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We Change Lives
In 1939, Louisiana opened the Lake Charles Junior College, a division of Louisiana State University and the forerunner of McNeese State University. The following year, the school changed its name to John McNeese Junior College to honor John McNeese, a renowned Southwest Louisiana educator and the first superintendent of schools in Imperial Calcasieu Parish. In 1950, McNeese became a four-year college in its own right and came under the authority of the Louisiana Board of Education. Finally, in 1970, McNeese State University became the official name of the school.
As a member of the University of Louisiana System and a selective admissions institution, McNeese offers programs through the Department of General and Basic Studies and six academic colleges: Business, Education, Engineering and Computer Science, Liberal Arts, Nursing and Health Professions, and Science and Agriculture. McNeese's student body is comprised of students from throughout Louisiana, the United States, and approximately 50 countries. McNeese achieved Commission on Colleges/Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation in 1954 and maintains its regional accreditation status as a Level IV institution authorized to award associate, bachelor, master, and specialist degrees. The University also provides opportunities for continuing education in support of its mission to value lifelong learning.
McNeese's athletic programs are NCAA-certified for competition at the Division I level. McNeese is a member of the prestigious Southland Conference, and competes for championships in football, basketball, indoor track, cross country, outdoor track, baseball, and golf for the men and cross country, indoor track, outdoor track, tennis, golf, volleyball, basketball, softball, and soccer for the women. Through the years, McNeese athletes have won conference championships, bowl games, and even played for national championships, all while maintaining a high level of academic success.
The McNeese campus, located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, consists of the 121-acre main campus, the 503-acre Farm, the 65-acre Doland Athletics Complex, and nearly 1,600 acres of donated farm property used for research, farming, and ranching. The main campus, dotted with live oak trees and azaleas, comprises approximately 30 buildings including the three original structures – Kaufman Hall, Ralph O. Ward Memorial Gym (the Arena), and Francis G. Bulber Auditorium. Bulber Auditorium, a striking example of Art Deco architecture, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2013, McNeese opened the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial and Economic Development Center [SEED Center]. The SEED Center, a partnership between McNeese, the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (which includes the Chamber Southwest Louisiana), the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, and the city of Lake Charles, is dedicated to strengthening and diversifying the economy in the five-parish area.
McNeese State University upholds a long tradition of service to the Southwest Louisiana community and the nation. The University motto of "Excellence with a Personal Touch" extends beyond the classroom. During World War II, the campus was the headquarters of the Louisiana Maneuvers, an extensive military exercise to prepare American soldiers for battle. In 1957, the McNeese community gave aid and comfort to the victims of Hurricane Audrey and served as the National Guard's base of rescue operations. In 2005, McNeese provided shelter for New Orleans residents and university students fleeing from Hurricane Katrina. Weeks later, McNeese then faced one of its greatest challenges when Hurricane Rita struck in the fall of 2005. The storm caused devastating damage to campus facilities and infrastructure. The recovery effort after Hurricane Rita demonstrated the resilience and commitment of the McNeese faculty, staff, and students to higher education.
In 2014, McNeese celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a slate of special events and programs. The 75th anniversary slogan, "Celebrating the Past~Pioneering the Future," captures the essence of McNeese – pride in its transformation from a small junior college into a regional university of national prominence while moving forward with innovative programs and ideas. Throughout its history, McNeese has maintained a dedication to its core values of academic excellence, student success, fiscal responsibility, and university/community alliances. McNeese State University remains a major influence in the rich cultural and economic success of Southwest Louisiana and continues to lead through innovative education, dynamic programs, and dedicated service to the region and beyond.


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SR Education Cutting Class | S1 & S4
August 6th, 2018
9:30am to 4pm
Cost: $175
This class will take you through the Short 1 and Short 4 cuts from the S•R Education Women's Comprehensive Cutting Program. This class helps you to simplify your technique & create high-quality haircuts in a modern salon timeframe. It is designed to work with all experience levels. You will be cutting in a group setting with instruction from Ruthie Grayson.
Call to Book: (707) 658-2649

subset: commoncrawl


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Since the 1989 publication of the first "Cinemagoing" report covering the UK cinema industry, Dodona Research has expanded its research activities to cover cinema markets internationally, delivering information, data and independent analysis through published research and consulting services. We have helped major and independent film distributors and exhibitors, banks and other financial institutions, government agencies, suppliers to the cinema industry, real estate concerns, advertising agencies and others in more than 50 countries.
Dodona Research Limited
Registered in England number 3867050
Registered Office: Portland Cottage, Portland Towers, Leicester, LE2 2PG
Telephone 0116 270 2765


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Collaboration is indeed the business opportunity of the decade, promising to energize your organization while making more effective use of your precious assets. My Cisco colleague Carl Wiese and I wrote a book called The Collaboration Imperative: Executive Strategies for Unlocking Your Organization's True Potential to help organizations "operationalize" collaboration and capture these gains. Our goal wasn't to write a "theory" book, but rather one that drills down into specific actions, with concrete examples of how to put collaboration to work in the real world.
As Carl noted in a previous blog post, effective collaboration is a function of aligning culture, process and technology. But how do you do that? Here is a one example from the book: Collaborative teams work best when they're made up of people who communicate openly. Collaboration technologies, especially video, make it easy to reach people across an organization and around the world. Anyone who has traded their economy-class airline seat in favor of a Telepresence meeting knows the powerful benefits of collapsing space and time with an engaging video meeting. However, as we cross departmental, cultural and time-zone boundaries, collaboration puts our personal communication skills to the test.
As we increasingly interact virtually, we work more and more with people we don't know or have a long history with; they may actually work in a different company and teams may come and go in rapid succession. Establishing rapport – quickly – is one of the most important aspects of successful collaboration, and it starts with communicating authentically.
Do you know what your authentic communication style is? Do your peers and colleagues know how you make decisions? Can you quickly convey your strengths and weaknesses to people? The more you share about your authentic style with your collaboration partners, the faster you can achieve trust with them. Open communications starts with you.
Here is how to get started. Click here (and then click on the green "Take GAC Survey" button on the resulting page) to discover your authentic communication style. This confidential assessment is a bit like the Myers-Briggs test and provides you with a customized profile of your unique communication style; it reveals how you naturally process information, and how you prefer to deliver that information to others.
Most importantly, the assessment provides a simple vocabulary to communicate your style to others. Are you conceptual or analytical? An introvert or an extrovert? Do you prefer to communicate information in a linear or nonlinear fashion? Complete this quick assessment to find out. Then ask your team to take the same assessment and start sharing your styles. You'll be happily surprised at how much friction can be removed from human relationships, especially virtual ones, when we simply share our authentic style with colleagues and begin understanding each other better. I'm convinced that 90% of human conflict in business isn't personal in intent; it occurs because we all naturally make decisions differently. By sharing our authentic style of communicating and making decisions, you can diffuse a lot of unnecessary friction and built trust faster.
My authentic communication style is: Conceptual, Deductive, Introverted and Non-Linear. I'm best at brainstorming. I come to conclusions quickly. I gain energy by thinking on my own, and I can be unpredictable in where I take ideas. Who are you? Please share your results as a comment to my blog.
Lastly, we've created a white paper which summarizes the book's content which we hope you'll find useful. Let us know what you think.
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.


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Windward Community College professor headed to Greece to research largest volcanic eruption in human historyUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Department of Natural Sciences
"I am so honored to have this opportunity," said McCoy.
From June 2007 to July 2008, McCoy will be involved in fieldwork to study the effects of the enormous Late Bronze Age eruption of Thera (Santorini) in Greece. McCoy will attempt to merge the fields of archaeology and geology into a new discipline — geoarchaeology — to find out what destroyed a Cycladic culture and led to the demise of the Minoan culture on Crete.
McCoy has studied the geological evidence for this eruption and its impacts over the last 20 years with the assistance of small groups of interested scientists and non-scientists, and his work has been featured in numerous programs on NBC, BBC, the National Geographic, Learning and Discovery Channels.
As a Fulbright scholar grantee, McCoy will also be negotiating deep-water archaeology, mapping the ocean floor in search of ships and looking for evidence of ancient trade routes between Greece and Egypt. His role as a geologist will include developing new remote techniques for recording information in waters as deep as 12,000 feet.
In addition to research, McCoy will teach as visiting research professor from September 2007 to May 2008 at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, mentoring students, and teaching graduate seminars in natural hazards and geology.
Representing the United States, McCoy will be helping to increase mutual understanding between people of both countries, the principle purpose of the Fulbright Program. The Fulbright grant is made possible through funding from the U.S. Congress, the country of Greece, and from the private sector.


