text:
The City of Toronto's many services keep our neighbourhoods safe and vibrant, encourage business growth and investments, and make Toronto welcoming for visitors from around the world.
Garbage collection, public libraries, road repair, TTC, recreation programs, childcare, water testing, police, fire and emergency medical response are all municipal services the City provides. Many of the City's 150+ services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It is important to understand how the City budget works, and the steps involved leading up to finalizing the budget.
The City's budget is a financial plan that describes how much money the City will bring in and spend within a year. It determines the level of service provided to Toronto residents and guides decisions on what City infrastructure – roads, buildings and public transit –will be purchased, built and repaired.
The operating budget covers day-to-day spending on services such as recreation programs, parks maintenance, public health, city roads, transit, police and other emergency services. Approximately 32 per cent of the funds for the operating budget comes from property taxes. The remainder comes from provincial grants and subsidies, as well as user fees.
The capital budget funds the City's infrastructure that supports service delivery. It pays for the construction and repair of transit, roads, bridges, public buildings such as libraries, community centres and fire stations, and parks. The City of Toronto updates and presents a new 10-year Capital Budget and Plan each year as part of the budget process. The capital budget is primarily funded from reserves, development charges, other levels of government and by borrowing funds.
The City also has three rate supported programs: Toronto Water, Solid Waste Management Services and the Toronto Parking Authority. These programs are funded almost entirely by the user in the form of fees. For example, water and garbage and recycling costs are calculated by how much water is used and the size of the garbage bin. In turn, the revenue collected from these user fees pays for the services that are provided and the infrastructure to deliver them.
The accounting process of allocating the cost less the residual value of a tangible capital asset to operating periods as an expense over its useful life in a rational and systematic manner appropriate to its nature and use. Depreciation accounting is anther commonly used term to describe the amortization of tangible capital assets.
The costs of several of the City's services are shared between the City and other levels of government. For example shelters, daycare, emergency medical services, public health and income support programs are funded by both the City and the Province of Ontario.
The gross is the total cost to deliver programs and services. This expenditure is offset by funding and subsidies for cost-shared services as well as fees and charges for programs and services. The difference between gross expenditure and these revenue sources is the net budget, which is the amount of the operating budget that is paid for by your property taxes.
A surplus occurs when the City either spends less than it thought it would, or raises more revenue than predicted. The City has a policy to use 75 per cent of operating budget surpluses to fund infrastructure projects in the capital budget and 25 per cent to top-up reserves to meet City obligations. The City of Toronto has never had a deficit, as provincial law requires the City to balance its budget. A deficit would occur if the City's expenses were greater than its revenues, or if the City collected less revenue than it anticipated.
The City is required by provincial law to balance its operating and capital budgets each year – which means that the money spent must be equal to the money raised. To balance the budget, the City can either increase its revenues using tools such as property taxes and fees, or through managing expenses by changing or reducing the cost of services.
The budget is reviewed, debated, changed and approved by the Budget Committee, Executive Committee and finally City Council.
Each year, City staff put forward a preliminary budget. The Mayor and City Council, with input from Toronto residents and businesses, then make decisions about the City's services, programs and infrastructure and approve the City's final budget.


text:
Vanderbilt University psychiatrist, sociologist and director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society Dr. Jonathan Metzl, who specializes in gun violence, reacted Saturday on MSNBC to the shooting Friday in Colorado Springs.
According to Metzl, the shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic should be seen in the context "that is an issue of the war on women and women's rights."
"The news again got dominated by an increasing familiar form of white terrorism in which people are literally terrorized beyond the realm of this. I know what's going to happen now, which is that we're going to have a story about the mental health of the person. It's going to locate it on a particular issue. I have to say, even though I know there are many complicated issues with this person's biography that are important to find out, that we really do need to see this as a bigger contextual problem that is an issue of the war on women and women's rights."
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Despite the ubiquity with which it was panned, we decided to watch Transcendence (2014) anyway. I am not going to pan the film, but I would recommend it to only to a niche audience.
Wally Pfister directed Transcendence was pitched as a near kin to Inception (2010). And Christopher Nolan's name is attached to both; he is executive producer of Transcendence and Writer/Director of the other. Their likeness will be found in the question of whether you believe a particular premise to be real or not. Which point-of-view is reliable, let alone right. What the films do not share is Inception's action sequences and dazzling effects. I'm not trying to spoil the film, but rather rescue it from expectations. And the film could use some help at reception.
An activist organization is trying to thwart the advancement of Artificial Intelligent (A.I.), believing that technology has crossed ethical boundaries and must be stopped. One of their targets, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is fatally wounded and between his research and other top scientist's work, his wife Dr. Evelyn Caster (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Dr. Max Waters (Paul Bettany) are able to preserve his consciousness by uploading his brain's neural engineering. A big question is whether it worked or is PINN (the A.I. Caster designed) hiding behind Caster's façade (avatar). Another is: can the ensuing god-complex be stopped—and should it.
The cast is an impressive one, but the wow factor is suppressed by script, direction, and editing. The opening series of cross-cuts are inelegant. The science and philosophy in visual dialog and vocal are heavy* and either depends upon a savvy viewer, or an ignorant one. Transcendence is a film about ideas and, thus, is one for conversation afterward. Too, the film does choose a clearly delineated side to the kind of moral implications with which it wrestles.
Technology in the form of A.I. is both promising and perilous. What boundaries should this technology observe? Can and should it be regulated? Who can we trust to make those moral and legislative decisions?
Finding the hero in the film is part of its psychological playground. Paul Bettany as Max is our way in and through the film. He holds the interest of both the human and the machine; loves both the Casters and respects the fears of the rest. He is also only interested in intervening at what is perceived as the most fraught moment, suggesting he reacts rather than function as a proactive participant. And in the end, we are left to judge his actions over any other institution represented: science, marriage, government, activists. Because he is our representative, the viewer demands a less conflicted resolution—because we are sheepish that way.
If the film is only ever a love story between the Casters, one desperate to preserve her husband, the other only wanting to spend what time he can with her and see to her needs, it is the one story arch that finds clarity (especially if you are paying good attention to the framing sequences). The preservation of the loving union at its idyllic is of and returned to the garden. The sunflower is revived and can once again turn its face toward the sun, its creator (alluding to the Greek myth here).
The conversation of the creator and created is unavoidable in Transcendence. There is a question of where any relevant distinctions can be found between the created and its creator. Is PINN not somehow Will** even before the upload? And what does Evelyn contribute to the experiment? (more on that in a moment.) The created only live as long as the creator is connected (and vice versa); at least in some sequences anyway. The conversation neatly nestles into the soul vs. intelligence dilemma. Does the intelligence invent the concept of the soul, naming its self-consciousness thus? How does human emotion figure in—an equally rational part of us? Max argues that where emotion can handle the "illogical conflicts" like 'loving someone, yet hating the things they've done.' He observes that the "machine can't reconcile that."
There is a concern in the narrative that Evelyn has emotionally contaminated the experiment somehow. She is the only figure connected with nature (gardening) and has the vision to change the world with the technology they are advancing. It is a subject of amusement and horror in the film that where she would change things for the greater good, while her husband only wants to figure out how the transcendent A.I. could/would work. I think the end points to a conflation of the two creators, male/female, Will/Evelyn. The two of whom we must kill, yet must also preserve in a story, in a garden. And yet, I am still nettled by the suggestion of her failure to remain indifferent makes her the compromised scientist and an inferior goddess. Additionally, his vulnerability to her desires makes him the failure as well. Transcendence is the story of The Fall: the edenic being the internet, the apple being A.I. and its subsequent technological advancements and/or you could read eden as the garden of their shared domestic space, and technology the intruding and fatal apple.
Transcendence wrestles with the conflict of mankind and technology, of our fears of how technology could aide us, but might supplant us. But the tension in the film relies on our cultural fear of a lack of privacy and intrusion upon individuality. It moves to cultivate a fear of the internet and the efficiency of its collaborative nature; a fear of the collective conscious; and a fear of the avatar and the anonymity of its user.
The end suggestion is that we would rather embrace a stunted growth, a blissful ignorance even if it means suffering. Those who reach too far, too quickly are punished. Their regulators are an interesting brew of governmental entity and grassroots activism.
The leader of the activist-terrorists is not against technology. No one in the film is saying this: even Evelyn likes to unplug and spend time in her garden, etc. Will decides to forgo lab work to spend quality time with his wife. The terrorist group encapsulates its manifesto in the length of a tweet. It uses cars, computers, phones, and weaponry to carry out its efforts; the difference, they cite, is the use of technology as aide, not attempting to supplant humanity. The government nurtures scientific inquiry, but it also wants to monitor it in the paternalistic way they do.
The trick in the film is to decide who is right, the government and activist who care for public interests, or those like the Casters who are protecting private interests. The answer is likely found in the love story—a marriage, which is both of public and private interest to succeed; and the only thing to transcend the human and the technological interferences. Of course, I come to this conclusion with some thought and some indecision.
I was troubled by the framing narrative of the future where the Caster's neighborhood shows children playing out of doors, people on bicycles, a warm summery glow, yet there is a military presence, and a lack of resources (the sign on the corner market door announcing no eggs or milk). Before they enact a "necessary" catastrophic event, the understanding is they will be met with an apocalyptic landscape. The only interruption or cease/desist to the increasingly rapid advancement of scientific technology is an apocalypse. The only way to stop the encroaching power and its technological over-reach of humanity is to annihilate it. Technology has to be returned to the state of an idea, a utopic vision; for its promises to be actualized would be perilous.
Plenty hinges on a particular declaration near the end of the film, because the question of whether tech has any vision to be realized at all is in the balance. It is the not dissimilar to the debate regarding the humanity of corporations. There is a human consciousness generating an agenda at some point in the machine's creation. We know that humans demonstrate a failure to self-regulate, and certainly able to perform acts without considerations for whom it harms. Even good intentions can wreak havoc. However, is it enough to get rid of the human behind the machine, if the machine has taken off without its inability to compute moral implication properly? And we're back to figuring out who defines "propriety."
The collaboration for the advancement of science witnessed in the film may be improper, while collaboration for the advancement of humanity is. But then we have to make the distinction between when the advancement of science is not in the interest of advancing humanity; or in the language of the film, when the "intelligence" becomes artificial and loses its "soul." This is where the criticism of Dr. Max Waters' seeming passivity comes into play. Interestingly enough: he becomes subject to the persuasive desires of two women. He gets yelled at a lot. The males are much more sympathetic to each other's plights and interact in softer tones.
A lovely enough tension, it is Caster (science/tech/boundary-pushing) who appeals to his heart, and the other who must appeal to his reason. A question is whether he is able to reconcile the two successfully. The baiting and switching of sympathies between the competing interests muddled any easy conclusions.
I'm not one who thinks a film should generate an easy conclusion, or neatly bow every question it raises. However, I am flustered by Transcendence's attempts to be cagey and struggle to pinpoint the lack of coherence in the film. I can identify a mediocrity in the crafting of the film, and chafe at anti-fem suggestions, but my best guess at the pivotal flaw is the attempt at being too clever in trying to settle on a singular identity of the transcendent technology/intelligence—and maybe this failure is the point of the film: our desire to create a singular from a plural. I guess the question now, is how hard did I work to create coherence where there is likely too little to be had in the film. That "love is what transcends" message bleeds into nothing but the Casters and their friendships. Their love leads to nothing but a negative impact on the world when it meets with regulatory interference. Hmmm…***
Of note: Transcendence is Wally Pfister's debut as director. He is otherwise known for his work as director of photography. I would like to also acknowledge that David Rosenbloom has a hit-or-miss filmography as editor.
*By heavy, I mean weighted closed to plodding, not heavy in the heft of the delivery Matthew McConaughey's character manages in True Detective (2014).
**Note the names…how literary of the writer…
***now to sort out whether this message applies to "love between two people," their partnership or "marriage" of the heteronormative sort.
Transcendence (2014). Director Wally Pfister; Writer Jack Paglen' Editor David Rosenbloom; Music by Mychael Danna; Cinematography Jess Hall; Executive Producers: Dan Mintz, Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas; Producers: Kate Cohen, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove; Annie Marter, Marisa Polvino; Aaron Ryder & David Valdes. Starring: Johnny Depp (Will Caster), Rebecca Hall (Evelyn Caster); Paul Bettany (Max Waters); Cillian Murphy (Agent Buchanan); Kate Mara (Bree) & Morgan Freeman (Joseph Tagger).
PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality. Running time 119 minutes.


