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The last quarter of 2015 was particularly hard for me. Gracen had settled in well at JBU, David had changed responsibilities at work, which he was really excited about. I on the other hand, encountered, a big gaping void.
Preparing to send Gracen to college and living independently after I had spent the last year and a half helping with her personal care needs, left me anxious on a level I'd never experienced before. Her physical safety was my primary concern and following the deaths of three children, let's just say I had little confidence that I would not lose Gracen too.
In addition, in April or May of last year I began fielding a new and distinctly different set of questions. With graduation on the horizon people began asking me what I intended to do with my time – with the upcoming "empty nest". Not one person acknowledged that I was not supposed to have an empty nest. No one seemed to realize that fear for Gracen's safety, a premature empty nest and an utter lack of purpose might be frightening and emotionally overwhelming. Then again, maybe people did understand but felt ill-equipped to address it so avoidance was deemed the most comfortable solution for everyone; myself included. Unfortunately, avoidance left me feeling alone, stranded in my grief, disappointment and fear. It also left me feeling as if Katie was unimportant in the eyes of the world and as if my fears for Gracen's safety were unreasonable in spite of the fact that I knew Gracen was at high risk for injury on campus.
So, by the time graduation passed, I was a bit of a mess. I began taking an anti-depressant early in 2015 and by June I was unquestioningly aware that I needed more help. So an anti-anxiety medication was added to the mix and it made a significant difference. I had not realized just how much anxiety I'd been living with until the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals provided some much needed chemical relief.
Still, I was weary, frightened and at loose ends so once Gracen settled into school and dorm life, I settled into my bed. I found myself alone, overcome with the grief I had suppressed in Gracen's presence, fighting to process it or push down to avoid the excruciating pain and rudderless. I also began sleeping later in the day which affected my medication schedule. One day I realized that I couldn't recall when I'd last taken my prescriptions. Knowing I had an upcoming appointment with my PCP I decided to wait to see him so he could help me restart them safely. Looking back, that was not a good decision. A downward spiral took hold.
A typical day looked . . . okay, looks (present tense), because this is still a typical day in my world . . . something like this. I wake up, get a cappuccino or chai latte, return to bed to read. I read, write, browse Facebook and email and nap on and off throughout the day. David comes home, FOX news comes on and more often than not he makes dinner. After dinner, I read, he watches Fox and plays on the computer and finally, lights out. I toss and turn, mind whirling and when I can't stand my thoughts and the inability to fall asleep any longer, I start reading again.
Unless I have an appointment with my grief counselor, my trauma counselor (for PTSD), or my PCP everyday is much like the day before. I'm comfortable with that. The silence and being alone is easier than being around people. People make me anxious – incredibly anxious. How does one answer all the oh so simple questions without making others uncomfortable? How do I answer them without feeling pitiful myself? "What have you been up to?", "Will you get a job?", "Any new hobbies?" A simple, "I've missed you" leaves me paralyzed and frantically searching for an appropriate response. "Me too" is what longs to escape but "Um, thank you" is generally what spills forth. And as to the what have you been up to question, not much is my reply. No new hobbies, no plans for a part-time job. The reasons for those brief responses go unspoken as the listener will either feel uncomfortable with my answer or will try to explain to me why a job or hobby would benefit me. Regardless, a simple "no" is awkward enough as it doesn't open the door for further conversation.
Is my current daily activity healthy? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. . . and no.
All those churning thoughts and my writing are a means of working through my grief. The reading is also good for me. I read suspense, mysteries, thrillers, and romance. They engage the mind. If I was simply laying in bed, not working through my sorrow and not engaging my mind, that would be cause for concern.
Facebook and email allow me safe access to the outside world.
And the sleep; it's good too. I'm trying to take my PCPs advice and get some much needed rest. He pointed out that should I fail to recharge spiritually, physically and emotionally, I will be running on empty when Gracen inevitably needs additional support. To say Gracen's shift from walking to using a wheelchair was an enormous change is an understatement of vast proportions. Wheelchair use involves a mirad of complications I had never considered. Transfers into and out of the wheelchair, bathroom use with and without handicapped facilities, transporting the chair, finding safe and viable entrance and exit doors, dealing with weather – oh my, dealing with weather!, and a multitude of unforeseen considerations became the new norm. No one can estimate the demands the next transition in her health will require. Therefore, I need to be prepared, or be able to get up to speed quickly, in spite of the emotional impact those changes bring.
So I find myself withdrawing from the world around me, to rest, to grieve, to avoid assuming responsibility for making others comfortable with the realities of my life. I don't have the motivation or the energy to continue to push myself. Gracen was my motivation. For her, I would, and still do, force myself forward, but in her absence . . . I lack the impetus to do much of anything. I've struggled with the blues in the past, but never before have I found myself fitting the defined parameters of the clinically depressed. Just hearing those words uttered by my grief counselor left me deeply ashamed and utterly humiliated.
Why? Why would a diagnosis of clinical depression leave me ashamed and humiliated? I mean really, my counselors keep reiterating that I have suffered loss on a scale uncommon to the average individual, so depression is certainly not an uncommon or even an unexpected response. I think I felt ashamed because depression is a mental illness and in our society a stigma is still attached to mental illness. Secondly, I had higher, albeit, unrealistic expectations for myself and for my faith. Clinical depression represented, in my mind, both a personal failure to overcome and, far more painfully, a failure to avail myself of the power of God. It stank of insufficient faith; not an insufficient God.
At some point along the way I drank the kool-aid and ascribed to the cultural expectation that I was capable of conquering every obstacle by sheer force of will and tenacity. I should have realized, and in fact, from an intellectual perspective alone, I knew that was lie of epic proportions straight from the slithering serpent in garden of Eden. That far too prevalent belief system is nothing more than the heart and mind's rebellious desire to proclaim the soul god. It's the cunning and insidious whisper of the snake luring us into believing that with enough knowledge, with enough determination, with enough effort, we are in control.
In truth, that idea is nothing but a craftily designed hologram. An idea without formative substance. It's equivalent to the land of Oz and the impotent wizard hiding behind the castle doors and green drape.
How many times have you heard or used the analogy that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a duck? Therefore, a Christian can easily conclude in the deeply buried regions of their heart and mind, that if they fail to conquer the human emotions grief generates, from guilt to fear, sadness to anger, and so forth, they are failing to walk by faith. They are failing to apply the principles of their faith. They are not the Christian they believed themselves to be and often worse, they have failed to live up to the perceptions and expectation of fellow Christians to inspire saints and sinners alike, to give God glory and praise in the midst of their despair and to minister to others. In other words, God is not insufficient, their faith is insufficient. They have failed God's test of their faith.
But is that really true? This duck analogy sounds good, but is it universally applicable? The truth is that in a paradoxical fashion, faith demands doubt. The very essence of faith is to fall short of fact. Jesus has always been the bridge that spans the gap between what we know to be fact and what we trust to be true. When my faith, when your faith, falls short of expectation are we then dismal Christian failures? I don't think so. We have simply lived up to the limits of our personal faith at that point of time – and lived up to the very essence of faith in general.
The longer I live the more aware I am of exactly how dependent I am upon the Lord God Almighty. I am the instrument He forms at the potters wheel for His use. I am made in His image but I was not, nor was any human, created with His perfect power and holiness. As a result, I am vulnerable to temptation and a failure to differentiate between truth and lies and good and evil on occasion. And yes, I have fallen victim to Satan's devices. I've both allowed Satan to cunningly communicate a stark untruth about a simple diagnosis and to lead me to question God's love and kindness by contemplating the idea that He may have withheld the desires of my heart in spite of the fact that I did my best to delight myself in Him.
What exactly does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord you might ask? Gotquestions.org addressed that very question and their answer follows:
"Psalm 37:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find peace and fulfillment in Him. If we truly find satisfaction and worth in Christ, Scripture says He will give us the longings of our hearts. Does that mean, if we go to church every Sunday, God will give us a new Rolls Royce? No. The idea behind this verse and others like it is that, when we truly rejoice or "delight" in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His and we will never go unfulfilled. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be given to you as well."
Did God withhold the desires of my heart? No. Children were my heart's desire and I've been blessed with four. I got to love and nurture each one for a finite amount of time.
Did God steal the desire of my heart from me? The answer to that is no as well. My children were on loan to me. They were always His creation and David and I the chosen stewards.
Were they taken from us because we proved to be unworthy stewards? I don't believe that at all, in light of scripture. God predetermined the number of my childrens' days and in the case of my daughters he allowed man's free will to intersect with Bethany and Katie's number of days. The Bible tells us that sin impacts all of creation and the cost of sin is death. So be it accident or illness, intent or natural event, all death can ultimately be traced back to sin.
My grief recovery is complicated by the anticipation of more loss and the very real and reasonable fear of the destruction another loss will wreck within my heart. Even grieving families that aren't dealing with progressive disease often struggle with the anticipation and fear of more loss. They've lost their naiveté – they know bad things can and will happen to them – not someone else – down the road. But for most it is a vague Spector on the periphery of their minds. For me it is a far more tangible presence and I must find a way to make peace with that and what it teaches me about the Lord.
Our family was living with progressive disease long before the collision that took Bethany and Katie's lives. The difference between then and now is the loss of worldly hope. There is a popular saying, "Where there is hope, there is life." I have lost the majority of my worldly hopes. I know just saying that out loud will cause a great many people to reflexively remind me of all the worldly hopes that still lie before me. What they don't understand is that I no longer wish to have any worldly hope. Worldly hope leads to expectations. Expectations often lead to deferred hope and as we are told in Proverbs 13:12, "Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul: desire when it cometh is a tree of life." – Douay-Rheims Bible.
I prefer to invest my expectation in eternal hope alone; that of eternal life with my savior and fellow saints, because that hope is the only one guaranteed to come to fruition. I'm confident my hope of eternity will be fulfilled and not deferred.
However, I have yet to make peace with the role progressive disease will play in our lives, precisely because of all my prior losses. It feels unfair. It feels too much to ask of any one believer. If this is what God's love looks like, my more cynical perspective leads me to beg Him to share the love (with someone else)! And yes, God can carry me through anything He allows to happen in my life, but before anyone reminds me of that truth (because I am well aware it's true) put yourself in my shoes. Google ARSACS (a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy) and read about what it does to an individual and then imagine walking that path with your child. Imagine helping your child as their health declines. Imagine standing by helpless to change it or improve their quality of life. Imagine the things I've eluded to and left unspoken. Making peace with God's plans, with His will, with His sufficient grace is far harder when it's personal, when you find yourself "feeling" as if His grace might not be quite be sufficient for you after all you have endured already.
I have reached the point of acknowledging that the best I may be able to hope for in regards to ARSACS, may consist of a cycle of repeated but temporary interludes of peace.
We live in a continuous grief cycle. Gracen loses a previously mastered skill and we mourn and despair it's loss and the daily ramifications that ripple out in waves from that loss. Eventually, we adapt to her new normal and settle into a wary peace until the cycle restarts with a new loss. It's just the way life works in our home. Every time the cycle begins anew, we hurt. Fear arises as does disappointment and sometimes even despair. I'm not sure if the Holy Spirit is actually doing a new work of trust and peace with each cycle or if each cycle simply forces me to acknowledge an as yet unconquered weakness (or doubt) in my faith. Maybe I just keep spinning my wheels without making any forward progress. Yet a person who is maturing rarely notices the subtle changes until enough growth has occurred and their pants are inch too short. I imagine spiritual maturity is as subtle a process as manifest in physical maturity. It's only looking back far down the road that real progress is recognized.
Today, I am doing well to say without shame, my name is Janet Boxx. I am clinically depressed. I have anxiety issues. I have PTSD. I self medicate my anxiety with food. (Ok, that I'm ashamed of – although I'm happy to report that while I may be a glutton, at least for now I'm not a suicidal, drug or alcohol addicted, glutton). I lack the motivation to return phone calls, emails and text messages; to clean my house, pay bills, shop for groceries, do laundry and sometimes even to shower. It is what it is and my response to my life's circumstances is not abnormal in the bereaved parents community, even two years down the road.
Having said all that; do not drop by unannounced! I still have the capacity to feel great embarrassment and utter mortification. Just because I'm comfortable in my current state of sloth doesn't mean I'm equally comfortable having friends and family witness it.
Before speculation germinates, let me just say that David has demonstrated the utmost patience and support. He has taken on the tasks I normally do without complaint, anger or resentment. He has a servants heart and demonstrates his love for Gracen and I in actions more than words. He guards my privacy. David is better at compartmentalizing his grief than I am. He has not, nor has ever, abandoned me to my grief and more importantly has never criticized or judged the way in which I am coping with the very same losses he, himself, is dealing with. Our experiences with trauma are different because we were exposed to different things and took on different roles at the scene of the accident, at various hospitals, at home caring for Gracen during her recovery, with the medical community and the legal system and we simply deal with trauma differently.
This is what my life looks like when the Potter decides the pot He previously formed has served its intended purpose. This is what my life looks like once I was fractured into minuscule pieces, returned to softened clay, and set to spinning on the Potter's wheel while He molds me into a new shape with a new or more complicated purpose in mind (after all, I am still a wife and mother).
And you know what? As ugly as this lump of clay currently is, as uncomfortable as it is for me to find myself in this state, it's okay to be a lump of clay in the Creator's hands. There is no safer place to be and while others, myself included, may worry about who and what I'm becoming, I'm confident God is not. He sees beyond the here and now – past the dark tunnel I'm traveling through – clear to an eternal future where He will literally light my world.