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Reviewed By David S (Chesterfield, MO) Reviewed for a 2005 Honda Pilot —9/13/2017 5:12 AM
I bought a much cheaper cover from Am@zon and regretted it immediately even though the site said it would fit. Spent a little more and WOW, what a difference to protect our old hauler from tar, leaves and dust! If we get even another 6 months out of this vehicle it will have been worth it.


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Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
paella y escalivada!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
back to my cookbook!
I've been in another world for the last month and a half i've been finishing up the Toy Story picture book. Now is done, I'm doing a few fixes and it won't come out until May 2009, a while from now, but I'm excited to have my first book published!
In the meantime I will finish up my cook book, which I'll be putting together very soon!
oh yes, this is for a wonderful Lorelay exclusive recipe of cola-cao cookies (chocolate powder cookies) I've finally perfectionate them, now I can say they're good! I've had a few testers and they give me thumbs up!


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Business software giant CA is to cull 1,700 of its workforce. News of the massive restructure came as the firm released its Q1 2007 results and reported a 64 per cent drop in net income compared to the same period in 2006.
About half the cull will take place in North America, with the rest drawn from global operations. In all, 10.5 per cent of CA staffers are for the chop. Execs hope the plan, which is to be completed in 2008, will save the firm $200m annually. The redundancies themselves will cost the firm $200m.
Revenues were actually up slightly on the same period last year, rising from $927m to $956m, but net income sank to $35m, delivering GAAP earnings per share of $0.06, although they topped analyst estimates of $0.03. CA made a loss of $36m in Q4 2006.
CEO John Swainson, the man tasked with hauling the company back from years of accounting scandals, losses, top execs admitting fraud, and a revolving boardroom door, said: "We are not satisfied with our cost structure and we are implementing an expense reduction plan to improve the company's efficiency and competitive position. These are the first steps in a long-term program to achieve a best-of-breed cost structure."
CA did not update its annual revenue forecast of $3.9bn, made on 29 June, but expects to do so when it reports its Q2 numbers. ®
Sponsored: Practical tips for Office 365 tenant-to-tenant migration


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David Anson recently brought Eric Lippert's challenge to my attention. I can't resist an opportunity to showcase F#'s strengths so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring with a solution.
I'll briefly summarize the problem for those too lazy to follow the link :-):
Given a sequence of strings, concatenate them in a way similar to natural language. For example the sequence "ABC", "DEF", "G", and "H" should be output as:
{ABC, DEF, G and H}
"ABC" and "DEF" should be output as...
{ABC and DEF}
...and finally an empty sequence should yield the following output:
Of course this problem is simple enough to solve. The real challenge is creating a solution which is declarative and efficient. In order to achieve the desired result we must determine if each item is the first, the last, or is in the center without relying on random access. The typical approach in C# or VB.NET would be to get an enumerator from the sequence, step through it, and create a state machine that keeps track of the last two values. Unfortunately this approach wouldn't scale and would be full of corner cases to handle.
Let's see if we can do better with F#.
open System open System.Text let concat_string (list: string seq) = let tripleWise = Seq.append list [null] |> Seq.scan (fun (_, previousPrevious, previous) current -> (previousPrevious, previous, current) ) (null, null, null) let contents = tripleWise |> Seq.map (function | _, null, _ -> String.Empty | null, curr, null -> curr | null, first, _ -> first | _, last, null -> sprintf " and %s" last | prev, curr, next -> sprintf ", %s" curr) let builder = StringBuilder() contents |> Seq.iter (fun item -> (builder.Append(item) |> ignore)) sprintf "{%s}" (builder.ToString()) // prints "{ABC, DEF, G and H}" printf "%s" (concat_string ["ABC"; "DEF"; "G"; "H"]) // prints "{ABC and DEF}" printf "%s" (concat_string ["ABC"; "DEF"]) // prints "{ABC}" printf "%s" (concat_string ["ABC"]) // prints "{}" printf "%s" (concat_string [])
Let's take a look at the program step by step.
Type Inference, Whitespace Awareness, and Type Aliases
let concat_string (list: string seq) =
The first line of code contains the only type declaration in the entire program. Not too shabby. For those that don't know "string seq" is a type alias for IEnumerable<string>. Having a type alias for sequences is really nice because sequence processing is so common in both C# and F#. Notice that like Python, F# is also whitespace aware. These three features help F# achieve Python-like terseness without sacrificing performance or type safety.
Structural Types
My solution leverages F#'s native support for structural types, that is types that can be used to group arbitrary values together. The following code creates a sequence of triples, which is a group of three values. Notice that pattern matching is used to introduce descriptive identifiers for each element in the triple.
let tripleWise = Seq.append list [null] |> Seq.scan (fun (_, previousPrevious, previous) current -> (previousPrevious, previous, current) ) (null, null, null)
The "tripleWise" identifier refers to a sequence of triples containing the previous, the current, and the next item. For example if the input list is defined as "ABC" and "DEF" then tripleWise will be:
(null,null,null), (null,null,"ABC"), (null,"ABC","DEF"), ("ABC","DEF",null)
The scan function works in a way very similar to System.Linq.Enumerable.Aggregate. Here's a C# example that uses Aggregate to sum a sequence of numbers.
new[]{2,4,4,2}.Aggregate((accumulatedValue, current) => accumulatedValue + current, 0)
The difference between scan and Aggregate is that scan returns the intermediary accumulated values as a sequence. Given the example above scan would return a sequence of the following values:
0, 2, 6, 10, 12
An empty triple is used as the initial value and scan is passed a function which shifts each item in the sequence through the triple from the right to left. Each time it returns the resulting triple. Now we have a sequence of triples containing the previous, current, and next values. For each triple we can determine if the middle item is the first item or the last item by checking whether the left or right items are null respectively. Note that by appending null to the end of the original sequence in the first line we can be sure that the rightmost item in the last triple will be null.
Parallelizing the Code
We've successfully avoided state and mutation and we now have a sequence of snapshots of each value and its previous and next values. This is very important. Now we can process each triple in the sequence in any order we like: last to first, first to last, or first and last at the same time.
let contents = tripleWise |> Seq.map (function | _, null, _ -> String.Empty | null, curr, null -> curr | null, first, _ -> first | _, last, null -> sprintf " and %s" last | prev, curr, next -> sprintf ", %s" curr)
The code above introduces a function that uses pattern matching to declaratively transform each possible triple into a string. It just doesn't get much more readable than this. This function is applied to each element using map (equivalent to System.Linq.Enumerable.Select) which yields a sequence of strings.
Just for fun let's see how much work it would take to parallelize the code above using Matthew Podwasaki's F# parallel extensions library and the latest CTP of the Parallel Extensions.
let contents = tripleWise.AsParallel() |> PSeq.map (function | _, null, _ -> String.Empty | null, curr, null -> curr | null, first, _ -> first | _, last, null -> sprintf " and %s" last | prev, curr, next -> sprintf ", %s" curr)
Notice that all I had to do was add 14 characters! Now the code above should increase in speed at a linear rate with the number of cores on the processor. Just try that with a state machine. :-)
In the next five years its very possible we will see processors with over 50 cores on a desktop. This is one of the reasons I get so frustrated when I see developers unnecessarily using state in their computations. State is the new GOTO. It should have to be justified.
State When it Makes Sense
Notice that at the end the strings are concatenated using a StringBuilder.
let builder = StringBuilder() contents |> Seq.iter (fun item -> (builder.Append(item) |> ignore)) sprintf "{%s}" (builder.ToString())
This operation is decidedly impure. This demonstrates another wonderful F# feature: the ability to perform stateful operations when it makes sense. It's important to understand there's nothing preventing us from writing C#-style imperative code in F#.
An alternate, pure approach to the problem above would've involved using reduce (equivalent to System.Linq.Enumerable.Aggregate) to concatenate all the strings together using the + operator. Although reduce, like map, can be parallelized it is unlikely that this would improve performance because concatenating strings creates so much extra work. Each time two strings are concatenated a new one must be created and the contents of both strings must be copied to a new memory location. Under the circumstances it makes sense to add a dash of state and use a StringBuilder.
Learn F#
The entire program is 25 lines including whitespace and imports and I'm very comfortable with its trade-offs. I look forward to seeing what the other developers come up with but I'm confident that no one will do better in C#. F# really shines when it comes to computation. Learning it is a must if you consider yourself a sharp Elvis or an Einstein and you make your living with .NET.


