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Kaspersky: More Adoption Could Make Linux Attractive Target
There's an Evil Virus That's Threatening Mankind...
If you looked at Windows, then looked at Linux and drew a comparison list between the two, one of the things you might notice is that one of these operating systems doesn't have antivirus protection.
And to many Linux users, that's pretty much the whole point.
With estimates of over 100,000 Windows viruses running around out in the wild and virtually none on Linux (some estimates put the number around 500, and none of those in the wild), it is little wonder that while Windows users may enjoy Clippy, Linux users are opening their e-mails and downloading files with relative impunity.
But that is about to change, according to Stephen Orenberg, President of Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky, newly relocated from Russia to Woburn, MA, is a well-known international cybersecurity firm that decided to drop in where one would least expect them: on the show floor at last month's LinuxWorld Expo.
While it is not unexpected that a company like Kaspersky would take the stance that Linux users should not feel so immune to incoming viruses and the like, Orenberg takes a fairly measured approach to what he feels is an oncoming problem for Linux.
Orenberg is quick to point out that as a company, they have more business on the Windows side than on the Linux side of the equation. But, he added, "what we're starting to see is a shift. Not necessarily in more Linux business, but a definite increase in percentage of Linux versus Windows."
The reason for this shift is not really motivated by technology, but by a far older motive.
Kaspersky's ongoing mission has seen the evolution of what Orenberg calls malware (an overarching term describing virus, Trojans, worms, spyware, and assorted nasty code) from something done for fun to something done as a business.
"Anybody writing malicious code, wants to do it where there's enough devices out there to infect" Orenberg explained. So, when virus writers sprang up in the 1990s, their primary targets were going to be the most prolific machines around: PCs running Windows. Also, these early viruses would all typically have some sort of payload. Once the virus infected a machine, the payload would create a specific result.
"Up until recently, the aim of these attacks was more for the notoriety," Orenberg said. "A virus writer was generally a kid who wanted to see if he could infect millions of machines."
But as nations grew more aggressive in hunting down these renegade virus writers and the virus writers and their tools became even more technologically sophisticated, an evolution started to occur. To protect themselves, virus writers began to band together and create malware in organized groups, and their goal if no longer notoriety: it's financial profit.
The shift has taken malware away from payload-delivering viruses to phishing, password hacking, and distributed denial of service-based extortion schemes. This new targeted focus means there will be less global malware epidemics, but more and more locally targeted custom viruses designed to attach different types and even individual machines.
This has brought a new sort of workload to Kaspersky, Orenberg explained. Where once virus definitions were updated once per week, then once per day, now Kaspersky's customers see updates once per hour.
Where Linux becomes more vulnerable is that the new for-profit stance of malware writers means that any system with valuable data within becomes a target. Windows machines were better targets of opportunity due their sheer numbers. As Linux becomes more commercially adopted and the keeper of data, it will become the new target as time goes on.
Orenberg also emphasized that while a 100 percent Linux environment is orders of magnitude less likely to be hit be a virus, many Linux deployments are within heterogeneous, not homogeneous, environments. Windows clients and servers on the network bring a vast array of potential infection points, and having an antivirus engine on a Linux server will protect the health of the overall network, even if the Linux machine itself is not vulnerable.
The technology introduced by Kaspersky for the Linux platform is new, but only to the US market. With the introduction of Anti-Virus 5.5, Linux users in the US will have the same virus protection their European counterparts have enjoyed since 1999. Kaspersky introduced anti-virus tools for Linux far earlier in Europe, Orenberg said, simply because of the far higher Linux adoption rate that exists on that side of the Atlantic.
In the new produict line, users can choose between two types of antivirus databases--standard and extended. These protect against all forms of attack, including viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans and other malware, along with the remote administration tools that can be used by hackers and other potentially hostile programs.
Other innovations include iChecker technology, first introduced by Kaspersky Lab for Windows products, and now available for Linux (as well as FreeBSD and OpenBSD). iChecker implements check-summing to support antivirus scanning of modified files only, which significantly decreases system load. Moreover, the option to scan the file system in background mode decreases system load even further.
Kaspersky faces a unique challenge, selling anti-virus software to a userbase that is mostly convinced that such protection is not needed. But they remain optimistic. "The Linux security market is wide open," Orenberg said. "No one else is in there right now."
Faced with growing integration with Windows machines, Linux users might do well to start implementing some sort of anti-virus solution in the months to come.


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U.S. Tops Panama 3-0 in Panama City in World Cup Qualifier
PANAMA CITY, Panama (June 8, 2005) — The U.S. Men's National Team recorded a resounding 3-0 victory on Wednesday evening against Panama at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, further entrenching the team's bid for a berth in the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. The 3-0 win was the second of the week for the U.S. in World Cup qualifying and came courtesy of goals from Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan and Brian McBride (video).
The victory improves the U.S. to 4-1-0 halfway through qualifying, and places them in second place in their six-team group with 12 points, just one behind Mexico's 13. With Mexico defeating Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 tonight at home, the gap between the U.S. and fourth place (the qualifying cutoff point) was widened to eight points after Costa Rica downed Guatemala, 3-2 at home.
"We are the first team in this cycle to beat Panama at home," said U.S. Manager Bruce Arena immediately following the game. "As critical as we are sometimes of our performances, getting a result like that is exceptional. The first goal was big, the second goal was terrific, and then Kasey Keller once again was tremendous. In most game reports, that will go unnoticed, but those three saves were tremendous. Overall, we did what we had to do. The back line played very well and we scored opportunistic goals."
Carlos Bocanegra opened up the scoring after just six minutes for the U.S., heading home a powerful shot off the hands of goalkeeper Donald Gonzalez and off the underside of the crossbar after a well-placed corner from Landon Donovan. The goal was the sixth of the high-scoring defender's national team career.
"I just got up and got high on the ball and put it in," said Bocanegra. "It was a big goal, especially in a hostile environment. We knew we had to go and get goals and force them to chase the game. We got really confident after the third goal, but we knew anything could happen. We didn't want to have a repeat of Saturday (where the U.S. struggled early in the second half against Costa Rica)."
After setting up Bocanegra's opening goal, Donovan tallied himself in the 20th minute. On the goal, Steve Ralston stole a ball on the right flank and raced down the field hitting a near-post cross to a streaking Donovan 10 yards from the goal. Donovan was able to rise above Panama's Felipe Baloy and curl a header just inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.
"I just put the ball in," said Ralston on his assist. "I don't know how he got to it, but that was an amazing header."
For Donovan, the game's opening goal and assist continued his torrid streak of having scored at least one point in 12 of the USA's 13 World Cup qualifying games on the road to Germany 2006. Donovan's scoring pace in high-profile qualifying matches is unrivaled in the history of the U.S. Men's National Team.
The third U.S. goal came after an intense 20 minutes of pressure from Panama and effectively killed the game for the United States going into the second half. On the goal that iced the game, McBride was fouled in the 40th minute, giving the U.S. a free kick from 35 yards out. Donovan's cross into the area was powered out of the penalty area, rolling to Frankie Hejduk 30 yards from goal, where he hit a low ball that was cleared errantly by Panama defender Felipe Baloy. The poor touch landed at McBride's feet 12 yards from goal, and while leaning back, the USA's second all-time leading scorer managed a left-footed shot that caught Gonzalez off-guard and hit the inside of the net on the right side of the goal, giving the U.S. a 3-0 advantage.
"That is a great percentage, we will take that any time," said Ralston about the USA's three goals on four shots in the first half. "The first two goals were really huge, and after that we were able to sit back a little bit and ride it out and come up and take our chances on counterattacks. They were still a very dangerous team. Kasey made three great saves so we knew that at 3-0, they were still dangerous."
With their goals, McBride and Donovan continue to move up the USA's all-time scoring chart, with McBride now sitting on 28 all-time goals (six behind Eric Wynalda for the top spot). Donovan's tally moved him ahead of Bruce Murray into fourth place all by himself with 22 goals, just two behind Joe-Max Moore's career totals. Additionally, McBride now has nine qualifying goals all-time (tied with Stewart for the U.S. lead), while Donovan now has seven (tied with Eddie Johnson for third all-time).
"We can't think about it," said McBride referring to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the USA's strong qualifying position. "It is nice. It is good that we've put some wins together now. We got three points and we just need to continue to do that. Two wins from now, we'll be OK, but until then, we'll just think about the next game."
The saves by Keller that Arena referred to in his post-match comments came in a bang-bang stretch with the U.S. leading 2-0 midway through the first half. In the 26th minute sequence, Julio Medina hit a cross into the penalty area where Roberto Brown powered a header pegged for the right corner that Keller sprawled to his left to save.
On the first rebound, Baloy was lurking at the far post and slammed a shot toward goal that Keller stuffed from five yards out. The rebound of Baloy's attempt then popped into the air where Brown's second shot was headed sharply from three yards out, where Keller somehow sprung from the ground into its path to not only stop the attempt, but snare the shot in his hands. The sequence of three brilliant saves for Keller took all of five seconds.
For Keller, the shutout was the 39th in his 81-game U.S. MNT career and his 17th in 29 World Cup qualifying appearances. The goalkeeper also has three straight qualifying shutouts and a shutout streak of 327 minutes.
The only bad news for the U.S. on the evening came when defender Eddie Pope picked up his second yellow card in the 10th minute and Frankie Hejduk picked up his second in the 84th minute. Both will have to sit out the USA's next qualifier on Aug. 17 against Trinidad & Tobago in East Hartford, Conn. On the night, Pope was making his 30th appearance in World Cup qualifying for the U.S., tying him with Earnie Stewart and Cobi Jones for an all-time U.S. best.
Lost in the shuffle of the dominating win was the fact that the victory for the U.S. marked just the fifth time in 17 World Cup qualifiers in Central America that the U.S. was victorious.
Following tonight's game, the U.S. takes a short break in advance of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which kicks off for the team against Cuba on July 7 in Seattle. The U.S. also plays Canada on July 9 in Seattle and Costa Rica on July 12 in Foxboro, Mass., as part of Group B action. The 12-team Gold Cup runs through July 24, with the semifinals and finals set for Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
The U.S. resumes the second half of their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with consecutive home games against Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 17 in East Hartford, Conn., and against Mexico on Sept. 3 in Columbus, Ohio.
-- U.S. Men's National Team Game Report --
Match-up: USA vs. Panama
Date: June 8, 2005
Competition: FIFA World Cup qualifier – CONCACAF
Venue: Estadio Rommel Fernandez – Panama City, Panam
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. CT
Attendance: 17,000 (est.)
Weather: 83 degrees, very humid
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Panama 0 0 0
USA – Carlos Bocanegra (Landon Donovan) 6th minute.
USA – Landon Donovan (Steve Ralston) 20.
USA – Brian McBride (unassisted) 40.
USA: 18-Kasey Keller; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 23-Eddie Pope (3-Gregg Berhalter, 86), 4-Carlos Bocanegra, 3-Frankie Hejduk; 14-Steve Ralston, 25-Kerry Zavagnin, 17-Pat Noonan (15-Bobby Convey, 81); 10-Landon Donovan, 20-Brian McBride (Capt.), 7-DaMarcus Beasley (8-Clint Dempsey, 63)
Subs not used: 1-Marcus Hahnemann, 11-Conor Casey, 19-Clyde Simms, 16-Josh Wolff
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
PAN: 1-Donaldo Gonzalez; 5-Felipe Baloy, 2-Amilcar Henriquez (7-Engin Mitre, 75), 16-Joel Jimenez (13-Joel Solanilla, 39), 4-Jose Anthony Torres (Capt.); 6-Gabriel Gomez, 10-Julio Medina; 8-Alberto Blanco, 11-Roberto Brown, 9-Jose Garces, 15-Ricardo Phillips (18-Luis Tejada, 39)
Subs not used: 12-Jaime Penedo, 14-Gustavo Avila, 17-Neftali Diaz, 19-Blas Perez
Head Coach: Jose Hernandez
Stats Summary: USA PAN
Shots 9 10
Saves 3 3
Corner Kicks 4 6
Fouls 15 11
Offside 0 11
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Eddie Pope (caution) 10th minute.
USA – Carlos Bocanegra (caution) 26.
PAN – Felipe Baloy (caution) 51.
USA – Pat Noonan (caution) 70.
USA - Frankie Hejduk (caution) 84.
PAN - Gabriel Gomez (caution) 87,
Referee: Mauricio Navarro (CAN)
1st Asst.: Simon Fearn (CAN)
2nd Asst.: Zoran Kristo (CAN)
Fourth Official: Silvio Petrescu (CAN)
ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Carlos Bocanegra