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Flood Information
The Community FEMA, Flood Insurance and the Florida Building Code
Mount Dora's City Council passed the "Model Flood Ordinance" and the update to the Land Development Code and the Code of Ordinances on August 21, 2012. On December 18, 2012 the newest FEMA Firm maps for Lake County and the associated communities within will go into effect.
The Lake County GIS map maybe be accessed online, and printed maps will be available for viewing at City Hall in Building & Fire Prevention Construction Services. Please call to ensure someone is available to assist with the new maps at (352) 735-7115 x 1706.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
On March 15, 2012 the 2010 Florida Building Code became effective. One of the major changes this code cycle was the integration of the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) requirements into the building code. What will this change? In essence this will be a small change to the way flood management is accomplished. The requirements of construction work covered by the building code were moved from the local flood ordinance to a standardized version within the building code and the remaining flood requirements were incorporated into a new "Model Flood Ordinance" created by the Florida Department of Emergency Management with technical advice from the Building Officials of Association of Florida and members of the Florida Floodplain Managers Association.
FEMA Requires community participation in the NFIP. For communities that do not participate, property owners:
- Can not purchase flood insurance
- Can not obtain federally secured loans or mortgages on properties in high risk flood areas (Special Flood Hazard Areas or SFHA's)
- Will not be eligible for federal disaster assistance in the event of a natural disaster
The Flood Map Determination Application (PDF) is available at the permitting counter at City Hall or on the city website under Doing Business in Applications & Forms.
Flood Zone FAQs
Is the house in a FEMA Floodplain?
This is determined by locating the house on a current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The FIRM map is available in City Hall. We can assist you, your insurance company, or real estate agent in determining which flood hazard area your house or building lot is located. Flood plain information is also indicated on the FEMA Elevation Certificate for the parcel.
What is the current elevation of the house?
An Elevation Certificate is the best source for this information and the only verification accepted by FEMA. Some older existing property surveys have this information. A Florida registered architect, engineer or land surveyor can prepare an Elevation Certificate for your property. All new homes and substantial improvements to older homes are required to obtain an Elevation Certificate, prior to Certificate of Occupancy. Copies of Elevation Certificates are available at City Hall.
What is the actual cost of repairs and improvements?
To determine costs you will need a cost estimate from a licensed general contractor or a professional estimator. The cost must include all materials, labor, overhead and profit. If the owner does the work, standard labor rates must be included. Items not included are: costs for plans, surveys, permit fees, post-storm clean up, demolition, debris removal, costs to correct current code violations, and all outside improvements to items not directly attached to the structure.
How is current market value of the house determined?
For the purposes of determining substantial improvement or damage repair, market value pertains to the structure only. It does not pertain to the land, landscaping, or detached structures on the property. Estimates of market value can be obtained from the following:
- The County Property Appraiser's assessment records. The amount labeled Market Improvement Value is the improvements to the parcel less the value of the land.
- An independent appraisal by a Florida registered appraiser. The appraisal must exclude the value of the land and any accessory structures.
- FEMA National Flood Insurance Program claims data.
Flood Preparation and Safety: The Risk is Real so be Prepared
The first step in protecting your home and family is purchasing flood insurance. However, there are still a few things you can do to maximize your coverage, assure your safety, and prepare before a flood. Floods can happen anytime and anywhere, and they can happen fast. So whether you live on the river or not, you should always be ready. Here are some important things you can do to prepare:
- Copy your most important documents (mortgage papers, deed, passport, bank information.) Keep copies in your home and store originals in a secure place outside the home, like a bank safe deposit box.
- Take photos of your most valuable possessions (furniture, musical instruments, electronic equipment.) Store copies with other documents.
- Save and store receipts for any expensive household items (appliances, electronic equipment, etc.) so that you have proof of original cost.
- Make an itemized list of other possessions, such as clothing, books, small kitchen appliances, etc. You do not have to note every item and its cost, but the more comprehensive your list, the better.
- Flood insurance only covers equipment essential to the structure of the building, such as a air conditioners and hot water heater.
- Review your policy with your agent to make sure you have the proper level of protection.
- Provide your insurance agent, employer, and family with emergency contact information, so that you can be reached after a flood.
- Put aside an emergency kit equipped with a large flashlight, spare batteries, candles and waterproof matches.
- Keep a minimum 3-day supply of non-perishable food and bottled water on hand.
- Include a battery-powered radio in your emergency kit. Even if you never experience a flood, this kit will be handy during a power outage.
Please visit DisasterAssistance.gov for more information.
Be Safe During A Flood
We hope that you never have to experience a flood firsthand however, there are a few things you can do to stay safe:
- Don't walk through a flooded area. Just 6 inches of moving water can knock you down.
- Don't drive through a flooded area. Just 2 feet of water can lift and move a car, even an SUV. More people drown in their cars than anywhere else during a flood.
- Keep away from downed power lines and any other electrical wires – electrocution is often a major cause of death in floods.
- Watch out for animals that have lost their homes during a flood. Animals may seek shelter in your home and aggressively defend themselves.
- To learn more about staying safe before and during a flood, visit FloodSmart.gov or call 1-888-435-6637 to talk to an agent in your area.
Flood Warning System
The city, in cooperation with Lake County, keeps our residents informed about potential flooding. The Lake County EOC (Emergency Operation Center) in coordination with the National Weather Service (NWS) relays updates of threatening weather to government and media outlets. The NWS will issue a flood advisory for our area at least 6 hours before expected rainfall would overflow our drainage systems and cause the isolation of buildings by inland water ponding. Tune in to the following radio and television stations for information on flood threats:
Government access stations Bright House channel 199, Florida Cable channel 4, Lake-Sumter Community College Television (Comcast cable channel 13) and Lake Front TV (Comcast cable channel 22) air news conferences from the Lake County EOC.
Regular updates are also typically available on local television stations: NBC affiliate WESH-TV channel 2; CBS affiliate WKMG-TV channel 6; ABC affiliate WFTV-TV channel 9; FOX35 channel 35; Central Florida News 13 (Bright House Network cable only)
- Z88.3 FM is the local entry point for Emergency Alert Stations (EAS). Z88.3 also operates the following stations in Lake County:
- WMYZ 88.7 FM Clermont
- W212BF 90.3 FM Tavares
- W240BV 95.9 FM Mount Dora
- W245AZ 96.9 FM Leesburg
- W274AX 102.7 FM Groveland
Daily newspapers that provide Lake County emergency information include the Lake Sentinel, The Daily Commercial, The Villages Daily Sun and Ocala Star-Banner.
Additional Links
Home Builder's Guide to Coastal Construction
Flood maps, Insurance and information

