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Illuzzi and Hoffer seek state auditor's job
copyright the Chronicle 10-31-2012
by Joseph Gresser
Of all the offices voters will fill in statewide voting on November 6, it likely that the one most citizens know least about is the position of auditor of accounts.
The race for this obscure job has taken on a higher profile this year, at least in the Northeast Kingdom, because Vince Illuzzi, who has long served as a state senator representing Orleans and Essex counties, is giving up his seat to run against Doug Hoffer for the job.
Despite any increased interest in the contest, it is likely that most voters have only a vague idea of what duties the winner will have to perform. One might assume that the auditor checks the books of state government to make sure everything adds up.
But, according to both Mr. Illuzzi and Mr. Hoffer, that assumption is not quite correct. In fact, that task has for some years now been performed by an accounting firm with which the state contracts. At present the multinational firm, KPMG, has the state's accounting business.
In telephone interviews both candidates said that it makes sense to have KPMG or a similar company check over the state financial statement and the "single audit" required by the federal government to keep track of funds sent to the state from Washington.
The reason, the two men agreed, is that regulations covering the reporting of federal funds change every year and a large company that works for several states can more easily handle the burden of keeping abreast of those changes than can a small office in Vermont.
Mr. Hoffer said it might be possible to have a couple of employees in the auditor's office assigned to follow those changes. But, he asked, what would happen if they decided to look for a different job and took their knowledge with them?
As things stand, the two major audits take up about half of the budget of the auditor's office, $1.8-million. The other half of its money, and the majority of the department's attention, goes to what are called compliance audits.
According to Mr. Hoffer, that shift took place during the terms of Ed Flanagan in the 1990s and was part of a national trend among state auditors who started to take a closer look at the efficiency of government agencies and programs.
Both Mr. Illuzzi and Mr. Hoffer said they would continue to focus the energies of the auditor's office on compliance audits. Each agreed that such audits are essential to make sure that money is spent in the way intended by the Legislature, and to find ways to make state government more efficient.
Mr. Illuzzi pointed to recent press accounts concerning a new computer program intended to run the state's court system. The program, which he said cost around $3-million, is not working as expected.
An investigation of how that program and the non-functional $17-million information technology system at the Department of Motor Vehicles were purchased might help avoid similar wasteful spending in the future, Mr. Illuzzi said.
While the state can try to recover some of the money paid out for these systems, he said, it may be difficult to recover much for a variety of reasons.
Both Mr. Illuzzi and Mr. Hoffer argue that he would be the better person to carry out such investigations.
Mr. Hoffer points to his experience working as a consultant with the auditor's office during the time Mr. Flanagan held the position. He said he is temperamentally suited to the job, and is "hardwired to never go beyond the data."
He acquired that trait while working for Burlington's Community Economic Development Office during the administrations of Bernie Sanders and Peter Clavelle. In that time he had to make many presentations to community groups about controversial projects.
By never venturing beyond where the figures took him, Mr. Hoffer said, he was able to establish the kind of credibility that allowed for fruitful discussion and eventual compromise.
Unlike Mr. Illuzzi, who was something of a political prodigy when he first won election to the state Senate at age 27, Mr. Hoffer admits to being a late bloomer.
He said he dropped out of high school after his family moved from an affluent area in Connecticut to Florida, and he was unable to deal with a radically different culture. Mr. Hoffer traveled around and took various jobs, including a three-year stint as maitre'd of Alice's Restaurant in the Berkshires. (This was the same restaurant made famous by the Arlo Guthrie song, but some years afterward.)
From there Mr. Hoffer earned admission on full scholarship to nearby Williams College at age 29. He went on to study law at the Buffalo campus of the State University of New York.
Mr. Hoffer said he never intended to practice law, a decision that allowed him to take courses that interested him, rather than those that would allow him to pass the bar exam.
He said that in his studies he kept coming across references to programs in Vermont that he found interesting, and after graduation he applied for a job working for the city of Burlington.
After Peter Clavelle left office, Mr. Hoffer was offered a position in the auditor's office by Mr. Flanagan.
He said he rejected the job because he didn't want to commute to Montpelier, but accepted work as a consultant. Mr. Hoffer said he has continued to work as a consultant since then.
Mr. Hoffer said he is interested in the position of auditor because he is a number cruncher who is able to ask good questions, not because he is interested in a stepping-stone to a higher office.
If elected, Mr. Hoffer said, he would work to make the auditor's office more transparent, for instance by posting the cost of each audit along with the money saved as a result.
Mr. Hoffer said that under the incumbent, Tom Salmon, the auditor's office has spent $2.4-million to conduct 15 audits, an average of $158,000 per audit.
"That is the equivalent of two very well paid staffers working for one year on a report," Mr. Hoffer said.
Although he acknowledged that the average gives only a rough idea of what the actual cost of each investigation was, Mr. Hoffer said he thought the office could be run more efficiently.
Mr. Hoffer said the cause might be "scope creep," a condition under which the area examined by an audit expands as the person conducting it looks into new areas that may be interesting to her, but not worth the time being spent on them.
He said that the auditor should be involved in every investigation into spending, but that sometimes an agency's own auditors can do the job without the auditor's office duplicating their efforts.
Mr. Hoffer said that it might save money to have follow-up audits conducted in-house rather than by KPMG. He said that when an audit uncovers a problem in a federally funded program, a follow-up is required to make sure that it has been properly addressed.
KPMG charges about $165 an hour to do this work, Mr. Hoffer said, far more than they get for the initial audit. But the parameters for how the agency ought to be handling its money have already been set, and the follow-up does not require the same kind of expert knowledge that the initial audit does, he added.
Senator Illuzzi, citing his lengthy experience in state government — he has served Orleans and Essex counties in the state Senate since 1979 — said his deep knowledge of state government would help him to make sure spending is being done as intended by the Legislature.
He also said that, because he is so well known in state government, his investigators would not be met with suspicion and hostility in departments undergoing a compliance audit.
Asked about why he decided to seek election as auditor, Mr. Illuzzi said he decided early not to run for re-election to the Senate. He said he was considering running for attorney general when Mr. Salmon called him and told him he did not plan to run again.
Mr. Salmon said he thought Mr. Illuzzi would be well-suited to the job, and persuaded him to seek election, Mr. Illuzzi said.
Mr. Illuzzi said that though he is able to get along with everyone in state government, he is very willing to take opposing stands when he believes he is correct.
He said former Governor Jim Douglas was not happy when he called for closing down a state office building in Bennington when workers there became ill, but the building was shut.
Mr. Illuzzi also said he fought to have a majority of the board of the Vermont Electric Company, which oversees transmission lines in the state, represent the public after Green Mountain Power bought Central Vermont Public Service. He said that he didn't win that battle, in which Governor Peter Shumlin took the opposite side, but the percentage of public members on the board was increased as a result of his work.
He said the auditor's work is all about trying to help the government adopt best practices.
"My motto has always been: We can do better. If we trust each other and pull in the same direction that will happen."
contact Joseph Gresser at [email protected]
For more free articles from the Chronicle like this one, see our Editor's Picks pages. For all the Chronicle's stories, pick up a print copy or subscribe, either for print or digital editions.


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Rain can't dampen a parade
It was windy and the first of Hurricane Sandy's sprinkles filled the air, but that couldn't stop ghosts, goblins and yes, a few angels, from gathering Sunday afternoon for the traditional Riverview Improvement Association Halloween parade that culminated with hot dogs, great homemade delights and hayrides. Leading the gang, dressed as a pirate, was Rep. Frank Ferri. Mayor Scott Avedisian was there, too, out of his suit and tie uniform. He was dressed in jeans and a sweater and recognizable nonetheless. (Warwick Beacon photos)
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subset: commoncrawl


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In his 10th season with the Mets, David Wright experienced a career first.
Jogging toward the first-base line during pregame introductions on Opening Day yesterday at Citi Field, Howie Rose called Wright out by his new title: "Captain."
"That was cool," Wright said. "That was special. You talk about adrenaline. I felt like I was just floating out there shaking everybody's hands and giving high-fives. That was a memorable one. All memorable days are memorable, but this one is going to stick out above the rest for obviously being announced as the captain and the performance of the team today."
The Mets named Wright the fourth captain in team history last month. His first real day on the job went pretty well.
The third baseman went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI and the Mets romped to an 11-2 victory over the Padres. Wright made a pretty diving grab in the field and liked what he saw from his teammates.
"This is going to be a fun team to root for," Wright said. "Obviously it's tough to guarantee wins and losses, but if you're a fan of baseball and kind of a purist this is going to be a fun team to watch. This is going to be a fun team to root for. You've got the guys that bring that energy. You've got the guys that play the game hard, play the game the right way, scrappy, there's a ton of adjectives you can use to describe this team."
Wright has seen plenty of bad Mets teams in his time in Queens. He has played in every Opening Day since 2005, getting a hit in each one.
Opening Day was a question mark for Wright just a few weeks ago when he injured an intercostal muscle in the World Baseball Classic. The injury cast some doubt on whether Wright would be ready, but not in his mind.
"I like to think I know what I'm capable of and not capable of," he said. "I said the first day when I got back to camp that my goal was to be ready for Opening Day. I thought it was a realistic goal and here we are. I don't want to go out there and hurt the team, but at the same time I think I know what my body can take and what it can't take. I was pretty confident that I could be ready."