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Olivia and the Little Way
Olivia and the Little Way by Nancy Carabio Belanger (Harvey House Publishing, 2008)
Olivia and the Little Way is a delightful children's novel about Olivia, a 10-year-old who moves with her family from Texas to Michigan. She is nervous about going to a new school so her grandmother gives her a St. Thérèse chaplet and tells her about the Little Way that St. Thérèse believed in: "You can show your love for God by doing little things for Him with great love."
Olivia loses the chaplet almost as soon as she receives it, however, and is frustrated when she is unable to bring it with her on the first day of her new school. She meets many new acquaintances at St. Michael's School: Mrs. Wells, her new teacher, Sr. Anne Marie, the principal, and two unique sets of friends: the popular girls, Sabrina and Hayley; and the unpopular kids, Jenna and Chad. In an effort to be accepted and well-liked at her new school, Olivia makes some poor choices, then regrets her actions. She prays that she finds her chaplet, then she makes a renewed effort to "do little things for God."
As each day goes by, Olivia learns how to love others through the Little Way: by not telling on a classmate when a note is passed to her and she is caught reading it; by using the only dollar she has to pay for another classmate's lunch and, therefore, sacrificing her own favorite lunch of tacos; by doing chores without being asked.
Later in the story, however, she finds herself being encouraged to do something she knows is wrong. She gives in to temptation, and then she must deal with the consequences. Olivia is frustrated and admits that the Little Way is not always easy.
Her grandmother tells her, "You cannot expect to follow the Little Way without some hardship along the way. It is a work in progress. Do not get discouraged...God does not expect perfection; He only wants you to try your best every day." This is wonderful advice, not only for Olivia, but for all of us.
St. Thérèse has been one of my favorite saints since I visited Lisieux as a teenager many years ago, so I especially enjoyed this novel and the St. Thérèse quotes at the beginning of each chapter. In this well-written and engaging novel, author Nancy Carabio Belanger illustrates St. Thérèse's Little Way in a delightful and unique approach without being preachy or dogmatic.
I highly recommend this wonderful book not only for children, but for anyone interested in following the Little Way.


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Tales of hail are never pleasant, like this central Nebraska farmer describing its high cost in a recent submission to AgWeb's Crop Comments.
"We watched on July 9 as the worst hail storm of our lifetime hit," he says. "Our local co-ops ran the numbers and came up with a minimum of 40,000,000 bushels of corn lost."
When hail strikes, what are the next steps you should take? Here is a three-step approach that several universities recommend.
1. Be patient. Iowa State University recommends your first move should be to call your crop insurance agent. After that, it makes sense to wait at least 3-5 days or longer after a hail storm to get an accurate damage appraisal. The plants will need some time to recover.
2. Determine the crop growth stage. Bob Nielsen, Extension corn agronomist at Purdue, explains why this is important.
"The effects of leaf death on yield increases as the plants near silking, and then decreases throughout grain fill.," he says. "Therefore, the grower needs to determine the leaf stage of the crop when the hail damage occurred."
3. Assess plant health accurately. There are numerous online resources that will help give you a way to accurately estimate damages, including the University of Wisconsin, Purdue University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, DuPont Pioneer and others.
A good place to start is estimating percent of leaf area the hail destroyed. The USDA developed the following table to serve as a guideline.
"Leaf damage by hail usually looks worse than it really is," Nielsen says. "Tattered leaves that remain green and connected to the plant will continue photosynthesizing. It takes a practiced eye to accurately estimate percent leaf death by hail. With that caution in mind, percent damage to those leaves exposed at the time of the hailstorm can be estimated and used to estimate yield loss due to defoliation alone."
Don't forget that hail-damaged corn also runs a heightened risk to vector certain diseases. In the video below, Tamra Jackson-Ziems, UNL plant pathologist, describes which ones to watch for in particular.
For soybeans, The Ohio State University notes that the R1 (beginning bloom) to R5 (beginning seed fill) stages are the most sensitive to defoliation. At 50% defoliation during the R3 growth stage, research indicates farmers can expect to see a 9% to 18% reduction in yield. Click here for soybean loss estimates based on amount of defoliation.
To read the latest crop production conversations, or to start your own, visit the AgWeb Crop Production discussion forums.


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What is the most important thing you could do to organize your life? Did you say get rid of the clutter? That's what I thought. "A Place for everything and everything in it's place," is good advice unless you have too many Things and not enough Places. Instead of going out and buying a bigger Place what do you say to just getting rid of some of the Things?
The problem is that for most of us, it's more difficult than it sounds. My preferred method is to start in one room. Box everything up that looks out of place, except for your kids maybe (or maybe not), and then toss it. If this sounds too difficult then you could have one of your friends do it for you and then you could do it for her at her house. I've never actually tried it but it sounds like a good plan doesn't it? Lighting a match to it would make it even more fun.
If you want a method that's a little less exciting, you could try my four-bin method. When I'm clearing out a room I use big cardboard boxes or Rubbermaid bins. If I'm clearing out a drawer or a small space I use plastic washtubs. Label your bins for take away (belongs in another room), give away, throw away, and put away.
Now set a timer and go for it. If it's not useful or beautiful then get rid of it. The less time you have to think about it, the less you will torture yourself. Don't make a big deal about the whole thing. Things are just things. They are not memories (take a picture) and they are not living beings (if they are, then use a really good disinfectant). Your life will not be ruined if you get rid of something that you might want later. Really. What's the worst that can happen? You might have to borrow it from a friend, you might have to buy a new one, or you might get organized!


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See images from Himawari-8 in the new satellite viewer
This demonstration product is most suitable for people
with fast internet connection and high data allowance.
Low-definition satellite images
Satellite View Selection
18:00 ACST on Monday 25 May 2020 | Cloud/surface composite, Australia
Images from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite Himawari 8 via Bureau of Meteorology.
IDY28000 Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Bureau National Operations Centre Satellite Notes for the 0000UTC Chart Issued at 12:44 pm EST Tuesday on 26 May 2020 A trough of low pressure and active rainband with embedded thunderstorms lies across northern WA, with high cloud extending into SA. A deep low pressure system south of WA extends a cold front across southern WA, with an associated cloud band that is moving eastwards. A low off the NSW coast in the Tasman Sea is moving slowly away from the mainland. Onshore winds are generating low cloud over the far eastern Vic, eastern NSW and much of Tas.


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A Graveside Wish
A touching story circulated in Jerusalem soon after the recent passing of Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz, of blessed memory. This distinguished activist, who served for many years as the representative of the Torah community in the Israeli Knesset, was an accomplished Torah scholar who studied in his later years together with a neighbor in the Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborhood of Jerusalem.
This neighbor was Rabbi Simcha Wasserman, of blessed memory, a highly respected Torah educator. When Rabbi Wasserman passed away more than a decade ago Rabbi Lorincz instructed his family to purchase a burial plot next to that of his beloved learning partner. Since Rabbi Wasserman left behind no children, the Lorincz family was instructed that whenever psalms would be recited at his graveside, a psalm should also be recited at the neighboring grave even if it was not on the yahrzeit anniversary of Rabbi Wasserman's death when such psalms are traditionally recited by his survivors.
The family of the deceased traditionally comes to his grave at the end of their shiva mourning period. But that day was Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan when such a visit is not made. The first opportunity to do so was on the second day of Cheshvan which turned out to be the yahrzeit of Rabbi Wasserman.
A graveside wish that Heaven fulfilled in such a touching way.


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"Bridesmaids" star Kristen Wiig has landed a role in the sequel to Will Ferrell's popular cult comedy "Anchorman."
Ferrell is re-teaming with original cast members Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell for the follow-up and a new addition looks set to spice up the sequel.
In a post on her Twitter.com page, Applegate writes, "So excited Kristen Wiig has joined our cast for anchorman2. Going 2 b (to be the) best movie ever made. Besides the best movies ever made."
"Anchorman: The Legend Continues" is set for release later this year.


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Congress is debating how to deal with privacy and other legal issues pertaining to Google's new wearable computer Google Glass. And that's probably why Google has been at the Capitol giving demonstrations and clearing the way for the device's rollout next year.
Four states have already introduced legislation to ban the device while driving, while industries such as casinos and health care facilities are barring the wearable computer, according to Politico. Google glass is already banned in the Speaker's Lobby of Congress.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
"It's one of those things we're just going to have to see how it evolves," Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. told Politico after a hands-on demonstration of the device courtesy of Google.
"The best way for people to understand new technology like Glass is for them to experience it firsthand," said a Google spokesman. Google's vice president for public policy, Susan Molinari, also gave a letter to the Privacy Caucus cofounder Rep. Joe Barton pointing out Google will eliminate facial-recognition software.
Google Glass isn't even available to the public and is only in the hands of beta-testers willing to pay $1,500 to use the device. Google reportedly could make the device available next year -- but where users will be able to use the wearable computer could be greatly limited by then.


