case offers one side a win and the other side a loss. This is not good for society to rely upon. There are often, as in many current debates for example, a variety of views that should be tolerated in society even though they are in stark disagreement. Should the court give in to one side of these debates it tends to put pressure on the other side to shut up and leave civil society to the victors. The results of such a strategy over time are hardly a recipe for justice, long-term civil peace or negotiated achievements—the kinds of "possibilities of compromise" already referred to.
There are good reasons why law should be understood to have its own limited jurisdiction. One is that many of the things that must inform the law (politics, philosophy and theology to name three) are outside it. As Chief Justice McLachlin observed in her Cooke lecture:
Canadians have embraced their constitution as a means to achieve justice; they have not yet established a consensus on where that justice comes from and on what it is based.6
Clearly the search for such a "base" will not be found entirely within the law itself but will involve the contributions of other disciplines—a further reason for the kind of comprehensive approach already recognized as important by the former CCP. This proposal would simply see such comprehensiveness broadly based rather than narrow but comprehensively driven (as with the CCP approach).
In a widely known passage, Chief Justice Dickson in Canada's first case dealing with Sunday closing legislation, speaking for the Court, stated that it was important to recall that "the Charter was not enacted in a vacuum, and must therefore...be placed in its proper linguistic, philosophic and historical contexts."7
In Egan v. Canada, the first Supreme Court of Canada Charter case to deal with whether a same-sex relationship should be considered a spousal relationship, Justice La Forest added "religious traditions" as a category to be taken into account as an aspect of the ground or basis of our legal tradition.8
How are we to best do this task of placing the Charter in its proper linguistic, philosophical, historical and religious traditions if we do not do it with maximal inputs from the people and groups who can best tell us what these are? In one of the Recommendations, below, I argue that litigation is not the best way to accomplish the kinds of reflection most suited to the effective judicial decisions.
Some will argue that taking the approach I am advocating, placing less emphasis on litigation, would not lead to the results we have seen through the courts in the first two decades of assisted litigation. They may point to such developments as equality jurisprudence or same-sex advancement as two examples where strategic litigation with a particular purpose in mind was successful. That may be so. On the other hand, Canada's current position in relation to both issues is hardly a sterling example of the creation of civic confidence.
Debate and analysis in relation to both subjects (equality and the scope and nature of sexual orientation protection and advancement) still exist and in relation to same-sex marriage might erupt sooner rather than later again. We would have had a more measured, nuanced and richer understanding of the necessary limits to various claims (on all sides of the issues) once we sat down at the table and debated things without recourse to the guillotine of litigation in the way that happened in Canada.
Canadians have not yet had any proper discussion about whether marriage is properly a matter for the state once the conditions of agreement about what marriage is no longer command general support. The state got into marriage very late in history after all. Yet the manner in which same-sex marriage challenges were pushed in the courts with careful strategy that skirted around the edges of marriage then dove into the heart of it did not leave room for a proper analysis of marriage in relation to the state. A big part of that failure of analysis was precisely the way in which litigation with its "winner take all" prize provided a goal for litigants.
Yes, constitutional rights are important and the courts have a necessary role in defending them, particularly when the state is acting against individuals or groups: but it is a necessary role the courts' have, not a sufficient one.
When recourse to law is used as a foreclosure on debate we see what happens to democracy when debate and analysis (best suited to Parliamentary and Legislative Committees and more flexible formats than courtrooms) are truncated by premature recourse to judicial determination.
It is well known that hearings by the Justice Committee of the day were simply cancelled once the government of the time, with no caucus discussion, no discussion in the House, in short, none of the usual opportunities for analysis and discussion, simply skipped the matter to the Supreme Court in the Marriage Reference.9
That was not our finest hour and our analysis of the optimum relationship between the irreconcilable views of citizens and the state with respect to same-sex marriage has suffered as a result. We have only seen the beginning of the disputes that will erupt in such areas as public education curriculum.
PART II: Recommended Principles That Should Apply to Any Government Initiatives to Assist Constitutional Litigation.
The items that follow are not intended to provide an exhaustive list of key principles but only some of the more important ones. Specifics will have to be worked out through discussion with stake-holder groups should it be deemed advisable to establish a constitutional litigation assistance program in the future. It is important to note that the focus of these recommendations is not litigation only or even primarily but as an adjunct to a more widely consultative and representative process than has existed in the past.
1) Assistance should seek to best elucidate the merits of both challenges and defence to laws since constitutional merit does not belong only to challenges:
Any program should not operate to assist only those challenging laws since there is or should be no principle of constitutional equity, express or implied, which states that "challengers are always right" or "defenders of the laws are always wrong." To give financial support only to "challenges" biases any support program against existing laws and those who support them—some of whom are, themselves, disadvantaged minorities.
Any litigation assistance program must operate, therefore, in terms of advancing the best arguments to assist the court to frame the issues before it, not to pursue a favoured outcome by one side of the argument. That has been a cardinal error in how the former program was set up from its inception; one glance at the title will make that clear.
2) So that all citizen groups may have confidence in its fairness any Constitutional Assistance Program should be set up with representative fairness:
Transparency and fairness apply not only to the Reporting requirements and accountability of any program giving out government monies, but also to the question of who staffs such a program and who decides about applications. As far as practicable it would seem to make sense to involve those from a variety of different groups themselves (we know from the history of litigation in this country over the last many years who these groups are) as part of a Board of Advisors or Members making decisions. This Board would have full access to all materials and would make up its own Report for the assistance of the government and the public. Currently there is a widely shared perception that the former program represented a narrow ideological band of Members leaving many groups "out in the cold." Annual Reports, for example, did not give a list of all the cases in which assistance was given by the program but only a "selection" of such cases: this is unacceptable.