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The Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma were redesigned for the 1994 model year. The Isuzu Hombre was introduced in 1996 and discontinued after the 2000 model year. For all three models, frontal airbags for both the driver and passenger became standard beginning with the 1998 model year.
Measures taken from the head, neck, and chest indicate low risk of injuries to these body regions in a crash of this severity. Forces on both tibias and the right knee indicate that injuries to the knee and lower legs would be possible.
Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. After the dummy moved forward into the airbag, it rebounded toward the driver door, which had bowed outward, and its head nearly hit the windowsill. In addition, there was too much movement of the steering wheel.
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Hope College Musical Showcase Tickets on Sale Starting Feb. 7 | Arts & Culture
Title (Max 100 Characters)
HOLLAND – Tickets will be available beginning Monday, Feb. 7, for the 23rd Annual Hope College Musical Showcase, a fast-paced concert featuring Hope College's major student music groups, and many smaller ones, on a single stage.
The 23rd annual Hope College Musical Showcase concert will be held Monday, March 7, at 8 p.m. in DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. The concert will feature more than 200 Hope students performing in the college's major instrumental and vocal organizations as well as with smaller ensembles and as soloists.
Tickets for Musical Showcase are $10 each, and may be ordered beginning Monday, Feb. 7, through the Hope College ticket office in the main lobby in the DeVos Fieldhouse, located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and may be called at (616) 395-7890.
Tickets may also be purchased over the counter at the Grand Center Ticket Office, which is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In addition, tickets may be ordered by phone through Ticketmaster by calling (616) 456-3333. A service fee is added to the cost of each ticket purchased this way.


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Minnesota is the beat of John and Scott, but I can't resist noting this story by Andrew Johnson at NRO. It seems that Governor Mark Dayton has advised parents of children with disabilities to buy marijuana in the street, given that medical marijuana has not been legalized in Minnesota.
Jessica Hauser, whose son suffers from a form of epilepsy, reports that Dayton gave her this advice during a private meeting. Dayton does not deny Hauser's account of their meeting. Instead, he states: "I cannot, and I do not, advocate breaking the law, but as a father, I understand parents who would do anything possible to help their children."
But Dayton does not sympathize sufficiently to support pending legislation that would legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. According to this account in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dayton has said he will not support a medical-marijuana bill that lacks the backing of state law-enforcement groups.
Apparently, Dayton is more deferential to "law enforcement groups" than he is to law enforcement. However, as Hauser wonders, "is [buying marijuana on the street] what his law friends in law enforcement would prefer as well?"


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The problem with Facebook is it can get you into trouble. Thursday night I was looking through the stuff on my "feed" and found a humorous picture from the Texas Hill Country page.
The problem with Facebook is it can get you into trouble. Thursday night I was looking through the stuff on my "feed" and found a humorous picture from the Texas Hill Country page. It showed a supermarket that had been wiped out. Shelves were empty; there was clutter on the floor.
The caption was "People in Dallas be like it's gonna snow ½ inch." I think that's urban talk for "Dallas people made this mess because the weather forecast was for half an inch of snow."
I "shared" that picture and added "Rolla and Dallas have something in common."
The reaction wasn't too bad. No one threatened me.
Preparedness is a good thing, and I favor it, but I think Rolla residents over-react. Some years back I was talking to a man who had been out of town with his family for some days and he got back home on a day when there was supposed to be a terrible snowstorm in the evening. The weather forecasters/alarmists had been on the television and radio all day talking about the havoc that was to be wreaked by Mother Nature or the Lord or the Universe.
That poor ole boy and his family got home in the afternoon after their visit and stopped at the grocery store to get some fresh milk for the kids and some bread and eggs and other goods. They couldn't find a drop of milk, a yolk of an egg or a crust of bread. The shelves had been cleared.
Sure, it snowed that night, and it accumulated. But the next day, the city plows had the streets clear, and commerce was going on as usual.
That ole boy just shook his head as he recounted how the family had to make do without milk and such because of the panic.
We live in a pretty moderate area of the country. We have four distinct seasons, or used to. They seem to be blurring a bit, thanks to global warming, which I support as I grow older, for I hate cold weather more every year.
My darling wife hates Missouri winters so much that she is spending this one down home in Texas with her sister and family while I toil and suffer here.
But our climate is still moderate, in my opinion. And Missouri weather is such that just within days of a snowstorm, it can be warm and melting. The streets are cleared quickly.
I may have to leave work early to assure getting home, but I'll be back on the job the following day, for the streets and highways will be cleared.
But the panic that leads to "stocking up" happens every winter. It's ritualistic. We like the alarm in the voices of the weathercasters. We like to go to the grocery store and fill up a cart and talk to others in line about the impending doom.
Well, I say "we," but I mean you, because I am not one to prep or get panicked. I live within easy walking distance of a grocery store.
But I like to talk about the weather more than any other subject, and I like to participate in the alarm by encouraging people, with alarm in my voice, to hurry up and get to the grocery store. Yes, my participation tends to be more mocking than serious.
ON ANOTHER SUBJECT: I don't watch television, use the Internet or talk on a landline phone at home, but I listen to the radio a lot.
When I was a kid, there was a lot of good stuff to hear on the radio. There's still some pretty good listening on the radio, but you have to be willing to move around on the dial a lot. Sometimes you have to move to your computer. It takes a lot of management. A spreadsheet helps.
Just about the only place to hear good music on the radio in Rolla is on KMST. I listen to classical music on my way home from my day job every afternoon, and I listen to the Sunday morning bluegrass gospel program. I try to listen to the Saturday night bluegrass program regularly.
KMST had a really good program on Sunday evenings that played blues and soul and oddball music, but it seems to have disappeared. Because I haven't sent KMST any money for a couple of years, I have no right to complain, and I am not.
There's a classic rock station in Rolla that I listen to quite a bit. They've got some good blues programs on Saturday; Sunday nights they have a program with local and Missouri musicians that's often interesting.
There's absolutely no authentic country music on the radio any more, so I go to the computer to hear Ernest Tubb, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Sr., Roy Acuff and others like that, men and women you don't hear on country radio any more.
Right now I'm listening to live365.com play Christmas music.
Sometimes I listen to 959theranch.com to hear Texas and Red Dirt Music.
From time to time, I tune in to Bott radio network to hear some good preaching.
Now, listen, one morning on the way to work in St. Robert, I happened upon a radio station at 100.1 FM where there were guys talking about football and nothing but football. It was CBS Sports Radio, and I listened to it every morning for awhile, then it disappeared, came back playing Christmas music and then settled down into modern "country" music. I scurried away from that frequency, running away from it like a rat running from a burning barn.
Some days later I scanned the dial and found more guys talking about football at 107.3 FM. It was ESPN Radio. After just a few days, that station, too, disappeared. That disappointed me, for I was really getting to enjoy two guys named Mike talking while I drove to work.
I like listening to Fox Sports Radio on the weekends on the Keep Tuned To Ramsey radio station.
On weeknights, thank goodness, that station wedges the brilliant interviewer from Missouri, Jim Bohannon, in between long doses of Ramsey. I wish they'd dump a few hours of repetitious Ramsey during the week and put on Fox Sports Radio.
Fortunately, ESPN Radio has reappeared at 107.3. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying it while I can.
FINALLY: Elvis Presley just sang on my computer how much he loves Christmas. He said, "O, why can't every day be like Christmas? Why can't that feeling go on endlessly? For if every day could be just like Christmas what a wonderful world this would be."
I guess he never worked a season of Christmas in retail. It can be, and is, fun, but it is good when it is over and a new season starts.


