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Kim Jong Un is portrayed in North Korea's official media as a leader without comparison, blessed with a supreme bloodline, flanked by a supportive wife and endowed with the "brilliant" ability to revamp the economy, command an army and guide the space program.
But one thing is notably absent from these descriptions: any mention of his two brothers, both once rumoured to be heirs to the family-run empire.
As Kim prepared for his nationally celebrated birthday yesterday, thought to be his 30th, his brothers are far from the state-sanctioned spotlight, one living in secrecy in North Korea, the other apparently moving between China and Singapore. Their absence, North Korea watchers say, is integral to the personality cult that emphasises Kim Jong Un's unique suitability to run the nuclear-armed nation. In state propaganda, he is depicted as an only son, his inheritance predetermined and uncontested.
North Korea has had just three leaders in six decades – Kim Jong Un, his father and his grandfather – but the hereditary handoffs, in reality, have always caused bitter behind-the-scenes competition.
Kim Jong Un was chosen by his father, Kim Jong Il, over his older male siblings, Kim Jong Nam, now 41, and Kim Jong Chul, 31. Kim Jong Il also had four daughters.
As the young leader tries to consolidate power he has no apparent plans for his brothers, who represent potential rivals whom "other elites could coalesce around", said Ken Gause, an expert on North Korean leadership at CNA in the United States.
But Kim is believed to be grooming his youngest sister, thought to be in her mid-20s, as an aide. That mirrors the strategy used by his father, who gave his younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, considerable power but banished his half-brother into diplomatic exile.
Even before Kim Jong Il died about 13 months ago, Kim Jong Un's brothers led secretive lives – particularly Jong Chul, who has been photographed only a few times and has never spoken publicly. But after Kim Jong Un ascended to power his brothers withdrew almost entirely from public view, although observers emphasise that it is unclear whether they were acting under orders.
Jong Chul, who is thought to live in North Korea, was last seen in public in 2011 at an Eric Clapton concert in Singapore.
As for Jong Nam, he once led a lavish but secluded lifestyle in Macau, Asia's gambling capital. But he hasn't spoken to the media since last January, when he criticised North Korea's hereditary power transfer and predicted trouble for his half-brother. Yoji Gomi, a Japanese journalist, said Jong Nam also cut him off after several years of email correspondence.
In October, a man claiming to be a North Korean agent said he had been ordered to kill or injure Jong Nam by staging a car accident in China.
The allegation came after the man was arrested in South Korea for unrelated activities. The man, whose name was not given in court documents, said his orders to harm Jong Nam came from North Korea's state security agency in 2010, the year Kim Jong Un was anointed successor.
The agent told the court his plan unravelled because he could not track down Jong Nam in China.
Little is known about the true relationships between Kim Jong Un and his brothers. Kim Jong Il's seven children – born to his official wife and a series of mistresses – were raised in separate households across the country. A former Kim family sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, said last month in Tokyo that Jong Nam and Jong Un have never met.
Jong Nam – Kim Jong Il's child from an illicit relationship with an actress – was raised in near-isolation, according to the memoir of an aunt who helped raise the boy and later defected. Jong Nam had a massive playroom of toys, re-stocked annually by a team of globe-trotting buyers. But Jong Nam felt he was living in a "luxury prison", according to the memoir. When, as a teenager, he had an unsanctioned relationship, his father threatened to send him to the coal mines.
Still, analysts presumed that Jong Nam, as the oldest son, was the heir apparent. But his chances probably evaporated in 2001, when he tried to enter Japan in the hope of visiting Disneyland with a fake Dominican Republic passport. Jong Nam has since lived overseas.
Experts say Jong Chul and Jong Un, born to the same mother, might be closer. They attended the same school in Bern, Switzerland, and the same university in Pyongyang.
Their mother, Ko Young Hui, was neither Kim Jong Il's first love nor his official wife, but many researchers say she was his favourite.
North Korea watchers thought her oldest boy, Jong Chul, was being groomed as successor.
Experts think that Kim Jong Il remained married to his official wife, Kim Young Sook, throughout his relationship with Ko Young Hui. Young Sook had only one child, a girl.
How Kim Jong Un outmanoeuvred his brother to gain control of the country is unclear, with speculation based on the most frail of character sketches owing to North Korea's near-perfect seal on biographical information about Jong Chul.
Mr Fujimoto, in a 2003 tell-all book about life with the Kims, described the young Jong Chul as effeminate and uninterested in politics. Chinese experts and visitors to North Korea have described him as a video game devotee who was often sick. Others say he could have an unlisted position in the Workers Party, based on rumours from high-level defectors, and that he could one day emerge publicly.
The Australian Financial Review


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(George Nikitin/Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - When an earthquake collapsed two 50-foot sections of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during the 1989 World Series, the nightmares of hundreds of thousands of commuters who cross the Depression-era span each day were brought to life.
On this 20-year anniversary of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that killed 63 people, injured about 3,800, and caused up to $10 billion in damage, the bridge reconstruction has become the largest public works project in California history and is still years from completion.
Although thousands of buildings, highway bridges, and landmarks such as San Francisco City Hall have been fortified, other earthquake safety problems are far from fully addressed in this region where specialists say another major temblor is certain.
Some schools that the state says are at risk of collapse still have not been repaired. And vulnerable apartment buildings that house hundreds of thousands of people have not been seismically retrofitted by their owners.
"The Loma Prieta earthquake is always referred to as a wake-up call, and we're fortunate over the last 20 years that we've had no other major earthquakes,'' said Jack Boatwright, a seismologist with the US Geological Survey. "Much work has been done, but we cannot rest in these efforts.''
It took only four years during the Great Depression to build the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, but the reconstruction of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge has been plagued by costly delays and political gridlock over its unconventional design. Originally the cost was put at $1.3 billion with a 2004 completion; that has ballooned to $7.2 billion with a 2013 opening.
"What this region and the state is trying to do here is unique,'' said Bart Ney, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, who is managing the project. "We're trying to build a world-class structure, an architectural icon, and a seismic innovation all at one time in one of the most seismically challenged areas of the world. Because of the complexity of all of that, it's taken us a long time to do it.''
Some bridge specialists, however, say the decision to rebuild rather than strengthen the existing bridge was a pricey mistake.
A team of 40 researchers sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Caltrans to study the Oct. 17, 1989, earthquake's effects on the bridge recommended in 1992 that the current bridge be retrofitted, not replaced, for an estimated cost of $230 million.
But a 1996 study by the Seismic Advisory Board at Caltrans disagreed with these findings, saying the cost of replacing the bridge was comparable with retrofitting it.
The new span wound up costing billions of dollars and is less quake resistant than the existing bridge, said Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, a civil engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
"You are going to get a bridge, in my opinion, that is less safe than the existing east span. The bridge didn't need to be replaced,'' said Astaneh-Asl, who was the lead investigator in the National Science Foundation and Caltrans five-year study of the seismic performance of the bridge's east span, and who submitted an alternative design after officials chose to replace it.
But Ney of Caltrans said the new bridge is the safest of the designs that were aesthetically pleasing to local leaders and others who had a say in the final choice.
While cost and delays have been troubling, Ney said, there is no question the right decision was made. "The bridge is 70 years old,'' he said. "It's reaching the end of its life span.''
The Bay Bridge is not the only complicated public safety project to move slowly.
In 2003, years after a newspaper investigation exposed thousands of vulnerable public school buildings in California, a state audit determined California schools could need at least $5 billion in seismic work.
But in many districts, expensive retrofitting projects are not feasible in these challenging economic times.
In 2006, a voter-approved measure set aside $200 million to help districts with seismic projects, but only five school districts have applied for the funds.

subset: commoncrawl


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Separate names with a comma.
Does anyone have any Flight Manuals for the F-84G Thunderjet and F-84F Thunderstreak that they might be able to post/share?
F-84F Thunderstreak on static display at the former England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana
F-84F Thunderstreak at the Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona


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Comedy event to raise funds and awareness for Dementia
A project by: Jack Foley
A comedy night to raise money and awareness for the Alzheimer's Society
My name is Jack Foley, the aim of my crowd funding project is to raise enough funds to cover the overheads for a charity event that I am arranging in August to raise money and awareness for the Alzheimer's Society.
Currently I have arranged a comedy night at the Glee Club in Birmingham and have arranged four acts to perform on the night, however, none of this comes for free.
I am aiming to raise a minimum of £600 to cover my current overheads and I'm using crowd funding so that I don't have to use peoples kind donations to the cause to hopefully maximise the money raised for such a fantastic cause.
If I manage to exceed my initial £600 target then I will use the remainder of the money to promote the event to a wider audience to help make the night a success.


