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Spring 2014 Election
- The Latest
- Voter Info
- Previews
Voter's guide: Here's what you need to know for Tuesday's elections
Elections are Tuesday. Don't panic. Here's what you need to know in order to stay calm and vote:
-- Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. statewide.
-- If you voted recently and have not moved, you are registered to vote.
If you are not registered, you can do so at the office of the clerk in your municipality Monday or at the polls Tuesday. You will need to provide proof of residence. To learn more, go to gab.wi.gov/voters/first-time.
If you are not able to use the Internet, contact your local municipal clerk.
If you are registered or have registered previously, you can find your registration status, what is on your ballot and other information by going to myvote.wi.gov.
-- Knowing what candidates and referendums are on the ballot is just a first step. You will want to know where those candidates stand. The Gazette produced a guide to contested elections and referendums in Rock and Walworth counties. You can access election previews and related information at http://www.gazettextra.com/content/spring2014/voterinfo.
-- A note about photo ID: You do not need it to vote, nor do you need it to register to vote. That issue remains tied up in the courts.
-- A note about new voting laws: Gov. Scott Walker recently signed several bills into law that will change rules for elections and voting, but none of them will be in effect in time to affect voters on Tuesday.
The rules for voting have not changed from recent elections. Voters will be asked to give name and address and to sign the poll book.
-- Reasons for voting have a lot to do with where you live. Two local votes will affect property taxes for the residents of the Parkview and Delavan-Darien school districts.
Parkview residents are being asked to approve a building referendum that would cost no more than $17 million.
Delavan-Darien residents are being asked to exceed state revenue limits by $2.1 million every year, starting next year.
In Evansville, those chosen to serve on the school board will help determine the fate of referendums that are in the offing for future elections.
Residents of Spring Prairie in Walworth County will decide whether to have curbside trash pickup.
-- National issue, local vote: Residents of Elkhorn, Delavan and Edgerton all will face the same advisory question that advocates hope will lead to a change in national elections.
The Move to Amend organization collected enough signatures in those cities to get this question on the ballot, which asks residents if they support a resolution to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.
Advocates are pressuring state and federal lawmakers to enact legislation that will change the rules of the political game and reduce the influence of money, unions, corporations and other organizations in politics.
-- Janesville only: Residents will be able to choose among candidates for city council, school board and, depending on where you live, Rock County Board.
-- Turnout: It's typically low for the spring elections, around 20 percent in Rock County. Rock County Clerk Lori Stottler predicts a lower-than-normal turnout Tuesday, between 16 percent and 19 percent.
The bright side of low turnout is that those who vote have a bigger impact on the results than they would if more people voted.
-- Special circumstances: At least one write-in candidate for Rock County Board will be distributing stickers with the candidate's name on them for use at the polls, Stottler said.
The stickers are legal, but Stottler is concerned that a sticker might not adhere completely and could jam a voting machine. Spare machines will be available if that happens, Stottler said.
-- Election night: Radio, TV and newspaper websites -- including gazettextra.com -- will carry results as fast as they can process them.
For those who need their election results fresh and raw, check the websites of your county clerks.
In Rock County, results will be posted as they come in at www.co.rock.wi.us/cclerk-election-results.
In Walworth County, go to www.co.walworth.wi.us/Government%20Center/County%20Clerk/ElectionResults/
Rock county political diehards like to gather at the courthouse in Janesville on election night after the polls close at 8. Clerk Stottler will display the latest results on a screen in the Jury Assembly Room.


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Kilbourn Park
3501 N. Kilbourn Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60641
(773) 685-3351
Fee: $5 per child
Age Range: 8 & under
Celebrate the season at Kilbourn Park through hands-on projects that explore the summer garden. Become a butterfly, drink nectar from your very own flower, make your own hungry caterpillar, and explore the diversity of insects in our organic garden.
recommended for families with children 2-8 years old)

subset: commoncrawl


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Candy Crush
A family trip to the Big Apple wasn't so sweet for Beth Flickinger, after a 25-pound candy dispenser fell on her at a Times Square Toys R Us. Flickinger says that she and her sons visited the toy company's flagship store to stock up on candy and toys for their journey home. But the afternoon took a painful turn when the trio attempted to fill up their bags with M&Ms from one of the store's self-serve dispensers, only to have the 25-pound bin somehow fall on Flickinger.
The Pennsylvania woman says she suffered a herniated disk and severe headaches, along with a loss of income and a diminished sex life following the incident. But a series of juries evidently wasn't sympathetic—they cleared the dispenser's maker and Toys R Us employees of any wrongdoing in the case. Flickinger previously reached an undisclosed settlement with M&Ms maker Mars Inc.
Waxing Woes
When Jennifer Finley was hired as an esthetician at Pittsburgh's European Wax Center, she knew she would be giving Brazilian waxes to customers. What she didn't know, she says, was that she would be expected to undergo a wax herself. Finley claims that on her second day of training she learned that she and her fellow trainees would be waxing each other.
The would-be esthetician claims that she was willing to have other, less sensitive parts of her body waxed, but she refused the Brazilian, because no one had ever told her it would be a mandatory part of training. When she complained to the salon's owner, he allegedly fired her. Finley is now suing the center for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, gender discrimination and retaliation.
Seed Snafu
In a case that proves that what's funny on television is not always so entertaining in real life, a Pennsylvania woman who had her newborn taken away after she mistakenly failed a hospital drug test recently settled a lawsuit over the incident. Elizabeth Mort delivered her daughter Isabella at Jameson Hospital in April 2010. But three days later, child welfare agents took the baby away, claiming that Mort had tested positive for opiates during a drug test at the hospital.
It later emerged that Mort had failed the test because she had eaten a poppy seed bagel shortly before arriving at the hospital. Isabella was returned after five days, but Mort sued the hospital and the child welfare agency, arguing that no one at the hospital ever told her about her failed drug test or asked her if she had eaten anything that could result in a false positive. Her suit also alleged that the hospital used a much lower threshold for drug testing than federal guidelines mandate. Earlier this month, the two defendants agreed to pay $143,500 to settle the case.
Pet Problems
An American Airlines flight attendant accused of bringing some unsavory carry-on baggage to work is suing her employer for discrimination. The trouble started back in February 2012, when a pilot claimed that he saw "a bulge" in stewardess Louann Giambattista's pocket, which he believed to be a live pet. During a subsequent flight, another flight attendant accused Giambattista of sneaking her pet rats onto a plane and feeding them during the flight. When her fellow flight attendants reported their suspicions to officials, Giambattista claims that immigrations and customs agents questioned her and went through her belongings for an hour.
The questioning continued every time she went through customs for more than a year, even though officials never found any rats, Giambattista claims. She also alleges that she was once questioned in an employee break room, with other workers looking on. The repeated interrogations reportedly left Giambattista with "debilitating anxiety," but the airline refused to transfer her to domestic flights so that she could avoid customs. She is seeking at least $150,000 in damages for discrimination.
Discriminatory Document
Three former Target Corp. employees are suing the company over a set of "multi-cultural tips" that were allegedly more racist than enlightened. According to Robert Gonzales, Pedro Garcia-Ayala and Bulmaro Fabian, Target provided its warehouse managers with a document called "Organization Effectiveness, Employee and Labor Relations Multi-Cultural Tips," which allegedly informed managers that not all Hispanic employees eat tacos and burritos, wear sombreros or dance to salsa music.
The handbook reportedly contained other gems of cultural wisdom, including "[Hispanic employees] may say 'OK, OK' and pretend to understand, when they do not, just to save face." The document was purportedly less-than-successful, since the plaintiffs claim that their mostly white managers regularly subjected them to racial slurs. The three former employees are suing Target for harassment, age and race discrimination and retaliation.
Silenced Smartphones
If you're in Florida and reading this on a smartphone, you may be breaking the law, according to a new suit targeting recently enacted state legislation. In April, the Sunshine State passed a bill banning slot machines and Internet cafes that allow certain types of online gambling. The measure passed after an racketeering investigation into Allied Veterans of the World, a supposed charity that allegedly operated as an illegal gambling operation.
But the law may have shut down much more than phony charities: The measure bans "any system or network of devices" that can be used in a game of chance. A new lawsuit filed by an Internet café owner argues that that broad language includes smartphones and laptops. Incredible Investments argues that "in a frenzy fueled by distorted judgment in the wake of a scandal" the state passed an overly broad statute "based upon an unreasonable and arbitrary classification."