3) Once the courts have granted Intervener Status to groups in a constitutional litigation, funding assistance to a certain level should flow to all sides of the litigation subject, perhaps, only to a "mean's test" principle:
This could be done on a demonstrated needs basis for individuals or for charitable or not for profit organizations. The elucidation, by the courts, of the application of the constitution affects everyone and it is unfair that only one side of the arguments are supported by the tax monies of all citizens. Once a judge has determined that particular bodies have an interest and valid representative status in a constitutional litigation it should follow that recourse to financial assistance is possible. This is not the place to spell out what rules would apply only that some rules are necessary to ensure fairness and the feasibility of such an assistance program should any be put in place again in the future.
4) There is a need to clarify the role of litigation participation/education and advocacy in relation to charitable status.
The history of certain groups10 in relation to the Canada Revenue Agency and generalized concerns expressed by many others, suggests that clear administrative statements showing why some groups are entitled to active legal and political involvement under the rubric of "education" while others are denied it, is in order.
Perhaps it is time to recognize frankly that legal intervention and advocacy necessarily have a political dimension and we should be careful that a political dimension to a group's work not be used to deny recognition or access to funding to those who might well have important contributions to make to debates of the day.
Given that constitutional matters require inputs from philosophy, political theory and theology/ religious studies, it is time to re-evaluate a restriction on the very groups whose participation might well assist constitutional reflection.
5) Instead of focusing governmental monies federally or provincially primarily on "court challenges," for some consider establishing a Constitutional Forum for stakeholders that will benefit all Canadians:
The establishment of a Constitutional Forum to foster discussion and debate from representative organizations will go a long way to encourage genuine dialogue and ameliorate a spirit of "sectarianism" between groups of differing perspectives on issues of the day. In line with what has been proposed above, such a body, if it is seen to have a role in a reinvigorated place for constitutional "dialogue," might well come to be seen as important to politicians and the judiciary for the analysis so often missing in the vast areas of non-discussion that end up seeking the "winner take all" results of court-based processes. Use of such a forum could, in fact, be incorporated into a litigation assistance program as a requirement prior to financial support being given. This would go a long way to restore confidence in the representative nature of any assistance program and the rigour of its analysis.
A constitutional forum of this sort would be innovative, creative and progressive in Canada. It would build upon and advance what has gone before while correcting the errors that became manifest in the Court Challenges Program.
Iain T. Benson
Barrister & Solicitor
Executive Director
Centre for Cultural Renewal
Ottawa, Canada
November 6, 2006
1 In its Report for the years 2000—2001 the CCP funded negotiations described as follows: 3.3 Negotiations EGALE—definition of spouse in federal legislation (Bill C-23)—This group undertook negotiations with the Federal Government concerning proposed changes meant to bring Federal laws dealing with relationship issues into conformity with the Charter. The Federal government's Bill C-23 amended the opposite-sex definition of spouse in 68 pieces of federal legislation to include "common-law partnerships" of either heterosexual or same-sex partners. The full Report may be found at: http://www.ccppcj.ca/documents/annrep0001.html
. . . the importance of the Court Challenges Program (Program) cannot be overstated. Comprehensive strategies, which include social mobilization, academic analysis and commentary and strategic litigation, need to be developed in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. Now, more than ever, the expansion of the Program's mandate to include challenges to provincial legislation has become urgent for our members.
[M]arriage has from time immemorial been firmly grounded in our legal tradition, one that is itself a reflection of long-standing philosophical and religious traditions. But its ultimate raison d'être transcends all of these and is firmly anchored in the biological and social realities that heterosexual couples have the unique ability to procreate....In this sense, marriage is by nature heterosexual. It would be possible to legally define marriage to include homosexual couples, but this would not change the biological and social realities that underlie the traditional marriage.


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- Doctors
- Pennsylvania
- Morrisville
- Cardiologists
- Dr. Philip W. Deibert
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Ratings for Dr. Philip W. Deibert
I first met Dr. Deibert while hospitalized in Jan, 2009. His calming demeanor, knowledge and care meant more than he'll ever understand to my family and for which I will forever be grateful. Since my release, I have been seeing him and he is truly head and shoulders above his peers. How he goes about caring for patients, spending time to talk to them and keep them abreast of the latest innovations for patient care is tremendous. He has a great staff and my only wish is that there were more physicians like Dr. Deibert out there. He is a remarkable person and fantastic physician. Thank you, Dr. Deibert!!!
Dr. Deibert is all that and a bag of chips He has helped save not only my life but the lives of my friends and family. I know a good doc when I see one, after all I am a doctor. The only constructive comment I can make is the staff is over worked and could use some help answering phones etc. On a scale from 1-10. Dr Deibert is an 11.
Dr. D. is the best doctor I've ever had. He's knowledgeable, stays on top of new techniques and developments and is very calming in a crisis. Staff is friendly, skilled, and welcoming. He makes patients feel secure and safe, but is honest and forthright, even if the news is not always good. A genuinely caring person who actually takes TIME with each patient.
Dr. Deibert is the best diagnostician I have ever encountered. He in at the forefront of medical techniques, is thorough and truly cares about his patients. He is so good, in fact, that I fly 1,000 miles on a regular basis to see him as my physician. I know people in Florida who used to do the same.
Dr. Philip W. Deibert's Credentials
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Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton has renewed his contract with WKTU. Hamilton is afternoon co-host on the Clear Channel Rhythmic Adult Contempory. He does the shift with comedian "Goumba" Johnny.
Hamiton has been with WKTU since 1996. The Hollywood and Goumba Show, originally on nights, was promoted to afternoon drive in 2006.