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I'm not sure everyone will agree with me, but I have this theory about our eLearning industry. My, entirely personal, view based on the completely unscientific sample of what I have seen and heard over the years is that we take to new technology just that shade suspiciously. Once the initial acceptance is in place, though we go about adopting it quite enthusiastically. A glance at the adoption curve of mLearning will probably substantiate what I mean. There is another technology trend that has been sweeping the world for a few years now but has only just started appearing more commonly – big data in eLearning.Big Data: Set to Make a Big Impact in eLearning
"eLearning is changing. And, we will see new models, new technologies and designs emerge. So let's drop the "e"; or at least give it a new or wider definition." – Elliot Masie, Author & eLearning expert
Tags: Andy's_blog • Big Data in eLearning • corporate elearning trends • Data in eLearning • eLearning future


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of Elkton), GILES
BASS, W. (William) L. (Lewis) "Bill", (16 Jul) 1876 - (24 Jul) 1903. (s/o George & Paralee Ann Holbert Bass; stone not found in 2010 survey)
"Vera & Vesta"
Again our community has been saddened by a visit from the death angel who entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Bass and bore the spirit of their son William away on his cold, icy wings. He had been sick for several months, and though his death was daily expected, it was a great shock to his beloved ones. But they do not grieve as those who have no hope, for he declared his willingness to die, and told of his bright hope of Heaven. He leaves a wife and two little boys. May He who has promised to be a husband to the widow and father to the fatherless, comfort and sustain them in their dark hour. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. J. F. Beasley at Bee Springs Church and burial in the beautiful cemetery adjoining.
Published in The Pulaski Citizen July 1903
Compiled by firstname.lastname@example.com (Mary Bob McClain Richardson) To: firstname.lastname@example.com (C. Wayne Austin) Sent: 3 Jul 2012.
Census Records | Vital Records | Family Trees & Communities | Immigration Records | Military Records Directories & Member Lists | Family & Local Histories | Newspapers & Periodicals | Court, Land & Probate | Finding Aids


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Your Ride Is Here
"Your Ride Is Here" is a film about those unable to get to and from cancer treatment and those willing to provide transportation to them from everyday cars, to some of the rarest high-end exotics in the World. Please take the time to watch and please share as the organization Your Ride Is Here is looking to expand and provide even more rides to and from cancer treatment.
Casey J. Porter is a film director who brought us the films Return of the Camaro, American Legend, and a Kick Ass SEMA Video from 2009.
To help out just go to http://www.yourrideishere.org.
Click here to discuss in our Camaro forums!


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Helpline set up for Cardiff liver surgeon patients takes 74 calls
A total of 74 people have run a helpline set up for patients treated by a liver surgeon linked to the "avoidable" deaths of eight people.
Prof David Paul Berry was suspended from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff in January after several reviews.
One review found that eight deaths of patients in his care were "avoidable".
South Wales Police is examining the cases to see whether an investigation was appropriate.
Prof Berry, who moved to work in south Wales from the Leicester area, was originally stopped from carrying out complex surgery in October 2012 following concerns about the outcomes of some liver patients in his care.
Independent reviews
An initial internal investigation confirmed the health board's concerns and he was fully suspended from duties in January.
Two further independent reviews by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) followed.
The second review, of the individual care of 31 patients who had complex liver surgery by Prof Berry, found 10 had later died. Eight of those deaths were avoidable.
It has since emerged he was suspended at the same time from Spire Cardiff Hospital where he had a private practice.
The health board has issued "unreserved apologies" to those affected.
The Conservative AM for South Wales Central Andrew RT Davies, said on Friday that senior staff at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board need to "seriously reflect on their positions".
He added: "We want to see a full and open public Keogh-style inquiry that will identify problems so that they can be properly addressed."
The health board said eight people had run the helpline set up for worried patients and families on Friday, 24 on Thursday and 42 on Wednesday.
The helpline has now closed.
Before moving to Wales, Prof Berry was based at Leicester General Hospital from 1999 to 2011.
A separate helpline - 0808 178 8337 - is open there until further notice.


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Mohammad clinches endurance title in UK
Euston Park: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, won the Endurance Championship title in Euston Park, Norfolk, Tuesday.
Shaikh Mohammad led Emirati riders to dominate the 166-kilometre British endurance race and succeeding in clinching the title thanks to a superb display of competence and capability.
The Arabian knight won the event with his unparalleled perseverance and practice.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, came second and Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, finished in third position.
The 166-kilometre race was contested by 25 riders from various Arab countries, Europe, the US and Australia, and was held in preparation for the World Endurance Championship, to be held in the US state of Kentucky, September 22-28.
Shaikh Mohammad, a former European Open champion, will lead the UAE team to the championship in the US as the team is well trained and ready to compete with leading riders from various countries.


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Entries with no category
I couldn't help myself. Although I said my last blog was the final entry in the fun facts series, this one is actually a prequel, so I didn't lie. These are pretty much left-overs from my previous blogs. This set of trivia is mostly based on older, rare facts from back in the day. I'm sure some of these won't be shockers to you long-time wrestling fans. I've lost count here, but hopefully
Updated 10-22-2013 at 05:07 PM by Kajmere
Due to popular demand, I bestow upon you the 3rd installment of my fun facts trilogy. All great things come in 3's, right? This is by far the biggest entry in the series. It will focus on TV and PPV stats, and go very in-depth. Fact checkers get ready because you're in for a doozy. I want to thank everyone who read and helped support this series in any way. Let's roll.
*All PPV stats
Updated 11-08-2013 at 05:08 AM by Kajmere
I recently did a blog called "15 Amazing Facts and Weird Crap" which received great feedback, and more importantly, I had fun doing it. Therefore, I have decided to throw another statistic-fueled set of facts at you, except this time, everything has to do with numbers. Some of these numbers are readily available on various websites, others I had to look up. Either way, I think you will enjoy this
Updated 10-15-2013 at 05:53 PM by Kajmere
The following is my list of the greatest athletes to ever wrestle in the WWE. Now for this list, I have 2 simple rules: (1) the entrants must have wrestled at least one singles match in a WWE ring (no WCW or NWA) and (2) they must have a recognizable reputation in wrestling. This was very difficult to objectively rank, so, as usual, enjoy the content rather than go nuts over my order. Most of these
Updated 11-10-2013 at 09:35 PM by Kajmere
Here is a treat for you nostalgic users. The following is a star-studded, top 20 countdown of the greatest wrestler-turned-actors of all time. I tried to rate the following stars objectively based on a combination of A.) Filmography, B.) Box office success, C.) Significant roles, D.) Acting skill (or attempt of), E.) Signs of promise for the newer guys/trailblazing status for the older guys. Although
Updated 08-28-2014 at 09:14 PM by Kajmere
During research for my last blog, I came across a lot of interesting facts and figures that I was not able to utilize. I really didn't want to discard the info, so I decided to parlay it into a new blog.
Anyways, I have produced for your viewing pleasure a list of 15 random, strange, and interesting facts about pro wrestling that I think you will find very amusing. These are mainly
Updated 10-18-2013 at 02:19 AM by Kajmere
Here are my predictions for the current WM card:
Rock vs Cena
Winner: Cena
Although I prefer the Rock to end it, as most of you have pointed out, this one is pretty obvious. Cena takes the title and sets up Rock-Cena 3. The winner of that one should be Cena since, you know, the Rock has another job.
Swagger vs ADR
Winner: Swagger
Updated 03-14-2013 at 03:58 AM by Kajmere
© 2011 eWrestlingNews, All Rights Reserved.


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Posted a reply to Woocommerce setting sizes & quantities, on the site WordPress Support Forums:
same here trying to do something very similar. anybody know of a solution?
5 years ago
Created a topic, Add custom input box to product page, on the site WordPress Support Forums
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Can't See Swatches - Variation Swatches and Images WooCommerce extension, on the site WordPress Support Forums:
Did you get this working? Zip and send me the variation swatches, gravity forms extensions…
5 years ago


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Speech at the consultation on action plan for the Viet Nam Green growth strategyJun 21, 2013
Speaker: Ms. Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator
Date: 21 June 2013
Event: Consultation on Action Plan for the Viet Nam Green Growth Strategy
Venue: Sofitel Plaza, Ha Noi
Dr. Nguyen The Phuong, Vice Minister of Planning and Investment,
Jennifer Sara, World Bank,
Distinguished participants from the Government and national agencies,
Colleagues from the international community,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me start by congratulating the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Vice Minister Phuong for its continued leadership of Viet Nam's green growth efforts. I appreciate the opportunity to address the consultation meeting today.
It is very encouraging to see that Viet Nam's pursuance of green, low emissions and climate-resilient development is receiving so much support and attention from Government agencies, the private sector, ordinary citizens, as well as development partners.
At the global level, investment in clean energy, including renewable energy and energy-smart technologies such as smart grid, efficiency, power storage and advanced transportation, stood at 267 billion US Dollars in 2012. UNEP's 2013 Report on Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment shows that investment in renewable energy alone was 244 billion US Dollars.
The recently adopted Party Resolution on Climate Change, Natural Resources and Environment indicates a clear green growth direction. And Viet Nam's wind energy farms in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, and Bac LieuCa Mau are evidence of private sector participation in the green growth agenda.
The draft national Action Plan of the Green Growth Strategy presented today is another key step towards realizing Viet Nam's green growth vision. As we are working together to make this Action Plan comprehensive and implementable, I would like to suggest a few points for your consideration.
First, the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets set in the Green Growth Strategy were based on studies of some sectors with high emissions as well as significant potential to reduce emissions, so the Action Plan should provide a clear breakdown of targets per sector. It should specify responsible ministries, provinces, and cities to deliver on segments of the overall targets.
This has to be underpinned by a clear financing strategy and technically well designed interventions. The line ministries and provincial authorities must regulate and businesses and ordinary citizens are central in actual implementation. The Action Plan should demonstrate how the central and local authorities will enable the private sector and citizens to play their part, through market-based measures such as specific taxes, fees, and targeted subsidies; government investments; regulation and enforcement of regulation; and also capacity building. And development partners can assist some of that.
Secondly, the Action Plan is an opportunity for prioritization and increasing focus, as well as for sequencing of actions, all of which are important for successful implementation. Some priority sectors and technologies with the greatest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have already been identified, including energy, manufacturing industry, and forestry.
Thirdly, the Green Growth Strategy has a focus on improving and managing Viet Nam's natural resources and the Government plans to introduce green GDP from 2014, so the Action Plan is an opportunity to move away from heavy reliance on natural capital, such as forestry, fisheries and minerals, improve efficiencies and increase added value of products. Importantly, the livelihoods of many of the rural poor depend on natural resources, which is a critical reason for protecting them.
Finally, fiscal reforms are critical. Along with the current macro-economic reform agenda, including reform of State Owned Enterprises, it is important to reinforce reforms of energy markets. The Green Growth Strategy commits Viet Nam to the removal of indirect subsidies on fossil fuels, which is vital for its success. A shift in the tax burden of companies and citizens towards taxing undesirable pollution and natural resource use whilst reducing other taxes will also be important. Fossil fuel fiscal policy reform can enable renewable energy production and investment in clean technology. It could help GDP growth; balancing the Government budget; improve national energy security; and generate green jobs.
Removal of energy subsidies and shifts in the tax burden will be difficult to implement because in the short term some businesses and citizens will face increased costs whilst benefits will only materialize some years later. The UN and other development partners are working with national researchers and the Government to formulate the key actions and steps for achieving fossil fuel fiscal reforms. We look forward to a Green Growth Action Plan that reflects those actions and steps.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me end by thanking everyone here today for attending this consultation. I wish MPI and the Government successful formulation of the Green Growth Action Plan. And I look forward to fruitful discussions today.
Thank you for your attention.