text:
Judge Tells Trans Man To 'Pick A Name I Can Live With'
Judge J. David Roper of the Augusta Judicial Circuit of Georgia has refused to allow a transgender man to change his name unless he chooses a gender neutral or unisex name.
Earlier this year Andrew Baumert filed a petition to have his name legally changed from his birth name to Andrew. Court records show that Andrew provided all of the relevant and correct documents necessary for the change, yet Judge J. David Roper denied the request less than 10 minutes into the hearing.
Roper stated his reason for denying the change as being that Andrew is too masculine a name, and that it may confusing or misleading to other people. Whilst there are exceptions in which a court can deny a name change, such as a lengthy criminal record or if they believe that someone is trying to defraud creditors, but there is no legal standing to deny a petition based on the ground of gender dysphoria.
Court records have shown that Roper told Andrew that he would be fine allowing the name change if a gender neutral name was chosen. He said, 'I can live with Morgan, Shannon, Shaun and Jamie'.
Andrew has since approached civil rights organisations for assistance with this case and has gone on to describe the incident as 'humiliating' to the press.
'It was humiliating and insulting to be told by the court that I would not be able to change my name legally when I'm already known as Andrew by my family, my friends and my community. I work in labs all day, but it doesn't take a scientist to know that the judge's ruling was based on sexist opinions about 'appropriate' names.'
This is not the first time that Roper has denied a trans man's petition to change his name legally, however, as in the past he has refused to allow a trans man to change his name to Rowan. At the time Roper denied this change, which also met all of the legal requirements, on the grounds that he believed it could 'offend the sensibilities and mores of a substantial portion of the citizens of this state.'
Follow Amy on Twitter
Add Amy on Tumblr
Facebook Comments
3 Responses to Judge Tells Trans Man To 'Pick A Name I Can Live With'
I cannot understand why a judge is needed to rule on name change applications at all. The legal criteria to be complied with are very cut & dried, not particularly onerous nor complicated. The procedure is straight forward enough that it could easily be processed by a service representative in the Dept. of Births, Deaths & Marriages (or equivalent public service sector) with a stat dec covering the questions that the judge asked Tori Browning (see her comment above).Also, I do not see any reason why GENDER should be required to be stated in the application and the entire process should be available online on a secure state government web site.
Each state probably wouldn't need so many judges that way and the first one that Georgia should shit can is that moron Roper!
I would file an appeal with the attorney general's office and I'd sue this jerk for court costs & More.
Unfortunately James, the judge is protected by legal privelege so he cant be sued. Depending on the state however the bar *may* be able to revoke his status as a judge, although I think that would require criminal behavior, and this isnt criminal, just appalingly bad judging.