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Suffolk, ss. DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW APPEALS
Appeal of:
David Gagnon,
Petitioner Docket No. CR-06-658
Easthampton Retirement Board and Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission,
Appearance for Petitioner:
Devin Moriarty, Esq.
Moriarty and Connor, LLC
101 State Street, Suite 501
Springfield, Massachusetts 01103
Appearance for Respondent,
Michael Sacco, Esq.
Easthampton Retirement Board: 285 College Highway
P.O. Box 479
Southampton, Massachusetts 01073-0479
Appearance for Respondent, Public Employee Retirement Public Employee Retirement Admin. Commission,
Derek Moitoso, Esq.
Administration Commission: 5 Middlesex Avenue, Suite 304
Somerville, Massachusetts 02145
Administrative Magistrate:
Natalie S. Monroe, Esq.
On July 17, 2006, the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission ("PERAC") denied petitioner David Gagnon's request to purchase creditable service for his military service under G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(h). Mr. Gagnon timely appealed the decision pursuant to G.L. c. 32, § 16(4).
Pursuant to 801 CMR 1.01(10)(c), the parties agreed to waive a hearing and submit the case on written submissions. On October 10, 2007, the parties filed a set of agreed-upon exhibits. On November 20, 2007, the Easthampton Retirement Board (the "Board") filed a memorandum of law, which has been marked as Exhibit A for identification, as well as two additional exhibits. On November 21, 2007, the petitioner filed a memorandum of law, which has been marked as Exhibit B for identification. PERAC did not file a memorandum of law. On January 15, 2008, the Board submitted two exhibits that inadvertently had been omitted from the parties' earlier filings. The following documents are in evidence:
Exhibit 1: Letter from PERAC to the Board, dated July 17, 2006
Exhibit 2: Petitioner's appeal, dated August 17, 2006
Exhibit 3: Petitioner's New Entrant Enrollment Blank, dated August 8, 1988, with attached birth certificate
Exhibit 4: Petitioner's Application for Voluntary Superannuation Retirement, dated March 27, 2006
Exhibit 5: Petitioner's Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Air Force, effective July 16, 1971
Exhibit 6: Letter from the Board to the petitioner, dated May 1, 2006, with attachments
Exhibit 7: Town of Easthampton Personnel Action Form, dated May 20, 2004
Exhibit 8: Letter from the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., to PERAC, dated July 20, 2006
Exhibit 9: Letter from the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., to the petitioner, dated August 10, 2006
Exhibit 10: Letter from the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., to the petitioner, dated September 18, 2006
Exhibit 11: Letter from the petitioner's counsel, Devin Moriarty, Esq. to the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., dated September 28, 2006
Exhibit 12: Letter from the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., to the petitioner's counsel, Devin Moriarty, Esq., dated October 2, 2006
Exhibit 13: Letter from the petitioner to the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., dated October 3, 2006, with attachment
Exhibit 14: Letter from PERAC to the Board's counsel, Michael Sacco, Esq., dated November 3, 2006
Exhibit 15: Letter from the Board to the petitioner, dated December 1, 2006
Exhibit 16: Letter from the Board to PERAC, dated December 5, 2006, with attachments
Exhibit 17: Letter from PERAC to the Board, dated December 11, 2006, with attachments
Exhibit 18: Petitioner's Calculation Sheet for Option (A) or (B), dated December 31, 2006
Exhibit 19: Letter from the Chicopee Contributory Retirement System to the Board, dated February 6, 2007
Exhibit 20: Letter from PERAC to the Board, dated February 13, 2007
Exhibit 21: Letter from the Board to the petitioner, dated January 26, 2001
Exhibit 22: Petitioner's Application for Veteran's Benefits, dated May 31, 2001
Exhibit 23: Letter from the Board to "Whom It May Concern," dated September 11, 2007
Findings of Fact
Based on the evidence presented, I make the following findings of fact:
1. David Gagnon, whose date of birth is July 1, 1950, served in the U.S. Air Force from March 31, 1969 to July 16, 1971, when he was honorably discharged. (Exhibit 5).
2. On August 8, 1988, Mr. Gagnon became a member of the Town of Easthampton Retirement System (the "Easthampton System"). (Exhibit 3; Exhibit A, Stipulation of Fact No. 1).
3. On January 26, 2001, Mr. Gagnon received a letter from Barbara Weeks, the Retirement Administrator for the Town of Easthampton. The letter stated that the Town Council had voted to accept Chapter 71 of the Acts of 1996, which allowed veterans to purchase creditable service for their military service. (Exhibit 21).
4. The letter from Ms. Weeks also stated that the deadline to file an application to purchase creditable service for military duty was July 24, 2001. (Exhibit 21).
5. On May 31, 2001, Mr. Gagnon returned his application to purchase creditable service for his military duty. Mr. Gagnon attached to his application a copy of his honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force. (Exhibit 22).
6. The application to purchase creditable service stated, in part:
Note: Once your eligibility has been verified, you will receive written notification of:
1. The years and months of service you may purchase (not to exceed four years).
2. The amount owed and payment options.
(Exhibit 22).
7. On May 11, 2004, Mr. Gagnon resigned from his job with the Town of Easthampton. (Exhibit A, Stipulation of Fact No. 1; Exhibit 7).
8. On March 23, 2006, Mr. Gagnon filed with the Easthampton System an application for superannuation retirement, to be effective on July 1, 2006. (Exhibit 4).
9. On May 1, 2006, Mr. Gagnon purchased from the Easthampton System two years and three months of creditable service related to his service in the U.S. Air Force. (Exhibit A, Stipulation of Fact No. 2; Exhibit 6).
10. On July 17, 2006, PERAC notified the Board that Mr. Gagnon could not purchase creditable service for his time in the military because he stopped working for the Town of Easthampton in 2004 and therefore was not a "member in service" pursuant to M.G.L. c. 32, § 4, when he attempted to purchase his military service. (Exhibit 1).
11. On August 10, 2006, the Board notified Mr. Gagnon of PERAC's decision. (Exhibit 9).
12. On August 17, 2006, Mr. Gagnon appealed PERAC's decision. (Exhibit 2).
After reviewing the evidence presented in this case, I affirm PERAC's decision denying Mr. Gagnon's request to purchase creditable service for his military service pursuant to G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(h). Section 4(1)(h) of Chapter 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws ("Chapter 32") states, in pertinent part:
Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a member in service of a retirement system as defined in section one who is a veteran who served in the armed forces of the United States shall be entitled to credit for active service in the armed services of the United States; provided, however, that such active service shall not be credited until such member has paid into the annuity savings fund of such system….
G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(h) (emphasis added). The phrase "such member" in this provision is a reference to "member in service" earlier in the paragraph. Thus, a member of a retirement system may obtain creditable service for past military duty if, among other things, he purchases the service while he is a "member in service."
Chapter 32 defines a "member in service" as:
[a]ny member who is regularly employed in the performance of his duties, except a member retired for disability who upon partial recovery is restored to active service as provided for in paragraph (2) (a) of section eight….
G.L. c. 32, § 3. Mr. Gagnon voluntarily terminated his employment with the Town of Easthampton on May 11, 2004. Consequently, when Mr. Gagnon tried to purchase creditable service in May of 2006, he no longer was "regularly employed in the performance of his duties" for the Town. Id. He therefore was not a "member in service." Id. Rather, in May of 2006, Mr. Gagnon was a "member inactive," which is defined as follows:
[a]ny member in service who has been retired and who is receiving a retirement allowance, any member in service whose employment has been terminated and who may be entitled to any present or potential retirement allowance or to a return of his accumulated total deductions under the provisions of sections one to twenty-eight inclusive, or any member in service who is on an authorized leave of absence without pay other than as provided for in clause (i) of this paragraph.
Id. (emphasis added).
Mr. Gagnon admits that he did not purchase his military service while he was a "member in service." He nevertheless argues that because he sought to buy his military service while he was still working for the Town, he should be allowed to finalize that purchase now. In the decisions that Mr. Gagnon relies upon, however, the retirement board gave the member incorrect information, failed to process the member's application, or made some other error that prevented the member from purchasing the creditable service in a timely fashion. See, e.g., Ronald Cunha v. Gloucester Retirement Board, CR-06-151 (DALA 2/16/07; no CRAB dec.); McCarthy v. Boston Retirement Board, CR-06-287 (DALA 4/27/07; no CRAB dec.). There is no evidence that the Board misled or misinformed Mr. Gagnon with respect to purchasing his military service. While Mr. Gagnon's counsel asserts that (1) the Board failed to follow up on Mr. Gagnon's May 2001 application to purchase his military service; and (2) before he resigned in May 2004, the Board's Retirement Administrator told him that he still could accomplish the purchase. In this regard, I give no weight to the letter from the Board's clerk stating that Mr. Gagnon "consulted with the previous Retirement Administrator, Heather Schrauben, regarding his retirement options prior to his resignation." Exhibit 23. The letter is not from Ms. Schrauben and therefore is not reliable. See Exhibit 23. I also note that the letter does not state that Mr. Schrauben told Mr. Gagnon that he could still purchase his military service.
For the foregoing reasons, PERAC's decision denying Mr. Gagnon's request to purchase creditable service for his military service pursuant to G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(h) is hereby affirmed.
Natalie S. Monroe
Administrative Magistrate
Date: February 29, 2008
This information is provided by the Division of Administrative Law Appeals .