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No sport's imagery is richer than waterfowl hunting. It is filled with icy windswept water, marsh grass, cypress trees, shivering wet retrievers, colorful birds, heavy clothing, steaming thermoses of coffee and leaky boats. But of all of the ducking hunting images, none is more iconic than the heavy 12-gauge side-by-side.
TUNICA, Miss. | Lamar Boyd drops the call from his lips and raises his Super Fox HE/XE to his shoulder. The customers are honing in on a pair of gadwalls fluttering over the decoys so he focuses on a high flier above the blind.
The big gun thumps his shoulder twice as the front trigger touches off the right barrel and back trigger lets fly with the left. The gadwall cartwheels down. Almost 90 years after it left the factory, the gun did its job again.
Smoke billows out of the barrels as Boyd breaks the gun open and pops two more shells in. He turns it over in his hands and admires the engraving.
"There are really two main things that I like about them," he said. "People have lost an appreciation for craftsmanship and the belief that something its age is worth what it is.
"I can identify with the people who hunted here before I did and show a little respect to them by using the older guns and proving to people that they really do work."
No sport's imagery is richer than waterfowl hunting. It is filled with icy windswept water, marsh grass, cypress trees, shivering wet retrievers, colorful birds, heavy clothing, steaming thermoses of coffee and leaky boats. But of all of the ducking hunting images, none is more iconic than the heavy 12-gauge side-by-side.
Super magnum autoloaders might have eclipsed them in today's duck blinds for pure utilitarian reasons. But they will never match the early 20th Century American doubles, Fox, Parker, L.C. Smith, Lefever and the like for pure romance.
And matching a Super Fox with Beaver Dam in Tunica, Miss. where Boyd and his father Mike Boyd guide is the pinnacle of waterfowling romance. It places him squarely in the boots of the most famous man to burn gunpowder there, Memphis writer Nash Buckingham.
Boyd's Super Fox is a tribute to Buckingham and his stories about Beaver Dam like "De Shootin'est Gentman" and "Great Day in the Morning." Buckingham's fabled shotgun "Bo Whoop" was the same model and he was a member of the Beaver Dam Ducking Club that hunted the same waters.
"Engraving on the gun is specific to Beaver Dam," Boyd said. The game scene on the bottom of the receiver was taken of cover artwork from 'De Shootin'est Gentman.'"
The inscription on the rib says "In Memory of Horace Miller, Nash Buckingham and Harold Money." Miller was one of the black men who paddled Buckingham and other Beaver Dam club members in wooden boats. He and Money are the central characters in "De Shootin'est Gentman."
The trigger guard is inlaid with gold reading "BDDC 1882," which stands for Beaver Dam Ducking Club and its founding date.
"That's what makes it specific to beaver dam," Boyd said. "It's a tip of the hat to Buckingham and his writing about Beaver Dam."
The gun was originally a HE but it was upgraded to an HE/XE with enhanced engraving. It was re-blued, restocked with Turkish walnut and given to Boyd by a friend.
"He's a wealthy man with an affinity for Buckingham and Beaver dam," Boyd said.
The HE was developed in 1926 by Philadelphia gun maker A.H. Fox.
"There was interest in long range waterfowl shooting," Boyd said. "The whole platform was changed to accommodate the increased wall thickness of the barrels needed to withstand the higher pressures of 3-inch chambers."
But critical to the gun's performance is its barrels. Fox placed emphasis on achieving patterns of a uniform density at 40 yards. In a day of lead shot, that meant tightly choked barrels.
"There was a guy named Burt Becker who worked for the Fox company," Boyd said. "His role in the development of the Super Fox was he learned how to bore these barrels in terms of forcing cones and choke restrictions to make them pattern extremely well."
Boyd's first love is actually Parker double barrels. His father is the Fox man.
"The Parkers are like the real good looking girls in high school," Mike Boyd chuckles. "They've got the eye appeal. The Fox is like that cute girl that can cook like hell. I like good cooking."
At 57 years old, Mike Boyd has been hunting Beaver Dam since the 1960s when an old black man who worked for his father would paddle him around the lake. He got into classic double seven or eight years ago. A customer from Pennsylvania steered him to a basic Fox Sterlingworth.
"He got me a good deal on that gun and then it seemed like, dang, we had to buy one every year," Mike Boyd said with a laugh. "They kind of go with beaver dam, the history and tradition.
"I just like the quality of the gun. It reminds me of a time in this country that we made our own stuff. We didn't rely on the world to make our stuff. And it was good stuff. And they're timeless."
The guns are exceptionally sturdy and the Boyds could shoot them every day. But they do require special ammunition because steel shot would damage the barrels. With bismuth shells out of production they rely on Kent Tungsten Matrix. Its cost keeps them from shooting their classic doubles every day.
"It's $2.50 or $3 every time you pull the trigger," Boyd said. "We keep them for special occasions."
And on those occasions, it's worth it.
"I like the time in American history that they came from," Mike Boyd said. "You get to go back to a little bit of that history and use it today."
It was a time when ducks migrated to Beaver Dam by the thousands and gentlemen from Memphis arrived by train to hunt. The lake, an oxbow formed when the Mississippi River changed course, is different now.
Even when Mike Boyd was a kid, the lake was marsh with large mats of grass and trails running through it. It was covered in buck brush. The blind he hunts from now dates way back because it was an open spot where the ducks liked to come.
Beavers cut down the buck brush. Herbicide running off from the agricultural land that surrounds the lake killed the marsh grass. It is now a cypress filled lake with open water and lots of duck weed.
If it had been up to Mike Boyd's Grandfather, they wouldn't even own the 90 acres of Beaver Dam that belongs to them. It came along with about 1,200 acres he bought to farm.
"It certainly wasn't an asset in his mind," Mike Boyd said. "It happened to be in the northwest corner of the property he bought. He wasn't a fisherman. I never knew him to duck hunt. He was a turkey hunter and he loved to hunt deer and quail and squirrel."
"If it were up to him, he'd have drained it, logged it and farmed it," Lamar Boyd adds with a laugh.
Mike Boyd, who farms 4,000 acres of soybeans, corn and wheat along with his son, started guiding hunts in the early 1980s. Duck hunting was about to enter a period of decline because of low duck populations created by droughts in the breeding grounds.
"Beaver Dam to me was probably a more stable situation then as far as daily ducks," Mike Boyd said. "I remember when we had a 40 day season limiting out every day. We used to kill a lot of ring necks. We don't kill ring necks anymore. We've always killed gadwalls. We seem to be killing more mallards this year and that's a good thing."
Just after New Year's with skim ice on the lake and flooded agricultural fields frozen over, that was particularly true. The first few groups were gadwalls. And then it was all mallards. Boyd's set of about 200 Greenhead Gear decoys punctuated with Mojo Mallards spinning intermittently and the sweet sounds of the Boyd's calls sucked them in.
Dangling in the air above the decoy set, a soft-recoiling Mossberg 835 autoloader and Winchester Blindside No. 3 shot made quick work of them. Puffs of feathers hung in the air after the sounds of the shots faded over the open water.
Duck hunting exploded in the 1990s. Before that, people hunted ducks in the lakes and natural waterways. But after it became profitable for farmers to lease property to duck hunters, they started creating habitat by flooding fields throughout the Mississippi Delta.
That scattered the ducks and broke up the monopoly that places like Beaver Dam had. With additional hunting pressure, ducks became warier, too.
Mike Boyd said they compensated by become better hunters.
"I think we're better at what we do now," he said. "If you do something every day, you ought to get better at it."
Lamar Boyd, 27, has been guiding since he was 15 years old.
"As soon as I got a driver's license, I was guiding hunts," Lamar Boyd said.
He believes Beaver Dam consistently produces ducks because it lies in a big bend in the River. Ducks using the River as a highway go right over Beaver Dam when they cut across the bend.
"Over the years the norm has been to kill about 60 percent gadwall," Lamar Boyd said. "I think it's the aquatic vegetation. We have duckweed and we have coontail moss. You don't find that every place in the Mississippi Delta."
The bag has been trending toward mallards recently as the gadwall's migration pattern seems to have shifted west. Out of about 850 ducks killed in their blind three quarters of the way through the season, about 500 were mallards with a smattering of widgeon and green-winged teal and the rest gadwalls.
Beaver Dam is literally in Mike Boyd's backyard. He built his house on the lake's edge and docks his Go-Devil boats a stone's throw from his back door.
For customers, it's easy hunting. They step into a boat and take a short ride to a spacious, solid, dry blind. The blind has benches and storage for guns and shells. A butane stove keeps a hot pot of coffee going all morning.
The minimum price is $1,200 a day for up to four hunters. The blind can accommodate six hunters. For every hunter over four there is a $300 charge.
Because Tunica is a casino town, there are plenty of hotel rooms. But the Boyds have a doublewide mobile home that hunters can rent for $250 a night and it will sleep up to six people.
Hunters must purchase a Mississippi hunting license and state and federal duck stamps. Anyone interested in hunting at Beaver Dam should make reservations early. The Boyds are usually booked up by late summer.
Mike Boyd said he feels like he's blessed to get to hunt in one of the nation's great waterfowling locations every day. And he's enjoyed meeting the people he guides.
"It's like we've got extended family now all over the country," he said. "It shows you that it's not all about pulling a trigger. We all like to shoot. But it's so much bigger than that. I think about that every day, about how lucky we are to do what we do."


