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Testing patients with just three risk factors upon hospital admission has potential to identify nearly three out of four asymptomatic carriers of C. difficile, according to a new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, analyzed stool samples from 320 patients showing no symptoms of C. difficile at hospital admission using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Samples from 31 of 320 patients tested positive for C. difficile, resulting in a colonization rate of 9.7 percent. The authors wanted to estimate the reservoir of colonized patients as a source of potential transmission because despite rigorous infection control measures, C. difficile infection was increasing at their institution.
In this study, independent predictors of C. difficile colonization were found to be recent hospitalization, chronic dialysis and corticosteroid use. According to the authors, one or more of the three independent risk factors were present in 155 (48 percent) of study participants, and screening only those with one or more of these factors would have identified 23 C. difficile carriers (74 percent).
"In our population, by targeting those with identified risk factors, we would need to screen approximately half of those patients with anticipated stays longer than 24 hours, to identify three-fourths of those colonized with C. difficile," said the authors. "This is in the range of previously published screening efficiency rates for MRSA."
However, the authors also state that these results should be interpreted keeping in mind that only 22 percent of all eligible patients provided stool for C. difficile PCR, and the study population was not representative of all patients admitted to the hospital.
"Our objective was to estimate the burden of asymptomatic C. difficile carriers at admission because that constitutes an important checkpoint where risk factors can be assessed and infection prevention measures instituted," said the authors. "This is the first study to demonstrate the feasibility of performing C. difficile surveillance on hospitalized patients at admission. The role of asymptomatic carriers in transmitting C. difficile should be studied further, and the utility of PCR-based targeted surveillance to detect asymptomatic carriers should be explored in areas of high endemicity or outbreak settings when other control measures have been exhausted."
"While more research needs to be conducted on the transmission of C. difficile infection from colonized patients, this study may help institutions with persistently high rates of transmission develop an expanded strategy for targeted C. difficile surveillance," said APIC 2013 President Patti Grant, RN, BSN, MS, CIC. "The study does not indicate necessity for all healthcare facility implementation, yet provides a step-wise progressive approach to help impede C. difficile activity when considering the overall epidemiologic impact of transmission."
C. difficile causes infectious diarrhea and is linked to 14,000 American deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While many types of healthcare-associated infections have declined in recent years, infections from C. difficile have increased. APIC recently issued a new open-access Guide to Preventing C. difficile infections.
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One of our closest galactic neighbors shows its awesome beauty in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. M33, also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, is a member of what's known as our Local Group of galaxies. Along with our own Milky Way, this group travels together in the universe, as they are gravitationally bound. In fact, M33 is one of the few galaxies that is moving toward the Milky Way despite the fact that space itself is expanding, causing most galaxies in the universe to grow farther and farther apart.
When viewed with Spitzer's infrared eyes, this elegant spiral galaxy sparkles with color and detail. Stars appear as glistening blue gems (several of which are actually foreground stars in our own galaxy), while dust rich in organic molecules glows green. The diffuse orange-red glowing areas indicate star-forming regions, while small red flecks outside the spiral disk of M33 are most likely distant background galaxies. But not only is this new image beautiful, it also shows M33 to be surprising large—bigger than its visible-light appearance would suggest. With its ability to detect cold, dark dust, Spitzer can see emission from cooler material well beyond the visible range of M33's disk. Exactly how this cold material moved outward from the galaxy is still a mystery, but winds from giant stars or supernovas may be responsible.
M33 is located about 2.9 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. This is a three-color composite image showing infrared observations from two of Spitzer instruments. Blue represents combined 3.6- and 4.5-micron light and green shows light of 8 microns, both captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Red is 24-micron light detected by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer.

subset: commoncrawl


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'The Bachelorette' Alum Nayte Olukoya Is Dating a New Girlfriend — Meet Allyssa Malony
Normani Clears Instagram Feed and Likes Tweets about New Music
Bridgit Mendler Is a Mother, Reveals She Adopted a Baby Boy in 2022
Spencer Barbosa Launches Relationship with New Boyfriend on Valentine's Day
Hari Nef Reveals Relationship with Boyfriend Ludwig Hurtado on Valentine's Day
Blink 182's Mark Hoppus Still Cancer Free despite Reoccurring Symptoms
Camila Cabello's New Album Reportedly 'Dark' and Releasing in Mid 2024
Teenage Rapper Lil Purk to Serve 20 Years in Prison for Atlantic Station Double Murder
Loren Gray Alleges Brent Rivera Has Unhealthy Relationship with His Sister Lexi Rivera
Indie Artist Noelle Sucks Claims Olivia Rodrigo's SNL Performance Is a Ripoff of Her Work
Danielle Macdonald Has Undergone an Incredible Weight Loss Journey
Stephen Colbert is Obsessed with Apple Vision Pro
Unraveling Wendy Chavarriaga Gil's Wikipedia and Her Relationship with Pablo Escobar
What Happened to Ruth Codd? Deleted TikTok Causes Concerns
Truth About Hunter Schafer's Breast Implants – Before and After Transformation Is Shocking
Is Giorgia Whigham Dating A Boyfriend? Her Dating History Revealed
Who Are Angourie Rice's Parents and Siblings? All You Need to Know
Is Ethan Slater Related to Christian Slater? Know about His Siblings and Parents
Discussing Jordyn Woods' Birth Chart, Birthday, Zodiac Sign, and Age
Harriet Walter Believes She Was Not Cut Out to Have Children
Sam Rockwell Is the Only Child of His Parents — About His Family
'True Blood' Star Joe Manganiello Doesn't Have Many Siblings except a Brother
Cree Kawa's Wikipedia — Explore His Age, Parents, Dating Life, and More
Does Noah Schnapp Have a Girlfriend? Inside 'Stranger Things' Star's Love Life
Archie Renaux Shares a Daughter With His Girlfriend Annie O'Hara
Ruby Cruz's Wikipedia — 'Willow' Star's Parents Have Established Careers
Uncover the Truth behind Laura Linney's Real-Life Smoking Habit
Does Dina Shihabi Have a Boyfriend? Inside Her Dating Life
Saoirse-Monica Jackson's Weight Loss Rumors Based on Her before and after Photos
Nico Parker Remains Mum about Having a Boyfriend — Into Her Dating History
Rachel Matthews Stays Mum about Having a Boyfriend — Explore Her Dating History
Is Danielle Macdonald Married to a Husband? Explore Her Dating History
Daniella Perkins and Boyfriend Justin Robbins Dating for over Four Years
It Was Love At Fight Sight For Laura Linney And Husband Marc Schauer — Inside Their Married Life
Meet 'Stranger Things' Star Finn Wolfhard's Girlfriend Elsie Richter
Archie Renaux Has Indian Ethnicity — A Look into His Family Background
Max Schneider Knew Wife Emily Schneider Was the One after One Kiss
Who Is India Love Dating Now? Inside the Internet Star's Relationships
Is Bianca Censori Pregnant? The Truth Behind Her Pregnancy Rumors
Asian Doll Has a Collection of Tattoos in Tribute to Late Boyfriend King von
Arda Güler's Girlfriend — Real Madrid Wonderkid Reportedly Dating a Turkish Girl
Who Is Declan Rice Dating? Know Arsenal Star's Girlfriend in 2024
Meet Kobbie Mainoo's Parents and Siblings — Insight into His Family Background
Is Shaquille O'Neal Dead? Unveiling the Truth behind His Death Rumors
NBA Referee Ed Malloy's Wiki — Age, Married Life, Net Worth, and More
7 Best Websites to Buy Jordan 4 Reps
Is Fan Jackets Legit? Unveiling the Truth About This Popular Leather Retailer
Dresses for Girls: How Many to Have and Tips for Smart Choices in Colors
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Luvme Hair's Short Black Wig: A Classic Choice for Timeless Elegance
The Sleepy Side of Cannabis: How CBN Can Improve Your Sleep Patterns?
Guidelines for Selecting the Optimal Roofing Company
Is there a Secret Sauce to Online Dating Success?
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Photo: Charlie Gustafsson's Instagram Charlie Gustafsson is a talented Swedish actor who mainly gained fame for his portrayal of Calle in The Restaurant aka Vår tid...
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- Home
- City Departments
- Community Development
Community Development
Some services are now by appointment only. Please call or email.
Planning - Sandra Calderon firstname.lastname@example.com
Building & Safety - (951) 922-3130
Inspections - (951) 922-3122
What We Do
In the City of Banning land use policies, standards, and regulations are designed to help ensure the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens, while protecting the rights and privileges of property owners.
The Banning Community Development Department is responsible for guiding the physical growth and development of the City.
This is achieved by first establishing the City's growth and development doctrine as stated in its General Plan and corresponding implementation documents that include the zoning code, specific plans and various other ordinances, resolutions and technical studies; guiding public and private development projects; administering the development and building permit process, including the application of building codes; the design and construction of public improvements; inspecting all construction projects and enforcing the City's codes as they relate to the physical environment.
Banning is a vibrant, growing community of about 29,000 residents; poised for retail, commercial and residential growth.
Contact Information
City of BanningCommunity Development Department
P.O. Box 998
99 E. Ramsey Street
Banning, CA 92220
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (951) 922-3190
- Planning
- Building and Safety
Planning Commission:
- Planning Commission Members
- Planning Commission Agenda
- Minutes
General Plan and Zoning Map
Aerial Map of the City
General Plan
- Table of Contents
- Chapter I - Banning Vision Statement
- Chapter II - Introduction and Administration
- Chapter III - Community Development
- Chapter IV - Environmental Resources
- Chapter V - Environmental Hazards
- Chaper VI - Public Services and Facilities
- Chapter VII - Glossary of Terms & Acronyms
General Plan - Circulation Element Amendment
Municipal Code (refer to Title 17 for Zoning regulations)
Adam Rush
Community Development Director
Community Development
Physical Address
99 E. Ramsey Street
Banning, CA 92220
Phone: 951-922-3125Fax: 951-922-3128