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UNH continues to consider logo design possibilitiesBy GRETYL MACALASTER
Union Leader Correspondent
September 23. 2013 6:21PM
DURHAM — It is unclear when an advisory panel will make a recommendation to the University of New Hampshire regarding branding and logo design.
This summer, the panel representing alumni, students, faculty and staff, met to review about 75 alternate logo submissions and three professional designs submitted previously by a New York firm hired by the university.
The decision to hire Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, and the three proposed logo designs, drew the ire of students and staff who felt the process should have been opened up more locally.
UNH President Mark Huddleston did just that, extending the feedback deadline through July 1.
Erika Mantz, director of media relations for the university, said feedback received has included a strong preference for one of the three design concepts previously proposed, alternative logo ideas and a desire not to have the current logo change at all.
After reviewing about 75 alternate submissions, most from individuals, at least two marketing professionals on the panel feel the university needs to use a professional firm, and needs to re-brand itself.
Although the image of Thompson Hall on the logo is iconic of the Durham campus, it does not express the range of offerings that now fall under the UNH umbrella, including the new law school and the UNH-Manchester campus, panel member Catherine Blake, owner and founder of Sales Protocol International and an adjunct marketing professor at UNH, said.
She is also concerned that going with an individual and not with a firm could present some legal problems.
"You can get yourself into sticky legal situations, copyright issues, even delivery issues," Catherine Blake said.
She said some of the alternative designs they received were as simple as pencil sketches, or modifications of the designs proposed by the New York firm.
Jude Blake, a member of the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees, a retired marketing professional and a UNH alumnus said she does not feel the full re-branding project has ever been properly communicated. The two Blakes are not related.
"This isn't about a logo design. It's about how to position UNH in a competitive marketplace on a national and international level as well as staying true to our New Hampshire roots," Jude Blake said.
The logo is just a piece in the overall brand strategy, she said, and the work that has gone into that has probably gone on for more than a year. UNH paid Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv about $65,000 for the work they have done so far.
She believes the six things the university needs to convey is pride in UNH and teaching, a recognition that UNH is part of the community fabric of New Hampshire, recognizing UNH's historic and traditional roots as a land grant university, recognition for the university's passion for and commitment to sustainability, recognition of UNH's status on the national level as an outstanding research institution, and conveyance that UNH has a broad base of constituents, not just Durham and T-Hall.
"So when you think about that, that's a lot. The logo is sort of the output of how do you position to compete and those are the attributes that would position UNH to compete," Jude Blake said.
The panel evaluated each one of the 75 or so alternate logo submissions carefully and whittled them down to some top candidates.
But ultimately, Jude Blake said the panel seems to agree that the recommendation will be to continue to use a professional design firm, although that has not been made official.
"A decision has not been made at this point. We are still working on this," Jude Blake said.
In addition to the work done on strategy and branding, she said a professional firm will also be able to deliver and deliver to scale.
Catherine Blake agrees.
"My recommendation is to go with a professional," Catherine Blake said. "I happen to feel the agency UNH chose is highly qualified to deliver what we need because they are experts in education and know how to scale to everything an institution needs."
Right now, the agency is on hold.
The advisory panel is expected to make a recommendation to university administration sometime this fall.


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|New Moon
First edition cover of New Moon.
|Stephenie Meyer
|United States
|Young adult, Romance novel
|Little, Brown and Company
|Publication date
|September 6, 2006
|Media type
|Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
|608 (Paperback and Hardback)[1]
|Preceded by
|Followed by
- "Tonight the sky was utterly black. Perhaps there was no moon tonight—a lunar eclipse, a new moon. A new moon. I shivered, though I wasn't cold."
- ―Bella Swan[src]
New Moon is a young adult fantasy-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer. It is Meyer's second novel in the Twilight Series.[2] It was originally published in hardcover in 2006.
Plot summary Edit
In the beginning of the book, Bella Swan is upset because it is her birthday and it will make her older than the "permanently" 17 year old Edward Cullen . Much to her dismay, the Cullen family throws her a birthday party. She, then, receives a present from Alice and Edward, a CD with Bella's lullaby on it. At the birthday party, Bella gets a paper cut when opening a present and then Jasper attacks her which then leads to her being accidentally smashed into a mess of glass that cuts deeply into her arm, Carlisle gives her stitches, and they have an interesting conversation. Jasper does not harm Bella, as the rest of the Cullens hold him back. This reminds Edward of the danger he puts Bella in because of their relationship. Edward leaves the small town of Forks, attempting to keep Bella safe from a world of vampires. He does this by telling Bella he no longer loves her. As soon as he leaves, Bella enters a deep depression that lasts for months, becoming a zombie with no friends and no life. When her father threatens to send her to live with her mother, she seeks comfort with Jacob Black, an old family friend who clears the haze of Bella's pain.
Bella soon finds out that Jacob is a werewolf, a secret that had always been in his family's genetics but reveals itself only when vampires, the werewolves' natural enemies, are around. It is a secret he is forced to keep from Bella at first, but he eventually finds a way around it, making Bella guess what he is. As soon as Bella figures it out, Jacob reveals as much as he can without betraying his pack. Bella and Jacob begin to spend more and more time together.
Bella soon discovers that rushes of adrenaline in her system yield hallucinations of Edward's voice. Desperate to hear him, she purposely places herself in dangerous situations. She rides a motorcycle and even approaches strange men in Port Angeles. She wants to try cliff-jumping, a recreational activity, participated in by Jacob's friends, but Jacob tells her it is not safe by herself and cannot find time to take her, since he and the other werewolves are busy protecting the town against Victoria. However, Bella grows tired of waiting for Jacob. She jumps and gets caught in a riptide in the water. After a few minutes, Jacob rescues her and brings her to safety. When they return to Jacob's house, they learn that Charlie's friend, Harry Clearwater, has passed away because of a heart attack.
At the same time, Alice Cullen, Edward's vampire "sister" who has visions of the future, has a vision of Bella jumping. However, werewolves are invisible to her foresight, and she does not see Jacob rescuing Bella. Presuming Bella is dead, Alice rushes to Forks to check on Charlie, Bella's father, after his daughter's supposed death. When Alice gets there, she finds Bella is alive and well. But Rosalie, not knowing the truth, called Edward to tell him that Bella is dead. Edward wants to see if it is actually true by calling Bella's home. When Edward calls, Jacob picks it up and informs Edward, who is impersonating Carlisle Cullen, that Charlie is at the funeral, referring to Harry, but Edward draws the conclusion that it is Bella's funeral. Having lost the will to exist as immortal, Edward flees to Italy to see the Volturi (peace-keeping vampires who would be able to kill Edward of he broke the vampire laws) thus granting him leave of a world without Bella.
Bella and Alice eventually figure everything out and rush to Italy to stop Edward. Bella stops Edward from stepping into the sunlight by running with all her energy to save him, he is happy to see Bella and know she is alive. She states you didn't have to feel guilty or anything, I can let you go now. He states you'll never have to let go. The reason why Edward decided to reveal himself is because Aro refused to kill him at first so he tries to break the law by an act that would have revealed the existence of vampires and invoked the wrath of the Volturi. Instead, all three of them are brought before the Volturi for judgment. Aro, the most exuberant of the Volturi, was very curious about Bella and her power to block Edward's mind reading. So he set up tests for her, and finds out that neither he nor Jane can affect her. Aro is very excited about this and asks if she wants to join the Volturi when she is a vampire, but she refuses. The Volturi say that Bella must be killed because she knows too much about vampires and could be a threat to their secrecy. The three are free to leave on one condition: Bella must be turned into a vampire, and soon.
When they all return to Forks, Bella wakes up to see Edward and believes she had drowned or is dreaming and starts going into hysterics. Edward tells her what he was doing before he heard about her dying, but she still believes that he is a dream. He finally manages to make her believe he is real by kissing her. He also explains that he will never leave her again. She is happy to have him back, but he upsets her when he says that he won't damn her soul by turning her into a vampire. She then tells him that she is going to ask his family to vote on the matter. Everybody says yes to her being a vampire except Edward and Rosalie (who then says, "Let me explain, I don't mean that I have any aversion to you as a sister. It's just that... this is not the life I would have chosen for myself. I wish there had been someone there to vote no for me."). Edward takes Bella home, and tells Bella that he will turn her himself if she will marry him first.
The book ends with Bella being grounded for leaving Forks without permission. Because she hadn't gone to La Push in a while, Jacob thinks that Edward was keeping Bella away, so he drops off the motorcycles at her house, which makes Charlie furious. When Bella and Edward come back and find this out, Jacob confronts them. Bella explains that she didn't go to see him because she was grounded before, and Jacob (who thinks Edward plans to change Bella into a vampire) reminds Edward that if he or any of his family bites a human, their treaty with the werewolves will be broken. Jacob is shocked when Bella reacts angrily toward this revelation, and realizes that Bella wants to become a vampire. He leaves looking hurt and angry, and Bella gets the feeling that he now counts her among his enemies. The novel ends with Bella contemplating all the problems that she has: Victoria, Jacob's mistrust, the Volturi, and the threat of a war with the werewolves.
Cover and title significance Edit
Stephenie Meyer has stated that the red and white ruffled tulip on the cover of New Moon has no significance to the story, as she had no part in choosing its design.[3] However, fans suggest theories like the "flower is drooping because Edward and Bella's love is failing," and "the white and red represents Bella adjusting to vampire life," while others suggest "the flower drop means that drop of blood in the beginning of New Moon that changed everything" and "like the falling petal of the flower, Bella is also falling into a deep depression."
The title refers to the darkest phase of the lunar cycle, indicating that New Moon is about the darkest period of Bella's life when she doesn't have true love. Stephenie Meyer has stated that it has absolutely nothing to do with werewolves[3]
Awards and nominations Edit
New Moon rose to the #1 position on the New York Times Bestseller List for Children's Chapter Books in its second week on the list, and remained in that spot for 11 weeks. It spent over 30 weeks in total on the list.
Film adaptation Edit
- Main article: New Moon (film)
On November 22, 2008, Summit Entertainment, the producers of the Twilight film, officially announced that they would move forward with the production of the second installment in the saga, New Moon.[4] This announcement came after the first film's early success at the box office. Stephenie Meyer stated that she is very happy to be able to continue working with Summit on the production of the saga. The majority of the original cast have signed on for the sequel, which will star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Ashley Greene. Chris Weitz is directing the film, replacing Catherine Hardwicke who could not return to direct New Moon due to time restraints. Summit released New Moon on November 20, 2009.
See also Edit
|Twilight Saga
|Twilight • New Moon • Eclipse • Breaking Dawn
|Other Books
|The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner • Midnight Sun • Forever Dawn • Twilight: The Graphic Novel • The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide • Twilight: Director's Notebook • Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion • New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
|Twilight (trailer 1) (trailer 2) (trailer 3) • New Moon (trailer 1) (trailer 2) (trailer 3) • Eclipse (trailer 1) (trailer 2) • Breaking Dawn I-II (trailer 1) (trailer 2)
|Main Characters
|Bella Swan • Edward Cullen • Jacob Black • Renesmee Cullen • Alice Cullen • Carlisle Cullen • Emmett Cullen • Esme Cullen • Rosalie Hale • Jasper Hale • Charlie Swan • James • Victoria • Bree Tanner
|Minor Mythical Characters
|Benito • Sancar