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ESSAY- Too much: Is it time to erase our Google caches?
On the Internet, somebody does know you're a dog. Google, to be exact. And it has the pictures to prove it. The ominously helpful high-tech giant has introduced a service called Street View in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and several other visually intriguing cities.
Now, armchair Peeping Toms everywhere can enter a specific address and see multiple photographs of the location– along with any unsuspecting bystanders who happen to be in the camera's eye when Google's surveillance vans roll past. Some of those immortalized include a man skulking into an adult bookstore, a woman who was having a bad-thong day, and a guy scaling an apartment building's security gate in a less than forthright manner.
Naturally, such unexpected imagery has proven controversial. And, indeed, what does it say about our culture when you can't break into a building with some expectation of privacy anymore?
For years, we've shrugged off the relentless scrutiny we torture celebrities with as the price of fame, but now we're all Paris Hilton: Even our most throwaway moments can end up as entertainment for millions if they're embarrassing enough. Google has democratized recreational stalking.
The company's officials seem surprised at the outcry over Street View, and it's no wonder. Archiving and analyzing our most intimate and embarrassing search requests, combing through private gmails– it has gotten so comfortable in its role as recording angel that any concerns about the breadth of its omniscience must seem downright silly. That time you sprayed Febreze on yourself instead of taking a shower and ended up with a terrible rash that was so itchy you spent all day searching the web for an antidote? Google remembers. Your chronic late-night prowls for female blood elf bukkake? Google has a record of each and every search, and plans to keep this information until 2038. Google knows you better than your spouse– better than your therapist even– and now you're worried about some candid photos on public streets?
It would also be easier to condemn Google's creepy intrusions if Street View's gotcha! snapshots were at least half as revealing as the pathological self-disclosure on display at MySpace. But if it's hard to summon much grief for the death of public privacy when every new laptop comes equipped with a webcam, can't we at least shed a tear for the demise of mystery, loss, disposability?
What's grating about Google– and what its Street View project illustrates so vividly– is its nutty compulsion to render the universe as searchable data. Sure, having easy access to pictorial evidence of Ashlee Simpson's nasal evolution makes the world a better place, but do we really need a detailed visual record of some crummy alley in Denver?
And let's hope Google never figures out a way to archive every instant message either. One of life's great virtues is the transience of all things– especially the transience of memory. Our facility for forgetting the past means we may keep repeating it, but it's also what keeps us sane, hopeful, and open to the possibilities of Spider-Man IV, isn't it?
In the Google universe, even the most trivial cultural artifacts are kept on life-support forever. Whatever happened to pulling the plug and letting go? Most books should go out of print. Rock songs should have the lifespan of houseflys– let them buzz around our consciousness for a month, then sweep them under the rug of history! Blog posts deserve no more chance for long-term survival than the average spermatazoa. And just because it is technically possible to depict every square foot of the United States in splendid panorama, is there a compelling reason to do so?
Our present is too much with us. Our past is the houseguest that won't leave. Anti-depressant prescriptions have been rising in exact relation to Google's growing presence, and no one makes the connection. But how can we be happy when Google won't let us forget our failures and mediocrity?
Every day for the rest of his life, infotainment journeyman Pat O'Brien will have easy access to an audio record of his drunken efforts to seduce an acquaintance's voice mail message. Fifty years from now, Alec Baldwin's grandchildren will be able to hear PawPaw calling Mom a thoughtless little pig. Google isn't the only entity preserving these hideous moments like prehistoric insects caught in amber, of course. But it is the infinite museum that makes such relics instantly, eternally, damningly accessible.
Greg Beato is a freelance journalist who has written for Spin, The Washington Post, and many other publications, including his own Web site, Soundbitten.com. This essay first appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.


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Alger, WA……..Ariel Biggs of Elma, Wash. earned her initial USAC feature victory Saturday night at Skagit Speedway, leading all 20 laps of the Honda USAC Washington Ignite Dirt race. Robby Vaughn took second ahead of Robbie Price, Garrett Thomas and Chase Goetz. Biggs won the Elma Auto Racing Hall of Fame Fast Time Award, while Vaughn was the SPEEDMART hard charger and Price was the NWSPRINTCARHISTORY.com Rookie of the race.
HONDA IGNITE USAC WASHINGTON DIRT MIDGET RACE RESULTS: June 8, 2013 – Alger, Washington – Skagit Raceway
FIRST HEAT: (8 Laps) 1. Robby Vaughn ( #3sStewart), 2. Robbie Price (#21 Price), 3. Ariel Biggs (#11E Emery), 4. Tristin Thomas (#91s Stewart), 5. Annika Johanson (#27 Johanson). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 Laps) 1. Chase Goetz (#91 Goetz), 2. Madison Hess (#5 Hess), 3. Garrett Thomas (#14 Thomas), 4. Lee St.Paul (#2 Paul). NT
FEATURE: (20 Laps) 1. Ariel Biggs, 2. Robby Vaughn, 3. Robbie Price, 4. Garrett Thomas, 5. Chase Goetz, 6. Madison Hess, 7. Tristin Thomas, 8. Annika Johanson. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Biggs.
NEW HONDA IGNITE WASHINGTON DIRT MIDGET POINTS: 1-Goetz-391, 2-G.Thomas-341, 3-Biggs-298, 4-Dougie James-267, 5-Vaughn-246, 6-Todd Hartman-200, 7-Chance Crum-197, 8-Jeremy Miller-177, 9-Jared Peterson-139, 10-Johanson-124.
NEXT HONDA IGNITE WASHINGTON DIRT MIDGET RACE: June 22 – Elma, WA – Grays Harbor Raceway