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Developer says he'll ask Milton to annex thousands of acres for industrial park
MILTON—Developer and landowner Bill Watson said as early as next week he'll petition the city of Milton for annexation of 1,200 acres west of Milton he has earmarked for a proposed industrial park.
It's the latest development in a sweeping plan Watson unveiled last month to bankroll an Interstate 90/39 interchange at County M west of Milton. He wants to turn adjacent farmland he owns in Milton and Fulton townships into an industrial park that he said could eventually employ thousands of people.
Watson, a California resident and a Milton-area native who owns Mulder Dairy Farms, is in preliminary stages of assembling an interchange access justification report required for state Department of Transportation and federal highway authorities' approval for an interchange.
Watson has spent recent weeks meeting with state DOT officials to discuss the viability of a County M interchange. In December, he gave a proposal to town of Fulton residents and officials on updates for his plans.
Watson has yet to formally apply for annexation or for any zoning changes linked to his development plan, but he plans to give town of Fulton and Milton officials an update at town meetings next week.
Among the topics Watson said he plans to bring up include potential annexation of the land he and some adjacent landowners into the city of Milton.
"One of the things that we've talked about with (the Milton and Fulton) town chairmen (Bryan Meyer and Evan Sayre), and with the city of Milton is having the city annex the properties and do the rezonings that would allow the development to occur," Watson said. "That (request) will come after the meetings, unless there's something discovered in the meetings that there isn't a political will to do this."
Watson said one reason he wants to petition for annexation is because he believes the city may be able to rezone and approve an industrial park more quickly than the towns of Milton and Fulton.
"With the townships, it's possible their process—where they'd have to make changes for what they've done in their own smart growth plans—it would take them maybe as much as a year or maybe even more to get zoning (changes) completed," he said.
Watson said he plans to offer up to $5,000 for town work necessary for potential rezoning.
The city of Milton has an extraterritorial agreement with the town of Milton, which allows the two municipalities to forge intergovernmental agreements on land use, but it's not clear whether the city has authority to annex much of the land in question—more than half of which is in the town of Fulton.���
One main question, Watson said, is: "If all of the land is annexed into the city of Milton, and those lands are taken out of the townships, how does that work for the townships? How do they (the towns) have any control over what goes on, and more importantly, what kind of sharing do they have for the tax revenues (from an industrial park)?"
At meetings next week, Watson said, he could bring up the potential for a "cooperative agreement" that could split tax revenue between the towns the the city of Milton and what methods might be used to form such cooperation.
Plans Watson has outlined in recent weeks show an eventual 4 million to 5 million square feet of industrial space, with developments in an initial phase that could include two industrial facilities totaling 300,000 square feet and 750,000 square feet.�
Watson has estimated the development, which he said he'd fund and develop under a corporation of investors, could eventually bring in $200 million to $250 million in additional tax base.
A project of that scope is unheard of in Rock County. For one, the land in question is privately owned, with Watson owning most of it. For another, Watson has offered to initially fund for development costs, including planning and constructing an interchange at County M, and installing utility, road and rail infrastructure.
Milton Mayor Brett Frazier said city council members are supportive of an interchange at County M. He said the city views the prospect of development of industry on the west edge of Milton as "exciting."
Frazier, who sparked talks with Watson last fall over the prospect of an interchange at County M, said the city is still in a wait-and-see mode and has not committed to wading into large-scale talks over annexation until a request is made and more details of Watson's plans emerge.
"The developer is very much in the driver's seat of determining how the annexation is approached," he said.
Meanwhile, the state continues to work with Watson on his request for an Interstate interchange.
Department of Transportation Supervisor John Vesperman, who is in charge of the I-90/39 lane expansion project set to start in 2015, said the Department of Transportation has scheduled monthly meetings with Watson and his consultants to get updates on the status of Watson's interchange justification report and offer technical review.
When news of the proposed interchange first surfaced, Watson and other developers said they would pay for the interchange justification report. This week, Watson said he suggested the state DOT or the federal government do the justification report if that would speed the process.
Vesperman said that's not likely.
"We're partnering, but it's a locally interested and developer-driven effort, and it's their (the developers') job to get an (access) report done," Vesperman said.
While Watson has said he'd like to break ground on the interchange this spring, Vesperman said he's told Watson that goal is "extremely optimistic."
It usually takes 12 to 16 months for the state and federal governments to approve an interchange.


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Techsolo TC-2200
HTPC Case w/ 350W PSU and Remote Control
The TC-2200 is a HTPC case for the living room. It's the perfect foundation to build your very own multimedia entertainment centre, the decent design fits smoothly in the living room ambient. An additional bonus is the included remote control that allows you to operate your home entertainment centre conveniently from the comfort of your couch.
Dimensions: 10.3 cm x 42 cm x 34.3 cm (HxWxD)
1x ext. 5.25" drive bay
1x int. 3.5" drive bay
incl. 350W PSU
front USB & front sound
Wake on USB
incl. MCE infrared remote control
Weight: 3.8 kg


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Play Free Online Games
Dear KibaGames-Player,to play this game you need to install the latest Flash- & Shockwave-plugin.
There are no risks in installing the plugin and it is for free.
The Flash- & Shockwave-plugin brings you the following advantages:
Click the download-button below to start the installation or activate the plugin in your browser if you have already installed it.


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Logo courtesy of Anheuser-Busch
St. Louis brewer Anheuser-Busch is now facing a lawsuit for alleged gender discrimination brought by Francine Katz, who was the company's vice president of communications and consumer affairs until she resigned in 2008.
In fact, Katz was the company's highest ranking female executive, but claims to have been underpaid compared to her male predecessor and other top male executives at the company.
"This was a company run by men who were unaccustomed with working with women at high levels," Mary Anne Sedey, who is representing Katz, told the jury in opening arguments of the trial.
Katz started as a corporate lawyer and was later named to the company's strategy committee. She earned more than $1 million a year, including salary, stock options and bonuses. But her predecessor, John Jacob, a former National Urban League president, allegedly earned four times that amount in his final year at the job.
"Make no mistake about it. Francine Katz earned a lot of money at Anheuser-Busch," Sedey was quoted by The Associated Press. "But like so many women in this country, Francine Katz was significantly underpaid."
During the trial, Katz testified she had represented the beer industry before the U.S. Congress. But she felt excluded from company events involving other top male executives.
Katz is seeking $9.4 million and punitive damages.
Lawyers representing Anheuser-Busch argued Katz's salary, benefits and bonuses are similar to peers at Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble. "Francine Katz was paid based on her job, not her gender," Jim Bennett, who represents the company, was quoted by The AP. "There was a fair process used, a rigorous process used."
On the other hand, Think Progress said studies show that highest-paid women executives earn 18 percent less than their male peers.
Yet the future outlook may be better for women. By 2040, women will make up about a third of new CEO appointments, a new study from Strategy&, the consulting firm that used to be known as Booz & Co., said. But as of now, only 3 percent of incoming CEOs in 2013 were women, InsideCounsel reported. The 3 percent figure is a 1.3 percentage point drop from 2012.
Also, in a recent report, InsideCounsel pointed out that Claudia Zeisberger, academic director of Insead's Global Private Equity Initiative, predicts there will be a major shift with women increasingly being among the candidates who fulfill requirements for job vacancies. She calls it an "explosion" of talent.
As for now, the White House Council on Economic Advisers recently reported that on average, full-time women employees earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Further reading:
Number of women CEOs remains low, but long-term outlook will improve
Women may dominate the compliance officer field, but it should lead to other corporate opportunities
Law firms, in-house counsel offices will likely see talent explosion among female applicants


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R Charm
Color: please select a color
Size: please select a size
Style # HFICA20022
Need Assistance? Contact Us Now
This sterling silver charm features a stamped letter R. 1/2" wide.
* Made in the U.S.A.
* Chain sold separately.
Additional jewelry sold separately.
* Made in the U.S.A.
* Chain sold separately.
Additional jewelry sold separately.
Shipping & Returns
Free Shipping Worldwide: No matter where you are sending your order, we offer free express shipping across the globe. Shipping Details
Easy Returns: Because we understand that not every purchase is exactly right, we've made returns easy. With the return form and return shipping label included with every order, customer service calls aren't necessary. And if you're in the USA, returns are free. Return Details
Shipping Available: Shipping Within USA Only: For Amazon Prime members, free two-day shipping is available for all Shopbop & East Dane products.
About the Designer
A fashion editor favorite, Helen Ficalora's eponymous jewelry collection reflects the art and beauty of nature, and in turn, brings to life her philosophy of harmony with the environment. The designer's inspiration comes from the rhythms of the natural world, and throughout her ten years of design experience, Ficalora has fine-tuned her representation of elegance and enduring grace. Between the simple nature of her designs and their beautiful versatility, each Helen Ficalora piece is a work of art.