subset: commoncrawl


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July 4th, 1776 marked the severance from Great Britain and announcing that the 13 colonies were now independent of the crown. The Declaration of Independence was the document that announced our freedom and is one of the founding documents of this great nation. Other founding documents include the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Today, I've made it a goal to read these founding documents, and I extend an invitation to all United States residents to do the same. In doing this, I hope to become more familiar with the rights given to all U.S. citizens and the powers of government. You can find text versions of these documents below:
Declaration of Independence
United States Constitution
Bill of Rights
Happy 4th of July.


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After five seasons and narrowly escaping being cancelled several times, Chuck has come to an end. Tonight, NBC aired the final two episodes of the underdog TV series that got a true series finale — one that you'd hope that any beloved show could get.
As promised, the finale hearkened back to the early days of the series and provided more than a few references to the early episodes. Chuck was determined, in his old geeky way, to bring Sarah back to her senses. He did but she still didn't have her memories.
A bomb that was attached to the General's chair at the opera house would go off as soon as the musical performance (thanks to Jeffster and Morgan conducting) stopped. Given the choice to use Intersect himself to diffuse the bomb or use it to restore Sarah's memories, Chuck of course makes the hero's choice. He saves the day, at the cost of losing what he'd built with his true love.
For any longtime viewer, it would be tough to hold back tears as the trio disbanded, first Casey and then Sarah left Chuck standing alone.
Still, there were plenty of happy events. The Jeffster guys are offered a big record deal with a German music company. Subway (a longtime Chuck sponsor) buys out the Buy More. How fitting. Morgan moves in with Alex. Ellie and Captain Awesome move to Chicago to work at a hospital. Casey goes after Verbanski.
The series ends with Chuck finding Sarah on their beach, still confused. He tells her that he'll always be there for her, whatever she does and wherever she goes. She responds by asking him to tell her a story. And he does, recounting the events and details of their time together over the last five years. They share a lot of laughter and tears.
Chuck then says, "Morgan, has this crazy idea… He thinks that with just one kiss, you'll remember everything." She asks, "One magical kiss?"
He says, "Yeah…" Sarah quickly responds, "Chuck… kiss me." And he does, and they kiss over and over on the beach, as the camera pulls back and the scene fades to black. End of series.
What do you think? Were you satisfied by the Chuck series finale? Was there anything missing?
Image courtesy NBC.


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Drooling Mac-o-philes, BlackBerry addicts and new fans of the Microsoft Surface alike can now make that big circle on their calendars: Apple's iPhone has a release date, and it's June 29 (at least that's what the company's sweet new ads would lead us to believe). We'll pick up our own smartphone-on-steroids then (if not sooner), and walk you around with video. Meanwhile, Steve Jobs and Co. took streaming movies one step further by putting YouTube on Apple TV, though some users were less than pleased that their personal information was embedded in the latest DRM-free push from the iTunes Music Store.
While Vladimir Putin may be setting off alarms about American missile defense, it was a false alarm in Indonesia today that sent thousands fleeing for their lives. A 30-minute siren incorrectly indicating an approaching tsunami caused a mass exodus in an area that was torn up after the devastating real-life disaster nearly three years ago. Might be time to tsunami-proof your home, because it's just one of several natural disasters that could always be on the way.
And in the latest from the fake meat industry, scientists in the Netherlands are well on their way toward eliminating our dependence on livestock. Don't expect to grill lab-grown meat this summer, though, or even in the next couple summers; only a thin layer of cells have been produced so far. —Sudhana Bajracharya


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Sure the Vancouver Island marmot is cute.
But that hasn't helped the little guy much in the singles scene.
Neither has the new wardrobe, those daily visits to the gym, nor the constant scouring of the internet for the latest dating tips from e-Harmony and GQ.
But what has worked for Vancouver Island's fuzziest icon in his bid to breed like a rabbit is the help and support of his own personal love doctor, Axel Moehrenschlager.
To be clear, Moehrenschlager is a modest, quiet man, who politely but firmly rejects the love doctor title, and generally leaves the hands-on work with the pint-sized rodents to the other zookeepers and scientists at the Calgary Zoo's Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre.
But as the zoo's director of conservation and science, Moehrenschlager is ultimately responsible for 13 marmot yearlings that have been released on Vancouver Island in recent weeks as part of an ongoing — and highly successful — captive breeding program.
The cuddly-looking little rock-dweller may inspire bad jokes from writers and delighted squees from casual observers, but saving Canada's most endangered mammal is serious business.
And yes, Moehrenschlager is proud of their progress.
"I think it is one of the most dramatic recoveries for an endangered species in such a relatively short time anywhere," he said. "I think the primary reason why it's been working well is the level of co-operation between the different agencies. It's been exceptionally good."
The Calgary Zoo got its first Vancouver Island marmots in the late 1990s when the population was one hungry wolf pack away from extinction. At the instigation of the provincial government, spurred by a small group of Island conservationists, a handful of marmots was taken from the wild and paired up under the watchful eyes of scientists there and in a few other locations.
The program's initial years were about establishing a sustainable colony at the DWCC, an off-site branch of the zoo outside the public eye that is dedicated strictly to species rehabilitation. There, matchmakers discovered some concrete trends. The most successful breeders were younger, but not the youngest. They had previously had a pup. And they had been paired with their partner for more than a year.
Vancouver Island marmots are not indiscriminate breeders. They are social animals and will stray, but are most successful with a steady partner. Scientists work hard to find compatible pairings and bypass a marmot tendency to mate with cousins and siblings. Genetic diversity is important for the health of the species, and difficult to create when you are dealing with only about two-dozen prospective parents.
The number of pups delivered in Calgary varies from year to year; four have arrived in 2016. Once they are a year old, the zoo turns them over to the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation. They are quarantined for a while at a facility on Mount Washington to ensure their health, given a surgically implanted tracker, then released — hopefully to find mates and add to a growing number of pups born in the wild.
Cheyney Jackson, the field coordinator for the foundation, said the knowledge and support of the zoo and other partners in the captive breeding program has been crucial to the survival of the species.
"It's been huge," she said. "The recovery of the species to date is largely due to them."
When the first breeding program pups were introduced back into the wild in 2003, there were about 30 marmots living on Vancouver Island. That number is now estimated at about 300.
The goal is ultimately to get the species downgraded from the national "endangered" list to the list of "special concern," which basically means it will have reached a point of self-sustainability.
But there is still a long way to go. Initial estimates pegged the "safe" population at 600. But in the wake of further study, and given the number of variable factors involved, the rehabilitation team is hesitant to adopt any figure at all. Instead, a recent reassessment resulted in a new focus on trends and making sure the wild population is large enough to rebound from the unexpected. This spring, for example, 36 members of the wild colonies of Strathcona Park failed to survive the winter.
"Picking a number was done a long time ago," Moehrenschlager (above) said. "It's just so hard to know. One of the things about ecology in general and conservation in particular is that it is so unpredictable."
Similar concerns have led the foundation to consider reversing a 2011 decision to stop seeding the Nanaimo Lakes region to observe how the population there reacted. Numbers thus far have been relatively stable, but remain vulnerable.
"They are small enough numbers that one predator moving in can devastate a colony," Jackson said. "I suspect the population might not be enough."
Unique to Vancouver Island, the marmot is native to the open spaces of the high country along the island's central and south-central spine. The Marmot Recovery Foundation has nurtured growing populations in two pockets: Nanaimo Lakes, which basically comprises an area between Cowichan Lake and Mount Arrowsmith; and Strathcona, spanning both sides of Buttle Lake and including Mount Washington.
Population numbers had declined almost to the point of no return in the '90s before observers were fully aware of the severity of the situation. Even after two decades of study, the experts aren't sure of the reasons. Increased predation and habitat change are certainly factors, but how and why is something they are still struggling to grasp, even as they continue to take steps to address the issue.
"I see it as analogous to emergency room medicine. You start treatment of some sort without fully understanding the situation. The alternative is basically letting your patient die on the table," Moehrenschlager said.
In some ways, the Island's marmot recovery effort may have become a victim of its own success. As the wild population has increased, the numbers in captivity have dwindled from 177 to 43. The main reason is reduced funding coming in from both government and private sources to maintain the captive breeders and transition their offspring.
Where there were once four facilities breeding marmots, there is now just Calgary and a smaller program at the Toronto Zoo. As a result, the foundation is looking to find more partners and new sources of cash.
"We are definitely trying to reinvigorate the captive breeding program," Jackson said.
In addition to his duties in Calgary, Moehrenschlager serves as the chairman of the Reintroduction Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the world's premier anti-extinction organization. He said Canada, as a land rich in both resources and space, needs to use its assets to set a conservation example for the rest of the world. And he believes continued support for the Vancouver Island marmot makes a necessary statement.
"One of the things I think about is that if we as Canadians let uniquely Canadian species become extinct…we have no credibility or authority to say anything about the species of other countries.
"We need to be leaders."
Follow me on Twitter @JohnMcKinleyBP