The DJ also hosts the United Stations' Weekend 30 Countdown and The Remix Top 30.


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See what the press are saying about Hollywood Hotel
Media Requests
Hollywood Hotel – The Hotel of Hollywood® has appeared in films, commercials, TV shows, news stories, magazines and newspaper articles.
Media Kit
Hollywood Hotel Fact Sheet
Hollywood Hotel Fact Sheet.pdf
Hollywood Hotel Renovation Release
Hollywood Hotel Renovation Release.pdf
Mandy Rassuli Release
Mandy Rassuli Release.pdf
HH 1160 Bar and Lounge Fact sheet
HH 1160 Bar and Lounge Fact sheet.pdf
Hollywood Hotel Destination Release
Hollywood Hotel Destination Release.pdf
About Hollywood Hotel – The Hotel of Hollywood®
The original Hollywood Hotel was established in 1903 on Hollywood Boulevard, owned by H.J. Whitley, the tycoon credited with establishing Hollywood. It was known as "the" Hollywood hotel as the city began to grow with the advent of the silent film era. Rudolph Valentino, who lived in room 264; met and married his first wife, Jean Acker, there, and spent their honeymoon in his room. In 1964 Hollywood Hotel, was reestablished on Vermont Avenue and since then has become an icon in its own right. International athletes and dignitaries have stayed, to American celebrities such as Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Aidan Quinn, Jessica Biel, to John Krasinski and BJ Novak and Jason Rittter, all of whom have attended or performed at the hotel's comedy club open mic nights.
The 130-room Hollywood Hotel is "where all the action begins in Hollywood." Located in the center of the entertainment capital, the vibe of this intimate hotel is a comfortable, cosmopolitan meets vintage Hollywood glamour and steps away from shopping, world-class dining and cutting edge culture.
Hollywood Hotel is one of the most reasonably priced hotels in the city and offers incredible value in a central location. Guests start their day with a complimentary hot International Breakfast Buffet and can later bask by the pool surrounded by gardens, and sip a cocktail in the stylish outdoor bar and lounge after a day of sightseeing or shopping. For more information or reservations contact 1-800-800-9733; 323-315-1800, or visit hollywoodhotel.net or on Facebook. The hotel is located at 1160 Vermont Ave., Hollywood, CA 90029
Hollywood Hotel receives numerous media requests each year and the Marketing department personnel welcome media inquiries and will review and accommodate reasonable requests.
If you are working on a film or commercial shoot and need assistance please call Mandy Rassuli sales and catering director at: 1-310-701-8828 or email firstname.lastname@example.com
If you are interested in writing an article and are on assignment to visit and stay at Hollywood Hotel, please download and fill out this Media Questionnaire.
Email completed questionnaire to email@example.com
We will review the questionnaire and contact you to discuss the assignment.
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Hollywood Hotel – The Hotel of Hollywood ® is a registered trademark of Chateau Celeste Inc., a California corporation, and is used under authorized license to Zarco Hotels Inc., a California corporation. All rights reserved worldwide.


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Snag a a Free Feline Fresh Liter . Just Print and mail in rebate form for a full rebate. The rebate is good towards one new purchase of the #7 bag of Original Feline Fresh or #6 bag of Scoopable Feline Fresh. One rebate per customer. Go HERE to download rebate.
Thanks, Frugal Living and Having FunFollow Us On: Mojo's Facebook , Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest and catch all our deals!


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Not All Princesses Dress in Pink
Some play in bright red socks that stink,
blue team jerseys that don't quite fit,
accessorized with a baseball mitt,
and a sparkly crown!
Princesses come in all kinds. Exuberant text from Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Yolen Stemple paired with charming illustrations prove that girls can jump in mud puddles and climb trees, play sports and make messes—all while wearing their tiaras! Not every girl has a passion for pink, but all young ladies will love this empowering affirmation of their importance and unlimited potential.
- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
- 32 pages |
- June 2010 |
- Grades P - 3 |
- Lexile ® AD610L
Reading Group Guide
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink
By Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin
Discussion Questions
1. Reading the title Not All Princesses Dress in Pink reveals information to the reader, even before the book is read! How do you know from the title that this book is not a traditional story about princesses? What visual clues on the cover of the book confirm this fact?
2. Talk about other princess-themed books you've read at home and in the classroom. How is this book similar, yet very different?
3. What does it mean to be a "princess"? Can a girl be a princess sometimes, but not all the time? Is it OK to be a girl and not want to be a princess? Why or why not?
4. Why does each princess keep a sparkly crown on her head throughout the story, even when she is doing something decidedly un-princess like?
5. Talk about "traditional girl" and "traditional boy" roles and views in our society. How does this book go against those traditional thoughts?
6. Not All Princesses Dress in Pink proves that girls can freely pursue many different interests – in fact, they can do anything they set their mind to doing. If you are a girl, how is this true in your life?
7. This book sends a strong message that everyone should be true to themselves. What does this mean? And see more


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Details On Why Lake Country Power Customers Will Vote On Rate Change [Video]
Lake Country Power
Lake Country Power members will have three choices when they vote for a new rate structure in a special referendum this fall.
Many public meetings have already been held to explain the rate changes, but the education will continue until the day to vote. I hope this helps!