text: [TV MOVIE] Betty & Coretta (Lifetime) Starring Angela Bassett & Mary J. Blige February 2, 2013 Lifetime The upcoming TV Movie Betty & Coretta premieres Saturday February 2 (8:00pm ET/PT) on Lifetime and stars Angela Bassett & Mary J. Blige. Betty & Coretta Synopsis: Betty & Coretta tells the dual real-life stories of Coretta Scott King (Bassett) and Dr. Betty Shabazz (Blige), wives respectively of Dr. Martin Luther King (Malik Yoba, New York Undercover) and Malcolm X (Lindsay Owen Pierre, The Killing Yard), as they create an unbreakable life-long bond after their husbands' tragic assassinations. Show Details: Betty & Coretta, starring Golden Globe® Award-winner and Academy Award®-nominee Angela Bassett (What's Love Got to Do with It?) and starring and executive produced by nine-time Grammy®-winning recording artist Mary J. Blige; Twist of Faith, with six-time Grammy-winner Toni Braxton (Braxton Family Values), Mykelti Williamson (Justified) and David Julian Hirsh (Weeds); and Pastor Brown, featuring Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Eureka), Keith David (ER), Ernie Hudson (Oz), Tisha Campbell-Martin (My Wife and Kids), Nicole Ari Parker (The Deep End), Rockmond Dunbar (Sons of Anarchy) and Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights). Click Any Photo Below To Enlarge Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)


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Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart on Thursday announced its annual holiday top toy list, but this year's list has a new spin: It was put together with the help of kids. The chain brought together 1,000 kids ages 18 months to 10 years to test, play with, and help select the top toys for the season.
"We are taking the guesswork out of customers' holiday toy shopping by turning to kids to tell us what the real top toys are," said Scott McCall, senior VP of toys and seasonal at Walmart U.S. "Kids told us they want interactive toys as well as classic brands. After hearing this feedback, we did what we do best. We made price investments to offer absolutely great savings on these holiday toys and more for our customers."
According to an Associated Press report, Walmart gathered the kids over a three-day weekend in August in Dallas, where they played with 50 toys and chose their favorites.
The "Chosen By Kids" toys will be grouped together throughout the season in special in-store displays, on Walmart.com and in newspaper circulars around the country beginning later this month. The list features newcomers and classic favorites, and includes a new robotic pet Furby, a hugging Elmo and a Barbie dream house.


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Final 48: Final day scores from the state basketball championships
The final day of the Final 48 AHSAA state basketball championships at the BJCC tipped off Saturday morning with the Class 3A girls title game.
Lauderdale County took home the state trophy by blowing out Holly Pond 59-41.
Josh Langford helped lead Madison Academy to the 3A boys title as they beat Southside-Selma 54-47. Langford finished the day with 21 points, 19 rebounds and six assists.
The Oneonta girls won the Class 4A state championship with a 53-39 victory over Clarke County. With the win, the Bulldogs ended the season with a 32-4 final record.
Madison County took home the 4A boys title with a 28-25 victory over J.O. Johnson.
The Hoover girls won their third straight 6A title tonight after beating Blount 66-55.
In the final game of the Final 48, the Mountain Brook boys team routed Sparkman 74-53 to claim the 6A state championship. The Spartans' Malek Grant led all scorers with 21 points in the game and he also grabbed 11 rebounds on his way to making the All-Tournament Team.
State Championship Finals, SaturdayClass 3A Girls
Finals: Lauderdale County 59,{}Holly Pond 41{}{}STATISTICSClass 3A Boys
Finals: Madison Academy 54,{}Southside-Selma 47{} STATISTICSClass 4A Girls
Finals: Oneonta 53, Clarke County 39{} STATISTICSClass 4A Boys
Finals: Madison County 28, J.O. Johnson 25 STATISTICSClass 6A Girls
Finals: Hoover 66, Blount 55 STATISTICSClass 6A Boys
Finals: Mountain Brook 74, Sparkman 53{} STATISTICS{}


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MacArthur Jews
The MacArthur Foundations released its list of recipients of this year's MacArthur Grants, popularly known as the "genius grants."
The Foundation awards its 24 recipients $500,000 over 5 years in unrestricted funds to continue his or her work. Typically, as The Times wrote:
With her fifth book of stories, Ms. Eisenberg has achieved the kind of grand attention usually given to novelists. The New York Times Book Review pronounced her "one of the most important fiction writers now at work" and praised her stories as "machines of perfect revelation deftly constructed by a contemporary master."
The characters in Ms. Eisenberg's stories are full of hidden sorrows and anxieties. She approaches them obliquely, circles around, then comes in for the kill. Their emotions rise inexorably to the surface, bubbles on molten lava.
Beth Shapiro, 33, an evolutionary biologist at Pennsylvania State University. Per Wikipedia:
Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary molecular biologist in the department of biology at the Pennsylvania State University. She was formerly a researcher in the department of zoology at Oxford University.
Shapiro is notable for a number of publications in ecology in journals including Science, and has carried out mitochondrial DNA analysis of the dodo.
She was born in the United States and grew up in Rome, Georgia, where she served as the local news anchor while still in high school. She was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1999.[1]
In 2007, she was named by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 37 young American innovators under the age of 36. [2]
Elyn Saks, 53, a law professor at the University of Southern California, has written of her own mental illness and fights for the rights of the mentally ill. Of her book, "The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness" , Publishers Weekly wrote:
"In this engrossing memoir, Saks, a professor of law and psychiatry at the University of Southern California, demonstrates a novelist's skill of creating character, dialogue and suspense. From her extraordinary perspective as both expert and sufferer (diagnosis: Chronic paranoid schizophrenia with acute exacerbation; prognosis: Grave), Saks carries the reader from the early little quirks to the full blown falling apart, flying apart, exploding psychosis. Schizophrenia rolls in like a slow fog, as Saks shows, becoming imperceptibly thicker as time goes on.- Along the way to stability (treatment, not cure), Saks is treated with a pharmacopeia of drugs and by a chorus of therapists. In her jargon-free style, she describes the workings of the drugs (getting med-free, a constant motif) and the ideas of the therapists and physicians (psychologist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, cardiologist, endocrinologist). Her personal experience of a world in which she is both frightened and frightening is graphically drawn and leads directly to her advocacy of mental patients' civil rights as they confront compulsory medication, civil commitment, the abuse of restraints and the absurdities of the mental care system. She is a strong proponent of talk therapy (While medication had kept me alive, it had been psychoanalysis that helped me find a life worth living). This is heavy reading, but Saks's account will certainly stand out in its field."


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A few months ago I was writing posts here on the state of my little UDK project.
Since then it's been rather quiet on here but that's not because the project ended. If you are following me on Twitter then you will have spotted that work was still happening but the update posts had moved home to IndieDB. The even more astute will have spotted that I have created an alter-ego for my independent game developing known as Squid In A Box.
Well Squid In A Box finally has a site!
This will be the home of all future news on my games (although the posts will be mirrored on IndieDB still) so you should all bookmark it and such.
I'm going to try and increase the amount of general games designing posts on here but there are only so many hours in the day and what hours aren't spent in my dayjob trying to ship Enslaved are usually spent trying to finish Waves but you can probably expect a few musings on Crackdown 2 in the next few weeks as it will no doubt steal some of my precious free time.
In the mean time here is the last video of Waves. As you can see it's come on quite a long way since the last one I posted here.


