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Bryson halts sewer connections outside town limits
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
Developers in Swain County eyeing a quick, easy connection to Bryson City's sewer system for their newly built properties are out of luck — at least for now. Bryson's town board is currently denying sewer services to anyone that lives outside of the immediate town limits.
A sludge buildup that occurred in the fall is behind the town's hesitation to grant sewer access to just anyone. For years, the town has hired an outside contractor to come in with a sludge press to compact the sewage before it is hauled to a Georgia landfill. According to Lamar Williams, the superintendent of the waste plant and wastewater for the town, the company wasn't always available when the town needed them to come in. As a result, the sludge built up and caused the sewage system to operate much less efficiently than it normally would.
The town finally purchased a sludge press for $188,000 after renting one a couple of times a year at a cost of six cents per gallon, Alderman James Gribble said.
Williams said the town wants to "make sure we can keep our solids under control."
"We had such a big sludge buildup. It just wasn't properly digesting, so what was happening is that some of it was going into the river, and as soon as it was called to our attention, we started trying to do something about it," Gribble said.
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The town wants to make sure its new sludge press works before letting more people connect to the sewer system.
"What we're doing is giving it a couple of months to make sure everything is functioning properly," Gribble said.
In the meantime, this means denying any requests that aren't in the town limits. So far, six people have been denied, according to Mayor Brad Walker. The latest request at the last town board meeting came from a man who had already built a house. The town board had to tell him no, since his property sat just outside town limits.
"We're not in there to deny people access to sewer, (but) we concluded that we have to serve the town ... before we serve people outside city limits," Gribble said.
"The board just wants to make sure it works and everything works out and we're able to keep up before they add a bunch more sewer taps on," Williams agreed.
And fair is fair, Gribble said.
"It's just not right to deny one person and put someone else on," he said.
Adding to the board's decision to deny sewer access outside town limits is that the town has already agreed to provide sewer for two new developments in the county outside Bryson City.
"(The two developments) are not really large scale, but they'll put a lot of houses on the system," Walker said. "When they get on line, it's going to get really tight, then if they add a whole lot more (connections) now, they don't know what affect it's going to have."
Town officials agree that the sludge press is only a temporary fix. Bryson City is currently operating at more than half of its 600,000 a day capacity.
"There are more and more people all the time, and more connections. We'll have to eventually expand if they keep adding many more connections. A plant won't operate good if you get over 80 percent (capacity)," Williams said.
In fact, the state requires towns to have an expansion plan in place if the current system is at 80 percent of its capacity.
Bryson's plant is roughly 20 years old, Gribble said, and the town is well aware of the need to upgrade and likely expand it.
"The last time we met as a group that's one thing we talked about is the infrastructure is going to have to be upgraded," he said. Gribble said the town has an engineering firm coming in to look at the sewer system and tell them what needs to be done to upgrade and properly repair it. Upgrades and an expanded or new plant will cost millions, but its something the town will have to deal with in the future. Individual septic systems aren't a good alternative, Gribble said, because "you can't keep putting in septic systems and still having clean water."
"My thing is to start working to the future to do a new plant. (The town) currently has two. We will need another one in the next five years, but they're like $2 million. That's one of my focuses is I'm trying to find out all the facts and find out how we get the money from the grants and make sure we have water and sewer for growth," Walker said.
In the meantime, town officials urge those outside the town limits to reapply for sewer connections in a few months, when the town is sure the new sludge press is working properly.


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Caroline Salas Gage and Craig Torres Monday, 11 February 2013 08:58 AM EST
The Fed is acquiring $85 billion of securities each month, and policy makers are grappling with how to condition markets not to interpret a stop in those purchases as a prelude to the exit from easy credit. Bernanke said Dec. 12 in Washington that he "would emphasize" the end won't be "a turn to tighter policy."
If the Fed fails, interest rates may climb prematurely, as traders arrange positions for the withdrawal of unprecedented monetary stimulus, according to Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Plc in New York. The Fed has kept its benchmark federal funds rate near zero for more than four years and swelled its balance sheet to a record of more than $3 trillion through three asset-purchase programs. Editor's Note: Economist Unapologetically Calls Out Bernanke, Obama for Mishandling Economy. See What They Did
"There is a risk the markets get ahead of the Fed," said Maki, a former Fed board economist. "It will be tricky for the Fed to signal it's going to stop buying without signaling that tightening is imminent."
Ending the Fed's third round of so-called quantitative easing carries greater significance than completion of the previous two because those were introduced with defined amounts and durations.
Open-Ended Program
For QE3, the Federal Open Market Committee in September announced purchases of $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed securities, leaving the program open-ended until the labor market improves "substantially." In December, the FOMC added $45 billion of monthly Treasury purchases.
Marilyn Cohen, founder of Envision Capital Management Inc. in Los Angeles, said she doesn't think the Fed will be able to convince traders that interest rates aren't going up when the central bank stops buying bonds. Cohen said she's already lowered the interest-rate sensitivity of her $325 million portfolio in preparation.
"The markets are on edge; and any hint that things are changing, and we will see the repercussions," Cohen said. "I've been in this business since 1979 — I'm one of the old dinosaurs — and I cannot remember when there was such a chorus in the investment landscape that all are calling for higher rates."
Long-Term Concerns
Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co.; Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings; Wells Capital Management Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. all have voiced concern about long-term bonds.
The Jan. 3 release of the minutes from the FOMC's Dec. 11-12 meeting illustrates investors' sensitivity, Cohen said. Central bankers discussed possibly curtailing or halting their asset purchases this year. That surprised analysts and traders, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down 0.2 percent and pushing up yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note 0.07 percentage point that day.
James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, says the "communication challenge" the central bank faces with the end of QE3 is comparable to all periods of easing.
"The same thing happens with interest-rate policy; you're lowering the interest rate, and after a while you decide to quit lowering the interest rate and just hold it steady," Bullard said in a Feb. 1 interview in Washington. "And at that point, you have to convince markets this is really a lower rate than it used to be."
Treasury Yields
U.S. 10-year government notes declined, pushing the yield up two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 1.97 percent at 10:32 a.m. London time. Yields on thirty-year bonds also climbed two basis points to 3.18 percent.
Fed Governor Jeremy Stein warned last week that the market for speculative-grade debt may be overheating even as his institution's policy of keeping benchmark borrowing costs low is pushing investors into riskier debt.
"We are seeing a fairly significant pattern of reaching- for-yield behavior emerging in corporate credit," Stein said in a Feb. 7 speech in St. Louis. If the observation is accurate, he said, "it does not bode well for the expected returns to junk bond and leveraged-loan investors."
Just because the Fed halts its asset purchases also doesn't mean it couldn't restart them. Bernanke announced his first quantitative-easing program in November 2008; it ran until March 2010, and QE2 lasted from November 2010 to June 2011.
Bullard's View
Bullard said he expects U.S. growth will gain enough momentum to let the central bank reduce the pace of bond buying as early as the middle of the year. The unemployment rate will fall to the "low 7s" by December from 7.9 percent in January, which would meet the FOMC's test of the "substantial improvement" needed to end purchases, he predicted.
"It is going to be very difficult for them" to end QE3 without triggering a rise in borrowing costs, which may argue for sticking with the program until the economy has sustainable momentum, said Carl Lantz, head of interest-rate strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG in New York.
Japan is one guidepost for Fed officials as they consider how long to keep stimulus in place. The Bank of Japan lifted the benchmark lending rate off zero in August 2000, before an economic recovery had consolidated. Monetary-policy experts, including former Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin, have called that move a "mistake."
"All throughout the crisis, Japan has been on their mind," said Mark Gertler, a New York University economics professor who has co-authored research with Bernanke.
Numerical Thresholds
Investors eventually will have to take the Fed at its word: The federal funds rate isn't going to rise until the unemployment and inflation goals are hit, Gertler said. If the economy drifts further away from the thresholds -- as it has in the most recent reports -- then investors should begin to expect a longer period of rates near zero, and that provides continued accommodation.