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Todd Case MD
About the Practice
Practice Philosophy
I want you to feel comfortable and confident with your decision.
I believe that cosmetic surgery can be an important and promising first step in changing your life. The best way to decide whether cosmetic surgery is right for you is to become well informed about your surgeon and the procedures available to improve your appearance.
My hope is that you will find the information here helpful with your research. This is not a substitute for a personal patient focused consultation. Ultimately, as I listen to and address your concerns, perform your surgical procedures and follow you through your recovery, my goal is to offer you the care you deserve and the finest care my staff and I can provide in a warm, attentive and safe environment.
Practice Specialization
Breast Surgery
Breast Augmentation
Breast Reduction
Breast Reconstruction
Breast Lifts
Body Contouring
Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)
Facial Rejuvenation
Facelifts (Rhytidectomy)
Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)
Nose Surgery (Rhinoplasty)
Outer Ear Surgery (Otoplasty)
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Chemical Peels
Background & Certification
Board Certification
Dr. Case is certified to the highest national standards by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
Professional Background
B.S.: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
M.D.: University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ
General Surgery Residency: University of Arizona Affiliated Hospitals, Tucson, AZ
Plastic Surgery Residency: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
A Tucsonian for over twenty years, Dr. Case graduated with honors and distinction, earned his medical degree and completed his general surgery residency at the University of Arizona. Following his plastic surgery residency at the University of Southern California, Dr. Case served as the Director of a Division of Plastic Surgery in Texas Southwestern. Currently he is chief of Plastic Surgery at Tucson Medical Center.
Teaching Appointments
Dr. Case is a past Chief of Plastic Surgery at Tucson Medical Center and has served as the Medical Director of Profiles Cosmetic Surgery Center's state certified outpatient surgical facility since 2002.
Awards & Honors
In addition to receiving the Henry Christian Award for Excellence in Research for his significant contributions to medical science, he has been repeatedly honored as one of America's Top Surgeons. Dr. Case has authored and co-authored numerous articles in peer review journals and presented many scientific papers in the United States, France and Japan. He has also been an invited lecturer in Italy and India.
Affiliations & Memberships
Society Memberships
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
American College of Surgeons
American Medical Association
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Chief of Plastic Surgery and Former Director of Division of Plastic Surgery, Tucson Medical Center
Alpha Omega Alpha (the National Medical Honor Society)
American Medical Student Association
International Society of Lymphology
Arizona Medical Association
Texas Medical Association
Tarrant County Medical Society
Rocky Mountain Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons
Your Consultation
Feel free to contact us to schedule your complimentary consultation or for more information.
Staff & Facilities
Surgical Facility
Profiles Cosmetic Surgery Center is a premier facility that adheres to stringent guidelines for operation, equipment, access to hospital care, and use of anesthesia and surgeon's qualifications. Our on-site operating room, where most of the procedures are performed, is certified by the State of Arizona and ensures our patients the highest quality of care and privacy.
We want you to feel comfortable as you await your personal consultation with Dr. Case. Our outstanding staff will greet you the moment you step inside and show you to our quiet, comfortable sitting area, away from the sounds of the city.
Todd Case MD
4741 E Camp Lowell Dr., Tucson,
Request More Information
- Add to "My Doctors"
- View Website
View phone number
Phone: 520-888-4540


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Two ukuleles played in a cheerful reggae beat make the backbone of this happy song, accompanied by world percussion, a piano, electric piano and bass. Bouncy and light, this song is super positive, childlike, and evokes images of children playing on a beach.
Included is a full version and a loopable version:
- Carefree_Ending.WAV: 1:36
- Carefree_Loop.WAV: 1:32


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KINGS vs. VANCOUVER
Faceoff: 7 p.m., today, Rogers Arena.
TV/Radio: FSW, KTLK 1150-AM
Update: The Kings (15-6-3) have lost two in a row in overtime, but have gained at least one point in nine consecutive games (6-0-3). Goaltender Ben Scrivens is 4-0-2 in six starts since replacing the Kings' No. 1 goalie, Jonathan Quick, who suffered a groin strain Nov. 12 that might keep him out until Christmas at the earliest. Scrivens also has a 1.15 goals-against average, a .955 save percentage and two shutouts in his last six games. All is not rosy in the Kings' world, however. They have scored only one goal in the last 125:02, having been beaten 1-0 in overtime on Saturday by the Colorado Avalanche and 2-1 in extra time Thursday by the New Jersey Devils. Injured forwards Jeff Carter (foot), Matt Frattin (lower body) and Trevor Lewis (lower body) will not play in tonight's game against the Canucks (12-9-4) in Vancouver or in Wednesday's contest against the Sharks in San Jose.
— Elliott Teaford


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Halle Berry Gets Support From Olivier Martinez at 'Extant' Premiere!
Halle Berry dons a form-fitting dress while attending the premiere of her new show Extant at California Science Center on Monday (June 16) in Los Angeles.
The 47-year-old actress was accompanied at the premiere by handsome husband Olivier Martinez.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Halle Berry
Halle's co-stars Goran Visnjic, Pierce Gagnon, Camryn Manheim, Tyler Hilton, Sergio Harford, Grace Gummer, Michael O'Neill, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Tami Roman were also seen walking the blue carpet.
Last week, Halle was seen shooting scenes for the show, which premieres in July.
FYI: Halle is wearing a Jenny Packham dress and Christian Louboutin shoes. Sergio is wearing Topman and Louis Vuitton shoes.
25+ pictures inside of Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez at the Extant premiere…