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If a Tax Invoice has been successfully generated from the South African Airways Tax Invoice System, the onus rests on the recipient to ensure that his/her mailbox has enough space to receive an e-mail - with a PDF attachment; and that his//her service provider or exchange server allows for delivery of such e-mails. South African Airways, can not take responsibility for undelivered e-mails due to any other reasons beyond our control including the above.
Prescribed details required from the South African Revenue Service on a tax invoices
Tax invoices must ordinarily reflect the following details as prescribed by the South African Revenue Service Act, 1997 (Act No. 34 of 1997):
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Security items, such as a pair of scissors, knives, blades or any sharp and/or pointed objects, must be removed from hand luggage and packed in checked baggage. To facilitate your travel, kindly refer to the documents below identifying specific security restrictions:
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Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Doctors 1 - 1 of 1
Dominique Boillot, M.D.Palo Alto Medical Foundation
West Valley Center
7225 Rainbow Drive
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 366-0595
Location(s): West Valley Centerwww.pamf.org/dr-dominique-boillot.html
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GC Appointments
Audrey Anderson was named general counsel of Vanderbilt University. Anderson most recently served as deputy counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. Before entering the public sector, she spent 17 years as a partner at Hogan and Hartson.
Ogletree Deakins promoted Chris Mixon to the general counsel spot. Mixon previously was a shareholder at the firm's Birmingham office, where his practice dealt primarily with employment-related matters. Before joining Ogletree Deakins in 2003, Mixon was the campaign manager for the Committee to Re-Elect Justice Harold See Inc.
Elan Corp., a biotechnology company, hired John Given as general counsel. Given comes to the company from A&L Goodbody, where he was a senior corporate partner and head of the firm's mergers and acquisitions practice for nine years. While in private practice, Given served as Elan's lead external counsel for more than a decade.
Kim Rhodes is now vice president, general counsel and secretary of Quintiq, a provider of supply chain planning and optimization software. Rhodes comes to the company from Fiberlink Communications, where she was senior vice president-strategic initiatives, general counsel and secretary. She also has held in-house positions at Citi Prepaid—a subsidiary of Citigroup—and Primavera Software, now Oracle.
Cellular Sales, the country's largest Verizon Wireless retailer, appointed Reese Thomas general counsel. Most recently, Thomas practiced corporate law at Egerton McAfee for three years. He previously served as the chief operating officer and—more recently—chief executive officer of insurance broker TIS Insurance Services.
Hospira Inc., a medical device company and the former hospital products division of Abbott Laboratories, promoted Royce Bedward to corporate vice president, general counsel and secretary. Bedward has worked at Hospira since its founding in 2004, serving as vice president of litigation and, most recently, deputy general counsel and secretary. He previously was senior counsel, litigation at Abbott.
Otter Tail Power Co. named Jennifer Smestad general counsel. Smestad previously was senior associate general counsel at Otter Tail Corp., her new employer's parent company, which she joined in 2001. Prior to that, she was a partner at Pemberton Law Firm in Fergus Falls, Minn.
Janna Sidley is now general counsel of the Port of Los Angeles. Sidley has worked in the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office for the past decade, most recently at the Department of Water and Power. Before joining the city, she was an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles from 1998 to 2002.
Charlene Ripley was appointed executive vice president and general counsel of Goldcorp Inc. Ripley joins the company from Linn Energy, where she was senior vice president and general counsel. She previously was vice president, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer at Andarko Petroleum.
Other In-House Moves
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the resignation of general counsel Dan Berkovitz. Berkovitz, who joined the agency in June 2009, has worked for the federal government for 30 years. Some of his roles during that time include counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and deputy assistant secretary for planning, policy and budget in the Department of Energy's environmental management program.
Barry Burgdorf, vice chancellor and general counsel of the University of Texas System, will step down from his position after seven years on the job. Before joining the university, Burgdorf was a partner at Vinson & Elkins, where his practiced focused on matters including private equity and venture capital financing, mergers and acquisitions and securities offerings. He previously was the first general counsel of Samsung Austin Semiconductor between 1996 and 1998.
Law Firm News
Former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl joined Covington & Burling as a senior adviser in its global public policy and government affairs practice. Before his January resignation, Kyl was the second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, having served in Congress for 26 years. He is expected to become senior counsel after he is readmitted to the bar.
Sidley Austin hired former Adobe Systems Inc. general counsel Karen Cottle as senior counsel in its technology practice. Cottle served as Adobe's senior vice president, general counsel and secretary from 2002 until last summer. She previously was GC of public software company Vitria Technology Inc. and global manufacturing company Raychem Corp.
Gary Graphia rejoined Kean Miller as a partner. Graphia previously was a partner in the firm until 1999, when he left to become chief legal officer and corporate secretary of The Shaw Group Inc. He later served as the company's executive vice president for corporate development and strategy and, from 2008 until May 2012, its chief operating officer. He most recently was executive counsel for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.


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When dinner out goes wrong
My wife, Cheryl, and I went out to eat Saturday night. I decided on an area restaurant we visit from time to time. It's not our favorite, but I was in the mood for this place.
It was a bad choice.
We saw lots of cars when we arrived but thought we'd see just how busy it was nonetheless. We walked in, and seats were open at the bar, so we thought, OK, not that bad.
I got a bartender to add our names to the list awaiting tables. We both looked at the clock, which read 6:55, and she told me the wait would be a half hour. That's OK, I suggested, because we planned to have a before-dinner drink anyway. Then she mistakenly put us down for the 8:30 time slot. I pointed out that seemingly was wrong, and she looked at the clock again and apologized, saying she thought it looked like 7:55 when she first glanced at it. She then penciled us in for 7:20.
Her initial error perhaps should have been a hint.
However, by the time I got around to the other side of the bar, where she had found two empty stools, Cheryl had already ordered drinks from the other bartender. We were only half done with them when our names were called for a table. I didn't glance at the clock, but it couldn't have been 7:20 already.
We took our seats at a table for four, but Cheryl quickly changed seats because an air vent against the wall was spewing out a chilly draft. A woman at a nearby table said she felt it, too.
Our waitress said she was busy because they had some parties going on but would be back shortly to take our orders, and I said fine. The dining room was fairly full. It took a little longer than I might expect for her to take our orders, but our soups, salad and hor d'oeuvres arrived quickly. We ate these and rolls, and I about cleaned out the snack tray as Cheryl and I caught up on things.
I had driven home Saturday afternoon after two days of meetings at the Wisconsin Writers Association conference in La Crosse, which gave us plenty to discuss. Cheryl told me about visiting opening day of the Janesville Farmers Market with a friend Saturday. We weren't paying attention to the time.
Finally, we paused, looked around and wondered where our meals were. I hadn't seen our waitress in a long time. Four of the five tables around us now were empty. I checked the time, and it was 8:45. Cheryl was so upset she was ready to get up and leave. I finally flagged down a waitress serving an adjacent table and asked if we'd been forgotten. She said she'd check, returned shortly to say our food would be right out, and soon our waitress arrived with the plates, apologizing for the delay. By then, it was 8:50.
Aren't 90 minutes from the time you get seated until the time you get served your meals too many? What's worse, while the portions were more than reasonable, I ordered medium prime rib and Cheryl ordered a medium tenderloin. Both were overcooked. Cheryl guessed they probably were because they needed to be reheated.
The waitress later brought our bill and said it had been "discounted" because of the long wait, even without my asking. I checked it, and it had been cut in half. I left a modest tip, reasoning the chef, not the waitress, might have been at fault. Cheryl, who waitressed as a teenager, later said I was too generous, that a good waitress should have been out, apologizing for the delay ahead of time, asking if she could get us anything more in the meantime, etc.
Sad to say, we won't return to this restaurant. We have other good options that we enjoy without risking another such episode. Coincidentally, it was the second such problem we encountered in the last six months or so. At a Janesville restaurant, the service was equally slow on our second visit, and they were out of Cheryl's first two menu choices. I was ready to get up and leave that time, but we stayed. A manager asked how things were going as we ate, and I told him. He then apologized, picked up our entire meal tab, said they were unexpectedly swamped and asked us to give them another chance. Given that it was a new restaurant still adjusting to an uncertain flow of customers, we did return and had an enjoyable time.
Is it just us, or do you experience poor service and/or food from time to time? What do you do when that occurs? Complain? Stop patronizing?
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or email@example.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.