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Mon July 08, 2013 - National Edition
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Frustrated with state and federal officials, opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are turning to low-level county commissions and zoning boards in a new attempt to slow a project that has become a focal point of national battle over climate change.
Landowners and other opponents of the pipeline, which could carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf coast, are asking county commissions along the route to pass resolutions formally opposing the project to show the federal government there is local opposition. They're also pushing for local zoning regulations - no matter how small - that could make it harder for the project to proceed.
"If enough counties have regulations - real, meaningful regulations to protect the groundwater - then maybe it hits a point where it's not very economical to run this thing through Nebraska," said Brian Bedient, a farmer in eastern Nebraska, the state where the opposition effort is based.
The new local strategy comes as most state officials in Nebraska have dropped their opposition since Calgary-based pipeline owner TransCanada agreed to move the proposed route away from an ecologically sensitive area. Federal agencies and other states on the route have not raised obstacles to the plan. President Obama, who has expressed some concerns about the impact on climate change, could make a decision later this year on whether to give final government approval.
National environmental groups charge that the United States should not cooperate with fossil fuel projects that would contribute to global warming. But project supporters argue that the U.S. is better off with more oil produced in friendly countries than hostile ones.
The proposed pipeline route crosses 12 Nebraska counties, each with a local government commission. In April, Holt County became the first in Nebraska to pass a resolution opposing the project. Landowners in York County will ask the county board to approve a similar measure this month.
TransCanada company officials have met with all county commissions along the pipeline's proposed route. TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard said the company has promised to build the $7 billion pipeline to rigorous safety standards and carry $200 million in insurance to cover any cleanup costs.
"We work very hard to be seen as a good neighbor and to answer the questions that landowners, regulators or elected officials may have," Howard said.
The company says that pipeline opponents are resorting to delaying tactics after repeatedly failing to stop the project.
For the officials in rural, sparely populated counties, the pipeline presents a difficult balancing act between landowners' concerns about their private property rights and the potential exposure to company lawsuits.
"You hope to make the right decisions, to support what your constituents are thinking," said Holt County Commissioner William Tielke. "But we still have to follow the rules of the federal government."
Obama, who had held up approval during the fight over the original route, said last week the project from Canada to Texas should be approved if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution.
Farmer Jim Carlson, whose land near Osceola, Neb., is on the proposed pipeline route, said it makes sense for local officials to get involved.
"County officials have a responsibility to make sure the public is protected from anything that might happen," Carlson said.
Larry Dix, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials, said local authorities could order a review before a pipeline could run under a county road, or for heavy trucks and machinery to cross bridges. But a blanket attempt to deny access would almost certainly trigger a lawsuit that counties would lose, he said.
That's not stopping opponents from trying, and many county officials seem to be sympathetic. Opponents argue that local opinion could affect Obama's decision.
"This is a no-brainer: We'll back our taxpayers," said Ralph Metschke, a Holt County commissioner.
York County Commissioner Tom Shellington says he now understands landowners' argument that the intrusion isn't justified.
"All we're doing here is putting the pipeline down, shipping the oil to Texas, refining it and sending it overseas. I just don't see much benefit for Nebraska - but I don't know if we have any power if the president approves it."
Opponents are asking county officials to push for noise restrictions during construction, local agreements to restore damaged land, and permitting fees for inspections and running a pipeline beneath county roads.
In August, Nebraska opponents plan to erect two barns with solar panels and wind turbines directly in the pipeline's path - a move designed to force developer TransCanada to run the pipeline around them or invoke eminent domain power to destroy them. Organizers have raised $10,000 of the $65,000 needed to build the structures.
Case Energizes Compact Equipment Market With Launch of Two Electrified Mini Excavators, D Series Mini Excavators


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Father of pope's imprisoned butler defends son
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The father of Pope Benedict XVI's imprisoned butler said in a letter published Sunday his son was honest and that he hopes the truth will emerge concerning the leaks of sensitive Vatican documents.
Andrea Gabriele's comments marked the first by relatives of papal butler Paolo Gabriele, who was arrested May 23 after scores of documents from the papal apartments were found in his Vatican City home. He is accused of aggravated theft and remains the only suspect in the case of leaked Vatican documents, which exposed corruption, infighting and power struggles in the Catholic Church's highest levels of governance.
While Andrea Gabriele defended his son, he hinted that the motivation behind the leaks was to expose wrongdoing for the sake of purifying the church. He said he hoped that Benedict's call to carry out "the necessary cleaning of the church" is realized.
"Paolo is paying the price firsthand for a reality that's difficult to understand until the motive of what has happened is made public," he wrote in the letter to Italian television station Tgcom 24, which published it on its website.
The younger Gabriele, a 46-year-old father of three, has been imprisoned in a holding facility located inside the Vatican gendarmes' barracks since his arrest; he is allowed regular visits by his family and lawyers, and attends Mass weekly.
Many Vatican watchers have seen in the leaks a plot to undermine the authority of Benedict's No. 2, the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who has been blamed for a host of gaffes during Benedict's seven-year papacy. But in one of his last acts before going on vacation July 3, Benedict sent a letter to Bertone, lamenting the "unjust criticism" that had been leveled against him and reaffirming his confidence in him.
Benedict's gesture was evidence of the seriousness with which the leaks have been treated in the Vatican. Aside from the criminal investigation that resulted in Paolo Gabriele's arrest, Benedict appointed three cardinals to canvas the Vatican bureaucracy to get to the bottom of the leaks.
They are due to report back to the pope this week. Also expected soon is a decision on whether Gabriele will be indicted or whether charges will be dropped. If he is indicted, a trial in the Vatican tribunal -- which would be open to the media -- is likely to begin in September, the Vatican has said.
In the letter, Andrea Gabriele insisted on his son's "great generosity and moral integrity," and his love for the church and both Benedict and Pope John Paul II. He said his son "is an honest person and will wait as long as it takes until everything is clarified."
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield