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Ask a Mechanic Online and Get Answers to Your Car Questions
hello welcome to the site,
this sounds like a wheel bearing yes have you returned to the dealer yet to have this looked at ?
no not yet
this would only need 1 wheel bearing that is bad. can you pinpoint the side the noise is on ?
sounds like the drivers side
ok i would start their then since you can make the noise change with this left input.
your still under warrany correct mileage wise
how long does it usually take to repair and do u know about how much it should cost?
this would be about 1.5 hours of labor plus the parts let me see if my service shows the parts pricing
yes i am still under warranty...i was considering paying for it myself cuz they want me to leave it there and i dont have anyone to pick me up
they should be able to shuttle you home or ask for a loaner car
and i know they will be looking for all other kinds of stuff to repair lol
this is a service the factory pays for
o ok
yes your right their it's part of our job to look for things that can cause you problems down the road
o ok well thx...did u recieve the money...it is showing balance
when you call to make a apt request a loaner car
you have not hit the accept button yet
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please take a moment to leave me some feed back
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text:
Charles Beigbeder
Graduated from Centrale Paris, Charles Beigbeder is CEO and Founder of the financial and industrial holding Gravitation SAS, which invests particularly in the areas of green growth, small caps financing, and in the Internet. Charles Beigbeder is a renowned entrepreneur, creator of Self Trade in 1997 and Poweo in 2002. He is a member of the Executive Council and Président of the Committee of MEDEF Entrepreneurship, Vice-Prseident of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation for Innovation Policy. It is also National Secretary of the pedagogy of reform for the UMP .
Olivier Dousset
Founder in 1989 of the investment bank Dôme (successively Close Brothers and DC Advisory, its current name), he then was its CEO for almost twenty years until its divestment in 2008. Since 2010, Olivier has been chairing Compagnie d'Anjou, investment company. Olivier Dousset is a graduate from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris and former student of l'ENA.
Thierry Drilhon
Graduate from the EAD Paris and Stanford, Thierry Drilhon joined Cisco in 2000 and has been for twelve years one of the key managers: CEO France, Europe Vice President and VP Corp. in charge of partnerships and alliances. Thierry Drilhon is a co-founder of "Etats de la France". Former top manager of Microsoft, it is also a member of Tiare Group supervisory board.
Marie Haie,
Corporate Secretary of Beijaflore group