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Matt Pommer: Obamacare poll produces surprise in Wisconsin
A recent Marquette University Law School poll shows 52 percent of respondents saying Obamacare should be kept and improved. Only 18 percent said the Affordable Health Care Act should be repealed and not replaced.
That's a stunning split in Wisconsin, which is narrowly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
Only 8 percent of the 801 people who answered the poll's questions say Obamacare should be continued as it is. Another 18 percent said they want the law repealed but with an alternative. The poll was conducted in late March while the initial signup deadline was approaching.
Republican politicians, almost to a person, have repeatedly called for repeal of the health care act. It has been one of the signal accomplishments of Democrats under President Obama. The Marquette Poll doesn't ask how the law could be improved. That's the challenge for both parties.
The law aims at assuring that all Americans have health insurance. It's not a new topic. Presidents ranging from Democrat Harry Truman to Republican Richard Nixon have promoted the idea of health care opportunities for everyone.
How will the Obamacare issue affect future elections? Respondents to the Marquette poll were split into two groups. The first group was asked how they would react to candidates who supported Obamacare during the campaign. Of that group, 25 percent replied that a pro-Obamacare stance would more likely attract their votes, while 28 percent said it would make them less likely to vote for a candidate. Another 45 percent said it wouldn't make any difference to them.
The potential statistical error rate was 3.5 percent, making the results even closer.
The second group of respondents was asked their reaction to candidates who campaigned for repeal of Obamacare. Some 24 percent said it would make them more likely to support such a candidate, while 35 percent said it would make them less likely to vote for the person. Some 39 percent of this half said it wouldn't make any difference.
The political jury is still out on Obamacare. Last October, 40 percent liked the law and 48 percent were opposed. In January when the signup efforts were snarled with problems, support slipped to 35 percent. Then in late March, the favorable percent in the Marquette polling bounced back to 39 percent with 50 percent having an unfavorable view.
It's important to remember the situation before Obamacare was enacted. Those without health insurance often used hospital emergency rooms as their door to health care. They often were without funds, and their hospitals recouped their expenditures by increasing the costs charged to those with health insurance.
Other health care issues are expected to enter the 2014 and 2016 elections. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Janesville continues to push a long-term federal budget-balancing plan that would privatize Medicare and let states fashion their own Medicaid programs for the poor.
Ryan, who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012, has repeatedly backed the privatizing of Medicare over time by providing grants that the elderly and handicapped would use to buy health insurance. That sounds something like Obamacare financing. Those now 54 and older would be grandfathered into the existing Medicare system under Ryan's plan.
Gov. Scott Walker seemed to be buying into Ryan's program when he rejected hundreds of millions of additional federal Medicaid funding for Wisconsin. The governor raised doubts the federal government could continue to provide large-scale aid to help pay for expanded Medicaid programs for the near poor. State governments could be stuck with higher costs, according to Walker.
Walker, who is mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate, apparently believes the federal government would prohibit states from determining who would be eligible for Medicaid spending. That seems to fly in the face of Republican talk that states should play the lead role in establishing health-care priorities.
Matt Pommer writes this Wisconsin Newspaper Association weekly state government newsletter. He is dean of the state Capitol correspondents, having covered government action in Madison for 36 years. Readers can contact Pommer at email@example.com.


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Your Views: Should our tax dollars go to propaganda from GM, elsewhere?
Our tax money has some exotic applications. Visit movie theaters and see a film trailer advertising the U.S. postal system, in competition with privately owned FedEx and UPS. (Our tax money pays for these postal service ads!)
General Motors, bailed out by the U.S. government (our tax money) is sponsoring a Chinese communist propaganda film, "Beginning of the Great Revival," marking the 90th anniversary of the party's bloody takeover and slaughter of millions of innocent citizens (the film's emphasis may be slightly different than that). The U.S. government still owns one-third of GM. Our taxes at work.
Should our tax money support the left-wing broadcasts of NPR (National Public Radio)?
Aside from the vile politics of these things, there is a massive issue of unfairness, of injustice. To see a society without free enterprise, view the Robert Duvall film "Stalin" on DVD.


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Can engineers effectively design at home?
38 comments post a comment
Yahoo's new policy against working at home wouldn't work for me. What do engineers think?
SAN JOSE, Calif. Do you work at home? Would you rebel if the corporation locked you back in a Dilbert-style cubicle?
Thats the question being debated around Silicon Valley this week thanks to Marrisa Mayers new corporate policy ending work-at-home for Yahoo. We need to be one Yahoo, she says.
Ive been working at home for years now, and I love it. And I suspect my employer does, too. For the price of a laptop and smartphone the company gets me 24/7/365and it has to pay for 12 square feet less floor space in downtown San Francisco.
I get to take a break whenever I feel like it, pick up my guitar, raid the fridge or go for a walk. I used to get so stale in the office by 3 pm that I am sure I wasnt doing my best work, and I wondered if I was doing any effective work at all. Now sometimes when I have an idea for a story at 5 am or 10 pm, I get up and start writing it.
Ive seen the massive open-plan offices in Tokyo where salarymen and women feel they must stay until 9 or 10 or 11 at night to keep face as a hard worker. What a sham and a waste!
But what does it mean for engineers? Is design inherently collaborative? Do you need more interaction than you can get from Skype?
I know these days design is global. Teams in Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Shenzhen and elsewhere are routinely part of the overall teamso some long distance collaboration comes with the territory. What does that mean for people who choose to work at home although they live in the same city?
These are questions I cannot answer, but Id like to hear from the readers of EE Timesboth bench engineers and engineering managers responsible to get a product out the door from a team of engineers some of whom might work at home. So tell me, what do you do and think about design-at-home?
Related stories:


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Sprecher's Restaurant re-opens in Lake Geneva
Gazette staff
Saturday, December 14, 2013
LAKE GENEVA�— Sprecher's Restaurant at the Cove Resort is re-opening Saturday, Dec. 14 after a September fire that caused the restaurant to close its doors.
The restaurant and pub, 111 Center St., Lake Geneva, will re-open at 11 a.m.
The fire started in the exhaust hood in the restaurant's kitchen, causing serious damage to the kitchen. The Cove Resort and restaurant were evacuated.


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Five arrested after Janesville stabbing
JANESVILLE—A Fort Atkinson man was treated and released from a local hospital after a stabbing Thursday night at 408 S. Jackson St. Five people were arrested and more arrests are expected, according to a Janesville Police Department news release.
Arrested on a charge of obstructing an officer, were: Tianna N. Mizener, 19, of 408 S. Jackson St., Janesville; Kristopher R. Arsenty, 22, of 408 S. Jackson St., Janesville; and Andrew V. Donaldson, 18, of 920 Eisenhower Ave., Janesville.
Also arrested on charges of battery and obstructing an officer, were: Ryan J. Eberley, 20, of 208 N. Willard St., Janesville, and George A. Helmick, 23, of Fort Atkinson, Janesville.
When police arrived on scene at 9:24 p.m. Thursday they found Helmick with a 3-inch stab wound to the right shoulder. He was treated and released from Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center, according to the release.
At the same time, Donaldson arrived at the Janesville Police Department stating he had been beat up and needed help.
After officers and detectives interviewed multiple people involved in the incident they found inconsistent stories, making it unclear if the stabbing was in self-defense, according to police.
Detectives continued to investigate Friday, according to the news release.


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Vintage Chinese Japanese Pottery Tea Bowl or Tea Cup
Vintage Chinese Pottery Tea Cup or Bowl.
Item Specifics
Height: 6cm (approx 2.50")
Diameter: 9cm (approx 3.50")
Weight: 170 grams
Used: Mint condition
We appreciate when you purchase something you want it ASAP - so we always endeavour to dispatch on the same day (if ordered before 14:00 Mon-Fri) and always within one working days.
Domestic Services
For smaller items (under 2KG) we ship via Royal Mail - for larger or heavier items we use quality couriers who will deliver within 48 hours (weekday deliveries only).
International Services
For smaller items (under 2KG and smaller than 90cm in total girth) we ship via International Signed for Delivery which helps avoid items going missing - the delivery time of which varies considerably depending on the country. For larger items we use a variety of couriers, for Europe this can be DPD, Parcelforce or TNT - for the rest of the world we generally use UPS. All courier services are tracked and insured.
Collection in Person
You are most welcome to collect in person from our business premises at
Modetro LTD,
Unit E2,
Knoll Business Centre,
Old Shoreham Road,
Our opening hours are 9.15-5.15 Monday-Friday - if you are planning on collecting in person if you could let us know by email (email@example.com) or by calling +44 1273 93 0909 it would be appreciated.
Special Requirements
If you have any special requirements (e.g. need it delivered on a particular day, need it super fast) please do get in touch with us by email (firstname.lastname@example.com) or by calling +44 1273 93 0909. We will do our utmost to accommodate you.
100% money-back guarantee - no quibbles, no worries!
We are absolutely committed to you being happy with everything you purchase from Modetro. As such we offer a 100% money back guarantee - If for any reason you're not fully satisfied or you have simply changed your mind, you can return the item for a full refund.
To return an item if you could kindly email us at email@example.com within 30 days of purchase to let us know you would like to return the item and we will issue you with a return id number to add to your item. You can then send this back to us at:
Modetro LTD,
Unit E2,
Knoll Business Centre,
Old Shoreham Road,
Once arrived we will refund in you full.