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Massachusetts couple injured in two-car Hudson accident
April 21. 2013 11:02PM
HUDSON - A man and woman from Lowell, Mass., suffered what safety officials termed non-life threatening injuries in a two-car accident in Hudson Sunday afternoon, while a Hudson man received a pair of traffic citations related to the accident.
Hudson police and fire personnel responded to the parking lot of JD Chasers at 2 Burnham Road at 3:27 p.m. Sunday, after receiving a call for a motor vehicle accident with entrapment.
Upon arrival, the Hudson firefighters began working to extricate a passenger in the front seat of a 1992 Toyota Camry, identified as Deborah Labrador, 48, of Lowell, Mass.
At about 4 p.m., Labrador was removed from the Camry and transported to the Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center by Hudson Fire Ambulance with non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the Camry, Christopher Labrador, 42, also of Lowell, Mass., was also transported to the Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center by Hudson Fire with non-life threatening injuries.
The other motor vehicle involved, a 2000 Ford Ranger, was driven by Jonathan Osborne, 23, of Hudson. He was not injured in the accident.
Hudson police said an on-scene investigation determined that Christopher Labrador was traveling east out of the Merryfield Park parking lot and stopped to exit onto Ferry Street. At the same time, Osborne was traveling east on Ferry Street, made a left turn into the parking lot of JD Chasers, and collided with Labrador.
The Labradors and Osborne were wearing seat belts and there was no air bag deployment.
Osborne was issued a traffic citation for unreasonable speed and another for operating without a valid license.
As of Sunday night, the Labradors were being treated for non-life threatening injuries at Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center, listed in stable condition.


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You can't beat a system you can't understand
Party patter and insufferable clichés
The Holiday season is a wonderful time of year. It brings forth great joy and celebration amongst mankind. Families unite, old friends visit, and social gatherings give respite from the seemingly endless conflicts we endure during the remainder of the year.
Unfortunately, those well-intended celebrations are often contaminated by the most painful of human experiences - party patter. Nothing is more aggravating than being forced to indulge in mindless conversation loaded with old clichés that should have been sentenced to horrific deaths within minutes of their birth.
The parlance of which I speak knows no geographic bounds. After spending time at a few social functions in both Florida and New England, I found the use of the tired, worn out, old, and unimaginative vernacular, of pandemic proportion.
How much longer are misused words and phrases like: whatever; my bad; yadayada; as if; and networking, going to accost our ears and try our patience?
Tolerating the language of the business community with their relentless efforts to deceive the public with esoteric terminology is enough to make most of us revert to the barter system of trade. Phrases like, "forward thinking," which translates to "highly speculative," and "downsizing," which means, "to fire people because the company is failing," continue to haunt us in the ruthless world of commerce.
Let us not forget sports announcers, who would be speechless without their cliché dependent vocabulary, which they need in order to communicate. We forgive them because they cannot help themselves and know no other way. But must we be burdened with a continuous onslaught of nonsensical chatter in our day-today conversations?
"Yadayadayada," was funny the first time Jerry Seinfeld used the term in his highly successful sitcom in the last century. It was mildly amusing when it became the hook that identified with the program. Nonetheless, enough is enough. We are not Jerry Seinfeld. According to a popular urban dictionary, "yadayadayada" is a synonym to the phrase etcetera and means "and the rest." Another synonym is blah, blah, blah. When a person is telling a story and wants to leave out a part because it is too much trouble or too boring to articulate, must they revert to that cliché? "Yadayadayada" is not necessary. "Etcetera," will work just fine.
"Whatever," is probably the most insulting term of the last few decades. It translates to, "Whatever you have said, think, want to say or imply, is inconsequential, irrelevant and mindless, and is not worth acknowledging." In times past people have dueled with pistols or swords for less. The term is not funny, polite, or grammatically correct.
"As if," dates back to the Valley Girl parlance of the 1980s, and is nothing more than an incomplete phrase that implies, "as if you know what you are talking about, were qualified, or were deserving," depending on the circumstance. Instead of completing the phrase and being blatantly insulting, "as if" is apparently enough to get the acerbic point across in all situations - as if not completing the phrase lightened the severity of the insult.
I will never understand the resurgence of the phrase "my bad." This cliché is often credited to the mindless movie, "Clueless," of the 1990s. However, the history of the term is documented on the Internet as dating back to the 1980s. At that time, slang terms often circulated at street level for many years before being adopted by anyone who felt inclined to write them down. That's clearly not the case any longer, of course, and any word or phrase that is widely known is dateable quite precisely via website blogs.
According to our crack research team, the Googlamaniacs, the first citation in print is C. Wielgus and A. Wolff's, 'Backin your-face Guide to Pick-up Basketball', 1986: "My bad, was an expression of contrition uttered after making a bad pass or missing an opponent."
Isn't it time for these, and about a dozen other mindless clichés that infest our everyday speech, to hang at the end of a dangling participle until they are dead?
Corrupting our language with uncivilized, ignorant speech patterns is part of our system that we will never understand.


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Last week I downloaded the new HBO "Go" iPad app. I've long lamented the fact that while the rest of the world was allowing full episode streaming online, the paid premium networks hadn't found a solution. Now, however, HBO is making its entire catalog availble online and via iPhone and iPad if you're a subscriber.
The Good
HBO is making their ENTIRE catalog available. My current AT&T Uverse "On Demand" only offers a few of the latest episodes... that's it. I also can start watching entire HBO series without having to spend a ton of money on $1.99 episode downloads in the iTunes store.
While the HBO series are the quality programming that people care about, they also include movies, with a not-too-shabby selection.
The quality of the streaming is pretty good, and I've had little trouble with performance. There are also a few nifty features, like the ability to create a queue of shows or movies you want to watch.
The Bad
Internet connection is required. This means that if you do want to watch something on a plane, you can't download it to watch while you're offline. I really hope that HBO figures this one out soon.
Apparently, not all HBO subscribers can access the service, only those who are subscribing through premium providers like AT&T, Charter, Time Warner, etc...
It's clear to me that these apps will drive subscriptions for HBO. More than a few people have told me, after seeing it that they would subscribe to have access. The problem is that it's hard to see the role of the cable companies moving forward. We pay for hundreds of channels we don't watch, and there are only a few worth the money. I don't think I'm alone in the feeling that if HBO offered direct subscription through digital, I'd join the growing ranks of cord-cutters.


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President Obama claims to have learned that, as president, you can't "shoot first and aim later." Yet today, our self-congratulatory chief executive did just that. In an interview on Wednesday night, Obama said of Egypt, "I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy."
Actually, Egypt is, by law, an ally of the United States. It was designated as a Major Non-NATO Ally in 1989 when Congress first passed the law creating that status. As such, Egypt has special privileges in cooperating with the United States, especially with respect to security and technology.
Today, the White House had to walk back Obama's "shoot first" response. Administration sources said that the president's "ally" comment was not pre-arranged or prepared by staff and that the question was not anticipated.
I guess Obama thinks he's entitled to a do-over because he wasn't reading from a teleprompter.
Unfortunately, the do-ever hasn't gone well either. The administration states that Obama didn't intend to signal any change in the U.S.-Egypt relationship by virtue of his initial "not our ally" comment. But this is precisely what Obama should be signaling. The current Egyptian regime is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, the sworn enemy of the U.S. It is a repressive, Islamist operation that now has, at a minimum, failed to act responsibly in the face of a major threat to the safety of U.S. personnel.
Clearly, then, Obama needed to demonstrate that our relationship with Egypt is affected by these events. Indeed, this is what Obama probably intended initially to do, as even some of his apologists say. His error resided not (for once) in his intention, but rather in his facts. But now Obama has compounded the error by disavowing the intention.
One would expect no less from a man so deeply admired by John Kerry on foreign policy matters.