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Real-World Project Management: Project Management Models, Certifications, and the Pyramids
- Project Management Is Project Management
- Using the PMI Model
- Back to Business: Professional Certifications
- Certifications and the Real World
All projects are really about change. Let's take my favorite project of all time: the pyramids of Egypt. Imagine a sweltering desert with miles of sand, snakes, and other scenes from an Indiana Jones film. Add a few million workers, some great plans, some scary mummies, and you've got the pyramids. All right, so my history is a little skewed, but I think you see my point. First it was nothing; then, after some planning and execution, there were the pyramids.
What approach to project management do you think the pharaohs used? Does it matter? I don't think so.
Project Management Is Project Management
Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (Crown Publishers, 2003) is an incredible read about Chicago playing host to the 1893 World Columbian Exposition—also known as the Chicago World's Fair—and the story of a creepy murderer living in the Chicago at the same time.
The project management victories and failures within the World's Fair were incredible: debate over where the fair should take place, visions of what the fair should offer, uncompromising landscape details, and (my favorite project) the creation of the Ferris Wheel.
The book says nothing about what project management approach the organizers of the fair preferred. Does it matter? I don't think so.
That's my real point. Does it really matter what approach we take to project management?
In software project management, a few flavors have popped on and off the project management radar for the past few years, Scrum and extreme programming being two of the juiciest, in addition to other models such as lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and even rolling wave planning.
But here's what I think: Project management is project management. I don't think it matters what approach you take to complete your projects—as long as you complete your projects.
We could argue over the virtues and positive attributes of all the different project management approaches and go at each other like fans of the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. But really, does it matter at all?
Again, I say no.
I don't care what you like. I don't care what project management approach you say is the best. I don't care what you think of my approach to project management. I only care that you use whatever approach gets the job done.
I'm not criticizing anyone's favorite methodology (or the Packers, for that matter). I just believe there's a tendency to fall in love with processes, action items, forms, reports, control charts, and theories. Big freakin' deal. Find what works for you, for your organization, and then do it.
Project management is about getting the work done. Project management is about getting from here, at project launch, to way down there at project closure. Project management is about getting to results.


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The following obituaries were received for Thursday –
Claudine M. Gould – Bedford
Claudine M. Gould, 82, of Bedford, died Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at Garden Villa in Bedford.
Born August 17, 1929 in Bedford, she was the daughter of Claude M. and Ruth M. (Pritchett) Taylor. She married Jerry W. Gould and he survives. She was a homemaker and a member of the Hillcrest Christian Church. She was a member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Salvation Army and the First Church of God Women's Group.
Survivors include her husband, Jerry, of Bedford; a daughter, Regina K. Buttz and husband Jim, of Albuquerque, N.M.; one son, John J. Gould and his wife, Sue, of Bedford; a daughter-in-law, Cassie Gould, of Bedford; six grandchildren, Dana I. Trans, Tara N. Elliott, Carrie M. Gould Butterly, Matthew J. Gould, Hannah S. Gould and Lane T. Gould; three great granddaughters, Lexi Trans, Ella Tran and Lyla Elliott; one great grandson, London Elliott.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a son, Mike D. Gould; two brothers Austin and Tommy D. Taylor .
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 3rd in the Elmwood Chapel of the Day & Carter Mortuary with Pastor Charlie Scott officiating. Burial will follow in the Green Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, December 2nd at Day & Carter Mortuary.
Family and friends are invited to sign the guest book and light a candle in memory of Claudine at www.daycarter.com.


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The above picture is a satellite image of the VOCALS study region. Along the right side, about in the middle, it reads "IQQ" which is the location of Iquique. To the north is "ARI" or Arica, and to the south is Antofogasta. But what I want to point out to you is the time on the black bar across the top. After the date, which is November 3, 2008, the time reads: 14:15 UTC. What does this mean?
In large coordinated projects such as VOCALS, it's important that everybody's data has a time associated with it that other people can understand. There are usually two choices for time: the local time (what the people living there set their clocks to) and something called Coordinated Universal Time, which is abbreviated (slightly oddly) as UTC. UTC is (more or less) the solar time on the Prime Meridian, or 0 degrees longitude, which passes through Greenwich, England among other places. (Can you locate other places on the Prime Meridian using a map?)
So why is this useful? Since VOCALS scientists are making hundreds of different measurements from various ships, aircraft, satellites and on the ground, the easiest way to coordinate them all is to agree on using a common time. If everybody used local time, then my 11:25 a.m. might be someone else's 10:25 a.m. which might be a third person's 9:25 a.m. Using a common time avoids all of this confusion. It's not only scientists, though; for example, all airplanes worldwide only report time in UTC!
Here in Chile, the local clocks are 3 hours behind UTC. So if I wake up at 6 am, it's 9 am UTC. Can you figure out the difference between your local time zone and UTC? An Internet search might help you out here. The normal takeoff time for our airplane is 11 am UTC. What are you normally doing at that moment?
Postcards from the Field: Climate Science from the Southeast Pacific
Undergrad Student Login Undergrad Faculty Login
Become a memberMember Benefits, No Ads
Real Climate: climate science from climate scientists
EPA Greenversations
Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment
Citizen Science Buzz


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At least one venture capital firm is shelling out money; after pumping millions of dollars into CMTS start-up Cohere, Andreesen Horowitz has just placed another $30 million with CipherCloud.
CipherCloud has staked out a position in cloud information protection, using encryption and tokenization gateways to protect cloud services, including Amazon Web Services (AWS). Founded in 2010, the company has more than 40 enterprise clients across eight countries. Customers include top firms in banking, insurance, healthcare and technology, as well as government agencies.
"Security is the number one inhibitor preventing organizations from adopting cloud applications, and CipherCloud has solved this huge problem in a very elegant way," said John Jack, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, former CEO of Fortify Software and now a board member of CipherCloud.
This is Andreesen Horowitz's second round of investment in CipherCloud. Other previous investors include Index Ventures and T-Venture, the venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom.
The company said it plans to use the new funding to expand sales and marketing, and to further develop its cloud information protection offerings.
In addition to Amazon AWS, the CipherCloud product portfolio supports popular cloud applications, including Salesforce, Force.com, Chatter, Google Gmail and Microsoft Office 365.


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We play with playdough daily, usually more than once. My daughter is fascinated with it and her favorite thing to do with it is to press objects into the playdough and make prints. This was not a planned post at all, and all the photos were taken with my phone since I didn't want to interrupt her play to grab my camera that was downstairs. Simple discovery play like this is my favorite and such a fun way to connect with your toddler.
We started with our playdough and usual cookie cutters. I usually switch the cutters and color of playdough out every few weeks. Then she grabbed this light up wand of her brothers and started making prints. She was in giggly heaven, especially since it lit up every time she hit it hard enough into the play dough.
Then we grabbed some Duplo and made prints. These we all agreed looked like cheezits!
We flipped the Duplo over and made little "buttons" and she very carefully pressed each one.
Her giggles and my photo snapping attracted the attention of my son who brought over a gear to press into the playdough.
Activities like these that use toys you have in new and novel ways are such easy activities but trust me they will go on for a long time, happily! We also used little people which if you press the bottom into the playdough make a shape rather reminiscent of a nipple. My nursing daughter pointed that out to me right away. Oh, the joys of nursing a toddler. Other fun toys were train tracks ( skip the trains the playdough will get stuck in the wheels) and chunky puzzle pieces.


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I'm pretty new to the whole "Zen experience" and one thing I can't quite seem to understand is Zazen ( or the zen meditation).
How is this different from all the other meditations out there?
For the past six months I've been practicing breathing meditation ( anapanasati) without a teacher, so I guess you could say I'm still fairly new to meditation as well..lol.
Thanks for your input!


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Right wing conspiracists are hanging their hat on Joseph Mifsud and I welcome the company! Eric Felten, writing for Real Clear Investigations, leads with the Cong. Jim Jordan questioning about Prof. Mifsud at the Mueller hearing, so let's include that video. From Mr. Felten, excerpting Jordan/Mueller:
"Did you interview Mifsud?"
"Can't get into that."
"Is Mifsud Western intelligence or Russian intelligence?"
"Can't get into that."
That's an awfully consequential question to be outside the special counsel's purview, one consequential enough to be worth asking until an answer can be found.
Lee Smith, also writing for Real Clear Investigations, provided lots of background on Mifsud last May 2018. My fave from that article: Mifsud denies being an MI6 "agent", which fans of the genre (but not all legacy journalists) understand is quite different from being an MI6 "asset".
And the latest hook is the failure of Mueller to charge Mifsud with false statements, even though Mueller had no problem indicting unreachable Russians in Lenningrad and other Americans closer to home. Why so shy about the guy whose interactions with Papadopoluos ostensibly triggered Crossfire Hurricane? Who knows? One day Mifsud may be singing a song under the bright Congressional lights and we'll be reading about the Maltese Canary.
But do let me highlight a problem faced by Mueller and noted by Mr. Felten: charging both Papadopoulos and Mifsud with false statements may have been challenging:
Not so, said Mifsud in February 2017 when FBI agents interviewed him in the lobby of a Washington hotel. As Mueller recounted it in his report, Mifsud "denied that he had advance knowledge that Russia was in possession of emails damaging to candidate Clinton, stating that he and Papadopoulos had discussed cybersecurity and hacking as a larger issue and that Papadopoulos must have misunderstood their conversation." The special counsel blamed Papadopoulos' dissembling for disabling the FBI agents' ability to get the goods on Mifsud: "The false information and omissions in Papadopoulos's January 2017 interview undermined investigators' ability to challenge Mifsud when he made these inaccurate statements."
Maybe Mifsud was telling the truth. After all, the evidence to the contrary is supplied by someone who has done (a very little) time in jail for telling federal officials falsehoods. Which would at least explain why the special counsel did so little to pursue the professor. Having wrung a confession out of Papadopoulos for false statements about Mifsud, the special counsel's team may have anticipated the difficulty they would face basing accusations against Mifsud on Papadopoulos' say-so.