While the end of QE3 is tied to subjective criteria about the labor market, policy makers have set specific numerical thresholds for raising rates. The FOMC said in December, and repeated in January, that "an exceptionally low range" for its benchmark would be appropriate as long as inflation isn't forecast to rise more than 2.5 percent and unemployment remains above 6.5 percent. These criteria replaced previous calendar- based guidance that rates would stay near zero at least through the middle of 2015.
"The market is always looking for the next big thing," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey. "Once the Fed stops buying assets, everybody knows what the next big thing is: the beginning of the exit cycle."
Advance Signal
Even though Bernanke said Dec. 12 that the transition to economic thresholds "doesn't change our mid-2015 expectation," money-market-derivatives traders since have accelerated their time frame for policy tightening.
Forward markets for overnight index swaps, whose rates show what traders expect the federal-funds effective rate will average over the life of the contract, signal a quarter percentage-point advance around February or March of 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of Feb. 5. In December, these traders were pricing in a rate increase about June 2015.
"There is no doubt that when the Fed pulls back you will see a big shoot upward in Treasury yields," said Karl Haeling, head of strategic-debt distribution in New York at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, one of Germany's largest banks. "There are a lot of people who think the only reason rates are here is because the Fed put them here. Nobody wants to be the last man standing." Editor's Note: Economist Unapologetically Calls Out Bernanke, Obama for Mishandling Economy. See What They Did
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Description (from Goodreads): I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?
Review: I think I did a disservice to reading Wonder after I read Sharon Draper's phenomenal Out of My Mind, one of my favorites from 2012. Both books have a similar theme of children being ostracized by their peers due to their disabilities. Out of My Mind is a grittier and realistic portrayal of the hardships endured by the main character while Wonder has a much more upbeat tone.
Wonder is the story of a boy named August Pullman's, commonly called Auggie among his family and friends, first year at school. Auggie is a ten-year-old boy born with a facial anomaly that has required him to undergo countless operations, which have restored his physical features normally. His physical deformity has instantly made him an outsider with the outside world. Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents, but now they feel it is time for him to be acclimated with normalcy and thus enroll him in middle school. Wonder is book about journeys. Of course it highlights Auggie's personal struggle, but it is also shows his family's journey of slowly loosening their grip on Auggie and trying to be hands off as much as possible even though it breaks their hearts to see him in so much pain.
Auggie's story is surprisingly told from six different perspectives. Auggie's point of view is a lot cheerier than I expected. He knows he is being isolated by his peers and how frightening he can look, but he doesn't let these problems drag him down too much. He is a lot more stoic than I could imagine being at that age. To be honest, I didn't feel like his point of view was realistic and had a bit too much of an after school special tone to it though I do admire his optimism and I can sympathize with him.
In addition to Auggie, we also have his older sister Via, her boyfriend Justin, her friend Miranda and Jack and Summer, two kids August befriends at school. We clearly have both male and female perspectives as well as varing ages ranging very young to older teens, but I thought all these voices very much sounded a lot alike. While I liked knowing what the outside of Auggie, I felt that some points of view didn't really add to the story.
In general, the writing is kept simple, fitting and true to the ten-year-old responsible for most of the narration, but I did cringe with the heavy use of the word "dude" which really got on my nerves. I think that's just a personal pet peeve as I hear it every day at work. The parents were just a bit too nice and the villains were a bit too obvious and well, mean.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: This is a relatively clean read. There are some incidents of bullying and there is a brief mention of seventh graders smoking, but nothing that you wouldn't see on TV. Recommended for Grades 5 and up.
If you like this book try: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, Angel in My Pocket by Ilene Cooper, Firegirl by Tony Abbott, Larger-than-life Lara by Dandi Daley Mackall


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Optimizing Atomicast
I run a little internet podcast along with a buddy of mine, and found that as we collected more episodes, site load times slowed down. This was unacceptable.
Came in at just under 2.5 megs for 1 page load. This was clearly unacceptable, and the problem would only grow as time went on.
The biggest offender was the images. iTunes requires a 1400X1400 JPEG for each episode, and I really wanted to display the episode artwork. But as we hit our 12th episode, each episode's artwork was slowing down the process. At around 100K each, that needed to change.
I implemented this image resizing script to handle automatic resizing and server-side caching of the resized images. The result is pretty striking.
Instead of 50-120K per image, we're looking at 17-50K per image. Spread over many episodes, the difference is substantial.
The main logo image had similar problems. iTunes required a large JPEG, so instead of using the iTunes image I created a custom PNG, resized it to 900X900 and sent it through tinyPNG, sending it from 130K down to 21K.
Unfortunately I could not get rid of jQuery or jPlayer, which the site relies on for many interactive elements and playing of the episodes. I could also not get rid of Google Analytics. In theory I can get rid of Font Awesome, but in playing with icons and SVGs, I am not convinced I'd save any space in doing so. Especially since Font Awesome is stored via CDN, I think using that actually speeds things up a bit.
The resulting changes took me from 2.5 megs total to 600K, or approximately 25% of its former, bloated self.
While making these changes, I also tweaked some CSS and JS for some cross-platform compatibility. All in all, a great performance boost!
Next up, I'm going to introduce some lazy-loading to only load episode artwork when necessary, because for now it loads artwork even if you can't see it. Next revision, that's comin'!


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Palestine is scoring points on and off the soccer pitch as it seeks to employ sports to further its bid for statehood, ensure international support in its struggle against the debilitating effects of Israeli occupation and initiate a social revolution at home.
The Palestinian effort kicked into high gear this month with the unveiling of an ambitious ten-year plan backed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Palestine Authority to develop sports and a women's friendly soccer match against world champion Japan.
The plan drafted by Spanish consultants hired by the IOC, which calls for a €61 million investment in sports facilities, was presented this week to donors by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, foreign minister Riyad al-Malki and Jibril Rajoub, who doubles as head of the Palestine Olympic Committee and the territory's soccer association.
"This is a breakthrough. Sports is a Palestine Authority priority alongside transportation and water," gushed Jerome Champagne, a former political advisor to world soccer body FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who now advises the Palestine Authority on sports, after the presentation in Ramallah.
Mr. Champagne said he expected funding for the ten-year plan to be made available at the next meeting of Palestine's donors. That could take a little while with the United States delaying the convening of the meeting to stymie European Union efforts to play a more important role in the Middle East.
Effected by the global financial crisis donors could also ultimately prove to be less generous than Palestinians hope. Diplomatic representatives of the United Nations, Spain, France, Italy, Britain and Brazil welcomed the plan but stressed at the meeting in Ramallah what they were already doing to support Palestinian sports rather than what they would do. To be fair, the diplomats were not the ones that control their countries' purse strings.
The Palestine Authority's emphasis on sports and the presentation of its ten-year plan could however not have come at politically convenient time for Palestine Authority.
To be sure, the plan has been long in the making and Palestine has come a long way since becoming in 1998 the first nation without a state to become a member of FIFA. In the last year, Palestine has played its first World Cup and Olympic qualifiers on Palestinian soil. Its national women's soccer team is breaking taboos in a traditionally conservative society.
Nonetheless, President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestine Authority has been politically weakened by its inability to force Israel to make concessions the Palestinians need to agree to a revival of peace talks and Israel's boost of Hamas with this month's swap of Israeli Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit for more than 1,000 Palestinians incarcerated by Israel.
In emphasising sports and identifying with it, the authority is following in the footsteps of other Middle Eastern leaders who saw soccer, the region's most popular sport, as a tool to polish their tarnished images and distract attention from discontent with government policies. But in contrast to those leaders, they are promoting sports on a far more popular and transparent level and in ways that benefit the public and push the social envelope.
"We want this (plan) to be seen as an integrated part of our national development plan, an indispensable component," Mr. Fayyad told the diplomats, describing the sports initiative as "a hopeful enterprise." He said recalling his recent attendance at a soccer match that sports provides "a sense of joy, happiness of the people with just being there."