subset: commoncrawl


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We're not too privy on the various outlets for buying SIM unlocked phones up in Canada, but if you are, then you may want to pay attention. Earlier this morning, we reported that Expansys Canada was selling the SIM unlocked Nokia Lumia 925 for CDN $714.56, which seemed a bit pricey for our tastes and evidently yours (Expansys has a mixed reputation, according to comments).
Now, a reader has pointed out that the device is also available via OmegaCell and for a much more affordable CAD $575. That's certainly a mention-worthy difference and our tipster notes that OmegaCell is a legit and reliable outlet—once again, we'll leave that part up to you.
Regardless, you now have options should you be longing for that metal Lumia 925, one of our favorite phones these days.
Source: OmegaCell; Thanks, AccentAE86, for the tip!


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Items where Author / Artist / Editor is "Poncelat, Marcine"
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Poncelat, Marcine and Majerus, Steve and Raman, Ilhan and Warginaire, Sabine and Weekes, Brendan (2007) Naming actions and objects in bilingual aphasia: a multiple case study. Brain and Language, 103 (1-2). pp. 158-159. ISSN 0093-934X


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Don't be fooled by its deceptively simple title or the hesitant, unassuming way it begins. Writer-director Sarah Polley's
Unexpectedly moving in unanticipated ways, this unusual film is a look at the complexities of one specific family's story as well as a broad examination of the interlocking nature of truth, secrecy and memory, not to mention the endless intricacies of human relationships.
Five years in the making, "Stories We Tell" reveals its secrets slowly, like an onion being unpeeled layer by unexpected layer, not unlike the way Polley herself discovered what she did about her own background. It's not for nothing that "Stories We Tell" begins with a potent quote from Polley's fellow Canadian Margaret Atwood: "When you are in the middle of a story it isn't a story at all, but only a confusion," Atwood wrote in the novel "Alias Grace." "It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you're telling it, to yourself or to someone else."
Like an exploding supernova, everything about this film expands outward from its humble beginnings, until before you know it you are pondering intriguing questions about the ownership of personal history, the function of art in telling the truth, the nature of documentary and how what we consider to be reality may in truth be no more than what we want to believe. Plus, we get to listen in as one heck of a dramatic story unfolds.
The way Polley found things out also informed some of the audacious choices she made in how to tell the story, choices that, like the particulars of what she discovered, are best left to be experienced as "Stories We Tell" takes on the characteristics of an unlikely thriller.
The 34-year-old Polley has always been something of an old soul, and if you've followed her career up to now none of this is surprising. Starting as an exceptional actress (in Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter" and many others), she made a memorable directing debut in 2007 with the
"Stories We Tell" opens in a ragged way, with Polley's father, actor Michael Polley, slowly walking up a flight of stairs to a studio where he will record a voice-over of his own devising that makes sense only as the film progresses.
We also see Sarah Polley preparing to interview a group of folks who turn out to be her siblings and other people with close ties to the family. These individuals are as in the dark about the nature of the film as we are — "I hope you'll explain to me what we're trying to do," one of them says — and Polley soon makes it clear that she intends to be part interrogator, part investigator, determined to get on film the entirety of a narrative it will not be easy to convey.
The essence of "Stories We Tell" concerns Polley's late mother, Diane Polley, also an actress, a woman with a contagious personality, a kind of ultimate extrovert who can be seen in the film's surprisingly large store of 8mm home-movie footage living her life with exceptional vitality.
Yet one of the first points "Stories We Tell" makes is that nothing is ever as it seems. The woman some friends say was completely guileless is described by others as a practiced keeper of secrets. To find the truth about a person or a situation, the film says, you have to be able to step back and fit seemingly contradictory stories into a mosaic that more and more comes to resemble
In the mid-1970s, at a point in Diane and Michael's marriage before Sarah was born, Diane leaves the family home in Toronto to take a part in a play being put on in Montreal. That decision turned out to be a potent catalyst for situations that grow in complications before our eyes.
One of the great pleasures of this remarkable film is that its surprises never stop, even when you're sure you've seen them all, and its stories grow deeper and gain complexity. And what's life-changing for Sarah Polley turns out to be life-changing for the audience as well. As the Pablo Neruda poem quoted at one point aptly puts it: "Love is so short, forgetting is so long."
'Stories We Tell'
MPAA rating: PG-13 for thematic elements involving sexuality, brief strong language and smoking
Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes.
Playing: Landmark, West Los Angeles;


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Dear Editor,
The so called "war of Christmas" is an invention of Bill O'Reilly to boost his ratings and provide a distraction from the lies and misinformation that he spews out nightly. That old straw man argument "some people say" is empty and meaningless. Please provide specific examples of people who are living in fear of saying "Merry Christmas."Please list all businesses that are forcing employees to not acknowledge Christmas. Since you are affiliated with a local newspaper, I really would like you to address the serious anti-Christian crises that the population of Los Alamos is facing. Please list all people who are denied the celebration of their holiday in their homes or houses of worship.There are so many really important issues that you could be addressing (job loss, the economy, the endless war) but that would probably take too much effort to do actual research. I would have thought you could be a little more creative in your subject matter, but I have learned to expect the most trite and meaningless drivel from the editorials in the Monitor.Debra GardnerLos Alamos
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New Jersey City, 5
Farmingdale State, 1
Farmingdale, NY �Farmingdale men's soccer (5-5-2) fell today in a non-conference game against New Jersey City University (12-1-1). The Gothic Knights, who are ranked 11th in Division III, took a 3-1 lead in the first half and added two more in the second for the 5-1 victory.
New Jersey City's sophomore midfielder Patrick Thomas (Roselle, NJ/Roselle) opened up the scoring at 10:09 as he knocked in a pass from senior forward Juan Zuniga (Passaic, NJ/Passaic). Two minutes later, sophomore midfielder Christhian Acuna (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) registered the second goal sending a restart kick over the defense and into the top of the cage.
Farmingdale cut the deficit to one when freshman forward Ryan Paul (Sayville, NY/Sayville) took a through ball up the middle and around the goalie for the easy tip-in.
Senior midfielder Chris Palumbo (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood) struck back for New Jersey City with the last goal of the first half just 30 seconds later, heading in a pass from Acuna. Freshman forward Frank Rosenthal (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) and sophomore defender Gonzala Dapia (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) added the final two goals for the Gothic Knights.
Freshman goalkeeper Patrick Gubbins (East Patchogue, NY/Bellport) allowed just two goals and made three saves in the second half, including two beautiful diving saves.
The Rams host Maritime College in a Skyline Conference game on Thursday, October 12th at 3:30pm.