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From Left: Chocolate Gelato Candidates 1, 2 and 3
However, it is a legitimate question to ask what the difference is, because ice cream and gelato in my opinion share approximately the same latitude of similarity as leberwurst and foie gras. Both are good, but it's obvious which one you'd be smearing on your toast if given the choice. As a matter of fact, I once spent four weeks in Italy trying to pin down the elusive qualities that set true gelato in a class by itself. It required extensive and back-breaking research, let me tell you, but the conclusions I came to were thankfully more than worth the effort. Here's what I discovered. First, gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream, which allows it to keep its creamy, supple texture and causes it to take less time to melt and release its perfumes on the tongue. Second, gelato flavors are often mind-blowingly intense thanks to to a lower fat content – fat by nature coating the tastebuds and dulling perception of flavor – a happy fact I can confirm as I was able to plough my way through remarkable quantities of the stuff without batting an eyelid (or loosening my belt… er, too much). Third, I noticed that when gelato melts, it doesn't flow in sticky little rivulets out of the cone and all over your hand; instead it keeps its shape remarkably well, even under the scorching heat of the midday Italian sun.
And what does all this mean for the home gelato craver? Well, these observations led me to the conclusion that a good homemade gelato needs to be given the following treatment if there is any hope of approximating the original: a) it should preferably be kept in a home freezer that has had the temperature raised ever so slightly so that it doesn't over-harden; b)it must contain only milk, no cream; c) it should contain large amounts of flavoring agents, preferably from fresh, ripe natural sources; and d) it should be comparatively thick in its unfrozen state (think pudding), thus insuring a slow and even melt. Ideally we would also have a high-end gelato machine in the equation, which through its expert coddling would freeze our base into a dense, silky and ice-free treat. I realize this may be a bit much to ask for in most households (including my own), and the turning-up the freezer part may be unrealistic as well (after all, heaven knows what balmy temperatures will do to that haunch of venison you've been saving for a rainy day). That is why I have tested the following gelato recipes without the use of any machine whatsoever and have frozen them in nothing but my tiny fridge-internal freezer compartment (which as a matter of fact has no separate temperature control, and god knows I wouldn't want my milk going sour, even for the sake of gelato).
The first problem confronting the prospective home gelato-maker, after she has accepted the above truths and techniques, is what flavor to make. Again, Italian gelato-veterans know that the typical choice on offer even in a modest gelateria can induce paralyzing internal debates, and the gelato giants (think Vivoli in Florence) can positively make you collapse from decision neurosis. Everyone agrees, however, that there are a few standards which must be done well, and which can be used to test the quality of any new place you encounter. In Italy the flavors I always chose to test new establishments' credentials were pistachio (which should not be overly green AND should taste like real pistachios), lemon (should be equal parts tart, sweet and fresh), and of course my own Achilles' heel: chocolate. Chocolate should be first and foremost deeply, darkly and dangerously chocolaty, it must not be overly sweet but at the same time not overly bitter, and it should be every bit as silky, creamy and nuanced on the tongue as an artisan chocolate truffle, but much more refreshing. Needless to say, it's a hard flavor to master.
Which is why, in order to bring to you the best possible recipe for making it, I decided to first conduct a taste test. I collected three chocolate gelato recipes from reputable sources, but not before deciding that all must conform to two criteria: namely, that they had to use only milk, no cream, and also that they must use both chocolate and cocoa powder for the most intense and complex chocolate flavor possible. The rest of the ingredients and proportions were free to vary, though as you can see all three recipes rely upon a more-or-less identical basic formula. Apparently it is within the small differences of ingredient or technique that good gelato is separated from great gelato, so here is where I paid the most attention to detail. As you can see below, one recipe used a higher proportion of bittersweet chocolate to cocoa, another used the reverse, and the third used maximum amounts of both. Two of the recipes asked me to caramelize a small portion of the sugar to give the flavor more depth. Although I had restricted myself to using only milk, in one of the recipes I substituted evaporated milk for a portion of the normal milk, wondering what effect this would have on overall flavor and creaminess. The two other things I did to insure maximum flavor were adding a pinch of salt to all three recipes, because I believe this brings out the flavor of most ice creams, and chilling the bases overnight in the refrigerator before freezing to 'ripen' the flavors.
And the results, you ask? The results were astounding. All three recipes were so dense and creamy they put Haagen Dazs to shame. They were so chocolaty I put off publishing this post until the leftovers were gone for fear that I would be inundated with friends demanding samples. And they were so delicious I had to include the recipes for all three. But naturally, there was also a winner.
Do try your hand at making one of these. They're easier to whip up than you'd imagine, and the results will satisfy even the most hardened gelatoholic. Just don't plan to do it when other people are around. After all, when you're dealing with gelato this good, a little selfishness is usually justified.
The Taste-Off
The tast
ers: yours truly (aka Melissa) and trusty sidekick (aka Manuel) (I know what you're thinking, but I couldn't exactly hide it all from him, now could I?)
The method: Three containers, one spoon, no previous chocolate in system.
Gelato 1 (pictured above on left)
The grainiest (and hardest-freezing) of the three, due to having the highest percentage of cocoa butter which becomes grainy and hard when frozen (yet another thing learned from Alice). The chocolate flavor from the bittersweet bar was good, but not as deep and complex as the others which contained higher percentages of cocoa. Rather resembled ice cream than gelato, but nice in its own way for being not overpoweringly chocolaty. Very difficult to scoop on day 2, however.
Melissa: 6/10
Manuel: 5/10
Gelato 2 (pictured above in center) *WINNER*
Wow. This used a higher proportion of cocoa to chocolate, resulting in a super dense silky texture that remained even after extended freezing (cocoa keeps ice cream soft, didn't you know?). The flavor was very deep and well-rounded, without the gritty/powdery aftertaste present in number 3. The evaporated milk, if I do say so, was a brilliant addition, adding a subtle extra-milky creaminess that complemented the chocolate perfectly; it also added a slightly caramely undertone without having to go through the hassle of actually caramelizing the sugar. Brought back memories of sweaty afternoons lounging in piazzas.
Melissa: 9.5/10
Manuel: 9/10
Gelato 3 (pictured above on right)
This had by far the strongest chocolate flavor of all, not surprising considering it contained maximum amounts of both types of chocolate to minimum amounts of milk. Although when the first taste of this hit my mouth I thought it would be the winner, two things bothered me by the time it slid down my throat: 1) it had a gritty/powdery aftertaste; 2) it was almost TOO chocolaty, if that's possible. It actually didn't taste like ice cream/gelato, but rather like frozen ganache (and has the consistency to match). A couple of spoonfuls of this and I was ready to throw in the towel. If you're looking for the knock-down drag-out ultimate in chocoalte, look no further, though apparently, for me at least, there indeed can be 'too much of a good thing'.
Melissa: 7/10
Manuel: 8/10
The Recipes
Disclaimer: I shouldn't need to say this, but I will anyway – your chocolate gelato will really truly only be as good as the chocolate/cocoa you put into it. Since there's not a lot else in these recipes that can make up for mediocre chocolate taste, splurge on the best you can get your hands on – it's worth the investment, and your tastebuds will thank you. (I used Lindt 70% bittersweet chocolate and Poulain 1848 cocoa.)
Additional notes: I intended to do my immersion-blender trick of blending everything up after freezing for a few hours to lessen ice-crystal formation, but it was completely unnecessary: the cocoa in these keeps the mixture wonderfully supple and apart from a quick stir I just left them alone until we were ready to eat.
Chocolate Gelato No. 1
Source: recipes.epicurean.com
Yield: about 3 cups.
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
3.5 oz bittersweet chocolate
7 tablespoons cocoa powder (Dutch-process or regular, it's your choice)
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
Beat the egg yolks with a whisk. Gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar and pinch salt. In saucepan, bring milk to a boil, remove from heat. When slightly cooled, very slowly add to the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly and quickly, being careful not to curdle the eggs. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and stir until smooth and silky. Pour into custard mixture and blend. Add cocoa powder and mix well.
Pour this mixture into a larger saucepan, place over medium heat (do not boil) and stir until the mixture thickens slightly. In another saucepan, heat the 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 tablespoons water until a caramel is formed. Add this to the custard and blend well. (I added a little milk to this to dissolve the caramel, as I feared it would harden upon hitting the chocolate). Chill this overnight and then process in ice cream maker or freeze for 6-8 hours in a freezer-safe container.
Chocolate Gelato No. 2
Source (adapted): www.epicurious.com
Yield: about 1 quart.
2 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (Dutch-process or regular, it's your choice)
4 large egg yolks
pinch salt
Coarsely chop chocolate. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan bring milk, evaporated milk, and about half of sugar just to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add cocoa powder and chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat yolks, remaining sugar and salt until thick and pale. Add hot chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into saucepan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 160°F (I usually just do this by instinct – just don't let it boil!). Pour custard through a sieve into a metal bowl set in ice and cold water and cool. Chill custard, covered, until cold. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker (or else just place in freezer). Transfer to an airti
ght container and put in freezer to harden for several hours.
Chocolate Gelato No. 3
Source: Faith Willinger
Yield: about 3 cups
1 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (Dutch-process or regular, it's your choice)
3.5 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
4 large egg yolks, beaten lightly
pinch salt
In a dry 3-quart heavy saucepan cook 1/4 cup sugar, undisturbed, over moderate heat until it begins to melt and cook, stirring with a fork, until melted completely and deep golden brown. Remove pan from heat and dip pan briefly into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. (Caramel will harden.) Cool pan about 5 minutes and return to heat. Add milk and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until caramel is melted. Whisk in cocoa until combined well and keep mixture warm. In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (or a double boiler), melt chocolate, stirring, and remove from heat. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat egg yolks with remaining 3/4 cup sugar and pinch salt until thick and pale. Whisk in caramel mixture and chocolate in streams, whisking until combined. Pour custard into another 3-quart heavy saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 140° F. Cook custard, stirring (do not let it boil) 4 minutes more and remove pan from heat. Cool custard completely and freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturers instructions (or just freeze 6-8 hours until solid, stirring once or twice).