"We are witnessing a different kind of revolution… We are allowing people to release fears. They have the right to fight to achieve self-determination in sports like in any other field," added Mr. Malki.
The development plan is designed to project Palestine internationally as a nation and a state, strengthen nation-building and social development at home and focus attention on the debilitating effects of Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian athletes. "For me, sport is a tool to realise the Palestinian people's national aspirations by exposing our cause through sports. I think that the ethics of sports and football is a rational and humanitarian way to convince the international community that we deserve freedom and independence," said Mr. Rajoub who doubles as Palestine Olympic Committee and Football Association czar.
Mr. Rajoub, a former Palestinian security chief with a military bearing who spent 17 years in Israeli prison, met his Israeli Olympic Committee counterpart for a third time this year in advance of the launch of the plan to discuss cooperation in easing the restrictions on athletes as well as the movement of sports materials. The two committees established a hotline to facilitate the movement of athletes stuck at Israeli checkpoints on the West Bank. They also looked at ways of enabling travel between the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Despite goodwill, the effort has so far produced limited results. Palestinians are waiting to see whether the processing three months ago of their last shipment from FIFA through Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in less than a week constitutes a change in Israeli attitudes. Until then shipments were held up for up to six months, incurring storage and other costs for the Palestinians that amounted to a multi-fold of the value of the goods shipped.
There has however been only limited improvement in athletes' ability to move around the West Bank or between the Palestine Authority-controlled region and the Gaza Strip. "The problem is the Israeli committee is not the relevant authority for the movement of people and equipment. We are trying, but I don't want to embarrass anyone," Mr. Rajoub says.
Nonetheless, soccer officials and players concede that crossing checkpoints has become somewhat easier this year. They attribute it primarily to improved security with Israel less concerned about the threat of terrorist attacks being launched from the West Bank. In addition, the PFA has created sleeping quarters in the Faisal Hussein Stadium so that players can get together to train without worrying whether they will be able to return home.
The perceived easing has done little for 13 of the 25 members of the Palestinian national soccer team who hail from Gaza. Goalkeeper Assem Abu Assi thinks of his wife and son in Gaza whenever the Palestinian flag is raised at an international match. Mr. Abu Assi has not seen them in four years because of an Israel refusal to grant him a travel permit. Mid-fielders Maali Kawari and Ismail Al Amur too have not been allowed to return for visits to Gaza.
"My dream is to just play football with my family watching in the stadium. It has never happened. Happiness is never complete. I'm always only half happy," Mr. Abu Assi says.
He and his co-players see soccer however as more than just a game. It constitutes their contribution to achieving Palestinian statehood. "Raising the Palestinian flag on the roof of a house in Palestine is a big issue. It is an even bigger issues when we raise the flag as a state outside the country," Mr. Abu Assi says. "Soccer is a way to build a state. When we go to India or Thailand, we put Palestine on the map," adds Mr. Kawari. "The Israelis know that sport is good for Palestinians. That's why they try to limit our success," Mr. Al Amur chips in.
The problems implementing the Palestinian sports development plan are further illustrated by FIFA and Palestinian efforts to get Israeli approval for the import of Jordanian personnel and materials to build two FIFA-funded soccer playing grounds in the Palestinian West Bank towns of Qalqilya and El Bireh. "The Israelis do not allow us to start the project. Our deadline is at the end of the year. Otherwise we lose the project," says Nabhan Khraishi, a PFA media advisor.
Mr. Khraishi says the Israeli authorities are delaying the El Bireh project because it is too close to the Israeli settlement of Psagot. The Israelis fear that the gathering of excited fans so close to one of their outposts could spark anti-Israeli protests at a time that anti-government protests are sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
The struggle for state and nationhood is not only one in which Palestinians confront the Israelis. It is also a struggle for the kind of society Palestinians want their country to be. That is nowhere more true than with the right of women to play soccer.
The national women's team faced two obstacles when it met world champion Japan earlier this month on the soccer pitch in Hebron, the West Bank's most conservative town that unlike Ramallah, Bethlehem or East Jerusalem does not count Christians among its residents. The match moreover underscored differences within the Islamist movement with the city's Hamas mayor supporting the women's team and the local Hizb ut Tahrir movement opposing it.
Hizb ut Tahrir websites denounced the team as "naked bitches" even though they wore leggings and at least one of the squad's players dons a hijab, an Islamic headdress that covers the hair, ears and neck. Hizb ut Tahrir imams denounced the match from the pulpit in their mosques; school principals in Hebron banned their students from attending the match warning them that they would burn in hell if they went to the stadium. The PFA was forced to bus in supporters.
Crowds cheered the team as they left the stadium even though they lost to Japan with a whopping 19:0. The team, which unlike its opponent is made up of university students rather than professionals, recovered in a second match, losing only 4:0 from the world champion. "It was a social revolution. We broke the barrier and taboo when we went to Hebron and Nablus (a conservative city in the north of the West Bank). The whole barrier collapsed" Mr. Rajoub says.
It no doubt was the beginning of a social revolution, however one that has yet to play out. A majority of the players in Palestine's six women soccer clubs as well as its national team are Christians rather than Muslims. Yet, even players from Christian families often fight battles at home to be allowed to play. Claudia Salameh, a 21-year old business administration student, said her family wanted her to stop when she got engaged but that her fiancé had supported her. Other players report similar splits in their families.
"Things are changing. It depends on what area of the country. Lifestyles are changing. Three years ago it was unacceptable for girls to walk in the streets with shorts. It was unacceptable to play soccer, run or ride a bicycle in shorts. Now it is ok in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jerusalem," Ms. Salameh said.
About The Author:
James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.


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Online games are viewed as addictions for kids. However, Cris, a web content creator for draw-something-online.net proves that not all online games harm the kids or the user of it. She writes about the positive effect of online games and give suggestions how to limit the use of it when kids are seemed adversely affected. She is very competent in her job making her one of the favorites of her boss. She is well dedicated and imaginative. She writes with first hand experience prior to writing about it. She also draw something online omgpop with her friends and family members.
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Draw-something-online.net is a website where you can get knowledge about the Draw-something-online game. It is an online game useful for killing time and bonding with family members or friends. You just need to guess what others have written, as simple as that. The good thing is you are online so you can still be with your friends without closing the application. So what are you waiting for, you just need to draw and let your friend guess what you have drawn. A very simple game but will boost friendship and closeness among people. Jessie knows well how to play the game. She had fun and she is writing about it. Visit http://draw-something-online.net/draw-online-with-friends/ for more information.
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FiproGuard for dogs is a topical flea and tick treatment that uses the same active ingredients as Frontline Top Spot® flea and tick treatment. FiproGuard protects your dog against fleas, ticks, and chewing lice.
FiproGuard for dogs also controls mites that cause sarcoptic mange and is waterproof. For control of flea, tick and lice infestations use FiproGuard monthly. FiproGuard will kill adult fleas for up to 3 months per application.
For use on Dogs that are over 8 weeks of age only.


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Motions in Uranus' Interior, part 2
Motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Uranus may be very different from the motions within the Earth.
A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet is shown in this picture. Strong heat coming from within a planet can cause this kind of motion to take place.
The drawing shows that underneath the clouds of Uranus, long logs of material may be in motion, rolling in different directions. It is thought that this pattern may be in operation because the tips of the logs may match the striped pattern of clouds seen in the atmosphere.
It is not known which of these two kinds of motion, one typical of the earth, and one like this, prevails in the interior of Uranus.


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Assist veterans, their spouse, widow, children, parents, and dependents of veterans in presenting claims for benefits from Department of Veterans Affairs and the State of Ohio; Obtain temporary financial assistance as outlined in Title 59 of the Ohio Revised Code; Network with other public and private agencies; Provide daily transportation for veterans to both Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities in Cleveland and Parma, Ohio and The Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky. Ensure each Mahoning County veteran's grave is marked.