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Drinking with Dickens: Negus to Smoking Bishop
One evening in December, I found myself under the weather but with an unbreakable date. I had promised to take a fellow cheesemonger on his first visit to Drink. For anyone who hasn't been, Drink is an elegant bar in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston with highly skilled bartenders and no drink list. One orders by indicating an ingredient or ingredients they're in the mood for – for me, that often means something like Bourbon or grapefruit juice. Then, the bartenders make cocktail suggestions based on these clues.
All I could muster up this particularly cold evening was,"I have a sore throat." A few minutes later, head bartender, John Gertsen emerged from the back with a steaming pot of negus. A warm, sweet and comforting blend of port, hot water, sugar and lemon, negus was a popular drink in Victorian times, and is mentioned in more than one of Charles Dickens' novels. In Dombey and Son, Mr. Feeder, "after imbibing several custard cups of negus, began to enjoy himself." Just as I did after imbibing my several wineglasses full of negus at Drink (I also slept like a baby that night)!
Mrs. Isabella Beeton, in her weighty tome, Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861) describes negus as a, "beverage usually drunk at children's parties." Instead, I recommend putting the children to bed and keeping the negus for the adults. I've made this recipe a few times, using Quinto do Infantado Ruby Port. And, something I have learned – a nice, round lemon slice will sit just right inside of a wine glass and, each sip of negus will be better for passing through the lemon.
Mrs. Beeton's Negus
INGREDIENTS: To every pint of port wine, allow 1 quart of boiling water, ¼ lb of sugar, 1 lemon and grated nutmeg to taste.
DIRECTIONS: Put the wine into a jug, rub some lumps of sugar (equal to ¼ lb) on the lemon rind until all the yellow part of the skin is absorbed, then squeeze the juice and strain it. Add the sugar and lemon-juice to the port wine with the grated nutmeg; pour over it the boiling water, cover the jug, and, when the beverage has cooled a little, it will be fit for use.
Negus was my drink for a stressful holiday season, when its comforting, calming sips hit the spot. However, the less taxing months of January and February mark the arrival of Seville oranges and allows one to graduate from negus, to the more grown-up Smoking Bishop. Smoking Bishop is also made with port and sugar but, instead of water, it calls for dry red wine and tasty Seville oranges replace the lemons.
Seville oranges are thicker-skinned and more sour than normal eating oranges and have traditionally been imported to England in January and February where they are prized for use in marmalade. Because of the seasonality of the oranges, the basic Bishop recipe (without the port) was often made in large batches and kept on hand for use in summer Bishop's Cups and especially for making Smoking Bishop bowls at Christmastime. Scrooge himself must have been saving a bit because, after his Christmas Eve self-realizations, he kindly offers a bowl to poor Bob Cratchit. This recipe comes from Cedric Dickens, the great-grandson of Charles Dickens.
Smoking Bishop
6 Seville oranges
¼ lb sugar
1 bottle Portuguese red wine (we just use a simple dry red)
1 bottle port
Bake the oranges in the oven until they are pale brown, and then put them in a warmed earthenware bowl with five cloves pricked into each. Add the sugar and pour in the wine – not the port. Cover and leave in a warm place for about a day. Squeeze the oranges into the wine and pour it through a sieve. Add the port and heat but do not boil. Serve in warmed goblets and drink hot.
This recipe will serve at least four. (If you'd like to keep some of the port-less mixture around for later, Mr. Dickens suggests fortifying it with "a tot of orange brandy" and says to add the port and a bit of water before serving.)
I have had success serving both negus and Smoking Bishop with a nice selection of cheeses, including not limited to Stichelton (our raw milk Stilton*), Bleu du Bocage, Montgomery's Cheddar or Robie Farm Swaledale. I like to put out a baguette and a nice blob of creamy butter to lubricate the stronger blues. Another nice touch is the addition of our Spanish caramelized walnuts. With a minimum of expense and preparation time, either of these lovely steaming cups can be made for small parties or intimate gatherings, ideally served in front of a fireplace or while watching a good Dickens mini-series. Cheers!
*For more information on the differences between Stilton and Stichelton, click here.
Julie Cappellano is the General Manager and wine buyer at Formaggio Kitchen South End, Boston.


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Emporia State University announces 2012 Outstanding Recent GraduatesOctober 8, 2012
Emporia State University is honoring three alumni who have launched distinguished careers soon after receiving their diplomas. Outstanding Recent Graduate awards will be presented during Emporia State's 2012 Homecoming celebration to Leah Childers of Pittsburg, Cory M. Haag of Emporia and Howard West of Boston, Mass.
The award recognizes career achievements, community service, and dedication to Emporia State. The university's undergraduate colleges and schools annually select the award recipients.
"We're proud to recognize this year's class of Outstanding Recent Graduates," said Tyler Curtis, executive director of alumni relations.
"They make us proud to count them among the almost 60,000 alumni of our institution," said Curtis.
The trio will be recognized by Emporia State's Alumni Association at the Alumni Awards Dinner beginning with a 5:30 p.m. reception Friday, Oct. 12 in the Memorial Union's Webb Hall. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call 620-341-5440 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
About the honorees
Leah Childers, Ph.D., (BSE-Mathematics 2003, MS-Mathematics 2005) is in her second year as a mathematician and assistant professor at Pittsburg State University. As a relatively new faculty member there, she has already been active in encouraging students, particularly young women, to pursue further study in mathematics and mathematics-related fields. While at Emporia State, Childers was active in a variety of organizations including Kappa Mu Epsilon, the math honor society, and Expanding Your Horizons, a program to motivate young women in science and math. She was the 2003 Outstanding Senior at Emporia State. She was recently elected as secretary of the Kansas section of the Mathematical Association of America.
Cory M. Haag (BSB-Business Management 2002) is Director of Operations for Haag Management, Inc., in Emporia, a family-owned business specializing in the development of college, residential and senior housing. Haag has worked to develop quality properties throughout the Emporia area. Notable examples include the 2008 development of Granada Plaza and Lofts in downtown Emporia, part of a revitalizing project that has brought new commercial businesses and residential loft apartments to the downtown area. In 2011, he oversaw the development of another downtown project, the Kellogg Plaza and Lofts across the street from Emporia State University. He continues to work with local businesses and organizations to help redevelop downtown properties and housing options around the university.
Howard West (BSB-Computer Information Systems 2005, MS-Instructional Design and Technology 2007), trains the U.S. Armed Forces, Federal Aviation Administration and law enforcement personnel on security solutions such as air traffic control and emergency communications systems. As a training specialist with Raytheon Technical Services Company, West provided support to the U.S. Air Force at Kirkuk (Iraq) Regional Air Force Base. He has also provided training for administrative personnel in New York City's police, fire and emergency medical departments. He volunteers for The Boys and Girls Club of Boston-Dorchester, Mass., serves as a mentor to Emporia State IDT graduates seeking private-sector employment, and is a frequent speaker for IDT online webinars.
Check out our students' achievements and accomplishments on Emporia State's meritpages.com site


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STAAR tutorials begin November 14th - 16th.
Forgotten Password
Please enter the email address or username associated with your account in the box below. If we are able to locate your account with the information you provided, we will send you an email with instructions, including a link to a page where you can choose a new password.
Note: If you do not have an account, or have any questions, please contact your school directly. You are not able to register for an account on this page.