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The Nitty Gritty of that Facebook Analytics PageTuesday, September 7th, 2010
Once you have your page set up and are engaging with fans on Facebook it is important to be sure you are gaining all the data possible in order to further tailor your marketing efforts. After all, you didn't create the page to just to sit there, did you?
In order to more fully maximize your return on your Facebook investment you need to be able to track and measure your work. This tracking and measuring will allow you to hone in your messaging and interact more genuinely with your fans.
A great first place to start is the "Insights" page on Facebook itself. When you click on this link you are taken to a page that gives you graphical representation of your Facebook page activity, much like a Google Analytics page.
Some information provided in this section includes Monthly Active Users, Daily New Likes, Total Likes as well as some basic demographic information such as the gender, age, location, and language of your visitors. In addition it tracks page activity; page views, both total and unique, as well as how many video plays, audio plays and photo views occurred of your content and how often visitors interact with your page, whether through posting to your wall or mentioning, etc.
What makes this information so valuable is that you can start speaking in the right tone on your page, making your messages more meaningful to readers. Here is a made-up, yet simple example:
Let's say I am Duff Beer Company and I have a Facebook page. I can check the Insights on that fan page and might see that most of my fans are in fact women. With this information in mind, I can tone down the cheerleader advertisements promoting my beer and focus more on the hot male athlete promoting my beer.
Facebook continues to improve its analytics dashboard which is good news for businesses looking to make more use of their page and reach more of the Facebook community. It will be exciting to see how Facebook evolves in the near future to more fully integrate with Google Analytics, a tool that many businesses already use in order to understand the make-up of their Website visitors.
There are currently tools available (such as FBGAT, as suggested by the SocialMediaExaminer.com website) that let you workaround the current issue of Facebook's limited JavaScript, which is needed to run Google Analytics on Facebook pages. We will of course keep you tuned in to developments as they happen and look forward to bringing you more social media insights.
Recent Articles on Facebook Insights and Facebook for business use:
HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Your Business Facebook Page
A Beginner's Guide to Facebook Insights
How to Add Google Analytics to Your Facebook Fan Page


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Dean @ Cognation needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 35 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
I am looking to find a long term design partner for a new 'Chat' web startup.
This will be an ongoing project so the first $250 is just the initial design and selection process to find the designer we want to continue working with (see below for more details).
You are not expected to deliver all 10 wireframe pages described in the pdf during the initial selection process (but yes you will be expected to deliver at least 2 or more sample pages in the initial selection process and one of these must be the "Lobby Landing Page" to show your layout skills).
The PSD's should be based on 1024x768 (except for the chat applet page).
Just show your design and layout skills and we'll work with the winner for the rest of the pages in the total project.
http://www.Chat.com (this is not the real website name)
I am looking for a good design partner - no web or html code required, just psd and image file design only. My application software developer will slice and dice your designs for the final web application.
This will be an ongoing project so the first $250 is just the initial design and selection stage, we will then work together with the final winner for various modifications and changes.
Project Brief; http://www.Chat.com is a new website startup (not the real name - the real name will only be available to the winner).
This website will allow people to 'Chat' using text in rooms about various discussion topics (similar to an irc server except that the rooms will start and finish every hour).
I am not looking for the submissions to cover each of the 10 page layouts but you must submit a design for the Lobby Landing Page and at least one or two other.
Content Sample documents;
Please visit http://www.cognation.net/99designs for content sample documents to download.
- There is a wireframe layout pdf that shows the layout elements required for the 10 pages.
- There is also a site structure layout which will help explain how the 10 pags are all linked together.
- I am looking for a black or very dark blue background.
- The accent and border elements should be electric blue/almost white (please see wireframe layout for colour suggestions).
- The text needs to be in white to contrast against the dark background.
- If you haven't figured out yet I'm looking for similar intense visuals like the Joost application.
- The background should be the same across all 10 pages.
- Your competition submission must be at least the "Lobby Landing Page" as this is a tough page to layout all the required elements.
- No html will be required, just the original photoshop files and images etc.
- The PSD's should be based on 1024x768 except for the Chat Applet page (slide 10 in the wireframe pdf).
- I'm looking for a designer who we can work with on an ongoing basis to make various changes so the inital $250 is just for the 'submission process' to show us what you've got.
- It's a pretty specific project - so should be fairly clear.


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Chef Todd Fisher searches for bacon-flavored inspiration
In the TV food show arena, bacon is the new black.
California chef Todd Fisher, an unapologetic bacon buff, has declared that bacon has moved off the breakfast table and on to the unlikeliest of places: in cocktails, desserts and more traditional entrees like pizza. The growing variety of outrageous bacon creations in restaurants around the country in recent years has landed him in hog heaven.
Now Fisher will get a chance to indulge his love for all things bacon in "The United States of Bacon," a new series on Discovery's Destination America that airs on Sundays and premiered this week. In the show, Fisher travels around the country to visit restaurants where bacon has become a prominent ingredient. Many of the inventions are not for the squeamish: the sight of someone eating a bacon-wrapped pork "wing" made from tenderloin may cause more health-conscious viewers to hyperventilate.
In the show's premiere, Fisher rolls into Milwaukee hangout AJ Bombers and chomps into the Barrie Burger, a local specialty: a chunky peanut butter and bacon cheeseburger. The restaurant also has a Bloody Mary accented with bacon.
"I'm a true baconholic, so this is a dream for me," Fisher said by phone. "I've had this obsessive love for bacon for the past year and a half, smoking my own bacon, curing my own bacon. I've gone from being a true fan of bacon to being obsessive."
Among the stops on his bacon tour are Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit and Portland, Ore.
Speaking with a chef's expertise, Fisher said that bacon "cuts through all of the flavor receptors of the palate. It's sour, sweet, stringy, meaty and robust. It's so versatile. There's a real flexibility to it that allows it to traverse all styles of food from dessert to bacon and eggs to crunchy sandwiches."
But what has impressed him most while filming the show is the inventiveness behind some of the bacon-driven creations.
"I had a pizza that had bacon and truffles," he said. "I've publicly said I would never mix those two - each one is a powerful flavor. I had a bacon cheddar apple pie at the Comet Cafe in Milwaukee - that was incredible, with bacon baked into the pie crust and bacon in the apple."
The series was inspired by favorable viewer response to a "United States of Bacon" special last summer that was part of a three-part "United States of Food" special for the network. The bacon installment outperformed the two other parts that focused on burgers and steaks.
Executives for New York City-based Sharp Entertainment, which produced the project for Destination America, said building a show around the love of bacon in a road-show-type setting seemed a sure thing to attract audiences.
"Bacon has become a true phenomenon," said Dan Adler, Sharp's vice president of production. "It just seems to have hit this wave - it's the most special food out there right now. Restaurants seem to be experimenting with bacon more than any other food, and dishes are being created just to sell bacon."
Scott Miller, executive producer for Sharp, added, "We were surprised at the seriousness and dedication behind these bacon dishes. Chef Todd can break everything down from a chef's point of view but still is able to enjoy it like anyone else."
Of course, there are limits. Fisher said there was one concoction from a food truck in Los Angeles for which a handful of cheddar cheese was dropped on a griddle and melted, then topped with bacon, green onions, chipotle, green sauce, then chili, all wrapped in a tortilla.
"That was a bit much," he said. "Some of these meals can cause a heart attack - there is an indulgence. I know how to handle it. I take two or three bites, and that's enough."
"United States of Bacon" airs at 7 and 10 p.m. Sundays on Discovery's Destination America.
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(Jennifer Whitney/Special to the Express-News)
Mexican wares are largely sold at El Mercado.
In early 2009, city higher-ups received harsh criticism over an attempt to sell Market Square and La Villita into private ownership. And rightfully so. Soon after the Express-News made the attempted sale public, city leaders quickly did an about-face and killed the deal. And while most of us greeted the notion of the sale with outrage, it was the process itself that was a sub-target of criticism, that the deal was being formulated behind closed doors.
Since then, ad hoc committees have been formed, appointed by City Council, to review both historic areas under the guidance of studies by Chicago-based Urban Marketing Collaborative. In an attempt at transparency, the public will have two opportunities to give input on the vision and mission of Market Square and La Villita.
Here are the details on two upcoming meetings:
Market Square
6-8:30 p.m. Aug. 31
Auditorium at Central Library, 600 Soledad
Market Square, San Antonio Retail Management Study (download 1 MB)
La Villita
6-8:30 p.m. Sept. 8
Auditorium at Central Library, 600 Soledad
La Villita, San Antonio Retail Management Study (download 11.8 MB)
Free validation is being offered for the Central Library parking garage for both meetings. For more information contact Colleen Swain, assistant director of downtown operations, at (210) 207-4089.
Benjamin Olivo
Got any downtown news, event info, hearsay, tips, celebrations, complaints, boastings, updates, breaking news, memories, old photos, etc.? Want to write a guest blog? E-mail me.
Follow the Downtown Blog on Twitter: twitter.com/mySA_downtown. And on Facebook