What We Do
- Assist residents in applying for disability compensation, pension, burial, education and home loan benefits.
- The Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission (VSC), established under Title 59 of the Ohio Revised Code, is dedicated to advising and assisting veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States, their spouses, children, parents, and dependents of veterans in presenting claims and obtaining rights and/or benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs of the State of Ohio. Several staff members continue to be accredited to present claims before the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Administer a temporary relief program.
- This Commission provides temporary financial assistance to needy veterans, their spouse, surviving spouse, parent, minor child, or the ward of a veteran as outlined in Title 59 of the Ohio Revised Code. To be eligible for services, the veteran must be discharged under honorable conditions with at least 90 days active service - this does not include active duty training, unless discharged sooner by proper authority. Claimants must be a resident of Mahoning County for at least three months prior to application for assistance and meet eligibility otherwise.
- Provide transportation to VAMC Cleveland.
- The VSC offers daily transportation for eligible veterans to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities in Cleveland and Parma, Ohio. This Service is offered to veterans who schedule through the VSC. Please remember that seats are on a first scheduled, first serviced basis.
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- The VSC also assists the Mahoning County Veterans Organizations with their Memorial Day programs each year.
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- The VSC assists veterans, their spouse (or surviving spouse) residing in a Nursing Homes in obtaining financial assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Update: Based on the feedback, some have misunderstood this post: Microsoft has not met its internal projections for Windows 8 sales. Given this, as it's happened, I provided some possible explanations for what went wrong (in addition to Microsoft's finger pointing at PC makers). Those are simply my best guesses, not "facts," and certainly debatable. But you can expect Microsoft to eventually release sales numbers for Windows 8, numbers that it will use to prove (or at least contort) that everything's just fine. That doesn't change the central premise here, which is the reason I published this post: Internally, Microsoft is blaming PC makers for Windows 8's slower-than-it-expected start. But I think it's more nuanced than that. Even Vista sold hundreds of millions of copies a year. Windows 8 will certainly do better than that. --Paul
Sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below Microsoft's internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing. But here's the catch: The software giant blames the slow start on lackluster PC maker designs and availability, further justifying its new Surface strategy. But Windows 8's market acceptance can be blamed on many factors.
One of my most trusted sources at Microsoft confirmed Windows 8's weak start this week. And with all of the drama surrounding Windows 8 and the recent, unexpected departure of Windows chief Steven Sinofsky, rumors are sure to swirl. But looked at logically, some trends emerge.
Microsoft blames the PC makers. My source cited to me the PC makers' "inability to deliver," a damning indictment that I think nicely explains why the firm felt it needed to start making its own PC and device hardware. In a related conversation with Microsoft the week after BUILD, I floated the notion that the company's retail store expansion could one day lead to it becoming the number one in-store experience for PC makers' wares, a not-so-subtle change in their relationships. This idea had clearly been considered as a possible future, leading me to believe that Microsoft has indeed soured on its traditional partner relationships and is looking to shake things up.
Lingering questions about Sinofsky. While Steven Sinofsky was removed from Microsoft because of his divisiveness and his ostracizing of far too many valuable executives and employees, many will continue to wonder if some failing in Windows 8 (and Windows RT) is what in fact led to his ouster. The timing on his departure couldn't be worse, and while the promotion of his closest lieutenant, Julie Larson-Green, was clearly designed to promote the notion of orderly transition, the fact that she wasn't made president of the Windows division hints at more changes to come. One of Microsoft's many problems under the Sinofsky regime was that it wasn't at all transparent: Its current lack of transparency about the succession plan for Windows is just as problematic because it makes those outside the company distrust anything they say. This lack of trust will cause consumers to look elsewhere.
It's the economy, stupid. Microsoft launched Windows 8 at a time of great economic uncertainty and midstream in business deployment of the product's predecessor, Windows 7. It doesn't take a tech analyst expert to know that businesses are simply not going to deploy Windows 8 in great numbers. And while that's obvious, it also means that only consumer acceptance of Windows 8 can possible help this release match the success of its predecessors. But consumers have plenty of choice these days, and many are quite comfortable stretching out the next PC purchase and using a companion device, like an iPad or other tablet. The problem is, they may discover that's all the computer they need and simply opt out of Windows going forward.
Confusing range of device types. Faced with a reimagined, touch-focused Windows that is more at home on mobile devices than traditional PCs, and responding to increasingly hysterical pleas from Microsoft to innovate more, PC makers attempted to do in hardware what Microsoft did in Windows 8's software: Create hybrid devices that could serve all needs. Unfortunately, the result is a mess of different hybrid designs, rather than a concerted, industry-wide effort to consolidate around a few basic designs. The result is obvious: Confusion, both on the PC maker side—where different companies are pushing a variety of different design types—and with consumers, who simply don't know which, if any, device types to make. I love Lenovo, but consider this one PC maker's designs: The firm is selling traditional laptops and Ultrabooks, touch-based laptops and Ultrabooks, "multimode" convertible laptop/tablets (the Yoga line), a traditional convertible Ultrabook (ThinkPad Twist), slate-type tablets (ThinkPad Tablet 2), slate-type tablets with keyboard docks (IdeaPad Lynx), and then a related but separate line of Android tablets. And that's just the portable computers.
Windows 8. It's a floor wax. No, it's a dessert topping. Microsoft's new whatever-the-F-it-is operating system is a confusing, Frankenstein's monster mix of old and new that hides a great desktop upgrade under a crazy Metro front-end. It's touch-first, as Microsoft says, but really it's touch whether you want it or not (or have it or not), and the firm's inability to give its own customers the choice to pick which UI they want is what really makes Windows 8 confounding to users. I actually like Windows 8 quite a bit and can't imagine switching back. But I do understand the complaints of customers who aren't getting what they wanted or asked for.
Windows RT. Imagine Apple announcing a major new version of iOS and then releasing a new tablet that runs Mac OS X instead of that new iOS version. Doesn't make a lick of sense, does it? Well, that's what Microsoft did: On the day that Microsoft launched Windows 8, it also launched Surface … running Windows RT. And while Windows RT is obvious a version of Windows 8, it's a largely incompatible version of Windows 8, and one that runs in the resource constrained ARM environment. That means no existing desktop software will run on these devices, not to mention lots of hardware. Confusing? You bet. And I actually get this stuff. What's a typical consumer to think?
Surface. And speaking of Surface, it bears repeating that Microsoft is now competing directly with its partners. But even educated consumers are confused by this entry. Those that do understand they should skip Windows RT now have to wait until January to see what a Surface Pro is like. And that means ... you guessed it … they're simply going to wait. How could Microsoft launch Windows 8 and not launch Surface Pro? It makes no sense at all.
Intel. If you've decided to skip Windows RT—which I think is wise, for now—you now face a strange choice on the Intel side. You can go with traditional "Ivy Bridge" type systems, providing the familiar performance and compatibility you've come to expect from PCs. Or you can go with new Atom "Clover Trail" systems, which can and do resemble Windows RT devices in ways both good—they're thin, light, and get great battery life—and bad—they're also resource constrained, with 2 GB of RAM and tiny storage allotments. This further muddies the water for consumers, triggering yet another "wait" reaction.
The net effect of all this stuff, I think, contributes to a wait-and-see approach with Windows 8. And that is exactly the opposite of what Microsoft and even the broader industry should want at this time. In this way, the Windows 8 launch is much like that of Vista, where a nagging (and in that case, tech blogger-led) cabal of disappointed voices dominated the discussion at launch and torpedoed the product before it had a chance. Windows 8 is no Vista, in many ways. Until it is.
All of this was avoidable.