text:
Program highlights:
Most small development companies are very constrained in their resources and cannot afford time or capital to pursue multiple deals. This new ULI online program will identify the practical considerations, financial hurdles, and other relevant analytics that a residential developer may use to evaluate multiple opportunities when confronted with scarce resources. Using the tools developed by in this program a real estate company may determine the most appropriate opportunity to pursue given their company's resources such as capital availability, timing, risk appetite, debt, etc). Later in the program, new considerations will be introduced that will be used to compare either engaging in another project, or two more projects which would require taking on a financial partner. Resource allocation becomes a science and analyzed in a new way to maximize returns while managing risk.
Session 1 Highlights: Understanding the considerations
- Risk
- Profitability
- Capital Need
- Debt Need
- Development/ Management Fees
- Timing of project
- Sensitivities
- "Free looks"
Session 2 Highlights: Choosing the first project
Session 3 Highlights: Analysis of a second project
- Avoiding interference with pre-allocated capital
- Debt ceiling
- Timing
- Exposure if market softens
- Other
Session 4 Highlights: Is a part of many better than all of one?
- Who puts up capital?
- Who guarantees debt?
- Fees earned and timeliness of payment
- Other investor structure terms
Daniel Whitehurst
Managing Partner
Ten Oaks Realty
Falston, MD
Real estate developers may sift through hundreds of potential deals before finding one that makes sense to even begin to pursue. A key skill that all successful developers share is the ability to efficiently and objectively find and evaluate potential projects. This new ULI webinar will introduce participants to where potential real estate deals can typically be found and impart methods for objectively evaluating whether the terms of a deal are worth further research.
Utilizing sample deal terms and property characteristics drawn from real listings the program will walk participants through the methods to accurately determine the potential feasibility of a deal. The program will also offer practical insights into valuing the land for your project, and tips for making an offer to gain control of the site to perform further due diligence. Don't miss this unique program led by an experienced instructor who has refined and used these techniques to identify potential future development projects in his own development practice.
Program Highlights
•Common sources/methods for finding projects
•What to focus on in listings
•Understanding zoning and entitlements in feasibility
•Determining value using residual land value (RLV)
•Making an offer and gaining site control
•Creative deal structuring to enhance feasibility
David Farmer, PE, AICP
Keystone Development Advisors
Naples, Florida
David H. Farmer is a developer, licensed real estate Broker, certified planner, civil engineer, state certified general contractor and Department of Environmental Protection qualified stormwater management inspector.
Dave Farmer began his career in the development industry in 1989 with an engineering firm designing commercial and residential projects for private clients. A professional engineer, Farmer left the engineering field in 2000 to work fulltime for Keystone Communities overseeing the entitlement, design and construction of residential communities, resort facilities, and commercial projects. In 2002, after earning his Certified General Contractors license, he also became responsible for the permitting and construction of custom homes.
Following a large sale of entitled and developed residential lots in 2003, the company's focus shifted from development to entitlement and infrastructure development. At this time Farmer took on the additional responsibility of site selection and acquisition for the company. In 2005, he was made a principal of the company and participated in both the rewards and costs of acquisition, entitlement, and development.
Farmer's development experience includes both very successful projects and less successful projects. In the tradition of ULI, he feels it's important to focus more on mistakes made and lessons learned when teaching the real estate development process. One learns quickly what not to do when you are spending your own money on development projects.
In 2008, Farmer and his development partner dissolved the original company and each went their own way. Today he works in Florida with a new partner on identifying development sites and helping investors develop property. Farmer has brokered more than $70 million in real estate transactions and entitled thousands of homes and millions of square feet of commercial property. His favorite quote is "Begin with the end in mind."
The nexus between physical design and human physical and
mental well-being is increasingly being recognized and quantified. Social and
community programming in real estate projects can demonstrate similar effects. Healthier,
more active communities and improved opportunities for both urban and suburban
residents are increasingly being pursued by the private sector as health
amenities become a growing trend in both residential and commercial spaces.
Less well documented are the
specific amenities and programs being incorporated into real estate projects
and how these can impact, feasibility, marketing, construction, operational
efficiency, and regulatory approvals. Using examples from real-world projects,
this new ULI webinar will explore the complexity, potential conflicts, costs,
and not least of all the premiums these amenities can generate. Don't miss this
unique opportunity to learn first-hand how health can pay real estate dividends.
Developed for non-finance professionals, this new ULI online program will provide a broad and solid introduction to the basics of real estate finance and investment. Held over four sessions, the course will begin with a general overview of real estate investment and financing decisions. From there the program will progress discussing basic analytical tools and performance measures. The workshop will acquaint students with fundamental real estate finance terms and concepts including: time value of money, capital stack, risk-return tradeoff, and financial leverage. Using examples and Excel spreadsheet, it will demonstrate important calculations in real estate finance and investment, such as internal rate of return (IRR), mortgage payment and loan balance, and property valuation. This course is recommended for non-finance real estate professionals who wish to gain a basic understanding of real estate finance that also will help them get more out of their professional interactions.
Module 1.
•Overview of real estate markets
•Capital sources: debt vs. equity
•Key financial concepts
-Time value of money (TVM)
-Risk and return
•Basic TVM calculations
-Compounding and discounting
-Financial functions in Excel
Module 2.
•Financial leverage: implications and examples
•Key features of commercial mortgages
•Mortgage Calculation
-Monthly payment and Annual Debt Service
-Outstanding Loan Balance
-Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
•Mortgage underwriting
-Loan-to-value ratio
-Debt coverage ratio
-Debt yield
•Mezzanine Debt vs. Second Mortgage
Module 3.
•Basics of Real Estate Investment
•Net operating income (NOI) and Pro Forma
•Real Estate Valuation
-Direct Capitalization Approach
-Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Approach
•Performance Measures
-Net Present Value (NPV)
-Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
-Cash on Cash
-Equity Multiple
•Introduction to Investment Return Waterfalls
Charles Tu
Professor of Real Estate
Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate
University of San Diego
San Diego, California
Tu is the Daniel F. Mulvihill Professor of Commercial Real Estate at the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego (USD). Tu joined the USD faculty in 2004 and was appointed the academic director of the Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) program in 2010. He is also responsible for the curriculum of the undergraduate real estate major. In addition to teaching courses, Tu coaches student teams in local and national competitions. USD MSRE students won six first-place and two second-place victories in the ARGUS University Challenge in the eight years the event was held.
Tu's research covers a wide range of topics, including housing valuation, smart growth and the new urbanism, sustainable and green buildings, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), real estate investment trusts (REITs), multifamily housing, retail shopping centers, and real estate education. He has published in many academic journals and for professional organizations such as the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate.
Tu earned his PhD in business administration from the George Washington University (GWU) in 1999. He received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2000 and became a LEED Accredited Professional in 2009. He is ARGUS Software Certified (ASC) for ARGUS Valuation-DCF, ARGUS Enterprise and ARGUS Developer. Before joining USD, Tu taught real estate and finance courses at GWU and California State University and Fullerton.
Members: $395
Nonmembers: $495
Govt./nonprofit member: $350
Govt./nonprofit nonmember: $465
Introduction to the Real Estate Development Process
Real estate development is a complex and iterative process that relies on the skills, efforts, and knowledge, of multiple professional disciplines to be successful. This new ULI program presents the basic elements of the real estate development process in a convenient online format. Delivered over six sessions, this program is designed to introduce to public and private sector professionals, the fundamental steps and analyses that developers and other professionals engage in during the real estate development process. The objective of the series is to provide a broad understanding of the development process from building a project budget to valuing raw land before purchase, to finance concepts used by lenders.
Each session is recorded and will be available for registrants to review for 60 days
Session One
-Outline of items/topics covered
-Types of developers and projects
-Bar napkin from finance
The Market Study
-Purpose of document
-Ways to quantify demand
-Project location and proximity to similar projects
-Key risks
Session Two
Project Valuation Methods
-Understanding NOI
-Time value of money
-Defining and using cap rates
Residual land value
-Building on project valuation (to determine land value)
-Utility of Land Use
-Impacts of rising construction costs on land value
Site Selection
-Best practices
-Why this site and not that one
-Site limitations (zoning, geometry, environmental etc)
Session Three
Due Diligence
-Confirm assumptions in site selection
-Sample DD budget
-Project economics
-Entitlement risks/PERT
Real estate deal structures
-How projects get financed
-Lender requirements of developers
-Lenders triangle
-Partnership structures (and why)
-Profit split example with investor
Session Four
-Timelines and budget/project risks
-Review local, regional, state and federal permits
-Rezones/land use changes
-Reactionary zoning
Session Five
Introduction to Finance Tools
-Review terminology
-Review concepts of TVM (time value of money)
-Calculate Loan amount
-Calculate loan payoff amount
-Calculate project ROI and annual ROI (return on investment)
-Introduction to net present value (NPV)
-Introduction to discounted cashflow (DCF)
Session Six
-How to bid a project
-How to review bids
-Working with your contractor
-Risks and how to mitigate them
- Course Wrap up
Program highlights include:
•Building project budgets
•Market studies and their purpose
•Project valuation methods
•Residual land value
•Project site selection
•Due diligence
•Aspects of deal structuring
•Entitlements and permitting issues
•Introductory financial analysis
•Bidding and reviewing project construction bids
David H. Farmer
Keystone Development Advisors
Naples, Florida
ULI Members: $395
Nonmembers: $525
Govt./nonprofit ULI member: $350
Govt./nonprofit nonmember: $465
Retail and Mixed-Use Development: A Primer
December 19, 2018
1:00-3:00 p.m. eastern time
Developers can sometimes find themselves under pressure from public officials, residents, and neighborhood groups to see more mixed-use development featuring ground-floor retail. However, successful execution of a retail-oriented mixed-use development begins with a solid understanding of how retailers approach site selection, trade areas, traffic flow, and building design. A successful project must feature both favorable retail market attributes, along with a thoughtfully designed facility.
Led by a 30-year veteran of corporate real estate and retail development, this new ULI webinar will begin with a solid overview of retailer economics and will shed light on where retail uses will and won't work as part of a mixed-use development. Beyond satisfying fundamental trade-area economics and demographics criteria, a successful mixed-use development must also feature a design that accommodates the business and operational needs of retailers.
Don't miss this opportunity to better understand where and when retail makes sense in a mixed-use project.
•Commodity and specialty retail
•Active/non-active retail
•Retail economics 101: How retailers make go-ahead decisions
•Definition – types of MXD
•Traffic patterns
•Market share
•Site attributes
•Role of design
•Store layout considerations
•Mixed use and urban design
•Best practices – Facades, corners, sidewalks
•Best practices – layout, back of house
•Best practices – Separation/compatibility of uses
•Best practices – Access and parking
•Best practices – Utilities and building systems
•Best practices – lighting and signage
•Issues that separate cities and property owners
•Understanding where retail doesn't work and why
David Greensfelder
Managing Principal
Greensfelder Real Estate Strategy
David Greensfelder is the founder and managing principal of Bay Area-based Greensfelder Commercial Real Estate LLC which provides strategic planning, market research/analysis, and real estate development services to communities, financial institutions and investors, and develops for its own account as well as for other property owners and partners. As a developer, consultant, and an experienced corporate real estate executive, David has driven more than 325 projects spanning 6.5 million square feet with an aggregate acquisition and construction value exceeding $750 million (finish market value estimated at well over $1.25 billion).
David's expertise ranges from market analytics and location intelligence to real estate economics, overseeing due diligence, acquisition, land-use and entitlements, mixed-use project implementation, project management (design, leasing, and construction oversight), and asset management (including administration of existing portfolios). Significant assignments include developing comprehensive retail and economic development strategies for cities, providing fee development services to technology companies in pre-IPO fundraising rounds, managing national retail store development programs for Fortune 25 companies such as CVS/health, developing market strategies for retailers and institutional owners, and specialized expertise repositioning "dead� malls.
Prior to forming his own firm, David was Director/VP and Principal of LandMark/NewMark's Northern California office and managed corporate real estate programs for publicly traded Fortune 500 companies. David frequently speaks at national and regional conferences, and lectures at UC Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics and Haas Graduate School of Business, USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate Development, and ULI and ICSC education programs. He serves on Bay Area-based Satellite Affordable Housing Associates' Board of Directors and CCLR's Board of Directors, is an active member of the ULI (Urban Revitalization Product Council, Advisory Services, and UrbanPlan steering committee) and ICSC's P3 National Steering Committee. David graduated from Pitzer College (The Claremont Colleges) with a degree in Business Economics.
Public Member: $100.00
Member: $125.00
Public Nonmember: $135.00
Full Price: $165.00
Held over two sessions, this new online live program will introduce students to a process-oriented approach for evaluating office and multifamily investments from a physical and financial perspective. Each session will introduce theoretical investments and lead participants step by step through the areas of highest importance when evaluating these two product types for investment. Particular focus will be paid to underwriting the physical product, the surrounding market and existing tenancy, and the implications of these on the cash-flow development process. Instruction will be provided through case study materials that simulate the information and data one would receive in a typical transaction. Participants will conclude the workshop with a much more refined understanding of how to engage in a thoughtful process for evaluating an office or multifamily asset for acquisition. Each person will also receive a checklist of critical items to consider when underwriting an office or multifamily asset in the future.
In the wake of the Great Recession, there has been renewed
interest in the EB-5 investor visa program among developers and economic
development agencies around the country. This visa program provides immigrants
with green cards upon their investment of at least $500 thousand in a US
development project, and was rarely used until 2009. The program requires that
projects create American jobs and provides incentives for development in areas
of high unemployment.
This webinar will explain how the EB-5 program operates and
how it can be used as a source of capital for development projects. The program
will teach participants how to navigate the program, identify projects that are
a good match for EB-5 funds given the program's requirements, and how to secure
foreign investors. Special attention will be paid to understanding the many
players involved, and how to coordinate among them. The continually evolving
policy and regulatory environment will also be covered. Specific case studies
will be used to illustrate the steps necessary to complete a project funded
through EB-5, including the redevelopment of the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive.
This website uses cookies to enhance the convenience and use of the site, and has placed cookies already.
You can delete or block cookies within your browser settings.
Should you opt to do this, some parts of our site may not work.
By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies.
For more information, including instructions on how to remove the cookies that have been placed,
see our Privacy Policy.