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Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC
Fourth Revised Volume No. 1
Contents / Previous / Next / Main Tariff Index
Effective Date: 11/29/2009, Docket: RP09-558-000, Status: Effective
First Revised Sheet No. 277 First Revised Sheet No. 277
Superseding: Original Sheet No. 277
Firm Transportation Notice Service
2. APPLICABILITY AND CHARACTER OF SERVICE (Continued)
2.5 In any zone for which Buyer pays a reservation charge to Seller under this Rate
Schedule, Buyer shall have access, on a secondary basis, to:
(a) receipt points within that zone which are (i) located on Seller's mainline system
upstream of Station 85, (ii) located on Seller's Mobile Bay Lateral, or (iii)
downstream of Station 85 but not located within Buyer's firm contract path, as
defined by those receipt and delivery points specifically identified in Buyer's
FTN Service Agreement; provided however, Buyer shall not have access on a
secondary basis to receipt points located on any of Seller's delivery laterals as
enumerated in Section 21.2 of the General Terms and Conditions; and
(b) delivery points within that zone; provided however, Buyer shall not have access on
a secondary basis to delivery points located on any of Seller's delivery laterals
as enumerated in Section 21.2 of the General Terms and Conditions.
The quantities to be received or delivered on a secondary basis will be those
quantities in excess of Buyer's firm capacity entitlement at the respective point of
receipt or delivery, and shall not exceed Buyer's total firm capacity entitlement for
the zone in which the point of receipt or delivery is located. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in the foregoing, the sum of all quantities that can be
nominated in any segment in a zone by Buyer and by any and all Replacement Shippers
that derive a firm capacity entitlement in that zone from Buyer shall be limited to
Buyer's original firm capacity entitlement under this Rate Schedule FTN in that
segment of the zone. If the sum of all the nominated quantities exceed Buyer's
original firm capacity entitlement under this Rate Schedule FTN in that segment of the
zone, the nominations using capacity on a secondary basis in any segment covered by
the nomination shall be reduced on a pro rata basis, based upon nominated quantities
in each segment. Nominations that are not using capacity on a secondary basis in any
segment shall not be subject to reduction under the provisions of this section.
Further, Reverse Path transportation, as defined in Section 2.6(b) herein, which
results in the delivery of gas to a point downstream of the point of receipt will be
scheduled on a secondary basis. Quantities received or delivered on a secondary basis
shall have the priority set forth in Section 28 of the General Terms and Conditions
and shall be subject to reduction or interruption as specified in Sections 11 and 28
of the General Terms and Conditions.
2.6 For transportation service under this Rate Schedule the following terms shall apply in
order to indicate direction of flow:
(a) Primary Path
The transportation path established by the receipt and delivery points as set
forth in Buyer's executed Service Agreement.
(b) Reverse Path
The transportation path that is in the opposite direction of the Primary Path as
defined in Section 2.6(a) above.


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Yes, it is that kind of day! I need fortification, so QUEEN TO THE RESCUE!
Hubby is still on couch, but yelling less. This is improvement. A herd of teenagers will be at my house tonight to dress for a zombie walk and then carve pumpkins. ( They take their zombies quite seriously and conversations around often involve planning the details of our preparations for a zombie apocalypse. ).
For all this, I need the Queen at my side. The first two cups were taken with milk and sugar but when the bagel was gone I switched to plain with no additions at all. The Queen is versatile, and my next pot of tea today will be Queen Catherine with one teaspoon of Rose Scented thrown in.


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Findings from our laboratory and others have demonstrated that the hormone insulin has chronic effects within the CNS to regulate energy homeostasis and to decrease brain reward function. In this study, we compared the acute action of insulin to decrease intake of a palatable food in two different behavioral tasks—progressive ratios sucrose self-administration and mu opioid-stimulated sucrose feeding—when administered into several insulin-receptive sites of the CNS. We tested insulin efficacy within the medial hypothalamic arcuate (ARC) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei, the nucleus accumbens, and the ventral tegmental area. Administration of insulin at a dose that has no chronic effect on body weight (5 mU) into the ARC significantly suppressed sucrose self-administration (75 ± 5% of paired control). However, although the mu opioid DAMGO, [d-Ala2,N-MePhe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin acetate salt, stimulated sucrose intake at all four CNS sites, the ventral tegmental area was the only sensitive site for a direct effect of insulin to antagonize acute (60 min) mu opioid-stimulated sucrose feeding: sucrose intake was 53 ± 8% of DAMGO-induced feeding, when insulin was coadministered with DAMGO. These findings demonstrate that free feeding of sucrose, and motivated work for sucrose, can be modulated within unique sites of the CNS reward circuitry. Further, they support the interpretation that adiposity signals, such as insulin, can decrease different aspects of ingestion of a palatable food, such as sucrose, in an anatomically specific manner.
- food reward
- ventral tegmental area
- arcuate nucleus
we have previously reported that insulin can act within the central nervous system (CNS) to decrease food reward, in addition to providing an energy regulatory signal at the medial hypothalamus (3, 11, 14, 31). Intraventricular (IVT) insulin administration prevents the expression of a place preference conditioned to a high-fat food treat (11), decreases initial lick rates for preferred sucrose solutions in a lickometer task (42), and decreases sucrose self-administration (13) in rats that are not food deprived. Further, IVT insulin decreases performance in the lateral hypothalamic self-stimulation task, such that there is an increase in the electrical frequency threshold required to sustain the behavior (7). Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that insulin can blunt brain reward activity, including the rewarding attributes of food. However, the specific CNS sites that mediate the actions of insulin in different behavioral paradigms evaluating food reward have not been determined.