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Legionella Testing Market – Recent Study Including Growth Factors, Applications, Regional Analysis and Key Players Forecast to 2020-2027
The "Legionella Testing Market Growth" industry report contains detailed information on factors influencing demand, growth, opportunities, challenges, and restraints. It provides detailed information about the structure and prospects for global and regional industries. In addition, the report includes data on research & development, new product launches, product responses from the global and local markets by leading players. The structured analysis offers a graphical representation and a diagrammatic breakdown of the The Legionella Testing Market by region.
The global legionella testing market size stood at USD 226.24 million in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 455.99 million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.1% during the forecast period.
Request Sample Copy of the Report:
What Information does this report contain?
- Expert analysis: Industry, governing, innovation and technological trends; factors impacting development; drawbacks, SWOT.
- 6-7 year performance forecasts: Major segments covering applications, top products and geographies.
- Competitive landscape reporting: Legionella Testing Market leaders and important players, competencies and capacities of these companies in terms of production as well as sustainability and prospects.
Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:
COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.
Available Customizations
With the given market data, Fortune Business Insights offers customizations as per the company's specific requirements. The following customization options are available for the report:
Product Analysis
- Product matrix provides detailed product information and comparison
Geographic Analysis
- Further breakdown of the North American Legionella Testing Market
- Further breakdown of the European market
- Further breakdown of the APAC market
- Further breakdown of the MEA market
- Further breakdown of the Latin American market
Company Information
- Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players
Ask For Customization:
Who are the Major Legionella Testing Market Vendors?
- Quidel Corporation (U.S.)
- Abbott (Alere) (U.S.)
- Merck KGaA
- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.)
- bioMérieux (France)
- IDEXX Corporation (U.S.)
- Eurofins Scieentific (Luxembourg)
- Others
Driving Factor:
Legionella bacterial species are found in fresh water reservoirs with an average temperature of 20 to 40-degree Celsius. They are responsible for causing respiratory disease, known as a legionnaire's disease. The market is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period, owing to the increasing incidence and prevalence of this disease leading to an increase in demand for testing kits.
Secondary Research:
This research study made extensive use of secondary sources, directories, and databases such as Hoover's, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Factiva, and OneSource to identify and collect information useful for a technical, market-oriented, and commercial study of the global portable generator market. Other secondary sources included company annual reports, press releases, and investor presentations, white papers, certified publications, articles by recognized authors, manufacturer associations, trade directories, and databases.
Primary Research:
Various sources from both the supply and demand sides were interviewed during the primary research process to obtain qualitative and quantitative information for this report. Primary sources included industry experts from the core and related industries, as well as preferred suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, technology developers, researchers, and organizations from all segments of the value chain of this industry. To obtain and verify critical qualitative and quantitative information, in-depth interviews were conducted with a variety of primary respondents, including key industry participants, subject-matter experts, C-level executives of key market players, and industry consultants.
Estimation of Market Size
The total size of the Legionella Testing Market was estimated and validated using both top-down and bottom-up approaches. These methods were also widely used to estimate the size of various market sub segments. The following research methodologies were used to estimate market size:
Extensive secondary research was used to identify the industry's key players.
The revenues generated by the market's leading players in molecular diagnostics have been determined through primary and secondary research.
All percentage shares, splits, and breakdowns were calculated using secondary sources and confirmed using primary sources.
Frequently Asked Questions?
- What is the Legionella Testing Market size?
- What is the CAGR for Legionella Testing Market Growth industry?
- What are the segments covered in the Legionella Testing Market report?
- Who are the key players in the Legionella Testing Market?
- Which region is more attractive for vendors in the Legionella Testing Market?
- What are the key markets for higher education?
- What are the key factors driving the growth of Legionella Testing Market Growth industry?
- Which segment has the largest share in the Legionella Testing Market?
Moreover, Introduction
1.1. Moreover, Research Scope
1.2. Moreover, Market Segmentation
1.3. Moreover, Research Methodology
1.4. Moreover, Definitions and Assumptions
2. Executive Summary
3. Market Dynamics
3.1. Moreover, Market Drivers
3.2. Moreover, Market Restraints
3.3. Moreover, Market Opportunities
4. Moreover, Key Insights
4.1. Key Industry Developments – Moreover, Merger, Acquisitions, and Partnerships
4.2. Porter's Five Forces Moreover, Analysis
4.3. Moreover, SWOT Analysis
4.4. Moreover, Technological Developments
4.5. Moreover, Value Chain Analysis
4.6. Moreover, Impact of COVID-19 on Market
5. Key Findings / Moreover, Summary
5.1 North America Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Country
5.1.1 North America Sales and Legionella Testing Market Share by Country
5.1.2 North America Revenue and Market Share by Country
5.2 United States Sales and Growth Rate
5.3 Canada Sales and Growth Rate
5.4 Mexico Sales and Growth Rate
8 South America by Country
8.1 South America Sales, Revenue and Legionella Testing Market Share by Country
8.1.1 South America Sales and Market Share by Country
8.1.2 South America Revenue and Market Share by Country
8.2 Brazil Sales and Growth Rate
8.3 Argentina Sales and Growth Rate
8.4 Colombia Sales and Growth Rate
9 Middle East and Africa by Countries
9.1 Moreover, Middle East and Africa Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Country
9.1.1 Middle East and Africa Sales and Market Share by Country
9.1.2 Moreover, Middle East and Africa Revenue and Market Share by Country
9.2 Saudi Arabia Sales and Growth Rate
9.3 Moreover, Turkey Sales and Growth Rate
9.4 Egypt Sales and Growth Rate
9.5 Moreover, Nigeria Sales and Growth Rate
10 Legionella Testing Market in Developing Countries
Quick Buy – Legionella Testing Market Research Report:
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pictured: Yvonne Tate (bklynvonne) handing out Ravelry buttons
Here's a list of firsts:
- CGOA's Design Contest was a great success! 115 high caliber entries means oh yes, we'll be doing this again. Thanks to Treva McCain for all of her hard work to make it happen.
- We had a record number of door prizes. For PD Day alone, every attendee (about 145) won at least 1 door prize. PD Day was the best ever so I'll have to blog more about that. (Pictured: Myra Wood and Jennifer Hansen in foreground; behind them, Robyn Chachula, presenters Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss, and at the podium, Jane Schwartz and Drew Emborsky.)
- In addition to creating this year's PD Day, Drew took over the job of emceeing the fashion show from the illustrious Lily Chin this year. (Drew, your Italian bespoke emcee jacket was spectacular.) He did a wonderful job, which freed up Lily to do some fabulous modeling on the runway.
- New 30-minute afternoon fashion show in the Market--therefore Drew's managing and emceeing of it is an automatic first, plus, Tammy Hildebrand agreed to model!
- Another fashion show first is the pre-show training generously provided by ex-model Melanie Mays. Another first I guess is that I didn't enter any of my own designs in the fashion show(s) this time. I modeled other people's, such as Annette Stewart's fun flouncy miniskirt (a contest entry).
- One other fashion show first is the way everyone just cleared out after the show on Saturday night. We didn't even have our usual post-show design lab!
- New CGOA Director Lorraine Lucas is a guild member-at-large, so the hobbyist members who are not in the business of selling yarn or designs now have a representative on the board. I found out that Lorraine is just the person you want to spend hours in a coffeehouse with before getting drenched by torrential rains on the way back to the conference. Wish I had a photo of that.
- Some other first-time attendees besides Lorraine: Carrie Sullivan, Amy Shelton (Crochetville admin), Renee Barnes (CrochetRenee'), Kimberly McAlindin, Jerry Rigdon, Jack Blumenthal, and Jess and Casey of Ravelry. New-to-me at the conference were Kim Guzman, Kristen TenDyke, and Gloria Tracy! New-to-many (but a sweet reunion for me) was Jenny King! In fact, we had the highest number of pre-registered attendees ever.
- We added a Committee Meet & Greet to the Members' Annual Meeting, and many chairpersons instantly found new volunteers for their committee this way.