text:
Peps & Blues Quality
This is an album for everyone that like the electric Chicago blues and think that John Mayall have a special gift, because here you got a Swedish version of the same beat that Mayall use. This is Peps second album and he was a member of the group Blues Quality and they made only this album together, after this album was Peps was seriously ill, and when he came back to the group, they hade moved into a different direction, so the parted their connection and the group took a new singer with name Mats Ronnander and change their name to Nature, and recorded two wonderful more progy albums, and then the worked as backing musicians to different Swedish singers, after the break Peps went to Chicago to record a a fantastic blues album, and then back in Sweden he start his own bluesband.
Peps Persson - vocals, harmonica, electric guitar
Lars Ove Welander - electric guitar
Pär David Johnson - electric bass
Mats Olof Strömberg - organ, piano, trumpet
Magnus Tingberg - alto saxophone
Bosse Skoglund - drums
01. Sweet Mary Jane 4:23
02. Copenhagen Blues 5:14
03. You're So Fine 3:56
04. Somebody 5:23
05. I Once Was A Gambler 6:40
06. Sail Off To Another Shore 3:55
07. Sad Night Is Fallin' 6:12


text:
Federal immigration officials responded Thursday to Oregon lawmakers concerned about a pair of attempted arrests that took place in recent months.
The letter from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Director Raymond Kovacic came in response from concerns lodged by Oregon Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer.
Both Portland area Democrats said they were concerned about two incidents involving ICE agents: a Sept. 18 interaction outside a Washington County courthouse and an Oct. 20 arrest inside a Portland area home.
Bonamici and Blumenauer said it appeared in videos that ICE officers failed to identify themselves or procure proper warrants. The lawmakers expressed concern the potential violation of constitutional rights could "undermine public confidence in the integrity of the agency."
ICE Targets Sanctuary Cities, Arrests 33 In Northwest
In his letter Thursday, Kovacic defended the ICE agents involved and said they followed agency policy.
"Any recording that failed to capture the beginning of the encounter when officer self-identification took place should not be relied upon," the assistant director wrote.
In video of the Sept. 18 incident in Washington County, several plainclothes agents approach Isidro Andrade-Tafolla, who is Latino and a longtime county employee.
The agents repeatedly ask Andrade-Tafolla for identification while comparing him to a picture on their cellphones.
Bystanders ask the agents for identification, but they refuse and insist Andrade-Tafolla is the person in the picture. When another ICE agent arrives on the scene and realizes the Forest Grove resident is not the person they are looking for, the group quickly leaves.
Kovacic wrote that the video doesn't show the whole encounter but "does serve to illustrate the hostile environment that ICE officers must confront every day."
"In spite of being verbally abused, ICE officers demonstrated great restraint and professionalism throughout the encounter," he wrote.
Kovacic also said the officers did not target Andrade-Tafolla based upon his ethnicity.
Guatemalan Man Self-Deports From Oregon In Fear Of ICE Raids
"Though we appreciate ICE acknowledging our letter, the response is highly contradictory," Bonamici and Blumenauer wrote. "If the two Oregon incidents are under review, how can ICE also conclude that officers followed all policies and procedures?"
Kovacic does not directly respond to questions surrounding the Oct. 20 arrest of Carlos Bolanos, who was later released without charge.
In that encounter, the person filming the video — George Cardenas — repeatedly asks the ICE agents why they are in the home without a warrant, a seeming violation of Fourth Amendment protections.
The Democrats wrote that Oregonians are "deeply concerned by these aggressive actions,"and that ICE should be held accountable if there was wrongdoing.
Kovacic said ICE agents are up-to-date on constitutional rights.
"ICE officers participate in mandatory bi-annual Fourth Amendment training," wrote Kovacic, "as well as refresher training prior to participating in large-scale enforcement actions."
The ACLU of Oregon called ICE's letter "alarming."
"It suggests that they are not prepared to do anything differently or take accountability for these violations," ACLU of Oregon Legal Director Mat dos Santos said in a statement. "They have not even apologized to Mr. Andrade-Tafolla and his wife for unfairly profiling, detaining, and questioning them over a month ago."


text:
Santa Barbara frontcountryLocate the trailhead.
The Cold Spring trailhead is on Mountian Drive behind Montecito. Head up Hot Springs and turn left on Mountain to get there. For more extensive and somewhat silly directions, see localhikes.com, which has plenty of other useful information too. For another viewpoint, see here.
So, get there, head up the trail on the east side of the stream, and when you get to the fork in the trail, take it! Hahaha. Okay, standard joke out of the way.
So, get there, head up the trail on the east side of the stream and go left at the fork to cross the stream and join the trail runners. Some people are just mad about running. Not too long after there's another fork, this time go right and leave the main trail. Very shortly up that there is a third fork, one leading up the narrow canyon and one climbing the hillside. Presumably the falls is up the one on the narrow canyon, but if you've read the second site up there, you might think that's the old trail and the one up the hillside is the new trail rather than a different trail altogether. We (me and mom) turned up the hillside, so can't say how far the trail along a steep side of a narrow canyon actually went or if the falls were accessible.
Climbing up above the city always gives a good view. The islands are hard to see, but the sharp eyed can pick out Santa Cruz and Anacapa.
The hillside is loose and greenish and has a couple of caves in the sandstone. Well, they look like caves. It is unlikely they go very far back. Rounding the corner to see these we start to hear water.
Even a tiny bit of cascading falls can be seen. Maybe. It's the ripply bit.
At this point, even higher up, there's even more vista. Pasting pictures together certainly isn't the simplest manuver as everything in the foreground lines up differently from everything in the background. Click for all the glory of having it big enough to see the mistakes even better.
And then the trail turns into the pleasant little creek valley above the falls, leaving the vistas behind. The temperature dropped and little pools were lying about all over the place. This tree...
presides over one such pool.
Further up, a very short (and sanctioned) offshoot of the trail travels about 100 feet to the first part of this trail's destination just before the last stream crossing. There is what looks like an old plow...
and some other rusted metal pieces.
Finally the trail ends at what we are told is the root cellar of an old homestead.
The stream and canyon still continue up further to the ridge above. This is a nice view to have by the front door.
Another pool, choked with fall leaves, as we return.
And a much better view of the falls that were supposed to be the destination. The trail has a highly dangerous looking spurt going out onto the high cliff to the left. Nice little cave to the right. The falls cascade over from about where the tree is below the cliff.
Again, from a little further away and a little different angle.
And one last look before going around the corner and seeing no more.
Then back to the main trail where the trail is well above the stream.
And then back down the connector to the road. Be good people while on the trail.
©2006 Valerie Norton
Posted 23 December 2006
Last updated 2 January 2012


text:
Yaguara Blue Cachaca
€ 39,95
THE FINEST white cachaça in the world (at least we think so).
Yaguara Blend is an organic artisanal blend of 10 month rested cachaça and the Meneghel family recipe of ageing it in European Oak barrels for 5 to 6 years. The result is a refined award winning liquid which aims to take cachaça into the wider cocktail world and push the boundaries of Brazil's national spirit.


text:
Had a good Lebanese dinner Saturday night at Beirut Grill in Englewood. Again, tasty, filling and affordable. I called to ask what time they closed, and was told "We leave at 10." OK, then. We'll be sure to finish eating by then so you can turn out the lights.
I think it was just a slight language barrier issue.
I was also bemused to see that they were using repurposed table checks that had "Syrian Cafe" crossed out on them. Kind of funny, considering that there's no love lost between Syria and Lebanon.
We went to Ben & Jerry's for dessert. I was not able to finish my cone of Phish Food. Rich!
Sunday morning we had lunch with friends at Gaia Bistro. This is baked eggs on black beans with goat cheese. Yummy, but not very substantial. I would get two things if I were ordering this again.
Finally, I'm still getting a lot of enjoyment out of a $9 bouquet I bought at Safeway a week and a half ago. It's amazing how well it has held up!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Other weekend delights
Labels: flowers, food, restaurants
3 comments:
I *love* fall bouquets like that.ReplyDelete
You should sign up for National Blog Posting Month (http://nablopomo.ning.com/). You've got a great start on it already! If nothing else, its a great place to find new blogs...
I did sign up! And for NaBloWriMo last month. I haven't quite figured out the NaBloPoMo site yet. My user name is kittbo. Since I post every day pretty much anyway, it's not quite the challenge for me that others take it to be, though.ReplyDelete
LOVE black beans and eggs. But yeah, they need to be piled on pretty thick. A restaurant here (Hell's Kitchen) makes huevos with black beans, eggs, tortillas, and a whole bunch of stuff. So good.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: Digital 3698 Posted May 19, 2019 Greetings Players, It's been a very busy and successful couple of weeks with the TruckersMP 5 year anniversary just recently passed. But as we come closer towards the end of the month, it's time to announce our next event! Join us this Sunday 26th May 2019 at 17:00 UTC (Alternative Timezones). We will start in the beautiful country of Italy, located at one of the port cities, Genoa. Having a port and lots of companies allows for plenty of parking and preparation for our big haul. If you don't have Italy DLC yet, you're welcome to meetup in Turin as well. From there, hundreds of truckers will embark on a scenic route through the Alps, and across some of the best routes in France and Germany. This is a convoy you don't want to miss! As always, the convoy duration is estimated to be 90 minutes. It may be longer if you are towards the rear of the convoy. No breaks are scheduled, but you are welcome to pull into a safe place should you require a rest. Please feel welcome to comment or ask questions on our forum topic. Convoy Route: https://i.imgur.com/Q4DDyKY.png Departure: Genoa, Italy Destination: Stein Bruch (Quarry), Mannheim, Germany Additional Event Info: Event Rules | Server: Official Convoy Happy trucking! -TruckersMP Team View post on homepage 12 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Visitor Parking
Visitor Parking
Parking for visitors who are on campus for Admission events is available in the lots next to the Admission Building at the corner of East Broadway and North 6th Street. There is a lot on the northwest side of the building as well as spaces in the lot in the front of the Center for Science and Business on Broadway.
All Monmouth College parking lots and parking areas, including those streets and drives on the College campus, require a Monmouth College parking permit.
Handicapped Parking
A number of campus parking spaces are designated for handicapped parking. These parking spaces are clearly marked and are restricted for use by vehicles displaying a valid handicapped permit issued by licensed physicians or state-issued handicapped license plates.
City of Monmouth Parking
Parking on City streets without a City residential permit in the neighborhoods surrounding campus is prohibited from 2 am to 6 am. A number of streets boarding campus are designated by the City of Monmouth as "Emergency/Snow Routes." When a snow emergency has been issued, parking on these streets is prohibited until the snow has been cleared. Violations of City ordinances will be enforced by the Monmouth Police Department.
Regulations and Administration
Vehicles used by visitors are subject to the rules and regulations stated in the Monmouth College Parking Rules and Regulations or as posted by Monmouth College. Vehicles should not block campus fire lanes, service drives, loading docks or sidewalks. While driving on campus, all motorists must yield the right of way to pedestrians.
Overall coordination of the parking program at Monmouth College is the responsibility of the Director of Campus Safety. Inquiries regarding parking regulations and procedures should be directed to the Director of Campus Safety. Monmouth College assumes no responsibility for theft from or damage to motor vehicles or their contents. Vehicles should be locked at all times.