Both the caloric and the motivating aspects of a palatable food such as sucrose might contribute to its ingestion, or overingestion, and the CNS circuitries implicated in the intake of palatable food are also candidate sites for modulation by insulin. The medial hypothalamus has been identified as a target for the energy-regulatory actions of insulin (3, 10, 31). Mesocorticolimbic dopamine circuitry has been implicated in motivational properties of stimuli, including food, and in effort-based responses for food (6, 19–22, 30, 40, 44, 45). Self-administration of sucrose is a behavioral paradigm that can be used to assess motivational properties of sucrose, utilizing the progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement, whereby the response requirement for reward delivery increases following each delivered reward (18). The amount of responding a subject is willing to make on this schedule gives an indication of motivation for the reward (18, 37). Our observation that insulin receptors are expressed on ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons, including dopamine neurons (13), provides a rationale for the hypothesis that the VTA may be one CNS target site for the insulin-induced suppression of sucrose self-administration, which we have reported previously. Finally, discrete populations of opioidergic neurons and opioid-receptive sites within the CNS have been shown to mediate spontaneous feeding (5), with activation of certain opioid pathways being associated specifically with the mediation of palatable food intake, independent of caloric need (16, 32, 43). We have demonstrated that insulin administration can blunt opiate-stimulated sucrose intake in sated rats, and in an acute free-feeding paradigm, whether administered IVT, or directly into the VTA, where it functionally antagonizes the effects of κ- or μ-opioid agonists, respectively (10, 41).
In the present study, we systematically compared the acute efficacy of insulin to decrease motivated responding for sucrose, or μ-opioid-stimulated sucrose feeding, at anatomical locations within the medial hypothalamus and mesolimbic circuitry that are insulin responsive (3, 13, 31, 33) and that are opiate responsive for feeding (25, 26, 29, 36). We hypothesized that insulin might have overlapping, but not identical, anatomical targets for any effects on these two different paradigms, which evaluate motivation for, or free-feeding of, the palatable food, sucrose. In fact, we observed specific effects of insulin at the arcuate nucleus (ARC) to decrease motivated responding for sucrose, and at the VTA, to decrease opioid-stimulated sucrose intake. These findings thus begin to identify specific anatomical targets for endocrine adiposity signals, such as insulin, to modulate specific aspects of food intake.
Subjects were male Albino rats (325–425 g) from Simonsen (Gilroy, CA). Rats were maintained on chow ad libitum. They were maintained on a 12:12-h light-dark cycle with lights on at 6 AM and were trained and tested between 7 AM and noon. All procedures performed on the rats followed the National Institutes of Health guidelines for animal care and were approved by the Animal Care and Use Subcommittee of the Research and Development Committee at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. Body weight data for rats at time of experimental treatments are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
Cannula placements.
Rats had chronic unilateral or bilateral cannulas placed in the neuropil, as indicated for each experiment. Rats were anesthetized with ketamine/xylazine (86/12.9 mg/kg ip) or isoflurane (4% induction, 2.5% maintenance in O2, at 0.5–1 l/min) and with 0.1 ml lidocaine/marcaine/epinephrine infiltrate as a topical anesthetic into the skin overlying the skull before incision. Each rat received 26-gauge stainless-steel guide cannulas (Plastics One, Roanoke, VA). For experimental injections, obturators were removed from the guide cannulas, and infusion cannulas were inserted that extended 1 mm beyond the tip of the guide cannula. The intracranial cannulas were held in place by acrylic cement (Lang Dental, Wheeling, IL) and skull screws (Small Parts, Miami Lakes, FL). Animals received periocular artificial tears for eye lubrication (AKWA, Akorn; Buffalo Grove, IL), subcutaneous injections of 3 cc lactated Ringers solution (Baxter Pharmaceutical Products, New Providence, NJ), and intramuscular 0.2 cc gentamicin antibiotic (40 mg/ml; Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany). They were maintained on a circulating-water heating pad until recovery from anesthesia. They received buprenorphine (50 μg/kg sc) at finish of surgery for postoperative pain (every 12 h as needed for 48 h). All animals were allowed to recover at least 1 wk and had to have regained weight to at least the presurgical level and be on a positive weight gain trajectory before undergoing the experimental procedure. For self-administration studies, surgery and recovery followed fixed ratio (FR) training (see Experimental procedures: sucrose self-administration), according to our published methodology (12). For sucrose pellet intake studies, rats underwent surgeries and recovery initially, followed by the sucrose intake protocol (see Experimental procedures: sucrose self-administration). Target cannula locations were determined in pilot rats and are shown in Fig. 1 (34). They included the hypothalamic arcuate (ARC, bilateral, AP −2.2, ML ±0.4, DV −9.8 mm, with limits of AP −2.12 to −2.56, ML ±0.4 [no shift tolerated], and DV −9.2 to −9.8 mm) and paraventricular (PVN, bilateral, AP −2.0, ML ±0.6, DV −7.2 mm, with limits of AP −1.8 to −2.2, ML ±0.2 −0.6, and DV −7.8 to −8.4 mm) nuclei; the nucleus accumbens (NAc; unilateral or bilateral, AP +1.7, ML 0.8, DV −6.4 mm from skull with limits of AP1.2 to 2.2, ML 0.6 to 1.0, and DV −6.8 to −7.4 mm); and the ventral tegmental area (VTA; unilateral or bilateral, AP −5 mm; DV −8.0 mm; lateral −1.0 mm, angled at 10° to target the VTA at −4.8 to −5.3 mm from bregma). The specific NAc location was based on the report of MacDonald et al. (29) that mu-opioid injection elicited robust feeding there. Studies from Zhang and Kelley (46) and Pecina and Berridge (35) have identified this site as being a "hot spot" for mu-opioid-induced feeding. Cannula placements were verified histologically post hoc.