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I have had two major obsessions in my life, guitars and visual art. First guitar. I began playing guitar at age 10 in 1964. I have played in many bands, doing many kinds of music. I trained at Berklee College of music for two years planning to become a jazz player, composer, and arranger. I have owned, collected, and studied hundreds of guitars made by the great makers at their best.
In my early adulthood, I had my first artist's block, as a musician. I left music and earned a degree in mathematics. I couldn't, however, stay away from the expressive arts and found my way to painting, drawing, and sculpture. I have been a visual artist for thirty years. In 1996, I asked myself, can I build a guitar the way I approach my paintings? The answer was yes, and I have pursued guitar making as my main artistic expression ever since then.
What I have learned from thirty years of study of 20th Century master visual artists, Giacometti, Cezanne, Matisse, Johns, and others, is an economy of technique, doing what is necessary to get the job done, nothing more, nothing less. The work of these great artists is about expression above all, and all gratuitous craft is rigorously paired away. Most fine guitar making is obsessive about craft perfection. Mine is not. I strive to build instruments that sound exceptional, play beautifully, and are extremely interesting to look at. Each instrument is a unique prototype. The instruments aren't gratuitously tidy or perfectionistic or consistent. In fact, they are quirky, mercurial, and personal. I rip them apart and rebuild them until I find them terribly exciting. Perfect guitars are great, but there are plenty of those. I'm searching for something more raw, more direct.
You know the occasional vintage guitar that just stands out, that has a uniqueness and character that can't be matched? Most makers try to achieve that by refining production criteria until they can make that consistently. I don't. I fiddle with each prototype until it reaches that place, then begin a different instrument. I'm interested in the first one, the one that embodies the curiosity, the search, the experimentation, the rethinks, the one with the scars and saw marks.
—Phil Sylvester


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From here and there around the Catholic press:
— Bishop's secretary for 23 years says he does what needs to be done in service to the Lord. (Arlington Catholic Herald, Va.)
— Pastor who drowned recalled as brilliant, generous, open-minded, willing to grow. (Catholic Sentinel, Ore.)
— Bankruptcy court to mull release of more sex abuse documents. (Catholic Sentinel, Ore.)
— City parish takes aim at urban violence, one gun at a time. (The Catholic Review, Md.)
— Youth invited to enter video contest welcoming Pope Benedict. (Catholic Standard, D.C.)
— Schools raise $27,000 for victims of war in Uganda. (Intermountain Catholic, Utah)
— Salt Lake bishop's latest podcast is reflection on purpose, history of Lent. (Intermountain Catholic, Utah)


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Guitar Shop TV met with Craig Smith of Hagstrom Guitars at NAMM 2012 to preview some of their gorgeous new models, including their very cool Tremar Deuce-F model, the Viking Baritone guitar, and our personal favorite, the new Viking electric 12-string! See the video above for the complete interview.
Hagstrom is an iconic Swedish guitar company with a great history of producing high-quality, cool looking, great sounding instruments at attractive… Read More
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Check out our vacation and travel deals for San Diego. These are guaranteed some of the best deals anywhere on the Internet.Your favorite attractions like the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, The San Diego Zoo Safari Park / Wild Animal Park, Legoland, and more... bundled with hotel accomodations to save money. Discount tickets for San Diego's favorite attractions and tours. Book online — don't wait in lineEnlightened Explorer Travel helps you with a variety of travel planning services. Use the links below to reserve hotels, purchase San Diego vacation packages or to purchase San Diego attraction tickets. Or call 1-800-969-9932 to speak with a local representative.
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Search Members
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Job Title: Martial Arts Teacher
Providence , RI United States
Position Type:
Full Time
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Education and Library
Job Description
Martial Arts Teacher
Martial Arts Teacher
Start Date: July 1, 2019
Location: Providence
Teaching at Achievement First:
Achievement First invites passionate educators to apply for the position of Martial Arts Teacher for the 2019-20 school year. Teaching at Achievement First is an ideal position for an educator with deep passion for instruction who is eager to gain rigorous development to help perfect his/her craft. In addition to participating in weekly professional development and team planning meetings, teachers receive consistent high-impact coaching and feedback from a school administrator or teacher-leader. Furthermore, Achievement First has launched Teacher Career Pathway, a systematic, coordinated approach to recognizing and developing great teachers as they progress through five career stages. These stages were developed to celebrate excellent teachers and are accompanied by increased compensation, recognition and professional development opportunities. Achievement First is committed to recruiting, developing and retaining excellent Special Education teachers.
Responsibilities of the Achievement First Enrichment teachers will include but are not limited to:
Outstanding academic achievement and student character development
Create a positive, achievement-oriented and structured learning environment that excites and invests students.
Motivate students to realize high academic and behavioral standards.
Build classroom community by investing families in children's academic success and development of REACH values (REACH stands for Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship and Hard work).
Utilize data from Achievement First's interim assessments to drive instruction and intervention.
Design and implement unit and lesson plans in collaboration with grade or subject team.
Hold all students accountable during transitions, meals, trips and school events.
Exemplify AF's core values in all interactions with students, families and colleagues
Professional learning, development and growth
Collaborate with coach, grade-level chair and school team to improve instructional, culture-building and leadership skills.
Attend all professional development, team planning and data analysis meetings.
Participate enthusiastically in structured and informal learning and development opportunities.
Salary for this position is very competitive and commensurate with experience. Additionally, Achievement First offers a comprehensive benefits package. Teachers receive funds for supplies and materials as well as a laptop computer.
To learn more about AF
Please visit the Achievement First careers site at www.achievementfirst.org/careers/. Achievement First is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. People from all diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Spanish language proficiency is a plus. You can learn more about diversity at Achievement First here: http://achievementfirst.org/about-us/diversity/
Qualifications & Requirements
Skills and Characteristics
Strong instructional and classroom management skills.
High level of personal organization and planning.
Team player: maturity, humility, strong work ethic, follow-through, sense of humor, willingness to respond positively to feedback and a "roll-up-my-sleeves" attitude.
Strong belief in the Achievement First mission and educational model.
Mastery of and enthusiasm for subject matter.
Educational Background and Work Experience
Two years of teaching experience preferred with a proven record of high student achievement.
Bachelor's degree with a GPA of at least 3.0 from a competitive college or university; Master's degree preferred.
If not currently certified, obtaining necessary Rhode Island certification in specific subject and grade level is required within the first two months of employment.
You may learn more about the process at: http://www.ride.ri.gov/TeachersAdministrators/EducatorCertification/CertificationRequirements.aspx
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The WB35F boasts an impressive 12X optical zoom and 16MP CCD sensor, allowing photographers to capture stunning images in sharp definition and vibrant color.
Samsung?s state of the art NFC and Wi-Fi technology makes sharing images with friends and family easier and more enjoyable. The "Tag & Go" feature takes sharing to an entirely new level as it connects the WB35F camera with smartphones by just touching the two devices together. With no manual set up required, an array of features are activated which make it simple to transfer, share and back up images. This includes Photo Beam, which immediately transfers the image being viewed on the camera to a smartphone. With AutoShare, images are instantaneously backed up as they are being shot, while MobileLink allows users to select which images to transfer, so that shots can be organized easily. Remote View Finder offers greater flexibility when setting up shots, as the camera can be controlled via a smartphone to act as a viewfinder, as well as providing access to a host of manual settings.
Pre-loaded with a suite of Smart Mode options that enable photographers to enhance the color and quality of any image, the WB35F allows for an unparalleled level of customization and functionality. Another impressive feature is the Smart Auto mode which analyses shooting environments and selects the most optimal settings for any situation, helping photographers capture stunning photographs wherever they are.
Additional capabilities of the device include Live Panorama mode in which users can automatically activate panoramic image capture by simply spanning the device from side to side. In addition, there is a video mode capability in which users can capture HD video recordings in impressive HD quality.
The Samsung WB35F was created for ambitious photography enthusiasts that want an affordable device with impressive imaging capabilities. It comes in four different colors (black, red, white and purple) and the 67.5mm (2.7-inch) QVGA LCD screen helps for easy and simple control of navigation, letting photographers focus on shooting, editing and sharing the exciting moments that make up their lives.