text:
Palatine, IL
Beauty & Spa
Let a Talent Specialist match you with jobs at employers like
Hair Cuttery
Hair Cuttery is the largest family-owned and operated chain of hair salons in the country, with nearly 900 company-owned locations on the East Coast, in New England and the Midwest. A full-service, value-priced salon, Hair Cuttery Northwest Shopping Center in Palatine, IL offers a full complement of cuts and styling, coloring, waxing and texturizing services with no appointment necessary, as well as a full line of professional hair care products. Hair Cuttery is committed to delivering a delightful guest experience through WOW Service including a Smile Back Guarantee.
Glenview, IL
Buffalo Grove, IL
Fox Lake, IL
Carol Stream, IL
Palatine, IL


text:
OK guys...this is the beginning of yes...Rusty Bucket Photography! I've decided to begin a photography site/business...and well thanks to so many sites that have inspired me....I have decided to advertise through this blog. The reason for Rusty Bucket Photography...basically is what it is...timeless, and full of character! I want to catch the personality, and character...and freeze it...creating a timeless memory that will last through the years.
About Me
Hi, my name is Michelle Kemp, I am a full time mother of three beautiful children (6, 9 and 1 year). As well as the wife of the most handsome, loving and supportive husband. The wee hours left over...I am releasing my artistic energy into photography!
I am an on location natural light photographer located in Pleasant Grove, UT. I eat, sleep, and breath photography. There is something about catching the sweet memories we have together...having something to look back on to remember...it makes me smile! Thanks to the encouragement of my amazing husband as well as my wonderful family and friends, I am excited to announce the beginning of Rusty Bucket Photography! This has been a life long dream of mine becoming a reality! Why the name Rusty Bucket? A rusty bucket is full of character, colorful, showing all its beauty in the life lived! This, is my passion, capturing the "rusty bucket" in all of us! So...enjoy the blog...if you like what you see...send me line!
Michelle Bratt Kemp
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Rusty Bucket Photography...
Posted by Unknown at 10/30/2008
Labels: children, Individuals
1 comment:
- bjjames said...
Michelle, Michelle...YOU ROCK!!! These pictures are awesome and the beginning to so much. I am so excited for you and can't wait to learn with you.
- November 2, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Authorities are searching for two people missing in separate stretches of water following recent heavy rains in Indiana.
Crews returned to Sugar Creek in western Indiana on Monday morning to look for a man spotted floating by a restaurant in Crawfordsville while yelling for help. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says the unidentified man was seen going underwater Sunday.
In southwestern Indiana along the border with Kentucky, the DNR says that a boat carrying two men from Owensboro, Kentucky, was pulled into the Newburgh Dam on the Ohio River. They say one of the men was rescued from the dam and the other was missing.
And on Saturday night, authorities rescued a man in southwestern Indiana after flood waters swept his car off a rural road in Greene County.
MORE TOP STORIES | FDA inspection finds 'insanitary conditions' at Monat manufacturing facility | Indy mother says she won't pay funeral home until she gets her son's ashes | Road work to shut down sections of I-465 until early October | IMPD officer under investigation, video shows her carrying shotgun & spraying tear gas at people | Mother arrested after 2-year-old son left in hot car outside Delaware County apartment complex
Top Trending Videos


text:
OrderWise Pricing
Software and services to meet a range of different budgets
OrderWise Business Management Software is more affordable than you think. Unlike many other systems, it's just a one off fee with the flexibility to be split across a payment plan if needed. In order to provide a quote, our team need to consider a number of factors, all of which can be obtained from a quick call. These include:
- How many users will be required?
- How many orders do you receive weekly?
- What modules & features will your business need?
- Are you a single or multi-site operation?
- Will integration to existing websites and couriers be required?
Our experienced team of Senior Business Consultants will work with you to understand your business and the challenges you face, enabling them to provide pricing for a solution based on the software and services you need.
A modular solution, our software structure means you buy only the features you need right now, with the flexibility to add extra users and functions at a later date when the requirement is there.
So if you would like to find out the price of an OrderWise solution for your business, simply fill out the form and a member of our experienced team will get in touch.
Request A Price:
Read our privacy and cookie policy to see how we will process the data you provide.
Contact Us
Tel: 01522 704083
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
"The transparency and the way the package was sold definitely appealed to me, the fact it was a modular system where we could decide how much or how little we wanted to go for – and it was a great price, I like the way you owned the software and you just adjust your licenses when you need to expand for more people."
– DMS Flooring


text:
YOU'RE looking at Peugeot's first return to the compact family hot-hatch market since the much-loved and increasingly rare 306 GTi-6. Its efforts since then have been mediocre at best, but the 308 provides a fantastic base from which to start.
There are entry-level 246bhp and upgraded 266bhp versions. They share a highly turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine but the latter wears upgraded British-made Alcon brakes, larger but lighter wheels, sportier bucket seats and, crucially, a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential. The price difference is very modest, too.
The 308 is a tidy-looking car as it is, but the lower stance of the GTi brings out unexpected muscle in the curvaceous shape. The GTi 250 is 11mm lower than standard, but the 270's ride height shifts back to normal thanks to its larger wheels.
GTi badges are everywhere in both, so you're in no danger of forgetting you're in a spicy one. The seats in the 270 look especially good, though, with their high side bolsters and contrasting red stitching. There's even an option on the 270 to add 'Coupe Franche' two-tone red and black paint. It looks stunning but costs £1,300 and would be a nightmare to respray.
The beauty of a hot hatch is that it's a practical hatchback at heart. Put the back seats down and you can transport a chest of drawers for Auntie Irene. Very quickly. There isn't much storage in the cabin, though.
Fortunately, The GTi is spec'd up and comes with a reversing camera, keyless entry, front and rear parking sensors and a 12-volt power point for charging small devices. Sequential 'scrolling' indicators are a nice touch, too.
Legroom in the back is very reasonable, and there's no shortage of headroom thanks to a typically high hatchback roof line.
In isolation, the 250 is a great thing to drive. It's balanced, fast and poised, and at 1,205kg fully-fuelled it's a lightweight. But the 270 improves the package in loads of ways that you only see when you drive them back to back. The power and feel in the Alcon brakes is incredible, and the Torsen diff lets the car hold tighter lines at higher speeds through potentially tricky corners. Plus, the variable-spring rate suspension is tuned well for British back-roads, the steering is quick and precise, and overall it flows brilliantly.
Sharper engine responses when you push the Sport button are joined by suddenly very red instruments. The 270 is big cat-aggressive in this setting but the slightly rubbish artificial engine noise that's piped into the cabin actually takes away from the drive. It's just as fast in normal mode and feels better resolved; more rounded. Leave that button alone unless you really, really have to have red dials.
Keep the counter-rotating rev counter needle above 3,000rpm and turbo lag is negligible. Below that it gives some throttle response away to its 2.0-litre rivals, but blimey, it shifts when you chase the redline.
Peak torque is maintained 1,500rpm longer in the 270, and that's a Good Thing.
The 270 is where it's at for value. For £1,600 you get all that extra equipment, higher residual values, a better drive and more fun. Its price is right in the thick of the best front-wheel drive hot hatchbacks around, so it's competitive rather than a bargain. Strong rivals from Seat and Ford are a similar price or less, so it's a straight punch-up between some serious heavyweights.
Hot hatchbacks have broad appeal. Young men are clearly going to be the targets, but the idea of a practical hatchback that can easily overtake old biffers in Nissan Notes who refuse to go faster than 35mph on country roads is one that can surely win plenty of favour. It has style and a measure of comfort on its side, too. It's a real challenger, and a real GTi.
Peugeot 308 GTi 270, from £28,155
Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol producing 266bhp and 243lb/ft
Transmission: Six-speed manual driving the front wheels
Performance: Top speed 155mph, 0-62mph in 6.0 seconds
Economy: 47mpg combined
Emissions: 139g/km