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Hi Kellie,
Love your site and subscribed to your mailing list.
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april nicole
Welcome to Mom Blogger's Club! I hope you enjoy your time here and find it helpful! I know it can be overwhelming at first but I promise, you'll be a pro on here in no time! I write a blog called The Adventures of J-Man and MillerBug. It's a blog about my life with my two boys and I do some pretty cool giveaways (OK, I think they're cool! Do you?)
Every weekend I host the Finding New Friends Weekend Blog Hop. It's a great way to find new followers and friends as well as get to know more of your fellow mom bloggers. If you're not familiar with a blog hop, all you have to do is add your blog to the list. Participants then "hop" from blog to blog to find great new blogs! It's a ton of fun! I'd love to have you join us. It's going on now so come on over and link up! You can find it here:http://www.jmanandmillerbug.com/2011/10/finding-new-friends-weekend-blog-hop_13.html#more. Be sure to leave a messge if you join up so that I can follow you back!
Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you with anything in your blogging journey! I look forward to being your friend!


text:
(not satire – it's the UKIP!)
Isn't UKIP leader Nigel Farage supposed to love the pound?
He must do because he decided to use it as the logo for his party:
So why – during his jaunt to the US last year – has Nigel been having cosy dinners and generally hanging out (as our American cousins would say) with a man who not only once but twice tried to trash the pound – once calling sterling a "basket case" – in order to further his personal investments.
Here's a recent picture of Farage with some of his US pals:
The man on the far left (!) is Ron Paul (a man who is so right-wing he's known in the US as the Godfather of the Tea Party). But even more interestingly the man second on the right with the pink top is billionaire investor James Beeland Rogers, Jr. – co-founder with George Soros of the Quantum Fund.
The Quantum Fund became famous in 1992 for supposedly "breaking" the Bank of England and Rogers and Soros reportedly made billions by betting against Sterling, eventually forcing the devaluation of the pound.
Rogers also tried the same trick in 2010 (but failed) by publicly calling the pound ' a basket case' of world currencies – hoping the subsequent run on Sterling would again make him billions.
Amazingly, it's been reported in the US that pound-loving Farage has been seen having dinner with pound-trashing Rogers and Paul.
Call me old-fashioned – but I would have thought someone who loved the pound as much as Farage would avoid socialising with people who regularly go out of their way to trash his beloved Sterling for personal gain.
But there again, maybe Farage doesn't love the pound quite as much as he loves furthering his own political career?
What do you think?
A very big thanks to Lorraine Chaplin for the heads up on this.
Related articles by Tom Pride:
Whatever you do, DON'T share this on the internet about UKIP:
UKIP deputy leader calls for end of NHS
Read this email exchange in which a local resident takes apart UKIP
UKIP donor: ban trousers on women because "skirts give erections"!
If UKIP is so bloody libertarian – why has it said nothing against secret courts?
Government ministers announce plan to deter immigrants to UK by making it shit
Oops! Daily Mail gets British immigration test wrong
UKIP and a little matter of bestiality and necrophilia …..
Please feel free to comment. And share. Thanks:


text:
2015 GMC Yukon Catches Fire on Test Drive, GM Investigating
No Major Injuries, Team Dispatched from Detroit to Determine Cause
Vehicle fires, especially on newer models, are statistically rare, but in this day of instantaneous social media, even isolated incidents can receive widespread attention. This past weekend, a brand-new 2015 GMC Yukon taken on a test drive in Anaheim, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Few details surrounding the circumstances or causes of the fire are yet public, but some bystanders and reports are mentioning a fluid leak that caused a fire to start in the front of the vehicle.
Fire authorities were dispatched quickly and put the fire out within 20 minutes. Residents of the nearby neighborhood reported hearing popping noises, which were likely the front tires exploding from the heat of the flames. The fire was extinguished before it got a chance to reach the rear of the vehicle and the fuel tank.
General Motors spokesperson Alan Adler said an investigative team from General Motors headquarters in Detroit has been sent to Southern California to examine the Yukon, and the possible causes of the fire. Nobody was seriously injured in the incident.
The GMC Yukon and related Chevrolet Tahoe have just gone on sale within the past few months, and there have been no official recall campaigns yet on the vehicles.
Source: KTLA, Los Angeles Times, General Motors
Trending Pages
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Watch Kia Soul Pinwheel Through Air After Hitting a Brodozer's Rogue Wheel
Take the Latest EV Battery Breakthrough News With a Grain of Salt
Is This the Next-Gen 2024 Toyota Tacoma? The Previews Begin
New All-Electric Jeeps Leak Out of Stellantis Dealer Meeting


text: Orlando Bloom's supermodel wife Miranda Kerrhas been named the Sexiest Woman Alive by Britain's Esquire magazine. The Australian stunner shares the Esquire crown with Mila Kunis, who was named America's Sexiest Woman last month (Oct12). The Victoria's Secret angel, who is a new mum, graces the cover of the new men's magazinewearing nothing but a pair of purple panties. In the accompanying interview, Kerr suggests her fun and flirtatious spirit is what makes her sexy: "It's second nature to me. I don't really think of rules, as long as it's classy and timeless and it's something I wouldn't be ashamed of. I believe in celebrating the female figure and embracing what we've been given."


text:
Among the worldwide efforts to help the people of Japan following the recent earthquake and tsunami are school children who are reaching out in various ways. One New Jersey school is taking a unique approach to help, and teach its children empathy for the victims in Japan at the same time.
There are nearly 40 Japanese-American students at the Somerville Elementary School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. But all of the school's 525 students have heard about the disasters that hit Japan. They have decorated their school with a veritable flock of paper origami cranes. In Japan, it is said folding 1,000 paper cranes confers the right to make a wish, and the Somerville students are engaged in an effort to translate their empathy for victims of Japan's earthquake and tsunami into a wish for a speedy recovery.
Art teacher Samantha Stankiewicz says it gives students a way to express empathy for victims.
"For children, the folding of the cranes has been a really positive way for them to feel like they're actively engaged, even though the cranes are symbolic," said Stankiewicz.
These students thought out loud as they folded cranes in the school library.
BOY: "The crane is a symbol of hope, so we try to have a lot of hope for those people in Japan."
GIRL 1: "It makes me feel really happy that everyone's caring for another country."
GIRL 2: "I feel sad for them; like really sad for them. But I also feel happy for us, because we are really trying to help out."
That help consists of contributions from students to disaster relief agencies. Principal Lorna Oates-Santos says children at the school have donated nearly $2,000.
"We will be donating that money to the American Red Cross and Save the Children," said Oates-Santos. "They are two groups that are ready, on the ground in Japan to help the people of Japan."
Joining the assistance effort is the school's television club, which produces weekly programs on a variety of topics. Fourth grade teacher Gabrielle King runs the club.
"When the earthquake happened, the children wanted to know what they could do to inform other students and raise awareness for the people in Japan," said King. "So, we decided to do a show on the earthquake, and to also making the cranes; the origami cranes."
Somerville Elementary made 1,000 cranes and a wish for the people of Japan to have a prompt recovery.