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Tranexamic Acid/Estrogenic Agents Interactions
This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.
Medical warning:
Severe. These medicines may interact and cause very harmful effects and are usually not taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.
How the interaction occurs:
Both of these medicines can increase your risk of a blood clot.
What might happen:
Using these medicines together may increase your risk of forming an unwanted blood clot.
What you should do about this interaction:
Make sure your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) know that you are taking these medicines together. Also let your healthcare professional know if you smoke or if you are taking higher than a normally-prescribed dose of birth control. Get medical help right away if you experience: sudden shortness of breath, chest/jaw/left arm pain, unusual sweating, confusion, coughing up blood, sudden dizziness/fainting, pain/swelling/warmth in the groin/calf, tingling/weakness/numbness in the arms/legs, unusual headaches (including headaches with vision changes/lack of coordination, worsening of migraines, sudden/very severe headaches), slurred speech, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes (such as partial/complete blindness).Your healthcare professionals may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.
- 1.Lysteda (tranexamic acid) US prescribing information. Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. October, 2013..


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Drug Investigation Leads To Additional Arrests
As previously reported by Franklin Police Department on September 18th, a several month long drug investigation regarding 297 Mary Johnson Drive, led to the arrest of four individuals for the sale of illegal narcotics and disorderly house. This investigation was the third conducted by the West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office, since 2010 and has resulted in two additional arrests since the original news release.
Jaquaivus Deinon Brewer of 311 Mary Johnson Drive, Franklin, Georgia, turned himself in at the Heard County Sheriff's Department on October 3rd, after learning of an arrest warrant for the sale of marijuana. He has since posted a $10,000.00 bond and was released to appear in court.
Kenyata Deonte Robinson of 74 Daniel Circle, Franklin, Georgia, was arrested on October 9th for the sale of marijuana and 5 counts for the sale of prescription medication. He is currently incarcerated and has a $50,000.00 bond.


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Your Views: Paul Ryan should walk in different shoes
Paul Ryan has toured the country examining poverty, and he has declared that "the best way to turn from a vicious cycle of despair and learned hopelessness to a virtuous cycle of hope and flourishing is by embracing the attributes of friendship, love and accountability." The use of accountability leads one to suspect that Ryan believes that most in poverty are there because of a choice to be coddled by government.
�There are roughly 46 million Americans below the poverty line, but nearly half are working full time.
In Ryan's hometown, 52 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced lunches. These parents are not dependent upon government, nor are they unwilling to take personal responsibility for their lives; they simply can't earn enough money to escape need. Of the people receiving food stamps, half work full time at jobs that don't pay enough to rise out of poverty. Military personnel make up 900,000, and 60 percent are children, seniors or the disabled.
�It is honorable that Ryan declares that friendship and love should be directed toward the poor, but if accountability is equally important, then the same demand must be placed upon Wall Street, the guys who made millions cheating American families.
�If Congressman Ryan will walk in the shoes of those in his own district, he will find poverty results from a lack of a job or a living wage, not a lack of an incentive to work.


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Some companies are still struggling to comply with the new reporting requirements for derivatives trades in Europe under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), even though a month has passed since the Feb. 12 deadline.
Companies ran into various problems as they prepared to report trades. Some companies encountered delays in getting the legal entity identifier (LEI) they need to start complying with EMIR or in registering with the trade repositories to which they will report their derivatives trades. Even after companies registered with repositories, some experienced technical problems related to the messages used to notify repositories of their trades.
The problems seem to have stemmed from the relatively short amount of time companies had to meet the EMIR deadline and the pressure the compressed timeframe placed on providers like trade repositories.
"There remain significant traffic jams with the various elements of the regulatory infrastructure that it's just going to take time to work out," said Luke Zubrod, director of risk and regulatory advisory at Chatham Financial, an advisory and technology solutions provider.
"It can take weeks, sometimes more, to get legal entity identifiers," Zubrod said. "I talked to someone a few weeks ago who said they were still waiting 28 days in from having applied."
One of the trade repositories, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. (DTCC) is "ground zero" for the EMIR traffic jam, Zubrod said, noting that 80% of the market will be reporting to DTCC.
"We really have no sense of how long it will take for clients who have submitted their [registration] documentation to work their way through the pipeline, but it's probably measured in weeks," he said.
Repositories Under Pressure
"It was obvious there was a lot of pressure on the repositories," said Guenther Peer, regional vice president of solutions consulting EMEA for treasury and risk management software vendor Reval. "The responsiveness of the trade repositories led to delays in the actual process of registration and also in support."
While some companies are able to do the daily reporting required by EMIR, others still face challenges, Peer said, "mainly around trade repositories' technology or corporates' testing and the actual uploading of the messages, and also the technical standards in which the messages are transmitted."
Martin O'Donovan, deputy policy and technical director at the Association of Corporate Treasurers in London, also cited technical problems encountered by companies that were prepared to comply with EMIR. "The files weren't being accepted, they couldn't get through to the trade repositories to find out why," O'Donovan said. "Some were given login details and found the login wasn't working."
O'Donovan noted that "in fairness to providers like the trade repositories, they were only authorized three months before the start date.
"Corporates wouldn't have signed up with a trade repository before it was authorized," he said. "Why would you? There was an awful lot to do in three months."
O'Donovan also noted that while initially there were plans to phase in the reporting of trades, adding each type of derivative separately, the delays resulted in companies facing a single date to start reporting all types of derivatives trades.
"Normally if you're implementing new systems, you have some test runs and you start with a small amount of your population to test that they really work," he said. "Going for a single big bang wasn't that sensible."
EMIR is Europe's version of the derivative reporting rules that Dodd-Frank mandates in the U.S. While Dodd-Frank requires only one party to a trade to report, and exempts end users from its requirements, under EMIR the parties on each side of the trade must report and there is no end-user exemption.
Zubrod, pictured at left, said 1.2 million organizations are subject to EMIR reporting in Europe, versus just 1,000 to 2,000 that must report in the U.S. under Dodd-Frank.
Although some companies have yet to comply with the reporting requirement, European regulators are holding fire. (The national securities regulator in each country oversees EMIR compliance, such as the FCA in the U.K. and BaFin in Germany.)
"They're definitely being tolerant, but being regulators they can't be too laid back," O'Donovan said. "They're now saying, 'We'll have a degree of forbearance, but you do need to indicate that you're working hard on an implementation program.'"
Regulators "made it very clear that corporates cannot lean back and wait and see; they have to focus on getting in compliance," Peer said.
With the parties on both sides of each trade reporting to repositories, the reports are then supposed to be matched or reconciled. Peer said that so far only a small portion of trades can be reconciled.
The problems reconciling the reports in part reflect the fact that there's not a single method for companies and financial firms to use to come up with the unique transaction identifier (UTI) for each trade.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued guidelines on Feb. 11, the eve of the EMIR deadline, for putting together UTIs. The national securities regulators haven't endorsed those guidelines, though, so market participants are taking various approaches. There's now an International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) working group looking at how to construct UTIs.
Peer said that reconciling EMIR reports isn't a concern for corporates. "Compliance is reached when you have transmitted your derivatives report," he said.
But Zubrod said it's possible that the problems with reconciling the trade reports could create work for companies in the future. "Potentially you'll have to take the UTI that has been generated and update your reporting submission so the UTI your bank reports and the UTI you use match up," he said.
Meanwhile, companies face additional EMIR deadlines for reporting older trades: Trades entered into before Aug. 16, 2012, that were still outstanding as of the Feb. 12 deadline are to be reported by May 5. Trades that terminated between Aug. 16, 2012, and Feb. 12, 2014, are to be reported by Feb. 12, 2017.
There's also a portfolio-reconciliation requirement that involves matching the key economic terms and valuation a company has assigned to each swap with those reported by the bank, then reconciling any differences, Zubrod said. "In March, many will have to do this for the first time."
While the start of EMIR reporting has been problematic, Zubrod doesn't expect the challenges to discourage companies from using derivatives.
"The real drivers of people choosing not to hedge would be the economic burdens that could feasibly hit derivatives—capital requirements, funding charges, margin requirements," he said. "The administrative burdens are painful, and it makes this transition from a regulated to an unregulated world a challenge. But they're not the sort of things that will keep people from managing their risks."


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Weather may delay Gazette deliveries
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Deliveries of The Gazette today are likely to be delayed, especially in rural areas.
Gazette delivery contractors are making deliveries but may encounter difficult winter road conditions. Customers who do not receive their Sunday editions today will receive them Monday, said Lon Haenel, Gazette circulation director.
"Please be patient as contractors work to make deliveries as quickly and safely as possible," Haenel said.