text:
New Orleans? Welfare to a hole in the ground.
So another disaster in New Orleans not happening because hurricane Gustav went 30 miles to the west and not directly overhead, everybody can go back to rebuilding. Why is there no-one asking the question why? Simple stubbornness cannot explain it surely. The truth is that any risk of future disasters will be canceled out by mandated insurance coverage by state law. Any customer who has had insurance coverage for three years or more, must have their insurance coverage continued. Insurance companies of course are no carrying the cost of this high risk, insurance policies are rising. State Farm stated that some policies have risen by 30 percent since Katrina. So what does coverage for those who have this kind of insurance policy dating back three years look like?
A typical homeowner in New Orleans, for example, has to contract with the federal National Flood Insurance Program for flood damage, the state-owned Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. for wind, and private insurers for the rest.
So we foot the bill. The situation is far worse for newcomers. Not required to cover the new home owner, they are left to go to the state owned, "Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp" for coverage.
This is obviously an absurd reality. A city is built below sea level, the sea destroys that city (at least big parts of it), and the city expects to rebuild and hold onto hope that it does not happen again, then again, then again. At what point would the effort have been deemed a waste of time and effort? The next time it happened? Which if Gustav had been to the east, we would be discussing right now. Or the next time after that?
Surely smarter heads can come together, and find a solution. I think I have one, but read on to my next observation first.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
SO what do Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have to do with New Orleans? Fannie Mae announce in a news release on April 16, 2008, that it had invested over $1 billion in Orleans parish since hurricane Katrina. Freddie Mac on October 22, 2007 announced that they pushed money into New Orleans with a reserve fund that they should have spurred $100 million to be spent on home renovations. One of their partners in this venture was Countrywide Home Loans, which as we now are acutely aware was leading the charge on home loans to those unable to make the payments.
Freddie Mac way back on June 15, 2007, stated :
To date, we've provided more than $16 million in humanitarian assistance. As well as mortgage relief for many, many borrowers – our most comprehensive relief ever. And new investments that have financed low-cost mortgages for 10,000 families.
So they have at least 10,000 mortgages in the New Orleans area.
As recently as September 3, 2008 Freddie Mac extended a helping hand to disaster stricken homeowners:
In addition, Freddie Mac gives servicers the discretion to reduce or suspend mortgage payments or foreclosure proceedings for up to 12 months for borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages in federally declared major-disaster areas where individual assistance was provided.
Freddie Mac also strongly encourages servicers to extend several other measures to help affected borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned loans:
— Waiving assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes; and,
— Not reporting borrowers to the nation's credit bureaus when a forbearance or repayment plan has been extended because of the disaster.
What are we doing? We give relief to homeowners in a proven flood plain, so that they can rebuild their flood destroyed homes, and give them an insurance option so that they do not wear the risk of disaster, all so that we can maintain the city under sea level that is New Orleans. Yes, I said "we" Freddie and Fannie, and the taxpayer provides these things which are all publicly owned or backed.
This is insanity.
A much better option would be for this area to be developed into canal front property, by building up sections of land well above the height of the storm surge. What Freddie and Fannie need to do is foreclose on properties that have defaulted then sell these foreclosed properties to a private investor with this intent. Insurers would be confident in insuring the property. As waterfront property it would yield high property values, and the problem of yearly disaster aversion would be solved.
Some of you are saying, "…but but but it's people's homes!… you would be taking away people's homes… you can't do that!" That would be a precise problem associated with Fannie and Freddie and the reason they should be privatized, and deregulated. These institutions have been backing up loans that should NEVER have been made to people who could never pay. It was wrong to make the loans to begin with, and it should be corrected. Extending loans to these homeowners was underhanded welfare.
We either accept that the taxpayer will be footing the bill for this idiocy for the next generation, or we say, "NO more!" I say enough with the throwing money into this hole in the ground.
Other Articles:
Gerry Charlotte Phelps: Raise New Orleans Ground Level LIke Galveston Did
City Comforts, the blog: Rebuild New Orleans but 'Floodproof" it first by filling.
"Levees and Other Raised Ground" American Scientist January-February 2006, Volume 94, Number 1, p7 (subscription required)
An intriguing concept is put forward at New Orleans Artifacts that states that the low lying areas could be raised using siphoned water from the Mississippi river which carries an enormous amount of sandy silt, as a sedimentation project.
Some of the statistics on Freddie Mac in Louisiana up to 2007 are shown in this corporate brochure.
Half Sigma: Why I hope Rita hits New Orleans
Filed under: Disasters, Government and relief efforts | Leave a Comment
Tags: disaster relief, flood insurance, Government and relief efforts, government welfare, hurricane gustav, hurricane katrina, hurricanes, new orleans, rebuilding new orleans
No Responses Yet to "New Orleans? Welfare to a hole in the ground."
- Leave a Comment


text:
2015 Bronze Award for Quality of Care
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) & National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) Awards the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program provides a pathway for providers of long term and post-acute care services to journey towards performance excellence. The program is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.
Best of Omaha 2019 – Nursing Home Facility
Omaha's Choice Awards 2018 – Short Term Rehabilitation Facility (Winner) Skilled Nursing Facility (Winner)
Sarpy County People's Choice Awards 2018 –
Long Term Care Facility (also won in 2017)
Senior Care Services (and in 2017)
Skilled Nursing Facility
Best of the Big O 2018 – Long Term Care Facility


text: ThatOneGuyAR 0 Posted September 9, 2019 I recently read about a device called the "Coil Gun" witch has multiple copper coils that simultaneously turns off causing the atoms to slow down. I also know that temperature is the speed something vibrates. Would it be possible to use this as an every day cooling method? For instance, if I make an MuMetal case large enough to mount to a CPU cooling bracket and have multiple coils inside it with a chip controlling the timing of each coil to re-create the effects of the "Coil Gun", could this become, like, next level CPU cooling? Here's where I read about the "Coil Gun": https://scienceblogs.com/principles/2010/01/19/how-to-make-slow-atoms-and-mol-1 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Kamelyta Noor was looking for something new in her life after getting divorced.
That led her to begin attending paint-and-sip nights. The popular events combine painting classes with wine to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere in which non-artists can explore the artistic process.
Eventually, Noor realized how cheap and easy it was to buy the canvas and enjoy painting on her own.
"Plus working in an election business, which is highly stressful and exhausting, painting every night became my relaxation," said Noor, an elections officer for the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters. "It was really a hobby, and I just decided to take it a little bit more seriously in 2018."
Born and raised in Malaysia, the 50-year-old Noor has lived in Moreno Valley the past 21 years. She has never formally studied art, but instead allowed it to develop from her emotional and mental state.
"I finger paint all my pieces," she said, calling her work abstract expressionism. "… I never think. I just let my emotions dictate my finger. My hunger, my desire, my anger, my happiness, my fear, my thirst, my day-to-day life are all in my paintings."
The subject of her work often gravitates toward food, she added.
"I do love to eat," she said, laughing.
Noor's true inspiration, she said, comes from her two teenagers.
"I strongly believe that we should do whatever makes us happy, that we create our own happiness," she said. "That has always been my thing. I just do it. Who cares about others? As long as I don't harm them, I would do whatever makes me happy, and I want my children to see that. I would like to show my children that we can achieve anything as long as we have a passion for it."
So Noor began to focus more on her art.
Her favorite places to exhibit have included the Perimeter Gallery in Los Angeles and the Joshua Tree Art Gallery. She recently added a new venue to that list of favorites when her work was accepted into Artscape, the biannual exhibit at the Riverside County Administration Center. Noor said she believes art in a non-traditional space is important because it reaches regular people who may not have the resources to go to art museums and galleries.
"Most importantly public spaces expose and educate everyone to art," she said. "All ages, all education levels, all social classes. Art intrigues them, opens their eyes to many possibilities, adventures and escapades."
Noor said painting gives her an outlet.
"Playing with those magnificent colors makes me happy," she said. "I am content. I am more confident. Subsequently, I am a better person with everyone, my children, my co-workers, my friends. Nothing fazes me."
Besides painting, Noor loves to cook and regularly boxes at a boxing club in Jurupa Valley.
The current Artscape exhibit runs through February 2020 at the Riverside County Administration Center, 4080 Lemon St., in downtown Riverside.
For information about Noor, visit www.kamelyta.com.
Patrick Brien is executive director of the Riverside Arts Council.


text:
Our lakes are worlds unto themselves, but when one becomes covered with a roof of ice nearly two feet thick, it takes on an isolation and beauty that few are brave enough to ever see first hand.
Producer Aubrey Ralph followed a group of local divers as they do just that.
For photos, visit https://picasaweb.google.com/tamarathomsen/IceDiveMendota#.


text:
IRAN: Slain protester's mother speaks out to Mousavi and wife
Opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, made their first public appearance in weeks on Tuesday night at the home of slain protester Sohrab Aarabi, whose activist mother, Parvin Fahimi, appears to be gearing up for a full-fledged publicity war against the regime.
Since her son's fate came to light earlier this week, Fahimi has placed herself and her family at the forefront of a wave of popular outrage directed at the highest levels of government. The video below shows her sitting in what appears to be the family room with Mousavi and his wife, surrounded by pictures of her son draped in a green scarf, a symbol of the opposition.
Fahimi, an active member of Mothers for Peace, reportedly told the reformist news website Norooznews.org that she would seek justice in domestic and, if need be, international courts. The website went on to report Mousavi's promise to the family that he wouldn't "let the blood of these youth go in vain."
The 19-year-old Aarabi disappeared during a protest on June 15, but the official coroner's report is dated June 19 and his body was not returned by authorities until nearly a month later. Video footage of a desperate Fahimi pleading for information on her son outside Evin prison has provoked outcry over the suspicious circumstances surrounding the teenager's death.
The government maintains that only 20 people died in the postelection protests, but human rights groups, independent media and relatives of the disappeared put the number as high as 150 and claim the government is delaying the release of bodies in an attempt to disguise the real number.
The official website of 2009 presidential contender Mehdi Karroubi's National Trust Party reported Wednesday that the families of at least 46 missing people have come forward for help, while Aarabi's mother says she was asked to identify her son from an album of five dozen or so individuals' pictures.
Last month, footage of 26-year-old Neda Agha Sultan bleeding to death on a Tehran street sparked worldwide protests and became a galvanizing force for the opposition. If more families follow Fahimi's example by refusing to stay quiet on the fate of their loved ones, the regime could see its crackdown backfire by creating a new generation of martyr-heroes.
Mousavi's visit to the family comes on the heels of his announcement that he will form a new political "front," which, in Iran, is similar to a party but lacks the legal authority to call for political rallies.
Similar fronts have been formed in the past but failed to gain much influence. Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, director of the political office of the Ministry of Interior, said today that such fronts or alliances must also get permission to operate, according to the Iranian Students News Agency.
— Meris Lutz in Beirut
Photo: Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his popular wife, Zahra Rahnavard, express condolences to Parvin Fahimi, mother of the 19-year-old slain protester Sohrab Aarabi. Credit: news.gooya.com.
Video: Fahimi tells her story to opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Credit: YouTube


text:
Conflict management
Whereever people come totgether there will be conflicts. Unresolved conflicts may have an impact on the overall working climate and may affect the motivation, even of staff members who are not directly involved. It is therefore important to address conflicts and to find lasting solutions. If you find yourself in a conflict, you´re not forced to solve it by yourself. Under this link our staff may find support in managing a conflict situation.