text:
The answer is generally that they will go very far.
Most affiliates are in the mindset that they will do whatever it takes to get the sale or generate that lead.
In many industries thats a good thing. Maybe it's a good thing here, for the affiliate. It's certainly good for their bank account.
Networks and advertisers are taking the big hit. Sure the affiliate will also be punished if the FTC comes knocking but the advertiser could end up having to pay back every dollar ever made.
This goes back to the age old affiliate trend of copying what the guy before them has done. And a lot of guys started with very risky landing pages and otherwise shady tactics, and they just never bothered testing it in a compliant manner. But that's not to say that it wouldn't work.
I see things all the time that make me go "hmmm…" Just the other day I saw an ad on Craigslist for a basic item that I wanted to buy locally, and I responded to it via email. I immediately got back a response promoting a penny auction site. It was clearly an affiliate blasting out ads all over Craigslist to make some $. He had an over the top pitch on how you could get the item for $2. Ya right.
I'm curious how far you guys have gone to get conversions? And if not personally, what have you seen out there that makes you go "hmm…"
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text:
|Case ID: 16136
|Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
|Animal: horse
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|Andy Bigler
|Mark Davis, Leonard Yelsky
|Frederick Hany
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For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Friday, Jan 29, 2010County: Ottawa
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 4 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Robin E Vess
Case Updates: 11 update(s) available
Authorities are investigating an animal cruelty case in Ottawa County that involves the extreme undernourishment of 31 horses and the death of six others.
The remaining horses have been rescued and moved over the last couple days, said Nancy Silva, humane officer for Ottawa County.
The horses were transported to the Sandusky County fairgrounds in Fremont, where dozens of humane officials and volunteers were caring for them.
The animals were rescued from a stable in the Oak Harbor area.
Six horses have died from the neglect and there were 37 horses originally, Ms. Silva said.
Ottawa County Sheriff's Department filed 42 counts of animal cruelty. Each misdemeanor charge carries a $750 fine and 90 days in jail.
Case Updates
|Robin Vess was beating a dead horse when she appealed her conviction on 42 counts of animal cruelty.
Vess, of Oak Harbor, was sentenced last year to 18 months in prison, although all but 42 days were suspended.
An Ottawa County jury found her guilty in April 2010 of multiple counts of animal cruelty for depriving her Arabian horses of food and water. Some of the horses died from starvation and dehydration.
Shortly after the conviction Vess asked the Sixth District Court of Appeals for a new trial.
She accused her attorney, Mark Davis, of failing to properly advise her when a plea deal was offered, and she also said Davis didn't rebut expert testimony by veterinarians during the trial.
Additionally, she said she should have been granted a new trial because Nancy Miller, who testified against her, allegedly claimed to have a "vendetta" against Vess.
Her jail sentence was delayed pending the outcome of the appeal.
On Friday the court of appeals judges unanimously agreed: There is no basis to try the case again.
Vess failed to prove Miller had a bias, the judges' ruling stated, and there was no indication the guilty verdict would have been avoided, even without Miller's testimony.
Ultimately, Vess failed to prove there was any misconduct in the case.
Prosecutors agreed.
"We felt like the trial was fair and properly tried," Ottawa County assistant prosecutor Andrew Bigler said. "We are pleased to see the court of appeals upheld the decision."
Vess' attorney for the appeal was Leonard Yelsky, who declined to comment because he hadn't reviewed Friday's ruling.
Before jurors convicted Vess last year, prosecutors reportedly offered her a deal in which they would dismiss 39 counts of animal cruelty if she pleaded guilty to three counts.
Vess said she turned down the offer and took her chances with the jury because Davis felt good about his ability to defend her. She also claimed Davis couldn't guarantee a specific sentence if she accepted the deal.
In the end, the move backfired.
In addition to jail time Vess was placed on five years probation.
She could continue trying to appeal the case.
If she gives up, however, the court will order her to start to serving her sentence.
|Source: sanduskyregister.com - Jun 25, 2011
Update posted on Jun 25, 2011 - 12:10AM
|An appeals court is set to hear arguments Monday on whether an Oak Harbor woman convicted of neglecting dozens of horses on her farm received a fair trial.
Robin Vess was found guilty in April, 2010, on 42 counts of animal cruelty for failing to properly feed and care for her horses. She was sentenced in Ottawa County Municipal Court to 42 days in jail, five years probation, and $8,711 in fines and court costs.
Those penalties have been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal filed by Ms. Vess' attorney, Leonard Yelsky, on Oct. 22. Monday's hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals.
The Humane Society of Ottawa County removed the horses from Ms. Vess' farm the night of Jan. 29 after receiving two complaints about the animals' condition. During the trial, several witnesses testified that the horses were found to be desperately weak, skinny, and dehydrated. The defense denied the charges, arguing that the horses were adequately cared for and some were thin because of age or medical condition. At the same time, the defense told jurors that Ms. Vess suffered from mental health problems and financial difficulties.
Ms. Vess' arguments for overturning the verdict center around two key complaints. One is that her attorney during the animal cruelty trial, Mark Davis, allegedly provided her with inadequate advice. The court documents state that Mr. Davis did not inform Ms. Vess of the consequences she could face if found guilty on all 42 counts of animal cruelty. He allegedly discouraged Ms. Vess from accepting a plea deal from the state prosecutor's office under which most of the charges against her would have been dropped if she pleaded guilty to three counts.
"Had she, Robin Vess, been fully informed of the ramifications of being found guilty of 42 counts of animal cruelty, Vess would have seriously considered accepting the state's plea offer to plead guilty to three counts of animal cruelty," reads a statement in the defendant's documents filed with the court of appeals.
Neither Mr. Davis nor Mr. Yelsky could be reached for comment Thursday. Mr. Yelsky did not represent Ms. Vess during the trial. The defendant also challenges Ottawa County Municipal Court Judge Frederick Hany's refusal to grant her request for a new trial. Ms. Vess made the request based on allegations that one of the prosecution's witnesses, Arabian Horse Club of Greater Toledo President Karen Miller, had a "vendetta" against her.
The appeal documents also question the reliability of photographic evidence of the horses' condition, and testimony provided by two veterinarians, Dr. Irene Lavigne and Dr. Leslie Avery.
Assistant Prosecutor Andy Bigler said this week he believes Ms. Vess' trial was fair, but added that she has a right to appeal.
"Any person has a right to appeal if they feel errors were made," he said. "They argued what they believe the law said and we argued what we believe the law said, and the court of appeals will say what they interpret the law to mean."
Humane Society spokesman Bruce Theobald expressed relief the appeal will finally be heard after several months of waiting.
The fact Ms. Vess has not yet served her sentence points to inadequacies in the justice system, he said. He doubted her conviction would be overturned.
"I think the thoughts ... she's basing her appeal [on] do not have merit," Mr. Theobald said. "I think Judge Hany bent over backward to make sure it was a fair trial."
|Source: toledoblade.com - Apr 15, 2011
Update posted on Apr 15, 2011 - 12:42PM
|An Oak Harbor woman learned her fate Friday after being found guilty of neglecting dozens of horses to the point of starvation.
Robin Vess, 55, was sentenced to 42 days in jail, one for each horse, and a fine of $8,711.87 in connection with 42 counts of animal cruelty. She also received five years on probation and is required to participate in the court's mental health program.
Dozens of horses were taken by the Arabian Rescue Mission in January from Vess' farm near Oak Harbor. Vess' attorney has said she was depressed and lacked resources to care for the animals. Vess also claimed that she reached out to the Ottawa County Human Society, asking for help as she was financially unable to care for the horses. She contends the Ottawa County Humane Society did not respond to her calls for assistance.
As part of her sentence, Vess is prohibited from possessing or owning any horses.
Sentencing was handed down Friday in Ottawa County Municipal Court by Judge Frederick C. Hany.
|Source: toledoonthemove.com - Sep 24, 2010
Update posted on Apr 15, 2011 - 12:40PM
|Robin Vess, the Oak Harbor woman convicted in April of neglecting dozens of horses at her farm, will get no new trial, the judge in the case ruled Wednesday.
Ms. Vess was convicted April 30 on 42 counts of animal cruelty following a four-day trial involving numerous witnesses.
Her attorneys filed a motion in July to request a new trial, alleging that a prosecution witness in the case had a "vendetta" against her. The witness, Karen Miller, who is president of the Arabian Horse Club of Greater Toledo, was one of four witnesses called by the prosecution.
However, Judge Frederick Hany of Ottawa County Municipal Court said that, given the amount of other evidence presented to the jury, the trial results would not have changed if Ms. Miller's testimony had been omitted.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 24.
|Source: Toledo Blade - Sept 9, 2010
Update posted on Sep 9, 2010 - 12:51PM
|Port Clinton Municipal Court Judge Fritz Hany has pushed back sentencing Robin Vess, 54, on 42 counts of animal cruelty from June 4 to July 16 so he can personally view the horses seized from the Oak Harbor resident.
Vess signed custody of her Arabian horses to New Jersey-based rescue group Arabian Rescue Mission days after the late January seizure by the Ottawa County Humane Society.
After the humane society and rescue group scuffled over custody of the horses, the Arabian Rescue Mission placed the horses in a number of foster farms across northwest and central Ohio, where they are recovering from starvation.
A jury found Vess guilty of 42 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in April for allowing her horses to starve and dehydrate, resulting in the deaths of several animals. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail; however, under Ohio law a person can spend no more than 18 months in jail on misdemeanor charges.
According to an order filed by Hany on Tuesday, "In order to effectuate the overriding purposes of misdemeanor sentencing as is required by (Ohio law), the Court believes it would be helpful in achieving better understanding of the nature and circumstances of these offenses to view the horses which are the subjects of this criminal case."
Prior to the trial, prosecutors intended to show the horses to the jury, but instead presented photos of the animals because of the complicated logistics of presenting the horses as evidence. The intent of presenting the horses was to show the animals had recovered to a better body weight with good nutrition and regular care, indicating the reason for their emaciation was lack of food.
Hany said the defense and prosecuting attorneys could file an objection to the inspection by Thursday.
|Source: Sandusky Register - Jun 2, 2010
Update posted on Jun 10, 2010 - 5:02PM
|After four days of trial and three hours of deliberation, an Ottawa County jury on Friday found Robin Vess guilty on 42 counts of animal cruelty.
Witnesses, including two veterinarians who assessed the animals, testified that Vess' Arabian horses were starved and dehydrated.
When Ottawa County humane officer Nancy Silva seized the horses from the property, many of them had protruding ribs and hip bones from malnourishment.
Though the high-profile case has been a contentious one, the courtroom was silent as Municipal Judge Fritz Hany read the 42 guilty verdicts.
Silva and other humane society affiliates exchanged smiles and quietly clasped hands to celebrate the victory.
Vess sat stoically at the defense table. Hany allowed her to be released on a recognizance bond until her June 4 sentencing date.
He stipulated that she must be in daily contact with the probation department, required her to check herself back into mental health counseling and barred her from owning any horses in the meantime.
"Obviously we are satisfied the process worked," assistant prosecutor Andy Bigler said.
A second-degree misdemeanor carries up to a 90-day jail sentence and a $750 fine per count; however, under state law, a person cannot be sentenced to more than 18 months in jail for misdemeanor charges. Bigler said he didn't immediately know what kinds of fines Vess could face.
|Source: Sandusky Register - May 1, 2010
Update posted on Jun 2, 2010 - 5:30PM
|In a brief court hearing, a judge Friday denied the request of an Oak Harbor woman to throw out evidence in her animal-cruelty case in which 36 Arabian horses were seized in January because of their emaciated condition.
Ottawa County Municipal Judge Fritz Hany said he denied the motion by Robin Vess for two reasons: he felt oral consent had been given to enter the property and the circumstances of the severe condition of the horses.
Neither Ms. Vess nor her attorney, Mark Davis, were in the courtroom for the judge's decision.
Representatives from the Ottawa County Humane Society took at least 36 horses from Ms. Vess' farm on Jan. 29 after receiving two calls from people expressing concern for the horses' health.
Four horses were put down at the farm because they had fallen and were too weak to get up, witnesses said. Another horse was dead when humane society officers arrived.
During a hearing last month in Judge Hany's courtroom, Ms. Vess denied accounts that she'd given permission for the humane society to enter her farm. She said she had told humane society officer Nancy Silva that she was busy and to call back another day.
Ms. Vess told the court her horses had been well cared for and had "ample feed."
During the same hearing, Mr. Davis argued the seizure of the horses was "unlawful" and said his client's constitutional rights had been violated.
|Source: Toledoblade.com - Apr 2, 2010
Update posted on Apr 5, 2010 - 2:31PM
|The attorney for an Oak Harbor woman facing animal cruelty charges after dozens of emaciated horses were removed from her farm is asking that the evidence against his client be discarded because the horses were taken without a warrant.
Mark Davis, who is representing Robin Vess, filed a motion yesterday in Ottawa County Municipal Court stating that the Humane Society of Ottawa County and an assisting police officer acted unlawfully when they seized the 36 horses from Ms. Vess' farm in Carroll Township on Jan. 29.
"Since the Plaintiff entered without a warrant, the seizure of evidence was unlawful and cannot be used against the defendant," Mr. Davis wrote in the filing. "As such, the law requires suppression of all such evidence."
Humane Society officers took the horses from Ms. Vess' farm without a warrant after receiving what they said was an anonymous tip. The horses were found severely malnourished and dehydrated and were taken to the Sandusky County Fairgrounds, where Humane Society officers and volunteers cared for them. Over the weekend, the horses were transported to foster homes in Ohio and Michigan.
Ohio laws regarding humane societies include a provision allowing "any person" to intervene in a case of animal neglect by entering "a place in which the animal is impounded or confined and supply it with necessary food, water, and attention." The law says the neglected animal may be removed "if necessary."
However, John Dinon, who heads the Toledo Area Humane Society, said humane officers do need to obtain a warrant before seizing an animal.
"We have to follow the same rules as the police. Cruelty investigation powers are police powers," Mr. Dinon said. "Unless we're invited on the property, … we have to establish probable cause and get a warrant."
Chris Marcinko, attorney for the Humane Society of Ottawa County in the criminal case against Ms. Vess, declined to comment on the filing.
In a separate statement filed with the court, Ms. Vess repeated claims made by her lawyer that she had contacted the Humane Society for help with the horses several times in the months before the horses were seized. Mr. Davis has said Ms. Vess suffers financial troubles and has been severely depressed following the recent deaths of three family members.
Also yesterday, the last rescued horse was taken to a temporary foster home. Placing the horses in foster homes followed more than a week of legal wrangling over where the animals would go. Terri Figueroa of the Arabian Rescue Mission, which coordinated the foster-home effort with the Humane Society of Ottawa County, said the departure of the horses went relatively smoothly.
"It did all work out in the end, but there were a lot of tears," Ms. Figueroa said, explaining that the volunteers looking after the horses had become very attached to them. "It went off as well as something this emotional can go."
Nevertheless, several horses may be moved again in the coming days. Jeffrey Holland, another attorney for Ottawa County's Humane Society, said some horses were taken to homes in Michigan that the society had not approved.