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Editor's Views: If papers fade away, so will part of history
The old newspapers are yellowed; some are falling apart. Age and deterioration, however, haven't diminished their impact.
They themselves are history. They record history. Their screaming headlines and faded pictures take me back to important days and times—to the deaths of presidents, to critical developments in world wars, to monumental victories for the home team.
�The news media have been called the first draft of history, and that's especially true for print newspapers.
Two events in the past few weeks prompted me to think about the importance of print papers and front pages as drafts of history and how the world will be different if the electronic media ever squeeze out the print press entirely.
We got a new furnace at our house, and that meant I had to lug a bunch of boxes out of the back room in the basement to make way for workers. Amid the antiques, dishes and old holiday decorations was a box of my dad's stuff.
My dad was a newspaper editor for nearly 40 years, and he was old school in the truest sense. He loved most everything about the business, but he especially loved the look and feel of newspapers and the records they provided of important and historic events.
The box of his old stuff contained mementoes of various kinds, but—not surprisingly— the newspapers grabbed my attention. I knew he had saved them, and I knew I had them somewhere. My dad grew up in Madison and once worked at the Wisconsin State Journal, so most are from that paper.
One of the earliest carries a lead headline 4 inches tall, "INVASION." A smaller headline underneath adds: "Chutes, ships storm France." It is dated June 6, 1944. D-Day. You talk about history. A map shows the English Channel and routes of the Allied forces, and various bulletins and accounts fill the rest of the page.
Another paper is topped with "President Roosevelt Dies at Warm Springs." The date is April 12, 1945, and it tells of FDR's sudden death at age 63.
Like me, my dad was a sports nut, and he was a big fan of the Wisconsin Badgers football team. He graduated from the UW and was a manager on the famed 1942 team. He was also a huge Packer backer, especially during the Lombardi years.
So, understandably, his collection includes many papers from the best days of the Badgers and Packers. One records a 35-7 victory by that '42 UW team, led by Dave Schreiner and Jack Wink, over Marquette. Others cover big victories leading up to the 1953 and 1963 Rose Bowls and the tough losses to USC in Pasadena.
The Packers are covered in a handful of editions from the State Journal's "Sports Peach," which described the section's special color in those days, but the best are marked by these headlines: "Packers Flatten Browns, 23-12; Take Record Ninth NFL Crown" from Jan. 2, 1966, and "Packers Trample Chiefs; Starr's Magic Touch Upholds NFL Honor" from Jan. 16, 1967.
I remember those Packer wins, and I heard many stories about those great Badger teams. The papers, though, offer a touch and feel from a bygone era and preserve otherwise long-lost details that keep history alive.
My dad's collection does not include any papers from late November 1963, when President Kennedy was killed, but I've seen many front pages in the past week that documented the assassination in Dallas and the tragic and somber days that followed. The Janesville Daily Gazette's headline from Nov. 22, 1963, read "President Kennedy slain in Texas!; Johnson to take helm."
The galleries of front pages from across the country that I saw on the anniversary of Kennedy's slaying reinforced that notion of newspapers as critical first drafts of history. People talk about what would be lost if newspapers fade away. Certainly, this is among the most significant.
Until last week, my dad's old papers sat uncovered and unprotected in a broken cardboard box. I've moved them to a sealed plastic bin. That's the least I can do to preserve this little part of history.
Scott W. Angus is editor of The Gazette and vice president of news for Bliss Communications. His email is firstname.lastname@example.com. You can follow him Twitter at @sangus_.


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Two years ago, the board of Juniper Networks, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based provider of high-performance networking, decided it needed an integrated risk management program that would give board members and the executive management team greater oversight of risk management across the organization. As part of that process, and mindful of how Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown exposed businesses' vulnerability to continuity disruption, Juniper's risk management committee looked at the company's own preparedness and its ability to support its customers.
As a result, Juniper was able to provide business continuity support to telecom companies covering this year's Olympics. It was a telling example of the advantages of setting up an integrated risk management program.
Instead of just bringing in a vendor and setting up an automated enterprise risk system, as many companies have done, $4.5 billion Juniper set about evaluating what its real operational and strategic risks were across the 46 countries it operates in, with the aim of creating a "risk-intelligent organization."
"The goal was to focus on higher-level risks," says Laura Langone, director of global risk management. This was not just about mitigating or eliminating those risks, she says. "There is an upside and a downside to risk."
At the request of CFO Robyn Denholm, a treasury-led risk working team was assembled. Its 10 members represented finance, legal, tax, treasury, internal audit, corporate strategy and business operations, with Deloitte serving as a consultant to assist with benchmarking and project management.
The team developed a list of 200 key risks, which were divided into four "risk pillars": strategic, operational, financial and compliance. Metrics were developed to measure the company's vulnerability to each risk, as well as the impact of risk mitigation efforts. Within each pillar, risks were further evaluated in terms of factors like relative speed of onset to determine which needed to be evaluated quarterly by a risk management committee composed of executives from across the company.
In the process of evaluating Juniper's overall risk profile, some risks were removed from the list, Langone says. For example, compliance risks were culled out "because we have strong internal audits and great legal operations, so while we had those risks, they were being well monitored and mitigated already," she says. "They didn't need to be included."
A three-pronged approach was established for dealing with each of the 200 key risks identified, consisting of three questions: Are we focused on the right issues to manage the risk? Has the level of acceptable risk been determined? Is the risk management response acceptable?
"No one likes talking about that four-letter word, risk," Langone says. "But, for example, talking about how we're going to focus on a new market we are in, and what are the risks, helps us to crystallize a strategy and make it a great market."
As an example of how the integrated risk program has helped the company not just mitigate risk but find opportunities, she says, "We're just now discovering upside opportunities in our negotiations with outsourcers and suppliers. When you see yourself as embedded with your suppliers, it becomes more of a partnership than a business relationship."
Juniper's new integrated risk program remains a work-in-progress. The foundation was built in 2010, Langone says, and 2011 was the year for getting the system up and running. "This year we're fully operational."
Already Juniper has seen direct benefits, including enhanced governance, oversight and transparency of risk at both board and executive level, as well as indirect benefits, such as negotiating better risk management programs for operational risks that had traditionally been handled through insurance.
See a slideshow of the 2012 Alexander Hamilton Award winners here.
Read about the Aon project that won the Silver in the Enterprise Risk Management category here, the Paychex project that won the Bronze here, and the RTI International Project that won the Editors' Choice Middle Market Achievement Award here.


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PascalSCADA is a framework for Delphi and Lazarus to quick development of HMI/SCADA applications. The platforms supported by PascalSCADA are Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD under 32 and 64 bits (FreeBSD only in 32 bits). You can communicate with CLP's, create interfaces, store values and alarms of process, and control users of the application.
Coin Catalog can be used to look up the value of a coin and/or to save your coin collection. It features a Belgian Coin Catalog (including Belgian Congo, Offical Medals, ECU-coins, Food-jetons, Austrain Netherlands), British Coin Catalog (including Maundy Money), Canadian Coin Catalog, Coins from the Netherlands, Search for a coin, Make your own Collections, Add pictures to your collection, Make a list of coins that you search or you want to exchange, Print your Collection, Show difference between Grades, Lookup Dealers, Lookup Clubs & meetings, Make use of Currency ($, £, €, and Y), Make use of the Gold Price, Update Catalogs online, and more.
FEDES is a Finite Element Data Exchange System for mapping finite element analysis data between different FE solvers and meshes with different element types and densities. Six commercial FE solvers are supported (ABAQUS, ANSYS, DEFORM, MARC, MORFEO, and VULCAN). The FEA data output can be visualized with ParaView.
Enrollix manages enrollment of people to associations, communities, groups, classes, teams, magazines, and events like meetings, parties, etc. It collects detailed personal data of members and of their enrollments (with a possible fee), selects them according to any kind of filter, and produces a balance of the revenues which can be saved in a CSV (comma separated value) file. This file can be opened with a spreadsheet like Calc or Excel. It is possible to prepare different models of certificates (like a receipt or a certificate of membership) within the software and print them with the data of any member, with a possible progressive number (like a protocol) within it. It can print labels of addresses or lists of payments of the selected (filtered) members, and it's possible to save their postal addresses or all their personal data in a CSV file, or to copy their email addresses to the clipboard, to paste them into the recipient field of a new message. The personal data of each member may contain a picture, which is saved in a directory with the same name and path of the file in use. It is possible to export selected members from the file in use to another Enrollix file, or to import all the members from it. Each member and his or her enrollments are internally identified by a unique mark (a UID number).
XiX Music Player is a music player for MP3, Ogg, M4A, AAC, FLAC, APE, and OPUS files. It is easy to create and maintain your own playlists. There is an integrated lyric viewer that searches for the lyric of the song you are listening to. If the CD cover is found, it is also shown. You can also rip CD tracks to MP3 or FLAC. Listening to your favorite online radio stations is also possible. The focus is on having fast control of all your music.
SPINA is software for determining constant structure-parameters of endocrine feedback control systems from hormone levels obtained in vivo. The first version of this cybernetic approach allows for evaluating the functional status of the thyroid gland, i.e. thyroid's secretory capacity (GT) and sum activity of peripheral deiodinases (GD).
A porting tool for making Cygwin net releases.
An enhanced Elm with MIME, character set, POP, IMAP, and PGP support.