text:
Barbara Simons believes there is only one safe voting technology.
For years, Barbara Simons was the loneliest of Cassandras-a technologist who feared what technology had wrought. Her cause was voting: Specifically, she believed that the electronic systems that had gained favor in the United States after the 2000 presidential election were shoddy, and eminently hackable. She spent years publishing opinion pieces in obscure journals with titles like Municipal World and sending hectoring letters to state officials, always written with the same clipped intensity.
Simons, who is now 76, had been a pioneer in computer science at IBM Research at a time when few women not in the secretarial pool walked its halls. In her retirement, however, she was coming off as a crank. Fellow computer scientists might have heard her out, but to the public officials she needed to win over, the idea that software could be manipulated to rig elections remained a fringe preoccupation. Simons was not dissuaded. "They didn't know what they were talking about and I did," she told me.
She wrote more articles, wrote a book, badgered policy makers, made "a pain of myself." Though a liberal who had first examined voting systems under the Clinton administration, she did battle with the League of Women Voters (of which she is a member), the ACLU, and other progressive organizations that had endorsed paperless voting, largely on the grounds that electronic systems offered greater access to voters with disabilities.
Simons was called a Luddite. At times, she was treated as just short of raving. At a League of Women Voters convention, she took a turn at the microphone to challenge the league's president. The moderator tried to yank the mic from her hand.
From Our December 2017 Issue
Subscribe to The Atlantic and support 160 years of independent journalism
Simons is not grappling for mics anymore. In late July, at the annual Def Con hacker conference, in Las Vegas, she addressed an event called the Voting Village-a staged attack on voting machines. "I lose sleep over this. I hope you will too," she told the hackers who had packed into a windowless conference room at Caesars Palace.
Four voting machines had been secured for the event, three of them types still in use. One team of hackers used radio signals to eavesdrop on a machine as it recorded votes. Another found a master password online. Within hours of getting their hands on the machines, the hackers had discovered vulnerabilities in all four.
For much of the afternoon, Simons was in the pressroom, surrounded by reporters eager to hear her make the same points she'd been making for years. "Anything that's happening in here, you can be sure that those intent on undermining the integrity of our election systems have already done," she told a reporter from USA Today.
Barbara Simons is one of the original figures in a movement of perhaps three dozen people who have been fighting for paper ballots for nearly two decades. None are yet accustomed to being taken seriously. When Verified Voting first started working in Virginia, it was seen as "kind of out there," admits Edgardo Cortés, the commissioner of Virginia's Department of Elections. Now "they're on the top of the list of who we call."
Leading up to September's unanimous, bipartisan decision by the Virginia board of elections to decertify the state's remaining touch-screen voting machines, Simons was in the thick of the debate, emailing back and forth with election officials as they sought to assess the vulnerability of paperless machines. Cortés remembers that Simons "butted heads with a number of election officials over the years." But, he adds, "I think her passion to keep pushing the issue over time-to just continue-it's had results. It really changed things."
What needs changing is a system that took root after 2000, when the presidential election hinged on the infamous chads left behind by Florida voters. Computer voting was still novel at the time, but it seemed like an improvement on the antiquated punch-card systems used in places like Broward County. If not properly maintained, those machines produced less-than-clean punches and ambiguous ("hanging," "pregnant") chads. "The takeaway was that paper ballots weren't any good," Simons recalled.
In 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, and suddenly states were awash in money to invest in new systems-and fearful of becoming the next Florida. Security was a secondary concern-even though many of the new machines had wireless features and left no paper trail. They were viewed as easier to use, and seemed to have little downside. Each state "wanted to get the newest and greatest shiny object," said Simons. It was "a gold-rush mentality." She still has a League of Women Voters statement supporting the paperless revolution in which "hacking"-rendered in scare quotes-is quickly dismissed as a concern.
At the peak of the electronic-voting revolution, in 2006, some 40 percent of registered voters used paperless machines. Verified Voting worked to stem the tide, but found little receptiveness for its dark visions of compromised machines. Kevin Shelley, California's secretary of state from 2003 to 2005 and a supporter of paperless voting, reluctantly took a meeting with Verified Voting. The group he'd dismissed as "crazy activists" made a compelling case, backing it up with data and reports on the insecurity of paperless machines.
Shelley changed his position, and California became an early, important victory for the group. Thanks in part to California's shift, enthusiasm for electronic systems abated elsewhere, but not before thousands of machines were ensconced across the country.
Verified Voting supports some machine systems-hybrid models that ink paper ballots and can help people with disabilities to vote-so long as the results are audited. But Simons stubbornly prefers pen and paper, which she believes is the simplest, most idiotproof system. Of course, all voting systems must contend with the grubby realities of democracy-design and function have a way of diverging when millions of people enter the equation. Douglas Jones, a computer scientist who co-authored a book on voting history with Simons, notes that a surprising number of Americans insist on exercising their franchise using glitter pens.
What paper boasts-and no existing computer system can rival-is a solution to the confounding logic problem at the heart of our electoral system. The secret ballot presents a paradox: How can the validity of each vote be confirmed without being traceable to any individual voter? Ballots must be "anonymous and yet verifiable, secret and yet accountable," says Eric Hodge of CyberScout, a security-services company that advises states and counties.
Paper, Simons said, is the best answer to this riddle. Marked clearly and correctly, it's a portable and transparent record of voter intent, one that voters themselves can verify, at least while the ballot is still in their possession. It's also a permanent record, unlike computer memory, which can always be overwritten. "There's no malware that can attack paper," Simons said. "We can solve this. We know how to do it."
Related Stories
The promise of practical results-of solvable problems-is one of the things that first lured Simons to computer science, in the early 1970s. She was one of just a few women in UC Berkeley's doctoral program. She concentrated on a programming challenge called "scheduling"-the mathematical sequencing of tasks. She was certain that she could solve the problem she set before herself in writing her thesis, and she did, after two years of intensive research.
Repairing America's voting system has been less hermetic work, and the results have been more mixed. A few weeks after her victory in Virginia, Simons fought, unsuccessfully, against a measure in California that rolled back audit requirements she'd wanted to strengthen. But Simons has come to see politics and persuasion as essential to her discipline. "The technical community has a responsibility to inform policy makers of the limitations as well as the benefits of technology," she said. "That is part of engineering."


text:
Social Media is Power – If Used Correctly
We have had powerful social media outlets now for over a decade. Most of us have gotten used to them and some of us have grown tired of them. But let me take a moment to remind everyone that social Read More


text:
Cris Carter encourages Kyler Murray to pursue a NFL career over baseball | CFB | FIRST THINGS FIRST
Cris Carter and Nick Wright react to Kyler Murray expected to declare for the 2019 NFL draft. Hear what Cris thinks about Kyler and his NFL future.
#FirstThingsFirst #CFB #KylerMurray #NFL
SUBSCRIBE to get the latest from First Things First: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeFIRSTTHINGSFIRST
▶Skip and Shannon: UNDISPUTED's YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeUNDISPUTED
▶The Herd with Colin Cowherd's YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeTHEHERD
▶Speak for Yourself's YouTube channel: http://foxs.pt/SubscribeSPEAKFORYOURSELF
See more from First Things First: http://foxs.pt/FIRSTTHINGSFIRSTFoxSports
Like First Things First on Facebook: http://foxs.pt/FIRSTTHINGSFIRSTFacebook
Follow First Things First on Twitter: http://foxs.pt/FIRSTTHINGSFIRSTTwitter
Follow First Things First on Instagram: http://foxs.pt/FIRSTTHINGSFIRSTInstagram
Follow Cris Carter on Twitter: http://foxs.pt/CrisCarterTwitter
Follow Nick Wright on Twitter: http://foxs.pt/NickWrightTwitter
Follow Jenna Wolfe on Twitter: http://foxs.pt/JennaWolfeTwitter
About First Things First: Cris Carter and Nick Wright:
Cris Carter, Nick Wright and Jenna Wolfe team up on First Things First, a discussion and opinion-based studio program that covers all the headlines weekdays on FS1.
Cris Carter encourages Kyler Murray to pursue a NFL career over baseball | CFB | FIRST THINGS FIRST
First Things First: Cris Carter and Nick Wright


text:
New York Institute of Technology
Assistant Professor
Life Sciences
SEA-PHAGES Sections
Primary Instructor: Bryan Gibb
Additional Instructor: Joseph Holloway
Type: In situ (phage discovery/microbiology)
Hosts used: Arthrobacter globiformis
Number of students: 10
Freshmen: 10
Meetings per week: 2
Hours per week: 6.0
This sections is a combinations of general biology 1 lecture with phage discovery lab. Class meets twice of week for 3 hours each meeting. Typically we run lecture for the first 60-80 minutes and leave 90-120 minutes for lab.