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This is a slightly edited version of a column on Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose that first ran on the BSG site in June 2000.
You might remember that a number of prominent members of Congress shepherded through "commemorative" legislation in the fall of 1999 urging Major League Baseball to honor Shoeless Joe Jackson with induction into the Hall of Fame. (Warning: the link is to a PDF file. There was also a companion bill that passed the South Carolina Legislature in 1998, but I've mislaid the link since this article first ran.) It seems like a big contrast to the events of the last few years, as baseball continues to refuse Pete Rose permission to be honored for his accomplishments — they barred him from the 25th anniversary festivities of the '75 Big Red Machine and continue to insist on keeping him out of Cooperstown.
Putting Shoeless Joe in the Hall of Fame would be outrageous; the people involved with this legislation should be ashamed of themselves. While Rose is also deserving of sanction, his case is a much different story; I will explain below why he should be allowed into Cooperstown.
The argument in favor of Shoeless Joe, as set forth by our Congress (feel the tax dollars at work!) in bills passing both houses with unanimous consent, runs like this:
–1. Shoeless Joe was acquitted in a court of law of fixing the 1919 World Series.
–2. Baseball never gave Jackson a hearing.
–3. Jackson's outstanding play in the series, hitting .375 with the Series' only homer and no errors in the field, suggests that he was giving his all.
–4. Shoeless Joe got cold feet after taking $5,000 to participate in the fix; he considered sitting out the series, tried to give the money back, and tried to tell owner Charlie Comiskey about the fix.
–5. 80 years is too long to hold a grudge.
Let's pollute this little back-scratching exercise with a few facts, shall we?
–1. The acquittal of Jackson and his cronies in a Chicago court was a bigger fix than the 1960 Presidential election; the signed confessions of several of the players were not admitted into evidence because they had "mysteriously" disappeared from the DA's office. That's obstruction of justice in a big way; even if it was never pinned on anyone, it's nothing Congress should point to with pride.
–2. There was no need for a hearing. Given the confessions and the evidence that actually was presented and contested in court, there could really be no question that the series was fixed, that the "8 men out" had known it was fixed, that several had received money from the gamblers and that at least five of the players had been active participants in throwing games. As a legal matter, Judge Landis (the commissioner and a former federal judge himself) could draw his own conclusions from this evidence; he wasn't bound to reach the same conclusion as the jury, particularly since a ban from baseball does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
–3. Jackson played well in the Series, but when you examine the stats closely, he didn't play SO well that you could rule out participation in the fix on that ground alone. The Black Sox weren't trying to get swept, after all, just lose the series; Jackson batted .545 in their three victories but .286 in the five losses, .267 in the first four defeats. The decisive Game 8, in which Jackson did most of his damage (a solo homer and a 2-RBI double) was a blowout, courtesy of Lefty Williams; Jackson fouled out with 2 on in the first inning, so the White Sox were still down 5-0 when Jackson homered, and 10-1 when he doubled. He still made the last out of the game, though.
(If you want the actual play-by-play, courtesy of a pro-Joe website, click here.)
–4. Jackson said that he went to Comiskey, which proves only that they should tear down Comiskey's plaque in Cooperstown. But he didn"t go to the police. He didn't go to the press, not even when Christy Mathewson and writer Ring Lardner were questioning the White Sox' effort. He didn't tell his other teammates, or the manager. He kept his mouth shut for a year afterwards. And he spent the $5,000 he got for participating in the fix. Once you get involved in a conspiracy, it takes more than that to back out.
-5. Eighty years is a long time, but hey, the guy's been dead for 49 years. Why the rush to honor him? If punishing Jackson doesn't matter anymore, why does honoring him? Heck, Hitler's been dead 55 years now; let's let bygones be bygones and put up a statue to him! (Note that I'm not comparing Joe Jackson to Hitler; the point here is just that right is right and wrong is wrong, and the passage of time changes neither).
Shoeless Joe knew that his teammates were throwing the World Series, actively corrupting the game. He took money ($5,000 was nothing to sneeze at in 1919) to participate. He did nothing to stop the fix, and nothing to expose it. Thirty years later, he was still denying that it had ever happened.
Jackson's story is somewhat sad because so much talent was wasted, but should we forgive him just because he could hit? Where's the movement to clear Fred McMullen and Happy Felsch? Yeah, he was illiterate, but he wasn't an imbecile; he became a successful businessman after the ban.
The Shoeless Joe bill was sponsored in the Senate by Strom Thurmond, Fritz Hollings, Tom Harkin, and John McCain, and in the House by the South Carolina delegation and Steve Largent. The movement has been spearheaded by Ted Williams (who took the cause to his grave), Bob Feller and Tommy Lasorda. And all these people should know better.
I suppose I can understand Thurmond, since Jackson was once a constituent (he was running a liquor store in South Carolina when Thurmond ran against Harry Truman for President) and Thurmond is old enough to remember Jackson's playing days, having been 48 years old when Shoeless Joe hit .408 as a rookie in 1911 (that's a joke — he really WAS eight, though). The other South Carolina folks seem wrapped up in the whole native-son bit. Still, Harkin (whose only connection is that Field of Dreams was shot in Iowa) and McCain (who signed on before the South Carolina primary) seem like unlikely crusaders for corruption. And Largent, Feller, Lasorda, Teddy Ballgame; those guys wouldn't have tolerated this on their own teams.
I have a lot of respect for a number of those people, but on this one, shame on all of them. Maybe they should research the facts before they blindly support someone who sold out America's pastime.
Turning to Rose . . .
You probably know that Jackson sits on baseball's "permanently ineligible" list, as does current all-time hits leader Pete Rose. Under baseball rules, individuals on the ineligible list may not participate in the game in any capacity – player, manager, coach. They also may not appear at any baseball event. In response to the Rose ban, baseball also passed a rule barring the Hall of Fame from honoring anyone on the ineligible list. Rose was granted a waiver to appear in the All-Century Team festivities, but he's otherwise been banned from any other baseball event.
In my opinion, unlike Jackson, Rose should be allowed to participate in this sort of thing and he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He should not, however, ever be allowed to manage or coach again.
To recap, Rose was basically accused of three things:
–1. Gambling heavily on sports, including baseball games in which he wasn't involved. This meant that Rose associated with, and accumulated gambling debts to, shady characters who bet on baseball and had ties to organized crime.
–2. Refusing to admit he has a gambling problem.
–3. Betting on the Reds, in some, but not all, the games he was managing.
The evidence on the first two points is fairly ironclad, and Rose has never offered anything to seriously dispute them. These two facts, alone, justify baseball's continuing ban on Rose's involvement in the game as a manager or in any other capacity. This isn't Michael Jordan betting with his golf buddies, Charles Barkley hanging out in a casino, or even Rogers Hornsby or John McGraw betting on horse races (which is closer but still different); this is gambling on the outcome of the very kind of thing Rose did for a living. Professional sports have enough perverse institutional incentives as is; they can't afford to employ people who are in debt to people who have a powerful incentive to fix games. So, Rose is a threat to the FUTURE integrity of the game. And, he's a liar who can't be trusted. For its own protection, the game should keep Pete Rose on the ineligible list.
But there's one catch here: Neither of these facts suggest that Rose has actually done anything to impair the integrity of a major league baseball game. It's not remotely in the same league as throwing a baseball game or taking bribes to throw a game or even remaining silent with the knowledge that your teammates are throwing a game.
Even the rules of the game specify only a one-year suspension for betting on a baseball game that you are not involved in. There are those, Jim Gray apparently included, who seem to think that the issue is when Rose will apologize and own up to his failings. It's the modern way, you know; say you're sorry and all is forgiven.
We have seen this same scenario in the Latrell Sprewell and John Rocker cases. Spree refused to take his punishment like a man and even sued his agent for letting him get punished; that's what really got people mad. Rocker's failure to learn anything from his troubles jeopardized his entire career over words alone – very bad words, but nothing nearly as bad as, say, wife-beating. Yes, contrition is a hugely important part of our criminal justice system as well as our religious traditions, but it's important to keep perspective, too. What Rose did was inexcusable and indefensible, just like what Sprewell did and what Rocker said. But the punishment should still fit the crime; a single bad act can be indefensible without being a capital offense.
Badgering the man to apologize also misses the point; the continuing ban on managing isn't so much a punishment as a preventative measure, like impeaching a public official or disbarring a crooked lawyer (to give two obvious parallels). Nor would I accept his apology. Rose's decade-long denial of his problems, as well as his numerous false denials at the time, even under oath, of various easily provable facts suggests that he is not to be trusted even when and if he ever makes a public display of contrition. A man like Rose cannot be trusted to enter a professional clubhouse, for the good of the game.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Of course, that leaves us with the other charge: betting on the Reds. The rules of the game clearly specify a permanent ban on anyone betting on a game they are involved in. Nobody ever claimed that Rose bet AGAINST his own team, but even betting on his own team is not as harmless as it sounds, which is why the rules make no such distinction. A manager who bets on his own team, for example, is apt to exacerbate the harmful tendency managers already have to sacrifice the long-term good of the team to win particular games.
To be specific, a manager with money on particular games is likely to burn out his bullpen, even in games that are not really that close, because he needs to win today more than tomorrow. And look at the record: in 1987, for example, Rose's top three relievers were John Franco, Rob Murphy and Frank Williams. Murphy and Williams both cleared 85 appearances and 100 innings; the notoriously glass-armed Franco appeared in 68 games throwing 82 innings, and had thrown 74 games and 101 innings the previous year. As a result, Franco was ineffective in September both seasons (to be fair, he always is) and Murphy and Williams were never the same again. A manager who doesn't bet on every game may hurt his team in other ways, subtly favoring one game in the way he uses his players.
It is worth remembering, though, that there are at least questions about the case against Rose on this point. Now, I've read the Dowd Report but I haven't had time myself to plow through the entire thing in the kind of detail needed to evaluate the full strength of the case against Rose. But there are legitimate concerns as to the character of the witnesses against Rose on this point and the quality of the physical evidence, questions that might have been probed if there had been a hearing at the time.
I know I tend to quote Bill James too much, but he did an excellent (if much-critized) appraisal of the Dowd Report in The Baseball Book 1990, focusing on a few key points:
* Dowd's obvious loss of perspective (baseball has tried to get the bar to order him not to continue talking about his representation of baseball in this case without the game's permission, which is not really the most professional conduct by an attorney);
* The fact that much of the case against Rose rested on the testimony of Paul Janzen, who claimed that bets he (not Rose) placed on baseball games were for Rose, and not his own, when he would have obvious incentives to say so; and
* Reasons (relating to Rose's pending criminal case and to the types of people he was involved with) why Rose wasn't really free, at least at the time, to give a truthful account of his side of the story.
James also questioned the authenticity of the handwritten betting records, although on some of his critiques of the evidence, James got the facts wrong. The betting records do appear to be strong evidence, and in Rose's handwriting, although it's still not entirely clear what they demonstrate.
And yes, Rose agreed to his ban from the game. But baseball cut a deal with Rose: his suspension was expressly conditioned on there not being a finding that he had bet on baseball. Rose accepted that deal in large part for two reasons: (1) he thought the commissioner meant it when he said there would be no such finding and (2) he had to settle with baseball because he had more serious legal troubles, specifically a prosecution for tax evasion for which he ultimately served time. Any lawyer worth his salt would have told him to take that deal to focus on the criminal case.
I'm not so much concerned here with whether the charges are true. I suspect that they probably are. I'm not even sure if Bill James holds to the same view now; he's had harsher words for Rose since then. Even if they are true, however, baseball's ban on allowing Rose to participate even in commemorations and the ban on honoring him in the Hall of Fame is unreasonable and goes further than needed to send a message about his conduct. The rule was made for Rose; it can and should be changed to allow fans and writers to honor him.
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There are two other CRUCIAL facts that no sane baseball fan could ever dispute:
Fact #1. Pete Rose played in more major league baseball games than anyone else, ever.
Fact #2. No one who watched even one of those games doubts that Rose did everything within his power, and sometimes things beyond what we would think of as his physical limitations, to win every single one of those games.
Added together, they have to count for something. Rose was once a certifiable icon, someone who symbolized complete devotion to winning baseball games — the antithesis of the disengaged loafers who were too common then just as they are now. This is a man who got married in the morning and played that same afternoon. He was Cal Ripken Jr. when Ripken was still wearing diapers. Did that change? Granted, the Cobb chase meant that he played in a lot of games where he wasn't actually helping the team, but so did Ripken; was the rest of baseball innocent of indulging them in that conceit? Rose never stopped hustling, never sat out games until he was past 40 and desperately needed the rest.
There's a difference between being a hero and being a role model. A role model is someone you would want to imitate, even when you know everything he or she has done and said and stood for; it's a high standard, and I can count my personal role models on one hand, if that. Nobody argues today that Pete Rose is a role model. But a hero is someone who does something heroic; if you risk your life to save someone else, you are a hero no matter what else you've done before or since.
The Hall of Fame is for baseball's heroes, not its role models. There are people who are probably legitimate role models there – Wagner, Musial, Mathewson, Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Clemente, just to name a few. But there are plenty of others who were honored, deservingly, for their accomplishments even though they embarrassed or dishonored the game in other ways. Ruth hung his manager out the window of a moving train by his neck. Hornsby was constantly in hot water for his gambling. Cepeda and Jenkins were busted for drugs. Anson did huge damage to the game on the field as the ringleader of those who instituted the color line.
There are other guys in there who didn't always hustle, maybe didn't get as much from their talent as they could have. There are even guys like Steve Carlton who stuck around a few years as awful players just to get a paycheck, hurting their teams. They're not all role models, and I wouldn't put some of them in a position of trust. But they are baseball heroes, guys who helped win a lot of baseball games, and Cooperstown is right to include them.
Shoeless Joe Jackson participated in the greatest affront to the game, ever, on the field of play. He was, at minimum, in league with people who deliberately threw the World Series. No amount of heroism can overcome that because it goes to the heart of what makes Jackson a hero: his ability to help his team win ballgames. He willfully threw away the ultimate goal that Chicago baseball fans have never tasted in the 81 years since: a World Championship. He participated in a conspiracy that TRIED TO LOSE some of the most important games he ever played.
Rose is different. What Pete Rose is accused of doing was giving in to behavior that can subtly, corrosively corrupt the game. It can lead to bad things. It can sap the will to win. For that, for the good of the game, he belongs on the outside looking in. So the bad things stay outside. So everyone in the game knows that this conduct merits a permanent ban. Do it, you're gone, you're never coming back.
But he was still trying to win. There's never been anything to dispute that. Maybe it clouded his judgment and screwed with his incentives, but there are a lot of managers with cloudy judgment and screwy incentives out there. In the end, maybe it's more a difference of degree than a difference in kind between Rose and Joe Jackson, but then it's a difference of degree between Pedro Martinez and Todd Van Poppel, too. It's still a big degree. Rose tried to win and took part in an awful lot of wins.
For that reason, much as we may deny Rose the ability to win future glories, we should not deny him his past ones. He helped his teams win well over a thousand baseball games, seven division titles, five pennants, three championships. He was a great player for five or six years, and a very good one for many, many years. The Hall of Fame is poorer without the hit king.
Leo Durocher always said, if nothing else, don't put me in the Hall of Fame after I die — do it while I'm here to enjoy it or not at all. Leo was elected the year after his death. You know and I know that Pete Rose will be too, once there's no hope of dragging an apology or a confession out of him. That's a cheap shot, and if baseball takes its honors seriously it will find room to honor Rose for what he did, on the field and in the dugout, to win all those baseball games.
"The Cleveland Indians are in the thirty-seventh year of a sixty-three year rebuilding program."
– Peter Gammons, circa 1991.
(Well, it wasn't that accurate, but it was still a great line.)
Which five different NL franchises have the Red Sox defeated to win the World Series?
Only one reader, Bill DeVinney, got the answer to this one. The six players who had 200 hits in a season in which they played for more than one team: Irish Meusel in 1921, Moose Solters in 1935, Red Schoendienst in 1957, Lou Brock in 1964, Willie Montanez in 1976, and Randy Velarde in 1999.