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Levels Surpass $27,000 for First Time Ever
TORONTO--(Marketwire - Feb 5, 2013) - TransUnion's quarterly analysis of Canadian credit trends found that the average consumer's total debt (excluding mortgage) increased nearly 6% from $25,960 at the end of 2011 to $27,485 in Q4 2012. The year-over-year increase was the largest of its kind for a fourth quarter since 2009. On a quarterly basis, national debt levels rose 2.7%, the largest such increase between the third and fourth quarters since 2008.
"Increases in personal debt are not surprising during the final quarter of the year as consumers tend to spend more during the holiday season," said Thomas Higgins, TransUnion's vice president of analytics and decision services. "The rise on a year-over-year basis should be more concerning as Canadians' debt loads increased by more than $1,500."
The previous changes in consumer total debt for Canada during the fourth quarter were as follows on both a quarterly and yearly basis:
The increase in average debt was consistent throughout Canada, with all provinces experiencing increases except for British Columbia, which showed a marginal decline of 0.09%. On a year-over-year basis, the largest increases were found in Alberta (11.20%), Quebec (9.39%), and Prince Edward Island (9.04%).
"Balance changes were as expected, though British Columbia's drop was the most eye-opening observation from the data," Higgins said. "It should be noted, though, that British Columbia has the highest debt levels in the nation."
Consumer Debt - Quarterly/Yearly
Total consumer debt increases were seen across all product categories.
Consumer Delinquencies - Quarterly/Yearly
Delinquency levels continue to remain low across all major product categories.
"While Canadian debt levels continue their upward track, delinquency levels remain low, and in some cases, are drifting even lower," said Higgins. "It's an especially positive sign to see lines of credit, which make up the majority of personal debt when excluding mortgages, experience yearly declines in delinquencies."
Three Highest Delinquency Provinces
Three Lowest Delinquency Provinces
TransUnion's Market Trends
TransUnion's Market Trends is an in-depth, full sample solution that provides statistical information every quarter from TransUnion's national consumer credit database, culled from anonymous credit files. Each Canadian consumer record contains hundreds of credit variables that illustrate consumer credit usage and performance. By leveraging Market Trends, customers from a variety of industries can analyze industry trends over an entire business cycle, helping to understand consumer behaviour in different geographic locations throughout Canada.
About TransUnion
As a global leader in information and risk management, TransUnion creates advantages for millions of people around the world by gathering, analyzing and delivering information. For businesses, TransUnion helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering high quality data, and integrating advanced analytics and enhanced decision-making capabilities. For consumers, TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals. Through these and other efforts, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies worldwide. Based in Burlington, Ontario, with global headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion provides local service and support throughout Canada. Visit www.transunion.ca to learn more.
Dave Blumberg
E-mail Email Contact
Telephone 1 312 972 6646


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California public schools serving poor children have better facilities, more textbooks and more appropriately qualified teachers than they did seven years ago, according to a study released this week by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The study highlights "significant progress" made since the 2004 settlement of Williams v. California, the lawsuit the ACLU and others brought on behalf of children lacking access to basic resources for learning. The report by the ACLU of Southern California concludes: "The evidence is clear: Williams is working."
Locally, conditions have improved dramatically in schools serving underprivileged youth. While all schools must comply with the Williams settlement, only schools that score in the bottom 30 percent on state tests — which generally correspond with schools in pockets of poverty — are monitored by their county offices of education. In Santa Clara County, that represents about 12 percent of the total enrollment in public schools.
Two years ago — the most recent data examined — in the county's monitored schools, 1 percent of those classrooms lacked appropriate textbooks, compared with 10 percent in 2005.
In the same year, 10 percent had deficiencies in facilities, down from 48 percent in 2005. Monitors check heating systems, windows, pest infestation, restrooms, hazardous materials and several other areas.
They found 15 teachers had been misassigned, lacking the credentials to teach their subject area or their particular students, such as English learners. All but one violation was corrected within 30 days. There were 12 classes missing permanent teachers — seven in Alum Rock, four in East Side Union and one in the Mount Pleasant elementary school district — and assigned substitutes instead.
In San Mateo County, two years ago 2 percent of classrooms in 26 monitored schools had insufficient textbooks and instructional materials — and for the first time since monitoring began, the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto had no deficiencies in materials. One school in the Bayshore Elementary District was marked down for an unusable water fountain, and less than 4 percent of teachers at the low-performing schools were misassigned.
"Districts have gotten clear about what every child should have," said Mefula Fairley of the San Mateo County Office of Education, "and gotten better at ensuring those materials are in place from the first day of school."
In all cases in both counties, school districts corrected the deficiencies once they were pointed out.
The Williams suit "has had real payoffs," said Don Bolce, who oversees compliance by 51 schools in 12 school districts.
"These are areas districts wanted to address," said Bolce, of the Santa Clara County Office of Education. "The Williams settlement just called attention to them."
The East Side Union High School District, which has four schools being monitored, has remodeled classrooms and purchased textbooks specifically to comply with the Williams case, Superintendent Chris Funk said.
Statewide, the ACLU found similar progress. In 2005-06, 29 percent of teachers in California's low-performing schools had been misassigned. Five years later, that figure dropped to 13 percent.
Campuses are cleaner, safer and more functional. The percentage of schools with conditions that pose a threat to health or safety dropped by two-thirds, to 4 percent. Similarly, 5 percent of schools lacked textbooks and instructional materials, compared with 19 percent in 2004-05, the ACLU reported.
The Williams settlement also created a way to register complaints about districts' facilities, materials or teacher qualification.
Despite the progress, the report warned of an "impending crisis." During successive years of budget cuts, schools reduced maintenance and staff, and are accumulating a backlog of unattended repairs. As a result, the report noted, county offices of education see a looming crisis.
Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775. Follow her at Twitter.com/NoguchiOnK12.


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Police last week arrested a UC Irvine student on suspicion of assaulting two people, battering two others, exposing himself and brandishing a fake gun in a campus residence hall.
Andrei Tatuiko, 18, has denied the allegations, pleading not guilty before an Orange County Superior Court judge on Oct. 11. The defendant posted a $50,000 bond and was released from jail early Saturday.
UCI police declined to release details about the incidents, saying they are part of an ongoing investigation, but charges filed by the Orange County district attorney show that the alleged crimes took place over the span of a week in early October.
They began Oct. 1, when Tatuiko twice exposed himself to others in UCI's Lorien residence hall, not far from UCI's Henry Samueli School of Engineering, according to the charges and police logs.
The next day, Tatuiko allegedly battered a female victim in the hall. The district attorney also filed another battery charge related to an alleged incident Oct. 4.
The most serious accusations against Tatuiko are felony aggravated assault charges that allege he strangled one victim and pinned another on Oct. 3.
Charges against Tatuiko list four separate victims, each identified only by a first name and last initial.
UCI police Sgt. Manse Sinkey declined to say whether the victims are UCI students.
Tatuiko's string of crimes ended when he threatened one of his previous victims by brandishing a replica gun at her on Oct. 7, according to the district attorney.
UCI officials would not say whether Tatuiko is still taking classes or is even allowed on campus; Cathy Lawhon, a university spokeswoman, said student conduct issues are confidential.
A public defender assigned to Tatuiko did not return a call seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
Tatuiko is due back in court on Tuesday.