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Story highlights
A list of retailers is not final, a representative says
1.8 million pounds of beef recalled for E. coli risk
Recalled cases were from Wolverine Packing Co.
Food Safety and Inspection Service identifies stores in nine states
Check your ground beef before you grill this Memorial Day weekend. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says stores in at least 15 states may have received beef contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
The service announced this week that 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products were being recalled because they could be contaminated. The federal agency has since named businesses that may have received the tainted products.
Stores that may be affected include:
• Gordon Food Service Marketplace stores in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin
• Giorgio's Italian Delicatessen in Stuart, Florida
• M Sixty Six General Store in Orleans, Michigan
• Buchtel Food Mart in Buchtel, Ohio
What government tests found in your meat
A representative for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the meat is being removed from store shelves. But consumers should return or throw out meat that has the code EST.2574B and a production date between March 31 and April 18, 2014.
The ground beef is sold under a variety of labels, according to the USDA, but comes from Wolverine Packing Co. in Detroit.
"While none of the Wolverine Packing product has tested positive for the pathogen implicated in this outbreak, the company felt it was prudent to take this voluntary recall action in response to the illnesses and initial outbreak investigation findings," said Chuck Sanger, a spokesman for Wolverine Packing.
Eleven people across four states are suspected to have been sickened by the product, according to the USDA, which learned about the first such illnesses on May 8. Ten of those people were sickened after eating at restaurants that received contaminated meat. But federal officials say regulations prohibit them from naming those restaurants.
"People who were exposed were already exposed, so it doesn't help the public to tell them now that a certain restaurant was associated with these illnesses," said David Goldman, assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Science at the USDA. "Our job really is to identify product that may still be available."
According to information officials received from the packing company, he said, the meat went to many states.
"The number changes. Yesterday, it was on the order of nearly 40 states, but we don't – that number changes. That's part of the process, too, is to identify where the food – the meat in this case – was actually distributed," Goldman said.
A list of stores released Wednesday is not final, a Food Safety and Inspection Service representative said. More establishments will be added as the USDA continues its investigation.
The recall was categorized by the Food Safety and Inspection Service as Class I: a health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.
E. coli is a large group of bacteria that live in the intestines of people and animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Certain strains cause gastrointestinal illness in humans, with symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea. An estimated 265,000 infections occur in the United States each year, the CDC says.
People usually get sick three to four days after ingesting the bacteria and recover on their own. Young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people who have weakened immune systems (like cancer or HIV patients) are at greater risk for severe illness and death.
The best way to avoid getting sick is by washing hands frequently when preparing food and avoiding cross-contamination by washing cutting boards, counters and utensils with hot, soapy water.
Properly washing hands after using the bathroom and after coming into contact with animals or being in their environments – anywhere there may be traces of feces – also helps.
Cooking meats thoroughly to at least 160°F or 70˚C kills the bacteria and prevents infection as well. Using a meat thermometer will most accurately help you determine that the food is thoroughly cooked.
Eatocracy: Don't get sick from your picnic
Food Safety and Inspection Service officials said in a news release that the agency is continuing to work with state and federal public health partners on the investigation and provide updated information as it becomes available.
After CNN exclusive, USDA probing 'personnel issues' in meat recall
How 9 million pounds of bad meat escaped into the food supply
CNN's Chris Frates, David Fitzpatrick, Jacque Wilson, Miriam Falco, Elizabeth Cohen, William Hudson and Stephanie Smith contributed to this report.


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Fatal hit-and-run: Refugee families mourn loss of teen daughters
As relatives stood around him Monday afternoon, Augustine Ndayisenga told a friend in the Kirundi language that he was "crying deep inside."
Ndayisenga's daughter Irafasha Vestina, 14, and her friend Violette Ntawurusimba, 13, were killed Sunday night in what authorities described as a hit-and-run in north Amarillo. Both girls and their families arrived in Amarillo last year after fleeing political unrest in Tanzania several years ago.
The girls were walking closely together at 8:14 p.m. when a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup hit them on North Mirror Street at the intersection with Wichita Avenue, police said. Authorities charged Gillermo Flores, 19, of Amarillo, with two counts of accident causing injury or death. Police said he left the scene and family later brought him to the police department.
Irafasha and Violette and their families formed a quick friendship after meeting in Amarillo. The girls sang in the First Baptist Church's Burundi congregation choir. Violette loved to be with her friends and sing, relatives said. She "liked to laugh and make people laugh," said her mother, Ndayishimiye Munaria.
The families attended church Sunday morning and the girls later ate dinner at the home of Irafasha's brother, relatives said. They then set off for Irafasha's home at Lakeview Apartments, near the intersection of North Mirror and Wichita.
A neighborhood boy saw the accident and raced home to tell his mother, who knew the girls and called their families, relatives said. The girls were dead by the time the families arrived, relatives said.
Police said alcohol did not appear to be a factor.
An attempt to reach Flores' relatives at his home was unsuccessful Monday.
Both Irafasha and Violette were born in Tanzania, relatives said. The girls both attended Horace Mann Middle School, and they walked together wherever they went, said Aimable Sibomana, the friend who translated for the families Monday.
A local Burundian community service organization is working to help the families pay funeral expenses, said Gina Rudd, a First Baptist member and English as a second language teacher. Rudd said her church has hosted a Burundian congregation for roughly the last five years.
The church works with Catholic Family Service and other agencies to offer refugees English classes, and has held the classes for almost 50 years, Rudd said. The church hosts Vietnamese, Laotian, Burundi and Burmese congregations, she said.
The local Burundian community is "a wonderful, wonderful group of people," she said. "It's just unreal. Whether they know the family or not … they come together with expenses."


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NIU student career success a catalyst for the region's success
A few days ago, I was honored to be inaugurated as the president of Northern Illinois University. Since my arrival in northern Illinois this summer, I have been inspired by the determination of our students, the extraordinary lengths our faculty and staff go to care for our students, and the generosity of NIU alumni who have reached back to share their successes and pave the way for the students following in their footsteps.
As we seek to create the new university of the 21st century at NIU, we are forging a new commitment to student career success. Preparing students for career success provides them with a deep and meaningful body of knowledge and skills. Albert Einstein said "education is what remains when one has forgotten what one has learned in school."
In other words, education must emphasize creativity, communication and critical thinking skills. In today's increasingly competitive global marketplace, these skills are more important than ever. At NIU, we are working hard to prepare our students to thrive not only in the workplace, but in life.
In my first weeks on the job, I talked with hundreds of stakeholders around the region about NIU's role and performance. I am happy to say that Rockford was one of my first stops on this tour of discovery. Over the past few months, more than 800 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members have gathered on campus in intensive Bold Futures workshops, developing new ways for us to think, act and collaborate.
A hallmark of the NIU experience is the opportunity for meaningful engagement in one of the most dynamic regions in the country. Each day, NIU students, faculty and staff are actively engaged with businesses, schools, local governments, and agencies that share a vision for increased opportunity and a better quality of life for all.
Recently, NIU's excellence in this area was acknowledged by the Association of Land Grant and Public Universities, which honored NIU with its inaugural Innovation and Economic Prosperity "Place" Award in recognition of the university's leadership in expanding broadband connectivity in northern Illinois; providing a wide array of P-20 support activities for students and teachers; and collaborating with regional partners to support and enhance workforce development, innovation and branding of Rockford's aerospace cluster.
Our students' successes and the region's successes are inextricably linked. I want every graduate who so desires to have a job in their area of interest within six months of graduation. The best predictor of career success? A meaningful internship, preferably with pay. Can your business or organization provide a meaningful internship experience for an NIU student while tapping the skills and fresh perspective of a bright young mind? Mentors help bolster student confidence and workforce readiness, and I am counting on our 225,000 NIU alumni out there (10,000 in the Rockford area alone) to help provide this competitive advantage to our students.
As I travel around the region, I know this is a time of transformation for many communities and institutions. I have challenged the NIU community to embrace a collaborative culture of change and innovation, and I urge the entire region to accept this challenge as well. We must all work together to ensure that our students — the region's future workforce, entrepreneurs, creators, parents and leaders — are ready to succeed. Their contributions will transform the region, the state, the country and the world.
Douglas D. Baker, Ph.D. was inaugurated on Nov. 13 as Northern Illinois University's 12th president.