Following the termination of infusions, each animal was overdosed with pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL) or isoflurane. Brains were removed and placed in 4% paraformaldehyde at 4°C for 7 days. Brains were then submersed in 20% sucrose, then 30% sucrose, followed by freezing at −80°C in embedding media (Fisher, Pittsburgh, PA), until sectioning at 50 μm. Tissue sections were mounted on slides and viewed under low-power magnification to verify cannula placement. Only data from rats with correctly placed cannulas were analyzed.
Experimental procedures: sucrose self-administration.
Procedures were based upon our published methodology (12). The experiment included 4 phases: autoshaping and FR training; surgery and recovery; PR training using the PR algorithm of Richardson and Roberts (37); and experimental procedure(s). The PR algorithm requires 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 28, 36, 48, 63, 83, 110, 145, 191, 251, 331, 437, 575, 759, 999, 999 (etc) lever presses for succeeding reward deliveries within a session (37). Rats were trained to self-administer 5% sucrose (0.5 ml reward) delivered into a liquid-drop receptacle. The operant boxes, controlled by a Med Associates (Georgia, VT) system, had two levers, but only one lever (an active, retractable lever) activated the infusion pump. Presses on the other lever (an inactive, stationary lever) were also recorded. As we have observed previously, the number of presses on the inactive lever was very low (less than 10 presses/session) and intraneuropil injections had no effect on inactive lever pressing (data not shown). The sucrose solution was delivered into a liquid drop receptacle for oral consumption (Med Associates). Initial training was conducted during 1-h sessions for 10 days under a continuous reinforcement schedule (FR1: each lever press was reinforced), with a maximum possible of 50 sucrose rewards delivered per session. Each session began with the insertion of the active lever and the illumination of a white houselight that remained on for the entire session. A 5-s tone (2,900 Hz, 20 dB above background) + light (7.5 W white light above the active lever) discrete compound cue accompanied each reward delivery, followed by a 40-s time out after each sucrose delivery. PR training was carried out for 3 h/day for approximately 5 days. Sessions ended after 30 min of no active lever press responding, at which point the house light was turned off and the active lever was retracted.
We evaluated the effect of localized injections of insulin on self-administration of sucrose. Following recovery of presurgical body weight, rats were retrained for 1 day on FR responding then trained on progressive ratios (PR) responding. Subsequent to FR training, surgery/recovery, FR retraining, and PR training, rats received two intraneuropil injections of artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) for habituation to the injection procedure. Then, on the following days, they received in randomized order, aCSF or insulin (5 mU), immediately prior to being placed in the self-administration chamber (t −10 min). They were returned to 2 or 3 days of PR training between injection days, and data were also collected 2 or 3 days after the second test injection, which verified that the injection procedures did not modify baseline performance (training days) across the experimental phase of the study (data not shown). The dose of insulin was based upon our previous studies demonstrating the efficacy of this dose to decrease reward performance without significantly affecting food intake or body weight in our rats (e.g., Ref. 15), and these acute treatments likewise did not affect body weight, as shown in Tables 1 and 2 (before and after aCSF or insulin treatment day body weights). Additionally, it is the dose of insulin used in our previous self-administration study: administered into the third cerebral ventricle, it significantly suppressed sucrose self-administration in chow-fed rats.
Experimental procedures: acute sucrose pellet intake.
Rats were acclimated to the housing facility for ∼1 wk prior to study. Cannulas were implanted, and the rats recovered from surgeries. Rats were maintained on ad libitum rat chow. An initial habituating session with no injection was carried out to acclimate the animals to the sucrose and reduce neophobia. On the morning of experimental sessions, rats were placed in a clean empty cage without food and received intraneuropil injections (0.2 μl in 1 min). Injectors were removed, and rats received a supply of sucrose pellets (Research Diets, New Brunswick, NJ) for two contiguous 30-min periods. Rats were returned to their home cages after the sucrose feeding session. Sucrose feeding session days were separated by 3 or 4 days with no treatment. For the day 1 session, all rats received a aCSF infusion and for the day 2 session, all rats received one of the following treatments: CSF; 5 mU insulin; 3 nmol of the mu-opioid agonist DAMGO ([d-Ala2,N-MePhe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin acetate salt, Sigma); or insulin + DAMGO. The dose of DAMGO has been shown to stimulate chow intake by others (29), and we have demonstrated its efficacy given unilaterally into the VTA in a preliminary study. For coinfusion conditions, insulin was mixed with the DAMGO, and a single volume of infusate was administered. Rats were subsequently anesthetized and euthanized, and brains were removed for verification of cannula site. Data from rats with misplaced cannulas were discarded.
Statistical analyses.
For both experiments, group data are presented as means ± SE in the text, tables, and figures. Significance is defined as P ≤ 0.05. For the self-administration experiment, active lever presses were analyzed by ANOVA for brain region × treatment interaction for the bilateral infusion groups. Additionally, active lever responses and "stop time" (time from start of session to last lever press) were analyzed as a within-subjects, paired Student's t-test comparison. For sucrose intake, absolute number of sucrose pellets ingested was analyzed by overall ANOVA as between-subjects comparisons for treatment effect (aCSF/aCSF, DAMGO/aCSF, aCSF/insulin, DAMGO/insulin) within one brain area. Specific treatment differences were established by post hoc t-test. Additionally, the day 2 to day 1 difference was calculated for each rat, since the intake of sucrose pellets between individual rats is variable. This within-subjects change of intake reflected the effect of day 2 treatments and was analyzed for treatment effect, comparing treatment subgroups for insulin effect.
Sucrose self-administration.