That upset Linda Logan, who said she'd been asked to release three of the horses she'd taken to her cousin's farm in Michigan. She said another move could be detrimental to the horses' health.
"We're just mortified," Ms. Logan said, adding that one horse is in particularly bad shape.
"I'm just worried sick about her - she's got arthritis really bad in all of her legs. And one leg bows in the front. And just all this moving her from here to there to there, I just don't know what to do."
Tina Burkhart, who also took in several horses at her farm in Michigan, was similarly upset.
She said the animals were in bad health and her veterinarian did not think they should be moved again.
Mr. Holland said he hoped the disagreement could be resolved "cooperatively."
|Source: Toledo Blade - Feb 23, 2010
Update posted on Feb 23, 2010 - 8:42PM
|Shayna Roberts is exhausted. The 26-year-old animal technician has worked 12-hour days at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds, organizing volunteers and tending to 36 malnourished Arabian horses rescued from a farm in Ottawa County last weekend.
By Wednesday night, Ms. Roberts was at the hospital with what turned out to be dehydration. With so much time spent caring for the horses, she'd forgotten to eat and drink properly herself.
"Let's just say I pushed myself past my abilities," the bright-eyed Ms. Roberts said, picking up a stack of papers listing the people who have volunteered to help. "Without them, I couldn't go home at all." Despite the long hours and incessant work, Ms. Roberts and those helping her are excited by the success of their efforts.
Since the weak and disoriented horses were brought to the barn Jan. 29, they have started to recover. Their drained silence has been replaced by a lively exchange of whinnies and snorts. Their heads and ears perk up as people approach - especially if they bring hay - and their eyes glimmer.
"It makes you feel good," said volunteer Deb Riffle, who's been helping with the horses since the rescue. "It gives you a smile and a warm heart." But the road to recovery remains long. The horses remain painfully thin - ribs and hipbones showing through their coats - and they rely on blankets to keep warm. Until their stomachs are stronger, they can eat only hay. The next dietary step will be mushed-up grain and will require each horse to be individually fed and monitored.
Then there's the medical care: hooves, joints, teeth, worm tablets, vaccinations. "The cost is going to be phenomenal," said Rebekah Recker, one of the core volunteers. "Even with all the help and donations, there's gonna be specific needs that have to be paid for."
Horse rescues come with a huge financial strain, said Jacque Lynn Schultz, equine grants officer for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. That's especially true for a small organization such as the Humane Society of Ottawa County, now in charge of the rescued horses in Fremont.
"It's a time when the shelter needs a lot of community support in order to keep going," Ms. Schultz said. "Getting these kinds of rescues is a tremendous cost burden."
Local experts agree that the recent horse rescue was unusually big for Ohio. While there have been some large-scale horse rescues recently in Texas and South Carolina, most cases of horse cruelty or neglect involve just a few animals.
Terry Figueroa of the Arabian Rescue Mission in Colesville, N.J., has rescued horses for 18 years and opened a branch in Ohio a year ago. Her organization helped with the Ottawa County case.
"It's big. I have not been involved in a rescue of this size," Ms. Figueroa said. "I've been involved with the rescue of three horses, six horses, maybe 10 horses at a time, but this is a big one."
The owner of the Ottawa County farm, 54-year-old Robin Vess, has been known in the Arabian horse community for years, having founded the Arabian Horse Club of Greater Toledo. She faces charges of 42 counts of animal cruelty.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. She is to appear in court Feb. 24.
The Humane Society of Ottawa County summoned rescuers to Ms. Vess' farm outside Oak Harbor after receiving what it said was an anonymous tip.
There they found dozens of emaciated horses, some so desperate for food they had eaten through the wood on their stall dividers, rescuers said. One foal was dead, and five horses had to be euthanized.
In an interview with The Blade, Ms. Vess' lawyer, Mark Davis of Toledo, defended his client on several fronts. He said only some of the horses were underweight, and their malnourishment was a result of illness, not lack of food. He said hay was available for the horses in the barn, although rescuers have said that hay was out of the animals' reach.
Mr. Davis said Ms. Vess had struggled to care for the horses because she was traumatized by the recent death of her mother and two aunts and did not have enough help on the farm. He said Ms. Vess had reached out to the Ottawa County Humane Society for help with the horses on numerous occasions but did not receive assistance.
"This is not something the humane society simply discovered and then ran into the burning barn to save the horses," Mr. Davis said. "They knew and they did nothing. They're equally as responsible as my client and I can prove that in court."
Humane society representatives declined to comment on the attorney's charge, but Chris Marcinko, an attorney who prosecutes cruelty cases for the humane society, said laws govern when and how a humane officer may act.
"The humane officer is required to follow and comply with those laws and rules, even in situations in which the laws and rules may be unpopular with some individuals," he said.
Diana Murphy, a longtime Lucas County horse rescuer and cruelty investigator, said the Humane Society of Ottawa County had known about the case for a while and acted too slowly.
"Those horses didn't get like that in a couple of days. It took at least three to six months," Ms. Murphy said.
Referring to the horses that perished, she added, "Those horses really didn't have to die. [The humane society] could've helped them a lot more than they did."
But Ms. Murphy also criticized Ms. Vess. She said the horse owner could have contacted rescue shelters and members of the horse community for help if she had been serious about seeking assistance. "I guarantee she would have got help," Ms. Murphy said.
Mr. Davis said he had not yet determined whether Ms. Vess had financial problems. A search of property records reveals Ms. Vess owned the 9.8-acre farm at 3140 North Behlman Rd. with her mother, Jean Vess, who died in 2008. The total appraised value of the property is $241,120.
Despite the magnitude of the Vess case, horse abandonment and neglect are growing problems in the economic climate. No precise figures on horse cruelty and rescues exist, but national and local experts confirm the problem is on the rise.
A 2009 survey by the Unwanted Horse Coalition, part of the American Horse Council, found 87 percent of people in the horse community believe horse abandonment, abuse, and neglect are "a big problem," up from only 22 percent three years ago.
John Dinon of the Toledo Area Humane Society said his agency has seen an increase in horse cruelty cases the past few years, although the number dropped slightly in 2009.
Horses are especially vulnerable to economic swings because caring for them is expensive. Ms. Schultz of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says caring for a horse at home costs on average $2,000 a year.
Housing them at a stable can be considerably more expensive. Also, the cost of hay is up because of drought or heavy rain in some parts of the country and because of farmers switching from hay production to corn, Ms. Schultz said.
Arabian horses are by no means immune to the nation's economic turmoil, which has made selling or adopting out horses a lot more difficult. Ms. Figueroa said two horses on her rescue farm in New Jersey were once worth about $1 million. Horses decline in value over time and usually change hands often.
"That really is the way of horse ownership in this country," Ms. Schultz said. "It's not like dogs and cats, where they're pushed as a forever pet. With horses, you're there for a while, you serve a purpose … and then you get sold or passed along, or if you're lucky, taken to a rescue or an auction."
One escape hatch for struggling horse owners used to be the slaughterhouse, Mr. Dinon said. That changed with a law in 2007 that effectively banned horse slaughterhouses in the United States.
Although this option may be unthinkable for some, Mr. Dinon said it did allow owners to avoid the cost of euthanasia when they no longer could care for or sell a horse. That means more horses left to die or shipped off to badly regulated slaughter facilities in Mexico, Mr. Dinon said.
Mr. Dinon also pointed a finger at Ohio's animal cruelty laws, which he said don't do enough to protect horses from neglect and cruelty. Although cruelty to horses is considered a second-degree misdemeanor even when it's a repeat offense, the same type of cruelty to dogs and cats can lead to first-degree misdemeanor charges.
For the horse rescuers at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds, the focus is on helping the horses regain their strength. It may take months for them to recover completely, but Ms. Roberts hopes they will be strong enough within a month to go to foster homes. Many former owners of the horses are hoping to get their animals back. But until the judge rules on the case, the horses' ultimate fate will remain uncertain.
To help with the cost of horses' care, contact the Ottawa County Humane Society at 419-734-5191 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.
|Source: The Toledo Blade News - February 7, 2010
Update posted on Feb 7, 2010 - 6:44PM
|An Oak Harbor woman was charged Monday with 42 counts of cruelty to animals stemming from the removal of 37 horses from her property.
Charges were filed in Ottawa County Municipal Court against Robin Vess, 54, of 3140 N. Behlman Rd. Each charge is a second-degree misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a maximum $700 fine.
Officials said the horses were removed starting Friday afternoon and through the evening into Saturday.
Many of the horses were emaciated and some died or were euthanized. They are being cared for at the Sandusky County Fairgrouds in Fremont.
Ms. Vess could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
No court dates have yet been set.
|Source: Toledo Blade News - February 1, 2010
Update posted on Feb 3, 2010 - 6:08PM
|Even with the blankets on, it's clear the horses are in rough shape. Lumps in the fabric show they are bony and frail. Some have cuts on their faces. Others are covered in clumps of matted hair.
Ottawa County humane officer Nancy Silva said the 31 horses she helped rescue from a farm in Ottawa County were starved, dehydrated, neglected and not far from death.
"The person was not feeding them, not watering them, not allowing them to be combed," Silva said. "Some of these horses, this is the first time they've had a halter on. ... They were probably eating about what a miniature horse should."
At 3 p.m. Friday, Silva said she responded to the unnamed farm where she found 37 mistreated horses, mostly Arabians, some of which were already dead. A few had fallen onto their sides. The weight of their ribcages crushed their lungs, suffocating them, which is a slow and excruciating way to die, Silva said.
Three horses were beyond help, and veterinarians euthanized them. Silva said the things she saw at the farm horrified her. She said this is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty she's seen in her many years doing the work. "I don't cry easy, but I haven't been able to talk to people about this without bursting into tears," Silva said. "I sobbed all the way home (Friday) night." Silva oversaw the removal of the horses from the farm, but she couldn't have done it alone.
She put the word out about the ugly situation and more than 50 horse owners and members of horse groups answered the call for help.
They provided trailers, hay, supplies, blankets and manpower to move the horses to the Sandusky County Fairgrounds in Fremont. A band of horse advocates continue to work around the clock to ensure the mistreated Arabians receive the care they have not received for many months. But even the impressive outpouring of support couldn't change the reality of the horses' conditions.
"These horses are very unhealthy," said Juanita Dayringer, a volunteer and member of the Arabian Horse Club of Greater Toledo. "They are very thin, very underfed, probably haven't had veterinary care in a long time and they are wormy, meaning they have internal worms." Dayringer said healthy adult Arabians should weigh 800 to 1,200 pounds. She estimated the rescued horses weigh between 400 to 600 pounds �" potentially even less. Without fat, the horses are especially vulnerable to the cold, Dayringer said.
Even in the barn, the temperature was only a few degrees warmer than the bitter 18 degrees outside. Volunteers huddled together to keep warm. They piled hay bales and made sure the water in the bowls didn't freeze. They watched over the horses to make sure no more went down.
Saturday night, Shayna Roberts, animal technician and assistant at the Humane Society of Ottawa County, was bleary-eyed and shivering. Roberts did not sleep a wink on Friday night, because she was busy tending to the animals. "We have to watch the horses to make sure they take the food and get better, because they haven't had food in so long that putting food in them makes them colic," Roberts said. "We're trying to make sure everyone makes it through this rough patch and we don't lose anymore."
Silva refused to release information about the horses' owner, but she said the person will likely be charged with animal cruelty, a misdemeanor.
The owner will likely face 38 counts of cruelty, each of which is punishable by a $750 fine and 90 days in jail, officials said.
Silva said the cruelty in this case strikes her as intentional, but her investigation is far from complete.
For now, she just hopes the public will help financially support the horses. Despite all the donations of food and supplies, the veterinary bills will be thousands of dollars. And it will be weeks before the horses can be moved from the barn, Roberts said. It will take even longer before they can be adopted. "I have never seen a horse so hungry and thirsty as these ones," she said.
Want to help?
Send donations to:
Humane Society of Ottawa County
2424 E. Sand Road
Port Clinton, OH 43452
|Source: Sandusky Register News - January 31, 2010
Update posted on Feb 1, 2010 - 10:29PM
- Toledo Blade News - January 30, 2010 NewsNet5 News - Febuary 1, 2010
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Until now, Boston-based Au Bon Pain bakery and cafe has featured California strawberries on its menu sporadically, said Stefano Cordova, executive chef and senior vice president for food and beverage innovation.
But early this year, the chain of more than 300 company- and franchisee-operated stores in numerous countries is testing several items featuring strawberries to add to its regular menu.
"We're trying to institute a full-time strawberry program," Cordova said.
As of early March, the chain featured two such items, but depending on the results of the trials, there soon could be four or five offerings, such as salads, yogurt-granola or main dishes.
Cordova said he loves the flavor and aroma of strawberries and the fact that they're easy to work with — just rinse them, twist off the green stems and you're ready to go.
He uses them whole for dipping in chocolate or sliced for salads or other offerings.
Au Bon Pain buys directly from a couple of high-end strawberry producers that source berries primarily from California but occasionally from Florida or Mexico. All areas maintain the same quality and safety protocols to maintain consistency.
Since the company uses so many strawberries, even smaller locations order 2- or 4-pound clamshell containers.
"We buy them by the case," Cordova said.
He prefers clamshell packages because "the strawberry is fully protected" and does not come in contact with the environment. He said he appreciates how workers place the berries directly into the container as they pack them in the field.
Healthy-casual concept
Nutrition matters at Au Bon Pain, which offers a variety of breads that are baked in-store, hot and cold sandwiches and grab-and-go salads as well as salads that customers can build themselves.
"We are in large educational institutions, including Yale and Harvard, and medical centers," he said, "so nutrition is important to them."
The chain operates on a "healthy-casual concept," he said, and is "in tune with nutritional value as well as flavor."
Availability opens up
Consumers used to view strawberries as a summer item, he said, and summer offers more opportunities to serve the berries in drinks and warm-weather offerings.
But now, thanks to increased availability and constant exposure in supermarkets, "People recognize that it's all-year product," he said.
One of Cordova's favorite summertime strawberry items is his California mesclun salad. It's a mix of California baby mixed lettuces, fresh feta cheese, all-natural grilled chicken, sliced boiled eggs, sliced almonds, balsamic vinaigrette and, of course, strawberries.
The salad reflects a balance of flavors and textures — sweetness from the strawberries and balsamic vinegar, protein from eggs and chicken, crunchiness from the nuts and a bit of saltiness from the feta cheese, he said.
Cordova also enjoys croissants with strawberries and cream and, for breakfast, Greek yogurt and fresh strawberries with a touch of honey.
Speaking of breakfast, Cordova said the trend is turning away from traditional strawberry marmalade to perhaps a yogurt-based strawberry spread for muffins or bagels.
It's not overly sweet," he said.
For a nice pick-me-up, he blends flax seeds, mila seeds, nuts, Greek yogurt, coconut water and strawberries or blueberries.
"It's not a regular smoothie," he said.
Cordova said he expects strawberries to keep showing up in a variety of applications from salad toppings to breakfast items.