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As the new editor of Security Systems News, I am grateful to my predecessor, Martha Entwistle, for all that she has done for the publication. Martha, who had been with SSN for more than a decade, six of those years as editor, raised the newspaper to new heights, while maintaining the high standards SSN has come to be known for.
As we begin a new era here at SSN, it is exciting to take the helm, especially with newly promoted managing editor Spencer Ives helping me to steer the ship during this pivotal time in a quickly evolving and growing security industry. And as we strive to continue and build upon the strong tradition of editorial excellence here at the publication, we are eager hear from you, our readers, on what issues and topics are most important to you.
We also invite you to attend our upcoming second annual Cloud+ conference, which is set for Nov. 29 and 30 in the tech-savvy city of Austin, Texas. You can take a look at our educational program at www.ssncloudplus.com, as well as register for what is shaping up to be an ideal forum to investigate the successes early adopters and innovators are having using cloud technology, which is no longer the future—it is here!
In addition to Cloud+, we here at SSN are also beginning to put together the program for our TechSec Solution's New Technology Conference, which is Feb. 27-28, 2017, in Delray Beach, Fla. Whether you are a security director, IT professional, integrator, consultant, distributor, manufacturer or other security professional, this two-day event is the gathering place for security thought leaders to discuss the industry's new and emerging technologies.
And speaking of conferences, I am excited to be attending the ASIS 2016 conference in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 12-15. For those of you who will be there as well, I encourage you to reach out to me to set up a time to meet, or just stop by the SSN booth to say hello!
For the first time, PPVAR is looking to offer online operator training. Yesterday, the partnership put out the call for volunteers that would like to help write modules for this training.
The call was a "great success," with 47 total registrants, individuals had registered for it, PPVAR's immediate past president Steve Walker told SSN in an email interview.
Part of the call covered PPVAR's mission and approach, as well as its overall objective with the training. "The process of finding volunteers for any worthwhile initiative is difficult because qualified people have so many demands on their time," Walker said. "Therefore, we want our volunteers to understand the value of what we are trying to accomplish while also explaining how the process will ensure that we use their time respectfully, efficiently and effectively."
PPVAR has hired a professional training firm to do most of the "leg work," he said. "[O]ur volunteers will provide the creative oversight needed for ensuring a great final product that is creative, accurate, meaningful and effective."
"The ideal volunteers are people with experience in using verification technologies (audio and video) in monitoring centers today—people that can draw on their own experiences to know what works and doesn't work in the real world. Owners, central station personnel (leaders and trainers) were all represented in the call," Walker said.
"Our end goal is to develop seven different online training modules that will be useful for central station employees and PSAP employees, alike," Walker said.
There are seven tracks that PPVAR is focusing on. According to PPVAR, the goal is to have the first module done in the next 30 to 60 days.
"Crime in Progress Verification Monitoring – Introduction," which focuses on audio and video verification as compared to other methods of reducing false alarms.
"Design of a Video Verified System," which covers information on how verified systems are installed, as well as software platforms specifically for video verification.
The "PSAP Communications" module covers communication between operators and PSAPs regarding verification.
"Video Threat Levels and Flowchart" focuses on how operators should execute decision making within the Threat Level Flow Chart, as described in the Video Alarm Verification Best Practices.
The "Design of an Audio Verified System" track will cover the installation of an audio verified system, as well as software platforms specifically for audio verification.
"Audio Threat Levels and Flowchart" looks at how operators should execute decision making within the Threat Level Flow Chart, as described in the Video Alarm Verification Best Practices.
The final module, "Verification and Insurance Impacts," is designed to make insurance agents able to better advise clients on options available in mitigating costs related to crime.
Tunstall Americas announced its new Vi+ personal emergency response system earlier in the month, with an integral sensor for ambient temperature. Yesterday, the company announced that extreme temperature monitoring will be provided free of charge to its subscribers.
"Record breaking heat across the United States this summer prompted Tunstall Americas to offer Temperature Extremes monitoring free of charge to subscribers of their home based medical alert service," the company said in the release.
"Environmental changes indicate that the frequency and severity of heat waves will continue. We are pleased that we are in a position to offer this potentially lifesaving benefit to our current and future subscribers of our Vi Medical Alert System at no additional cost," Casey Pittock, president and CEO of Tunstall Americas, said in a prepared statement.
The system will look for temperatures either above 89 degrees Fahrenheit or below 50 degrees, at which point the subscriber or caregiver will be notified.
Extreme temperatures specifically concern many of the typical PERS users. "Tunstall's core base of subscribers, the elderly, individuals with chronic conditions, and other at risk populations have been reported to be the most vulnerable to extreme heat related illness," the company said.
Tunstall Americas operates its own monitoring centers in New York and Rhode Island.
If you aren't that worried about cybersecurity and the threat of a ransomware attack, you should be.
According to a new report, "State of Ransomware," which was sponsored by Malwarebytes and conducted by Osterman Research, nearly 40 percent of businesses have experienced a ransomware attack in the last year. Of these victims, more than a third lost revenue and 20 percent had to stop business completely.
And that doesn't even include the companies that aren't reporting being attacked. According to FBI Section Chief Philip Celestini, who was a featured speaker at ESX 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas, 80 percent of companies that have been attacked by ransomware "are not reporting it to law enforcement," he said. The FBI is reaching out to the industry, Celestini said, for its help in spreading the word of the importance of cybersecurity and working with law enforcement to minimize loss.
According to the FBI, ransomware attacks went from causing $25 million in losses to $200 million in just the last year in the U.S., as well as an astonishing $2 trillion in cyber crime losses worldwide.
According to Nathan Scott, senior security researcher at Malwarebytes and a ransomware expert, over the last four years, "ransomware has evolved into one of the biggest cybersecurity threats in the world, with instances of ransomware in exploit kits increasing 259 percent in the last five months alone. Until now, very few studies have examined the current prevalence and ramifications of actual ransomware incidents in the enterprise."
Some other key U.S. findings from the study include:- Security attacks with ransomware are increasing: Nearly 80 percent of U.S. companies have suffered a cyber attack in the last year and more than half experienced a ransomware incident. US organizations are the most attacked among the countries surveyed. - Email is the top vector for spreading ransomware: More than half of the U.S. attacks originated with email.- Upper management and C-Level executives are at a higher risk: 68.4 percent of U.S. respondents noted ransomware attacks impacted mid-level managers or higher, while 25 percent of incidents attacked senior executives and the C-Suite.- Cybercriminals held high-value data for ransom: Nearly 80 percent of the U.S. organizations breached had high-value data held for ransom.- Attacks are impacting more than initial endpoints: More than 40 percent of ransomware attacks in all four countries were successful in impacting more than a single endpoint, with nearly 10 percent of the attacks affecting more than one-quarter of the endpoints in the business.- Current enterprise security measures are weak against ransomware: Almost half of ransomware incidents in the U.S. occurred on a corporate desktop within the enterprise security environment.- Ransomware remediation takes hours: 44 percent of attacks on U.S. companies forced IT staff to work more than nine hours to remediate the incident. Globally, the figure is 63 percent of incidents that took more than nine hours to remediate.
It's been great to see more companies becoming involved with charity work with Mission 500. Coming up next week, on Aug. 10, is an event held in partnership between COPS Monitoring and Mission 500 to benefit schools and the surrounding communities nearby the monitoring center's office in Boca Raton, Fla.
Mission 500, COPS, as well as security software company Segware and the Latin American Security Association, are putting together backpacks for students of Crosspointe Elementary School. These would include including supplies like scissors, crayons, pens, pencils, erasers, and rulers.
"We are so proud to once again be partnering with COPS and Mission 500," Crosspointe Elementary School's principal Annmarie Dilbert said in a prepared statement. "They are filling a huge need for our students and their families by providing a backpack full of school supplies to every Crosspointe Elementary student."
"It is important to help fill the immediate need of providing children with the school supplies that will give them the ability to start the school year off right," Jim McMullen, president & COO of COPS Monitoring, said in the announcment.
"We also hope to positively affect our community in a lasting way by offering stable employment and benefits," McMullen said. The backpacks will each include a note from COPS on employment opportunities at the company's Boca Raton office.
COPS Monitoring held a similar event in September 2015, packing 700 backpacks for a Title 1 school in Boynton Beach Fla.
Also in recent news with Mission 500, the organization will be working this weekend with Monitronics to put on a charitable 5k.
I look forward to hearing about more companies using this model of partnering with Mission 500 and their local communities.
Check out the lineup of speakers and educational sessions for this year's Cloud+ Here's a link to the program, and it's also copied and pasted below.
We are super excited about bringing Cloud+ to the hippest tech hub in the country, Austin, Texas on Nov. 29 and 30.
We'll be announcing more speakers, including a swell outside-of-the-security-industry keynote speaker, in the next week. We're just crossing some final Ts and dotting the last Is on that.
You can get yourself registered by clicking here.
Stay tuned!
Moving from a traditional security system to a cloud-based security system often still requires a hurdle. Why did this corporate end user decide to go with a cloud-based system in his nine-story facility even though three systems integrators advised going with a traditional system? In this session, an end user, manufacturer and consultant discuss how to get across the cloud chasm and the benefits of doing so.
Mark Scaparro, SVP Sales, BluBØX Ray Bernard, President and Principal Consultant, Ray Bernard Consulting Services Moderated by Martha Entwistle, editor, Security Systems News
Three leading national integrators talk about how their companies are approaching cloud. What's their strategy? What are they focusing on?
John Hudson, TycoIS, Regional Director, West Region Jeremy Brecher, SVP Technology and Chief Information Officer, Securitas Electronic Security Joe Young, Director, Cloud Monitoring Services, G4S Secure Integration Moderated by Martha Entwistle, editor, Security Systems News
An update on the M&A report that John Mack gave at Cloud+ 2015, followed by a targeted Q&A.
John Mack, Executive Vice President and Co-Head of Investment Banking and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Imperial Capital Moderated by Martha Entwistle, editor, Security Systems News
As the former Chief Security Officer for Amazon, Ed Bacco knows what it's like to be sitting in the end user's chair. This unique Cloud+ session will ignite the fireworks in a role-play approach, with Bacco playing an end user who wants to move to the cloud, but is having trouble getting around the inherent limitations. A group of experts—data center executive; VMS provider; fiber/cable service provider (the elephant); and a security integrator—join Bacco to attempt to solve the challenge.
END USER: Ed Bacco, Chief Security Officer, Aronson Security Group DATA CENTER: Dean Drako, CEO, Eagle Eye Networks INTEGRATOR: Scott Schmidt, Vice President of Technology, Aronson Security Group VMS PROVIDER: Reinier Tuinzing, Strategic Alliances Manager, Americas, Milestone
What are the benefits of taking your central station business to the cloud? Leading systems integrator, Jeffrey Nunberg, CEO of Integrated Security Systems in Miami, moderates a discussion where he will be asking the hard questions that all integrators want answered: How is it done? What are the options? Which integrators will benefit the most from moving monitoring to the cloud? What kind of the front-end investment is required and what kind of ROI should integrators and end users expect?
Cliff Dice, CEO, DICE Corp. Rodney Thayer, Consultant, Smithee, Spelvin, Agnew & Plinge Moderated by Jeffrey Nunberg, CEO, Integrated Security Systems
You don't need a complete cloud-based security system to take advantage of some of the benefits offered by the cloud. This session will examine options such as video analytics, health monitoring and data analytics.
Description coming soon!
Moderated by John Szczygiel, EVP and COO, Brivo Systems
DES MOINES, Iowa—Midwest Alarm Services, a provider of life safety systems based here, has acquired Electric Specialties Company of Omaha, Neb., a company that also specializes in life safety systems, including service, inspection and monitoring services to more than 350 customers.
The terms of the deal between the two companies were not disclosed.
Established in 1950, Midwest Alarm Services became part of Per Mar Security Services through an acquisition in 1998, which allowed the then small company an opportunity for growth, including the opening of an office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and an office to service the Quad Cities, which stretched Midwest Alarm Services territory into eastern Iowa and western Illinois.
Doug Richard, president of Midwest Alarm Services, said that he is "very excited" to expand the company's footprint now into Nebraska, and looks forward "to growing with the great team that is already in place" there.
Herk Campbell, who will be joining the Midwest Alarm Services team along with his employees, founded Electric Specialties Company in 1983. The company is a Notifier dealer, and provides life safety systems and services including card access systems, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers/hoods, fire inspections, master clock systems, monitoring, nurse call systems, system design/layout and video surveillance.
Campbell said that Midwest Alarm is the "perfect fit" for his company.
Note: Check back for more on this story, including an interview with Midwest Alarm Services president Doug Richard.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently submitted revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that would raise the salary threshold for earning overtime pay. Presently, only those employees making less than $455.00 per week are eligible for overtime compensation. The DOL's new rule increases this eligibility minimum to any employee making less than $913.00, an increase that many in the security industry and on Capitol Hill feel will put a financial strain on businesses, which are supposed to comply by DOL's implementation date of Dec. 31, 2016.
ESA has actively spoken out against DOL's overtime rule, and ESA president Marshall Marinace said that ESA "objects strenuously" to the legislation, as it "will have a real consequence on employees not anticipated by the DOL."
ESA supports efforts of Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who recently introduced joint resolutions to block implementation of the Overtime Rule. Senate Joint Resolution 34 was introduced on June 7, 2016, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. In addition to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as a cosponsor, the resolution has already attracted over 43 senators to support its passage. The House version, House Joint Resolution 95, has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce with 22 House members as cosponsors.
"Our nation's overtime rules need to be modernized, but the Department of Labor's extreme and partisan approach will lead to damaging consequences that the American people simply cannot afford," Rep. Foxx said. "This resolution will protect workers, students, small business owners, and vulnerable individuals from a rule that will do more harm than good."
SSN would like to hear what you, our readers, think of the overtime rule, including the possible impact it could have on your businesses.
Note: SSN continues to report on this story. Please check back for an interview with ESA government relations director John Chwat.
HOBOKEN, N.J.—Voice activation has been an interesting topic that I've seen coming up more frequently when I hear about PERS—most recently when I spoke with Ritch Haselden, VP of sales at Essence Group, this week about Essence's upcoming products, and what it takes to include voice activation.
One of the things he highlighted in the company's product roadmap is Essence's VPD, and Haselden told me a lot about what went in to setting up voice capabilities in the company's VPD—standing for Voice Panic Detector. "The VPDwill be available for purchase this summer and is expected in the next few weeks," Haselden said.
"What that'll allow somebody to do is be able to activate a pendant by saying a particular phrase of a particular series of words," he said. The product is always listening for a particular phrase, he said, and when it hears that phrase it would act like a button press on the PERS unit.
Haselden said that, further on down the road, Essence could use voice activation to open up two-way dialogue with the central station.
The company has been testing the phrase "Call 911," Haselden said. The process of picking a phrase to test was intensive, he said, making sure that it wasn't common enough to be said in everyday conversation or on the television, but still easy to remember.
Testing involved a large variety of different people, saying the test phrase, "Call 911," in a variety of pitches. "We've been testing in all kinds of different scenarios to make sure that we're really getting down to a really quality product that provides a low rate of false alarms," he said.
Essence would consider customized phrases for different companies if they requested such, Hasleden said, "Our process internally is we would at least test that phrase, but we're definitely going to provide a lot of feedback and information on: Is that a phrase that (A) people can remember, (B) that people can actually articulate well, and (C) does the technology differentiate the words well enough so that it provides a solid response."
ItsPayd.com, a company that makes an application to help dealers collect past due payments, recently added Rapid Response Monitoring as its first Affiliate Partner Program member, a program that specifically applies to companies with a central station.
The application uses text messages and emails to notify customers of past due balances and gives them a link to either send a one-time payment toward that balance or set up a payment plan, depending on their contract.
The idea behind ItsPayd is to help companies with collecting past due payments, but in a more friendly way that preserves the customer relationship and ultimately reduce attrition. "We can actually have the greatest impact on improving customer experience at the least likely moment, and that's at the past due space," Ken Green, company CEO, told Security Systems News.
"We've got one of our customers, who's a [security] dealer—they've reduced attrition by 40 percent," Green said. "We've recovered over 50 percent for them within the first 30 days." The company benefited even more by maintaining the relationship and keeping these customers on, he said.
ItsPayd.com does about 90 percent of its work with security companies, mostly security dealers and monitoring centers.
Rapid dealers receive discounts on ItsPayd's monthly subscription fee, through Rapid being a part of the Affiliate Partner Program. The Affiliate Partner Program specifically applies to third party monitoring centers and full-service companies with central stations. ItsPayd is currently looking to get more members in the program, according to Green.
ItsPayd is currently working on an integration platform with MKS, to be completed around the end of the summer, Green said.
ItsPayd was founded last year and went to beta with its product in August 205. The company went live with its offering in January 2016.
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On a rainy fall afternoon, Mayor Michael B. Coleman wanted to assure Columbus residents the city's snow warriors are prepared for much harsher conditions.
On a rainy fall afternoon, Mayor Michael B. Coleman wanted to assure Columbus residents the city's snow warriors are prepared for much harsher conditions.
"They're fired up and ready to go, because we know the snow's coming," said Coleman, joined by other city officials and road crews Oct. 17 at the new traffic management center on the North Side.
Coleman took the opportunity to promote the center and its state-of-the-art communication system that manages signalization of thousands of traffic lights at roughly 1,000 intersections throughout the city.
The center, through TV cameras, also monitors traffic at the intersections, enabling city employees to change the timing of lights to reduce congestion.
It also serves as the so-called snow operations command center, which tracks weather conditions and the location of trucks, each equipped with GPS devices.
That way, the city can follow the trucks and direct them where to go, Coleman said.
The $38-million upgrade, to be fully implemented by 2018, replaces a system that dates back to the 1970s.
The entire project includes new fiber optics, cameras, monitors, weather information and other equipment. The center formerly was located in the basement of city offices at 109 N. Front St.
"So when it snows, we have to be prepared for what's to come," the mayor said. "We prepare every year, and we get better every year."
The annual audit gave Coleman the opportunity to socialize with plow drivers, hop into the vehicles, honk horns and overall inspect the trucks, some of which are used year-round for duties other than plowing.
Prior to a snow event, the city begins brining major roadways, freeways and overpasses, then starts salting and plowing when the snow starts, said Rick Tilton, spokesman for public service.
After the plowing is done, residents can call the city's general information line -- 645-3111 -- to report missed streets, he said.
Sometimes the calls end up at the service garage.
Dispatcher Rachael Smith said she can receive up to 90 calls a day during snowy weather. People, for the most part, are fairly restrained when they call, Smith said.
"They're nice," she said. "Not very often do we get very many angry people. They just ask questions."