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Obviously I've been doing a lot of studying, thinking (and too much writing!) recently about exploring different visual and motion styles for CG. (Or rather more properly "visual and motion aesthetics"- thanks to Erik for the nomenclature help). Anyhow, just to show that yapping my trap isn't my only area of activity- here's a little test that I cooked up this weekend. Just a little something that was fun. Maybe different?
I puttered around for about a day on it- most of that time spent trying exploring different ideas for bringing the background to play a role in accentuating the performance. I have an earlier version with a totally different method for making the background plate, but I abandoned it for being too complicated to set up. Simple is the watch word here. The character rig is a freebie rig I downloaded from HighEnd3d.com, not my own creation (Although I did apply some different shaders that I made to get a different, non-literal look for it). I expect when I start using my own rig (it's almost done) that I'll be able to push the animation technique a bit further with regard to deforming the shapes of the character in motion. Obviously this isn't the end of my efforts, just a stumbling step along the path. I'm not trying to emulate any specific animation style or medium. Rather I'm trying to borrow flavors from all different kinds of sources, all rolled into a (hopefully tasty) visual recipe. That's something that I believe that CG is uniquely positioned to do better than any other medium.
But the best part was that this was fun for me to make. Fun is the ingredient that all audiences can taste. I hope that part shows through at least.
OK, I'm gonna take break from typing for a while. Back to the kitchen!


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I picked up this "Black Prince" Echeveria back in November of '06 after I spotted it in a new shipment of succulents at a local Home Depot. Unfortunately this Echeveria started to become a little leggy which is understandable because of the low light conditions indoors over the winter.
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Gelato from Gnam Gnam in Greensboro, NC
1. Whole Foods. It just opened in Greensboro a few of weeks ago. THANK YOU Corporate Director of Marketing and Demographics for seeing the potential, opportunity and need here in Greensboro! Amazing croissants. Liked their olive bar. The bright green olives are my favorite I will get the name of them next visit. Cheese counter was smaller than expected BUT they had nice variety and carry types you cannot find anywhere else in Greensboro. And they carry Bailey Hazen Blue! Their Bakery cakes were pretty and unique. Floral department rocked. Loved all the tulips. First time I've seen a Granola bar. They even had Gelato. Sorry, not impressed with their Gelato. I think we'll stick to Gnam Gnam. Now if the Demographics and Marketing Gods could just see their way to bringing a Trader Joes here, I would be a happy girl.
2. If I was having a Cinco de Mayo Party today, and I'm not, I would have thought ahead and ordered these decorations. ($11.99 for all 6 from Celebrateexpress.com!) Instead, I am thinking about trying a new recipe for these Margaritas.
3. I think it's very strange, ironic, and unsettling that when you boil a pot of eggs for hard boiled eggs they make a chirping sound.
4. Mad Men. Zou Bisou Bisou.
5. Wedding in Chicago this summer at Navy Pier. Looking forward to it.
6. I was listening to NPR on the radio in my car the other day and Marilu Henner from Taxi was the guest. She is one of 12 people in the world who has something called HSAM: Highly Superior Auto-biographical Memory. It is the rare and incredible ability that allows her to vividly recall every detail of her life since childhood. She even remembers what day of the week her memories took place. To listen to her was fascinating. She has a new book out called Total Memory Makeover where she talks about her incredible memory and how you can enhance your recollection of the events in your own life. Might be fun to pick this one up.
7. Husband snores. Becoming a problem. Can you help?


text: Hunters with Disabilities Enjoy Annual Hunt on National Forests in East Texas For some people with physical limitations, being able to participate in hunting season is a distant memory. But thanks to the Angelina and Sabine national forests employees and retired agency volunteers in East Texas, a group of local hunters have an opportunity to create new memories each December as part of an annual two-day hunt. "For the past five years, we've enjoyed being a part of the Angelina Wheelin' Sportsman hunt for deer and hogs," said Jason Engle, a district wildlife biologist for the Angelina National Forest who leads the event planning efforts for the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. "We want to ensure these eager hunters enjoy a great hunting experience, and we're here to help them enjoy their national forests."