- The Thursday night Market preview was hoppin'!! I think it was a good move to have Mary Beth Temple doing her live Getting Loopy podcast from the show floor right at the entrance so that no one could miss it. Her daughter "LL" was the perfect assistant. I want to thank the dozens of attendees who were happy to call in to the podcast and talk with MBT for a few minutes. They were less shy than I was! I'm told it made for a record download.
Follow the conversation in Crochetville.
Read about the conference at these blogs:
I especially enjoyed the conference entries at Fire Lizard Studios, which is a blog I haven't seen before.


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Click on images to enlarge them. Photographs, formatting, and text by the author. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
The entrance to the chapel is through that small open arch at the extreme left of the photograph.
Roof details
Left to right: a wrought iron decoration that looks almost like the cartoon outline of a face, St. Michael slaying Satan, and a lovely wrought irony, airy cross.
Left to right: a doorway at the side of the chapel, the door inside the passage way that opens into the chapel — see the wrought iron details at top and middle of the door — and a view of Liddon Quad from the entrance to the hall.
Other images of Keble College, Oxford, and related materials
- College Exterior
- The Chapel Interior
- Pusey Quad
- Liddon Quad including the Hall
- Victorian Rogue Architecture
- John Keble and the Oxford Movement
Coming soon
Crook, J. Mordaunt . The Dilemma of Style: Architectural Ideas from the Picturesque to the Post-Modern. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Thompson, Paul. William Butterfield, Victorian Architect. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1971.
Last modified 23 August 2012


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June 15, 2011
Managing Acid Reflux Disease
Millions of people suffer with acid reflux disease everyday. Unfortunately, not everyone takes the necessary steps to cure their acid reflux disease. Luckily, there are some easy steps that you can take to manage acid reflux that do not require medication. As many people know, medications can have side-effects that are sometimes worse than the symptoms they cure. Here are some natural ways to manage your acid reflux disease.
Lose weight
It is a common fact that acid reflux disease occurs frequently with overweight people. Losing weight may be difficult for many people, but it will effectively reduce the effects of acid reflux disease.
Don't lie down after eating
If you lie down right after you eat, you will make yourself more vulnerable to acid reflux disease. Your stomach acid needs enough time to digest your food, and if you lie down too quickly, you may disturb the intestinal process. For the same reason, you should not bend below the waist line after eating. It is suggested that you wait at least two hours before lying down.
Change your diet
Many people do not realize that by making a few changes to their eating habits, they can drastically reduce, or even eliminate, acid reflux disease. Don't eat food that is sugary, fatty, or spicy. Substitute these foods for healthier foods like vegetables and fruit.
Don't eat too much
Sometimes, acid reflux isn't caused by what you eat, but how much you eat. Too much food can overwork your stomach acid, thus causing acid reflux disease. Instead of eating large meals, eat small meals throughout the day. Doing this will also help you to lose weight.
Drink plenty of water
Water helps regulate stomach acid. Often times, acid reflux disease can be managed by drinking a couple glasses of water.
Exercising keeps your body healthy. Along with losing weight, exercising promotes healthy body functions. People who stick with an exercise routine do not suffer from acid reflux disease as much as people who do not exercise.
If you apply these simple tips to your life, you will drastically reduce acid reflux disease. Also, these tips will keep your body healthy and energized.
For more information on how to manage acid reflux visit refluxremedy.com today!
Filed under Acid Reflux Remedy by admin


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General Mills is reprising their "Win and Give" program from last year to help kids win an XO laptop and give one to a child in an African deployment. Last year this resulted in almost 1000 donated laptops.
From now through May, specially-marked packages of Betty Crocker fruit snacks will feature a "Win & Give" campaign, giving people a chance to win laptops themselves and donate laptops to children in Africa.
The campaign shows moms and kids that even the smallest act can make a big difference, and that giving to others can be fun. "Research shows that providing children with opportunities and experiences to feel the joy and impact of giving to others helps them grow into kind, empathetic and respectful adults," said Dr. Michele Borba*. "The 'Win & Give' campaign truly makes a difference and it's so easy for kids in the U.S. to get involved."
Having a giving heart is important, as 93 percent of moms would exude more pride if their children grew into giving adults than if they were wealthy, according to the Kids' Altruism Indicator**. But, between work, school and after-school activities, it can be hard for families to find the time to give back. Dr. Borba recommends five ways families can incorporate giving into their everyday lives: Tap into kids' passions. For instance, an animal lover may get excited about helping at a local animal shelter. Encourage children to become involved in causes they care about. Let them lead the charge and follow-up with support. When watching the news, take the time to explain hot button issues and how people have been affected by local disasters, like hurricanes or tornados.
Kids are compassionate and may proactively want to help by donating clothes or writing letters to those affected. Especially when they know they can make a difference. Take that moment to mobilize compassion – "What can we do?" is a great question that empowers children to lead the way. Be on the lookout for local opportunities to help.
Each package contains a code that can be entered at WinOneGiveOne.com to see if they've won an XO laptop; for every laptop one, another is donated to a child in Africa. The website allows parents and kids to see the impact laptops have on kids in Rwanda with videos from the students and teachers who received the laptops, and includes tips and comments from Dr. Borba.
* Michele Borba is an educator, author, and parenting expert working with General Mills.
** The Kids Altruism Indicator survey was conducted by Kelton Research in December 2010, among children ages 7-12.


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Strong winds and storm surge from Hurricane Isaac's landfall forced the Mississippi River to flow backwards for nearly 24 hours on Tuesday, August 28. The USGS streamgage at Belle Chasse, Louisiana, showed the Mississippi River flowing upstream at 182,000 cubic feet per second, surging to 10 feet above than its previous height. Average flow for the Mississippi River at Belle Chase is about 125,000 cfs towards the Gulf of Mexico.
Although it doesn't happen often, hurricanes can cause coastal rivers to reverse flow. Between the extremely strong winds and the massive waves of water pushed by those winds, rivers at regular or low flow are forced backwards until either the normal river-flow or the elevation of the land stop the inflow.
As Hurricane Isaac pushes further inland, it is causing storm surge in the Mississippi River as far north as Baton Rouge, where the river has crested at 8 feet above its prior height.
"This reversal of flow of the mighty Mississippi is but one measure of the extreme force of Isaac," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "While such events are ephemeral, they are yet another reminder of why we need to respect hurricane warnings."
When Hurricane Katrina came ashore in 2005, the Mississippi River also reversed flow, cresting at 13 feet above its previous level, with Baton Rouge reaching 9 feet above its previous stage as well.
Another phenomenon that USGS streamgages have recorded as Hurricane Isaac moves inland is that periodically, coastal rivers in Louisiana have lost height, only to gain it back again soon after. This rising and falling of the rivers is a common occurrence during hurricanes and is caused by the spiral nature of these storms.
As the winds sweep to the southwest, they force water out of the rivers, lowering their height. However, once the winds complete their turn to the southwest, they begin back to the northeast, allowing the storm surge to raise the river levels.
These oddities in river behavior are recorded in real-time by USGS' extensive network of streamgages, located through Louisiana and the rest of the country. These streamgages, which are installed along rivers and streams, record data like streamflow, river height, and, in some cases, even water chemistry.
Many transmit their data in real-time to satellites, updating with new information every 15 minutes. This wealth of data allows USGS scientists, emergency managers and responders, and even the general public to have accurate and up-to-date knowledge of what the rivers and streams in their areas are doing. This data is particularly critical during massive flooding events like Hurricane Isaac.
In fact, anyone can sign up to receive notices from USGS streamgages when waters are rising in nearby rivers and streams through a program called WaterAlert (http://water.usgs.gov/wateralert/). It is a free service that allows members of the public to receive notifications about water levels at any of over 7,000 USGS real-time streamgages around the country. Learn more about how to sign up at: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?from=rss&ID=2919#.UD5HrVI6W7w .
All USGS streamgage information is housed online (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt). For Hurricane Isaac, USGS has compiled a list of all streamgages in affected areas (http://water.usgs.gov/floods/events/2012/isaac/StormTideAndRDG.html).