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IT Management Slideshow: The 7 Deadly Sins of IT Operations
By Brian P. Watson | Posted 01-15-2010
Running an effective, efficient IT operation is no easy task. Chris Oleson (an IT manager), Mike Hagan (an IT executive) and Christophe DeMoss (a national consultant) co-authored "Achieving IT Service Quality: The Opposite of Luck" (Synergy Books, 2009). This is their take on the seven biggest mistakes IT leaders make in running their shops - and what they can do to correct them.
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Leads elusive in shooting death of German shepherd mix in PlaistowBy JASON SCHREIBER
Union Leader Correspondent
January 01. 2014 8:14PM
PLAISTOW — Joe Curto is still looking for answers after he found his beloved German shepherd mix, Jaycee, shot to death near the railroad tracks behind his family business in November.
Six weeks have passed since the shooting, but Curto isn't giving up hope that the person who gunned down his dog will be caught.
"We're hoping that police find something, but as of right now we can't do much. It's one of those things you learn to deal with. It's day by day," he said Wednesday.
Jaycee, who would have turned 9 this month, was killed shortly after she was let outside to relieve herself at the family's business, USA 1 Motors at 39 Westville Road, on Nov. 19.
She suffered a fatal gunshot wound to her hind quarter less than 20 feet from the building.
A reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter has now grown to $2,000, according to a Facebook page created by a family friend after the shooting called "Justice for Jaycee."
Police continue to investigate the case, but have had little luck identifying a suspect.
"Jaycee's case is still open, but we are hoping to find more or new information as most of the leads have not been very successful so far. It will remain active, and we will hopefully get new information in time," Deputy Police Chief Kathleen Jones said.
Curto and others have said that Jaycee never wandered far from the business and never caused a problem. Police also said she wasn't considered a "nuisance" and that there had been no other complaints about her before she was killed.
Curto encouraged anyone with information to reach out through the Facebook page or contact the Plaistow Police Department.
"Every lead helps. Whatever it takes to get it done. I've been keeping my ear out for anything, but at the moment that's about it. If someone is going to get caught, they're going to get caught," said Curto, who continues to receive support from people upset by the shooting.


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John Cunningham is Joe, Douglas Sills is John and Jordan Lage is Sam in William Mastrosimone's new play, "Ride the Tiger" slated for New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre.
And if you want to assume they're Joe Kennedy, JFK and mobster Sam Giancano, well, there won't be anyone around the theater to disuade you.
Not enough juicy characters? Add Paul Anthony Stewart as Frank Sinatra..I mean, Frank and Christine Bennett Lind as Judith Exner..that is, Judy in the productioin which will run March 27 to April 21.
Gordon Edelstein, artistic director of the theater, will stage the play which takes place during the 1960 presidential campaign.
Cunningham makes his sixth Long Wharf appearance, following "Quartermaine;s Terms," "Love Letters," "A Dance Lesson," "A New War" and "The Cocktail Hour." He has appeared in 15 Broadway shows, including "Cabaret," "1776," "Zoirba" and "Company."
Lage, is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and a veteran of the works of David Mamet, appearing in "Race," "Speed-the-Plopw," "Glengary Glen Ross" and "The Old Neighborhood" on Broiadway.
Bennett Lind is best known for her character asd Bioanca in TV's "All My Children," Erica Kane's (Susan Lucci) daughter.
Sills is a Tony Award-nominee for "The Scarlett Pimpernel" and most recently led the tour of "The Addams Family."
Stewart was featured in the premiere of "Harbor" at the Westport Country Playhouse. TV credits include several seasons on "Guiding Light." On Broadway he was in "Cyrano the Musical," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The People in the Picture." He previously appeared in the Long Wharf Theatre producition of "Pera Palas."
The design team includes Eugene Lee (sets), Jess Goldstein (costumes), Tyler Micoleau (lights), Ryan Rumery (sound), and Sven Ortel (projections.)
Information: www.longwharf.org.


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Learning Institute: Innovative Strategies for Facilitating Adult Learning
DePaul University, School for New Learning, Center to Advance Education for Adults
Thursday, August 7, 2014 at 9:00 AM - Friday, August 8, 2014 at 4:00 PM (CDT)
Event Details
In this highly interactive two-day module participants will learn strategies to engage and motivate adult learners in their educational and training settings. Session facilitators will demonstrate learner-centered instruction and teach participants how to keep adults focused and attentive even through multiple hours of a training or course using a variety of innovative strategies.
Note: The Institute sessions are from 9AM-4PM, with a one hour lunch break each day.
Day One sets the context by engaging participants in several essential components of learning community formation, followed by an interactive discussion about adults as learners and elements of facilitation and learner-centered instructional planning.
Day Two gives participants an opportunity to put their new learning into practice by experimenting with new strategies. Participants will also consider the impact of instructor expectations on learning outcomes, as well how to design and facilitate guided conversations for collaborative learning.
Regardless of experience level, each participant will increase his/her repertoire of strategies for facilitating learning for use in his/her practice. The facilitators will provide follow-up feedback and coaching to support continued competence development in innovative facilitation strategies in the participants work with adult learners.
In this module, participants will learn to:
- Expand and enhance facilitation skills by learning and practicing methods that foster meaningful shared discoveries, insights and results.
- Design and deliver a participatory presentation that engages the participants by using different learning modalities.
- Adjust instructional plans to engage learners who have different kinds of intelligences.
- Access to the dedicated online group site for additional resources and continued dialogue with Institute participants and the facilitator
- A group follow-up session on September 18 discuss learning application in your practice setting.
- An additional 30-minute consultation with either Bruce or Jim to further refine your facilitation strategies.
Who Should Attend
- Higher education faculty, academic advisors and other student service providers who are interested in integrating innovative strategies into their work with adult learners.
- Workplace learning professionals (human resource, training and development, and others) who want to gain or maintain their certifications with the latest research and practice in facilitating adult learning.
- Students and others who are building their skills and knowledge for working with adult learners.
Bruce Williams As an international consultant for over 40 years, Bruce is noted for expertise in group facilitation and various instructional strategies. He has authored More Than 50 Ways to Build Team Consensus, Twelve Roles of Facilitators for School Change, and Brain Compatible Learning for the Block and four others. His specialty is facilitating participative, interactive group workshops. In addition, Bruce brings exceptional skills with diverse populations aided by both living and working overseas. Bruce has been an part-time instructor for DePaul University since 2007. In the spring and autumn of 2013, he offered a modification of the course Facilitating Adult Learning to faculty of Tangaza College in Kenya.
He graduated as Phi Beta Kappa with a BA degree in Philosophy from Rutgers University and earned his M. Div. degree from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio.
Jim Kelly's background includes training of trainers, group facilitation and experiential learning. He co-teaches with Bruce Williams "Facilitating Adult Learning" in DePaul's M.A. in Educating Adults program. For 25 years, he conducted Training of Trainers programs in Peace Corps training centers throughout Central and South America. He trained local professional staff to employ learner-centered facilitation techniques and to design engaging learning environments. Jim resided and worked for extended times in El Salvador, Venezuela and Chile. He also has significant working experience in Mexico, Central America, Peru, Paraguay, Haiti and Jamaica. He is fluent in Spanish and has an M.A in International and Cross-Cultural Training from Antioch University.
— HR Professionals: HRCI approved for 10.75 recertification credits
— DePaul, SNL Students: May register for a 2 cr hr FDIS or GFDIS.
When & Where
DePaul University, School for New Learning, Center to Advance Education for Adults
14 East Jackson Boulevard
14th Floor, Room 1451
Thursday, August 7, 2014 at 9:00 AM - Friday, August 8, 2014 at 4:00 PM (CDT)
Add to my calendar
DePaul University, School for New Learning, Center to Advance Education for Adults
DePaul University, School for New Learning is one of the 10 colleges within the university and the only college dedicated exclusively to adult students. Our undergraduate and graduate degrees can be customized to meet your professional goals and busy schedule through online and onsite classes. Students can also apply their life and work experience, training and professional certifications toward their degree requirements to significantly reduce tuition and accelerate degree completion. The Center to Advance Education for Adults (CAEA) creates community among adult learning practitioners across sectors to exchange ideas and inspire imaginative strategies for learning in diverse settings.