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Tom Miller: Remember when Janesville 'ran' the Bucks?
It probably wasn't a coincidence that the sale of the Milwaukee Bucks was announced Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday night, the team concluded one of the most miserable seasons any NBA team has ever put up.
The prospect of billionaire owners, a new arena and possibly the No. 1 pick of the entire draft covers up nicely the mess these Bucks dumped on us during the past six months.
The fact that the Brewers have more road wins in two weeks (6) than the Bucks had in six months (5) sums up the state of the team.
What a new generation of fans might not realize is that Herb Kohl bought the Bucks from a group headed by Janesville's Jim Fitzgerald in 1985.
As it turned out, the move effectively ended a golden era for the NBA franchise.
Fitzgerald's group, which included members of the Cullen and Ryan families in Janesville, became the sole owner of the Bucks on April 30, 1971, after a yearlong battle to acquire 361,230 shares of stock, according to a Milwaukee Sentinel article on the sale. Fitzgerald headed Basketball Associated Inc., a group that acquired 144,475 shares of the team in late 1975.
The sale of the 361,230 shares at $8 apiece (over the then-market value of $5.50) involved a bit more drama than Wednesday's transaction.
At the time, Fitzgerald wanted to fire Bucks coach Larry Costello, a move that the players favored, but the fans and some of the existing owners did not, according to the Sentinel. Fitzgerald agreed to giving Costello a two-year extension, and the other owners agreed to sell Fitzgerald's group the remaining stock.
But Costello knew he was on thin ice, and when the Bucks went 3-15 to start the 1976-77 season, he was fired. Assistant Don Nelson was handed the job.
I was a sophomore at UW-Whitewater at that time. As part of a sports journalism class, we just happened to be scheduled as guests of the Bucks at Nelson's first game as head coach against the Lakers.
Our small group was on a tour of the Milwaukee Arena with a Bucks public relations staff member when Nelson happened to walk past in the concourse. The PR person introduced us.
"Nervous?" we asked.
"Had to change my underwear three times," Nelson said, smiling, but only half-kidding.
"Nervous Nellie" went on to become the most popular coach the Bucks have ever had.
Brian Fitzgerald, Jim's son, remembers those nine years fondly.
"It was so different," Brian said Wednesday afternoon. "We were also in the middle of a huge expansion with our cable company, Total TV. It was crazy, crazy."
Brian said Jim, who died in June 2012, allowed Nelson to handle players' contracts and trades.
In 10 seasons with Nelson as coach, the Bucks won 50 or more games seven times.
"If you look back then, the Brewers were not doing well, the Packers were not doing well and the Badgers weren't doing well," Brian said. "We were the only shining star in Wisconsin sports under Nelson."
How times change.
In the early 1980s, the Fitzgerald-led group faced the same problem Kohl has faced the past few seasons. The owners needed a new arena. The MECCA had the smallest seating capacity in the NBA.
"Dad had a heart attack (in 1981) and some of the partners were older than he was and expressed a desire to get out," Brian said. "In addition, like Herb, we needed a new arena and the city refused to help."
So the sale to Kohl began. When negotiations were nearly completed, Jane Bradley Pettit and Lloyd Pettit, in memory of Jane's late father, Harry Lynde Bradley of the Allen-Bradley Company, offered to donate $90 million to build what is now the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Fitzgerald group couldn't back out.
"We were too far along at that point," Brian said.
In the nine seasons the Fitzgerald group owned the Bucks, the team went 436-302, a 59.1 winning percentage.
The group sold the Bucks to Kohl for $18 million. It had spent $3.5 million to acquire the team.
Six months later, Jim Fitzgerald received a phone call from NBA Commissioner David Stern.
"He told Dad that Franklin Mieuli (owner of the Golden State Warriors) needed help, and that it probably would be worth a trip out there," Brian said.
Jim, who owned a house in Palm Springs, met with Mieuli. In 1986, Fitzgerald and Dan Finnane purchased the Warriors from Mieuli for $18 million—the same amount Kohl paid for the Bucks.
In 1988, Nelson became coach and vice president of the team.
They sold the team in 1995 for $142 million.
In 29 seasons with Kohl as the owner, the Bucks went 1,084-1,269.
On Wednesday, Kohl sold the Bucks, a team that needs a new arena and won just 15 of 82 games this season, for $550 million, with the provision that the team remains in Milwaukee.
Kohl is a decent man who always wanted good for the state and the Bucks, as his $100 million donation toward a new arena shows. While Kohl was not a successful NBA owner, he proved again he is one heckuva businessman.
Tom Miller is a page designer/sports writer for The Gazette.


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My 4-year-old sponsors a child in Zambia
For World Radio Day today, Arik Korman – Executive Director of The Bob Rivers Show on 95.7 KJR-FM in Seattle – writes about how his son AJ has grown up with sponsored children in his family, which has inspired AJ to want to help! The Bob Rivers Show is a long-time partner of World Vision, and has helped to connect more than 4,700 children around the world with sponsors.
Leaving your child behind when you travel to the other side of the world is tough on a parent. You want to lend your hand to help families in need, but at the same time you know you're taking a calculated risk.
I have been blessed to have journeyed with World Vision to developing countries eight times, the last three as a father to my 4-year-old son, AJ.
My first trip as a parent in November 2011 took me to the Brazilian Amazon, where I and other members of 95.7 KJR FM's The Bob Rivers Show joined a team of medical and dental volunteers to serve isolated villages along the river. The villagers welcomed us with open arms, the need was great, and the scenery was breathtaking. But I saw AJ in every child I met and wished he could have joined me. AJ gave me a small stuffed animal to bring in his place, which I named "Adventure Kitty," and I took photos of him along the way to show my son when I returned home.
The following year took me to the slums of India and World Vision's South Delhi program, where I visited the home of a 2-year-old boy named Aryan Vijay, who was asleep on the family bed (far right in the photo below) with his 10-month-old younger brother. Aryan's 17-year-old sister and mother shared how they lived on about two dollars a day when times were good. Aryan's father is a fruit vendor and winters are tough because there is no fruit to sell.
In wintertime, the family scraped by on less than a dollar a day and survived on only fragments of chapati bread with salt. Aryan's mother and older sister had to fetch water for their one-room home and take baths on their living room floor. For me, it was a no-brainer. My dollar-a-day sponsorship now helps Aryan's family and his community. That's how my son AJ became connected with "AV," his sponsored younger brother.
This year, The Bob Rivers Show's World Vision partnership brought us to Zambia. AJ was old enough to understand where I was going and why.
When I returned, I told AJ about the children I'd met, like sisters Beatrice and Elizabeth. 14-year-old Beatrice and 10-year-old Elizabeth live with their great-grandmother Jesica and grandmother Sofia in a one-room home with dirt floors that is the size of a typical American walk-in closet. Beatrice and Elizabeth's parents had died of HIV/AIDS, and their grandmothers are too sick to help provide for the family.
To make ends meet, the girls raise chickens, which live inside their small house, and Beatrice cooks them so she can walk to the nearby town market to sell fried chicken, netting her about one U.S. dollar per trip. This is the family's only source of income. Meanwhile, Beatrice attends the local school as a fourth-grader and hopes to eventually become a nurse. Every day, she and Elizabeth collect firewood and fetch water, which is a 30-minute walk to an unprotected well.
After hearing their story, AJ wanted to know if he could help a child like Beatrice and Elizabeth. We called World Vision and asked if we could be matched with a child who had AJ's same birthday, which is how we met Bridget in World Vision's Mbeza program in Zambia.
I explained to AJ how Bridget lives on a small farm with her parents and two brothers. Bridget helps at home by washing dishes and likes to play ball games if she can find a ball. She eats corn porridge called nshima for every meal. Now AJ wants to try mush.
AJ's mind was blown when I told him that Bridget doesn't have running water. And now he appreciates being able to see a doctor! AJ says he hopes to someday travel to Zambia to build a better house for Bridget and her family. When AJ is a few years older, I hope to take him to Zambia to meet his new sponsored sister.
You can help a child just like Bridget, Beatrice, or Elizabeth. Child sponsorship helps provide access to life-saving basics like clean water, education, food security, medical care, and much more! Choose a child to sponsor today!