As shown in Table 3 (raw data) and Fig. 2 (data normalized with aCSF condition set to 100% for each respective brain region), acute insulin treatment immediately before sucrose self-administration was effective in decreasing sucrose self-administration only when administered bilaterally into the ARC. For the aCSF bilateral infusions, there was no interaction with brain region (PVN, ARC, NAc, or VTA) (F3,88 = 1.835, P = 0.147); however, there was a significant interaction between insulin treatment and brain region (F3,88 = 4.623, P = 0.005). Active lever presses were significantly decreased (aCSF vs. insulin, within-subjects comparison, P = 0.026) following ARC insulin treatment. Additionally, the time from the beginning of the session until the last lever press of the session ("stop time"), was also significantly decreased when insulin was infused into the ARC (Fig. 3). Insulin had no effect on sucrose self-administration when infused bilaterally into the PVN, unilaterally into the NAc, or unilaterally or bilaterally into the VTA (Fig. 2). When infused bilaterally into the NAc, insulin administration had a borderline effect to increase sucrose self-administration, with a trend toward increasing the number of active lever presses, and a significant increase in the time that the rats were engaged in the self-administration task (stop time) (Fig. 3). Taken together, these data are consistent with the interpretation that our previous observation of IVT insulin-induced suppression of self-administration of sucrose can be accounted for by specific action of insulin directly at the ARC.
Sucrose pellet intake.
We then evaluated these identical CNS regions for their sensitivity to mu-opioid stimulation of sucrose intake and to insulin-induced suppression of the opioid-stimulated feeding. As shown in Table 3 (raw data) and Fig. 4, DAMGO significantly stimulated 60-min sucrose pellet intake, when administered into all four areas tested (ARC-bi, PVN-bi, NAc-uni, and VTA-uni; overall ANOVA vs. aCSF-treated rats, F7,54 = 5.649, P < 0.0001; for each area, P < 0.05). In comparing the efficacy of DAMGO in the first vs. second half-hour of the 60-min feeding test, we observed that DAMGO was effective in the 30- to 60-min interval in the ARC and PVN (P < 0.05 vs. aCSF). DAMGO stimulated sucrose intake predominantly in the first 30 min in the NAc (P < 0.05 vs. aCSF). Within the VTA, DAMGO treatment significantly stimulated sucrose intake during both the initial (0–30 min) and second halves (30–60 min) of the feeding test (P < 0.05 vs. aCSF for both 30-min time bins).
Insulin infusion on its own did not decrease sucrose pellet intake below control intakes (insulin vs. CNS comparison, P = ns for all brain regions), comparable to what we have observed and reported previously for sucrose pellet intake when tested IVT (41) or unilaterally into the VTA (14). Coadministration of insulin with DAMGO into the VTA reduced sucrose pellet intake, such that intake no longer differed from that of aCSF-treated controls (insulin/DAMGO vs. aCSF, P = ns). This effect was due to a combination of decreased intake during both the 0–30 min time bin (127 ± 17 vs. 76 ± 16 pellets) and the 30–60 min time bin (40 ± 15 vs. 13 ± 15 pellets) for DAMGO vs. DAMGO/insulin. Importantly, since sucrose intake is somewhat variable between rats, we also compared each rat's control aCSF treatment day (day 1) with intake on the second treatment day (i.e., day 2 to day 1 comparison within subjects), hypothesizing that DAMGO treatment should result in enhanced intake over individual baseline intake, whereas aCSF or insulin should have negligible effects. Consistent with this hypothesis, DAMGO stimulated sucrose intake 72 ± 13 pellets over paired baseline intake (P ≤ 0.05), whereas neither aCSF (3 ± 6 pellets), insulin (2 ± 3 pellets), nor DAMGO/insulin (8 ± 15 pellets) stimulated intake above each rat's respective baseline intake. Coadministration of insulin with DAMGO in the ARC, PVN, or NAc had no effect on sucrose pellet feeding, whether evaluated as between-subjects treatment groups (Table 3 and Fig. 4) or comparing individual rats' change from baseline (data not shown). In the NAc, insulin blunted the effect of DAMGO (35 ± 9 vs. 64 ± 10 pellets for DAMGO/insulin vs. DAMGO, P <.043) during the 0–30-min time interval. However, the DAMGO/insulin-treated rats ate more during the 30–60 min time interval (48 ± 9 vs. 17 ± 5 pellets, P < 0.05), resulting in no overall effect of insulin in the NAc during the 60-min test.
In this study, we compared the efficacy of insulin, administered acutely in several CNS locations, to decrease performance in two different sucrose intake paradigms: progressive ratios sucrose self-administration, which reflects motivated performance and effort-related decision making, for a reward (6, 8, 17, 23, 40); and acute opioid-stimulated sucrose intake, which reflects intake of a palatable food (16, 32). Because both studies were carried out in nondeprived rats after a night of typical feeding and used a dose of insulin that does not decrease chronic food intake and body weight, our data suggest that both the VTA and medial hypothalamic ARC are targets for a very acute action of insulin to decrease intake of (a palatable) food.