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The first Asymconf was conducted on Friday, April 13th, 2012 in Amsterdam. Here are some statistics from the show:
- 155 registered participants and over 1000 participation hours
- Over 500 tweets generated during the day (#asymconf)
- Eight hours of conference executed on schedule
- Three iPads used to facilitate: one as a whiteboard, one as a slide presenter and one as an interactive motion chart.
- Seven video cameras used to capture over 1 terabyte of video data.
- Four cases conducted with majority of time spent on audience participation
Overall, feedback has been very positive. We will now edit the video to make it available for download. We will also analyze all aspects of the event to understand how it can be improved and post our findings.
We plan to hold Asymconf 2.0 in approximately six months somewhere on the West Coast of the US. We are already scouting for locations.
If you have photos or additional comments regarding the event that you'd like to share, please post them below.
My thanks to those who made Asymconf possible:
- Indrek Vainu, operations
- Farshad Nayeri, software
- Paul Campbell, registration
- Kevin Krautle, videography
- Rami Salle, photography
- Panu Kuhlberg, music


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Guest poem sent in by Cornelius O'Brien
(Poem #1959) Day Flight I closed my eyes as I sat in the jet And asked the hostess if she would let Me take on board a patch of sky And a dash of the blue-green sea. Far down below my country gleamed In thin dry rivers and blue-white lakes And most I longed for, there as I dreamed, A square of the desert, stark and red, To mould a pillow for a sleepy head And a cloak to cover me. |
Les Murray's strong poem while he was musing aboard an airliner reminded me of another Australian poet - Jack Davis - and his lovely poem DAY FLIGHT. You can almost hear the mighty beating heart of Australia in his lines. Only an Aboriginal poet could have written this one. He doesn't own the land. The land owns him. Con O'Brien (Cornelius) [Links] Biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Davis_(playwright)


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Doing yoga in the office can be fun, innovative and relaxing with many long term benefits. Prolonged work on the computer strains the neck, shoulder and back muscles, which leads to tension and stiffness. Unless attended to properly, it could impact your ability to function effectively at the workplace, affecting your overall quality of life. Office yoga comprises of a sequence of simple exercises you can perform quite unobtrusively at your desk, at any time of the day.
Making corporate yoga exercises a part of your routine can work wonders as they wipe away body pain, fatigue and tension and increase overall muscle strength and flexibility, keeping you fresh and revitalized through the day. The exercises don't demand much time, and can be done in spurts throughout the day, sparing you from unnecessary discomfort in the long run.
Suggestion: If you are wearing tight, uncomfortable footwear remove them before starting the stretches. You may also wish to loosen your tie and belt.
Join a Free workshop on Yoga, Meditation and Breath
Yoga in the Office Video
Here are 6 corporate yoga exercises you could try for a start.
1. Neck Roll
Close your eyes.
Let your chin drop down to your chest.
Begin the circular motion of your neck slowly, by moving the right ear to the right shoulder, taking the head backwards and then bringing the left ear to the left shoulder.
Keep your shoulders loose and relax.
Rotate your neck 3-5 times and then switch directions.
2. Cow Stretch
Keep your feet on the floor.
Bring both hands on your knees.
While inhaling, stretch your back backwards and look towards the ceiling.
While exhaling, stretch your back forward and drop your head forward.
Repeat this exercise for 3-5 breaths.
3. Seated Forward Bend
Push your chair away from your desk.
Remaining seated, keep your feet flat on the floor.
Take your arms behind the lower back, keep your back straight and interlace your fingers behind your back.
Bending forward from the waist, bring your interlaced hands over your back.
Rest your chest on your thighs and relax your neck.
4. Eagle Arms
Stretch your arms straight in front of your body and parallel to the floor. Palms facing the ceiling.
Cross your right arm over the left (bend your arm slightly at the elbow if needed). Bring both palms together.
Lift both elbows. The shoulders slide down your back.
Repeat this exercise with the left arm over the right.
5. Seated Spinal Twist
Sit sideways in your chair.
Place your feet flat on the floor.
Holding the back of the chair with both hands, twist your waist to the right towards the back of the chair.
Turn to the other side. Repeat this exercise a few more times.
6. Temple Rub
Keep your elbows on your desk and place your hands on your temples.
With small circular motions gently rub your temples first clockwise and then anti-clockwise.
Do this for 10 – 15 long deep breaths.
Yoga practice helps develop the body and mind bringing a lot of health benefits yet is not a substitute for medicine. It is important to learn and practice yoga postures under the supervision of a trained Sri Sri Yoga teacher. In case of any medical condition, practice yoga postures after consulting a doctor and an Sri Sri Yoga teacher. Find an Sri Sri Yoga course at an Art of Living Center near you. Do you need information on courses or share feedback? Write to us at email@example.com


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Asymmetric Ejecta
Many lunar impact craters display an asymmetric ejecta blanket. During the Apollo era, NASA scientists used high speed projectiles to replicate the conditions of impact at different angles. Real asteroids hit the Moon at fantastically high speeds, greater than 16 km per second (or 35,000 miles per hour). As the angle between the asteroid path and the surface becomes smaller, no change in the crater shape is seen until an oblique angle of 15° or less. At these small angles non-circular craters and/or non-uniform distribution of ejecta occurs. Craters that display these characteristics are known as oblique impact craters, such as the example above or the crater Messier, an unusual elliptical crater with a very distinctive "butterfly" ejecta pattern. In such a low angle impact, the ejecta has more momentum in the direction of travel of the impactor, which causes the asymmetric ray patterns. In this case the largest extent of ejecta extends to the north and south and a small amount to the east, probably indicating that the impactor came from the west. Compare this crater to the 33 meter diameter Apollo S-IVB crater imaged by LROC. Although the S-IVB crater has a similar ejecta pattern this crater is larger, showing that the impactor was much larger. The blocks in the bottom of the crater may have been formed by the tremendous pressures unleashed during the impact - future human explorers would surely want to investigate!
View the entire NAC image!
Back to Images