text:
5 September 2017 21:22
H.O.G. Rally Minsk to take place in Minsk
By Vladimir Korolev: Several thousand bikers will attend the closing ceremony of the motor season in Belarus.
On 16 September H.O.G. Rally Minsk will take place in the capital again. Today, the organizers of the event described the details of the large-scale holiday. Residents and guests of the capital will be able to see not only a parade of legendary motorcycles, but also a large-scale show with entertainment zones.
On September 16 more than four thousand bikers will gather at the Mound of Glory and proceed to the Sports Palace for celebration. The festival is included in the world calendar of official events of Harley Davidson.
The organizers promise that the event will be interesting not only for motorcycle fans. Visitors will see fantastic tricks on motorcycles, drift shows, competitions of the strongest athletes in functional all-around, as well as an exhibition of exclusive motorcycles that exist in a single copy. During the event, a visa-free regime will be introduced for the guests of the festival.


text:
Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack has added a position to his department, bucking a trend toward athletic cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cunningham says Boynton key reason he stayed at Oklahoma St
Latest Game Stories
Latest News
The Latest: California CCAA moving all sports to the spring
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
Texas Tech signs 7-foot-1 Russian center as 8th addition
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Texas Tech has signed 7-foot-1 Russian center Vladislav Goldin.
'Heartbreaking day' — Stanford drops 11 sports to cut costs
Stanford was already facing some difficult financial choices as it tried to support one of the nation's largest athletics departments.


text:
Cycle Cornwall
Summer Bike Rides | Cycle routes in and around Falmouth
Fantastic views, traffic free routes, quiet lanes and more, there are a wide variety of cycle trails to enjoy both in and around Falmouth and beyond. Here are just a few we think you'll love to try:
Falmouth to St Mawes
Approximately 16 miles in length, this route enjoys beautiful views as you make your way around the river. Not a level route, with some steep inclines, if you're a keen cyclist this is one to try.
Starting at Ponsharden you'll head over to Penryn, then onto Perranwell Station, before turning on to the traffic free cycle route to Devoran. After reaching the King Harry Ferry you'll make your way across the river before heading off to the idyllic village of St Mawes where you can enjoy a bite to eat before heading home. Returning couldn't be easier – just hop on the ferry back to Falmouth.
Find the full details of the route here >
Coast to Coast Trail
Running between Devoran and Portreath this trail offers a fantastic day of cycling, crossing from one side of Cornwall to the other. Approximately 11 miles in length, go as fast or as slow as you like, passing through woodland, by streams and the historic mine buildings located in this area.
Originally created for horses to pull mining materials, the path is fairly level and is traffic free for much of the time allowing everyone to enjoy it – regardless of your ability or fitness.
Find a map of the route here >
The Camel Trail
A little further afield from Falmouth but well worth the drive is the popular Camel Trail. Following a former railway line, there are no inclines to tackle over this 18-mile route. Running from Wenfordbridge, near Bodmin to Padstow, it's the perfect day out for families. Try the whole route, or just enjoy part of it – we recommend stopping off in Padstow for a bite to eat, ice cream or just a drink, before making the return journey.
Falmouth to Truro
Fancy visiting the nearby city of Truro but don't want to drive? Why not cycle!
Taking the same route as the start of the Falmouth to St Mawes option, you'll split off at the King Harry Ferry turning, instead cycling straight on and taking the next right, following the Route 3 signs to Calenick. Turning right onto Old Falmouth Road and again onto the Newham Trail, you will end up in the centre of Truro. A 13-mile route that takes you both on and off-road, and with some inclines to tackle – you'll definitely work up an appetite for a well-deserved lunch at the other end.
Find the full details of the route here >
Then return back to luxury and relax in our Retreat!


text:
Spiral Swirls Back Tattoo Design
By InkedInspiration | March 25, 2012
Here is a beautiful swirling back tattoo design. I love the preciseness of the swirls and how they all grow together. It's beautiful how the design follows the contours of her back and "grow" up over her shoulder. The lines are all within a close range of thickness so even though the lines are a little thicker it still works well. If you are considering getting a tattoo like this one, remember the thinner the lines, the more of a delicate feel your tattoo will have. You definitely don't want to go overboard with this style of tattoo.


text: Gerald P. Rosellini M.D. Gerald P. Rosellini M.D. Medical Specialties Urgent care Telehealth services Overview About Me Locations UW Neighborhood Issaquah Clinic - Primary Care and Urgent Care Services 1740 NW Maple Street, Suite 100, Issaquah, WA 98027 425.391.3900 Languages English French Italian Spanish About Gerald P. Rosellini Gerald P. Rosellini, M.D. is a board certified family medicine physician who provides urgent care services at the UW Neighborhood Issaquah Clinic. Dr. Rosellini's clinical interests include urgent care, pediatrics, dermatology, office-based gynecology and patient centered communication. Dr. Rosellini believes it is essential that patients take an active role in their personal healthcare decisions. He strives to work in partnership with my patients to ensure understanding of and adherence to their care plans. Personal Interests Dr. Rosellini enjoys international travel, Italian cultural history, water sports and spending time with his wife and two sons. Education and Training Univ. of Calif. Irvine-College of Medicine Medical education, 1983 UW - Faculty Development Fellowship Fellowship Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center Residency, Family Practice Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center Internship, Family Practice Board Certifications Family Medicine, 1986, American Board of Family Medicine


text:
Nah, it ain't the update that'll bring a standalone email client to your BlackBerry PlayBook, but at least it's some positive news in an otherwise gloomy arena surrounding RIM. Version 1.0.6 of the BlackBerry Tablet OS was just cut loose today, bringing support for Adobe's Flash 10.3 and AIR 2.7 software. In other words, users should see improved Flash performance, and they'll also be able to tap into a new array of apps crafted with AIR 2.7. Oh, and for the security mavens? There's a few built-in updates to safeguard you and yours. It's available over-the-air right now, and if you don't see an update just yet, be patient — it's en route, we swear.
BlackBerry Tablet OS v1.0.6 update brings Flash 10.3 and AIR 2.7 to PlayBook originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:56:00 EST.


text:
We at Mamaheaven believe that massage is not only heavenly but is also an essential way to restoring your self, calming your mind and getting back in touch with your post-natal body. Women's bodies go through an infinite number of changes before and after birthing. The constant demands of early parenting also puts your body under new pressures and strain. It's not just the body that is compromised but also your mind which is so often full of new worries [...]Read More
One of the nicest treats at Mamaheaven is the luxury goodie bag that every mother receives. A re-usable purple cotton bag emblazoned with our gold logo containing an array of organic products for mother and baby to enjoy during their stay or take home with them. Mothers find organic beauty products from Balance Me lip balms, Dr Organic handcreams to Liz Earle moisturisers and Jo Wood body creams, all smelling divine, and perfect for making mothers feel spoilt and treasured. [...]Read More


text:
The information provided by our expert should not constitute a diagnosis of your condition. Always consult a medical practitioner or healthcare provider for a formal diagnosis. By making use of this content, you agree that ConceiveEasy and the expert assume no liability.
There is no bigger joy than the joy of having a baby. You will surely agree that nothing in this world can beat that feeling. However, not every couple succeeds in conceiving a baby. Numerous couples today suffer from fertility problems, rendering them infertile or unable to conceive a child. The reasons behind this may be many rights from low sperm count to a small uterus to an inhospitable environment. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
Knowing that you can't be parents can be heart-wrenchingly difficult. It can take a toll on you emotionally and may even end up straining your relationship with your better half because you are extremely vulnerable and emotionally weak. Remember, however, that even your partner is miserable just like you are and in such times you have no one to turn to except each other. You should be able to support each other during such testing times and never lose hope.
Prepare yourself
Fertility treatments are an option that you could choose but let me warn you NOT to pin all your hopes to these treatments. There are numerous different types of fertility treatments today but don't ever be under the impression that all of them work. They are extremely expensive but remember that expenses don't guarantee results.
Before choosing to opt for fertility treatments, you have to understand the fact that there are significant chances of still not being able to conceive. In fact, about 40 percent of cases are unfruitful. You must comprehend the risk that you are taking. Thus, even after spending so much money, there are chances of not having a baby at all. You should be clear about this and you must prepare yourself for the worst before going for fertility treatments.
Small uterus
There are numerous reasons why fertility treatments tend to fail. A number of factors govern these treatments and these factors often determine the success rate. For example, the severity and nature of your condition play an important role. If the root cause of your problems is a small uterus, you can barely help yourself. But don't fret, as this is an extremely rare condition. However, if your fertility issues are due to hormonal imbalance, that can be sorted out more often than not through hormonal shots.
Age also plays a very important role when it comes to fertility treatments. Your age will determine the chances of success of these treatments. For example, if you are younger than 29 years, you have more chances of positive results.
Those who are in their thirties have fewer chances and those who are in their forties have a success rate that is extremely low. Know that it is not actually impossible at any stage until you reach menopause but the difficulty level increases with age and the possibilities decrease significantly. It is not wise to spend so much money on fertility treatments after the age of forty.
One of the lesser-known reasons for the failure of fertility treatments is a misdiagnosis. It may not happen regularly but it does happen in many places across the globe, in some places very frequently. Your health care provider may fail to diagnose the actual problem of fertility and treat you for the wrong reasons.
In this case, you will be doing everything that needs to be done and you will keep spending all the money but to no avail. Another possibility is that there may be more than just one problem. For example, from the blood test results your doctor may conclude that hormonal imbalance is the problem but along with that, you may have some problem in the fallopian tube too. If that goes unnoticed, your fertility treatments will fail.
Hence, choosing the right doctor is a must so that you are diagnosed properly and you know the actual cause of your fertility issues. If the problem or problems is/are pinpointed, the chances of fertility treatments being successful will be more.