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All those plastic shopping bags emblazened with a "thank you" from the store's owner might soon also carry a "thank you" from the city.
That's because, if a proposed new ordinance up for discussion Monday is adopted by the Evanston City Council, you'll be paying the city a 25-cent tax for every disposable plastic shopping bag you get.
Alderman Coleen Burrus, 9th Ward, who proposed the measure, says she wants to discourage use of the bags, arguing that their production and disposal damages the environment.
She says the tax would encourage customers to use reusable shopping bags instead.
The ordinance would also bar store owners from reimbursing customers for the cost of the disfavored bags.
The ordinance contains a long list of exemptions -- ranging from bags for fruit and vegetables to bags for nails and bolts and also covering bags for potted plants and newspapers.
The ordinance would require store operators to itemize the number of bags used and the total tax charged.
Plastic bag tax
Submitted by karl marx (not verified) on
How the hell do you police this?
With all the exemptions we will need a city inspector at each check out counter to verify compliance.
Will we need a permit for the exemptions?
This will add 50 cents to a dollar plus for each shopping trip. A great reason to shop in Wilmette or Skokie.
This is not green, this is poultry defecation.
How Stupid
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
hmmmm...Jewel on Green Bay in Evanston, or Sheridan in Wilmette...Wilmette it is! Not because I use plastic bags (because I agree that they aren't enviromentlly friendly) but to tax them to get people to use them is pathetic, and just another reason my Evanston home is for sale. Too much of this BS.
Yet another tax?
Submitted by Charon the Ferryman on
Not only stupid, but will assure that I NEVER, EVER shop in Evanston again. Jewel in Wilmette, Skokie, Chicago. Dominicks in Lincolnwood, or Skokie. Meijers in Niles. WalMart in Niles (2 of them), and the numerous smaller markets on Oakton and Dempster in Skokie, the ethnic markets in Chicago, Niles, Skokie. Small butcher shops. . . The options OUTSIDE OF EVANSTON are endless and the variety considerably greater.
And what about the plastic bags at booksellers? Other shops?
Over the years the council drove out the commercial and manufacturing tax base. Now they're going to drive out the grocery stores with an almost impossible to track tax.
The only ones this will hurt are those that cannot travel to do their shopping. Consider: Who are those least likely to have cars? Who are least likely to travel by a decimated public transport system for a week's or month's worth of groceries? The handicapped. The disabled. Seniors, shut-ins. Those on fixed income. Those with low income.
Are there NO limits to the greed of those running the city?
Leave My Bags Alone!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Really? Really! Taxing the usage of plastic bags? I'm just waiting for the day the City Council figures out a way to tax air!
I actually love these bags because I reuse them to empty the bathroom trash cans at my house plus (and this is a big "plus") they make for great poop bags for my dog! If they tax my poop bags I'm gonna boycott by leaving my pooper scooper at home!
Shop elsewhere
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
I guess I have to drive another 1/4 mile and shop at the Jewel on Greenbay in Wilmette instead of the Dominicks. No problem for me. Just one more reason to shop anywhere but Evanston. And what are they going to do about my Pea Pod plastic shopping bags? Wonderful idea Evanston!
This is crass
Submitted by Randall W. (not verified) on
Close to three years ago, I entertained a suggestion from someone to move to Evanston. I decided not to because of all of the dumb decisions being made by Evanston's government. This is a wonderful example of the lack of thought by those in a position on power. To tax the use of plastic bags is absurd. I pray this idiotic idea does not get implemented, if it does, I only buy things in Evanston when I have no choice!
One Baffled Economist
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
The city of Evanston continues to baffles me at every turn, although after 8 years I should not be surprised.
As someone with a degree in economics, I'm completely amazed at the absolute lack of basic understanding of economic conditions and how government actions and taxes influence people decisions.
Reading the post about the bag tax perfectly illustrates how many people may react to this tax. Yet, no one (in this case one alderman) in city government has the foresight to rationally walk through effect of government actions or inactions before they blurt out some questionable idea.
You can see it with the bag tax, the recent Library Boards actions, the city's many failed low income housing projects, the pensions problems, duplicate services of the township, to name a few.
Did the alderman think at all about how this could impact business in the city? How it would be implemented? Who would enforce it? How it might affect shopper's behaviors? Is this a regressive tax? Would / can shoppers go elsewhere for these services? Is the tax high enough to encourage them to shop elsewhere
What business are included and not included? Would this just lead to a switch back to paper bags? Do we tax paper bags too? If people shop in other towns will the new bag tax offset the losses in other sales tax?
Will the shops in Evanston lose jobs or will businesses close and move because of a lower demand for their services?
Did the Alderman think or research any of these questions before bring this up as a new tax?
It is no shock to me this city, county, state and country are bankrupt with these continued actions by our government entities.
One Baffled Economist
Baffled economist
Submitted by karl marx (not verified) on
Dear Baffled Economist,
Your surge of sanity is totally displaced in the Peoples Republic of Evanston where the PC do good elite savants rule. How can mere mere rational hoi poloi offer advice since these gifted entities know what is good for us.
hmm, not so baffling really
Submitted by Michael Drennan on
Anonymous it seems Coleen just wanted to discuss the idea of a bag tax, and had a rough outline for it. That's why she posted it to the discussion section of the A&PW committee, after all the other business they had Monday (which was an awful lot - ask any cabbie). Had she done her homework beforehand, she would have realized that disposable carryout bags of either paper or plastic carry costs in terms of production (12 million barrels of oil, 14 million trees) consumption (retailers nationwide spend up to $4billon a year on disposable bags) disposal (millions of pounds of plastic bags and related wrapping into nonrenewable landfill space) and recycling (only 1 to 3% of plastic bags get recycled anyhow.) If she did, she may have considered how the fees from such an ordinance could educate people to bring their own bags, provide reusable bags to the needy, and support other measures to reduce Evanston's environmental impact and reliance on foreign oil.
Now even someone without a degree in the dismal science would agree the costs of producing, consuming disposing and recycling plastic bags, much less paper bags (an even worse environmental problem in many cases) outweighs the ephemeral convenience of answering that worn out query "paper or plastic?"
Plastic bag purposes
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
I assume they want to tax them for income but will use the reason "plastic bags pollute directly or by blowing around."
People use plastic bags to wrap garbage [hopefully not recycleables], pick-up after dogs and other things. And many recycle them at grocery stores.
Many people like them for grocery shopping esp. if they are walking or biking. The bags the city purposes, at least the ones I've seen, do not hold much, do not fit in a back-pack very easily [the number I need for shopping definitely would not]. I bike everywhere---in Evanston having a car is meaningless.
I keep plastic bags in my backpack and use them at grocery, CVS, bookstores and other places. Carrrying enough of the proposed bags would not work for groceries. However since the Jewel on Chicago Ave. is always lined with panhandlers I use Wilmette Jewel mostly anyway so I guess I can get by with small purchases in Evanston non-Jewel and go to Wilmette for Jewel.
You bike everywhere too - good for you!
Submitted by Michael Drennan on
Given your concern for the environment (and desire to enjoy it on two wheels, while saving money, getting exercise etc.) then you may be interested to know only one to three percent of plastic bags ever end up being recycled at least according to -
It sounds like you're good to go, saving money and the environment regardless of the City Council. Again good for you Anonymous.
Submitted by Andrew (not verified) on
This is another of those stupid taxes that will render itself irrelevant once everyone either a) shops elsewhere (not going to happen 100%) or b) stops using plastic bags (more likely), thereby bringing the city NOTHING, like traffic cameras in some areas. But, hey! Let's cash in until the people get wise! Sarcasm intended. Goverment greed in action once again. How about, oh, I dunno, LESS GOVERNMENT! I know. Earth shattering. The government is, hands down, the greediest entity in this country. And the world. Wall Street ain't got nuthin' on the government.
This is a funny discussion
Submitted by manon kavesky (not verified) on
Dear neighbors,
Don't take a plastic bag from a store request paper.
Don't pay a tax on that plastic bag.
As far as I can tell there is no right to a free shopping bag.
Very respectfully
Manon Kavesky
Funnier discussion
Submitted by karl marx (not verified) on
Being "green" may be "feel good" and PC, but in the cruel real world there are things called "opportunity costs" and "the law of unintended consequences".
If it costs me $0.50 to over a $1 more to shop in Evanston because of the plastic bag tax, then I will shop in Wilmette or Skokie. The city then not only loses the sales tax revenue but also tax revenue from other shopping I will do.
There is no right to have to shop in Evanston.
This is why the City is in such financial straits.... duh?
You don't sound like Karl.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Karl, you should be careful about your statement, some people may think you are Adam Smith. Someone needs to sit down with the Alderman and give them a lesson about the invisible hand, but we all know they will get confused and think we are talking about Genesis and Invisible Touch.
Baffled Economist
Kind sir, I don't understand
Submitted by manon kavesky (not verified) on
Kind sir,
I don't understand your comment.
Why would it cost you anything extra to shop in your home town?
Bring a bag with you, I don't think there is any intention of taxing you on your used shopping bag.
As for costs, you may live closer to Wilmette or Skokie and your closest market may be outside of the city limits.
Please save money and gas and shop at your closest market, it would be silly to drive out of your way.
All the best
Manon Kavesky
Kind sir,
Submitted by karl marx (not verified) on
You obviously have never heard of marginal cost, opportunity cost or the law of unintended consequences. If I have to lug bags around, that is a "cost". Also, there are often better selections and prices elsewhere. I shop where I get the best bargain fro cost and effort.
karl marx
plastic bags
Submitted by Mary Brugliera on
dear manon, colleen, and friends at evanston now:
speaking only for vito's and my experience with plastic bags, here's how we use and recycle them. we mostly ask for paper, as we use paper bags to store our newspapers in for recycling. we reuse the paper bags several times. we use the plastic bags to line two often-used garbage cans. when we dog-sit our daughter's retriever, we use them for dog poops, as do many neighbors. we then return the plastic bags to the store for recycling (the empty ones, not the ones with dog poop in them.....)
the proposal to charge for the bags, with the burden being on the stores to manage the exceptions, count the usage, collect and forward the tax is cumbersome, time and money consuming, and, we predict, will not work.
Charging For Plastic Bags
Submitted by Mel Williams (not verified) on
This is one of the most stupid proposals I have seen and will pose an unnecessay financial burden on poor folks who are having a hard time just making ends meet. I'm sure this alderwoman can find better ways to generate revenue.
Seattle experience
Submitted by Marcia Mahoney (not verified) on
Seattle voters rejected a plastic bag tax last year. Here's a website with info: http://www.seattlebagtax.org/
These comments are a typical
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
these comments are a typical reaction to something that people are not educated on..Wow, a so called 'economist' showed up to the discussion and he's apparently the authority on everything.
It's funny how cheap people are. You idiots will burn more gas than the plastic bag tax going to Skokie than what the tax would cost.
You can also easily solve the problem and buy, for an extremely low price, a reusable bag for your groceries.
Just FYI- one of the largest states in our union, California, has considered such a tax as well.