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It seems like just yesterday that we closed down the convention at the Grove Park and I began serving my term as President of the Association (admittedly a little slowly after staying out too late at the piano bar). Looking back, I closed my first President's Message for this newsletter with the following statement, "2011-12 will be an important year for the future of the NCLTA and I look forward to serving as President. There are important issues at hand and on the horizon and we need the support of our members to tackle them." Well 2011-12 was certainly an important year for NCLTA and the title industry in North Carolina. The progress made was only possible as a result of the passion and dedication of a number of the Association's members. Thank you to everyone who lent their time over the past year whether it was serving on the Executive Board, a subcommittee or working on the newly minted mechanics' lien legislation.
As you all know by now Governor Perdue signed SB 42 into law on July 12, 2012. This legislation was the product of years of hard work by the NCLTA's Loss Prevention Committee led by Kim Rosenberg. However, without the tireless work of Kim's committee, Nancy Ferguson, Ken Stone, Steve Brown, Nick Long, Jay Williams, our lobbyist David Ferrell and many others over the last two months of the short session our bill would not have passed. Unfortunately there was little time for celebrating, even before the bill was signed and almost from the moment the votes were tallied the Association has been hard at work on implementation of the private lien agent model. We have been in touch with interest groups, the Department of Insurance, legislators and parties from others states in an effort to insure that our system is efficient and user-friendly for everybody involved. With the long session opening in January 2013 the Association will need to continue to lobby and meet with legislators and interest groups in order to preserve the change we achieved in 2012.
In conjunction with the push for change in the mechanics' lien law and as part of an aggressive legislative campaign the Association formed a Political Action Committee in 2012 for the first time. The PAC has received significant contributions already but going into the long session next year the PAC needs the support of all of our members. Together, by pooling our funds, we can be a significant voice in Raleigh on legislative issues. If you are attending the annual convention at Wild Dunes please stop by the PAC table to purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win an iPad 2 and consider making an additional donation to the PAC. Without your support the PAC cannot help the Association be an effective voice on legislative issues.
Speaking of Wild Dunes, preliminary attendance numbers look great for the convention. Matt Powers and Nicole Shore have put together a great CLE program and exciting events. Wild Dunes is always an incredible venue. In addition, we have revived our annual golf tournament which is always a great opportunity to spend quality time with colleagues in the industry. We have a lot to celebrate this year and I look forward to seeing everybody there.
The title industry lost one of its most dedicated members and advocates this summer in Joe Parker. Joe was a former NCLTA President and also served the industry on a national level as President of the American Land Title Association in 1998-1999. Honorary membership in the NCLTA was bestowed on Joe in 2007. Many of you knew and worked closely with Joe over the years. Please take a moment to read Jay Hedgepeth's tribute to Joe below.
As the convention approaches so does the end of my term as President. I appreciate the opportunity to serve the Association in this capacity over the past year. Being able to work closely with such dedicated and knowledgeable colleagues has both educated me and galvanized my faith in the title industry in North Carolina. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you and I can't wait to see many of you in South Carolina!
by Jay Hedgepeth
Joseph Martin Parker, Jr. died August 6, 2012. Just five years ago, Jeff Hrdlicka then NCLTA President asked and I agreed to say a few words about my friend and colleague at the banquet during the NCLTA Annual Meeting held August 9-11, 2007 at Mid Pines Resort. What Jeff actually wanted was an introduction to the announcement that the Executive Committee had bestowed on Joe Parker Honorary Membership in the NCLTA, a tribute well deserved. I quickly realized that I had agreed to do the impossible. How can you say a few words about a 40 year career? A career devoted to preserving and promoting the best interests of the title insurance industry and the approved attorney system – a career dedicated to educating others about title insurance – a career centered on duty and commitment to our industry. Just a few words could not possibly document his outstanding professional career. Now, five years later, I was asked to submit a few words about my friend and colleague for publication in the NCLTA Title News, and I again realize that I have agreed to do the impossible.
Born October 7, 1931 in Brooklyn, Joe spent his early years in New York before moving to a family farm in Wake County. He excelled as a scholar and athlete at Fork Union Military Academy, continued his education at Elon College, and then joined the United States Marine Corps. Joe enrolled in Duke Law School after serving active duty, but continued his military service in the Marine Reserves until his retirement as a Lt. Colonel. Law school marked the beginning of his fervent passion for Duke football and basketball.
After graduation from Duke Law School in 1960, Joe practiced law in Shelby and Asheville until 1966 when he joined the Legal Department of Lawyers Title Insurance Company in Richmond as Regional Counsel for 15 states, including North Carolina. In 1978 Joe left Richmond to join Lawyers Title of North Carolina, first working in the Winston-Salem office and later moving to the Raleigh office in 1990 as President and General Counsel. Following the purchase of that agency by Lawyers Title Insurance Company, Joe continued with Lawyers Title until 1995 when he returned to Winston-Salem to open his own title insurance agency, Parker Title Insurance Agency. He sold the agency to First American in 2005 but continued with the new ownership, albeit with the thought of retirement on his mind. In the spring of 2006 Joe became associated with the Winston-Salem office of The Title Company of North Carolina for the purpose of what I then described as "transitioning into retirement". By early 2007 he reached full retirement in body, mind and spirit.
Joe Parker contributed much to the title insurance industry and the real property bar in North Carolina. Throughout his career he actively served the North Carolina Bar Association as a member of the Real Property Section Council, as a longstanding member of the Real Property Curriculum Committee, and as chair of the Drafting Committee for the 1986 Condominium Act. He was a frequent CLE speaker on title insurance and real property related topics.
He served the NCLTA as the first General Counsel to the NCLTA Executive Committee in 1980-1981, as President in 1985-1986 and as General Counsel again in 2000-2001. His commitment to the title insurance industry was not limited to North Carolina. His service to the ALTA includes being a member of the Forms Committee in 1985-1994, chair of the Abstractors and Agents Section, and a member of the Board of Governors. In 1998-1999 he became the first and only North Carolinian to serve as President of the ALTA.
The 40 year career of Joe Parker was one of selfless commitment and tireless effort – a career distinguished by an unwavering commitment of duty and obligation to the title insurance industry – a career that served us well. My friend and colleague died, but his legacy as a pillar of the title insurance industry in North Carolina remains a beacon for us all.
Matt Powers - President
Jay Williams - Vice President
Lisa Shields - Treasurer
Karl Knight - Secretary
Ryan Wainio - Past President
Taby Cruden - General Counsel
We are so excited about the fast approaching 2012 Annual Convention at Wild Dunes!
We are planning for the biggest contingent in recent years. With generous sponsorships received we promise that this will be one of the best conventions ever. If you have not registered yet, do so today!
Meet the Speakers
This convention will be a more relaxed atmosphere – dress it down and come to party! The Friday Night Annual Banquet will feature a fun atmosphere and a great band – The Great Society!
Complete Convention Details
Limited space available for the Golf Tournament. If you are interesetd please contact NCLTA today!
Remember! NCLTA Annual Convention CLE is going Paperless! We will not have handouts this year. We will offer WiFi – bring your laptop or tablet to read along or download from nclta.org prior to the convention.
See the Spring 2012 Newsletter.
The most recent issue of the Carolina Update newsletter issued by the North Carolina Land Title Association.
Winter 2024
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Ongoing left debates regarding Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign are frequently characterized by a shared premise. Whether arguing, for instance, that Sanders is dismissive of race or countering that his emphasis on economics necessarily entails anti-racism, both sides tend to assume that Sanders would be able to meaningfully advance his politics if he were to become president. That is, both sides generally presuppose the liberal notion of pluralism, which conceives of a neutral and malleable state that can be shaped and reshaped by those who govern it.
The history of the presidency illustrates a very different story, one in which the political party and personal inclinations of presidents (let alone candidates) are generally irrelevant to how they wield power. Presidents – whether Constitutional Law professor/community organizers or religious zealots with MBAs – historically have advanced the objective interests of the nation-state, prioritizing its international power and the profitability of its economy above all other considerations. Notwithstanding cogent left criticisms of Sanders, the key question is not whether Sanders is a phony but what, if elected president, he will in fact be sworn to do. In other words, what are presidents?
The Constitution was of course designed to replace the Articles of Confederation, whose preservation of revolutionary anti-monarchism ("The Spirit of 1776") resulted in what the framers came to fear as a dangerously weak state. The decentralized Articles did not have an executive and instead placed power in the legislature (the "People's Branch") and the states. Not only did such decentralization preclude national coherence but it also prevented the national government from raising taxes and thereby armies, leaving it, among other things, unequipped to suppress mass debtor insurrections.
Encouraging state legislatures to eliminate debts through inflating state currencies and issuing "stay laws," debtor insurrections horrified leaders who argued that revolutionary liberty had gone "too far." Indeed, debtors' repudiation of property rights (sometimes destroying debt records directly) reflected the growing power of Hamilton and Madison's dreaded (if not oxymoronic) "majority faction," which according to Madison threatened not merely the small creditor class but the "permanent and aggregate interests of the community" as well.
Significantly, the Framers discussed the threat of foreign invasion and the threat of domestic insurrection in the same vein. But while the former would clearly challenge the national character of the state, the latter – conducted by citizens after all – would not. That is, Madison and Hamilton's nation-state is not a clean slate of pluralistically competing factions but has instead always been intrinsically defined by the general interests and demands – if not the personal economic interests of the founders – of the propertied class. Aggregating concrete competing interests into an imagined national community, the framers established antagonistic property relations as the cornerstone of the nation-state and, more specifically, guaranteed that the propertied few would be protected from the property-less many. Accordingly, the Framers designed a government that "multiplied" and "diffused" factions while "filtering" the "violent passions" of the masses through "insulated" and "responsible" "elites" in order to obstruct the majority's inevitable "rage for paper money, for abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project…."
Steward of the State
The Constitution not only centralized power but also eliminated the legislature's dominance by establishing a bicameral Congress and a "separation of powers" that enabled the executive to become supreme. Article II granted the president a powerful veto, and its provision for unity and relative vagueness provided the executive with the tools for the "energy," "decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch" deemed necessary for "strong government." Aghast at the power of the Constitution in general and the new executive in particular, Patrick Henry warned that the "tyranny of Philadelphia" would come to resemble the tyranny of King George.
Predictably, George Washington exploited Article II's vagueness, invoking the "take care" clause to crush the Whiskey Rebellion and capitalizing on the omission of Article I's qualifier "herein granted shall be vested in" to issue the Neutrality Proclamation. But it was not until Thomas Jefferson's presidency that the objective character of the presidency became manifestly clear. It is indeed an emblematic irony of U.S. history that while the Jeffersonians won most of the early presidential elections, continental and international imperial pressure to expand led them to frequently implement Hamiltonian policies once in office. While Washington and Adams (one also thinks of the Alien and Sedition Acts) expressed Hamiltonian political orientations, Jefferson personified a diametrically opposed U.S. political tradition. Whereas Hamilton was a loose constructionist who advocated for a large national government and a strong executive that would pursue manufacturing following the British model of development, Jefferson was a strict constructionist who advocated for a small national government and weak executive that would pursue agrarianism following the French model of development. Yet, in spite of his lifelong principles, Jefferson in significant respects presided like a Hamiltonian, violating his strict constructionism via the Louisiana Purchase and the Fourth Amendment via his aggressive, albeit unsuccessful, Embargo Act.
Andrew Jackson continued this pattern, expanding the power of the executive as well as the national government notwithstanding his previous advocacy of small government and states' rights. Beyond his unprecedentedly aggressive use of the veto (Jackson was the first president to use the veto on policies he merely disliked instead of those deemed unconstitutional), Jackson threatened to use military force against South Carolina if it did not yield to the national government during the Nullification Crisis. And it is notable that when Jackson did support states' rights after Georgia violated the Supreme Court's ruling in Worcester v. Georgia, it was in the name of expelling the Southeast's Native-Americans in order to clear the land for profitable exploitation by African American slaves. That is, Jackson supported the states as long as they were pursuing nation-building rather than their own parochial interests.
And though the growth of the executive was neither even nor always linear, its long-term evolution has been characterized more than anything else by massive and bipartisan aggrandizement. Even periodic setbacks, such as the Congressional backlash against Nixon's "imperial presidency," proved to be ephemeral. Reagan merely danced around the War Powers Resolution in his illegal funding of the Contras, while Obama circumvented the WPR by declaring that his war on Libya wasn't in fact a war. By the time of the George W. Bush Administration, the executive – usurping the Congress via signing statements and the courts via military tribunals, among countless other encroachments – had unprecedentedly expanded its power. Contrary to liberal mythology, Bush was hardly an anomaly, as his response to 9/11 built upon Clinton's attack on civil liberties following the Oklahoma City bombing, just as Obama's "kill lists," surveillance, and drone warfare have expanded Bush's apparently permanent state of exception.
Manager of Capitalism
It is important to note that this expansion of executive power did not occur in a vacuum. On the contrary, executive aggrandizement has more often than not correlated to emergencies in general and capitalist crises in particular. As "steward" of the system, to use Theodore Roosevelt's appellation, the modern president is devoted not only to expanding the power of the state vis-à-vis international competitors but also to maintaining the conditions for the capitalist economy with which it, in large measure, competes. Jackson aimed to open new arenas for capitalist accumulation not only through the primitive accumulation of Indian removal and chattel slavery but also through eliminating corrupt, monopolistic, and ossified economic institutions such as the Charles River Bridge Company and Biddle's Bank.
Jackson's incipient capitalism had become a mature and complex system producing enormous social and political problems by the turn of the century. In turn, Theodore Roosevelt radically expanded presidential power by inverting Jefferson's interpretation of the Constitution: while Jefferson claimed that the president can only do what the Constitution explicitly permitted, Roosevelt claimed that the president could do anything that the Constitution did not explicitly forbid. As such, Roosevelt intervened in the Coal Strike of 1902 and threatened to seize and run the mines after failing to initiate arbitration meetings, while the Hepburn Act saw the U.S. issuing price controls for the first time.
Although progressives applauded the executive's reinvention as a "trust-busting" "referee" after decades of pro-business policies, the presidency had in fact remained consistent in its relationship to capitalism. When nascent capitalism required primitive accumulation and (selective) laissez-faire, Jackson gave the system what it needed; when rampaging capitalism threatened to destroy its own social and economic bases during the Gilded Age, Theodore Roosevelt did the same.
Before (if at all) considering the interests of the people that he nominally represents, the president must insure that they constitute a ready and exploitable workforce in the case of economic expansion or that they do not threaten the state's social and political stability in the case of depression. Indeed, the president (though typically not more myopic business leaders) has frequently recognized the danger of killing the golden goose during capitalist crises, a point made explicitly by that giant of the liberal imagination, FDR. As recounted by Neil Smith in The Endgame of Globalization, FDR explained his rationale for the New Deal to business leaders: "'I was convinced we'd have a revolution' in the US 'and I decided to be its leader and prevent it. I'm a rich man too,' he continued, 'and have run with your kind of people. I decided a half loaf was better than none – a half for me and a half for you and no revolution.'" Such cynical calculations allow us to reconcile the "good FDR" of the New Deal with the "bad FDR" who interned Japanese-Americans and firebombed Tokyo, Dresden, and other urban centers.
Notwithstanding the limitations of the New Deal (which among other things emphasized selective social redistribution at the expense of preserving mass exploitation), the Keynesian rescue package had run out of gas by 1973. Amid renewed global competition and the increase in oil prices, profit contracted, but for the first time since the postwar "Golden Age of Capitalism" had begun, spending no longer mitigated the effects of the glut. According to Tony Judt, Labor Prime Minister James Callaghan had "glumly explained to his colleagues, 'We used to think that you could just spend your way out of a recession…I tell you, in all candour, that that option no longer exists.'"
It was within this context that laissez-faire, now refashioned as neoliberalism, rose from the dead, as it provided the apparent solutions (e.g., privatization, tax cuts, and deregulation) that Keynesianism could not. Put differently, capitalism generated a second wind not only by moving investment from industry to finance but also by cannibalizing the apparatus that had helped rescue it from its previous crisis. The growing chasm separating postwar liberal politics from the post-1970s new economics gave rise to "new" liberals including Clinton, Blair, Schroeder, Obama, and Hollande, who, operating within an increasingly limited range of action, attempted to manage liberalism's strategic retreat. In so doing, liberal politicians have frequently compensated for their exhausted economic programs by embracing cultural issues, a strategy that has been termed, "Let them eat marriage." While liberals accurately note that the monstrous right would be "even worse," their warning is nevertheless dishonest insofar as it ignores that liberals are wedded to the political-economic system whose noxious effects produce such reactionaries in the first place.
Lest we conclude that this is a case of the domestic political cart leading the economic horse, it is crucial to reiterate that the collapse of economic liberalism has been a global phenomenon, whether expressed through Bill Clinton's declaration that "the era of big government is over," Francois Mitterand's assertion that "'The French are starting to understand that it is business that creates wealth, determines our standard of living and establishes our place in the global rankings,"' or anti-austerity Syriza's ongoing implementation of austerity.
That is, assuming that it would be desirable, the New Deal is unlikely to return (although a new world war or some other catastrophe can indeed press the "restart" button on capitalist development assuming there's anyone left to exploit). Given the enormous global economic and structural constraints delimiting the presidency, it is possible to argue that Barack Obama, demonstrating prodigious "activity," has done a remarkable job in advancing his domestic and international agendas. Rather than being "weak" or a "sell-out," Obama very well might be, as liberals stress, the best we can hope for – a possibility that more than anything else radically indicts the system itself.
Obama's political victories on Iran, Cuba, healthcare, and gay marriage should not be compared to his failures. They should instead be compared to his other, far more reactionary, achievements including Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, the Tran-Pacific Partnership Trade Treaty, mass surveillance, and the prosecution of whistleblowers, policies regularly conducted with Hamiltonian "energy," "decision," "secrecy," and "dispatch." These latter policies neither contradict nor are inconsistent with Obama's liberal successes. Their common denominator is the presidential articulation of the primacy of the nation-state – and thereby capital accumulation – above all other concerns. The voters' concerns are considered only when they are serviceable to these paramount interests.
Given the enormous powerlessness of the voter, it is unsurprising that the injunction "hope" so often accompanies political campaigns. Bill Clinton was "The Man from Hope," Obama campaigned on "Hope," and, overseas, Syriza promised that "Hope is Coming." Selecting who will rule without any ability to control the content of that rule, the voter casts the ballot as an act of faith. Investing political and emotional energy into nothing more than the good name of the system (election nights are always exercises in flag-waving celebration of a system that lets us choose our rulers), voters incorrectly argue that voting is better than doing nothing and condemn those who abstain. Yet, the disillusioned are not to blame for forces that they have no control over. And if the disillusioned do become interested in challenging the abuses of everyday life, it will not be through voting but through criticizing the system that voting acclaims. The opposite of hope is not despair. It is power.