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FOXBOROUGH — You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?
That the Patriots were just going to keep beating their opponents like a drum, the young defense was just going to keep getting better and roll to a long-awaited (around here) fourth Super Bowl title to put a bowtie on the greatness of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady?
In the National Football League, no matter how comfy things are in the AFC Least, things are never that easy.
The Patriots put on a wake-your-kids-up-so-they-can-see-it comeback — trailing, 31-3, with 10:26 left in the third quarter to tie it at 31 with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter — but eventually lost to the 49ers, 41-34, Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.
What happened in the final flurry clouded it a bit, but what the Patriots will take out of this game is a much-needed dose of reality, especially for the defense.
And they'll be much better for it in the long run.
That's the type of loss that teaches the lessons that will be heeded and applied in January and, hopefully, February.
"[The performance was] not good enough to win against a quality team like the 49ers," linebacker Jerod Mayo said.
Since surviving the Jets in overtime Oct. 21, the defense has been able to rely on a 12th player — the scoreboard — in rolling to their last six victories prior to Sunday night.
The Patriots had leads of 28-7 (Rams), 31-17 (Bills), 38-17 (Colts), 35-0 (Jets), and 23-10 (Dolphins). The Patriots' defense certainly played their part in building those leads, but while it gets harder to play offense with a lead — look at the 49ers after getting up, 31-3 — it gets much easier to play defense.
In the secondary, you just worry about not getting beat deep to avoid quick chunk plays. Up front, you can rush the passer with reckless abandon because if the opponent runs the ball, all the better because the clock will keep moving toward zero.
And in the process, some of your minor flaws get masked.
But against a quality opponent like the 49ers, they come to light.
In the past few weeks, the Patriots' defense has blown some coverages, not filled against the run properly, and exhibited some shoddy tackling.
It was certainly good enough to win and the type of performance of which 85 percent of the league would be envious.
And considering the average age of the defense is just 25.6 years and includes three rookies, it was play that was admirable and showed improvement.
But while the Patriots were playing good enough to roll to regular-season victories, and even against an AFC contender like the Texans, that type of play would not be good enough against the elite competition that will stand in the way of another Lombardi Trophy: the Broncos in the AFC, and the 49ers, Packers, Falcons, and Giants in the NFC.
The 49ers came out and did what opponents should do against the Patriots: go wide open with a passing attack. There were completions of 11, 13, and 12 yards on the first three plays as second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick was hardly rushed and saw his reads clearly.
On third and 7, a down that favors the defense, not only did the 49ers score on a 24-yard pass to Randy Moss, but Moss did it rather easily. Rookie cornerback Alfonzo Dennard didn't reroute Moss, and safety Devin McCourty, despite having two vertical routes on that side of the field, was way too late to clean up a play that he should break up.
There was a 35-yard pass interference penalty on Aqib Talib on which the ghost of the problematic early-season secondary — failure to turn around and locate the ball — made another appearance.
In the second quarter, Kaepernick didn't have much trouble finding tight end Delanie Walker on a 34-yard touchdown pass that made it 14-3. With three defensive tackles — Vince Wilfork, Brandon Deaderick, and Kyle Love — rushing with Rob Ninkovich, Kaepernick looked comfortable in the pocket, throwing after 3.27 seconds.
But there was also the issue of no one rerouting tight end Vernon Davis, which meant Dennard was in the impossible position of having to choose between Davis and Walker as he attempted to cover a third of the field in Cover 3.
To close the half, the 49ers toyed with the Patriots on a monster 15-play, 76-yard drive that used up all of the 6:04 left on the clock. On the drive, rookie linebacker Dont'a Hightower lost containment against Kaepernick — one of the key game plan points was to keep the athletic quarterback in the pocket — or failed to stay in his gap rushing the passer three times. Brandon Spikes ran into the wrong gap on a 15-yard run and didn't offer much defense on a 10-yard pass to Davis.
To start the second half, the 49ers easily converted on third and 15 — on a 26-yard screen pass to Frank Gore, no less — on which rookies Chandler Jones and Justin Francis just missed Gore, and the safeties were nowhere to be seen until well after the first-down marker. The Patriots were bailed out by a terrible decision by Kaepernick that resulted in a McCourty interception.
The 49ers went up, 24-3, on a touchdown run by Gore where the ball was fumbled 5 yards backward yet still run in basically untouched.
The score was 31-3 when Kaepernick, again under no rush, split McCourty and Steve Gregory on a 27-yard pass.
"It was frustrating," Mayo said. "It was very disappointing."
But after that, the Patriots' defense got after it. They hit hard. They covered. They rushed Kaepernick well and even sacked him on a huge 13-yard loss by Ninkovich.
They made the plays the Patriots desperately needed to get back into the game.
They'll be able to remember that when they get into another dogfight in the playoffs.
But only if they heed the warning signs that were covered during the win streak, then illuminated in the loss to the 49ers.
The players, especially the less-experienced ones, won't be able to gloss over their mistakes because of the scoreboard and a bunch of victories.
They now know again, for the first time in two months, that less than fundamentally sound play against a tough opponent can lead to a loss.
Better they learn that now than in January.
It was a tough, emotionally draining loss for the Patriots and their defense. But it could be one that leads to a more important victory down the line.Greg A. Bedard can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @gregabedard.