It appears that our 'commentors' have not done their research on what plastic bags actually do to the environment. These are the same idiots that think Hummers are fine because we live in a free country.
Justy FYI:
In every square mile of ocean there are over 46,000 pieces of plastic. This puts an enormous strain on the environment. The little pieces of plastic act as a sort of sponge for chemicals. They soak up a million fold greater concentration of such deadly compounds as PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product of the notorious insecticide DDT), than the surrounding seawater (Reusablebags.com). Marine life then eats these pieces and dies. It is estimated that over a 100,000 different birds, seals and whales die every year (Reusablebags.com). After the animal dies its carcass decomposes and the plastic is free to roam the ocean and kill again.
Do your research first, cheap idiots, before commenting on a very reasonable proposal.
Gentle readers ...
Submitted by Bill Smith on
Gentle readers ...
Please do not call one another idiots. It reflects poorly on the person slinging the slur.
And, just FYI, the California state senate earlier this month rejected a plastic bag ban proposal that also would have taxed paper bags. Some some California municipalities have imposed plastic bag bans, however.
-- Bill
Gentle Readers
Submitted by karl marx (not verified) on
Calling opponents "cheap idiots" is typical of the elite green PC cultist savants who know what is best for those ignorant common folks. Yes plastic bags do harm the environment, but money is also a scarce resource, especially in this city where budgets are overwhelmed. Introducing an added cost to drive people to shop elsewhere will only add to the financial problems the city faces. Get real, let us rank order problems and direct our energies to solving the larger ones.
Karl, aren't you dead?
Submitted by Michael Drennan on
And Karl, paper bags do as much if not more damage than plastic, requiring more energy to produce and recycle, and generating more pollutants. Coleen may have missed that in her first draft. But its a great reason to take stock of what we owe our kids and grandkids. You're right Karl, funds are scarce, and retailers in Evanston shouldn't have to keep shelling out money to pay for my convenience, when in the end it harms my kids. Let's reduce their costs (and any tax dollars going to the city) by bringing our own shopping bags.
Just FYI- one of the largest
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Just FYI- one of the largest states in our union, California, is bankrupt. They need all the taxes they can possibly get away with.
Just FYI- it's not because they are "super -green".
Just FYI-The Governor of California, who is spending billions more each month than he can raise in taxes, has insufficient funds left to settle outstanding bills and is days away from being forced to start issuing "IOU" notes to creditors and civil servants.
Can't wait
Submitted by sicofit2 (not verified) on
I'm moving back to Evanston soon and I can't wait. Plastic bags allow dog poop to last forever. So tax away! I have my own bags.
Just one more reason to shop somewhere else!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
I haven't bought gasoline in Evanston since they raised the tax. I pay my utilities and real estate taxes, and otherwise do business in Wilmette, Chicago, and elsewhere. W'mette's closer anyway. I've been driven out by the ignorant politicians.
Buy Nothing More in Evanston
Unsanitary Reusable Bags - YUCK
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Hasn't anyone heard/read about how unsanitary those reusable bags can be?? It was disgusting enough to make you want to vomit.
I don't shop in Evanston ... can't afford it. Soon will not be able to afford to live here.
Polluting disposable bags - gross!
Submitted by Michael Drennan on
Anonymous, would you please provide references on the unsanitary nature of reusable bags, and the threat they pose to public health. I have a similar reaction when I see photos of bird skeletons washed ashore on deserted beaches, stuffed full bottle caps and plastic bags.
Repeat of the Evanston Gas Tax ?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Some may recall up to the middle(?) 1970s Evanston had an additional gas tax. Most people did the logical think and bought gas in Chicago, Skokie or Wilmette.
While plastic bags are a problem, a tax on them won't help much.
No repeat here!
Submitted by Michael Drennan on
Anonymous, were the City to simply levy a fee on the purchase of plastic bags, couldn't we avoid it by bringing our own bags? You obviously understand the problem of plastic bagss, but did you realize that according to some estimates paper bags contribute twice as many pollutants and require four times the energy to produce as plastic bags? If Coleen doesn't she should! If we're to act responsibly we need to encourage people to use bring their own reusable carryout bags. And if I forget the I deserve to pay the price of convenience.
Tax plastic bags that wrap newspapers and ads?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Will they also tax the companies and merchants that leave newspapers, flyers, shopping literature, Evanston Recreation, school flyers ?
These are probably a bigger problem than plastic bags from grocery stores since I find few people want many/most of these and leave them outside [many on the curb or street] or toss the material and bag in the recycle bins. I do pick up mine and eventually toss [absent the bag] the materials no one picks up after a few days.
We should consider an ordinance like this
Submitted by Michael Drennan on
I applaud Alderman Coleen Burrus for bringing such an ordinance to discuss with the A&PW Committee Monday night. Years have gone by since Whole Foods, Jewel Osco, Dominicks and other chains began offering reusable bags, and yet how many people still keep answering that old query "paper or plastic?" Despite an upsurge in people bringing their own reusable carryout bags we cannot avoid the fact that most shoppers still pollute in deference to convenience. We reduced our addiction to cigarettes through educational ads, the overwhelming clinical evidence of their harm, and a systematic piling on of fees at state and local levels for their purchase. While the targeting of plastic and the quarter per bag levy may not survive close scrutiny, we can and should take them as a starting point for crafting an ordinance that will reduce our reliance on disposable carryout bags (paper and plastic), encourage the use of reusable bags, mandate the use of recycled, recyclable disposable bags, and fund sustainability efforts in the city. While some may choose out of sheer indignation to drive out of their way to avoid such a tax, most of us will save the trip, and bring our own. It's the responsible thing to do.
Michael Drennan
2009 Candidate for Alderman in Evanston's Ninth Ward
bag the plastic bags
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Geez, I thought I lived in a forward-thinking, generally enlightened town. The hot air and smelly gas coming from opponents of a sensible plastic-bag surcharge really makes me wonder. Plastic bags are completely outlawed in some countries, and are taxed in more and more cities and municipalities. It just makes sense. They're unsightly, don't biodegrade, harm wildlife, and contribute to our dependence on petroleum.
Please, Evanston, tax the darn plastic bags. I'll pay, and everyone else I know will pay, and we're Evanstonians. People who think that sensible and trivial move is "the final straw" are undoubtedly already not shopping in Evanston. (But, don't get me started on the regressive parking meter policy....)
I'll simply do this...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
If a tax happens, I'll simply request paper. If we tax that, I'll bring my reusable bag. If i only need one item and I don't have my reusable bag all folded up in my pocket ready to pull out, I'll walk out with the item w/o any bag. Additionally, I will probably visit the Wilmette or Skokie grocery stores more frequently, get my stuff in the plastic bags and then drop them off to city hall for proper recycling.
It's not a tax if you don't pay it.
Submitted by CFTres (not verified) on
Use reusable bags and you're good to go. They don't cost much and they're often freebies for non-profit donations or professional conferences and such.
My personal experience is that a few years back I noticed the clutter in my house from plastic shopping bags and also a pile of canvas tote bags accumulated over the years. I solved both problems by throwing the tote bags in the back of our cars and trying to remember to take them with me every time I entered a store. It required a little more consciousness on my part going from car to store but eventually you the hang of it. I'm sure a 50 cent tax would have expedited the consciousness raising process.
So while I might like to have folks think my actions stemmed from a concern for our marine wildlife and a desire to stop contributing to the demise of our oceans from giant floating garbage patches, it was a close to home clean up the clutter concern that got me to change my habits,
The point is that it only takes a little effort to make a change that can have a big impact if we all follow suit. Tax or no tax.
Let's make this whole debate about a plastic bag tax irrelevant because we've all made the kinds of behavioral changes that make a difference for the planet that our children and grandchildren will inherit.
The Plastic Bag Tax
Submitted by John Dalton (not verified) on
I support Alderman Burrus' attempt to tax the distribution of plastic bags. I'm an Evanston resident; I'd like to see our town setting an example for other communities, locally and nationally, on how to live in a more sustainable and environmentally conscious manner.
I do wish that Mr. Smith, the writer of this article, had mentioned if Ms. Burrus had a plan for the revenue raised from this tax. Would this proposed income go into the general city coffers? Would it support other green programs specifically?
Bag tax revenue
Submitted by Bill Smith on
Hi John,
The draft ordinance just says the money raised will go to the general fund.
You could find the full text here.
Discussion of the proposal was postponed Monday night. It's scheduled to come up again on Oct. 11.
-- Bill
Alternative to increase bag re-cycling
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
If the city would require all grocery and drug stores and city government buildings to re-cycle bags [i.e. have a collection bin] then perhaps the non-revenue side of the problem could be solved. As far I know only Jewel, Dominicks and Whole Foods do so at present.
If grocery and drug stores don't have a means to get the bags to a processor, perhaps the city could collect and forward them once a week.
Submitted by tyrone on
Hey, folks. I agree that the Evanston city Council does some crazy crap, but this proposal is certainly worth a serious look. Of course there are tradeoffs, but, as a community, we want to be responsible global citizens. I can only assume that the chicken littles have no friggin' clue as to the impact that plastic is having on our planet. And, I say this as a Ph.D. economist, who consults to business, not as a tree-hugging knee-jerk pinko.
So, if you are skeptical of the ordinance, I HIGHLY recommend you learn more about the seriousness of the plastic plague infecting our earth. And, it just so happens that a group of concerned Evanston residents has scheduled a public screening of BAG IT in the hope of raising public awareness of the importance of imposing a ban or a tax on plastic grocery bags here. BAG IT is a film that examines our society's use and abuse of plastic. The film is extremely entertaining and humorous, but at the same time disturbing -- and ultimately inspiring. The film focuses on plastic as it relates to our society's throwaway mentality, our culture of convenience, our overconsumption of unnecessary, disposable products and packaging — things that we use one time and then, without another thought, toss away. Where is AWAY?? Away is overflowing landfills, clogged rivers, islands of trash in our oceans, and even our very own toxic bodies.
Cosponsored by the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation and Citizens for a Greener Evanston, the free screening is on Thursday, Oct. 14th at 7 p.m. at JRC, 303 Dodge Avenue, Evanston. Refreshments will be served.
To watch the trailer and learn more about the film and the issues, go to:
Please, join as, learn more about the issue, share your thoughts, and help us brainstorm better solutions. We look forward to a vibrant dialog.
Submitted by karl marx (not verified) on
No one is arguing that plastic bags harm the environment and to "frame" the issue against the proposed ordinance as anti-environmental is silly, if not unfair
The issue is why penalize consumers.
Why not outlaw plastic bags. I would prefer paper bags (they are taboo also) but I have to go out of my way to get a paper bag, because paper bags consume more of the clerk's time and owners are trying to shrink the number of checkout people.
I assume the standard response is carry your own bags. Well that is not convenient, especially if you do not have a car.
Again, why whack the consumer.
Be creative and find other ways rather than knee jerk TAX!