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September 14th, 2012
Jennifer Lopez talks 'Idol' rumors on 'Katie'
Katie Couric appeared to have some insider knowledge Friday as she asked former "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez what she thought of the new "Idol" lineup.
Lopez, who announced she was departing the show over the summer, wasn't aware of what Couric was referring to, as the new daytime host hedged that she thought Fox had announced the new judges to be Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson and the previously announced judge Mariah Carey.
Fox hasn't made that announcement, but there has been heavily speculation about Jackson, Minaj and Urban, who recently announced that he was departing his gig as a judge on "The Voice" Australia.
Urban said in a statement to CNN Thursday that he's been "so fortunate" to have worked on the show and would love to do it again, but couldn't because of "the recording and promoting of a new album, a tour and other commitments."
If those "other commitments" do happen to include an "Idol" job, then Urban has Lopez's approval, at least.
"That's an eclectic group," said Lopez, who was particularly happy to hear Couric tell her that Randy Jackson would stay on. "They all have something different to offer, so it should be interesting."
It should be interesting indeed ... if it happens. The only new "Idol" judge that's been formally announced since Steven Tyler and Lopez departed is Mariah Carey.
Lopez, meanwhile, is looking forward to having the time to take on more projects.
"At the end of the day," she told Couric, "I'm not a judge, I'm a performer."
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Illinois looks for reasons behind rise in child deaths
CHICAGO -- Lawmakers questioned Illinois child welfare officials Tuesday about an increase in the number of children reported to have died of neglect or abuse in the state, though agency officials argued the number partly reflected a change in the way neglect cases are counted.
The Department of Children and Family Services says 104 children died of abuse or neglect in Illinois in the fiscal year that ended in June, a sharp increase from the 30-year average of 77. Testimony from DCFS Acting Director Denise Gonzales and experts, including doctors specializing in child abuse cases, revealed a system that is beleaguered by staff shortages and poor communication. However, there were no definitive conclusions about whether that, too, might be contributing to an increase.
"If there are answers to be found, we will work relentlessly to find the answers," Gonzales told the Senate Human Services subcommittee.
Since becoming acting director last month, Gonzales ordered a review of each of the 104 cases. Most of them - 74 deaths - were classified as neglect cases, an 80 percent increase in that category since 2009. Abuse cases, meanwhile, have declined over that period.
Gonzales said new reporting methods introduced in 2011 may account for more deaths being classified as neglect cases, where once they would have been listed as having undetermined causes.
Under the changes, DCFS categorizes the deaths of children who suffocated while sleeping as neglect if it can be proven the parents were warned of the dangers of things such as co-sleeping, having blankets and other items in cribs with infants, or allowing an infant to sleep on his or her stomach.
Co-sleeping deaths can be classified as neglect in these cases, even if the parents had not consumed alcohol or drugs.
The change was made at a time when the number of sleep suffocations was rising, but the DCFS inspector general, who also testified Tuesday, questioned the wisdom of that route.
"I don't think that's what the public thinks neglect and abuse is about," said Inspector General Denise Kane.
Kane said that should be a matter for public health authorities and pointed to a need for better public awareness.
Gonzales said the agency may re-examine the types of cases included in the neglect category.
The two lawmakers leading the hearing also questioned agency staff over the strangulation and beating death of an 8-year-old Chicago girl in July despite the fact that her case was on the radar of welfare officials. The girl, Gizzell Ford, was found dead in a home on the city's West Side. Her grandmother is charged with first-degree murder. Her father also is charged with murder for allegedly doing nothing to stop the abuse.
The girl's body was covered with old and new scratches and cuts. Prosecutors say maggots hatched in some of the cuts on her scalp while she was still alive.
Police investigators encountered squalid conditions in the home that were never reported by a DCFS investigator who was supposed to have visited the home prior to the girl's death.
The agency's regional administrator for Cook County, Arlene Grant-Brown, acknowledged at the hearing that the investigator likely just failed to report the conditions.
DCFS operations chief Deborah McCarrel noted that many of the agency's 600 child abuse investigators are overwhelmed by caseloads that for some number as many as 25.
"When a caseload gets above 12, you pretty much immobilize the worker," she said.
Mattie Hunter, a Democratic member of the Senate committee, said the number of deaths was unacceptable and that she would seek a meeting to take up the issue with Gov. Pat Quinn.
"Every single one of you all need to resign," she said. "...Right now, I don't think that our children are protected."


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Expert's Rating
- New Recompose tool adds intelligent cropping
- Lots of minor productivity and interface enhancements
- Smart Brush is a nice addition to selection tools
- Can only print centered images
- Photomerge Exposure feature not entirely successful
- Lack of Organizer means no direct photo sharing or synchronization services
Our Verdict
Adobe Photoshop Elements is one of the best bargains in the photo-editing market: for a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, you get a full complement of editing tools, guided tutorials for improving your photos, as well as lots of other features aimed at helping you create cards, collages, photo montages and more. With version 8, Adobe hasn't made radical changes: they've added a few new tools, beefed up the Guided Edit and Quick Edit modes, and adopted some of the look of Photoshop CS4. Overall, it's a solid—if light—upgrade to an already good product.
As I noted in my first look, the Mac and Windows versions of Photoshop Elements 8 are identical. The bundled software, however, is not. Whereas the Windows version comes with Organizer, a user-friendly program for managing and tagging images, the Mac version includes Adobe Bridge CS4, a more complex cataloging tool that works with all kinds of files, not just photos. Although not as intuitive as the Organizer for some tasks (adding keyword tags is a bit more cumbersome, for example), Bridge provides solid integration with Elements, includes a very good full-screen review mode, and works satisfactorily as a general photo browser.
There are a few Organizer features that Bridge lacks, most notably online backup of photos to Adobe's Photoshop.com service, and the ability to upload photos from the Organizer to photo-sharing sites like Flickr, Photoshop.com, and SmugMug. Mac users can still get a free Photoshop.com account with 2GB of storage, but photos must be uploaded via a Web browser, and there are no provisions for storing backups of your photos.
If you use iPhoto as your primary photo catalog, you can easily set it up (using iPhoto's General preferences) so that you edit photos in Elements 8. So long as you work only with JPEG or TIFF files, perform only basic editing tasks in Elements, and are careful to save the file without changing the file format, the edited photo automatically shows up in iPhoto. However, if you create a more complex file from your original—or you want to edit Raw files within Elements—and thus have to save it in a different format, you'll need to take the extra step of importing the updated version manually into iPhoto. This isn't a limitation on Adobe's part—it's iPhoto's database and folder structure that gets in the way here. Elements 8 does make one nice improvement to process of exchanging files with iPhoto: the Open dialog box now lets you directly open photos from your iPhoto or Aperture library (version 6 let you see the photos, but not open them).
Elements 8 looks different from version 6, largely because Adobe has updated the program to use Photoshop CS4's panel interface (including the use of tabbed documents, similar to those in Safari or Firefox). I found that the new look was a big improvement over Elements 6, but the changes are largely cosmetic; you'll find that things mostly work as they did before. And, for those people who thought that Elements 6's dark gray look was too dark, you can now set a preference to change it to very light gray—a questionable improvement to my eyes as I generally find the Mac's dark interface more readable than that on the Windows version.
Of the major new features, the Smart Brush and Recompose tools are the most successful in their implementation. Making selections in Photoshop Elements gets easier with each version, and the Smart Brush tool pushes this even further. The Smart Brush lets you create quick selections and then add versatile adjustment-layer effects, such as bluer skies, black-and-white effects, whiter teeth, and other portrait enhancements. For many users, the concept of making selections and masks can be overwhelming (and time-consuming); the Smart Brush tool really helps simplify these tasks and lets you immediately see results without having to go through multiple steps. It's a winning combination.
Likewise, the Recompose tool, which lets you apply a "smart" crop, is a great tool for eliminating (or at least minimizing) unwanted objects while keeping important elements free from distortion. The Recompose tool lets you literally bring the subjects in your photo closer together. Like many tools with seemingly magical abilities, it doesn't work perfectly on every image—you'll get the best results with landscape-oriented photos that have very distinct subjects you can mark to keep or to eliminate. Even then, you'll occasionally need to retouch some blemished seams in a recomposed photo, but I feel that's to be expected. Overall, it's one of the best new features in Elements.
The new Photomerge Exposure feature is less successful. Photomerge Exposure takes a group of over- and under-exposed photos and attempts to create a blended image with a balanced exposure. However, I had a hard time finding a set of photos that created a realistic-looking final photo. The reality is, for Photomerge Exposure to work effectively, you'll need to think ahead, carry a tripod, and remember to take multiple pictures while keeping your foreground and background subjects relatively still.
Little enhancements
Adobe has also added quite a few small features and improvements that make it a better application. For example, the new Surface Blur filter, another import from Photoshop, is a great tool for smoothing skin in portraits, thanks to the sophisticated way it preserves edge detail when applying a blur.
The Quick Edit mode has new selection and adjustment tools for whitening teeth, removing red eye and increasing the saturation of skies. They're things you can do on your own in Full Edit mode, but the Quick Edit tools simplify the process for you. Also in Quick Edit mode, there's a helpful new feature for previewing adjustments before you make them. To access it , click on the small grid icon to the left of each slider; as you move the cursor over each preview in the grid, the image on screen will change to preview the result.
A small but long-overdue addition that will make life much easier for scrapbookers (and anyone else building multi-photo collages): you can finally add adjustable guides to a file.
In an attempt to simplify the process of printing photos, Adobe did take one small thing away in Elements 8: you can no longer precisely place a photo on a printed page. Instead, the image is always centered. It's a little thing, but for people who want to save on paper, or for scrapbookers working with precise layouts, it is a pain. (Another downside for people still using PowerPC-based Macs, Elements 8 is unfortunately Intel-only.)
Macworld buying advice
If you measure solely by whiz-bang new features, Photoshop Elements 8 comes across as a minor upgrade from version 6. However, with a the addition of few strong new tools and lots of small improvements, Elements remains a bargain for those people who want much of the power of Photoshop, but don't want to pay the high price.
[Former Macworld editor Rick LePage is editor in chief of Photoshop Elements Techniques , and runs the photo printer site Printerville.net.]


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Tell me what you have and I'll tell you
what you can make!
BarBug! shows you how to make a BARBARY COAST (1) Mixed Drink.
BarBug! is now serving up a Barbary Coast (1)! He shows you his Barbary Coast (1)
mixed drink
recipe and makes suggestions for spirits, mixers and the proper serving
Barbary Coast (1) Mixed Drink
Serving Glass: Cocktail ChilledIn Mixing Glass With Ice Add:1/2 oz Beefeater Gin1/2 oz Glenlivet Scotch Whiskey1/2 oz Rum Light1/2 oz Hiram Walker White Cr De Cacao1 oz CreamShake and Strain (1) means there are multiple drinks with this name
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