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Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity
Dutton, 1979 - Philosophy - 238 pages
Renowned for his contributions to anthropology, biology, and the social sciences, Bateson asserts that man must think as Nature does to live in harmony on the earth and, citing examples from the natural world, he maintains that biological evolution is a mental process
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Focus on cooperation
An issue to celebrate National Cooperative Month
October is Cooperative Month, and, in fact, 2012 has been designated by the United Nations and U.S. Congress as the International Year of Cooperatives. Much of the UN's celebration focuses on cooperatives in developing nations where collaborative effort is helping to build local economies where capital investment and bargaining power are difficult to come by. There is much to do there, and the principles of a cooperative are a unique help.
Here in the United States, the utility of the cooperative business model is well documented, and, because you are reading this page, you are aware of the rich history of MFA Incorporated in this nation's cooperative movement. In this issue we take the opportunity to focus on snapshots of what makes your cooperative work.
We begin on page 6 with an interview with Dr. Michael Cook, the Robert D. Partridge Chair in Cooperative Leadership and professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Missouri.
Cook's research on cooperatives has returned to a theme—that farmer-owned cooperatives have the ability to evolve and regenerate. He calls it "co-op genius." Much of that "genius" comes from the member/owners' implicit trust that their investment and participation in a cooperative business will help direct the business to meet their needs.
Examining the evolution of products and services offered by MFA since the early 1900s helps illustrate that fact. A 1920s farm required a different set of inputs than the farm of today. Yet MFA has remained constant in its mission to provide farmers with what they need to farm. MFA turns 100 in 2014, which will give us an opportunity to re-tell the story of your cooperative in more detail.
On page 18, you'll find a short recognition for the contributions independent, local cooperatives make to the MFA system. These cooperatives choose to affiliate with MFA, leveraging our products, services and expertise on behalf of their members. Many of them are achieving notable anniversaries of their own. Here at MFA, we are fortunate to have benefited from cooperating with these affiliated locations.
On page 20, we continue with an ongoing series to show you snapshots of your cooperative in action by visiting the Marion County Agri Services. The pictures of employees you see in this series of stories show the true strength of MFA. They are the people who deliver the cooperative's mission to its members.
From the activity at Marion County MFA Agri Services to our business units in Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa and across our trade territory, MFA is part of a much larger success story for ag cooperatives in the United States.
All told, some 2,500 farmer cooperatives in the United States hold $40 billion in assets and turn over about $130 billion in sales each year. That income provides close to $9 billion in wages. Spread across some 2.5 million farmer members, these cooperatives provide another $10 billion in value-added income.
And that's just agricultural cooperatives. If you widen the scope, you'll see that more than 29,000 cooperatives operate in every sector of the economy and in every congressional district; Americans hold over 350 million co-op memberships. These cooperatives generate 2 million jobs and make a substantial contribution to the U.S. economy with annual sales of $652 billion and assets of $3 trillion.
Apart from agricultural cooperatives, most of you participate in rural electric co-ops. There are more than 900 of them nation wide, delivering electricity to more than 42 million people in 47 states. These co-ops own 42 percent of the nation's electric distribution lines and cover 75 percent of the country's land mass.
We close the magazine (pg. 28) with the traditional letter from MFA's president and CEO, Bill Streeter. He outlines the vision of MFA's leadership succinctly, and shows that the cooperative takes seriously the need to grow, evolve and change with the realities that you face each day in agriculture.
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Following up on yesterday's announcement by President Mubarak, Egyptian state television said today that Mubarak's cabinet has resigned. It announced further that aviation minister Ahmed Shafiq has been named as the new Prime Minister, while Mubarak has also, for the first time, appointed a Vice President: Omar Suleiman, the head of military intelligence and a Mubarak confidante. This is no youth movement; Suleiman is 74 years old, and today's announcements are consistent with the conventional wisdom that the Egyptian military remains firmly in control. With respect to Suleiman, this may be noteworthy:
As Egypt's intelligence chief, Suleiman was in charge of the country's most important political security files, and was the mastermind behind the fragmentation of Islamist groups who led the uprising against the state in the 1990s.


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The message is simple these days from Dixon city officials: Everything's good now, so let's move on.
This follows last year's scandal, in which federal authorities found out former city Comptroller Rita Crundwell made off with $53 million over a couple of decades. In April, the city revealed that then-Public Works Director Shawn Ortgiesen racked up $13,521 in personal expenses on his city-issued credit card from April 2007 to March. By the time he was caught, he had paid back only $4,890.
Some critics blame these scandals on Dixon's commission form of government. They say part-time commissioners, who have executive authority over designated departments, aren't qualified to run the city on a day-to-day basis.
But Commissioner Dennis Considine said in a City Council meeting the other day that most people in Dixon seem to favor retaining the commission form of government.
He, like most of his colleagues, resisted the idea of hiring a city administrator who would have day-to-day control of government, with the council overseeing the administrator and setting policies.
Most cities have administrators these days, especially those the size of Dixon. But Considine doesn't want any one person to have too much power.
Commissioner Jeff Kuhn had similar fears. He questioned whether an administrator should have power over day-to-day operations, saying he already had daily conversations with supervisors of his designated departments about what is done and what needs to be done.
Commissioner Colleen Brechon wondered whether an administrator would get in the way of an already efficient system.
Mayor Jim Burke, however, favored a powerful administrator.
Police Chief Danny Langloss, who recently received the title of "special assistant to the council," is proposing hiring an administrator, but is apparently seeking to reduce the commission's authority over day-to-day matters.
Ideally, he said at the council meeting, commissioners would let department heads handle day-to-day operations with the oversight of an administrator.
Since May, a task force has been meeting to consider different forms of government. The panel is expected to make a recommendation on the form of government best for Dixon.
The recommendation will be nonbinding, but city officials have talked about putting it on the November 2014 ballot.
But they're none to excited about changing the form of government. And it's been that way for a while.
In October – 6 months after the Crundwell scandal came to light but before Ortgiesen's surfaced – council members seemed fine with the way things were.
"I certainly believe in the form of government we have," Considine said in an interview. "It works as well as any form of government. I'm positive about it."
Brechon also was happy.
"The city of Dixon has the best of all worlds," she said. "The council has very dedicated members. Shawn Ortgiesen is the city engineer, involved in all aspects of city business. He is very competent. I am very confident working with him and the city attorney."
Kuhn said he had no "preconceived notions," but added, "I have some trouble believing that if we had a city manager, none of this would have happened."
Kuhn, Brechon and Considine have been on the commission a couple of years.
Commissioner David Blackburn, who has served two decades, has become much more silent since the Crundwell scandal.
But he did speak up at the recent council meeting, saying he missed someone with Ortgiesen's experience.
No scientific polls have been taken about Dixon residents' view on their form of government. Is Considine's assessment correct – that most people are happy with the way things are?
David Giuliani is a reporter for Sauk Valley Media. He can be reached at dgiuliani@saukvalley or at 800-798-4085, ext. 525.