text:
Leon and Chrissy Smith thought they had finally completed their two-year-long journey to parenthood when they adopted a 22-month-old boy in late August.
Leon and Chrissy Smith thought they had finally completed their two-year-long journey to parenthood when they adopted a 22-month-old boy in late August.
Yet five weeks after the toddler was brought to the Smiths and stole their hearts, the Gaston County Department of Social Services took him back. He was returned to a Gaston County couple that had fostered him from birth, after a public and political outcry here about why the child had been removed from that home in the first place.
Since the Smiths had registered directly with an adoption agency, instead of first serving as foster parents, they had no reason to believe the placement wouldn�t be final. But because the adoption process technically takes 90 days to become official, they had no legal recourse.
Still bitter about their treatment by Gaston County DSS, however, the couple is not letting the matter rest. They are talking with an attorney about filing a civil lawsuit against that agency, as well as a custody suit to get the child back.
�I want people to know there�s another side to this story,� said Chrissy Smith. �Our world got turned upside down for no reason.
�I didn�t ask for this. I didn�t get involved in this to be a baby sitter for five weeks.�
The decision to return the child to original foster parents David and Michelle Buchanan, who are now proceeding with plans to adopt him, was made by Gaston County DSS Director Keith Moon. It is believed to be the first time a director here has made such a unilateral move, overruling the Adoptions Committee that typically decides where to place children in foster care.
Moon has declined to comment specifically about the case, citing Social Services confidentiality laws. But he said he is sorry for the angst that recent events have caused.
�Your heart always goes out to the people in these situations,� he said.
A child of their own
Leon Smith has a 7-year-old son from a previous relationship. He and Chrissy hoped to have a child together once they were married, but after she suffered seven miscarriages in the last few years, they realized adoption was their only option.
Because they are a biracial couple, they sought to adopt a black or biracial child of any age. The Smiths went through the Children�s Home Society of North Carolina because they wanted to adopt immediately, rather than foster.
�I was not going to put a child in my home to give us more heartache,� Chrissy Smith said.
In August, after months of reviewing profiles of children, the Smiths were told about a biracial, 22-month-old toddler who was being moved out of a foster home in Gaston County, where he had been raised from birth by the Buchanans. They said they would be interested in adopting, as long as there were no unresolved issues with the boy.
After an extended meeting Aug. 29 with the DSS Adoptions Committee, the Smiths were approved to become the child�s adoptive parents. Two days later, two social workers arrived with the toddler.
�We were so excited,� Chrissy Smith said.
Public uproar
By most accounts, the Buchanans are highly regarded foster parents. They said they grew to love the newborn boy they began fostering in November 2010 and were on what they believed was a path to adoption. But the 22-month-old was suddenly taken from them and placed in the Smiths� home Aug. 31, and the Buchanans were offered no explanation why.
The Adoptions Committee that made that decision was largely made up of DSS officials. Despite the child�s relocation, DSS had only recently renewed the Buchanans� foster care license.
After the Buchanans� story was documented in a Gazette article Sept. 27, they pleaded for help during a Gaston County commissioners meeting. A number of their friends and fellow foster parents also spoke on their behalf and testified to their character.
Behind the scenes, county commissioners and state legislators began to question the decision to take the child from the couple.
The public pressure prompted Moon to call in an outside attorney to review the Adoptions Committee�s decision. That attorney cited legal concerns about the committee�s rationale and suggested it needed to reconvene, according to a Gazette source with knowledge of the discussions.
Revisiting the decision
It was soon revealed that the child had been removed from the Buchanans� home for permanent placement elsewhere in part because they are white, and the child is biracial, according to the Gazette�s source. At least one social worker involved in the case had also accused the Buchanans of Munchausen by proxy syndrome. The term pertains to a form of child abuse that involves the exaggeration or fabrication of illnesses or symptoms by a primary caretaker.
But two physicians who had cared for the toddler stood up for the Buchanans. Both wrote letters testifying that the child�s medical issues were valid, and in no way due to the Buchanans� actions.
The idea that social workers could make such claims in an Adoptions Committee meeting, without medical justification, prompted concerns about the procedures in place.
More than one DSS employee who was involved in the Buchanans� case was also found to have made threatening comments on Facebook as the story gained publicity. Those included postings that the Buchanans should �watch what you do, or things will come back to bite you,� according to several Gazette sources.
Moon has since reassigned at least one social worker with ties to that case to a new job.
Decision overturned
In early October, Moon convened the Adoptions Committee again to review the case of the foster child in question. Several committee members still refuted the idea of returning the child to the Buchanans, but Moon overrode them.
�After consultation with legal counsel, I have decided to overrule the decision of the Adoptions Committee,� Moon wrote in an Oct. 5 email to county leaders. �The child will be placed in foster care with the Buchanan family and we will move quickly to review our adoption process and reconstitute the committee.�
Since then, Moon has changed the committee�s makeup, condensed its size and given the DSS attorney more oversight in guiding each meeting. In the future, he said foster parents will be allowed to offer their perspective to the Adoptions Committee before placement decisions are made.
After the child was returned to the Buchanans, they were asked to no longer speak with the media about their case.
When the child was taken back from the Smiths on Oct. 5, they were also advised not to speak about the case. But after a meeting with Moon and other DSS officials in late October, they decided to go public with their complaints.
Taken back
Chrissy Smith said she bonded with her adopted son from their first day together.
She said she had been told � and read in his medical records � that he had numerous issues, such as trouble talking, urinating, swallowing and eating certain foods. But she said she noticed no such problems in the five weeks she had him. He also became more expressive and talkative in that time, she said.
The Smiths had been reading Gazette articles about the uproar regarding their adopted child for a week, when they received a phone call on Oct. 5. They were told that new evidence had been presented in the case, and that DSS would be coming to take the child back that day.
�I fell completely to the floor,� said Chrissy Smith. �I was crying.�
Late last month, the Smiths were finally allowed to meet with Moon and other DSS officials. They were immediately asked to sign papers agreeing to never again discuss the case publicly, but they declined.
The Smiths secretly recorded the meeting, and they pressed Moon about his decision to remove the child from their home, despite never having met them before.
�I told him, �You�re not a social worker and you had never even met this child before making this decision, but you�ve ripped my life apart,� Chrissy Smith said.
Custody battle possible
Cheryl Harris, the DSS program administrator for Family and Children�s Services, was also in attendance during the meeting with the Smiths. Like Moon, she declined to speak about the case specifically. But she alluded to the events that have transpired.
�I can tell you I did not get into this role to cause people pain,� said Harris. �I don�t think anyone in this agency would intentionally make decisions that would cause someone pain. It�s very, very difficult, I think, for everybody.�
But the apologies have given the Smiths no comfort. They believe Moon made his decision because of pressure from county commissioners, who were under fire from the public, and that Moon feared he would lose his job if he didn�t act.
�I don�t think DSS wants this to go to court,� said Chrissy Smith. �But honestly, I would like it to all come to light, because this man played with my life.�
You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.