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|This article was originally published by JUF News
A recent 60 Minutes segment focused on the Giving Pledge, the commitment made by some of the world's richest individuals to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. In an extensive discussion that touched on issues ranging from strategic initiatives to measuring philanthropic impact, Charlie Rose asked whether this select group of billionaires ever discussed failure in the context of their charitable work. Warren Buffett seemed surprised by the question. With the avuncular candor his fans have come to appreciate, the Berkshire Hathaway chair gently chided his interviewer, "If you bat a thousand you're playing in the little leagues."
To state the obvious, effective leadership comes with the expectation of success. The leaders we admire most are those who accomplish their goals and who complete their missions. And yet one of the great ironies of leadership is that a willingness to experiment, to journey far beyond our comfort zones, and even to risk failure, are hallmarks of bold leadership. Buffett, of course, is completely right. If we play it safe all the time, remaining deeply ensconced in the 'known,' we can certainly appear to increase our success rates. But as every successful leader knows, there is no comfort in the growth zone, and certainly no growth in the comfort zone.
There are, of course, perfectly understandable reasons why many, particularly among those who lead charitable organizations, are excessively prudent when it comes to risk taking and bold decision-making. Leading institutions in today's philanthropic environment often forces us to live in fear of alienating our funders. Wary that we will say or do the wrong thing, we opt for an abundance of caution. We prefer safe to courageous. We worship at the altar of consensus precisely because we are risk-averse. We cannot take the chance of trying and failing when donors want the assurance that their investments are guaranteed. Failure in this context is simply not an option. And so, to echo Buffett, we play in the little leagues.
But playing in the little leagues is for kids. In the history of the Jewish people nothing great ever happened without a willingness to step out on a limb, to take a chance and risk failure. 'Safe' for Abraham would have meant continuing in the pagan tradition of his father's household. For the daughters of Zelophehad, not rocking the boat would have allowed prevailing practice to militate against their right of inheritance. For the prophets of Israel, consensus meant capitulating to the polytheistic practices of their day. And for the rabbinic sages, the path of least resistance was to surrender in the face of the Temple's destruction. Playing in the "majors" involves risk, disruptive leadership, and more than a few mistakes. This was as true for the Maccabees as it is for today's Women of the Wall.
The midrash (Numbers Rabbah) relates a well known story that when the Jewish people left Egypt they found themselves at the shores of the Red Sea paralyzed by argument as to which tribe would have the honor of crossing into the sea first. With the Egyptians in hot pursuit, only one man, Nahshon ben Aminadav, took it upon himself to risk both the wrath of his coreligionists and death by drowning (the ultimate failure). Undaunted, Nahshon waded into the waters all the way up to his neck. Then, and only then, according to the rabbinic sages, the waters of the sea split open allowing the Israelites to cross over and escape to safety.
The example of Nahshon makes it abundantly clear that bold decision-making – the kind of decision-making that has transformative powers – is incongruous with reticence and a fear of failure. If playing in the little leagues is good enough, then, perhaps, there is no need to worry about failing. But if the big leagues are the goal then taking risks and making mistakes come with the territory.
The Torah underscores the fact that notwithstanding the desire, even the expectation, of success, all leaders fail on occasion. Indeed, missions are often not accomplished. Consider Moses, the quintessential Jewish leader, who, despite myriad accomplishments, did not fulfill his life's dream of leading the people into the Land of Israel. Who among us, however, would write off his exemplary career or dismiss his transformative leadership on that basis? The willingness to risk failure is a necessary precondition for great leadership.
—This piece originally posted in JUF News


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About CASA
Watch the "I Am For The Child" PSA (2min 29sec)
Program Development
The Delaware CASA Program began in New Castle County in 1981 and expanded statewide by 1983. The program has received continuous support from the judiciary, public and private child welfare agencies, and community groups. In 1985, authorizing legislation was passed by the State legislature without a dissenting vote. The statute was revised in 2000, also without a dissenting vote. (The bill amending this statute was signed into law on July 21, 2000). The program has received the Governor's Award for Outstanding Volunteer Programs, state recognition for effectiveness in promoting permanency planning for children, and two Awards of Excellence from the National CASA Association. In 1991, both houses of the Delaware General Assembly passed resolutions honoring the work of CASA volunteers and staff in recognition of the program's tenth year of operation. In 2017, the CASA program relocated to the Office of the Child Advocate.
There are over 200 CASA volunteers in Delaware. The ethnic profile of the volunteers generally reflects the population of the community. Most of the volunteers are female. Statewide, the number of CASA volunteers has doubled since 1991. On the average, each active CASA is assigned to 1-2 cases and represents 2-3 (2.33) children at a time.
Volunteer Role, Standing, and Relationship with the Court
By state statue (31 Del.C § 3601-3612), the CASA volunteer serves as guardian ad litem (GAL) for abused and neglected children who come before the Court and is appointed through an order executed by a Family Court Judge. The CASA is appointed by the court to establish the child's best interest by gathering information and monitoring the circumstances surrounding the child in question. A GAL within Delaware is a CASA volunteer, volunteer attorney through Office of the Child Advocate or a court appointed attorney.
The CASA volunteer takes the child's best interest into consideration when preparing a recommendation; as the guardian ad litem, the CASA volunteer is in no way legally obligated to represent the child's expressed preference.
A CASA acts in concert with those promoting the child's "best interests," but also conveys to the judge the child's expressed wishes even when in conflicts with his or her "best interests." In circumstances when the child's best interest conflicts with the child's wishes, the court will appoint a Frazier attorney to represent the child's wishes.
National Participation
The Delaware CASA Program has been a member in good standing of the National CASA Association throughout the history of NCASAA.
National CASA Association
The mission of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association is to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courts. We promote and support quality volunteer representation for children to provide each child with a safe, permanent, nurturing home.
The Need We Address
One million American children are confirmed victims of abuse and neglect each year, and more than 500,000 children live in foster care. These children were removed from their families and the place they called home. Unfortunately, many can become a victim a second time in an overwhelmed child welfare system that does not allow for close attention to each child and their needs or wants. These children need someone to speak up for them to ensure their timely placement in safe, secure, permanent homes where they will have a chance to thrive.
There are 200,000 children under 18 in Delaware. Many face substantial challenges every day. At any given time, there are more than 800 Delaware children experiencing foster care.
As dependents of the State, these children pass through a court system which can leave them frightened, confused and alone. We are focused on providing legal representation for every child involved foster care, or other identified court proceedings by a Family Court Judge.
The Solution
CASA Volunteers are powerful, effective and caring advocates for abused children. A CASA is appointed by a Family Court Judge to speak out for the best interest of the child.
Every year CASA Volunteers work to ensure that children are placed in secure, nurturing homes with hope for a positive future. In most cases, this means returning to their parents once their safety is assured. In others, it means finding other means of permanency with relatives or non relatives rather than remaining in temporary care.
CASA Programs across United States as well as in Delaware have positive impacts that are hailed by many judges and documented in several studies. CASA has been formally recognizes as an outstanding advocacy and prevention program by the US Department of Justice.
Delaware's CASA Program provides quality advocacy and strives to continue to grow in meeting the needs of the most needy and vulnerable children before court proceedings. The CASA Program has an office in each county within the state. As a volunteer–driven organization, the CASA program is an extremely efficient means to make a major impact for abused and neglected children.
The Delaware CASA Program is a member in good standing of the National CASA Association. National CASA provides information, standards, training, technical assistance, grants, and legislative advocacy to help local programs. The work of National CASA is supported by such organizations as the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the American Bar Association, Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation, and Kiwanis International. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice named CASA as an "Exemplary National Program in Juvenile Delinquency Prevention." The Delaware CASA Program is a long time leader in the national CASA movement.
The CASA program is authorized by Title 29, Chapter 90A of the Delaware Code.
Our Vision
The vision of the Family Court CASA Program is:
- to improve outcomes for more children
- to continuously increase program quality
- to recruit volunteers from diverse backgrounds
- to continuously improve volunteer effectiveness
Our Plan of Action
- To provide advocacy and independent factual information to the court regarding abused, neglected, and dependent children.
- To insure legal representation of the child's best interest in all judicial proceedings
- To monitor cases involving abused, neglected, and dependent children until the terms of a court order have been fulfilled and or a safe & permanent home has been achieved for the child(ren).


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Basic Clinical Parasitology
Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969 - Medical parasitology - 345 pages
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General Parasitology
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Intestinal and Atrial Protozoa of Man
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abdominal abscess acute adult worms Africa amebas amebiasis anemia animals antibodies antigens Ascaris bite body cause cercariae chloroquine chronic clinical containing cutaneous cycle cysticercus cysts definitive host develop diagnosis diarrhea disease dogs dose drug duct edema eggs encysted endemic endemic areas eosinophilia Epidemiology falciparum feces female fever filariasis fleas flies fluid fluke genus glands helminthic hepatic histolytica hookworm human infection immunity infection ingested intermediate hosts larvae Leishmania lesions liver louse lungs lymph malaria male mammals mature membrane metacercariae microfilariae migrate miracidium Morphology mosquitoes mucosa muscles nematodes organs pain parasite Pathogenicity Pathology and Symptomatology patients penetrate percent plerocercoid posterior present produce proglottides protozoa pulmonary reaction red blood cells schistosomes schistosomiasis scolex skin small intestine snail source of infection species stage stool sucker symptoms tapeworm therapy ticks tion tissues toxic toxoplasmosis treatment trichinosis trophozoites tropical trypanosomes ulcer usually uterus vectors ventral vivax weeks