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Through the Seasons
Our yard from summer through winter, with a lovely visitor or two.
Back Yard Flower Close-ups Flower Garden Front Yard Garden Side Yard Small (Under 1,000 sq ft.) Stone / Rock
14 of 30: Side yard looking south, with wild sunflowers, ageratum, false dragonhead, motherwort and other wildflowers
Comments / Questions
Thank you, Detlef. I wish we we had more room for more flowers. The froggies are my favorite things!!
You've a beautiful home Janice, and you toke some great photos of it! The close-ups of frogs are stunning, too!
Great pictures of the wildlife. I never could get a good photo of the hummingbird moth.
Loved the visit to your garden.
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Incognito by Miho Li
April 5th & April 6th
Link to full tour schedule: http://fmbblogtours.weebly.com/2/post/2012/03/tour-schedule-incognito-by-miho-li.html
Book Title: Incognito
Author: Miho Li
Genre: Contemporary, Erotica, Male/Male
Words: 25,377
Book Description:
"When Ren sees the new transfer student—Shin, black hair, storm-cloud-gray eyes, and more beautiful than any guy had a right to be—he makes it his mission to get to know him. Too bad Shin is about as sociable as fungus, and about as likable, too. But Ren isn't good at giving up, so he takes on the challenge of cracking Shin's titanium shell. What he finds underneath, though, is way more than he's prepared to handle.
People are disappearing in Akita , and Shin might be behind it. As Ren's feelings grow for the reserved man, so do the number of missing person reports, and Ren doesn't know if their budding relationship is enough to withstand both the well of secrets and the organization Shin works for."
Purchase: http://www.bookstrand.com/incognito
There was a heavy sigh and then, "Ren, just go talk to him already."
Ren's gaze snapped back to his friends. He flicked shaggy blond hair out of his eye and said, "What?"
"Shin," Hideyoshi said, making vague hand gestures at the student Ren had been ogling.
Shin had settled in the grass beside a tree and was propping a book open in his lap. Messy strands of black hair fell across his pale cheeks, and he brushed it back with fingers that were surprisingly elegant for a guy.
"Go talk to him."
Shin Sarutobi was a newly transferred junior, and despite sharing several classes, Ren had yet to find the right opportunity to talk to him. Not because he was intimidated but because Shin treated everyone around him, professors and students alike, with what barely qualified as cool indifference. He spoke in class when necessary but otherwise remained removed from everyone else and, from what Ren could tell, preferred it that way.
The exception was Kyouya Tsutano. Kyouya had transferred in about a month before Shin. It had been a big deal, what with his family being corporate millionaires. Rumor had it Kyouya's dad died recently, and he had returned to Akita to live with his uncle.
From the start, Kyouya and Shin had a volatile relationship—they always looked pissed just being near each other. Except Ren had overheard them arrange meetings, and Kyouya remained the only person to date Shin spoke with on a regular basis.
Naturally, Ren assumed they were sleeping together. He entertained the theory that Shin and Kyouya were trapped in an unhealthy relationship based on angry but mind-blowing sex.
He chose not to share this theory with his friends.
In any case, the fact remained that Shin was a jerk. A gorgeous jerk with ink-black hair, intense gray eyes, and long legs that made him one of the few students taller than Ren, but a jerk nonetheless. Ren watched as a line formed between Shin's brows, and he glanced in the direction Kyouya had gone with a sour twist of his lips.
Shin was also a jerk in dire need of an intervention.
Ren nodded decisively. "I'm going to talk to him."
Hideyoshi gave him a flat look before apparently deciding against voicing what he was thinking. Ren ignored him and crossed the lawn with purposeful strides toward Shin.
With blond hair and blue eyes thanks to his European half, Ren wasn't used to making the first move. Shin, however, was definitely worth the exception.
"Hi," Ren said. He didn't believe in pick-up lines.
Shin didn't acknowledge the greeting.
Ren cleared his throat, undeterred. "Your friend looked pissed."
Shin's gaze lifted, passing dismissively over Ren's smiling face before returning to his book.
"Uh...your boyfriend?" Ren said, hedging for a response.
Without lowering his book, Shin turned his head and looked up at Ren with ill-concealed impatience. "Did you want something?"
Ren considered this. "Should I answer that honestly?" Because there were a great many things that Ren wanted, including but not limited to Shin spread out on his bed in nothing but a silk ribbon.
Maybe it was best not to be quite so forthcoming yet.
About the Author:
Miho grew up on horror, fantasy, and romance novels (although she hid the romance novels, considering she probably shouldn't have been reading them at eleven years old). She started writing horror first, but these days, her work features more boys kissing boys than heads exploding, which everyone agrees is an improvement. She has a love of all things fantastical, and her favorite romances are the ones that don't happen easily. Reading or writing about characters overcoming adversity in order to reach their happy endings, whether that's together or not, is what fuels her love of the written word.
Find Miho at:
Her blog: http://miho-li.blogspot.com
Twitter: twitter.com/miho_li