For the latest forecasts on the storm, listen to NOAA radio. For information on preparing for the storm, visit Ready.gov or Listo.gov
Story Source:
Materials provided by U.S. Geological Survey. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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2020 is different. So what we're doing this year is going to be different too.
No one knows what kind of party we'll all be in the mood for, or able to hold safely, at any time this year, in any part of the world. So we're focusing this year not on the party aspect of Record Store Day, but on getting the great releases on the RSD 2020 List into your local record store, and then into your collection.
RSD DROPS! Three street dates when titles from The List will be available only at participating indie record stores. We're working on getting the new version of The List all nice and pretty for you. Look for that on our site on June 1.


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How to Save Energy
Give your car—and the Earth—a rest
by Rachael Stark |
Related Links |
Though home to only 5% of the world's human population, the United States uses about 26% of the petroleum consumed worldwide, and a similarly disproportionate percentage of the total energy used on the planet.
People in Germany live comfortably but use, on average, about half as much energy as Americans. Japan has a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality than the U.S., and consumes even less energy than Germany.
Americans' extra energy use is expensive, creates pollution, and adds to the burden of greenhouse gases. Much of it comes from coal plants that can cause serious air pollution and nuclear plants that can cause disastrous accidents if not operated and maintained properly.
Auto Excess
If all this excess energy use isn't bringing America the healthiest babies or the longest lives, what does it do?
For one thing, it drives Americans round and round in cars. Between 1960 and 2004, the number of cars registered in the U.S. and the miles traveled in passenger cars more than tripled. Even with dramatic increases in fuel efficiency, the total fuel consumed by passenger cars increased by more than 70%.
Americans are probably the drivingest people on Earth. If you do only one thing to reduce pollution, decrease greenhouse gases, and improve environmental quality, it should probably be to get out of your car. Why not make Earth Day car free?
Take a Hike
Walking is an environmentally efficient mode of transportation that is also provides free exercise. On Earth Day, why not walk to school, to work, to the store, or to a friend's house? You may find you see more, meet your neighbors, and feel energized and refreshed when you arrive.
If you can't take a walk in your neighborhood safely and comfortably, can't get to work or school on foot, or don't have a store close enough to walk to, maybe you should ask why not. For advice and encouragement on making walking safer and easier, you can contact groups like America WALKs.
Or Hop a Train
Is where you're going too far to walk? Take the subway, bus, light rail, or other public transportation. Not sure how to get there by subway? The Subway Page has maps and information for subway systems in 90 cities worldwide.
Do you find your town, workplace, store, or school can't be reached by train or bus? Write and lobby your local businesses and elected officials and contact groups such as American Public Transit Association.
Earth Day is the perfect day to start some of those good habits you keep meaning to get around to. Take a walk and leave the car at home, put on a sweater and turn the heat down, or get active in your community to improve sidewalk safety and bus service. Whatever earth-friendly activity you choose, look it up, learn, and do what you can. After all, if we don't take care of the earth, where else will we live?


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Social Factors in Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization
[DRAFT revision incorporating WCAG 2.0 and Older Users]
Editors Draft: 8 June 2009 [changelog; change-marked version]
Status: This document is a draft and should not be referenced or quoted under any circumstances. Please send comments to firstname.lastname@example.com (a publicly archived list). The current published version of this document is at www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/
Page Contents
This page is part of a resource suite that describes the social, technical, financial, and legal and policy factors relevant to developing a customized business case for Web accessibility for a specific organization.
The importance of various social aspects of Web accessibility is different for specific organizations and situations. For example, one organization's goal might be to become a leader in corporate social responsibility, a different organization might be particularly interested in attracting capital from socially responsible investing sources, and another organization might be interested in demonstrating its focus on a specific social group, such as older people.
This page provides guidance on addressing social factors in a business case for Web accessibility.
Identifying Social Factors for a Specific Organization
The following questions can help identify how the social aspects of Web accessibility apply to the organization:
- Does the organization have a corporate
social responsibility (CSR) statement or program?
An organization's commitment to social responsibility could be called something other than "corporate social responsibility". See Web Accessibility is an Aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). - Do people within the organization understand how Web
accessibility fits into social responsibility?
If not, the business case can explain that Web accessibility is a social issue affecting equal opportunity. - Are there other programs or initiatives
within the organization that overlap with the social factors of Web
For example, if the organization has a strong emphasis on recruiting, the business case can include the benefits of attracting potential employees who want to work for an organization that is active in social responsibility. - Does the organization focus on other groups
that benefit from Web accessibility?
For example, if the organization focuses on older people, the business case can include details on how Web accessibility benefits older people. See Overlap with Older Users' Needs.
Web Accessibility is a Social Issue
Web accessibility focuses on people with all types of disabilities - visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities - including older people with age-related impairments.
Web Accessibility is Essential for Equal Opportunity
Use of the Web is spreading rapidly into most areas of society and daily life. In many countries the Web is increasingly used for government information and services, education and training, commerce, news, workplace interaction, civic participation, health care, recreation, entertainment, and more. In some cases, the Web is replacing traditional resources and service delivery.
The Web is an important medium for receiving information as well as for providing information and interacting with society. Therefore, it is essential that the Web is accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. This basic human right is recognized in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which specifically mentions the Internet and other accessible information and communications technologies (ICT). An accessible Web can also help people with disabilities and older people more actively participate in society.
The Web is an opportunity for unprecedented access to information for people with disabilities. That is, the accessibility barriers to print, audio, and visual media can be much more easily overcome through web technologies. For example, when the primary way to get certain information was go to a library and read it on paper, there were significant barriers for many people with disabilities, including getting to the library, physically getting the resource, and reading the resource.
When that same information is also available on the Web in an accessible format, it is significantly easier for many people to access the information. Therefore, people with disabilities can have more effective and efficient access to information through accessible websites — in some cases, where there was essentially no access to it before.
The Web is an opportunity for unprecedented interaction for people with disabilities. For example, some disabilities limit the type of work a person can do and an accessible Web can increase their employment options. An accessible Web also expands opportunities for communication, social interaction, and community participation for people with disabilities and older people with age-related impairments.
Barriers to Web Use
Currently there are significant barriers on the Web for many people with disabilities. Because most web developers do not make their web pages and web tools accessible, many people with accessibility needs have unnecessary difficulties using the Web, and in some cases, cannot effectively use the Web at all. For example, when developers require mouse interaction to use a website, people who cannot use a mouse can have great difficulty; and when developers do not include alternative text for important images, people who are blind cannot get the information from images. Many of these barriers also impact older users with accessibility needs due to ageing.
However, when websites are accessible, they enable people with disabilities to use the Web effectively. The document How People with Disabilities Use the Web includes scenarios that describe people with different disabilities successfully using the Web.
Number of People Affected
Estimating how many people are affected by Web accessibility is difficult for several reasons. Countries define disability differently and use different methods to determine the number of people with disabilities. Some common conditions that do affect people's use of the Web (such as color blindness) may not be considered disabilities in many countries. Not all disabilities affect access to the Web (for example, difficulty walking does not affect access to the Web, though difficulty moving one's hands does). Additionally, some people do not want to disclose their disability, and some older people do not consider their impairments a disability.
The United Nations Human Functioning and Disability page includes links to data for different countries. Market research such as The Market for Accessible Technology - The Wide Range of Abilities and Its Impact on Computer Use and Accessible Technology in Computing - Examining Awareness, Use, and Future Potential illustrates a different approach to estimating the percentage of computer users who might benefit from Web accessibility. Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review has statistics on ageing demographics and age-related impairments.