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Follow @DaytimeRoyalty
|Viewing Single Post From: Y&R: January Discussion
|Jan 26 2013, 04:54 PM
The one major thing they need to improve on is fact checking and research lol. But i do like that the characters are mingling with new ppl. I also like the featuring of the Baldwins cuz those 2 CAN act, that last epi w them arguing was very good.
|Y&R: January Discussion · Y&R & B&B: News, Spoilers & Discussion


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I get a lot of requests for beginner projects, and these canvases by Melissa of 100 Billion Stars completely fit the bill. Does the one on the left look like a painting? And doesn't the one on the right look like a screenprint? Guess what. They are both canvases covered with fabric and Mod Podge. Booyah! Melissa brings up a good point – you could use one of the shimmer Mod Podges to bring out some fun gold tones. Read the blog entry here.
so cool, gotta try this! thanks amy!
I would just like to commend you for your use of the word: booyah. This makes me happy 🙂
I'd like to invite you to add your banner or link to our Best Digital Scrapbooking Sites list. It's free to sign up. Hope to see you there
Also featuring Digital Scrapbooking Freebies and Digital Scrapbook Tutorials
Another picture perfect project, thank you.
🙂 Lori m
Very cute! I've been thinking about looking for old canvasses that I don't want (thrift stores) and painting or mod podging over them.
I love Mod Podge too…so glad I found you….from the scrapbox website…maybe I will learn more ways to use it..I have a whole gallon…I did not know there was colored mod


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As design engineering increasingly adopts simulation as a way of lowering costs and accelerating the development process, engineers seek the best balance of analytical design with simulation results. In many cases, they use Maplesoft's Maple and its accompanying simulation package, MapleSim. The two work together — Maple to produce formal analytical models based on mathematical representations of system behavior, and MapleSim to execute those models as a part of a simulation. The simulation can be entirely in Maple, or it could include actual system components or simulations from third-party software.
MapleSim lets engineers experiment with various configurations and parameters, and visualize the resulting simulations.
MapleSim 6 was released last year, and it is now up to version 6.1. I ran MapleSim on an HP Z600 workstation with dual 64-bit Intel Xeon 5600 processors, each with two cores, running at 2.8GHz, with 12GB of memory, a capable midrange engineering system. To get started with MapleSim, first I installed Maple 16, the analytical engine for symbolic mathematics behind MapleSim. Then I installed MapleSim, which works with Maple to turn analytical models into simulations. Both products can be downloaded from Maplesoft.com, with the purchase of a license key needed to activate them. Installation of both products and activation of the license took only a few minutes, with no problems.
Maple provides the symbolic solutions to computational engineering problems. It enables engineers to build mathematical analyses to solidify design decisions, rather than make estimates that often result in over-engineering. MapleSim takes the results of those analyses and creates a functional and working model out of the equations. You can then go one step further and simulate the operation of these models — both examining the model visually and producing data that can be evaluated separately.
Performance remains a focus in both the major and point releases. While I didn't benchmark MapleSim, I did note that a few of the simpler simulations I tried executed in what appeared to be real time for the modeled system. Maplesoft continues to optimize both the symbolic math engine and the resulting code generation to produce efficient simulations. While engineers can hand-code routines to make them execute more quickly, it's likely that the generated code is at least as fast as most programmers can do on their own.
MapleSim also automatically simplifies equations with no loss of fidelity or accuracy. If a given simulation doesn't require certain parameters, MapleSim has the ability to reduce the equations to exclude them, improving simulation performance. Removing extraneous calculations from a model makes it possible to offer big advances in the performance of certain types of models.
One aspect of performance is the ability to make use of multiple cores on a single system, and to effectively employ clusters to run simulations. With the Maple Grid Computing Toolbox, engineers can distribute parallel computations across a wide variety of distributed systems, including multiple multicore processors, workstation clusters, traditional server clusters, and supercomputers.
MapleSim is used heavily in the automotive industry, where its ability to work with electrical and mechanical systems together is highly valued.
As a result, many simulations can run in real time, especially when multiple cores and processors are available. In addition to enabling engineers to observe and record system behaviors as they occur, it lets engineers do more simulations than they might otherwise have the time to do. That can incrementally improve the quality of the design while still working within the project schedule.
Engineers Share Models across Teams, Industry
Both Maple 16 and MapleSim 6 reflect recent cultural trends toward collaboration and sharing in a social context. The ability to generate royalty-free source code enables the sharing of models across a distributed project. It also provides for the ability to maintain a library of useful models that can serve as a starting point for further development for specific projects.
In fact, Maplesoft itself maintains just such a repository. MaplePrimes.com is a learning center where Maple and MapleSim users contribute articles and models that enable the larger Maple community to learn what others are doing, how to solve a variety of different problems, and to provide a starting point for different design variations.
In addition to MaplePrimes, Maplesoft has an application center that lets both the company and users upload samples and actual models for learning and use by others. Maplesoft stores these samples and user-contributed models in a cloud environment, making them available around the world to any Maple and MapleSim user looking for answers to design problems.
Documentation is another aspect of design sharing, and Maple and MapleSim's smart document interface lets engineers include mathematical equations, plotting and animation, and even programming as a part of design and model documentation. With dynamic multimedia documentation, the entire project team (as well as customers) can understand and work with the products that result from MapleSim design simulations.
MapleNet brings Maple and MapleSim to websites and web applications, with the ability to develop and share comprehensive technical designs with others. MapleNet includes a web services programming interface to connect MapleSim models and simulations to other application components, and the ability to share documents and models within web browsers. It works with JavaServer Pages (JSP), applets and other types of applications, and enables simulations to be driven from inputs to web pages rather than from within the MapleSim development environment.
MapleNet sharing offers the opportunity for vast new design opportunities. In conjunction with on-demand manufacturing and 3D printing, it has the potential to enable customers to modify designs on the fly and have those designs custom-manufactured for them. This concept could also be extended to suppliers, who could get fast More Information of subassembly and component characteristics, and quickly adapt designs based on the needs of individual customers.
Integrating MapleSim Models into Complex Simulations
MapleSim features hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations, which enable engineers to take the code generated from their computer simulations and test it as a part of a physical system. By loading code simulating a hardware or embedded device, engineers can observe and measure the performance of a critical part of a larger system without having to build a physical prototype.
In support of HIL simulations as well as other types of integrated simulations, MapleSim offers a large (and continually growing) array of connectors to other engineering software and hardware systems. Third-party software connectors are available for MathWorks' Simulink, LabVIEW and Veristand from National Instruments, dSPACE controller boards, Functional Mockup Interface (FMI)-compliant toolchains supporting Modelica, and VI-CarRealTime, to name a few. Maple is continually adding the ability to play well with significant hardware and software vendors in its targeted markets.
MapleSim includes extensive component libraries in areas such as magnetics, thermofluids, fluids, expanded electrical, and mechanical modeling — making it ideal for fluid dynamic, airfoil and electromechanical applications. It enables 3D multibody and 1D multi-domain in a single environment, so that systems can be simulated more completely.
In fact, MapleSim is based on the Modelica modeling language standard, so that engineers can become quickly up to speed on creating and executing sophisticated models. This approach lets engineers experienced with other modeling and simulation environments go through the learning curve more quickly than if they were learning an entirely new way of modeling.
Those who make use of mathematical models as part of their design process, along with HIL simulations, can use MapleSim to build models that fit right into their simulation harness. It makes it possible to understand the parameters of the design early in the process, and test out alternative designs later on.
Maple and MapleSim are popular in industries such as automotive, aerospace, robotics and other areas that with complex fluid dynamics or mechanical electromechanical components. But any design engineer whose products have moving parts, electrical operation or structural stresses can benefit from the integration of mathematical modeling with code generation and simulation.
Because Maple itself is a prerequisite, MapleSim is most appropriate for those who are already using Maple. Otherwise, there would be a corresponding learning curve for Maple itself. But if you're not doing formal analysis, modeling and simulation yet, you might want to consider starting down this path. The cost and time-to-market advantages of not building physical prototypes can be significant. And MapleSim is a good way to get started with that process.
Contributing Editor Peter Varhol covers the HPC and IT beat for DE. His expertise is software development, math systems, and systems management. You can reach him at email@example.com.
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The women's tournament at this year's Australian Open has already given us some interesting battles between youth and experience. I know from my own career that there are advantages to both.
Like Eugenie Bouchard, who takes on Li Na in the semi-finals on Thursday, I had some big breakthroughs when I was still a teenager. I won my first tournament in Indian Wells aged 18 and then reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open that same year.
At that age, you are quite fearless and you can go for it because you don't necessarily think about how much is on the line. You live in the moment and you can get swept along. It's an incredible feeling and so exciting, but it's easy to get overwhelmed as well.
Bouchard is used to having a lot of attention around her, and I was a kind of used to being in the public eye a lot myself by the time I broke through. That definitely helps because there are a lot of things to deal with off the court when you do really well at a major event.
Suddenly the media and everyone else is very focused on what you are doing and you have to learn to manage all that and keep your mind on what you have to do on the court. The matches keep getting tougher and you need to be mentally fresh for every challenge.
Bouchard has a big challenge on her hands in playing Li who is the only grand slam champion left in the competition. Li is at the other end of the scale to Bouchard in terms of her experience and she really loves playing in Australia.
She is a former finalist here and when you have played well at a tournament before it can make a big difference. You feel comfortable in your surroundings and it feels familiar and natural to be playing well at this stage of the tournament. It can be just as valuable as being young and fresh. It's kind of a battle of the generations.
My fellow Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova is having a fantastic tournament and I expect her to play well against Agnieszka Radwanska in the other women's semi-final on Thursday. The women's draw is very open and it will come down to who gets the details right on and off the court.
A lot of big names have gone out of this Australian Open but I think it's fantastic for women's tennis to have such a mix of personalities and age groups all playing well. All of the girls left in the draw have their own characters and styles of play and they are from different nations and regions as well, which attracts more fans to the sport and to the Australian Open. Everyone has someone to cheer for.
However long you have been around you can always keep learning and I have really enjoyed getting the chance to try some commentary for Channel Seven this week. The commentary box has an amazing view at court level and it's a good challenge to analyse a match and try to describe it in a way non-tennis players will understand. It's definitely something I would like to do more of when I stop playing, but for now it's fun when I have the time.
Follow Daniela on Twitter @DHantuchova
The story Daniela Hantuchova: Bouchard and Li Na in battle of generations first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.