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America Ferrera of "Ugly Betty" fame will star and exec-produce the drama "American Tragic," with Ryan Piers Williams helming from his own script.
The Latino mini-studio Maya Entertainment will produce and distribute the picture, with Heather Rae ("Frozen River") serving as producer. Sergio Aguero ("Y tu mama tambien") will exec produce alongside Ferrera.
Drama marks Ferrera's second collaboration with Maya, which also distributed Ferrera starrer "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer."
"We hope that this is validation of the job we did on 'Garcia Girls,' " said Jeff Valdez, who co-chairs Maya Entertainment along with founder Moctesuma Esparza.
"American Tragic" centers on a young war vet, played by newcomer Ryan O'Nan, who sets off across the country with a buddy to find redemption. Ferrera will play his wife and Melissa Leo ("Frozen River") his mother.
Production on "American Tragic" starts in February in New Mexico for a projected fall 2009 release.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
The subdivider of your subdivision could have built the roads to a higher standard and offered the maintenance to the County. But, the subdivider chose to build the roads to a lower standard and have the property owners maintain the road(s). The charges to a permanent road division are a special tax and are not based on the value of your property.
Show All Answers
A group of citizens can form a Homeowners Association, a Road Maintenance Association, a Permanent Road Division, or a Zone of Benefit. To form a Homeowners or Road Maintenance Association, an attorney familiar with laws governing such organizations should be consulted. To establish a Zone of Benefit, residents should contact the Lake County Department of Public Works who can provide information on the Zone of Benefit program, a Formation Application, and a copy of the program Policy and Procedures Guidelines.
A zone of benefit is a geographic area formed under County Service Area law to provide extended services not already being provided by any other entity. Some extended services that can be provided include drainage, landscaping, lighting, and road improvement and maintenance. If you live on a road not maintained by the County Department of Public Works or some other agency, a petition can be submitted to form a zone of benefit to provide the extended service of road improvement and maintenance.
A $350 non-refundable application fee is required. This deposit will be used to defray the initial costs associated with zone formation. Formation charges exceeding the initial deposit can be recovered from the zone's first-year assessment. There may be additional costs incurred in order to meet formation requirements, such as charges by an engineer to prepare a map or legal description. These charges are paid directly to the service provider. The zone must also pay a fee to the California State Board of Equalization, based on its fee schedule. If funding is to be by a special tax, election costs would be payable to the County.
Once established, a zone will be charged annually as follows:
Administration fees which are specific to the work required in each zone, fees include:
While there is no "average" zone, annual zone administration fees usually range from $500 to $2000 per zone per year.
Any and all road work is paid from each respective zone's account. Road work within a zone of benefit is governed by the County's Informal Bidding Procedure Ordinance and Public Works contract law. Licensing, bonding, and compliance with prevailing wage standards are required.
If a Benefit Assessment is proposed and if 50% or more of the registered voters residing within the territory proposed to be included in the area, or the owners of one-half or more of the assessed value of the territory proposed to be included in the area, file written protests against the establishment of the service area, the Board must abandon the proposal.
If a two-thirds majority of the property owners are willing to sign irrevocable offers of dedication the formation can proceed. Noticed public hearings are held by the Board of Supervisors where protests can be heard. If the zone formation is approved despite the protests of an individual parcel owner, that owner will be assessed based on the benefit received along with all other parcel owners in the zone.
There are two types of fees that can be levied in the zone program, a special tax or a benefit assessment.
A special tax requires a two-thirds majority approval of the registered voters voting within the zone boundaries. A special tax can be set at a maximum and levied each year at any amount up to the maximum; it can be established with an escalator; it can also be established with a "sunset clause". Any proposed increase exceeding the approved maximum amount would require a two-thirds majority approval in another election.
Applicants should be aware of the following conditions for special taxes:
In the case of a proposed benefit assessment, a report prepared by a registered engineer explaining the benefit received by each parcel is submitted. Parcel owners within the zone boundaries will then receive a ballot to return expressing their approval or objection to the proposed assessment. If a majority of the weighted ballots received protest the assessment, it cannot be levied.
No. Upon legally merging the four parcels into a single parcel they will only be assessed for one parcel. In the benefit assessment balloting process the property owners are approving a formula i.e., improved parcels are $200.
Yes. The Resolution adopting the rules and regulations for CSA Highways specifically incorporates Division 2, Chapter 6 of the Streets and Highways Code.
Annually the assessors' records will need to be reviewed to determine if the parcel has been developed. If developed, it will be assessed at the developed rate.
If a benefit assessment election is held, the 51% approval is only calculated based on those that vote and does not require 51% of the total proposed assessment.
As part of the formation, the members of the zone appoint Representatives and identify a Key Contact to act as liaison to the County.
The Engineering Division of the Public Works will perform annual condition and safety inspections, give recommendations for correcting any hazards that may exist and/or pavement maintenance recommendations, and the respective costs for said recommendations.
The Public Works Department develops with input from representatives a recommended budget, including specific projects and the amount of the assessment or tax to be charged to each property within the zone. The amount of the assessment must be based on the benefit received by each property with the nexus or methodology included in the proposed budget. All members of the zone have the right to speak and vote on these issues.
Public Works staff presents the zone's proposed budgets to the Board of Supervisors for approval annually. Any zone member may appear before the Board to speak on the proposed assessment and budget. If an increase to an existing assessment or an increase above the approved maximum special tax is proposed, it would be subject to the approval process described above.
Once approved by the Board and any required landowner ballot and registered voter election, the assessment or tax is added to the property tax bill for each parcel. The funds are collected with the property taxes and deposited into an interest-bearing account for the use of the zone. All funds are administered by the Administration Division of Public Works. Monies are not placed in the General Fund and cannot be used for other purposes.
At this time there are no standards established for zone roads, although compliance with Fire Safety Regulations is recommended. The members of the zone determine the level of improvements and/or maintenance for roads within their zone, subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
All monies received from the zone:
Any funds budgeted but not used within the fiscal year are carried over into the zone's account for the next year. If budgeted projects are not completed, the funds will be available for the zone's use in the next year.
Zone funds cannot be used for any other purpose other than work in the zone and costs associated with the operation and administration of the zone. An exception would be if a zone were to dissolve with a balance remaining in its account. In that case, the excess funds at the time of dissolution would revert to the County General Fund.
Road Associations shall not levy assessments once the zone has been formed, and the County is still assessing properties within the zone.
Back assessments collected by the Homeowners Association for road maintenance purposes are to be transferred to the affected formed zone of benefit.
One requirement of formation is that offers of dedication or easements be granted to the County. Once completed, this action establishes the road as a public road covered by the conditions and stipulations of the California Vehicle Code (CVC).
Stipulations include:
The road zone of benefit is required to contribute to the County's liability insurance policy.
A road zone of benefit can be dissolved by the initiation of the Board of Supervisors or by the initiation of the property owners or residents. A petition signed by 51% of the registered voters in the zone or property owners of 51% or more of the assessed value of the land and improvements is required to initiate a dissolution.
If the formation of a road zone was a condition of approval on a final map, a waiver of that condition must be obtained from the Planning Department before dissolution can proceed.
A filing fee of $200 is required to initiate the dissolution process. The actual costs to the County, including any fees charged by the State Board of Equalization, will be taken from the initial payment. Any costs over $200 must be paid by the zone before the dissolution will be recorded and may result in additional assessments or charges to the zone.
Any funds held in a zone account at the time of dissolution will be used for expenses related to the dissolution. If there are funds remaining once the dissolution is complete, they will revert to the County General Fund.
Since irrevocable offers of dedication exist, the road will remain a public road. The County may choose to accept the road into the County Maintained Mileage System or the County may choose to vacate the road, returning it to private use. The residents may request that the Department of Public Works vacate the roads, however, the road will remain public unless and until the Board of Supervisors take formal action to vacate the road.
No, the Association would no longer levy charges for road maintenance or provide road maintenance services, so long as the zone of benefit is providing that service.
This insurance program is a big benefit to property owners within a zone of benefit. For approximately $250 per mile, the zone of benefit is covered for liability with respect to the maintenance of the roads within its boundaries. The liability coverage is ten million dollars.
No. Under a zone of benefit, there are no plans or intent to widen, straighten, or level the roads unless provided through an improvement district formed for such purposes. The zone of benefit is for road maintenance only, and the self-insurance coverage is limited to claims arising from road maintenance work or the lack thereof.
There are senior programs that apply to assessments as well as property taxes. Eligibility is based on income, age, or disability. If they currently qualify for the program it will also apply to assessments. Application needs to be made to the State to determine eligibility for the programs.