Overlap with Digital Divide Issues
The term "digital divide" is often used to refer to economic and social barriers to computer use for people without disabilities. Many people with disabilities are affected by the same economic and social factors, including very low rates of employment and consequently low income. Together with barriers in the physical environment and in computer technologies, these factors can result in:
- lack of accessible mainstream web technologies (such as browsers and authoring tools)
- lack of effective, up-to-date assistive technologies
- lack of opportunities for training to become proficient with web technologies
- limited access to a social environment that encourages web use
- limited access to high-bandwidth connections, or even to regular Web access
An organization that is committed to reducing the digital divide can include in its business case a description of how Web accessibility can reduce the impact of economic and social barriers to web use for people with disabilities accessibility needs.
Overlap with Older Users' Needs
As more people live longer and older people use the Web more, making the Web work well for older users is becoming an increasingly important social factor. Many older people have age-related impairments that can affect how they use the Web, including declining:
- vision - including reduced contrast sensitivity, color perception, and near-focus, making it difficult to read web pages
- physical ability - including reduced dexterity and fine motor control, making it difficult to use a mouse and click small targets
- hearing - including difficulty hearing higher-pitched sounds and separating sounds, making it difficult to hear podcasts and other audio, especially when there is background music
- cognitive ability - including reduced short-term memory, difficulty concentrating, and being easily distracted, making it difficult to follow navigation and complete online tasks
These issues overlap with the accessibility needs of people with disabilities. Thus, websites and tools that are accessible to people with disabilities are more accessible to older users as well. Specific examples are listed in the Access for Older People section below.
For detailed research on ageing age-related impairments and Web accessibility, see Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review.
Web Accessibility Benefits People With and Without Disabilities
While the main focus of Web accessibility is people with disabilities, accessibility also benefits people without disabilities, including:
- older people
- people with low literacy or not fluent in the language
- people with low bandwidth connections or using older technologies
- new and infrequent users
The Increased Website Use section of Financial Factors lists aspects of Web accessibility that increase usability, thus also benefiting people without disabilities. People with temporary disabilities, for example from an accident or illness, also benefit from Web accessibility.
Below are examples of how Web accessibility benefits others. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview has information about the WCAG references.
Access for Older People
The accessibility provisions that make the Web accessible provide many benefits for people with age-related impairments, even though they may not be regarded as having a disability. For example:
Older people with deteriorating vision benefit from:
- sufficient contrast between foreground and background colors
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.3, 1.4.6; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 2.2) - text that can be increased in size so that it can be read directly by people with mild visual impairment without requiring assistive technology such as a screen magnifier; along with easy to read fonts and increased line spacing
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.4, 1.4.8; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 3.4) - styled text instead of bitmap images of text to convey information enables
better browser-based enlargement
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.5, 1.4.9; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 3.1) - text and other elements that do not blink, flash or move in a way that distract users or cause seizures
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.2.2, 2.3.1, 2.3.2; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 7.2, 7.3)
Older people with reduced dexterity or fine motor control benefit from:
- an ability to increase the clickable area of targets
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.4, 1.4.5, 1.4.8; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 3.4) - being able to use the keyboard, rather than having
to use the mouse, for all website interaction (device independence)
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.4.7; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 6.4, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5)
Older people with hearing loss benefit from:
- transcripts and captions for audio content
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.1.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.4, 1.2.8; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 1.1, 1.4) - contrast between the audio foreground "information" and background "noise"
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.7)
Older people with cognitive decline benefit from many of the accessibility aspects list in the next section, Access for People with Low Literacy and People Not Fluent in the Language.
Additional aspects of Web accessibility that benefit older users are included in the analysis in the Web Accessibility for Older Users: A Literature Review.
Access for People with Low Literacy and People Not Fluent in the Language
Accessible websites benefit people with low literacy and people who are not fluent in the language of the website. Specifically, many of the aspects of Web accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities help people who do not know the language well, including:
- clear and simple language
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 3.1.5; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 14.1) - supplemental illustrations
(WCAG 2.0 Guideline 3.1; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 14.2) - clear and consistent design, navigation, and links
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.3.1, 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.4, 2.4.5, 2.4.6, 2.4.9, 2.4.10, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.3.2; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 13.1, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.7, 13.8, 14.3) - blocks of information divided into groups
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.3.1, 2.4.1, 2.4.10; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 12.3) - text that does not blink, flash or move too much
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.2.2; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 7.2, 7.3) - provide users enough time to read and use content
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 7.4, 7.5)
In addition, accessible sites can be read by screen readers so people who have difficulty reading can benefit from listening to sites.
Access for People with Low Bandwidth Connections to the Internet or Using Older Technologies
Some aspects of Web accessibility benefit people with low bandwidth connections. Low bandwidth can be due to:
- location- for example, rural areas where high speed connections are not available or mobile phone reception is limited
- bandwidth congestion
- connection technology- for example, mobile phone or personal data assistant (PDA)
- financial situation- that is, cannot afford high-speed connection
Some older technologies load pages very slowly and do not support features used on newer sites.
People with low bandwidth connections to the Internet and people with older technologies benefit from:
- text alternatives for images, multimedia and other non-text objects - for people whose older
technology or mobile technology cannot access multimedia formats, people whose
connections are too slow to download multimedia files, or people who turn off images and multimedia to limit connection charges
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.1.1, 1.2.8; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 1.1) - redundant coding for information conveyed with color and sufficient
contrast between foreground and background colors - for people who have older monitors or are viewing information outdoors where the sunlight makes it difficult to see the screen
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.1, 1.4.3, 1.4.6; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 2.1, 2.2) - text size defined as relative units - for older browsers that do not
override absolute text sizes
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.4, 1.4.8; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 3.4) - styled text instead of bitmap images of text to convey
information, which can increase download speed
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.4.5, 1.4.9; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 3.1) - style sheets used effectively to separate content from presentation,
which can decrease file size and file download requirements thus
increasing download speed
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.3.1; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 3.3) - sites that are organized so they can be read and understood without style sheets,
because some older technologies cannot handle style sheets (accessible
pages can use style sheets and still be usable when style sheets are not
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 1.3.1, 1.3.2; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 6.1) - sites that use valid W3C technologies and are more likely to work
on older technologies
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 4.1.1; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 11.1, 3.2) - clear and consistent design, navigation, and links, which helps users
open the pages they want and helps save wasted page loading time from
users going down the wrong path
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.4.1, 2.4.4, 2.4.5, 2.4.6, 2.4.9, 3.2.3, 3.2.4; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 13.1, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.7, 13.8, 14.3)
Access for New and Infrequent Web Users
Some people have little opportunity to use the Web because of the socioeconomic issues mentioned previously. Many older people are new users because the Web didn't exist when they were younger. New and infrequent web users benefit from aspects of accessibility such as:
- clear and consistent design, navigation, and links
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.4.1, 2.4.4, 2.4.5, 2.4.6, 2.4.9, 3.2.3, 3.2.4; WCAG 1.0 checkpoints 13.1, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.7, 13.8, 14.3) - providing redundant text links for image maps
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 2.4.4; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 1.2) - informing users before new browser windows are opened
(WCAG 2.0 success criteria 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.5; WCAG 1.0 checkpoint 10.1)
Web Accessibility is an Aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Web accessibility provides improved access, interaction, and social inclusion for the people described above, which is a primary aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Corporate social responsibility, also called corporate citizenship, corporate responsibility, or responsible business, generally means conducting business ethically and operating an organization in such a way that treats internal and external stakeholders ethically, increases human development, and is good for society and the environment. Web accessibility can impact an organization's employees, stockholders and board members, suppliers and vendors, partners and collaborators, customers, and others. Thus Web accessibility is an integral part of CSR in demonstrating an organization's commitment to providing equal opportunities.
Just as an accessible website can demonstrate CSR, an inaccessible website can undermine an organization's other CSR efforts.
The financial benefits of CSR are addressed in the Increases positive image section of the Financial Factors page.
Role of Organizations' Websites
When an organization's website is not accessible, it further excludes people with disabilities from society. When an organization's website is accessible, it empowers people with disabilities to participate in society. Providing an accessible website is one way an organization can demonstrate that it strives to meet the access needs of a diverse society.
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