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Each week, former sf.myopenbar.com editor Allie Pape brings you her picks for the best places to booze on the cheap in SF. This week: Three classy deals, two trashy deals. Have an event coming up? Want to share a tip? E-mail her.
1. Alembic's Half-Off Beer: We love the hip Haight bar Alembic, but our wallet tends to disagree after a round or two there-- a real shame, considering their vast beer selection. Luckily, there's some light at the end of this tunnel for suds-lovers: the Alembic's bottled beer selection is now half-off on Mondays, allowing visitors to drink in the gorgeous environs without the crowds or the markup. Another money-saving tip: they're now serving lunch, at significantly lower prices compared to their evening menu. (Monday nights at Alembic, 1725 Haight St., Upper Haight.)
2. Happy Hour at Bacar: Also from the "too rich for our blood, until now" files: SOMA hotspot Bacar has a new chef, and a new happy hour menu, with all their bar bites half-off. This means $5.50 sliders, $3 fries, and on Fridays, $1 oysters. To wash it all down, they're also offering $2 drafts, $5 classic cocktails, and selected wines by the glass. Poverty never felt so classy. (Daily, 4:30-7 pm, at Bacar, 448 Brannan St., SOMA.)
3. Late Night Happy Hour at Sheba: One of the many musically-inclined restaurants lining the gentrified Fillmore strip, Sheba Piano Lounge prides itself on its commitment to world music. Their new late-night happy hour reflects this, with a commitment to world drinking. Enjoy $4 beers from Ethiopia (St. George), Belgium (Stella), SF (Anchor Steam), and Portla--er, Germany (Widmer). $6 will get you a glass of Italian Pinot Grigio, Argentine Malbec, or good old Irish-Catholic Jameson. Spinning a globe and making a room spin, together at last. (Sunday-Thursday, 10 pm-12 am, and Friday-Saturday, 11 pm-1 am, at Sheba Piano Lounge, 1419 Fillmore St., Fillmore.)
4. Lexington Club $1 Margaritas: If you're not inclined to visit the classy establishments above, we have a pair of trashier places with absurdly good weekend deals. Up first: the Lexington Club, a Mission dive with a largely (but not strictly) lesbian crowd. They have $1 margaritas for an hour on Friday nights to fuel the girl-on-girl action. (Fridays, 9-10 pm, at the Lexington Club, 3464 19th St., Mission.)
5. Bar on Church 50-Cent PBR: We've previously featured the escapades of the crew at Bar on Church, who are always looking for new ways to ensnare sotted misers: their latest is 50-cent PBR on Saturdays, offered from late afternoon until early evening. Yeah, the ambience is like being inside a giant disco ball, but between this and the bottomless beer special, we have to applaud them for looking out for the little guy. (Saturdays, 4-8 pm, at Bar on Church, 198 Church St., Castro.)


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Groundbreaking ceremony for the Ramsey Commuter Rail project will take place Tuesday, March 27, 3 p.m.
Construction on the new station on the Northstar Commuter Rail line is scheduled to start in early April.
"We hope to take advantage of the good weather," said Tim Yantos, executive director of the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority.
Under the project timetable, substantial completion is scheduled to occur by Oct. 31 and revenue service starting Nov. 16.
The Anoka County Regional Rail Authority March 13 approved a contract for independent testing services needed for the station project.
Authorization was given for negotiations to be completed with Braun Intertec Corporation to provide the testing services for the station and skyway connection in an amount not to exceed $84,455.
The contract, which will run through Dec. 31 this year, is included as part of the budget for the station project, according to Yantos.
Braun was chosen by an evaluation team after requests for proposal (RFP) were issued to two pre-qualified firms capable of providing the necessary independent testing for the project construction.
The contract amount is within the budgeted amount for the project, Yantos said.
"The project is on time and under budget," he said.
Indeed, according to Yantos, the project is currently $2.5 million under its $13.2 million estimate, which includes $1.8 million for contingencies.
Of that $2.5 million, some $1.5 million has been saved through the negotiations with the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad for the easement costs for the station, Yantos said.
In addition, back in January, the rail authority approved the low bid for the station's construction from Sheehy Construction which at $6,439,130 was more than $600,000 under the $7,161,500 estimate.
Sheehy will build the station platform, the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks and the skyway connection to the parking ramp.
The skyway connection has a $1.15 million price tag, which is in addition to the project budget.
The project is being paid for through a combination of funds from the city of Ramsey, the county regional rail authority, the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) and the Metropolitan Council.
The Ramsey station will be the seventh station along the Northstar route, which runs from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis.
The other stations are in Big Lake, Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Fridley and Minneapolis.
Operated by Metro Transit, the Northstar line provides service on a 40-mile segment of existing BNSF track.
Service is offered during weekday morning and evening rush hours as well as weekends and some special events.
Peter Bodley is at [email protected]


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The world's first day-spa owner invited clients to "experience the healing powers of this here tar pit," which was bad news for his clientele but invaluable for modern-day archaeologists. Preserve well-being without becoming permanently preserved with today's Groupon: for $30, you get a one-hour signature massage or a deep-cleansing facial (a $90 value each) at Solaire Hair Studio and Spa in Hudson.
Solaire's crack squad of relaxation hunters set their sights on sneaky stressors with their one-hour massages and facials. The Solaire signature massage is a full-body knead that uses long, gliding strokes to untie knots of muscular tension and boost the circulatory system. Soul-sack aches, pains, and sandstone shells disintegrate as the slow strokes of Solaire's experienced therapists restore bodies to a state of nubile joyousness normally reserved for the winner's circle at hopscotch battle royales. Groupon holders looking for face-side fulfillment can opt for Solaire's deep-cleansing facial. After a personalized skin assessment from Solaire's technicians, each careworn countenance receives a rejuvenating exfoliation, massage, and deep pore purge, rooting out dulling gunk, flattening facefurrows, and brightening the complexion. A moisturizing mask seals in the skin-smoothing benefits of Solaire's specialized serums, leaving the visage as vital and satiny as a silk EKG machine.
Solaire's epidermal doldrum destruction takes place in the tranquil, cream-accented walls of their warmly lit treatment rooms. After an hour of either of these stress-slaying sessions, extend your outing to hours of hedonism with a visit to the Wine Bar at Solaire for lunch or dinner. Opt for an overnight outing at The Inn at Solaire (Wine Bar and Inn not included with Groupon), or return to your roost with a newfound vigor for teaching baby pandas the alphabet.
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