We observed that acute insulin injection directly into the ARC decreased sucrose self-administration and can account almost quantitatively for the ability of insulin given IVT to decrease self-administration, which we reported previously (12). Activation of VTA dopamine neurons and dopaminergic action in the NAc have been identified as neural mechanisms underlying self-administration of drugs of abuse (19–21, 30). Further, NAc dopamine release correlates with approach behavior for sucrose self-administration (38). Given our prior observations of insulin receptor expression (13), and insulin-induced cell signaling within the VTA (14), the lack of insulin effect there on sucrose self-administration was somewhat surprising. Likewise, the lack of efficacy of insulin within the NAc was surprising, given our previous observation of rapid and physiological effects of insulin on striatal tissue in vitro (33). It is possible that our cannula placements within the NAc in this study were not in an insulin-sensitive area. In fact, insulin administered bilaterally into the NAc appeared to increase the amount of time during which rats were active in the sucrose self-administration task. Baskin and colleagues (3) have observed mRNA for insulin receptors in ARC neurons that project to the PVN, and we have identified insulin receptor immunoreactivity within the PVN (both observations unpublished). The PVN has been demonstrated to be a target site for NPY-induced self-administration of ethanol (24); and insulin has been identified as a regulator of the medial hypothalamic NPY neurons (3, 31). We thus tested this region as a potential anatomical target for insulin-induced suppression of self-administration but observed that insulin had no effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that the effect of insulin on sucrose self-administration occurs primarily at the ARC and would engage the VTA or NAc limbic circuitry via multisynaptic activation. Further, the data suggest that circuitry that engages ARC neurons but does not include the PVN is important for sucrose self-administration: direct synaptic connections between the ARC and LH, relaying to other reward circuitry (4), could be one candidate.
Our second study suggested a role for insulin in the VTA, in an acute sucrose feeding paradigm. Numerous studies have documented the ability of opioids, particularly mu opioids, to stimulate feeding in a variety of feeding paradigms and with numerous potential loci within the CNS, including the central nucleus and basolateral region of the amygdala, the lateral hypothalamus, the ARC, the PVN, the VTA, and the NAc (2, 5, 16, 25–29, 36, 43). Evidence suggests that opioids play a critical role in the maintenance of feeding, and in the ingestion of palatable foods, particularly in situations in which choice between foods of varying palatability or preference is available (16, 23, 32, 39, 43). There is dopaminergic/opioidergic communication in the mediation of the different aspects of feeding, including interaction in the VTA/NAc circuitry (1, 6). Specifically, feeding stimulated by DAMGO injection into the VTA is dependent upon dopaminergic transmission in the NAc, as concomitant treatment with dopaminergic antagonists in the NAc decreases VTA DAMGO-stimulated feeding in rats (29). We speculate that insulin in the VTA must oppose mu-opioid-initiated processes by mechanisms that have not yet been determined. The lack of effectiveness of insulin in the medial hypothalamus (PVN and ARC) on this task suggests that there is local synaptic circuitry within the VTA that is a joint target there for mu opioids and insulin, perhaps the GABAergic neurons, which impinge on the dopamine (DA) neurons and express mu-opioid receptors, or perhaps via mu opioids effects on GABA neurons and insulin action on DA neurons. Further, it emphasizes the importance of insulin action within the VTA for acute feeding in circumstances independent of caloric need. The effect of insulin in the VTA to decrease DAMGO-stimulated feeding was across the two 30-min time bins, for an overall suppressive effect. In the NAc, the rapid effect of insulin to decrease DAMGO-stimulated feeding (0–30 min) was followed by enhanced feeding in the second 30-min time bin. Because opiate effects to enhance feeding include an increased intake and a prolongation of feeding time, it is possible that insulin was having a very rapid effect in the NAc, via a different mechanism than its effects in the VTA. Our study design does not allow us to conclude that hedonic-based feeding per se has been decreased by insulin but demonstrates a rapid effect of insulin on free feeding, which is also consistent with the effects recently reported for leptin to decrease chow-feeding on a longer-term basis, when administered into the VTA (see Ref. 14 for discussion).
In conclusion, the two experiments emphasize that differential modulation of feeding and reward circuitries occurs with these two different behavioral tasks, one of which evaluates motivation, reinforcement, and effort-related decision making (18, 22, 37, 40), and one which measures acute free-feeding. It should be noted that functionally connected circuitry, linking multiple nodes for reward and palatability-based feeding, has been identified in other studies (16, 26, 27, 29, 36), and thus insulin action within the ARC or the VTA might also decrease feeding stimulated by opioids at some other CNS sites. This more complex type of interaction remains to be studied. Additionally, under physiological circumstances, insulin would presumptively be available to all of the sites studied here simultaneously. The possibility of resultant synergistic effects of insulin cannot be eliminated: Thus, insulin might simultaneously act to decrease motivation or effort to seek out a palatable food and also to decrease ingestion of already available palatable food. At a minimum, the results from this study identify two CNS regions that are sufficient in themselves as targets for insulin action to decrease food intake.
Perspectives and Significance
One contributor to the high rate of obesity in developed countries is thought to be the ready availability of highly palatable foods that have high caloric density or high sugar content (9). We have proposed that peripheral adiposity signals, such as insulin, provide a brake on food intake, in part, by decreasing the rewarding aspects of food intake. Importantly, in these studies, we have identified two critical anatomical targets for an action to decrease food reward and intake of palatable sucrose, that is, the medial hypothalamic ARC and the VTA. These studies simulate a "dessert" or "between-meal snack" experience, and emphasize the potential for endocrine signaling to blunt food reward in animals that are not calorie deprived. Further, they lay the groundwork for the identification of specific neural pathways and signals that are targets for modulation by metabolic signals, such as insulin. Identifying the circuitry that is engaged by behavioral paradigms that include both free feeding, and having to work for, a rewarding food may provide insight into human behavioral strategies for modification of feeding habits driven by the availability of high-energy density, highly palatable foods.
Dianne Figlewicz Lattemann is supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs (Research Career Scientist Award) and National Institutes of Health DK40963 and the Dept of Veterans Affairs (Research Career Scientist Award). Dr. Sipols is supported by Latvian Council of Science Grant 04.1116. We thank Dr. Amy Naleid and Richard Martin for helpful discussion with the sucrose intake studies. We thank Drs. Nicole Sanders and Salwa Al-Noori for helpful suggestions with the manuscript.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
- Copyright © 2008 the American Physiological Society


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